Ford at Fox: 24 Film Boxset

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domino harvey
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Re: Ford at Fox: 24 Film Boxset

#276 Post by domino harvey » Thu May 01, 2014 2:09 pm

In case you don't check the bargains subforum, this is on sale for $49.99 from FoxConnect today only with code GRAPES

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Yakushima
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Re: Ford at Fox: 24 Film Boxset

#277 Post by Yakushima » Thu May 01, 2014 2:49 pm

Thank you, domino harvey! I ordered one. This is certainly a case when a long wait paid off! :shock:

Jack Phillips
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Re: Ford at Fox: 24 Film Boxset

#278 Post by Jack Phillips » Thu May 01, 2014 3:58 pm

Holy discount, Batman! I had to order one too! Thanks, Harv!

Zaki
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Re: Ford at Fox: 24 Film Boxset

#279 Post by Zaki » Thu May 01, 2014 11:36 pm

God bless you, Domino!

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movielocke
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Re: Ford at Fox: 24 Film Boxset

#280 Post by movielocke » Fri May 02, 2014 2:51 am

hah, and I was just trying to decide if I should finish watching the rest of the early hitchcock films first, or the rest of the ford at fox set, I imagine this thread might get quite a revival now.

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rossen
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Re: Ford at Fox: 24 Film Boxset

#281 Post by rossen » Fri May 02, 2014 10:30 am

The kotek is out of the worek. Thanks, Domino.

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Gregory
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Re: Ford at Fox: 24 Film Boxset

#282 Post by Gregory » Fri May 02, 2014 11:06 am

Sale extended through today.

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jwd5275
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Re: Ford at Fox: 24 Film Boxset

#283 Post by jwd5275 » Fri May 02, 2014 12:57 pm

Best birthday present I could buy myself!

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Gregory
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Re: Ford at Fox: 24 Film Boxset

#284 Post by Gregory » Fri May 02, 2014 1:09 pm

Not to be a downer, but everyone ordering this should be aware of potentially damaged discs due to Fox's box set design and the way the discs were inserted onto the hubs. Many of us who bought this thing when it came out had to go through the process of requesting a new set and returning one with defective discs in order to get a set of discs that would all play. After doing so, I remember watching most of the discs within a fairly short time frame, partly to make sure none of them were still damaged, and suffering a little Ford overload in the process.
Great set and great deal, though.

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HerrSchreck
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Re: Ford at Fox: 24 Film Boxset

#285 Post by HerrSchreck » Sat May 03, 2014 12:30 pm

Yeah but you gotta be honest, they're not paying near what we paid back then-- they're getting like ten thousand movies (representing about 15% of Ford's canon) for such a low price, what's a little rubber slippage here and there.

Just bummed that Fox never went ahead with anything out after the positively superlative MurBorz Fox box. Like Walsh.

Thems was de days.

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whaleallright
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Re: Ford at Fox: 24 Film Boxset

#286 Post by whaleallright » Mon May 05, 2014 12:29 pm

they took a huge hit on the Murnau/Borzage set. I guess those guys don't have the marquee value of a John Ford. there had been plans for a Walsh set (I know, I know) but they were definitively scrapped after the commercial fate of the Murnau/Borzage became evident. though keep in mind they did effectively give a similar (grander, if you consider the Blu-Ray releases) treatment to Kazan.

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Gregory
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Re: Ford at Fox: 24 Film Boxset

#287 Post by Gregory » Mon May 05, 2014 6:58 pm

As the smaller labels have shown over and over, it's certainly possible to release sets of films that mostly have niche market appeal and to make them lavish and commercially viable within an appropriate kind of scale. But the big bastards don't know how to do this, and in the case of the Murnau/Borzage set it sounds like Fox probably had unreasonable expectations of mainstream-level sales figures, when actually there may only be a few thousand people in the entire U.S. that are really interested in those films and have that kind of disposable income (the set came out right after the economy tanked). One of the reasons that set was so surprising was that they had a history of undervaluing their most prestigious Murnau title, Sunrise (just like Warner has done with most of its prestigious and long-requested 1920s films, almost seeming to have a grudge against them), doing very little with it for years other than offering it as an odd giveaway or including it in a lame Studio Classics box set that they apparently thought would sell best at Costco and Sam's Club.

But for the big, fancy sets "marquee value" is a good way to sum up the main problem: for fairly casual viewers of old films (not the relatively few hardcore collectors) my hunch is that Kazan is a far more familiar director than Raoul Walsh on the whole. With the releases of The Big Trail, Wayne's name surely shifted more units than Walsh's.

A more modest release would have been better than nothing—e.g., include a small booklet rather than two big, heavy ones; and use a simple, proven way of storing the discs instead of apparently using machines to screw DVDs onto rubber hubs or stick them in paper slots, cutting down on consumer frustration and damaged product returns (the Amazon review of Murnau/Borzage voted most helpful is a rant about the packaging).

Licensing by small labels could be a way of getting more of the Walsh stuff released, but adding insult to injury for fans of his films, Criterion hasn't done a single Walsh in the history of the company (a lot of the best ones are with Warner, of course).

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Michael Kerpan
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Re: Ford at Fox: 24 Film Boxset

#288 Post by Michael Kerpan » Mon May 05, 2014 7:56 pm

Do the Murnau-Borzage sets ever turn up as remaindered items anymore?

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liam fennell
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Re: Ford at Fox: 24 Film Boxset

#289 Post by liam fennell » Tue May 06, 2014 8:46 am

I'm not super worried about the packaging for the Ford box, but I guess the low sale price eases that concern. The Murnau/Borzage arrived in perfect condition when I ordered it a few years ago.

The latter was certainly eye-opening mana from the heavens! But, yes, no way is there a huge market for that stuff no matter how great the films are (and they are great, almost uniformly!) I'm really looking forward to going through Ford's silents and early sound films as represented here. Like a lot of people, I suspect, I already had the later movies which is why I never got the box until now.

The thought of a similar Walsh box is so tantalizing to me. I respond to his work even more than to Ford's. The recent dvd-r of Me and My Gal is of excellent quality and if his other Fox and 20th Century productions are even half as good as that little joyous film then such a box would've really been a treat. I don't know what non-Warner Walsh films would really fit with Criterion - What Price Glory and The Bowery? Those are the two unavailable ones I would most like to see, anyway! Walsh seems criminally neglected which is a real shame, I imagine his vast and slightly erratic career doesn't help. His effortless and offbeat style never fails to push my buttons, even with his weakest movies. Oh well.

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Michael Kerpan
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Re: Ford at Fox: 24 Film Boxset

#290 Post by Michael Kerpan » Tue May 06, 2014 9:56 am

Walsh is also particularly beguiling to me too -- not quite sure why. I wish a lot more of his early work was available.

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whaleallright
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Re: Ford at Fox: 24 Film Boxset

#291 Post by whaleallright » Tue May 06, 2014 4:39 pm

I had some hopes for something like an Eclipse set of "pre-Code" Walsh films but that was dashed when Fox released Me and My Gal on their (mostly godforsaken) MOD line. the quality on that is decent but I wouldn't say "excellent"--it's an unrestored release print transferred in the VHS era is my guess. the 35mm print that had been circulating looks better, although as with many films of the time it's rather grainy to begin with. the Fox MOD series often doesn't have access to new restorations/prints made by the Fox archives, simply because their production budget is too low to allow for new scans of 35mm material. or at least that is my sense.

most of the Raoul Walsh Fox films of the late silent/early sound period(s) are pretty great, although many of them are so un-PC (from ethnic caricatures to downright racism) as to make me wonder if any company could release them outside of some high-ticket coffee-table set. Me and My Gal is pretty benign in this regard; perhaps that's why it's the only one of these films that has seen release in the digital era.

FWIW (and just to lament what could have been) the keepers of Walsh's early Fox period are, other than The Big Trail:

- What Price Glory? (1926) - epochal, much-imitated war comedy-drama, was once considered a stone classic (which it is) but now seems generally unknown
- The Cock-Eyed World (1929) - a talkie sequel to What Price Glory?
- The Man Who Came Back (1931) - an interesting attempt to extend the Gaynor/Farrell magic into the sound era
- Wild Girl (1932) - Farrell matched with a young Joan Bennett, supposedly sublime (I haven't had a chance to see this one, but it had a very enthusiastic reception at Bologna)
- Me and My Gal (1932) - Bennett again, with Spencer Tracy; probably the best of the lot - hugely entertaining, ecstatic, life-affirming
- Sailor's Luck (1933) - an anarchic shore-leave comedy, striking number of motifs carried over from Me and My Gal (IIRC they were shot almost back-to-back)
- The Bowery (1933) - a kind of retooling of Vidor's The Champ, but even better than that classic - as with several of these films, amazing cast from top to bottom (Wallace Beery, George Raft, Jackie Cooper, Fay Wray...)
- Under Pressure (1935) - not as good as the previous films, but a fitting (temporary) end to Walsh's Fox employment (he went freelance after this)

Most of these films have the same cynical-but-romantic, wisecracking attitude. They feature many of the same actors in similar parts, from the stars down to Fox bit players. One can spot a ridiculous number of visual motifs, gags, etc. that carry (and develop) from film to film. In other words, they would all benefit from being packaged (and viewed) together.

alas...

Zaki
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Re: Ford at Fox: 24 Film Boxset

#292 Post by Zaki » Wed May 07, 2014 2:06 pm

Michael Kerpan wrote:Do the Murnau-Borzage sets ever turn up as remaindered items anymore?
Has, indeed, the Murnau-Borzage box ever been discounted significantly on Fox Connect in a similar way to the Ford at Fox box?

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domino harvey
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Re: Ford at Fox: 24 Film Boxset

#293 Post by domino harvey » Wed May 07, 2014 2:07 pm

I bought my copy new from Amazon Marketplace in May of 2009 for $75 plus $5 shipping (I think it was DD selling it super cheap on Amazon for some reason)

EDIT: I just checked my records, it was DVDPlanet (same thing, I know)

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tojoed
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Re: Ford at Fox: 24 Film Boxset

#294 Post by tojoed » Wed May 07, 2014 2:42 pm

domino harvey wrote:I bought my copy new from Amazon Marketplace in May of 2009 for $75 plus $5 shipping (I think it was DD selling it super cheap on Amazon for some reason)

EDIT: I just checked my records, it was DVDPlanet (same thing, I know)
Yes, it was DVDP. They sent mine to England for about £60 total and I wasn't charged any import duty. It arrived in perfect condition too. Best £60 I ever spent.

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Re: Ford at Fox: 24 Film Boxset

#295 Post by RyanGallagher » Wed May 07, 2014 3:41 pm

Last November, Amazon had the Murnau box as a lightning deal for $99.

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Black Hat
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Re: Ford at Fox: 24 Film Boxset

#296 Post by Black Hat » Thu May 08, 2014 12:15 pm

How would you guys suggest I tackle this set? The only Ford films I've seen are The Searchers and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. Was surprised to see the Criterion disc of Young Mr. Lincoln in there. The set seems to be mash of dvds.

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Drucker
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Re: Ford at Fox: 24 Film Boxset

#297 Post by Drucker » Thu May 08, 2014 12:24 pm

If you've never seen Grapes of Wrath it's absolutely essential. My Darling Clementine too is just an incredibly film. Prisoner of Shark Island is also great. And if that's really all the Ford you've seen, the Stagecoach blu-ray is essential. My favorite film of his by far, and every extra is worthwhile.

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Michael Kerpan
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Re: Ford at Fox: 24 Film Boxset

#298 Post by Michael Kerpan » Thu May 08, 2014 12:40 pm

"How Green Is My Valley" is also essential (I think).

My first question -- which version of "Iron Horse" is better?

Edit:

Should have been "How Green WAS My Valley"
Last edited by Michael Kerpan on Thu May 08, 2014 1:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Drucker
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Re: Ford at Fox: 24 Film Boxset

#299 Post by Drucker » Thu May 08, 2014 12:48 pm

How Green Is My Valley is beautiful, but probably not as readily watchable and really easy to enjoy as the others I've mentioned. Surely, though, a great film.

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MichaelB
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Re: Ford at Fox: 24 Film Boxset

#300 Post by MichaelB » Thu May 08, 2014 12:51 pm

Michael Kerpan wrote:My first question -- which version of "Iron Horse" is better?
I've only seen the MoC edition, but to me the US version is unquestionably superior to the European one. He shot the film with two cameras (to create two negatives), and when I ran both versions side by side it became very obvious very quickly that Ford saved the best takes for the US cut.

Annoyingly, though, I recall the European cut being in much better physical condition!

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