The Warner Gangsters Collection (The Public Enemy/ White Heat/Angels with Dirty Faces/Little Caesar/The Petrified Forest/The Roaring '20s)

Rating:
Summary: At last the great gangsters films are here on dvd!!
Review: All the great gangsters films are now on dvd for all to enjoy!!
I waited years for these films to get the proper dvd treatment with all the great extras!!
Thank you Warner Bros.!!

Rating:
Summary: Greatest of all time
Review: AT LONG LAST

This is "THE" mother of all "Tough Guy" box set flicks.

Like Nike Said "Just Do it!"

The best purchase i've made in years, and i've waited for these classic for decades.

5 starts and much much more




Rating:
Summary: Top 'O The World
Review: Halleujah!! What a great series!! I just purchased "White heat" and am now going for the entire collection. White Heat alone is worth the purchase. Just one question, wasn't the ending of "White heat" reprised in the '50s shocker "The Hideous Sun Demon"? You will also notice some great bit players in the movie. For instance, the driver of the gas truck at the end was the same actor who played the arch villian in "High Noon". Great collection of "bad guys"!!

Rating:
Summary: Truly Great Screen Classics
Review: I can't add any new praise to the other reviewers...this set is just a delight from beginning to end. I am relearning just how amazing an actor Cagney was. What I will add is that when you watch these movies you see the building blocks of every gangster movie made since, before they became cliches. (A drinking game could me played requiring a shot whenever anyone says "saaay...what's the idea?") The featurettes are nice and the "Warner Night at the Movies" format is a lot of fun as well. This and Universal's package of its' classic monster movies are terrific entertainments as well as educations in the roots of each genre.

Rating:
Summary: Are These Movies Talkies?
Review: I cannot believe that Warner went to all the trouble to remaster and package some of the best work that they have ever done into one set for the gangster film fans and then totally drop the ball on the reproduction. My set has absolutely no audible audio! I have to push the volume on my brand new <a href="sony%20tv" onmouseover="window.status='Sony TV'; return true;" onmouseout="window.status=''; return true;">Sony TV</a> to the absolute max to hear any dialogue at all and faintly at that! Am I the only one with this problem? I am sending my set back immediately! I knew it was too good to be true to have this many great films available for a reasonable price, in one set! Given today's technology in this area you would think that the knuckleheads responsible for the transfer of the audio and video would be sure that it was being done in a satisfactory manner but like everthing else, the computer and all of it's descendents i.e. (DVD technology)have made people more stupid and not smarter!

Rating:
Summary: Wow. Just... wow.
Review: Not really sure what type of fireball was lit under Warner's rear end, but they've really been on the ball with their DVD's lately.

Their restoration of older movies could give Criterion a run for their money, and their special edition packages should be regarded as the ultimate how-to's for a successful DVD. And, best of all, no more snapcases!

Here we are treated to the definitive gangster films of the era (Hawks' original "Scarface" completes this little puzzle). Six classics. Often imitated, never duplicated. The audio & video are as crisp as can be expected from 70 year old films and the special features are great. I particularly enjoy the "Night At The Movies" option, the first of which I saw on the "Treasure Of The Sierra Madre" DVD. Glad to see this trend continuing.

I haven't been this excited over a DVD release in months, but this box set is a real kick in the balls and has rekindled my interest in collecting movies again (particularly more older ones). Get it. A movie collection without Robinson, Cagney and Bogie is no collection at all.

HIGHLY recommended.



Rating:
Summary: OUTSTANDING ODE TO WARNER'S GRITTY CLASSICS
Review: The good people at Warner Home Video have outdone themselves on this sassy six pack of classic gangster films. The box set includes William Wellman's "The Public Enemy" (1931)a benchmark acheivement in crime cinema; Raoul Walsh's intense character study of criminal insanity, "White Heat" (1949)and his ode to the ultimate decade of decadence - "The Roaring Twenties" (1939); Robert E. Sherwood's Broadway blockbuster, "The Petrified Forest" (1936),"Little Caesar" (1931)and "Angels With Dirty Faces."

"The Public Enemy is the undisputed trend setting monarch of this box set with James Cagney in his breakout performance as bad boy Tom Powers, a deviant from the wrong side of the tracks who refuses to mellow with age. In "White Heat" Cagney plays the psychotic and sadistic Arthur 'Cody' Jarrett, a ruthless gang leader with a penchant for deriving pleasure from the affliction of pain. "The Petrified Forest" is basically two acts of melodrama with a crime thriller finish, pitting idealists, Alan Squier (Leslie Howard)and Gabby Maple (Bette Davis) against ruthless prison escapee, Duke Mantee (Humphrey Bogart). In "The Roaring Twenties" Cagney and Bogart unite as a pair of unlikely pals who scratch each other's back for a while, then tear one another to pieces. "Little Caesar" is the slightly off kilter recanting of the Al Capone story, told under the auspices of not so pure fiction. It's loveable fluff mixed with arsenic and twice as explosive with Edward G. Robinson in the driver's seat. And last, but certainly not least, is "Angels With Dirty Faces" a mix of empathy and excitement as two childhood buddies wind up on opposite sides of morality. Good versus evil never came out so good!

Warner's DVD transfers throughout this box set are marvelous improvements over previous video incarnations. Though age related artifacts still exist the remastered print elements are generally smooth and inviting. Of the set, "Little Caesar" rates the poorest in quality - though it's still pretty good. "The Roaring Twenties" is the best of the bunch - a near flawless transfer that simply sparkles. The gray scale on each transfer has been impeccibly rendered. There are moments where film grain will appear more excessive but this, again, is the fault of a 70 plus year old negative. The audio is mono and exhibits a decided hiss on "The Public Enemy" but is generally smooth and engaging elsewhere. No more could have been done by the good people at Warners on these transfers - save a full blown and costly restoration.

Extras include engaging audio commentaries by film historians, featurettes for each film and the return of Leonard Maltin, hosting "Warner Night at the Movies." Highly recommended.





Rating:
Summary: Best purchase in years!
Review: Watching Jimmy Cagney in these classic gangster films is like watching Fred Astaire dance or hearing Nat King Cole sing. He is the best tough guy in the history of cinema. Acting styles have changed over the years and many of the supporting actors will no doubt seem very presentational to the modern, post-Brando viewer. But Jimmy Cagney is as timeless as ever. The same is true for Humphrey Bogart and Edward G. Robinson too.
I can't recommend this collection enough. These six wonderful movies are a must for any movie buff's collection.
I've waitied for White Heat on DVD for years and it alone was worth the wait. I've seen White Heat a dozen times at least, but seeing it on DVD was like seeing it for the first time.
I'm a screenwriter in L.A. and while watching these great new transfers, I realized that the reason I got into this business in the first place was because of watching these old Jimmy Cagney movies on TV when I was a kid in Chicago.
If you make no other purchase this year -- make it this one.

Rating:
Summary: THE DVD RELEASE OF 2005 IS ALREADY HERE--AMAZING!!!
Review: When it comes down to it, Warner Bros. invented the gangster film. Just like MGM was the tops in musicals, and Universal was the house of horror, the tough, hard-boiled gangster film was imitated elswhere, but never equalled by what WB had done.

How fitting is it that the studio that put its mark on the genre, finally pays homage with an unbelievable boxed set filled with six stunningly gorgeous, restored transfers of 6 masterworks. If you're used to seeing these films on Turner Classic Movie Channel or on VHS or laserdisc, you're in for a shock....They've NEVER looked this good before....and PUBLIC ENEMY has extra scenes that were considered too "racy" and removed from the film after initial release. But WB has put them back here, and it's a kick.

Each film has a new documentary, and that superb "WARNER NIGHT AT THE MOVIE#S" feature with none other than Leonard Maltin to introduce a host of shorts, cartoons, newsreels and featurettes that would re-create the movie-going experience of each film from the year it was made.

I was blown away by this sensational release, and the intelligence, class and care with which it has been assembled surely would make the Brothers Warner, wherever they are, be justifiably proud.

The younger generation left in charge of their celluloid legacy has presented these classics in a way that shows why Warner leaves every one of their competitors in the far distance.

If you love classic films, this bargain-priced boxed set is a must-have!

Rating:
Summary: Top Of The World Warner Brothers
Review: Who can argue that this isn't the greatest collection of classic gangster films ever made?

If you need more proof about how good these are, I have 3 sources that rated these films BEFORE they were released to DVD.
Leonard Maltin (represented by LM, his highest rating is 4 stars),Nick Martin & Marsha Porter (authers of DVD & Video guide - represented by DVDG), and All Movie Guide (Represented by AMG).

Let's go Chronologically:

Little Caesar: LM- 3 1/2; DVDG - 3; AMG - 5

The Public Enemy: LM - 3 1/2; DVDG - 4 1/2; AMG - 5

The Petrified Forest: LM 3 1/2; DVDG - 4 1/2; AMG - 4

Angels With Dirty Faces: LM - 3 1/2; DVDG - 4 1/2; AMG - 4 1/2

The Roaring Twenties: LM - 3; DVDG - 4 1/2; AMG - 4 1/2

White Heat: LM - 3 1/2; DVDG - 4 1/2; AMG - 5

If you really look at the ratings (and consider that Maltin uses a 4 star rating system (as opposed to a 5 star)),you will see that the profesional critics rate these as quite high. Let's face it. These are the cream of the Warner gangster library. Another neat thing that was done for the DVD is the Warner Night at the Movies (Similarly done with Yankee Doodle Dandy, Treasures of the Sierra Madre, and the Adventures of Robin Hood - also introduced by Leonard Maltin) which gives you the option of viewing the film the way it was in theaters during that year (complete with trailer, news item, short, cartoon, & movie). They all have commentaries by notable historians, and have "Making of" special features (a few which include Martin Scorsese).

The prints are the cleanest I've seen in years (Turner does a top notch job of getting the best available source material).
The sound is above average to good. There are subtitles for the films, and closed captioning. Subtitles in english, french, and spanish.

The bottom line is if you are into this genre, you are going to want to get all 6 of these films (watch them in chronological order, the way the "making of"s are presented is much more rewarding if you do). These are simply the best of the gangster films. Second to none, and (to quote Cagney) "Top of the World".