CliffClavin
06-25-2005, 05:48 PM
Which collection has the better movies? Which should I get?
The Bette Davis Collection will feature Mr. Skeffington and The Star (both new-to-DVD) as well as a new edition of the Davis classic Dark Victory, which has been restored from the original camera negative and remastered for optimum picture quality. The Davis Collection boxed set also includes two other archetypal Davis essentials, the unforgettable Now Voyager, (originally released in 2002) restored from the original negative and now in sturdy Amaray keepcase packaging, and The Letter (released earlier in 2005).
Mr. Skeffington (1944)
Bette Davis earned her eighth Best Actress Oscar nomination for her performance as Fanny Skeffington. Backed by Claude Rains (Notorious, Casablanca) as her devoted husband, glorious costumes and a lush Franz Waxman score, Davis takes what might, in lesser hands, have been just a woman's picture and turns it into art. This is the original full-length 147 minute version of the film, which was cut by 20 minutes a few weeks after its initial release. DVD Special Features include: Commentary by the film's Director Vincent Sherman, New Featurette Mr. Skeffington: A Picture of Strength, Theatrical Trailer
The Star (1952)
After her triumphant comeback as Margo Channing in All About Eve, Davis earned her ninth Academy Award nomination as washed-up one time movie-star Margaret Elliot. As always, Davis gives a confident, perceptive, absolutely authentic performance in a gripping motion picture which co-stars Sterling Hayden and Natalie Wood. DVD Special Features include: New Featurette How Real is The Star?, Theatrical Trailer
Dark Victory (1939)
Although previously released at the dawn of DVD, a new presentation of Bette Davis's bravura, moving, but never morbid performance as Judith Traherne, a dying heiress determined to find happiness in her few remaining months, has been fully-restored from the original negative for this DVD re-issue. Dark Victory remains a three-hankie classic and was Davis' biggest box-office hit yet, garnering Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, Actress and Original Score. DVD Special Features include: New Digital Transfer from Restored Picture and Audio Elements, Commentary by Film Historian James Ursini and CNN Film Critic Paul Clinton, New Featurette 1939: Tough Competition for Dark Victory, Theatrical Trailer
The Letter (1940)
Directed by William Wyler (Ben-Hur, Roman Holiday), this classic film noir, based on the play by W. Somerset Maugham, was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture and a Best Actress nod for Bette Davis. DVD Special Features include: New Digital Transfer from Restored Picture and Audio Elements, Lux Radio Theater broadcast featuring performances by Davis and Marshall, Alternate ending
Now Voyager (1942)
A tender love story, a taut psychological drama, an inspiring tale of physical and spiritual transformation, Now, Voyager is all three. It's also a Bette Davis career milestone, resulting in her sixth Best Actress Oscar nomination as spinster Charlotte Vale, who defies her domineering mother (fellow Oscar nominee Gladys Cooper) to discover love, heartbreak and eventual contentment. A stunning transfer from the original negative, this DVD, first issued in 2002, is now repackaged into a sturdy Amaray keepcase. DVD Special Features include: Max Steiner Scoring Session Music Cues, Cast Career Highlights, Theatrical Trailer
The Joan Crawford Collection includes three new-to-DVD releases including the first-ever home video release of The Damned Don't Cry, plus Crawford's triumphant role opposite John Garfield in Humoresque and her 1947 Warner Bros. classic Possessed, along with two of her most famous films, Mildred Pierce and The Women, both of which have been repackaged into sturdy Amaray keepcases.
Humoresque (1946)
In this acclaimed and profound exploration of desire, Crawford plays socialite Helen Wright, a character torn between selfless love and selfish impulses. John Garfield (The Postman Always Rings Twice) matches her as the driven genius. Directed with panache by Jean Negulesco, and featuring an amazing score by Franz Waxman, Humoresque was a box-office smash, a worthy follow-up for Miss Crawford after winning her Oscar for Mildred Pierce. Humoresque has been fully restored from the original camera negative for this release. DVD Special Features include: New Featurette The Music of Humoresque, Theatrical Trailer
Possessed (1947)
Joan Crawford co-stars with Van Heflin and Raymond Massey, and reteams with producer Jerry Wald from her Academy Award-winning performance in Mildred Pierce. She claimed a 1947 Best Actress Oscar nomination for her portrayal of the tempestuous, mentally unstable Louise. This film convinced even the skeptics that Crawford was a great actress. DVD Special Features include: Commentary by Film Historian Drew Casper, New Featurette Possessed: The Quintessential Film Noir, Theatrical Trailer
The Damned Don't Cry (1950)
This film is the first of three collaborations between Joan Crawford and director Vincent Sherman. Crawford brings hard-boiled glamour and simmering passion to the role of Ethel Whitehead, a woman who moves from the wrong side of the tracks to a mobster's mansion and on to high society, one man at a time. A hidden gem, this marks the first home video release of this unforgettable motion picture. DVD Special Features include: Commentary by the film's Director Vincent Sherman, New Featurette The Crawford Formula: Real and Reel, Theatrical Trailer
The Women (1939)
George Cukor (My Fair Lady, The Philadelphia Story) directs an all-female cast in this catty tale of battling and bonding. Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell, Joan Fontaine, Mary Boland and Paulette Goddard play various husband snatchers, snitches and lovelorn ladies. DVD Special Features include: Two Vintage Another Romance of Celluloid Documentaries: From the Ends of the Earth and Hollywood: Style Center of the World, Alternate Black and White Fashion Show, Sequence with Different Footage, Scoring Session Music Cues, Theatrical Trailers of The Women and Musical Remake The Opposite Sex. Now repackaged into a sturdy Amaray keepcase
Mildred Pierce (1945)
From a novel by James M. Cain (The Postman Always Rings Twice, Double Indemnity), Mildred Pierce is a classy murder mystery, a stylish film noir told from a woman's point of view. Joan Crawford's performance ended a two-year career slump, earning her a Best Actress Academy Award. The film was nominated for five other Oscars including Best Picture. DVD Special Features include: Stunning Digital Transfer from fully-Restored Picture and Audio Elements, Acclaimed feature length documentary: Joan Crawford: The Ultimate Movie Star, Crawford Trailer Gallery, Now repackaged into a sturdy Amaray keepcase
The Bette Davis Collection will feature Mr. Skeffington and The Star (both new-to-DVD) as well as a new edition of the Davis classic Dark Victory, which has been restored from the original camera negative and remastered for optimum picture quality. The Davis Collection boxed set also includes two other archetypal Davis essentials, the unforgettable Now Voyager, (originally released in 2002) restored from the original negative and now in sturdy Amaray keepcase packaging, and The Letter (released earlier in 2005).
Mr. Skeffington (1944)
Bette Davis earned her eighth Best Actress Oscar nomination for her performance as Fanny Skeffington. Backed by Claude Rains (Notorious, Casablanca) as her devoted husband, glorious costumes and a lush Franz Waxman score, Davis takes what might, in lesser hands, have been just a woman's picture and turns it into art. This is the original full-length 147 minute version of the film, which was cut by 20 minutes a few weeks after its initial release. DVD Special Features include: Commentary by the film's Director Vincent Sherman, New Featurette Mr. Skeffington: A Picture of Strength, Theatrical Trailer
The Star (1952)
After her triumphant comeback as Margo Channing in All About Eve, Davis earned her ninth Academy Award nomination as washed-up one time movie-star Margaret Elliot. As always, Davis gives a confident, perceptive, absolutely authentic performance in a gripping motion picture which co-stars Sterling Hayden and Natalie Wood. DVD Special Features include: New Featurette How Real is The Star?, Theatrical Trailer
Dark Victory (1939)
Although previously released at the dawn of DVD, a new presentation of Bette Davis's bravura, moving, but never morbid performance as Judith Traherne, a dying heiress determined to find happiness in her few remaining months, has been fully-restored from the original negative for this DVD re-issue. Dark Victory remains a three-hankie classic and was Davis' biggest box-office hit yet, garnering Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, Actress and Original Score. DVD Special Features include: New Digital Transfer from Restored Picture and Audio Elements, Commentary by Film Historian James Ursini and CNN Film Critic Paul Clinton, New Featurette 1939: Tough Competition for Dark Victory, Theatrical Trailer
The Letter (1940)
Directed by William Wyler (Ben-Hur, Roman Holiday), this classic film noir, based on the play by W. Somerset Maugham, was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture and a Best Actress nod for Bette Davis. DVD Special Features include: New Digital Transfer from Restored Picture and Audio Elements, Lux Radio Theater broadcast featuring performances by Davis and Marshall, Alternate ending
Now Voyager (1942)
A tender love story, a taut psychological drama, an inspiring tale of physical and spiritual transformation, Now, Voyager is all three. It's also a Bette Davis career milestone, resulting in her sixth Best Actress Oscar nomination as spinster Charlotte Vale, who defies her domineering mother (fellow Oscar nominee Gladys Cooper) to discover love, heartbreak and eventual contentment. A stunning transfer from the original negative, this DVD, first issued in 2002, is now repackaged into a sturdy Amaray keepcase. DVD Special Features include: Max Steiner Scoring Session Music Cues, Cast Career Highlights, Theatrical Trailer
The Joan Crawford Collection includes three new-to-DVD releases including the first-ever home video release of The Damned Don't Cry, plus Crawford's triumphant role opposite John Garfield in Humoresque and her 1947 Warner Bros. classic Possessed, along with two of her most famous films, Mildred Pierce and The Women, both of which have been repackaged into sturdy Amaray keepcases.
Humoresque (1946)
In this acclaimed and profound exploration of desire, Crawford plays socialite Helen Wright, a character torn between selfless love and selfish impulses. John Garfield (The Postman Always Rings Twice) matches her as the driven genius. Directed with panache by Jean Negulesco, and featuring an amazing score by Franz Waxman, Humoresque was a box-office smash, a worthy follow-up for Miss Crawford after winning her Oscar for Mildred Pierce. Humoresque has been fully restored from the original camera negative for this release. DVD Special Features include: New Featurette The Music of Humoresque, Theatrical Trailer
Possessed (1947)
Joan Crawford co-stars with Van Heflin and Raymond Massey, and reteams with producer Jerry Wald from her Academy Award-winning performance in Mildred Pierce. She claimed a 1947 Best Actress Oscar nomination for her portrayal of the tempestuous, mentally unstable Louise. This film convinced even the skeptics that Crawford was a great actress. DVD Special Features include: Commentary by Film Historian Drew Casper, New Featurette Possessed: The Quintessential Film Noir, Theatrical Trailer
The Damned Don't Cry (1950)
This film is the first of three collaborations between Joan Crawford and director Vincent Sherman. Crawford brings hard-boiled glamour and simmering passion to the role of Ethel Whitehead, a woman who moves from the wrong side of the tracks to a mobster's mansion and on to high society, one man at a time. A hidden gem, this marks the first home video release of this unforgettable motion picture. DVD Special Features include: Commentary by the film's Director Vincent Sherman, New Featurette The Crawford Formula: Real and Reel, Theatrical Trailer
The Women (1939)
George Cukor (My Fair Lady, The Philadelphia Story) directs an all-female cast in this catty tale of battling and bonding. Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell, Joan Fontaine, Mary Boland and Paulette Goddard play various husband snatchers, snitches and lovelorn ladies. DVD Special Features include: Two Vintage Another Romance of Celluloid Documentaries: From the Ends of the Earth and Hollywood: Style Center of the World, Alternate Black and White Fashion Show, Sequence with Different Footage, Scoring Session Music Cues, Theatrical Trailers of The Women and Musical Remake The Opposite Sex. Now repackaged into a sturdy Amaray keepcase
Mildred Pierce (1945)
From a novel by James M. Cain (The Postman Always Rings Twice, Double Indemnity), Mildred Pierce is a classy murder mystery, a stylish film noir told from a woman's point of view. Joan Crawford's performance ended a two-year career slump, earning her a Best Actress Academy Award. The film was nominated for five other Oscars including Best Picture. DVD Special Features include: Stunning Digital Transfer from fully-Restored Picture and Audio Elements, Acclaimed feature length documentary: Joan Crawford: The Ultimate Movie Star, Crawford Trailer Gallery, Now repackaged into a sturdy Amaray keepcase