To celebrate their 90th anniversary, Warner Bros is doing something awesome and something not so awesome.
The not so awesome is the announcement that Warner Bros will be post-converting the 1939 classic THE WIZARD OF OZ to 3D for release next year. No word on whether this conversion would be getting a theatrical release or not. The problem with converting old movies using new technology is there is no depth of field. Even with THE PHANTOM MENACE, the 3D in places just looked like cardboard cutouts standing in front of a matte painting. So, unless Warners has found a magical way to make the 3D look amazing, this feels like a cash grab.
The good news is that WB will be ringing in this special birthday by releasing some mammoth box sets of 100 DVDs and 50 Blu-rays, the largest sets released in either format. The Blu-ray set will also include the HD debuts of several classics including THE JAZZ SINGER, EAST OF EDEN, REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE, GIANT, CABARET, GRAND HOTEL, MRS. MINIVER, and DRIVING MISS DAISY.
These sets are instant movie collections. They would make amazing holiday or birthday gifts for the film connoisseur in your life. Check out the full breakdown of what the box sets contain:
The Best of Warner Bros. 100 Film DVD Collection*: 100 movies including all 22 of Warner Bros. library’s Best Picture ™ Winners and two new documentaries (details below) on 55 discs presented in book style premium packaging.
The Best of Warner Bros. 50 Film Blu-ray™ Collection* includes 50 movies and the two new documentaries on 52 discs, also presented in book style premium packaging. It will introduce several new-to-Blu-ray film titles, including Grand Hotel, Mrs. Miniver, and Driving Miss Daisy.
Both of the above are limited and numbered collections and each includes a collectible poster and series of art cards featuring movie poster designs created by legendary American graphic designer Bill Gold.
Gold, who worked with Hollywood’s greatest filmmakers, including Clint Eastwood, Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, Elia Kazan, and Ridley Scott, had this to say:
“My 65-year career began with Yankee Doodle Dandy and Casablanca and continued on to every Clint Eastwood picture from Dirty Harry to Mystic River (and I came out of retirement to design the poster for J. Edgar). In my wildest dreams I could not have foreseen the world I would inhabit and the joy it would bring me over the years. Every poster I worked on had a story to tell, and I’m delighted to be able to share a sampling of some of them in these collections.”
The Best of Warner Bros. 20 Film DVD Collections will be released throughout the year in five separate sets. Each features a gem-packed collection of 20 essential movie classics in five major genres: Best Pictures (January), Musicals (February), Romance (April), Comedy (July) and Thrillers (September).
The Best of Warner Bros. Animation Collections will be released throughout the year in three separate animation sets. Each features animation at its best in three key brands Hanna-Barbera (May), Looney Tunes (June) and DC Comics (August).
The Best of Warner Bros. Superman Collection (May) features 9 essential Superman live action television and animated television shows in one collection.
Two New Documentaries to Celebrate Warner Bros. 90th Anniversary
Created specially for this anniversary, Tales from the Warner Bros. Lot is a full-length documentary that features some of Warner Bros.’ top talent and executives giving an inside look at the history of the studio. In on-the-lot interviews, stars including Clint Eastwood, Steve Carell, Morgan Freeman, Martin Sheen, along with current and former studio toppers Barry Meyer, Alan Horn, Bob Daly, and Terry Semel, and others, recount personal reflections and anecdotes about their experiences at the studio. Tales from the Warner Bros. Lot was produced by documentarian Gary Khammar (It’s So Audrey! A Style Icon) and producer Bill Gerber (Gran Torino).
Now, for the first time, home viewers can take the hugely popular Warner Bros Studio VIP Tour in this new documentary produced exclusively for the 90th Anniversary collections. In The Warner Bros. Lot Tour, an official WB Lot Tour Guide gives guests a “virtual” tram ride (of what some 200,000 annual visitors experience) — an extraordinary opportunity to see first-hand where movie magic happens at the world’s busiest motion picture and television studio. Unlike a theme park, the Tour represents a rare and intimate “behind-the-scenes” look at real Hollywood, winding through back lot streets, sound stages, sets and craft shops.
Best of Warner Bros. 100 Film DVD Collection
Street Date: 1/29/13
Order Date: 12/25/12
Catalog # 1000334080
Pricing: $597.92 SRP
Best of Warner Bros. 50 Film Blu-ray Collection
Street Date: 1/29/13
Order Date: 12/25/12
Catalog # 1000334079
Pricing: $597.92 SRP
The Best of Warner Bros. 20 Film DVD Collections
Street Date: 1/29/13
Order Date: 12/25/12
Catalog # 1000353487
Pricing: $98.92 SRP
The Best of Warner Bros. 100 Film DVD Collection
The Broadway Melody (1929)
Cimarron (1931)
The Public Enemy (1931)
Grand Hotel (1932)
42nd Street (1933)
Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
A Night at the Opera (1935)
The Great Ziegfeld (1936)
The Life of Emile Zola (1937
The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
Dark Victory (1939)
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Gone with the Wind (1939)
The Philadelphia Story (1940)
Citizen Kane (1941)
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)
Mrs. Miniver (1942)
Casablanca (1942)
Gaslight (1944)
Anchors Aweigh (1945)
Mildred Pierce (1945)
The Big Sleep (1946)
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
A Streetcar Named Desire: The Original Director’s Version (1951)
An American in Paris (1951)
Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
A Star Is Born (1954)
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)
East of Eden (1955)
Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
The Searchers (1956)
Giant (1956)
Around the World in 80 Days (1956)
A Face in the Crowd (1957)
Gigi (1958)
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)
North by Northwest (1959)
Ben-Hur (1959)
How the West Was Won (1962)
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
Viva Las Vegas (1964)
Doctor Zhivago (1965)
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
The Dirty Dozen (1967)
Cool Hand Luke (1967)
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Bullitt (1968)
The Wild Bunch: The Original Director’s Cut (1969)
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)
Dirty Harry (1971)
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Cabaret (1972)
Enter the Dragon (1973)
The Exorcist: Extended Director’s Cut (1973)
Blazing Saddles (1974)
Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
All the President’s Men (1976)
Superman: The Movie (1978)
The Shining (1980)
Caddyshack (1980)
Clash of the Titans (1981)
Chariots of Fire (1981)
The Outsiders (1983)
National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983)
Risky Business (1983)
The Right Stuff (1983)
Amadeus: Director’s Cut (1984)
The Goonies (1985)
The Color Purple (1985)
Lethal Weapon (1987)
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
Batman™ (1989)
Driving Miss Daisy (1989)
GoodFellas (1990)
Unforgiven (1992)
The Bodyguard (1992)
The Fugitive (1993)
Natural Born Killers: The Director’s Cut (1994)
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994)
Seven (1995)
L.A. Confidential (1997)
The Matrix (1999)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone™ (2001)
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring™ (2001)
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers™ (2002)
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King ™ (2003)
The Notebook (2004)
Million Dollar Baby (2004)
The Departed (2006)
300 (2007)
The Dark Knight™ (2008)
The Hangover (2009)
The Blind Side (2009)
Sherlock Holmes (2009)
Inception (2010)
Documentaries: Tales from the Warner Bros. Lot, Warner Bros. Lot Tour (2013)
Best of Warner Bros. 50 Film Blu-ray™ Collection
Grand Hotel (1932)
Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Gone with the Wind (1939)
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
Mrs. Miniver (1942)
Casablanca (1942)
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
A Streetcar Named Desire: The Original Restored Version (1951)
An American in Paris (1951)
Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
Gigi (1958)
North by Northwest (1959)
Ben-Hur (1959)
How the West Was Won (1962)
Doctor Zhivago (1965)
Cool Hand Luke (1967)
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Bullitt (1968)
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)
Dirty Harry (1971)
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
The Exorcist: Extended Director’s Cut (1973)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
Superman: The Movie (1978)
The Shining (1980)
Chariots of Fire (1981)
Risky Business (1983)
Amadeus: Director’s Cut (1984)
The Color Purple (1985)
Lethal Weapon (1987)
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
Driving Miss Daisy (1989)
GoodFellas (1990)
Unforgiven (1992)
The Bodyguard (1992)
Natural Born Killers: The Director’s Cut (1994)
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
The Matrix (1999)
Million Dollar Baby (2004)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone ™ (2001)
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring™ (2001)
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers ™ (2002)
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King™ (2003)
The Departed (2006)
The Dark Knight™ (2008)
The Hangover (2009)
The Blind Side (2009)
Sherlock Holmes (2009)
Inception (2010)
Documentaries: Tales from the Warner Bros. Lot, Warner Bros. Lot Tour (2013)
Not a bad movie in any of those sets. You would think that it would be hard for a single studio to have enough great films to create a 50 movie set, let alone 100. These are phenomenal collections and anyone would be lucky to get their hands on one.