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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |
The Gary Cooper Collection
Design for Living
Peter Ibbetson
The General Died at Dawn
Beau Geste
The Lives of a Bengal
Lancer
Design for the Living is compared on Blu-ray HERE
The General Died at Dawn is compared on Blu-ray HERE
Beau Geste is compared on Blu-ray HERE
The Lives of a Bengal Lancer is compared on Blu-ray HERE
directed by Ernst
Lubitsch, Henry Hathaway, Lewis Milestone and William A. Wellman
USA 1933
- 39
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The legendary Gary Cooper is synonymous with the image of the strong, silent American hero. In a career that spanned five decades and included over one hundred films, this tall, stoic "everyman" defined quiet courage and strength of character marking his unique niche in cinema history. Now five fan favorites from this Hollywood legend’s illustrious career are available here for the first time on DVD. Journey with "Coop" from the sophisticated streets of Paris and the brutal backcountry of China, to the sweltering sands of the Sahara, the dangerous battlefields of British India and beyond. ****
I
must admit, the price is astonishingly cheap. I've paid over double for one
DVD from Criterion, but here we get 5 films never before released from
excellent directors Lubitsch, Hathaway, Milestone and Wellman. How Universal
saved on this DVD package is simple - 5 films spread over two double sided
discs - no extras (save trailers), but frankly it is still a total no-brainer
purchase. All films have optional bright English close-captioned, French or Spanish
subtitles, original mono audio, 18 chapters and moderate to heavy grain in the
image, especially in close-ups, which some might consider excessive. All are
progressive. Beau Geste
is the real prize and easily worth the price of the entire Boxset, but none of
the DVD transfers are exceptionally poor considering the age of the films (see
individual comments below).
Heavily taking into account value for money we give this
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out of
directed by Ernst
Lubitsch, Henry Hathaway, Lewis Milestone and William A. Wellman
USA 1933
- 39
Universal - Region 1- NTSC
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| Distribution | Universal Studios - Region 1 - NTSC | |||||||||||||
directed by Ernst
Lubitsch
USA 1933
When Ernst Lubitsch's film of Noel Coward's famous farce was released in 1933, Ben Hecht's screenplay was attacked for coarsening Coward, and Lubitsch was ridiculed for casting Gary Cooper, Fredric March, and Miriam Hopkins in the parts played onstage by Alfred Lunt, Lynn Fontanne, and Coward himself. Well, maybe it is a little lumpy for Lubitsch, but I think the film more than holds its own. Cooper is a problem, but the bubbles rise in spite of him. Very glossy, very continental, and sometimes very funny.
Excerpt from Dave Kehr's capsule at the Chicago Reader located HERE
Posters
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Theatrical Release: December 29th, 1933
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
DVD Review: Universal - Region 1 - NTSC
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Design for
Living
can only be purchased in the Universal Gary Cooper Collection Boxset with
Peter Ibbetson /
The Lives of a Bengal Lancer
/ The General
Died at Dawn and
Beau Geste.
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| Runtime | 1:31:12 |
| Video | 1.33:1
Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5.74 mb/s (on same side as Peter Ibbetson) NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s |
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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| Bitrate: |
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| Audio | English (Dolby Digital 2.0) |
| Subtitles | English (CC), Spanish, French, None |
| Features |
Release Information: Edition Details: • none |
Design for the Living is compared on Blu-ray HERE
| Comments: |
This image looks like a Warner restoration - relatively sharp, good contrast and healthy amount of grain. Frankly it is surprisingly strong. I was impressed. A small amount of damage can be seen and the audio track, is for the most part, consistent. Nice to see this Lubitsch film treated well! |
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directed by Henry
Hathaway
USA 1935
Two childhood sweethearts are separated as youths, and then meet
again many years later to discover they are still very much in love.
The fantastic aspect of this movie doesn't manifest itself until the second
half of the movie, and to tell you the events that lead up to it would be
giving away huge chunks of the plot, so all I will say at this point is that
the two main characters are able to share the same dreams by which they can be
together through a forced separation. In short, this is romantic fantasy. It's
fairly good, with decent performances from all concerned, unexpected plot
twists, and some interesting secondary characters.
Excerpt of Scifilm (Dave Sindelar's) capsule HERE
Posters
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Theatrical Release: October 31st, 1935
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
DVD Review: Universal - Region 1 - NTSC
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Peter Ibbetson
can only be purchased in the Universal Gary Cooper Collection Boxset with
Design for
Living /
The Lives of a Bengal Lancer / /
The General
Died at Dawn and
Beau Geste.
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| Runtime | 1:25:15 |
| Video | 1.33:1
Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5.74 mb/s (on same disc with Design For Living) NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s |
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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| Bitrate: |
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| Audio | English (Dolby Digital 2.0) |
| Subtitles | English (CC), Spanish, French, None |
| Features |
Release Information: Studio: Universal Studios Aspect Ratio: Original aspect Ratio 1.33:1 Edition Details:
• Theatrical trailer (1:54) |
| Comments: |
This transfer shows some consistent damage and heavy scratches throughout, but at times can also produce sharp, well-contrasted image with piercing black levels. Many will find the grain in close-ups very heavy - I happen to love film grain, so I'm not bothered - it can tend to look quite charming for much older films such as this and perfectly appropriate. This is on the same side of the DVD as 'Design For Loving' but with no extras on either size doesn't seem to play a factor in quality. |
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directed by Lewis
Milestone
USA 1936
The General Died at Dawn (1936) is an adventure film set in the northern Chinese provinces that are torn by civil war, unrest, and revolution. The film is famous for Gary Cooper's line to Madeleine Carroll, "We could make beautiful music together."
An American mercenary and reporter O'Hara (Gary Cooper) is on a dangerous
mission to help supply arms to the authorities to aid the peasants in a
province ravaged by lunatic ambitious warlord General Yang (Akim Tamiroff). On
the train to Shanghai, he meets and falls in love with Judy Perrie (Madeleine
Carroll), whose shady and weak father Peter (Porter Hall) is in league with
Yang and pressures unwilling Judy to luringly betray O'Hara.
Excerpt of review by Tim Dirks on The Greatest Films located HERE
Posters
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The General Died at Dawn is compared on Blu-ray HERE
Theatrical Release: October 30th, 1936
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
DVD Review: Universal - Region 1 - NTSC
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The General
Died at Dawn
can only be purchased in the Universal Gary Cooper Collection Boxset with
Design for
Living /
Peter Ibbetson /
The Lives of a Bengal Lancer and
Beau Geste.
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| Runtime | 1:38:03 |
| Video | 1.33:1
Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5.87 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s |
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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| Bitrate: |
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| Audio | English (Dolby Digital 2.0) |
| Subtitles | English (CC), Spanish, French, None |
| Features |
Release Information: Studio: Universal Studios Aspect Ratio: Original aspect Ratio 1.33:1 Edition Details: • none |
| Comments: |
This transfer is on a single layer on the opposite side from 'Design For Loving' and Peter Ibbetson' - it looks very good with lots of film grain. I'm again reminded of Warner's treatment of older films with good contrast, dusted grays and heavy grain. It shows some damage early but settles down very quickly. Overall another acceptable DVD image with slightly fluctuating mono audio and no extras at all. |
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directed by William A. Wellman
USA 1939
The story of Beau Geste and his adventures in the French Foreign Legion have been filmed more times than you may care to mention, but this version, starring Cooper as the legendary figure, still remains the best. Here, Cooper is joined by Milland and Preston as siblings John and Digby, who join the Legion after being implicated in a jewel robbery, only to discover that their commander is far more frightening than the Arabs they are supposed to be battling. Rip-roaring entertainment, with great turns from the leads and nice support from a young Hayward as the sweetheart Milland abandons.
Posters
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Theatrical Release: August 2nd, 1939
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
DVD Review: Universal - Region 1 - NTSC
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Beau Geste
can only be purchased in the Universal Gary Cooper Collection Boxset with
Design for
Living /
Peter Ibbetson /
The Lives of a Bengal Lancer and
The General
Died at Dawn.
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| Runtime | 1:53:04 |
| Video | 1.33:1
Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 8.45 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s |
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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| Audio | English (Dolby Digital 2.0) |
| Subtitles | English (CC), Spanish, French, None |
| Features |
Release Information: Studio: Universal Studios Aspect Ratio: Original aspect Ratio 1.33:1 Edition Details:
• Trailer (1:27) |
Beau Geste is compared on Blu-ray HERE
| Comments: |
The only film in the Boxset unshared on a dual layer side of the DVD. Again we are talking Warner quality with a very sharp image, no real damage and great contrast levels. Simply superb looking for a film of over 65 years old. Some good grain is still visible and audio was smooth. I suppose this film would merit a commentary, but for the bare bones pricing we only get a trailer. The easy winner of the set with a soaring bitrate in comparison to the other transfers. Well done Universal! |
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directed by Henry
Hathaway
USA 1935
The kind of stiff-upper-lipped adventure they really don't make any more. Cooper stars as the arrogant lieutenant of the 41st Bengal Lancers who, while guarding British India from the threat of invading Afridis, finds himself at odds with two new officers - the outspoken Fortescue (Tone) and Stone (Cromwell), the son of his commanding colonel. It looks dated, but is still pleasing Sunday-afternoon stuff.
Excerpt from the Channel-4 capsule found HERE
Posters
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Theatrical Release: January 11th, 1935
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
DVD Review: Universal - Region 1 - NTSC
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The Lives of a Bengal Lancer
can only be purchased in the Universal Gary Cooper Collection Boxset with
Design for
Living /
Peter Ibbetson /
Beau Geste
and
The General
Died at Dawn.
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| Runtime | 1:49:00 |
| Video | 1.33:1
Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5.17 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s |
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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| Audio | English (Dolby Digital 2.0) |
| Subtitles | English (CC), Spanish, French, None |
| Features |
Release Information: Studio: Universal Studios Aspect Ratio: Original aspect Ratio 1.33:1 Edition Details:
• trailer (1:45) |
The Lives of a Bengal Lancer is compared on Blu-ray HERE
| Comments: |
This DVD is the black sheep of the boxset with a very hazy, multiply scratched image in the first 10 minutes - it then settles down well gaining sharpness and although the scratches remain they are less noticeable. I imagine the print was quite damaged and there was little they could do barring a full restoration. It is on one side of a single layer with Beau Geste on the other side. Outside of the first 10 minutes this is acceptable. |
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CLICK to order from:
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| Distribution | Universal Studios - Region 1 - NTSC | |||||||||||||
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Gary Tooze
Mississauga, Ontario, CANADA |
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Thank You!
