Tag Archives: John Carradine

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance comes to 4K in May

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1962 western The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance will officially be the first 4K UHD Blu-ray release in the Paramount Presents line on May 17th, as spine number 31, from Paramount Home Entertainment.  The film, directed by John Ford, starred James Stewart, John Wayne, Vera Miles, Lee Marvin, Lee Van Cleef, Woody StrodeEdmond O’Brien, Andy Devine, and John Carradine.

This comes from a new scan and remaster.  The tech specs for the release include a 2160p video presentation in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio with HDR10 and Dolby Vision forms of high dynamic range and restored Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless surround sound as well as restored Mono in Dolby Digital.  The release will come in the form of a “combo pack” meaning that it will include its Blu-ray Disc counterpart along with a digital code (copy) of the film.  You can find the 4K UHD Blu-ray available now for preorder over at Amazon.  The release will include collectible packaging with tasteful artwork and a fold-out replica of the original movie poster (pictured below) on the slipcover.

The bonus materials set to be included with this release are listed below.

  • Filmmaker Focus – Leonard Maltin on The Man Who Shot Liberty ValanceNEW!              
  • Feature commentary by filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich, along with his archival recordings with John Ford and James Stewart                                         
  • Selected scene commentary with introduction by Dan Ford, along with his archival recordings with John Ford, James Stewart and Lee Marvin                             
  • The Size Of Legends, The Soul Of Myth                              
    • Chapter 1: Changing Of The Guard                                      
    • Chapter 2: The Irascible Poet                                  
    • Chapter 3: The Hero Doesn’t Win, The Winner Isn’t Heroic                                          
    • Chapter 4: Most Things Happen By Accident                                   
    • Chapter 5: The Great Protector                              
    • Chapter 6: Spotlight – Lee Marvin                                        
    • Chapter 7: Print The Legend                                   
  • Original Theatrical Trailer         

Further below, after the break, you can find the full announcement about this release.

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1981 Joe Dante film The Howling on 4K in February

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The 1981 horror film The Howling is officially coming to 4K UHD Blu-ray on February 15th, 2022 via Scream Factory (Shout! Factory) in a “Collector’s Edition” form. The film, directed by Joe Dante, starred Dee Wallace, Dennis Dugan, Patrick Macnee, Christopher Stone, Belinda Balaski, Kevin McCarthy, John Carradine, and Slim Pickens.

The tech specs have not yet been fully detailed but you can expect a 2160p video presentation in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio with HDR10 (and possibly Dolby Vision) form(s) of high dynamic range from a 2021 4K restoration by StudioCanal — approved by director Joe Dante. The bonus materials for the release are listed below.

  • DISC ONE (4K UHD)
    • NEW 2021 4K Restoration By StudioCanal, Approved By Director Joe Dante
    • Audio Commentary With Director Joe Dante And Actors Dee Wallace, Christopher Stone, And Robert Picardo
    • Audio Commentary By Author Gary Bradner
  • DISC TWO (BLU-RAY)
    • NEW 2021 4K Restoration By StudioCanal, Approved By Director Joe Dante
    • Audio Commentary With Joe Dante, Dee Wallace, Christopher Stone And Robert Picardo
    • Audio Commentary By Gary Bradner
    • “Fun. Fur. Film.” – An Interview With Dee Wallace
    • “Howling’s Eternal” – An Interview With Executive Producer Steven A. Lane
    • “Cut To Shreds” – An Interview With Editor Mark Goldblatt
    • Interview With Co-Writer Terence H. Winkless
    • Interview With Stop Motion Animator David Allen
    • “Unleashing The Beast: The Making Of The Howling” – Vintage Featurette
    • “Making A Monster Movie: Inside The Howling” – Vintage Featurette
    • Deleted Scenes With Optional Commentary
    • Outtakes
    • Horror’s Hallowed Grounds – A Look At The Film’s Original Locations
    • Theatrical Trailer
    • Trailers From Hell – Writer Josh Olson On The Howling
    • Still Gallery

As you can tell, the release will come in the form of a “combo pack” with the 4K getting its Blu-ray Disc counterpart. You can now find the 4K UHD Blu-ray available for preorder over at Amazon. You also can preorder the 4K UHD Blu-ray directly via ShoutFactory.com where you’ll receive a poster (while supplies last). Stay tuned for any further updates on the release later on.

1956 film The Ten Commandments is coming to 4K in March

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The 1956 version of the film adaptation of “The Ten Commandments” is officially coming to 4K UHD Blu-ray on March 30th via Paramount. The film, directed by Cecil B. DeMille, starred Charlton HestonYul BrynnerAnne Baxter, Edward G. Robinson, Yvonne De Carlo, Debra Paget, John Derek, Cedric Hardwicke, Nina Foch, Martha Scott, Judith Anderson, John Carradine, and Vincent Price.

The tech specs for the 4K UHD Blu-ray release include a 6K scan and restoration of the original VistaVision 35mm film presented in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio with HDR10 and Dolby Vision forms of HDR (high dynamic range) and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless surround sound. You can find a bit of information regarding this restoration and the 4K tech specs below, taken from the press release.

“As part of the restoration done in 2010, the film was scanned in 6K and those files were the basis for this brand-new Dolby Vision version, which shows off the full beauty of the original VistaVision negative. The VistaVision format used special cameras to feed 35mm film into the camera horizontally in order to capture a wider image spread over two 35mm film frames, giving VistaVision twice the resolution of regular 35mm film.  In addition, Paramount spent well over 150 hours doing new color work and clean-up on the scan.  The move to Dolby Vision created the opportunity to further improve the look of the film:  blacks are enhanced and improvements were made to smooth out special effects mattes to create the most vibrant and pristine image possible.”

The 4K release will come in the form of a “combo pack” meaning that it will include the Blu-ray Disc counterpart and a digital code (copy) of the film. UPDATE: you can now find the 4K UHD Blu-ray listed for preorder over at Amazon as well as at retailer Target. The bonus materials set to be included on the 4K release are detailed below.

4K Ultra HD Disc

  • 1956 feature film in 4K Ultra HD
  • Commentary by Katherine Orrison, author of “Written in Stone: Making Cecil B. DeMille’s Epic The Ten Commandments”

Blu-ray Disc #1

  • 1956 feature film in high definition (Part 1)
  • Commentary by Katherine Orrison, author of “Written in Stone: Making Cecil B. DeMille’s Epic The Ten Commandments”

Blu-ray Disc #2

  • 1956 feature film in high definition (Part 2)
  • Commentary by Katherine Orrison, author of “Written in Stone: Making Cecil B. DeMille’s Epic The Ten Commandments”
  • Newsreel footage of the film’s New York premiere
  • Theatrical trailers, including at 10-minute “making of” trailer

Further below, after the break, you can find the full announcement regarding the upcoming 4K UHD Blu-ray release of this classic film.

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1956 film The Court Jester with Danny Kaye on Blu-ray

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The 1956 film “The Court Jester” starring Danny Kaye is officially making its debut to Blu-ray Disc on January 26th, 2021, via Paramount Presents. The release will be spine #13 in the Paramount Presents series. The film, directed by Melvin Frank and Norman Panama, co-starred Glynis JohnsBasil Rathbone, Angela Lansbury, Cecil Parker, John Carradine, Mildred Natwick, and Alan Napier. The film has received a new 6K restoration which you can read a slight bit about below.

Originally released in 1956, THE COURT JESTER was shot in Paramount’s trademark “VistaVision” widescreen format, capturing a grander scope of information on the film negative. For this new restoration, the original negative was scanned at 6K and one of the “separation masters” was also scanned and recombined with the negative scans to address color fading in the negative.  The result is an incredibly vibrant picture that faithfully captures the colors and textures of Edith Head’s sensational costumes and Hal Pariera’s sparkling art direction.”

The tech specs for the release include a 1080p presentation in the original 1.85:1 aspect ratio with a Mono DTS-HD Master Audio sound mix. The release will come with a digital copy of the film included. You can now find the upcoming Blu-ray available for preorder over at Amazon. This, like all of the Paramount Presents releases, will come with a fold-out poster for the film in the slipcover packaging (as pictured below).

Bonus materials set to be included on the release are listed below.

  • A New Filmmaker Focus with film historian Leonard Maltin
  • Theatrical Trailer

Further below, after the break, you can find the full announcement regarding the upcoming Blu-ray release of this film.

Read more