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Archive for November, 2023

Blu-Ray & 4K News #367: Shane (1953).

Posted in 1953, Alan Ladd, Ben Johnson, DVD/Blu-Ray News, Edgar Buchanan, Elisha Cook, Jr., George Stevens, Jack Palance, John Dierkes, Kino Lorber, Paramount, Van Heflin on November 27, 2023| 9 Comments »

Directed by George Stevens
Starring Alan Ladd, Jean Arthur, Van Heflin, Jack Palance, Brandon De Wilde, Ben Johnson, Edgar Buchanan, Emile Meyer, Elisha Cook Jr., John Dierkes

Kino Lorber has announced a Blu-Ray and 4K release of George Stevens’ Shane (1953). They’ve already plugged a 4K release of High Noon (1952), another of 50s Westerns’ Big Three — High Noon, Shane and The Searchers (1956). They say Warner Bros. is currently at work on The Searchers.

This 4K and Blu-Ray Shane release will come from a scan of the original camera negative and will undoubtedly be beautiful. Loyal Griggs’ incredible cinematography in this film looks more like a painting than a movie — making it ironic that it was subject to cropping during the post-CinemaScope widescreen freakout of 1953. Luckily, it doesn’t suffer too much, though the original 1.37 version looks best.

Of course, Shane is absolutely essential — it’s a great film — no matter what format you’re using. Get one.

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Blu-Ray News #366: Wolf Lowry (1917).

Posted in DVD/Blu-Ray News, Film Preservation, Film Preservation Society, William S. Hart on November 22, 2023| 26 Comments »


Directed by William S. Hart
Starring William S. Hart, Aaron Edwards, Carl Ullman, Margery Wilson

With tomorrow being Thanksgiving Day, this seems like a good time to bring up Film Preservation Society — “a Los Angeles, California-based nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to finding, saving, and restoring America’s silent film heritage.”

The most recent picture to benefit from the FSB’s mission is William S. Hart’s Wolf Lowry (1917). Hart is one of my favorites — Hell’s Hinges might be my favorite silent feature — and Wolf Lowry is one I’ve never seen. More about it here.

Now on to the Thanksgiving part. As you sit around the table with your family and friends and somebody suggests that everybody say what they’re thankful for, remember Film Preservation Society, Film Masters, ClassicFlix and the other outfits that are preserving older films. They’re really keeping classic cinema, especially the collecting part, alive these days.

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The Searchers (1956) Restoration To Debut At TCM Festival.

Posted in 1956, Festivals, screenings, Film Preservation, Hank Worden, Harry Carey Jr., John Ford, John Wayne, Sons Of The Pioneers, Vera Miles, Ward Bond, Warner Bros. on November 20, 2023| 13 Comments »

I grew up with an IB Technicolor 16mm print of John Ford’s The Searchers (1956) in the next room. Have seen it countless times and I know what those dye-transfer prints looked like — and it sure ain’t like what the current Blu-Ray looks like.

Warner Bros. is set to unveil a new restoration of The Searchers at the next TCM Festival. No pressure or anything, WB, but please remember this is one of the greatest films ever made (OK, the greatest), and it ain’t supposed to be so yellow!

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