Page 1 of 2
Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2008 5:22 pm
by Big Magilla
Not bad. It's from a TCM showing so the picture and sound quality are strong enough for the nearly 80 year odl film.
Incidentally, an on-line retailer called timelesstheater,com., which I've never ordered from, has the 1937 version.
Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2008 3:51 pm
by jack
Magilla, how's the quality of Madame X? I kinda gave up trying to find over the Christmas period.
Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2008 3:36 pm
by Big Magilla
Mea culpa! Mea culpa!
They not only sent me Journey's End as well as the 1929 versions of Madame X and The Letter, but they sent them via UPS and included three freebies - The Gangs All Here, The Furies and The Gift of Love. Now, where the hell are the films from my next order, including The Green Years and the 1930 version of Holiday?
Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2008 2:12 pm
by Big Magilla
Ah, so you got he last copy on hand of Journey's End!
I have a pritine region 2 copy of Hellzapoppin! The smartest thing I ever did collection wise was invest in a region free DVD player. For some reason Hollywood studios would sooner spend money putting out DVDs of their classic films in overseas markets where the returns aren't as strong as in the U.S.
Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2008 10:48 am
by Damien
Big, I just got Journey's End the other day, several weeks after my other three films (The Unsen, Hellzapoppin' and The Affairs Of Susan) arrived. I haven't watched Journey's but I did look at random scenes -- the visual quality is murky but the sound (for an early 30s film) seems fine.
Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2008 6:04 am
by Big Magilla
I finally got a response to my inquiry of about a month ago askign if I'd received the items I complained about as having been missing. I explained that I had now recived all but three items - Madame X (1929), The Letter (1929) and Journey's End (1930). In the meantime I had ordered additional items. I got no response to that but I did get another e-mail telling me oen or more of my ordered items were on back order.
I don't know what's worse - the quality of their product or their customer service.
Apparently they act as a middle man with several different people supplying them with product. They only keep a small number of each title on hand and have to have their suppliers make new copies when they run out.
Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2008 2:57 am
by Precious Doll
I received my copy of The Man Who Reclaimed His Head and watched it last night. The picture quality is about the standand of an Alpha video. Watchable but really not good enough.
The soundtrack was marred by hissing.
Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2008 7:30 pm
by Big Magilla
I'm still waiting for a response to my e-mail. In the meatime, I ordered a few more titles with a notation on their website that I was ordering media mail because when I paid for express mail the last two times my orders were sent media mail anyway. I included titles in the order that were on their mialing list but not on the website last week. The last time I did this I immediately received a response telling me waht the additonal charges would be. This time - nada.
Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2008 2:13 am
by Precious Doll
I watched the the copy of Bright Victory that I received and was pleased with the quality, though I will replace it should Universal or someone else ever release the film properly.
To my surprise I received an email response to my question about the non arrival of The Man Who Reclaimed His Head.
They stated that at the time they sent the package to me the film was on back order (translation: they hadn't run off a copy by mistake I'd bet).
Anyway it's apparently on it's way to me. I did mention in my email to them that I wanted to order more films from them but wouldn't until I had received The Man Who Reclaimed His Head. And whilst I do intend to buy some more titles from them in the future it won't be at the rate I would like to given the mixed quality of the discs.
Posted: Sat Dec 29, 2007 7:49 am
by Big Magilla
I received decent copies of Little Man, What Now?, They Knew What They Wanted and Little Boy Lost. No response to my e-mail, though.
I received my first order in one piece, albeit through media mail, not express mail as I paid for. The second order I'm receiving in peices, again via media mail. I received the first piece on Tuesday and the second yesterday. I'm still waiting for three more titles and want to order another five or six titles, but will probably order them through media mail with another note about the express mail charges.
Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2007 4:51 am
by Big Magilla
I watched An American Tragedy this evening. Same as Private Worlds, the sound is good, but the picture is so washed out you can barely make out the faces.
Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2007 4:29 am
by Precious Doll
I order six films that were billed to my credit card on 30 November.
The films were Ride the Pink Horse, A Medal for Benny, An American Tragedy, The Man Who Reclaimed His Head, Bright Victory & Among the Living.
To my surprise I received them this morning.
However I only received 5 of the titles, despite paying for six. I have just sent them off an email requesting a copy of The Man Who Reclaimed His Head - I'll see what happens.
I watched A Medal for Benny & Ride the Pink Horse this afternoon.
The quality of A Medal for Benny was good. Whilst not of the standard of a DVD it was better then your average Alpha DVD with only the very occasional jump. The sound quality was also good.
I enjoyed the film despite it having a poor man's Preston Sturgess film about it.
The picture quality of Ride a Pink Horse was fair to good. It was sourced from TCM. The TCM logo appeared about 20 & 80 minutes into the film for a very short time. The soundtrack had a low grade hiss throughout the running time. The image got a little jumpy towards the end of the film.
I must confess that I was disappointed with the film after wanting to see it for years. Robert Montgomery gave a bizarre performance to say the least. Perhaps he should have had someone else play the lead. The films climatic moments were the best along with key confrontational scenes between the main characters during the film. Wanda Hendrix stole the show.
I quickly flicked through the others films to asses their visual quality.
The quality of Bright Victory looks good however Among the Living & An American Tragedy both look like similar to the manner that Big Magilla describes Private Worlds below.
I will post more details of the remaining discs once I watch them.
Posted: Fri Dec 21, 2007 1:41 am
by Big Magilla
Flipp, anyone else, get your order yet?
The titles I ordered on November 23rd finally arrived today after I e-mailed them yesterday about that order and the one I placed 12/1. No response, of course. Their customer service isn't very good. The titles which I paid extra to have shipped priority mail were sent media mail. Perhaps if I ever get someone to talk to I can at least get credit for that. The films, though, are not in very good condition. They look like they were copied from old VHS tapes of old TV broadcasts. Berekely Square is very jumpy with a lot of background noise. The sound on Private Worlds is good, but the picture isn't, faces are so washed out you can barely make out eyes, noses and mouths.
They did give me a coupon for 10% off my next order. My advice is shop around, don't buy a title from them unless it's something you absolutely must have. Unfortunately they are still the only source for a few more titles I absolutley must have. Grrrrh.
Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2007 1:40 am
by Damien
Big Magilla wrote:There was a question tht came up asking where I heard of them from. I gave them Damien's name.
Thanks, Big!
Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2007 12:54 am
by Big Magilla
There was a question tht came up asking where I heard of them from. I gave them Damien's name.