Posted Fri Jun 28, 2024 at 08:05 PM PDT by Tom Landy
The Warner Archive Collection has announced and detailed their next wave of Blu-rays shipping at the end of August. The titles in this batch include: Words and Music (1948), Three Little Words (1950), Black Belt Jones (1974), Boulevard Nights (1979), and the complete animated series of Top Cat (1960-61).
Words and Music (1948) - Warner Archive Collection
Mickey Rooney, Tom Drake, Betty Garrett, Janet Leigh, and a host of top musical performers headline M-G-M producer Arthur Freed’s extravagant biographical tribute to the prolific songwriting duo of Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. In the early 1920s, the diminutive Hart (Rooney) teams up with Rodgers (Drake) to launch a successful 24-year music career, penning nearly 500 songs with him until Hart's death in 1943 at the age of 47. Rodgers marries his dream girl (Leigh) while Hart pines after Peggy (Garrett), eventually spiraling into depression and death after her rejection. June Allyson, Perry Como, Ann Sothern, Mel Tormé, Cyd Charisse, Judy Garland, and Lena Horne are just some of the singing sensations featured. This is the last movie in which Garland and Rooney appeared together. It also boasts the first full-length modern ballet piece in a Hollywood movie: Choreographed and danced by Gene Kelly, with Vera-Ellen as his partner, "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue" provides the show-stopping seven-minute finale to the film. Among the hit songs performed are " "Blue Moon," "Thou Swell” "Manhattan," "Johnny One Note," "I Wish I Were in Love Again," "Where or When," and "The Lady Is a Tramp."
The Blu-ray will feature a new 2024 1080p hd master from 4k scans of original nitrate technicolor negatives and supplements will include: Commentary by Film Historian Richard Barrios, Featurette :A Life in Words and Music, Unused musical sequences: You’re Nearer (Perry Como), Lover (Perry Como & M-G-M Orchestra and Chorus). Audio-only musical outtakes. Classic MGM cartoon: THE CAT THAT HATED PEOPLE, Classic MGM Short: GOING TO BLAZES!
Three Little Words (1950) - Warner Archive Collection
Bert Kalmar (Fred Astaire) always wanted to be a magician, but all it takes is a disastrous opening night to make his dreams go poof! So, Kalmar moves on and finds songwriting magic with collaborator Harry Ruby. The stage-and-screen songsmiths whose many tunes include Groucho Marx’s signature Hooray for Captain Spaulding receive a Hollywood hooray in this audience-favorite screen biopic featuring a hit parade and Kalmar and Ruby standards (including “(Nevertheless) I’m in Love with You”, “Who’s Sorry Now”, and the title tune). Astaire puts on his dancing shoes for dazzling duets with Vera-Ellen, and a tap solo. The film was a box-office smash and a wonderful showcase for the terpsichorean talents of Astaire and Vera-Ellen, and one of Red Skelton’s best screen performances, which gave him the opportunity for a more substantial acting role that did just rely on his trademark comic genius. The film also is highlighted by a star-turn by Debbie Reynolds who portrays boop-oop-a-doop sensation Helen Kane, performing “I Wanna Be Loved By You” to vocals provided by Miss Kane herself.
The Blu-ray will have a new 2024 1080p hd master from 4k scans of original nitrate technicolor negatives and bonus features include: THREE LITTLE WORDS: TWO SWELL GUYS, Classic M-G-M cartoon VENTRILOQUIST CAT, Classic M-G-M Fitzpatrick Traveltalks short ROAMING THROUGH MICHIGAN, Audio-only bonus PAULA STONE’S HOLLYWOOD USA RADIO PROMO, Original Theatrical Trailer.
Black Belt Jones (1974) - Warner Archive Collection
A former International Karate Champion, Jim Kelly made a blazing screen debut with Bruce Lee in the martial-arts landmark ENTER THE DRAGON. Now as Black Belt Jones, Kelly’s fiery fighting expertise rips the screen apart in his first solo star turn, featuring Scatman Crothers (The Shining) and sultry Glory Hendry (Live and Let Die). Pop Boyd (Crothers) owns a thriving karate school near downtown Los Angeles. Unfortunately, it sits on a piece of land upon which a local mob wants to build its own “civic center”. When the gangsters’ muscling of Pop leads to tragedy, Black Belt Jones steps forward to exact his individual brand of lightning-charged revenge. Filmmaker Robert Clouse, who showcased Lee in Enter the Dragon and Jackie Chan in The Big Brawl serves up masterful action sequences of which Kelly said “every move was choreographed like a ballet”. That unique blend of ballistic combat and colorful comic characters make Black Belt Jones light on its feet – and heavy on entertainment!
The release includes a new 2024 1080p HD master from a 4K scan of the original camera negative as well as the original theatrical trailer.
Boulevard Nights (1979) - Warner Archive Collection
You haven’t seen the true “colors” of vicious gang life in Los Angeles unless you’ve also seen Boulevard Nights. From Executive Producer Tony Bill (The Sting, Taxi Driver) comes this gritty drama that remains timely and powerful as when it first appeared in 1979. Said Bill: “Everything in this film is authentic. We’ve broken important new ground”. Today, the continuing problem of gang activity re-emphasizes the importance of this trailblazing film. It’s itsight into gang life remains vital. Boulevard Nights’ gang members are cholos from the city’s Mexican-American barrios, with the film taking a point of view of the gang kids themselves. Two of those kids are the Avila brothers. Raymond Avila (Richard Yniguez) is an ex-gang member trying to build a better life. Kid brother Chuco (Danny De La Paz) is a sullen low-rider, wasting his days with his angel-dusted gang. In spite of their differences, the brothers are bound by strong family ties. But those ties are violently tested when rivals challenge Chuco’s gang….and ignite a full-blown neighborhood war. In 2017 the film was selected for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”
The Blu-ray will have a new 2024 1080p master from 4K Scan of the original camera negative and the original theatrical trailer.
Top Cat - The Complete Series (1960-61) - Warner Archive Collection
In the tradition of great screen conmen-one of the few with a visible tail- TOP CAT holds a top spot in the hearts of classic animation fans. The second of Hanna-Barbera’s prime-time network animated sitcoms, TOP CAT debuted on ABC television on Wednesday September 27, 1961. The series only ran for one season in prime-time, but continued to be popular through a mix of continued Saturday morning network reruns and syndication for more than three decades thereafter. Arnold Stang provided the voice of the smooth-talking New York City cat, known as T.C. to his gang of cohorts Benny the Ball, Choo Choo, Spook, The Brain and Fancy Fancy. These cats were always on the make toward a big score or swindle. And the bothersome – and ever exasperated- Office Dibble (voiced by legendary character actor Allen Jenkins) is relentlessly on Top Cat’s case (although always one step behind). This 4-disc Blu-ray set contains all 30 original episodes, newly remastered in 1080p HD from 4K scans off the original camera negatives, with the series offering top-shelf entertainment for fans. More than 60 years after it debuted, TOP CAT continues to be a comic delight of animated fun for audiences of all ages.
This release includes a new 2024 1080p HD masters from 4K scans of original camera negatives and the following supplements: Documentary: Back to Hoagy’s Alley: The Making of TOP CAT, Commentaries on episodes HAWAII, HERE WE COME, THE LATE T.C. and THE MISSING HEIR, STORYBOARD/FINISHED CARTOON SEQUENCE for THE MISSING HEIR; COOL CATS IN INTERVIEW ALLEY with archival interviews with members of the voice-cast including Arnold Stang, Marvin Kaplan, Leo de Lyon and Barry Blitzer, TOP CAT SING-ALONG, VINTAGE COMMERCIALS…and more!
The Warner Archive Collection Blu-rays listed above will be shipping on August 27. The pre-orders should be available soon.
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