Johnny Guitar?
 

Has there ever been news on a release for Johnny Guitar? Watched my VHS version again tonight and it is getting mighty worn. Seems like another great film of old that isn't getting a DVD release.

Personally, I'm glad Johnny Guitar has yet to be released on DVD. It is part of the Republic library that is currently licensed to Artisan (now owned by Lion's Gate). Since Artisan has put out some truly awful DVDs of its Republic holdings (see, for example, BOTH DVD releases of High Noon), I'm in no hurry for them to butcher this one.

But there is hope: In the fall of 2005, the rights to the Republic library will revert to Paramount, which should give this great film the treatment it deserves.

While I agree Artisan has done a 'hatch' job on a lot of Republic's back library, High Noon should not be classified as one of them. The picture on both releases seem fairly solid, with a clear focus, and fairly deep grays. If you want to check out a few of their "digitally remastered" hatchet jobs, pick up:

The Quiet Man
The Fighting Kentuckian
A Lady Takes A Chance

These 3 could have well been put out on the Madacy label, they look so bad.

And I too eagerly await Johnny Guitar's eventual release by Paramount. One of my all-time favorite guilty pleasures, in western film viewing.

"Guilty pleasures"?!?!?!?

Blasphemer!

This is one of the best films (not to mention westerns) ever made - Nicholas Ray's masterpiece, IMO, and one of my top 5 all-time favorite films.

I only have the second "collector's edition," and while I'll agree that the image is quite sharp, the transfer suffers from a lot of digital artifacting. To wit:

DVD Beaver: "Out of sync audio and excessive digital processing make both of these editions quite poor."
Home Theater Forum: "There's an awful amount of background shimmering here that shows up in just about everything from indoor fixtures to outdoor fences to chains that hold pocket watches"
DVD Verdict: "the video presentation is marred with almost every conceivable transfer flaw out there"
DVD File: "Intrusive edge halos on vertical edges of high contrast . . . the video did have a rather odd shimmering in scenes that contain complex moving textures, like waving grass"

Why do I always get this one mixed up with Roy Orbson's cinematic "classic"...?

http://www.bekkoame.ne.jp/~nisenora/...r_poster_c.jpg

"Johnny Guitar" is available on DVD, but it's from France. You'll need a region-free player that does PAL conversion to play it in this country, however.

Just a quick word on High Noon...

I do believe Paramount bough up most of Artisan's Republic property. I recently saw a pristine print taken from the original negative, which, according to the theater manager, was courtesy of Paramount (who also provided prints for OUATITW and La Dolce Vita during the same timeframe, and are providing White Christmas and It's A Wonderful Life during the holiday season).

I'd expect a new DVD release of the film, and other Artisan atrocities, in time.

Wow...you certainly did a lot of research to back up your claim. No doubt, there must be some things wrong with the picture that I'm not seeing. Guess I'm so use to seeing Artisan put out abominations like "A Lady Takes A Chance", that it makes "High Noon" look absolutely pristine!

What is Johnny Guitar's OAR?

1.37:1

I'd love to get Johnny Guitar on DVD - from Lion's Gate or Paramount, I just want to watch the movie and have it on my shelf to watch it again at a later date.

While I would agree that Artisan has botched a few DVDs, overall the DVDs that I've gotten from them have been fairly good. The only one that I thought was poor was The Quiet Man - and it is still watchable, just soft and a bit washed out.

If Paramount does put this one out then I do expect outstanding picture quality - they've generally been very good (even if most of their classic westerns are released as bare-bones editions, but then again - so are Artisan's).

The R2/PAL release has been announced for April 4, 2005 - up for preorder at several places in the UK. It seems to be a barebones DVD, and at approx. USD24.00 I might just wait a bit to see if a U.S. release materializes.

I already broke down & pre-ordered the R2 (UK) by Universal---which virtually guarantees that Paramount will announce a deluxe 2-disc Ultimate Edition the day after I receive it. :)

http://www3.cd-wow.com/detail_result...subcat=region2

$9.44 from CD-WOW for the newly released R2, with no R1 in sight. Includes an introduction by Scorsese. PQ is (apparently) superb. Enjoy!

If you guys need vouchers (combine them to get 2 quid off):
http://www.dvdbargain.net/