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Warner Legends

Warner Legends on DVD

Warner Home Video is really putting out some good stuff on DVD these days, including excellent digital video versions of some classic titles from the studio’s history.

We’ve seen fabulous special edition DVD’s of such films as Casablanca, The Right Stuff, Amadeus, and Unforgiven, among others, and now they’ve unleashed a seven disc, three movie “Warner Legends Collection” that really does belong in every collector’s library.

The three movies span about a ten year period from the “golden age” of Hollywood and they’re all true classics that illustrate just why this era is looked back upon so fondly. The movies are “The Adventures of Robin Hood,” “Yankee Doodle Dandy,” and “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.” Each title has been given a deluxe, two disc special edition treatment that’s worth the price of admission - and to sweeten the deal Warners has thrown in fourth title that’s a full length retrospective of the studio: “Here’s Looking at You, Warner Bros.”

The latter is gravy, but it’s also very nice to see included. It runs about 108 minutes, which probably makes it a two and a half hour TV show when you include commercials and promos, and it features such Hollywood names as Clint Eastwood, Barbra Streisand (who, fortunately, reads from a script rather than "thinking" up her own words), Steven Spielberg, Goldie Hawn and more. It’s an interesting look at the studio, and includes rare outtakes, screen tests and other fascinating stuff.

But of course the real meat is the movies, and each has been restored and given a new digital transfer, so the audio and video quality as about as good as you can get from such old films. You also get enough extras to choke a horse with each movie - and perhaps best of all, Warners has crafted each feature so you can watch “A Night at the Movies” the same way you would have when they were in theaters.

What this means is that you can watch the movie by itself, or take the “night out” approach and start with a trailer, followed by a newsreel, then a short subject, then a cartoon, and then the feature itself. It’s terrific, and that’s how we decided to watch the features. What a neat idea!

As for the movies themselves, well how can you go wrong with these titles?

Errol Flynn is Robin Hood in “The Adventures of Robin Hood,” the only one of these three features that was shot in color.

It’s a grand swashbuckling adventure, kind of the “Indiana Jones” of its age. The great Michael Curtiz co-directs, and the excellent cast is rounded out by Olivia de Havilland (Maid Marian), Basil Rathbone (the evil Sir Guy of Gisbourne), Claude Rains (the evil Prince John), Alan Hale (Little John), Eugene Palette (Friar Tuck - “He’s one of us? He looks like three of us!” some Merry Man says), and more.

It’s a grand film, with handsome sets, lovely Technicolor images and a stirring, Oscar-winning Erich Wolfgang Korngold musical score.

Prince John uses the absence of his brother King Richard (The Lion Hearted, who’s on a crusade) to bring to life his dreams of being King. He taxes the population, well, the ethnic group he doesn’t like, into poverty - but wouldn’t you know that rascally rebel Robin Hood and his Merry Men of Sherwood Forest rise up and fight back in guerilla style.

Flynn's perfect in the role, with his easygoing manner a great counterpoint to Rathbone's pompous and overbearing aristocrat. Robin’s just one of the guys.

The movie climaxes with a beautifully choreographed battle featuring a fast-paced sword fight between the main good guy and bad guy.

The picture looks great. Old Technicolor films have a wonderful “old Hollywood” look and this restored version really does it justice. The aspect ratio is the original 1.33:1, full frame, so it isn’t 16x9 TV compatible, but that’s okay as long as owners of widescreen TV’s remember to stretch/zoom the picture to avoid burnin.

Audio is okay but, since this movie is some 65 years old, unremarkable.

Extras, besides the abovementioned “Night at the movies features,” include a new documentary on the film, outtakes, “Robin Hood through the ages” - a look at the character as he was portrayed in films even older than this one - and home movies shot on location.

You also get a couple of nifty shorts, one dealing with archery and one a “docudrama” of Flynn’s adventures on his yacht the Zaca. There’s some audio-only stuff, too, an Angela Lansbury-narrated feature on Technicolor - and a couple of great Warner cartoons: Rabbit Hood (with Bugs Bunny) and the classic Robin Hood Daffy, one of Daffy Duck’s best cartoons.

And that’s just the first movie in this set!

Yankee Doodle Dandy is a biopic of George M. Cohan, the great writer, composer and showman of the early 20th century.

James Cagney is outstanding in (and won an Oscar for) this song-and-dance extravaganza, playing Cohan with incredible energy. The movie is told in flashbacks, beginning with the youngster George during his formative years as part of his family’s act, and on until he's awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his contributions.

We get to watch him go from starving wannabe to Broadway's brightest star, and get some excellent looks at some of his musicals and other artistic triumphs.

Again this movie was crafted by Michael Curtiz, and it gives Cagney plenty of opportunity to craft a charming performance.

Cagney, who according to the supplementary material had a lot in common with Cohan, is best known as a tough guy, but this movie (and his cameo in “The Seven Little Foys”), show his talent as a hoofer and singer as well. It’s a real treat.

Speaking of the Foys, among many terrific scenes there’s one between Cohan and Eddie Foy Senior (played here, approptiately, by Eddie Foy, Junior) that beautifully shows both of the mens’ brashness, egos, talent, and good nature - all in about three minutes.

You know the songs, and unless you’re an angry liberal you’ll find it hard not to watch this movie without your heart swelling with American pride - even if you aren’t an American, but especially if you are!

The movie is also presented in full frame, so isn’t 16x9 TV compatible, but the restored black and white picture looks fine. Audio’s okay, too.

Extras include the “Night at the Movies” features (Including a very interesting patriotic short “Beyond the Line of Duty”) and "Let Freedom Sing: The Story of Yankee Doodle Dandy,” a wonderful documentary on the film, a reminiscence on Cagney by John Travolta, a 1943 Warner short “You: John Jones” starring James Cagney, and a photo gallery.

There are also two classic Warner Brothers cartoons: Yankee Doodle Bugs and Yankee Doodle Daffy, though they aren’t nearly the best of the breed. And Michael J. Fox hosts “James Cagney: Top of the World,” a full length profile of the Hollywood legend. There are also some audio recordings.

Last, but certainly not least, in this boxed set is John Huston’s The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, a masterpiece from the legendary director.

This film stars Humphrey Bogart, though you won’t like him. He’s small time loser Fred C. Dobbs, down on his luck in Mexico, wandering from low paying job to begging, to low paying job again.

He hooks up with fellow down and outer Bob Curtin (Tim Holt) and they hitch their wandering star to an old gold prospector (Walter Huston) who’s up for one more kick at the can.

It starts out as a grand adventure, with the two wet behind the ears prospectors being hard pressed to keep up with the crusty old veteran, but it’s also an excellent character study of what makes a man a man - and how the lust for gold can drive some people around the bend.

They do strike a vein of gold, and their futures are set, but at that point the movie turns more from an adventure to a human study. You want to reach into the screen and slap Bogart as his character grows paranoid and violent, afraid his partners want to steal his gold. He’s really a hateful dude!

Huston's character has seen it all before, so isn't surpised at the turn of events, but Holt unhappily gets caught in the middle.

In the end, it turns out that there is a type of justice - or perhaps karma or God is at work.

Oscars went to John and Walter Huston, both of whom deserved them. This is, indeed, an American classic that’s still powerful today.

The DVD looks great. The black and white picture is in full frame, of course, so it isn’t 16x9 TV compatible, but it’s sharp and clean. Audio is okay.

Extras include the aforementioned “Night at the Movies” stuff, and a bunch of trailers. The second disc includes a fascinating, full length look at the life and career of John Huston, hosted by Robert Mitchum. There’s also “Discovering the Treasure: The Story of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre,” a new documentary narrated by writer/director John Milius and featuring a host of commentators.

The classic cartoon this time is “8 Ball Bunny,” which features an homage to the film as an animated Bogart/Dobbs comes in periodically trying to bum money. There’s also a photo gallery and some audio programming.

Whew! This is one heck of a boxed set! 

 

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