Alpha

[manicsounds]

DVDbeaver proves that Whispering City has the worst transfer of [kanye]ALL TIME[/kanye]

[HerrSchreck]

Pretty standard transfer for Alpha, I'm afraid.

[Peacock]

What is the alpha transfer for the original Bird of Paradise like? Is there a good transfer of this film anywhere? Oh... and is the film any good?!

[whaleallright]

The actress in WHISPERING CITY looks shockingly like Teresa Wright, at least based on those muddy screencaps.

[myrnaloyisdope]

The transfer for Birds of Paradise is pretty mediocre: it's soft and scratchy, but it's still watchable and didn't detract from my viewing.

The film itself is probably the weakest Vidor talkie...(non Not So Dumb division), but is somewhat entertaining. Busby Berkeley choreographed an extended tribal dance sequence, some of the photography is very nice indeed, and Joel McCrea proves to be a majestic screen beauty...now if only Delores Del Rio could've played the part mute. She spouts gibberish (and pidgin English) in that high pitched voice of hers, and it kills her aura of sexiness.

[HarryLong]

I seem to recall TNT (and now) TCM showed a decent print of BIRD ... DVDR might be the way to go here.
I have to give Alpha credit for getting a lot of super-rare titles out to a broader public than the gray-marketeers have, though it's true that the image is not necessarily the highest quality. On the other hand are there any good sources for, say, DEATH FROM A DISTANCE?

[Perkins Cobb]

Wasn't there a Roan Group DVD of Bird of Paradise? Their transfers of PD titles were usually pretty reliable.

[HarryLong]

Roan's PD transfers were often beyond reliable, they were amazing.
Last time I checked the website there were fewer & fewer titles. I think Troma is just quietly letting the line expire, only keeping the web site going to unload backstock.