Warner Archive returning to its original premise

When the program started, the formula was that they would be releasing movies using whatever they had available on tape or film and they would not be remastering or going back to the 35mm prints or negatives. Then, when they were shocked by how successful the program became, they changed and started remastering everything. Now, apparently, they have gone back. The Mr. Novak DVD first season is sourced from the old Turner one-inch transfers. I don't collect movies, but a friend who does tells me that some of the movies they've released this year look bad, some worse than VHS quality. In my mind, this means that any shows which do not have existing tape elements are going to be permanently off the table.

 

There are loads of old Warners movies I would love to have. They should start with all the Cagney ones.

 

This thread should be considered for removal. WAC on Blu has been and continues to be special. Is everyone buying Popeye?!

Anyhow, there is no truth at all to the original post. And the friend should at least have some specific titles to criticize. Good luck.

I will report this thread unless there are any actual new facts that I've totally missed.

WARNER ARCHIVE THREAD

I picked up 4 during the last 4 for $44 a few months back. Their great transfer work continues. Criterion could learn something.

 

Cagney is on my most wanted list!

 

You want specifics, here they are:

The best (that is, worst) examples are The Gay Bride and A Girl, a Guy, and a Gob. I also think these are below their previous standard, and probably sourced from old tape masters: All American Chump, Calm Yourself; Baby Face Harrington; Absolute Quiet; Broadway Hostess; A Notorious Affair; The Washington Masquerade; Burn 'Em Up O'Connor; and Beauty For the Asking.

And WAC admitted to me that Mr. Novak came from the old Turner one-inch tapes.

Dispute the veracity of this and then feel free to report.

 

thetao strikes again.

 

The OP can't be serious.

WAC is releasing extraordinary transfer work on BLU RAY.

No one serious about image quality is clinging to DVD. The only valid complaint might be that WAC should drop DVD rather than offering titles they don't consider worthy of 1080P.

So please, let it go. We need more people buying Blu ray from WAC. Only harm can come from the totally false assertion that WAC is faltering.

 

Okay, I only collect TV shows. I couldn't give a damn about movies. And their recent vintage TV releases have slowed to a crawl with the last one, Mr. Novak sourced from 30 year old one-inch tapes. We are talking two different languages. Good for you and your blue ray.

 

Sounds like they're being cheap bastids. It wouldn't cost that much to remaster a B&W show like this. I'm guessing I could knock out two one-hour shows in 8 hours (from original 35mm negative scans to HD), and if there were 60 episodes, we'd be done in a month. That is not that expensive.

 

They did something similar with that Porky Pig B&W set they put out last year.

 

A caveat for those purchasing MOD DVDs from Warner Archive: a friend informed me that he just discovered that a WA DVD he'd purchased about a year ago had become unplayable. When he contacted them to inquire about a replacement, he was informed that their return/exchange policy is now that they will only guarantee media for 30 days after purchase. I don't recall the exact parameters of the previous return policy, but if it wasn't completely open-ended, it was certainly for a much longer timeframe than 30 days.

I suspect (but have no definite knowledge) that, like FilmStruck getting the ax, this policy revision was made at the behest of the new ownership/senior management of WarnerMedia. In the past I've been skeptical of those who have complained about WA's use of recordable media, but knowing of the new return window, I will definitely think twice before purchasing anything besides pressed Blu-rays from them in the future.

 

Warner Archive blocked me on their Facebook page! Guess they don't want the truth out there.

 

The only title I have from Warner Archives is Demon Seed and I really didn't expect it to look so good. The audio track is plain mono but it sounds fine, clean with no distorsion and very little tape hiss.