Kane on Blu-ray

[Sir Bygber Brown]

yes, ta, a good sign. not unexpected as warners have had it planned and confirmed for a 70th anniversary blu rekease for ages, though i guesss its only been less than a year since the qnnouncement. bit of a shame some of the best films arent upgraded sooner, so as to be able to use that word anniversary on them. i understand why, from a marketing perspective, but its taken too far sometimes, like doctor zhivago came out in time for its anniversary, but lawrence of arabia, a much better film, has been interminably delayed since it missed its anniversary year. still, kane will be born anew on blu, those deep focus shots may finally see the focus they deserve.

[tonyw]

And so might the unexposed faces in the newspaper room with the shadows now completely removed!

[Roger Ryan]

And so might the unexposed faces in the newspaper room with the shadows now completely removed!

Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if the Blu-ray version of the film appears to be a little darker with more inky blacks. The trend, among the better transfers, is to use less contrast boost for Blu-rays since the resolution is greater and can handle darker images better than DVD. Also, I bet Warner Home Video has heard enough complaints about the brightness of the DVD issue to take action this time around. Either way, they need to use less Digital Noise Reduction for the Blu-ray to avoid that waxy look.

[ToddBaesen]

I'm looking forward to David Thomson's audio commentary on the CITIZEN KANE Blu-ray disc!
It should be even funnier than that terrible documentary THE BATTLE OVER CITIZEN KANE.


Mr. Thomson's recent piece on CITIZEN KANE lists it as the #5 Art House movie of all time and includes these profound insights:


...that it was a film ultimately about his own flawed glory ("There, but for the grace of God, goes God," people said);

...that he cared more about being outrageous than he did about the money.

...And Welles would prove not only self-destructive, but also his own worst enemy...

...It breathed the unAmerican gospel: see what one man can do, see how films can be owned and authored not by the factory, but by brilliant minds bent on self-expression.

...In Kane and Welles alike, there was the same rueful mixture of genius and lack of self-belief.

[Sir Bygber Brown]

lack of self belief may only fairly apply to Kane; when taken out of context with the argument why, this statementnseems ridiculous about the man who spent his life running around raising money so he could produce his films; surely once the studios voted no-confidence in him, and his masterpiece Kane was a financial flop on first issue, a man with low self confidence would have picked a different line of work.

[atcolomb]

I'm looking forward to David Thomson's audio commentary on the CITIZEN KANE Blu-ray disc!
It should be even funnier than that terrible documentary THE BATTLE OVER CITIZEN KANE.


Mr. Thomson's recent piece on CITIZEN KANE lists it as the #5 Art House movie of all time and includes these profound insights:


...that it was a film ultimately about his own flawed glory ("There, but for the grace of God, goes God," people said);

...that he cared more about being outrageous than he did about the money.

...And Welles would prove not only self-destructive, but also his own worst enemy...

...It breathed the unAmerican gospel: see what one man can do, see how films can be owned and authored not by the factory, but by brilliant minds bent on self-expression.

...In Kane and Welles alike, there was the same rueful mixture of genius and lack of self-belief.

The Battle Over Citizen Kane was not that bad of a documentary and for the average viewer who knows nothing or little about Welles or Hearst it did a ok job telling the story.

[mteal]

I agree. I'll take that over a David Thomson commentary any day. What the f--- are they thinking?

[RayKelly]

I interviewed George Feltenstein of Warner Home Video yesterday for a piece I am writing on the Warner Archives series. (One of the nicest and most interesting folks I have interviewed).
The interview was about WA, but I did ask (briefly) about Citizen Kane. In short, the extras have yet to be finalized.
We talked about many other films and upcoming projects. It is great to know that someone who has a fan's appreciation of films is working in home video.

[The Night Man]

I interviewed George Feltenstein of Warner Home Video yesterday for a piece I am writing on the Warner Archives series. ...We talked about many other films and upcoming projects. It is great to know that someone who has a fan's appreciation of films is working in home video.

Ray, did he give any indication whether Warner will continue to release some material on pressed DVDs, or is everything not on Blu going to be "Warner Archived" on DVD-Rs from here on out?

[RayKelly]

There was no indication that Warner is getting out of the DVD market. However, 99 percent of my questions were strictly related to the Warner Archive DVD-R series and its future. I asked briefly about Kane only because I knew it would be of interest here.

[DexyMan]

This may be premature but I'm already getting disappointed in Kane's Blu-ray release. The four disc set sounds amazing until you realize that two of the discs are RKO 281 and The Battle Over Citizen Kane. The Ambersons disc is great but would be much better in an actual Ambersons release with a bevy of bonus features.

Of course the big hope is that we don't know what is actually on the Kane disc but I have a suspicion that it will look very similar to what was on the Kane DVD, which was nice but by no means definitive compared to other movies of its stature.

Don't get me wrong on Ambersons, though, I am stunned and happy to see it finally released on DVD here in the States at all.

[Roger Ryan]

The whole KANE on Blu-ray/AMBERSONS DVD dump on Amazon ticked me off when first announced last week and I only did a cursory glance at the bonus features. At the time, it looked like the same ones issued on the 2000 DVD and, indeed, all of those are included (albeit only in standard definition which is understandable). Now looking a little closer at the product description this morning I notice that the "War of the Worlds" broadcast is being included along with the brief "Welles Meets H.G. Wells" radio interview conducted in 1940 (which is somewhat relevant in that Welles mentions he's working on his first film). But what really caught my eye was this: "Deleted Scenes". How accurate can this be? Were they really able to locate the bordello scene or the segment showing Kane overturn the typesetting table which forces Solly to remake the front page yet again? If so, it must have been within the last ten years, because there's no way Warner Home Video would have missed the opportunity to include something that rare when they first issue the DVD. Perhaps they intend to simply show the existing stills of the cut scenes with actors recreating the lost dialogue? That would be kind of interesting.

Something tells me, however, that the "Deleted Scenes" bonus feature will quietly be dropped from Amazon's description some time before the product is actually released; just another mistake in a set that already seems to have too many of them.

[mteal]

My guess is that it will be a little feature about the missing bordello scene, not the actual scene itself, which probably doesn't even exist anymore. I'd settle for having it feature some bordello stills not seen before. Glad to here about the inclusion of the radio material.

[Roger Ryan]

Well, I did a little more checking...and am slightly embarrassed to say that not only is the "Deleted Scenes" feature simply a gallery of production stills but they are the same stills which appeared on the 2000 DVD! Evidently, this gallery is so exciting that I completely forgot about it once I saw it. I guess I should pop in the KANE DVD tonight and take another look.

[atcolomb]

Saw this press release from DVDTOWN on Kane:

Burbank, Calif., June 13, 2011 -- Citizen Kane, Orson Welles´ tour de force which the American Film Institute (AFI) chose as the #1 film of all time1, celebrates its 70th Anniversary with an all new 1080p hi-definition restoration from original nitrate elements in stunning 4K resolution and revitalized digital audio. Warner Home Video will bring the iconic masterwork to a new generation with their new Blu-ray™ 70th Anniversary Ultimate Collector´s Edition, complete with more than three hours of bonus content and an array of rare and collectible premiums including a 48-page collector´s book filled with photos and behind-the-scene details, 20-page reproduction of the original 1941 souvenir program, lobby cards, reproductions of rare production memos and correspondence (Blu-ray Disc $64.99 SRP; DVD $49.92 SRP). Orders are due August 9, 2011. These newest 70th Anniversary editions will present the film in the highest quality yet. "The work to recreate the original look of the film and to clean up the effects of aging was a painstaking, frame-by-frame process. The source for most of the picture was a 4K scan from a 1941 composite fine grain positive master." says Warner Bros. Motion Picture Imaging (MPI) colorist Janet Wilson.

The new edition includes feature-length stories-behind-the-story that include the two- hour Academy Award-nominated documentary Battle over Citizen Kane and RKO 281, the Golden Globe® and Emmy ® winning HBO docudrama that chronicles the clash between William Randolph Hearst and Hollywood. Memorabilia in the premium packaging includes the 1941 movie premiere newsreel, gallery of storyboards, studio correspondence, call sheets, rare photos and more.

Citizen Kane 70th Anniversary Edition is new to digital and will be releasing with iTunes Extras and will be available On Demand from cable and satellite providers and for digital download from online retailers including iTunes™, VUDU and Amazon Instant Video.

EXTRAS! EXTRAS! READ ALL ABOUT THEM!
Disc 1
Commentary by Peter Bogdanovich
Commentary by Roger Ebert
Opening: World Premier of Citizen Kane Vintage Featurettes
Interview with Ruth Warrick
Interview with Robert Wise
Storyboards
Call Sheets
Still Photography with Commentary by Roger Ebert
Deleted Scenes
Ad Campaign
Press Book
Opening Night
Theatrical Trailer

Disc 2
The Battle over Citizen Kane Documentary

Disc 3
RKO 281 (HBO Feature)