Warner Home Video Live Chat

[Flint]

FYI-
Don't know if you all know this, but Warners is having a live chat tonight. Info is available at the Criterion Forum. Here's great chance to ask about "Ambersons" & other titles yet to be released.

-Flint

[Jeff Wilson]

The chat is at the Home Theater Forum, and someone will be posting updates at the linked thread.

Warner chat tracking

EDIT: Never mind, it's only the questions being posted, not the answers.



Edited By Jeff Wilson on Mar. 08 2004 at 21:13

[Jeff Wilson]

Anti-climactic news regarding AMBERSONS from the HTF chat, namely: "It will be released at some point in the future." Holy shit, no kidding??

[edmoney]

Further proof that it all comes down to the almighty buck ...

Notice how if it's not a popular high-profile title, Warner Bros. won't release a film unless it can be tied in with a special marketing promotion. I guess we will have to wait for a Tim Holt box set?

Not only are we forever denied Welles' original cut of Ambersons, we can't even get a DVD of the mutilated release version. Sigh.

[TheMcGuffin]

on top of that, in the WB chat the WB reps made it very clear that they do not licence their movies to 3rd parties. This was the answer given in regards to licencing their movies to Criterion. So the Criterion version of Kane and Ambersons will never be on DVD...

[colwood]

On top of that, in the WB chat the WB reps made it very clear that they do not licence their movies to 3rd parties. This was the answer given in regards to licencing their movies to Criterion. So the Criterion version of Kane and Ambersons will never be on DVD...

Thank god for DVD-R/+R

[Citizen K]

Depressing news indeed. But let's be positive: Warners has apparently been restoring the film, and when (or Beatrice willing if) it comes out, it should be a visual feast. As far as I know, the original negatives still survive, unlike with Kane. And if the recent restored version of Kane looks pretty good coming from a print, Ambersons, coming from the negative should look absolutely fantastic. Deep blacks, pure whites, a wide range of greys, sharp image, little grain and scratches... All of which has been lacking in previous, rather muddy versions. I only hope they'll stick to the original mono sound instead of making a ridiculous 5.1 mix.

Let's hope for the best.

[Jeff Wilson]

It is perhaps possible that progress on AMBERSONS has been held up due to Beatrice's suit against Warner/Turner/etc regarding her claim to ownership or royalties from KANE and AMBERSONS. If Warner intend to contest her claim, then they may not want to currently invest in the film's restoration or release until they know what they stand to make out of it. Pure speculation on my part, but it seems worth considering.

[edmoney]

Beatrice's lawsuit does seem to be a very possible reason for the hold-up - it might also explain why WB was so vague about its release in both this year's and last year's HTF chat.

However, I've also been reading rumors about an impending release back since 2002 ... long before these particular dollar signs began appearing in Beatrice's eyes. Does anyone know how successful the sales of the Citizen Kane DVD were? I would think that WB would realize that there would be a reasonable amount of correlation between the number of people who bought the Kane DVD and the number of people who would buy an Ambersons DVD (of course, less for the Ambersons DVD ... but still some correlation).

Also, how much restoration do you guys think would be needed for Ambersons? I've never seen the Criterion LD, but from what I've read, the picture quality was quite nice. If the negatives do still exist, I'm assuming that Criterion had access to them - and now Warner Bros. would have them. Why would Warners need to "search for the best film elements" (as they have stated)? And, based on the LD picture quality, does it seem that a lot of restoration is necessary?