20th Century Fox has announced a series of limited-edition DVDs of classic films — 3,000 of each — from their back catalog. Offered through Screen Archives, a great soundtrack label, these will feature a more deluxe treatment of the picture than we’re seeing from, say, Warner Archive. Isolated scores even! You can read more about it here.
Only one title will be released per month, and there are no Westerns listed in the original announcement. But Violent Saturday (1955) is a dynamite crime picture. If you doubt me, just read that supporting cast.
Another way of getting old movies, added to the DVD-Rs, streaming video and expensive imports. To me, this sounds like a great program.
Thanks to Laura for the tip.
The recently deceased Richard Fleischer did some good work in his time, didn’t he?
Absolutely. This is a terrific film, and it’s a damn shame only 3,000 people will be able to get their slick mitts on it.
For us European Fifties Western fans Spain has been a great source for classic Fox titles and a lot cheaper to get
than the US versions released by MOD DVD/R.
Not all the titles from Spain are high quality but “Violent
Saturday” is a very decent transfer.The film itself is an odd
but engaging mix of soap opera and heist thriller sort of
Don Seigel meets Douglas Sirk.
Nearly all the classic Fox Fifties Westerns have been
released in Spain;their version of the excellent “Sierra Baron” is horrid and not even in scope so a good version of that title would be most welcome.Also missing in action is
the rather wonderful “Silver Whip” which starts out as a
standard stagecoach robbery shoot em up then develops
into something much darker.Dale Robertson,Rory Calhoun;
and Robert Wagner all excellent!Ive often wondered how
come nobody ever pitched a TV Western series to Wagner.