According to information from retail giant Walmart, 20th Century Fox will follow up its Blu-ray onslaught (see below) with a wave of titles from the MGM catalog, including Some Like It Hot (Billy Wilder, 1959) for May 10. Fox proper will release The Hustler (50th Anniversary) (Robert Rossen, 1961) on May 17. Both will carry an MSRP of $34.99 and thus are likely to be presented in special-edition DigiBooks.
Fox/MGM will also visit the western, with The Horse Soldiers (John Ford, 1959) on May 10 and The Comancheros (50th Anniversary) (Michael Curtiz, 1961) a week later, and the war genre, with Platoon (Oliver Stone, 1986) hitting BD also on May 17, and Tigerland (Joel Schumacher, 2000) on May 24.
And there's more: fans of the Coen brothers will hit the roof when they know that not only is Miller's Crossing coming up, but also is Raising Arizona.
Cannot believe a thread that has the awesome news of Billy Wilder and Paul Newman classics coming to blu would have the typical Bond bellyachers in here trying to spoil the great news!
@ Russell22: I'm sure MGM will release the remainder of the James Bond series eventually. But, let's stick to the topic at hand and not overlook these remarkable releases.
It's indeed wonderful news to see Some Like It Hot, The Hustler and Platoon officially announced. These are all landmark films that I'll be happy to add to my collection (or, in the case of Hot, upgrade to blu). I hope MGM, at some point down the line, also releases The Billy Wilder Collection box set on blu; such excellent work.
I would also be interested in checking out The Horse Soldiers, as I love both Westerns and John Ford's work, and maybe Miller's Crossing, Raising Arizona, The Comancheros and Tigerland.
I second _ck's comment about The Apartment. The restored version I saw in the cinema a few years ago was glorious, I'd love to see that transferred properly to BD. Excited about Some Like It Hot and the Coens films nonetheless.
"The Horse Soldiers" is not a western. It's a film about the Grierson Raid through Mississippi during the US Civil War. And it's an excellent film and will be most welcome on blu-ray.
The only two movies on the list I want Platoon and The Hustler are coming out on my birthday May 17th awesome.
Also just saw Miller's Crossing last year really good movie. Raising Arizon is amazing that chase scene with the great music will be stuck in my head for the rest of my life.
p.s. Please MGM Bond release the rest I beg of you.
Definitely purchasing
Some Like It Hot (Billy Wilder, 1959)
The Horse Soldiers (John Ford, 1959)
The Hustler (50th Anniversary) (Robert Rossen, 1961)
and The Comancheros (50th Anniversary) (Michael Curtiz, 1961)
Wow, all these great titles announced and the very first comment was about the Bond films? Congrats on being a d-bag, everyone who mentions the Bond films every time there is an MGM-related news item. NEWSFLASH: There are other, better films in MGM's catalog and some of them are actually listed right here (Some Like it Hot, Platoon, Raizing Arizona, etc). And you will most certainly get your stinkin' Bond films one day soon, and they will be done RIGHT instead of a lame rush-job, so as not to give you cause to complain about re-releasing them in the comments section of every MGM-related news item from now until the end of time.
I respect that all these releases are coming out, but I wish that MGM would take more initiative in releasing the remaining Bond films. After all, the transfers are already done by Lowry so all MGM really has to do is to produce the discs.
I've been waiting for a blu ray treatment of "Horse Soldiers" for a long time---a very underrated John Ford/John Wayne movie. And Ford's only civil war western. The current DVD is a non-anamorphic letter boxed release. Long over due for an ungrade.
While we're throwing requests out, I'd love a Blu-Ray of the original Taking of Pelham 123. The DVD is non-anamorphic and terrible. The good news is, in the meantime, Netflix has it streaming in HD!
As nice as it is to see some catalog unlocked, and it looks like decent titles for a change, I wonder how much better these and others could have been if more attention had been given them (and they weren't just being rushed out the door to beat a contract expiration deadline, probably with masters that have been sitting around for years). Ass-uming that's the case.
Whatever you do, MGM, please make West Side Story perfect. Take your time. Thank you.
@shanester: Ronin is an old catalogue title? It was made in 1998!
Seriously when I see comments like that it becomes obvious that many of the commenters here are all kids who have no idea of the good films that were released before they were born. If they don't they are missing out on some of the greatest cinematic accomplishments.
Phenomenal news all around -- Miller's Crossing in particular. It's disappointing that Barton Fink isn't also scheduled. That was released the same time as Miller's Crossing on DVD, so it's absence here is all the more surprising. Is there any chance Criterion may have licensed it?
If I had to choose a favorite movie it'd be Miller's Crossing. Raising Arizona is a great movie too. So is The Hustler. However, Some Like It Hot is a little broad for me. If you're doing Wilder movies I'd much rather see The Apartment or Stalag 17, hell even Sabrina over Some Like It Hot.
I feel bad because out off all of these films I have only heard of 'Platoon' and 'Some Like It Hot' rings a bell. I'm too young I suppose being 24.
But I'm all for more films being released on blu-ray; the more the better.
Forgot to say this earlier I met a guy who was in Vietnam and he said of every Vietnam movie he had ever seen Platoon was the most realistic and accurate. That has got to count for something.
Platoon is day one for me. However, the UK is getting Midnight Cowboy (5/2) before Platoon (5/16). Where's the Midnight Cowboy announcement for the US? With Walmart apparently leaking Platoon, does that mean Midnight Cowboy will be a Best Buy exclusive?
+1 on all the Bonds (though I know they're not coming till Bond 23 in late 2012), The Apartment & West Side Story. Also every other MGM-owned Best Picture winner not yet on BD (in addition to Platoon, MC, Apt & WSS): Annie Hall, In the Heat of the Night, Tom Jones, Marty, The Best Years of Our Lives, and Rebecca. (Disney, Rebecca's ultimate owner thru ABC--it was on DVD from Criterion and Anchor Bay before MGM--may pick another studio for the BD; the rest came to MGM from UA, except Platoon from Orion and TJ & BYoOL from Samuel Goldwyn.)
(Edit: With Platoon--or any earlier announcement--MGM will have already released more of its Best Pictures on U.S. BD in 2011 than in ALL previous years combined. Before this year MGM's only Best Picture BDs were Rocky & The Silence of the Lambs; they've already released Dances With Wolves & Rain Man this year.)
I'm drooling at the thought of Some like it hot in a stellar transfer with crystal clear image and detail....
Hoping the package will be nice too and not just a regular keep case. Not that it matters extremely much.
