TCM Greatest Classic: Gangsters - Humphrey Bogart
TCM and Warner
keep on truckin' with these 4-great-films-for-cheap releases. After buying some
of the newer titles it appears they have officially abandoned their
double-sided flipper discs and opted for reusing the original single-sided
discs with same disc labels (BTW these collections are all re-releases, nothing
new). However they are housed in a stackable hub case which some people believe
could scratch discs somehow. I've never come across a disc that's been damaged
in these cases so I much prefer it over the flipper discs. With twice the discs
(and subsequently the label artwork as well) it feels like you're getting just
a little more for your money.
As for the films
themselves, they are all quintessential classic cinema at it's finest. While
Bogie isn't the lead in 2 of them (The Petrified Forest, The Amazing Dr.
Clitterhouse) he is fantastic in the smaller roles. All of them boast
phenomenal casts with the likes of Edward G. Robinson, Ida Lupino, Bette Davis,
Jackie Gleason and Phil Silvers. All Through the Night isn't really a gangster
film but instead features Bogie as a good-natured kingpin gambler complete with
a hilarious posse who uncovers an underground ring of Nazis - doesn't really
fit in with the other movies but great stuff nonetheless. All discs have some
special features like Warner's "Night at the Movies" which presents
you with a period-appropriate trailer, newsreel, short subject and cartoon just
like you would have seen at the theater back then.
More 4-movie
collections from TCM & Warner will most likely be on the way given the rate
they are cranking them out now. About 1/3 of the DVDs from their Warner Bros.
Gangster Collections haven't yet been re-released in these moneysavers and
they've got an incredible catalog of existing releases to pull from. After
passing on a lot of DVDs over the years, it's convenient to see some get a
second life at a more economical rate.
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