WB Archive Collection: Discs On Demand!

[EricJ]

Finally--The holy grail of Halloween specials (and arguably second-best version of Ray Bradbury on film):
http://www.wbshop.com/product/code/1000 ... ef=EW0812D

[Ben]

We were excited to be offered this for review earlier this month. I'm interested, though...second best?

[laughingoctopus]

Any news of a Blu Ray coming?

[Randall]

Nope.

[EricJ]

I'm interested, though...second best?

(Well, Disney's "Something Wicked This Way Comes" wasn't a 90's H-B cartoon...
And the Gregory Peck "Moby Dick" doesn't count.)

Any news of a Blu Ray coming?

After a few Archive titles that all had the "We have mastered it from the best sources still available to us" disclaimer/apology, think I've finally figured out what that meant:
They usually use it when all they had to work with was the TV/broadcast video source, and thus couldn't be film-print remastered past standard DVD....Which, as this was only a TV special, makes sense.

[Ben]

What, like the ABYSMAL Tiny Toons Vacation disc they just put out...without any disclaimer or Archive branding!??

Something Wicked certainly isn't Bradbury's best book-to-film since there were many changes to the story and in the end no-one was particularly happy with it (Bradbury, the director or the studio...or the audience for that matter), although I've always had a fondness for it. And, no, Moby doesn't count because it wasn't his story, and arguably his screenplay adapted it for a great film showcase for Peck but it wasn't a totally successful translation of the book.

So...you must mean Fahrenheit 451, then, although that film isn't without its faults, and Bradbury always wished that a new version would come along and replace it. Or are you going with Something Wicked? I'd say that was the best known Bradbury film, perhaps infamously so, but not the best screen translation. From what I remember, Halloween Tree is pretty faithful to the story.

[EricJ]

What, like the ABYSMAL Tiny Toons Vacation disc they just put out...without any disclaimer or Archive branding!??

(Or, like last Christmas, when I wondered why MGM finally packed "Nutcracker" to the Archive after years of lost VHS exile, with the "Best source" disclaimer, even though a remastered widescreen airing had been running on Netflix--Seems the original studio had folded, and all they had to send to disk was the restored broadcast print.
That pretty much answered the question for me: Can't upgrade a video signal. )

So...you must mean Fahrenheit 451, then, although that film isn't without its faults, and Bradbury always wished that a new version would come along and replace it. Or are you going with Something Wicked? I'd say that was the best known Bradbury film, perhaps infamously so, but not the best screen translation. From what I remember, Halloween Tree is pretty faithful to the story.

Even leaving aside Jason Robards as the Old Man--which alone would b enough--Royal Dano as Ol' Tom Fury owns the midwest-Bradbury-ness of Something Wicked every time he opens his spooky mouth. (And giving him the more Bradbury-friendly fate of a "lightning chair" makes a lot more danged sense than the book did.)
Yeah, I'm going with the 80's Disney Movie over the Mod French Movie. Building an entire "world" of general creepy atmosphere wins out over pure book-faithfulness without any.

Halloween Tree was a kids' story, and gets a little TOO kiddified for Hanna-Barbera holiday-special audience, if Ray's narration wasn't putting the poetry back into the voiceovers.

[Randall]

BTW... Something Wicked This Way Comes is back as a Disney Movie Reward. Mine is on the way. Never seen it, and looking forward to it!

[Ben]

Might have to claim that!

It's still an interesting film and does capture the Bradbury spirit (he wrote the screenplay) but it's disjointed in its making (spot the later inserted scenes where the kids are more grown up). I have the widescreen LD with the excellent isolated score (and also that limited CD issue, it's a terrific James Horner score), but am tempted by the DVD, and now I see it's got a 16:9 1.85:1 presentation on there it's a must-have (even though I'm not sure if I already have it!)

[Randall]

Heathcliff and Dingbat!

http://animatedviews.com/2012/the-heath ... gbat-show/

[gaastra]

Pac-man season 2 plus christmas special. (halloween special was on last set)

http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Pac-Man-Season-2/17478

[gaastra]

Snorks!!! (lets hope it has the original intro!)

http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Snorks-Season-1/17531

[gaastra]

The rest of the flintstones specials plus the married tv movies are coming.

http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Flints ... ions/17586

[Randall]

I've been waiting for those! First time on home video for at least the babies one.

[gaastra]

DVDizzy did a review of the first flintstone specials dvd.

http://www.dvdizzy.com/flintstones-specials-vol1.html