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It's a big, beautiful doorstop of a DVD box set, but do you really need new DVD editions of movies you already own on Blu-ray....?
Warner / 2400 Minutes / 1927-1988 / Various Ratings / Street Date: February 12, 2013
The Jazz Singer
1927 / 89 Minutes
The music of The Jazz Singer is fine, and it has moments of technical grandeur. But as a full-length film, it’s just another brick in the wall - a culturally offensive brick that just so happens to be the first full-length feature film to include synchronized sound.
Video: 1.33:1
Audio: English Dolby Digital 1.0; English SDH, French, Spanish subtitles.
Supplements: Far more intriguing than the movie itself is the screen-specific audio commentary with film historians Ron Hutchinson and Vince Giordano, who dive deep into the film’s legend and mystique and dissect every aspect of the film’s production, its immediate popular influence and what it means in today’s film culture. Also on this set’s first disc are a collection of hard-to-find shorts – I Love to Singa (a Tex Avery cartoon), and Hollywood Handicap, A Day at Santa Anita and A Plantation Act (all of which feature performances from Al Jolson) – as well an excerpt from a 1947 Lux Radio Broadcast (also featuring Jolson), and a group of trailers for other Al Jolson films.
The Broadway Melody
1929 / 100 Minutes
Harry Beaumont's lifeless musical isn't one of Oscar's great bullseyes, but there's some infectious chorus line choreography at play, and some of its sassy behind-the-scenes snark packs a punch.
Video: 1.33:1
Audio: English Dolby Digital 1.0; English, French, Spanish subtitles.
Supplements: Some Movietone newsreel material, some trailers, and two shorts: Van and Schenck and The Dogway Melody.
42nd Street
1933 / 100 Minutes
The show must go on in this rambunctious yet dim-witted affair - Warner Baxter's performance as a weary Broadway director intent on bringing his performance of Pretty Lady to life is bubbly fun, but the potholes that constantly present themselves as he journeys toward success get increasingly cheesy as the movie unfolds. Keep an eye out for a precious young Ginger Rogers, though.
Video: 1.33:1
Audio: English Dolby Digital 1.0; English, French, subtitles.
Supplements: Two featurettes - Harry Warren: America's Foremost Composer and Trip Through a Hollywood Studio - as well as some newsreel excerpts, some text info on the movie, and its trailer.
The Great Ziegfeld
1936 / 186 Minutes
The Great Ziegfeld is a sprawling, haunting pastiche of music, tragedy and larger-than-life melodrama that darts and pivots through its three-hour running time with ambition and production value to spare, but the film is somewhat hollow and devoid of real emotion in a lot of ways, and this lack of sympathy within the film's characters as they cavort through the movie's many historical escapades make the film a bit difficult to swallow.
Video: 1.33:1
Audio: English Dolby Digital 1.0; English, French, Spanish subtitles.
Supplements: The most impressive facet of Ziegfeld's DVD release is the fifteen-minute documentary Ziegfeld on Film. It's not the greatest featurette in the world, but it does provide an AMC-quality opportunity for critics, actors and fellow film collaborators to talk about their experiences with the historical presentation of Ziegfeld in movies in an intriguing way. Also included is a five minute newsreel documenting the film's premiere.
The Wizard of Oz
1939 / 102 Minutes
Do you really need to hear about the greatness of The Wizard of Oz? This movie's been around far longer than I have and will remain long after I'm gone. Its appeal is undeniable. With as many different filmed and animated versions of this story as have been created, this is the benchmark for this story. No matter what the budget, the cast, or the effects, you could never make a better The Wizard of Oz. A timeless classic.
Video: 1.33:1
Audio: English Dolby Digital 1.0, 5.1; English SDH, French, Spanish subtitles.
Supplements: The screen-specific audio commentary here is a wonderful collection of anecdotes and information about the film and its legacy. Sydney Pollack acts as moderator; he’s joined by historian John Fricke and the track is peppered with recollections from Oz alums Barbara Freed-Saltzman, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Margaret Hamilton, John Lahr, Jane Lahr, Hamilton Meserve, Dona Massin, William Tuttle, Buddy Ebsen, producer Mervyn LeRoy, and Jerry Maren. Most of this material covered is replicated within other extras, but that doesn’t keep this commentary from being tops. Also here are three featurettes. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Storybook (10:30) has Angela Lansbury reading a short version of L. Frank Baum’s book against original illustrations from the work. Prettier Than Ever: The Restoration of Oz (11:30) is a self-explanatory look at the difficulties in bringing the film to DVD. And We Haven’t Really Met Properly (21:30) is a set of introductions to cast members from the film, including Toto (Angela Lansbury narrates). There's a sing-along option, too, as well as a music and effects track.
Yankee Doodle Dandy
1942 / 126 Minutes
Michael Curtiz's Yankee Doodle Dandy is a sleek melodrama, and its shining star is Mr. James Cagney, who delivers one of cinema's most unsung performances in its leading role. Seventy years after its debut, some of its flag-waving sensibilities seem jingoistic and perhaps a little precious, but the rousing spirit of its song-and-dance craftsmanship nevertheless cannot be denied.
Video: 1.33:1
Audio: English Dolby Digital 1.0; English, French, Spanish subtitles.
Supplements: We get a screen-specific audio commentary with film scholar Rudy Behlmer, a Warner Night at the Movies compilation (newsreel, shorts, trailers - all with an intro from Leonard Maltin), some text info on the movie, and some trailers.
An American in Paris
116 Minutes / 1951
This is one of those musicals where if you think about the plot at all, you come away with a bad taste in your mouth. The fact that the two leads are presented as romantic heroes despite the fact that they're seriously leading on the people who love them is something that has never set well with me. So you're better off savoring the many other delights the film has to offer: the gorgeous Gershwin score which, aside from the title piece, includes "Embraceable You," "I Got Rhythm," and "S'Wonderful"; the colorful settings, and the incomparable dancing of Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron.
Video: 1.33:1
Audio: English Dolby Digital 1.0; English SDH, French, Japanese, Thai subtitles.
Supplements: We get a screen-specific audio commentary with Patricia Ward-Kelly, producer Arthur Freed, Kelly, director Vincente Minnelli, screenwriter Alan Jay Lerner, musical director Saul Chaplin, Caron, Nina Foch, musician Michael Feinstein, musical director Johnny Green, art director Preston Ames, and costume designer Irene Sharaff - it's a wonderful listen, and its many participants make it pass by in a flash. Also here are some shorts - Paris on Parade and Symphony in Slang - and the movie's trailer.
