laureatedvd.com

Ken Barnes · Host Joined: 07 Feb 2004 Posts: 548

Hi Domenic,

Yes, there is some movement on "Daddy Long Legs." Fox WILL be doing it this year - and, while it will be done out of the L.A. office, there is a good chance that I'll be involved.

I should be able to make an announcement within the next two to three weeks.

Ken

Dominic McHugh · Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2005 11:59 am Post subject:

Oh that's great news!

I certainly hope you will be involved - it would make all the difference. Let's hope they do a proper job of making this a really Special Edition.

Best
Dominic
_________________
Dominic McHugh

Ryan · Joined: 02 Feb 2004 Posts: 55 Location: Ft Myers, FL US

I'm happy to hear that the patience and amazing gathering of requests is paying off in a Daddy Long Legs release. For me the one aspect that cannot be overlooked, and makes the difference between a must-buy or run-of-the-mill DVD, is to present the film in its true widescreen form. If that is taken care of, I could buy the disc even if the extras were of the bare-bones variety. However, if Mr. Barnes is indeed involved, I'm sure that would not be the case. Does anyone dare to dream the DVD could include the holy grail of extras such as a Barnes/Caron commentary?

Ken Barnes · Host Joined: 07 Feb 2004 Posts: 548

I think it's a pretty safe bet, Ryan, that the Fox DVD of DLL will be a Special Edition.

This is all being discussed at top level and as soon as I'm able to pass on details of what the DVD will include, I'll post it in the News section - and on Astaire and His Films.

Best
Ken

Phil Jellicoe · Guest

With all the great DVD activity that Warners are giving to Fred Astaire, it would be a memorable year indeed if Fox decide to give Daddy Long Legs a 50th Anniversary special edition. We're now into March and they should be making their plans.

Ken Barnes · Host Joined: 07 Feb 2004 Posts: 548

The budget is now completed and goes off to Fox in Los Angeles today.

Hopefully, the production will include both Leslie Caron and Ava Astaire
( though we're not yet sure of Miss Caron's involvement - which we may not know for another two or three weeks ). As soon as we get anything positive, it will be posted on the NEWS section.

So watch this space !

Celia Hall · Guest

I've just received the new Warner set Broadway to Hollywood and the Astaire films "Easter Parade" and "The Band Wagon" are superb. "Brigadoon" too. "Finian's Rainbow" is OK and "Bells Are Ringing" is so-so. But the picture quality in all cases is excellent and makes me wonder why Universal have still not announced Fred and Ginger - vol. 2.

What is the matter with them ?

Dominic McHugh · Posted: Mon Apr 04, 2005 12:57 pm Post subject:

I couldn't agree more - the new Easter Parade is a wonderful set incorporating a 2-hour documentary on Judy Garland, and The Band Wagon is a particularly good picture/audio transfer.

As for Fred and Ginger Part 2, I'm not holding my breath. The Warners Region 1 release later this year will no doubt provide superb print quality and great features. Hope they include Ava Astaire Mackenzie though - she was great in the latest releases.

Dominic
_________________
Dominic McHugh

J. Lacey · Guest

I agree that Easter Parade looks good and is a satisfying DVD. But I was somewhat disappointed to find that Warners - who had done such a fine job on "The Band Wagon's" soundtrack - had setteld for putting this soundtrack into 1 channel. I know it was oriiginally mono - but so was
"The Wizard of Oz" - so was "Singin' In The Rain" and so was "The Band Wagon" and these were all re-mixed into a fairly satisfying 5.1. If the "Easter Parade" soundtrack presented problems, why couldn't they at least presented it as a Dolby Digital 2-channel version ? This would have enriched the sound to a reasonable extent at no extra cost.

Go figure.

Dominic McHugh · Posted: Fri Apr 08, 2005 11:09 am Post subject:

I totally agree about the Easter Parade soundtrack. They've put together a good package in this DVD but watching Band Wagon straight after Parade emphasised the mono soundtrack of the latter. However, that should not stop fans buying the set for the excellent documentary and Ava's commentary.
_________________
Dominic McHugh

L.S. · Guest

While the 1-channel soundtrack on "Easter Parade" doesn't bother me particularly ( but it would have been nice to have spread it across 2-channels ), I do agree that the extras on all five discs are excellent.
"The Band Wagon" is outstanding and "Easter" runs it a close second.
As for "Finian's Rainbow," this was Fred Astaire's last musical so it's worth having for that alone. ( See my comments below on this one )

The big letdown of this set is "Bells Are Ringing." While the new transfer and mastering is first class, the film itself is a tedious disappointment.
In this age of answering machines,mobile phones and text messages, the script about a telephone answering service is not only horribly dated, it's the worst ever effort by Betty Comden and Adolph Green. Judy Holliday - who created the lead role on Broadway - tries hard but looks too old for the part on screen ( and I don't like her singing voice anyway ) and Dean Martin - who can usually charm his way through any film, good or bad, seems out of place and uncomfortable as writer who has lost his confidence. Although he does sing well in the "Do It Yourself" number, this doesn't save a lack lustre performance. All the other characters behave in a dreadfully stagey way and the film itself is too damn long. Perhaps the main culprit,though, is director Vincente Minnelli. Apart from the brilliant "Drop A Name" sequence, his direction is just plain awful. It might have been better with a different director ( say George Sydney or Charles Walters)- but better still if it hadn't been made at all. The two great songs "Just In Time" and "The Party's Over" just don't save an bitterfly boring film.

Less of a disappointment - but still a bit tedious -is "Finian's Rainbow." But this,at least, has Fred Astaire and a magnificent score by Burton Lane and E.Y. Harburg. The two things that irk me most are Tommy Steele's horribly hammy performance ( how did he ever get the part ?) and Francis Ford Coppolla's unsympathetic direction. But the big point of interest in this DVD is Coppola's introduction ( in which he reveals his love for the score and proves it momentarily with a good,natural singing voice ) and his enl;ightening feature length audio commentary in which he constantly apologies for all the things he did wrong - often putting it down to his youth and inexperience. How nice to see that Mr Coppolla has developed such humility. This,at least, makes for an interesting DVD and helps us to appreciate the film a little more.

So is the set worth buying ? Alas,no. Since all the discs are available as separate items,my advice is to buy all four individually and skip "Bells Are Ringing."

Ryan · Joined: 02 Feb 2004 Posts: 55 Location: Ft Myers, FL US

L.S., it's actually more cost effective to buy the entire set and throw out the one you do not care for. And here on the American Amazon website at the time, it was even less expensive to buy the set than three titles. Can you believe that? The detail in the documentaries and flawless transfers of Easter Parade and Band Wagon were wonderful. And the premiere footage included on Finian's Rainbow was more interesting than the film to one who hadn't seen it before like myself. It's hard to complain anymore about the lack of quality Fred Astaire DVD's.

Lionel Seymour · Guest

Thanks Ryan for pointing this out. Since I've already bought the box set,I'm stuck with "Bells Are Ringing." But I'm sure your advice will be very helpful to others. It would be cheaper to buy the entire box set.
And,of course, I agree with you that the extras are wonderful. Warners should be congratulated for doing such a good overall job. I just wish they'd included a better film than "Bells are Ringing." Even "Kismet" would have been preferable.

Celia Hall · Guest

Not too long ago, it was announced on the Laureate website that "Daddy Long Legs" would be released on DVD. What is the latest news ?

Ken Barnes · Host Joined: 07 Feb 2004 Posts: 548

Good to hear from you again, Celia. I'm happy to tell you that I have already begun work for Fox on "Daddy Long Legs." This will be announced formally on the NEWS section within the next few days.

I am working with the Los Angeles office of Fox Video, so the DVD will almost certainly be released in the USA first.

Keep checking the NEWS page for details.