thetao

With the DVD market imploding, months ago I made several detailed wants lists. Scanning them recently, I find that most of the 1930's and 1940's non-boxed set and non-Criteron titles come from Columbia/Sony. Gilda (a Rita hayworth noir from 1946) recently appeared at Big Lots (but without the insert, per dvdcompare.net), which prompted this thread.

DVDCompare says the original "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" has an insert, but I wouldn't expect the 2008 re-release from a better print to include anything. That's one down. "Return of the Vampire" first appeared on DVD in 2002, and as the disk is bare-bones, I expect the packaging would be as well. That's probably another one down. From my wants lists, can anyone help with these titles:

The Lady From Shanghai
In a Lonely Place
Dead Recoking
Lost Horizon
His Girl Friday
It Happened One Night

or explain any logic behind which Columbia DVD's originally came with inserts and which didn't? Many thanks!

rbrown498

Not so fast there, thetao--my copy of Return of the Vampire has a double-sided insert. The front has a reproduction of the original one-sheet with a DVD logo in the bottom-right corner(which is also on the cover, minus the DVD logo), and the back has a listing of "Scene Selections" over a collage of stills from the film. The back also has a blurb that says "Also Available from Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment: The Revenge of Frankenstein, 13 Ghosts, and Brotherhood of Satan."

So, I fished those discs out. The Revenge of Frankenstein has an insert that has an exact copy of the cover on one side and a listing of "Scene Selections" on the other, again over a collage of black-and-white stills from the movie. 13 Ghosts has a six-page-sized insert, while The Brotherhood of Satan has a double-sided insert similar to that of the other double-sided inserts mentioned. Ditto for the Curse of the Demon / Night of the Demon disc.

All of these (except for 13 Ghosts) were released in one batch in 2002, along with The Bride, which I don't have a copy of and can't check.

Hope all of this helps.

thetao

Thanks for the info. Always happy to be corrected. FWIW, "The Bride" also contains a 2-sided chapter list. The chapters are on one side, with three recommendations and proof-of-purchase at the bottom, and a reproduction of the cover art on the other side.

I am still looking for details on the other Columbia titles above, although will be opting for the boxed Frank Capra Collection, which includes "Mr Smith" and "It Happened One Night".