Paramount's new "Centennial Collection" DVDs

Escapay · Post by **Escapay** » Mon Sep 08, 2008 6:21 pm

Found a blurb about it at Barrie Maxwell's Classic Coming Attractions, and after a few more online digging, found a full article over at Classicflix.com

Paramount Centennial Collection - November 11

**Paramount** has announced the debut of their Centennial Collection by giving three films in their library Special Editions. They are: Sabrina (1954), Sunset Boulevard (1950) and Roman Holiday (1953).

Due out on November 11th, each 2 Disc set is filled with Bonus Features (most of which were not on the original single disc versions). They will retail for $24.99, but are available at ClassicFlix.com for only $17.99. Details below.

EDITORIAL NOTE: Those who feel compelled to complain about the cover art, please be thankful that Paramount's budget was allocated more toward Bonus Features, and hopefully restoration, than more glorious artwork.

(ESCAPAY NOTE: I'm not posting the cover images so that people will click on the ClassicFlix.com link. But I have to agree, the cover art is rather bland and ugly, and I'm just more grateful that Paramount chose to focus on bonus features rather than cover art. Also, material that is in italics is from the old DVD.)

Sabrina (1954)
Isn't it romantic...Sabrina is charming, humorous and aglow with some of Hollywood's greatest stars. Humphrey Bogart, William Holden and Audrey Hepburn star in a Cinderella story directed by renowned filmmaker Billy Wilder (Sunset Boulevard, Some Like It Hot). Bogie and Holden are the mega-rich Larrabee brothers of Long Island. Bogie's all work, Holden's all playboy. But when Sabrina, daughter of the family's chauffeur, returns from Paris all grown up and glamorous, the stage is set for some family fireworks as the brothers fall under the spell of Hepburn's delightful charms.

BONUS FEATURES:

* Audrey Hepburn: Fashion Icon (17:32)
* Sabrina's World (11:25)
* Supporting Sabrina (16:32)
* William Holden: The Paramount Years (29:46)
* Audrey Hepburn: In Her Own Words (11:40)
* Behind the Gates: Camera (5:07)
* Paramount in the '50s (9:32) - on Sabrina VHS, not on old DVD. Also in both of the Funny Face DVD releases.
* Galleries

Sunset Boulevard (1950)
Hollywood looks at Hollywood. Gloria Swanson, as Norma Desmond, an aging silent-film queen, and William Holden, as the struggling young screenwriter who is held in thrall by her madness, created two of the screen's most memorable characters in "Sunset Boulevard." Winner of three Academy Awards®, director Billy Wilder's powerful orchestration of the bizarre tale is a true cinematic classic. From the unforgettable opening sequence -- a body found floating in a decayed mansion's swimming pool -- through the inevitable unfolding of tragic destiny, "Sunset Boulevard" is the definitive statement on the dark and desperate side of Hollywood. Erich von Stroheim as Desmond's discoverer, ex-husband and butler, and Nancy Olson as the bright spot amidst unrelenting ominousness, are equally celebrated for their masterful performances.

BONUS FEATURES:

* Commentary by Ed Sikov (author of "On Sunset Boulevard: The Life and Times of Billy Wilder")
* Sunset Boulevard: The Beginning (22:46)
* The Noir Side of Sunset Boulevard by Joseph Wambaugh (14:20)
* Sunset Boulevard Becomes a Classic (14:29)
* Two Sides of Ms. Swanson (10:32)
* Stories of Sunset Boulevard (11:17)
* Mad About the Boy: A Portrait of William Holden (11:15)
* Recording Sunset Boulevard (5:48 )
* The City of Sunset Boulevard (5:32)
* Morgue Prologue Script Pages
* Franz Waxman and The Music of Sunset Boulevard (14:25)
* Behind the Gates: The Lot (5:03)
* Hollywood Location Map
* Paramount in the '50s (9:32)
* Edith Head - The Paramount Years Featurette (13:42)
* Original Theatrical Trailer (3:12)
* Galleries

Roman Holiday (1953)
Audrey Hepburn's Oscar winning performance in her first starring role.Roman Holiday was nominated for ten Academy Awards, and Audrey Hepburn captured an Oscar for her portrayal of a modern-day princess, rebelling against the royal obligations, who explores Rome on her own. She meets Gregory Peck, an American newspaperman who, seeking an exclusive story, pretends ignorance of her true identity. But his plan falters as they fall in love. Eddie Albert contributes to the fun as Peck's carefree cameraman pal. Stylishly directed by William Wyler, this romantic comedy ranks as one of the most enjoyable films of all times.

BONUS FEATURES:

* Audrey Hepburn: The Paramount Years (29:54)
* Remembering Audrey (12:11)
* Rome with a Princess (8:56)
* Dalton Trumbo: From A-List to Blacklist (11:54)
* Restoring Roman Holiday (5:53)
* Behind the Gates: Costumes (5:26)
* Paramount in the '50s (9:32)
* Trailers
* Galleries

-----------------------

I'm REALLY excited for this, as those three movies are some of the best from Paramount, and their early DVDs were really great single-disc sets (well, Sabrina not so much). And as Sabrina is my favorite Audrey Hepburn movie, a new two-disc set is like a godsend for me. I just wish it came with a commentary, though there's not many people left to comment on it.

Here's hoping that additional titles to Paramount's Centennial Collection include A Place in the Sun, The Mating Season, Shane, This Property Is Condemned, Barefoot in the Park, Love Story, Harold and Maude, Paper Moon, Nashville, and of course, a title I'd quadruple-dip on, The Ten Commandments.

I wonder if

ETA:
Strangely enough, I finished this post without finishing that weird "I wonder if..." above, but coming back to it now, I can't remember what it was I was wondering if about...

albert

Disneykid · Post by **Disneykid** » Mon Sep 08, 2008 8:27 pm

I'm really tempted to get Sabrina since I already own Sunset Boulevard and Roman Holiday (and am very satisfied by both discs). I just don't want to buy this now and have Paramount announce a BD version a few months from now. I'll restrain myself in case the inevitable Audrey Hepburn Blu set comes along. Not owning Sabrina in any format would gave me more of an incentive to upgrade Roman Holiday, Funny Face, and Breakfast at Tiffany's should such a set come along. Knowing Paramount's love for Audrey, I suspect it'll come sooner rather than later.

Dottie · Post by **Dottie** » Tue Sep 09, 2008 7:10 am

I might get Roma Holiday when it is released, since I don't own it yet and I can wait a little more to get this new 2-Disc set with more bonus. The last cover art wasn't that great either so I am not complaining.

Disneykid · Post by **Disneykid** » Thu Sep 11, 2008 5:59 pm

So it turns out the giant black border covers are actually the slipcovers. The actual sleeve art will be the little gold images blown up to full size:

http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/content.php?contentid=68873

Definitely an improvement, even if they're basically the original DVD covers with gold backgrounds.

Oh, and Paramount? Where the heck is The African Queen? I'm hoping the reason for such a delay is so that it can be released during this celebration.

Escapay · Post by **Escapay** » Fri Sep 12, 2008 4:52 pm

Paramount wrote:So it turns out the giant black border covers are actually the slipcovers. The actual sleeve art will be the little gold images blown up to full size:

http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/content.php?contentid=68873

Definitely an improvement, even if they're basically the original DVD covers with gold backgrounds.

Oh, thank god!

Also, DVDTimes has one inaccuracy: the featurette "Audrey Hepburn: In Her Own Words (11:40)" was not on the previous release for Sabrina (there was an 11-minute documentary about the film, perhaps they confused the two). It's a 1993 UNICEF documentary that actually runs 28 minutes. I'm guessing the new featurette is either an excerpt from this, or a similarly-titled featurette (that perhaps takes audio excerpts from other interviews, or Sabrina-related excerpts from biographies written about her)

Kelvin wrote:Oh, and Paramount? Where the heck is The African Queen? I'm hoping the reason for such a delay is so that it can be released during this celebration.

Ditto.

albert

my chicken is infected · Tue Sep 16, 2008 11:27 am

I definitely want all of those DVDs, but I'll wait on Sabrina and Roman Holiday. I'm sure they're going to re-issue the Audrey DVD collection YET again with these new 2-Disc sets.

Disneykid · Post by **Disneykid** » Tue Oct 07, 2008 7:51 pm

Two more Audrey titles have been added to the Centennial Collection:

http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/content.php?contentid=69074

One again I reiterate my thoughts: I'm tempted to get these, but I'll wait for a Blu-Ray boxed set of all four Audrey films.

Escapay · Post by **Escapay** » Tue Oct 07, 2008 8:10 pm

On the plus side, it's a better upgrade for Funny Face than the 50th Anniversary Edition was (transfer aside). The article doesn't mention if they'll be two-disc sets or single-disc sets, though I'm sure they'll be two-discs. I'll probably get them on street date, even if the eventual Blu-Ray boxset will arrive in the future.

Now if only Paramount will quadruple-dip on The Ten Commandments for this Centennial Collection and give it the extensive extras it deserves!

Kelvin wrote: Blu-Ray boxed set of all four Audrey films.

Paramount produced/has rights to six Audrey Hepburn films: Roman Holiday, Sabrina, War and Peace, Funny Face, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and Paris When It Sizzles. But War and Peace has never been included in any of the Audrey boxsets, and Paris When It Sizzles is generally ignored by Paramount (grrrr. It's not her best, but it's just as enjoyable as her other works).

But I expect that a Blu-Ray boxset will only include the four.

albert

Disneykid · Post by **Disneykid** » Tue Oct 07, 2008 8:53 pm

Ah, yes, I forgot about Paris When It Sizzles and War & Peace. I can understand excluding the latter, but there's no excuse for the former. Maybe this Centennial Celebration will finally give Paris When It Sizzles the attention it deserves. If so, then a BD set containing those five wouldn't seem out of the question. If we don't see a re-release of it during this promotion, though, then a Blu Audrey set is pretty much guaranteed to just have the four.

my chicken is infected · Thu Oct 09, 2008 8:07 am

I think Paris When It Sizzles was included in Paramount's latest Audrey box set, which included the "current" DVDs of Paris, Sabrina, and RH, plus the reissues of BAT and Funny Face.

Anyhoo, I'm just going to wait now for the new NEW Audrey set that includes all three Centennial Editions, plus ONCE AGAIN Sabrina. (They should also include Paris and War And Peace in this set too, in their current DVD incarnations. And then I'll finally replace my old set, which was actually the first Audrey DVD set Paramount released, complete with the original overly grainy barebones BAT DVD.)

Escapay · Post by **Escapay** » Thu Nov 13, 2008 9:51 am

DVDTalk has reviewed all three titles...

Sunset Boulevard: The Centennial Collection

Roman Holiday: The Centennial Collection

Sabrina: The Centennial Collection

Sunset Boulevard loses the "A Look Back" documentary (which the reviewer notes would be rather redundant given the new stuff), but I have a feeling the interviews used in it were simply re-edited into the new featurettes (given the brief descriptions, as well as the Nancy Olson interview screen cap, which is definitely from the same time as "A Look Back". I'll have to buy the new set to check.

Roman Holiday loses "Remembering Roman Holiday", so I'll be holding on to that disc. The Edith Head doc is dropped, but since it's been repeated on several DVDs, it's no big loss.

Frustratingly, Sabrina seems to be the lightest of the three. The old documentary's been retitled "Audrey Hepburn: In Her Own Words", which makes no sense since it's really just voiceover narration, some comments from A.C. Lyles, and a brief bit from Audrey Hepburn (and it's not even about Sabrina, but about the play "Ondine"). It would have been better if it was the 1993 UNICEF video that I thought it was in an earlier post. And there's still no Sabrina trailer. Harrumph!

Still, all three sets seem very well-done, and it's nice to see Paramount finally give them treatments they deserve. Will likely hold off on buying the Audrey films until the inevitable boxset (and here's hoping Paris When It Sizzles and War and Peace get upgrades too!).

albert

Little Red Henski · Post by **Little Red Henski** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 8:25 pm

I already have the Audrey box, so i will not be getting any of these. Hopefully Paramount can release Wings as a cenntenial title.

Gurgi30 · Post by **Gurgi30** » Mon Apr 20, 2009 9:47 pm

I happened to be at Target tonight and was looking through their on sale DVD's and noticed a lone copy of the Breakfast at Tiffany's Centennial Collection DVD sitting on the shelf. There was alo a copy of an older releae of it and I thought that it wasn't a sale item. Anyways, I scanned it and it came up as $7.50 so I ended up purchasing one of my favorite movies.

I also just started doing some more research on this collection and it seems to be taking off. It now includes BAT's, Funny Face, To Catch a Thief, The Odd Couple, Who Shot Liberty Valance?, and another one I'm not recalling at the moment. Is anybody keeping up on these and had a chance to watch them yet? Are the DVD's as good as they seem?

Escapay · Post by **Escapay** » Mon Apr 20, 2009 11:03 pm

Wave 1: November 11, 2008
Sunset Boulevard (1950)
Roman Holiday (1953)
Sabrina (1954)

Wave 2: January 13, 2009
Funny Face (1957)
Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)

Wave 3: March 24, 2009
To Catch A Thief (1955)
The Odd Couple (1968 )

Wave 4: May 19, 2009
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
El Dorado (1967)

Unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to buy any yet, though I did get to rent Sabrina from my library. I had hoped it would come with a commentary as it's my favourite of Audrey's Paramount films. Still, the featurettes are quite good.

I'm still hoping that future entries in the collection include A Place in the Sun and The Ten Commandments. A Place in the Sun already has a rather solid single-disc as is (commentary, two documentaries, trailer), but I'd really like to see a two-disc set with additional featurettes (such as one about the original play as well as the true story it was based on, along with biographical featurettes for Montgomery Clift, Shelley Winters, and Elizabeth Taylor). And, of course, The Ten Commandments is my favourite film of all time, and it deserves better treatment on DVD (because the 36-minute sham of a documentary is simply *not enough* for a film as epic as this, even if it does already contain an excellent commentary, three trailers, and a newsreel from the premiere.)

albert

jrboy · Post by **jrboy** » Fri May 22, 2009 6:57 pm

From classic flix:

No line on price or bonus features, but Paramount has scheduled an October 13th release date for The African Queen as part of their Paramount Centennial Collection series. Stay tuned for more details...

Escapay · Post by **Escapay** » Fri May 22, 2009 11:25 pm

Well it's about bloody time that movie got a release, Centennial Collection or not.

albert

littlefuzzy · Post by **littlefuzzy** » Sun May 24, 2009 11:39 am

Heads up!

These are all on sale at DeepDiscount.com for ~10.97!

I may have to grab a few (or all) of them.

I already picked up Breakfast at Tiffany's (used.)

Little Red Henski · Post by **Little Red Henski** » Mon May 25, 2009 1:45 am

The African Queen! Finally something interesting in the Centennial Collection.

Lazario · Post by **Lazario** » Mon May 25, 2009 10:28 am

What about Rosemary's Baby? And Don't Look Now?

Post by **Luke** » Sat May 30, 2009 5:45 pm

Lazario wrote:What about Rosemary's Baby? And Don't Look Now?

The former is one title I've been hoping shows up in this line. I bet it's got to at some point, provided Paramount keeps going forward with it.

DVDizzy Forum

Latest Movie Reviews

🎬 DVDizzy Top Stories️️

Paramount's new "Centennial Collection" DVDs

Paramount's new "Centennial Collection" DVDs