Kino Lorber Studio Classics

[tenia]

Our releases include commentaries from dozens of historians/critics, some like to do more than others and many are very picky. So we either release them with a commentary by historian you guys don't like or without one. Many people love Kat Ellinger's commentaries and others don't.

Note that I choose her because she's currently doing a lot of audio com for Kino, not to belittle her work. I'm used to her work for Arrow and more often than not like her output. Plus, I love her accent.

[brundlefly]

Never a bad idea to hear from more voices in general. All the moreso when the torrent of output barely allows some of these folk to catch their breath, nevermind prep.

I do make note when I see Imogen Sara Smith's name. Liked her commentary on 'The Scar,' one of the reasons I'm still looking forward to the Lupino.

[Glowingwabbit]

Like I said I don't have anything against the commentators themselves. I've liked a lot of Kat Ellinger's commentaries, but it gets tiresome to have the same people doing all the commentaries especially when they are doing it for films they are clearly not that passionate about or fall outside their realm of expertise. (for example, Kat Ellinger's commentary on Easy Living sounds like someone reading a wiki page). Brundlefly just brought up Imogen Sara Smith who I know does a lot of commentaries as well but at least she brings some value with her knowledge and passion for film noir. If the commentary isn't adding any value just don't do it (Kino releases plenty of barebones titles) because a lot of them are about as "special" and useful as the trailers when it comes to added features.

[mteller]

Or, you know, just don't listen to the commentary if it doesn't interest you. No one is forcing you.

For fuck's sake, the things people will complain about.

[Kino Insider]

Coming January 14th!

The Great McGinty (1940)
• Brand New 4K Master
• NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historian Samm Deighan
• Optional English Subtitles
• Dual-Layered BD50 Disc
• Theatrical Trailer

B&W 82 Minutes 1.37:1 Not Rated
From Preston Sturges, the legendary writer/director of Christmas in July, The Lady Eve, The Palm Beach Story and Unfaithfully Yours comes this classic comedy about an opportunist who turns corruption into a promising political career, but struggles to stay on top when he tries to go honest. Dan McGinty (Brian Donlevy, The Quatermass Xperiment) is a hungry hobo who wows the ballot-stuffers by voting 37 times in an election for Mayor. He immediately becomes the protégé of “The Boss” (Akim Tamiroff, After the Fox), who guides and schemes McGinty to Alderman, Mayor and ultimately Governor with a series of payoffs, kickbacks and bribes. In trouble, McGinty flees the country and winds up (or down) as a bartender in a seedy Central American dive where the tale has a gleeful surprise ending. The Great McGinty, a high-spirited comedy of rogues and rascals, won the 1941 Oscar for Best Original Screenplay (Sturges).

[domino harvey]

Or, you know, just don't listen to the commentary if it doesn't interest you. No one is forcing you.

For fuck's sake, the things people will complain about.

Everytime someone posts something like this, the irony somehow always escapes the enlightened one

[Kino Insider]

Coming January 14th!

The Good Fairy (1935)
• Brand New 4K Master
• NEW Audio Commentary by Film Critic and Author Simon Abrams
• Optional English Subtitles
• Dual-Layered BD50 Disc
• Theatrical Trailer

B&W 97 Minutes 1.37:1 Not Rated
From Preston Sturges, the acclaimed screenwriter of The Great McGinty, The Lady Eve and The Palm Beach Story, and William Wyler, the renowned director of The Best Years of Our Lives, The Big Country and Ben-Hur, comes this classic romantic comedy about a naïve girl just out of a cloistered orphanage who finds that being a “good fairy” to strangers makes life awfully complicated. When a brash movie theater owner needs usherettes for his Budapest cinema, he recruits young Luisa (Margaret Sullavan, The Shop Around the Corner) from a nearby orphanage. Encouraged by her kindly guardian (Beulah Bondi, It’s a Wonderful Life) to “spread her wings,” Luisa embarks on her quest to live the life of a fairy-tale angel. Quickly encountering the debonair wolves that roam the sidewalks of Hungary, Luisa randomly chooses a man to play the role of her husband: Dr. Max Sporum (Herbert Marshall, Murder!), a humble and idealistic lawyer. Even as Luisa’s simple ruse grows hopelessly complicated, the dream-eyed girl refuses to abandon the charade, determined to evade another suitor’s wily grasp, provide Max the prosperity he so deserves, and allow the opportunity for true love to enter his life. The stellar cast also includes Frank Morgan (The Wizard of Oz), Alan Hale (The Adventures of Robin Hood) and Cesar Romero (The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend).

[mteller]

Or, you know, just don't listen to the commentary if it doesn't interest you. No one is forcing you.

For fuck's sake, the things people will complain about.

Everytime someone posts something like this, the irony somehow always escapes the enlightened one

No, actually, it doesn't escape me. But I chose to post it anyway because when in Rome and all that.

[swo17]

How is someone supposed to know if a commentary is worthwhile without listening to it? And if they felt that their 90 minutes or whatever was not well spent, how should they express that?

[Kino Insider]

Coming January 21st!

High-Ballin' (1978)
• Brand New 2K Master
• Trailers from Hell with David DeCoteau
• 2 Radio Spots
• Optional English Subtitles
• Theatrical Trailer

Color 99 Minutes 1.85:1 Rated PG
This rollicking highway adventure in the tradition of Convoy and White Line Fever joins the energetic trio of Peter Fonda (Wanda Nevada, Easy Rider), Jerry Reed (Gator, Smokey and the Bandit) and Helen Shaver (The Park Is Mine, Desert Hearts) as three angry independents who are set to take on the most vicious gang of hijackers to ever run the highways. Fonda plays Rane, a free-spirited professional motorcyclist on a visit to his ex-partner, Duke (Reed). When Rane finds out that Duke is the gang’s next target, he becomes caught up in the trucker’s fight—and swept up by the sexy Pickup (Shaver), the most “unique” semi-driver he’s ever met. The action builds as Rane, Duke and Pickup take on the hijack gang in a series of action-packed, stunt-filled, hair-raising escapades, featuring a stunt chase sequence never before attempted on film. Directed by Peter Carter (Rituals, Klondike Fever) and featuring an early turn by Michael Ironside (Scanners).

[Finch]

Well, like some actors appearing in a dreadful film just so they can pay their kids' college fees or pay off their mortgage, some scholars will also take money to record a commentary for a film they don't care about.

[Glowingwabbit]

Well, like some actors appearing in a dreadful film just so they can pay their kids' college fees or pay off their mortgage, some scholars will also take money to record a commentary for a film they don't care about.

Oh definitely. Gotta pay the bills and I pass no judgement on doing things like that. But again I'm not criticizing the scholars/commentators themselves.

[Finch]

Didn't mean to imply that you were, and I think KL should be a bit more discerning in their choices for each film, that is, picking the person who is most suited to each film.

[Kino Insider]

Didn't mean to imply that you were, and I think KL should be a bit more discerning in their choices for each film, that is, picking the person who is most suited to each film.

So wait, Kat Ellinger (British and female) is not suited to do a commentary for a British film featuring with Oscar-winning performance by the lead actress?

[domino harvey]

Are you seriously so clueless as to suggest the only prerequisite for discussing a British film starring a woman is to be a British woman?

[Kino Insider]

Well, like some actors appearing in a dreadful film just so they can pay their kids' college fees or pay off their mortgage, some scholars will also take money to record a commentary for a film they don't care about.

Bullshit, they're sent list of a hundred or so titles to choose from and they select a few they're interested in. Sometimes we have two or more people interested in the same film and we decide who's most suited for the film.

[swo17]

That sounds about as discerning as when you set two people up on a date based on their common interest of both being single

[Kino Insider]

Are you seriously so clueless as to suggest the only prerequisite for discussing a British film starring a woman is to be a British woman?

Are you really stupid enough to think that? She knows as much about the film as anyone, is a huge fan and begged us to do it. He said find someone more suited, who? How is she not suited to talk about a British film with a key female role that she's not a huge fan of?

[Kino Insider]

Coming January 21st!

Semi-Tough (1977)
• Brand New 2K Master
• Optional English Subtitles
• Dual-Layered BD50 Disc
• Theatrical Trailer

Color 108 Minutes 1.85:1 Rated R
From Michael Ritchie, the director of Prime Cut, The Candidate, The Bad News Bears, Fletch and The Couch Trip comes this romantic sports-comedy about a three-way friendship between two free-spirited professional football players and the team owner’s daughter. Starring screen legends Burt Reynolds (White Lightning, Gator), Kris Kristofferson (Convoy, Vigilante Force) and Jill Clayburgh (An Unmarried Woman, Starting Over), Semi-Tough is an uproarious and bawdy comic free-for-all. Barbara Jane (Clayburgh) and wayward football players Billy Clyde (Reynolds) and Shake (Kristofferson) have been best friends for years. But when Shake finds enlightenment with a wacky philosophy called “IT,” Barbara Jane finds herself falling in love with his new confidence. Soon engaged, Shake and Barbara Jane make a dash for the altar. But as Billy Clyde watches from the sidelines, he suddenly realizes that he wants Barbara Jane too. And when Shake begins to have second thoughts about marriage, Billy Clyde discovers that to score true love, sometimes all you need is a sporting chance and all the right moves. The hilarious cast includes Robert Preston (Junior Bonner), Bert Convy (The Cannonball Run), Roger E. Mosley (TV’s Magnum P.I.), Lotte Lenya (From Russia with Love), Richard Masur (Scavenger Hunt), Carl Weathers (Force 10 from Navarone), Brian Dennehy (F/X), and Ron Silver (Blue Steel), along with a host of real NFL players.

[domino harvey]

Are you seriously so clueless as to suggest the only prerequisite for discussing a British film starring a woman is to be a British woman?

Are you really stupid enough to think that? She knows as much about the film as anyone, is a huge fan and begged us to do it. He said find someone more suited, who? How is she not suited to talk about a British film with a key female role that she's not a huge fan of?

Congrats Kino Lorber Insider, you are the first label representative to be banned from the forum for breaking our rules of civility by name-calling. I hope your bosses read this and find out that the person they pay to advertise for their label has in fact now cost them money and limited their exposure

[domino harvey]

Open call: if anyone would like to be in charge of updating the first post, PM me and I’ll transfer ownership of the post over to you, since our friend won’t be available to do so

[MichaelB]

I’m just in the throes of prepping my eighth commentary (not for KL), and I can’t imagine why anyone would want to go through this if they didn’t genuinely feel that the film was worth discussing at that kind of length. I certainly wouldn’t take on the job if I didn’t at least admire the film.

[Randall Maysin]

How do this forum's rules define the difference in decorum between calling someone clueless in the rudest (and most presumptuous) way possible, and calling someone stupid in the rudest (and most presumptuous) way possible? The finer points elude me.

[Boosmahn]

It takes some... err... courage to call a moderator stupid and then announce one of your upcoming releases a minute later.

[Rayon Vert]

I thought Kino had said they were putting a stop to interacting with fans?

That was pretty dumb.