Transcript: Warner Archive Blu-rays: May 2024 Releases

Greetings Classic Cinema TV fans, Jason here with you once again on another Retro Drive-In Podcast and today we've got a pretty immense amount to talk about. We've got six, count them, six different Warner Archive releases to talk about on Blu-ray. So let's jump right into this. Be sure to like, share, and subscribe. We would appreciate it. Let's jump into it. All right, starting off in the 30s, pre-code 30s. This is a Boris Karloff classic. This is the mask of Fu Manchu. Okay, so let's be honest here. This has a lot of racial stereotypes. in this release. Boris Karloff plays Fu Manchu. Okay, so we know that's not the best thing in the world, but I mean, it just is what it is. Okay, we won't go into that. Okay, let's just not go into it. We know that's bad. Let's just talk about the film itself. Okay, Fu Manchu was a book series that was so immense, so popular, about a super villain, if you will, Fu Manchu. And in The Mask of Fu Manchu, Fu Manchu is trying to, you know, patiently waiting for the tomb of Genghis Khan to be open so that he can retrieve the mask and the sword of Genghis Khan and thus being able to wield the power and control the East. Wow, is this an amazing film. In this film, not only do we get Boris Karloff, but we also get the great Myrna Lloyd is in this as well. And that is amazing. Warner Archive has taken this film and have restored it And boy, does it look crisp and clean. Boy, this film looks amazing on Blu-ray and in HD. And the interesting thing about this Blu-ray release is that this is the uncut version that was released in theaters in 1932. So this is really awesome. In addition to the completely restored 1930 uncut theatrical film, Warner Archive has put on here a feature commentary by film historian Greg Mank. And there is classic cartoons that I love when they add classic cartoons. Oh, it's so cool. uh freddie the freshman and the queen was in the parlor uh classic black and white cartoons to go with the classic black and white uh mask of fu manchu love it love it it is uh pretty awesome um just be aware if you are uh offended by the uh racial racial stereotypes uh in early films realize that's what this is going to be. So it just is what it is. But if you love those pre-code Hollywood films and you love Boris Karloff, this is definitely one you're going to want for your collection. It is pretty awesome. All right. Also from Warner Archive this month of May, we have seen Robert Taylor in The Devil's Doorway. Wow. Okay. I've never seen this before, before this film this release here And boy is this a pretty amazing film Robert Taylor here again in a film when this was different Hollywood American actors and English actors would play different characters of different descents. And here he plays a Shoshone tribesman named Lance Poole. Okay. It is what it is. But here, Robert Taylor plays Lance Poole, a Shoshone tribesman and a Civil War hero. He returns home with the Congressional Medal of Honor and he wants to own his own land. But there's a problem there. It is against the law for Shoshone Native Americans to own land at this time. So thus, he is being forced to go to the reservation. So what he decides is he gets a lawyer and he wants to do this. And she has the idea to start a petition to have the law changed. But let's be honest, there are a lot of the settlers in that frontier that don't want this, and they think this is going to be bad. And so thus starts a complete and total war between the Shoshone and the settlers of this frontier. uh wow is this an amazing film uh it it's it it is so well done um seeing the difference between settlers and then the um the native americans and and and this is wow it is just it was a great film it really was a great film and it looks amazing on uh blu-ray it really does uh in addition to the beautiful transition of Devil's Doorway on the film on Blu-ray. We get classic cartoons of the Chump Champ and Q-Ball Cat, as well as the original theatrical trailer. Very, very cool. And definitely, if you love those early Westerns, this is definitely one to check out. So very, very cool. This is really cool here, this next one. This is Gary Cooper. Love Gary Cooper in anything he does. He's amazing. This is Friendly Persuasion from William Waller. Pretty awesome. This is another one of these early American feature films, if you will. So for two years, the Civil War has been going on, raging elsewhere. But now the Confederate forces are nearby and looting and burning. And according to the settlers, it's time to fight back. Well, Jess Birdwell is a Quaker, and his feeling is there has to be a better way to settle things other than war, other than fighting. And this is a really awesome film. It shows how that we look in our world and we see that there's so much war and so much stuff going on. And it's just you're never safe. You feel a lot of times like you're never safe no matter where you go. Well, see, it's been that way forever. And that's kind of what it shows. Gary Cooper, amazing in this film. I mean, just absolutely amazing. In addition to a beautiful transfer of this film here on Blu we get the theatrical trailer and we get now this is cool behind the scenes documentary segment from the 1955 NBC TV series Wide Wide World Interesting. So yeah, it is pretty cool. All right. Now, in addition to that, we get Audrey Hepburn in The Nun Story. Wow. Another amazing, dramatic presentation here. The Nun Story. And let's be honest, this is a really interesting film because it's kind of like taking you behind the scenes and kind of letting you behind the doors of a convent, which we had never seen before. And that's kind of really interesting. Audrey Hepburn follows her as she plays Sister Luke. and her journey as she begins to be part of a mental asylum, you know, the staff of a mental asylum. And then she moves up to a much desired position of a surgical nurse in the Belgian Congo. And then it's just her story. And it is so awesome. It is so well done. Um, and, and I think the thing that is so amazing here is Audrey Hepburn is amazing in this film. And she's amazing in this film without really saying a whole lot. She doesn't really talk a lot in this film because as a nun, you don't speak a whole lot. So she more or less, uh, plays this role, uh, through her eyes. And, and that's amazing. Uh, it is so awesome. Um, this, this one has of course been restored as well and, uh, amazing looking transfer to Blu-ray. So, so cool. Um, the only thing that I will say about this that are a little bit, um, is, is the lack of bonus features here. Uh, I wish there was a little more. Um, the, the only thing that is included on this Blu-ray is the original theatrical trailer, which I'll take that over nothing. But it would have been nice. A little additional stuff would have been nice. But an amazing, amazing dramatic film. Definitely one worth checking out. All right, next up is The Rain People from Francis Ford Coppola, 1969. And this is an interesting film. Um, really a personal tale, uh, of a woman's journey. Uh, really interesting. Um, a woman named Natalie, uh, finds herself months pregnant and, uh, feeling trapped. And so, uh, she, uh, leaves a note to her husband and just takes off and, uh, begins this journey to go back to her home, um, and all. And, you know, and then she just finds different things along the way and finds more or less a lot of trouble. And wow, it is a really unique film. One, I didn't expect to, to be honest with you, I didn't expect to find engaging too much. I really didn't. I thought it was going to be like, well, yeah. But when you actually watch it, it's a really well-told tale. The way it's presented, Francis Ford Caballet really does an amazing job. Of anything he does, he does amazing. But here he really lays out the story and it really plays out and it's done so well. It really cool to see James Caan and Robert Duvall in this film And their performances are really really amazing This release has no bonus features however It does look amazing on Blu but there no bonus features found on this release. It's just the movie itself. That's a bit of a shame, but it is what it is. All right, and then finally on this time around on our Retro Drive-In Podcast, We're going back to some animation. And we're talking about Scooby-Doo. Awesome. I grew up as a kid watching reruns of Scooby-Doo, the old Scooby-Doo. You know, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? And the Scooby-Doo movies. Those were my favorite. I love the Scooby-Doo movies. with those old classic shows of like the Three Stooges and Dick Van Dyke and Don Knotts and Laurel and Hardy and all those. I mean, getting those guest stars to come in is just, and having them, the Mr. Gang and Scooby-Doo and Shaggy and all of them interacting with these classic characters that I grew up with. It's just amazing. So I love that. Well, in 1998, So after Scooby-Doo had kind of got a resurgence from reruns on Cartoon Network, Warner Brothers decided to release a direct-to-video release of Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island. It was so really, really cool. When I watched this one, I was like, that kind of has the feel of the old Scooby-Doo movies. They were really, really cool. But, you know, the interesting thing is it took over 20 years to get a sequel, which is amazing. Scooby-Doo Return to Zombie Island. But I will say I do like the idea that Warner Archive here did release both of these on one Blu-ray disc. I think that's kind of cool. That way you do have the original and the sequel. I think that is pretty cool. um the these look amazing uh they really do they look really really spectacular on blu-ray um the the animation is classic type of animation it kind of lends itself back to the older generation of scooby-doo and all and and yet still has that fresh feel um i'm glad uh the newer one was not CGI. I can't stand CGI. I just, I really, everything has become CGI, computer animated, and there's just something about the old classic kind to me that I love so much. But yeah, the very first one, Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island, is amazing. The sequel, it's good. Maybe not as good as the first one, but definitely pretty good. Uh, amazing character actors, voice actors in this. Um, and, uh, Elvira even makes an appearance in, in the sequel, which is kind of interesting. Uh, yeah, I mean, it's just a really, really fun little double feature. So, uh, yeah, if you love Scooby-Doo, yeah, you're going to want to pick up this one on Blu-ray from Warner Archive Collection. Pretty awesome. So what are you most excited about? Let us know in the comments. Also, be sure to like, share, and subscribe. We would appreciate it so much. Be sure to go to Classic Cinema Plus. Check out all of our reviews of every single one of these. You can check those up at Classic Cinema Plus. Get a link below. Until we're with you next time, have a good one. We'll see you next time. Bye. .