The Extras - Restoration & Reviews of 3 Classics: That's Entertainment, Humoresque, & Sweethearts PLUS a TV Western & 3 Post-2000 Comedies

Episode Date: December 6, 2024

Send us a textGeorge Feltenstein joins the podcast for our monthly review of the Warner Archive's latest Blu-ray releases for October and November. George provides good news on "Wait Till Your Father Gets Home" and when it might finally get a new release date. Then we dive into the tremendous amount of work that went into the restorations of THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT (1974), HUMORESQUE (1946), and the Technicolor upgrade for SWEETHEARTS (1938).  These three classics now look stunning and sound better than ever before, making them "must-adds" to your home collection.  The entertaining western TV series A MAN CALLED SHENANDOAH (1965-66) also received a fantastic-looking restoration, and it too deserves a place in your home collection.  We round out our reviews with three post-2000 comedies MUST LOVE DOGS (2005), FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION (2006), and A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION (2006).Purchase links:THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT! (1974) Blu-rayHUMORESQUE (1946) Blu-raySWEETHEARTS (1938) Blu-rayA MAN CALLED SHENANDOAH (1965-66) Blu-rayMUST LOVE DOGS (2005) Blu-rayFOR YOUR CONSIDERATION (2006) Blu-rayA PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION (2006) Blu-rayTHE COMPLETE THIN MAN COLLECTION (1934-47) The Extras Facebook pageThe Extras Twitter Warner Archive & Warner Bros Catalog GroupOtaku Media produces podcasts, behind-the-scenes extras, and media that connect creatives with their fans and businesses with their consumers. Contact us today to see how we can work together to achieve your goals. www.otakumedia.tv

Hi, this is Stephen C. Smith, documentary producer and author of Music by Max Steiner, the epic life of Hollywood's most influential composer. And you are listening to The Extras. Hello and welcome to The Extras. I'm Tim Millard, your host, and joining me is George Feldenstein to review the November and a few October Blu-ray releases from the Warner Archive. Hi, George. Hello, Tim. Great to be with you, as always.

Yeah, I hope you had a good Thanksgiving break. I know I did. Very, very restful. It didn't have to do too much work. I always think of you and I know you are like the hardest working man in the industry, so I'm glad to hear you got a little bit of a break anyway. I always think of you and I know you are like the hardest working man in the industry. So I'm glad to hear you got a little bit of a break anyway. I can't say I didn't work over the break, but I didn't work as much.

That sounds about right for you. Well, we have a lot to catch up on today because some of the titles over the last few months were delayed a little bit. So maybe they were scheduled for one month and then spilled over into the early of the next month, whatever. So we have some from October and then most of these are the November releases, which were out just not too long ago. So, but before we dive into those, I've been getting a few questions about the wait till your father gets home TV series, the animated one that was scheduled for November, but now has been delayed.

Do you have any information you can share? Well, possibly by the time this podcast goes live, we may actually have a firm date to be able to convey. But as we're recording this right now, I don't have that. I could have it as soon as tomorrow. What I can say is the discs have been finalized and they're ready for replication. And they may even be replicating as we speak. I didn't get a clear answer on that. But the wait will not be too much longer. And fans of the series, I think, will be very pleased

because it's the first time there's ever been a home video release of the full series. DVD only had season one. So for Blu-ray, you get all 48 episodes. And I know a lot of people have been waiting for it. And we really appreciate patients. We really appreciate patients for this whole year because the replication problems and

other delays that have not only been a problem for us but for a lot of other colleagues in the industry, it is frustrating for consumers who want to get their discs when they expect them. And I apologize for the delays. We're doing our best working with the limitations that we have given that there's only one replication facility in this continent. I'm hoping that next year will have longer lead times that will enable us to be able to rely more on our discs. And I really appreciate the patience of everyone. We're trying to get the product to you and make sure it's the best that it possibly can be.

So with that, we can talk about the new releases and there's more to look forward to from there. And before we dive into a couple of the actual films, I'll just briefly mention that there was also the release of the Thin Man collection, which is the six films that came out. We're not going to review those films because those have all been released over previous years, but the packaging looks amazing. It's a fantastic set, and I'm hoping that people are enjoying that collection.

Well, I hope they are too. And then we previously had Jerry on, you and I, to talk about the Looney Tunes Collector's Choice Volume 4 and Volume's 1 to 4 compilation, Blu-ray. And that podcast, People Can Find, it was just the previous one to four compilation, Blu-ray. And that podcast people can find. It was just the previous one that was released. So it's available at your favorite podcast provider or on our YouTube channel.

So look for that if you haven't caught that one yet. And that should pretty much catch us up, George, on those collections that came out in November. So now let's talk about some of the films that I know you're very, very excited and I was very excited about that came out this month that I want to really start with. That's Entertainment from 1974. In the announcement of that release, we both talked about how we'd seen it on the big screen, but I looked at it on my machine.

It looks fantastic. It's so crisp, so great to see and hear it. I think we just need to reiterate for the folks out there, all of the great work that went into the restoration. I have to say thank you for your very kind words, Tim. I know you saw the film at TCM and we actually continued working on it past the TCM Film Festival because there were things that still needed to be better. And I can safely say having seen the final disc and getting through everything that we had to do, I'm very proud of the way that it turned out. And there have been a few reviews already and some consumer postings about it that have been extraordinarily gratifying

because this was very difficult to do, working with almost 200 different sources to basically rebuild the film from scratch and to make it as exciting and even more beautiful than it was when it opened 50 years ago as a 70 millimeter attraction. So I think for the home environment, especially on your big screen, it is really a thrilling recreation of what it was like when people first saw the film 50 years ago. Yeah. And you know, they talk in the film about how this will never happen again. You know, this is a one time thing, right? Exactly, right? And so I'm watching that. I'm like,

this is so true that it's a pretty good chance this kind of restoration will never happen again as well. And so it's so fantastic to take what is a film, or you're never going to get those kinds of stars to come together for obvious reasons. But the industry has changed. No studio has that kind of firepower of stars. They wouldn't have the ability to create such an event and such a film. And even now with these centennials, right, that we have been celebrating

and the various studios have been celebrating, you've had some people come on, but it doesn't have the pow that that entertainment has because all of those stars were still live. And this was a very specific focus at the time that it came out. And at the time that it came out. At the time that it came out,

it was a roll of the dice because initially they weren't sure whether the idea would fly. They weren't sure if it was going to be a theatrical release or if they were going to do it for television. And I would say it was probably in July of 1973 that they were confident enough, and I may have talked about this on the previous podcast, but it was Dan Melnick who was the head of production at MGM at the time, and MGM was a shadow of its former self by then because so much horror and trauma and destruction had befallen that company from the time Kirk Recurrian became the major stockholder and assets were being sold off, auctioned off, destroyed. And in the midst of all this, someone wanted to shine a light on the past.

It wasn't originally intended to be something to celebrate the studio's 50th anniversary. It was going to be released in the fall of 73 originally. And one of the executives there got the idea, Hey, let's hold this off until May and celebrate the company's 50th anniversary. And by then they had already planned on making it a 70 millimeter, six track, big theater, single screen event with a New York and LA rollout and then other key big cities. They never dreamed it would gross the way that it grossed and, uh, been one

of the highest grossing films of the year. And what's most important about it. And I may have said this on a previous podcast, is people didn't really think of the MGM musical as a thing. They thought of the musical genre, but no one had really seriously taken into account what MGM did as a studio. They did so many things magnificently, but no one made musicals like they did from the late 30s up through the mid-50s. They were the

king of the genre for sure. The fact that this film in 1974 had a time when the world was dealing with the after effects of Watergate, Nixon hadn't resigned yet, the Vietnam War was coming to an end, there was crime, there were all these horrible things going on in the world, and then this movie comes out and the tagline was, boy, do we need it now. A very good friend of mine who is a big fan of the film said, that really is something you could say today, boy, do we need it now because this movie makes you feel great. It's just two hours and 15 minutes of joy and it wasn't so joyful for me looking at the first blu ray that came out because we were working from.

I was involved in the mastering but as a company we were working from do be elements that were generations away from the original and I never thought it would be possible that we'd be able to do this kind of a painstaking reconstruction. But thanks to many, many people working meticulously, the net result is now in people's hands. And I think there's nothing more rewarding for me than going to Amazon's product page and seeing a customer review that feels the same elation, having watched the Blu-ray and noting the improvements and how pleased they were by it. It was, I think, just last night that I read one of those and it made me so deeply happy. I have to say that it's wonderful film history in

a box. I mean, you watch this and if you're a young person and you don't know the history of MGM, what a great way to celebrate this 100th year anniversary of MGM. Just watch this and you get many of the highlights of the first 50 years, just in a box, in a couple of hours, now looking pristine. So I think it's great for young people. And then for those who grew up with these films or grew up watching some of these films,

whether it being first run or second run or just as fans of musicals, to see the clips now looking the way they should. And you know, many of the movies have been remastered, so that made this possible. But to see them all celebrated like this is a great thing and a great thing to own. And then you have these extras that even go like behind the scenes of the behind the scenes, showing them filming this and how unique it was at that time. Absolutely. You know, people's ability to see the films

that are excerpted in the compilation is pretty broad now between home video releases of the films that have been going on for the last 40 plus years in different formats, the ability to watch them on TCM or before that TNT or before that the Showtime cable network. I mean, there have been all these ways that people could get to see the films. And we have made a commitment to try to make the films themselves available in wonderful quality. And we've got our work cut out for us because there are so many that still aren't available

on Blu-ray. But to have this compilation, which is its own work, and that's something that I've emphasized multiple times, is look at the craftsmanship with what Jack Haley Jr. did. Who he selected to talk about what particular clips, how brilliantly they're edited together. Virtually every clip is not the complete song as presented in the original film. There are few exceptions. Singing in the Rain by Gene Kelly is one of them that didn't get edited down, but the editing was done in such a magnificent way to appear as it becomes heresy. But when you're looking at it as its own work, it's almost like an amusement park ride.

It just doesn't stop. To achieve the quality that we have on the Blu-ray, both in terms of picture and sound, is quite remarkable and very gratifying. Yeah, kudos to Water Archive, kudos to you. I just think it's a tremendous release and one I hope people talk about and I did mention, you know, it is the 100th anniversary of the old MGM that started so I think this is like the great way to celebrate that by this. And that's a great way to kind of celebrate that.

Without question. Yeah. So the next film I'm just as excited about to talk about, and that is Humoresque from 1946 starring John Garfield and Joan Crawford. This is a terrific film, George. Obviously, I don't have to tell you, but I think we have to start with the comment about the restoration as well because it does look superb. And because there's so much music in it, the sound is so important. It sounds terrific. I mean, both, you know, MPI on the picture side and Warner Brothers Archival Mastering

on the audio side, They killed it yes because it looks so much better than i've ever seen it. Such a quantum leap better than the DVD which was not terrible it was ok for twenty years ago and for what standard definition was those of us that grew up seeing these things in 16mm syndication prints on television filled with splices and scratches and you know, it was not the best way to see a movie. As technology has improved, the quality we're able to bring to a presentation like this, we weren't allowed to be able to scan the original negative 20 years ago. But now we have and we scan the original camera negative, we scan the original track negative for the audio, and the audio is so important in this movie.

That's why we have a featurette on the disc, The Music of Humoresque, because what the great composer Franz Waxman did in melding all these classical themes together, it's non-stop music throughout the entire movie, and a movie about music and passion. As you mentioned before, John Garfield and Joan Crawford,

their performances are magnificent. And Garfield is, I think he's still not recognized for the great actor that he was. We've tried to change that. We made a documentary about him many years ago that his daughter narrated. His life was cut terribly short by having a heart attack that was really brought on by the House

Un-American Activities Committee, blacklisting him. We can't say they killed him, but it certainly contributed to it. But his career was cut down in his prime and his life was cut terribly short and he left behind film performances of which this is one of the best. There are several others that are magnificent as well, but he's tremendous as Paul Boré, the young violinist from the ghetto, poverty poverty stricken, struggling childhood and then making it to the concert stage. And Joan Crawford as the wealthy married lady who can't resist his charms. And it's just, it's thick soap opera, but it's delicious. It's a good way to start. It's so good.

And the music is delicious. The extra piece that you have on there about the music is a terrific look at that. And it also gives you great sneak peek into how they did the filming, you know, things of that, if that interests folks. But then you also have two great cartoons on there that I think thematically also fit as extras for this film, making a terrific package for those who want to see the great restoration that you did and hear it and just enjoy everything about this release? Well, one of the cartoons is the cartoon it opened with in Los Angeles, and that's kind

of what we're trying to do is recreate the going to the movies experience. We do that sometimes to a great degree when we do our Warner Night at the Movies, but we include also a cartoon called Rhapsody Rabbit where, you know, classical music is the theme and it came out the same year. So it's exactly perfect. Yeah, that was fun. That was fun to watch after watching the film and the other extra and everything. So for sure.

Now, do you have, you know, we have so many Joan Crawford fans and John Garfield fans out there. Are there more in the library? Oh, yeah.? Oh yeah. Okay. Yeah. Oh yeah. Lots more.

Okay. Terrific to hear for those fans of Joan and John. Well, you have one Technicolor that we're gonna talk about. And it's always a pleasure talking with you about the Technicolor because I'm like a broken record, right? On repeat about how great they look. But the work that your team does with the Technicolor makes every film that you work on

almost like a new experience in viewing it because of how great it looks and sounds. So we're talking here about Sweethearts. Well, this was MGM's first three-color Technicolor feature. The three-color Technicolor process was perfected in the early 30s. And Walt Disney had basically an exclusive relationship with the Technicolor Corporation to use the three-color. Then it was tried in live-action. In 1935, the first feature film shot using the process was Becky Sharp with Miriam Hopkins. And in the ensuing years, many of the studios were dipping their toe into the technicolor waters.

Paramount made a film in 1936 called Trail of the Lonesome Pine that had a lot of outdoor technicolor photography. A very, very good film. 1937 you have David O. Selznick's first A Star is Born and Selznick had already worked in Technicolor the year before with the Garden of Allah with Marlene Edithrick and 20th Century Fox really embraced Technicolor in those years. So did Warner Brothers. And in 1938, Warner Brothers made its third Technicolor feature called The Adventures of Robin Hood, a little picture called The Adventures of Robin Hood, which to me is so important because that film was shot in color and it is such a great film.

Color makes a classic film more accessible. There are a lot of people who have problems watching black and white films, especially younger people. So if a film is in color, that draws in more people. And I think one of the reasons why Robin Hood is so popular, first of all, it's a great film, but the Technicolor photography is amazing. And yet it lost the Oscar for Best Color Photography to Sweetheart,

which was MGM's first three-color Technicolor feature. And what makes me very excited about this release is we remastered the film for DVD about 13 years ago, working from, I'd say, third, fourth generation elements was all we could work with. And we actually completed a full master and chucked it and started again to try to make it a little better. And the net result was still somewhat, at least for me personally, somewhat of an embarrassment because there was so much color fringing

and color breathing. I don't know if everybody listening to this podcast understands color breathing, but it's basically when the colors breathe on the screen, they change home. You can be watching someone in a scene and their face turns three different shades of whatever their flesh color is.

So these elements were not good. I knew we couldn't use the original negative because all the reels of the original negative had burnt in the tragic George Eastman House fire in 1978. But there was one reel that did survive. But thankfully MGM made safety color separation masters, which are second generation replicas, if you will, in reverse of the yellow cyan and magenta original camera negative. So we recombined the separations

the way we recombine the camera negative. In this case specifically, we did have one reel of the camera negative. In this case specifically, we did have one reel of the camera negative. So I always have talked to people who have seen this new Blu-ray and they've raved about it and I've asked them, I said, did you notice the one reel that was from the original negative and not from the separations? And everybody had different answers because nobody really could tell because the net result of what Warner Brothers

Motion Picture Imaging was able to do was just stunning. And I was very nervous about this because this is such early use of Technicolor that there is so much color on the screen. I was afraid, you know, would we be able to capture it and have it be what you would have seen on the movie screen, you know, I'll say 60 or 70 years ago, because Technicolor printing when this movie came out

in 1938 was different than, let's say, if they had made a reissue print in 1962. They had improved the printing process. So I think we would be looking at the equivalent or better of a 1962 reissue print. It's just stunning to look at and the colorist who worked on it was so proud of his work and rightly so. And the sound is also terrific and then it happens to be a very very fun movie because it isn't a costume piece that's set in the 1800s or whatever, which was what Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald tended to do, these wonderful operettas.

But this was a contemporary of then, a period contemporary story set in the late 30s, shot in the late 30s about a married couple on Broadway who have just finished the sixth year of performing one of these chestnut operettas called Sweethearts. So they used some of the music from the Victor Herbert operetta Sweethearts to build a new story around it. And you have great character actors like Misha Auer and Frank Morgan. It's just a fun picture. And they take jabs at Hollywood, jabs at Broadway.

It's beautiful to look at. And you even get to see Ray Bolger the year before The Wizard of Oz. He's astounding in his dancing at the beginning of the film. And that lets you know why his eccentric dancing style became so attractive to MGM. Yeah, and fans of Jeanette McDonald, Nelson Eddy are going to, I think, want to gobble this up, because to your point, it's very lavish and beautiful. And, you know, they they make sure and give her all the gowns as well. gobble this up because to your point, it's very lavish and beautiful. And they make sure and give her all the gowns as well.

So the fashion that it shows off, I think is fantastic. The sets, of course, and the operetta. There's just so much to enjoy in this beyond the music, of course, which is at the center. But as we've discussed before, when you get these Technicolor restorations, it's a brand new experience for anybody who doesn't know the film. And to those who do know the film, it's just like, it's just a wonderful thing to see it and hear it sounding and looking this good. And we've just talked about three amazing restorations here that you've just released

recently. And I think the restorations are what make the older films such an exciting thing for the collectors because you maybe already know the movie and it's in your mind, but then you see these and you get excited to open that Blu-ray and you put it in and you see, yes, the Warner Archive has done it again. You've done the Technicolor fantastically or humor-esque, you know, the visuals and the music so wonderful. That's what makes these, I think, so exciting and so fun for you and I to talk about because the films, many of them people already know they're great.

The actors are great. You know, they're part of film history. But the excitement that these films bring is when you open it and see it for the first time and hear it for the first time. Looking so great with these restorations. It's very exciting for me because I know the work is going to be done, but when I first get my eyes on it, it's usually a very thrilling experience. I remember working, you know, at Warner Brothers, George, and sometimes you get in the weeds, right? Like you're seeing it in different phases before the final and you don't get that same experience of the consumer of the shrink-wrapped package comes and you put it in. Now that I'm not working at Warner Brothers, I'm experiencing that. And I'm experiencing, I think what others are, that excitement. You get it. You get

the shrink wrap off and you put it in and you watch it and you have your little snacks or whatever it is that you're going to enjoy. And these films are just wonderful, wonderful fun experiences for the fans. So I just want to thank you on behalf of the fans for these wonderful releases. Well, and thank you for giving us the opportunity to spread the word, because that's the important thing. And it's also important to me that people understand the real multifaceted work that so many people here put into these releases. And it's a testament to my colleagues that we're able to, with great pride, put out such beautiful looking discs.

And we intend to continue to do that. Well, we have one TV series that we're going to talk about this month as well. And that is a man called Shenandoah that stars Robert Horton. I saw some reviews about this already that came out. And to the point of what we just talked about, people keep saying these one season TV releases, the work that you guys have done there at Warner Brothers, Warner Archive, they look fabulous. And I'm seeing those same reviews for this series as well. So we'll start there.

I watched some of the episodes and I'm enjoying it. The great thing about these TV series is that the episodes are not that long. And so you can put them in and just watch one to the next to the next and I just kind of really kind of binge, enjoy these great looking Westerns. And I think this one comes through, just as some of the others you've released this year

is quite entertaining. Well, I thank you for that. This is a really interesting series. I think it would have been quite a big success if it wasn't in a competitive time slot, but it was in a very competitive time slot with what was going on on cbs and bc and so a lot of people didn't get to see it. So the series began this odyssey of its character shenan doha. And it was never resolved because the show was canceled right but the episodes themselves are really really enjoyable and he's terrific and that's why he was such a big tv star. The difference between what this looks like now with the four case cans off the camera negative versus what we put on dvd several years ago is.

what we put on DVD several years ago is rather it speaks for itself. Yeah. And it's rather impressive to say the least. And that's the best way to watch these things because they become much more entertaining and accessible when they look and sound great. Yeah. And these are fun. when they look and sound great. Yeah, and these are fun. There's a mystery to this one because in the pilot,

Robert Horton character, he doesn't remember anything. He has the amnesia. And so that starts the mystery to this one. And that's a fun ride. As you mentioned, it does never finally resolve, but it takes you from one episode to the next. It's he's trying to figure out, piece together his backstory. mentioned, it does never finally resolve, but it takes you from one episode to the next. He's trying to figure out, piece together his backstory, who am I? But there's always

this action. They're all action driven. And so they're a lot of fun. These episodes are. And so I think this is another highly recommended TV release from the Warner Archive. So I hope you have more coming. Oh, yes, we do indeed. Okay, well, that's exciting. So I'm looking forward to hearing more about that in the near future. You'll be the first to know. Well George, we're going to take a big jump a few decades here to the post 2000s and there's some films that you've

been releasing on an ongoing basis I think pretty much every month to help fill in the the modern films that never released on Blu-ray so there's been some really good ones here that we haven't had a chance to talk about and looking forward to. I think we'll start with Must Love Dogs, starring Diane Lane and John Cusack. And that's from 2005. It's pretty surprising that it hasn't been released on Blu-ray before, but Cusack and Lane played divorcees that are being pressured by their family and friends to use the internet to start dating. People have to remember, hey, in 2005, that was kind of a new thing. It wasn't, it wasn't the, you've got mail, you know, just sending emails to each other

of the late nineties. This was actual, you know, dating sites and things. So it's got a real feel for the era that was in and the plot is entertaining. It keeps moving. And of course the actors, Cusack and Lane together is always a great pairing. So this is a really fun one to have. It's great that it's finally coming out on Blu-ray for fans of this film. Yeah, I think it's a charming, I remember seeing it when it came out, thought it was very entertaining. I think the reason it never came out on blu ray is. That it was released right before the format made its debut and when the format made its debut it was also competing against. HD dvd there was a lot of catching up to do and somehow this just.

You know slip through the cracks so had remembered it being a terrific film. And I thought that both Diane Lane and John Cusack are terrific in it. So it's a feel good movie and we need movies that make people feel good. Yeah, it has a few extras on here. It's got deleted scenes, gag reel and the trailer. So it's always nice to have those, I think, with these post-2000

releases as well. For sure. Absolutely. Well, the next one I thought we'd talk about is another Christopher Guest film, and it's the mockumentary for your consideration, which this is perfect timing, right? We're entering the ramp up in the industry, which happens in November and December because you got to get qualified for the awards season. And this film is a really fun look, you know, behind the scenes of that happening. And having worked at Warner Brothers, we've seen this kind of infectious buzz around certain

films and actors that happened. And it's like catnip for actors and producers and directors if they hear something about themselves or one of their films. And it often comes down to, you know, crashing down to depressing results for them. But this is a fun and hilarious take on that experience for people in the industry and outside the industry to enjoy it. It's really a lot of fun. Well, I happen to be a big fan of Mr. Guest. And we have four of his films that are with his coterie of talents, starting with Waiting for Guffin,

which is a Warner Archive Blu-ray. Then the film that followed it was Best in Show, which did get a Blu-ray release through the mothership, through Warner and Video. Then there is A Mighty Wind, which I also love, which we put out through Warner Archive. Then the last of them that falls under our ownership is For Your Consideration.

And for some reason, this didn't get considered to be put out on Blu-ray. And I was surprised by that. And I wanted to write that wrong. And we have. Now it's available on Blu-ray and it's as funny as it was when I first saw it because all the things that it lampoons have only become more over the top. Yes. Yeah, it's so good. It's just a lighthearted fun and it's great to see so many great actors that are part of his films.

So I really enjoyed it. And this one is loaded with... Yeah, it is. Yeah. So you've got, well, you've got the commentary with Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy. And then you've got a whole bunch of other bonus materials on here that I think people are going to enjoy. I think people really should pick this disc up. And if you haven't seen Waiting for Guffman and The Mighty Win, I recommend those as well. You're going to laugh. It's true and truth provides great humor.

So it's got so much truth to it. Yes, exactly. That's what makes satire really sizzle. Well, we have one more film that we're going to talk about here today, and that is A Prairie Home Companion from 2006. And this is also very funny, whimsical. It's a comedy with terrific performances.

When you put in Lily Tomlin and Meryl Streep and Woody Harrelson and Kevin Klein and Garrison Keeler, you're bound to have a very smart but funny, funny film. Oh, absolutely. And also, this is notable as being the final film of the great Robert Altman. And there's a poignancy to it. I happen to be a big fan of a lot of Robert Ullman's films and he was not in the best of health. And P.T. Anderson was brought on board kind of as a backup in case Altman wasn't well enough to

finish the movie. But thankfully he did and he even contributed a commentary track which is on the disc with Kevin Klein. The films of his that I like the most are where he's brought together just an incredible slew and impressive slew of important talented actors and here you have Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin and even the great Lindsay Lohan. I mean everybody is in this movie. It's kind of a different take on the multicast movies that Christopher Guest makes, you know?

But you sense the filmmaker smiling while he's making the movie in both cases. And I think these films will actually work together if you were to do a double bill Well, that's so true. Yeah, I also want to mention you get Tommy Lee Jones playing this very serious person Investigating everything which adds a fun Element to it and then John C Riley. Yeah, he was great

He's sensational in it. He always brings so much to a film. And the music, people who know The Prairie Home Companion, of course, know about the style and everything, but I thought the music was just so enjoyable. Oh, it certainly is. My goodness. It's really good. Well, we ended with a couple of really fun ones here. I've been laughing for the last few minutes that we've been talking about these, just thinking back about how fun it was to watch these. So I think people are going to really enjoy if they pick up those Blu-rays because they

look fantastic now. So great packages to put together there. Well, George, always a lot of fun to get together, talk about these great films. Always a pleasure for me and thank you for the opportunity. We'll have to get together again soon because there's going to be a lot more to talk about. Oh, yes, there will. I know in talking with Jerry, he was looking forward to talking about the Wait Till Your Father Gets Home.

So there's going to be a lot of great podcasts in the future as we come into the end of the year and early 2025. Sounds like a plan. For those who'd like to order the films that we talked about today, there are purchase links in the podcast show notes. If you aren't yet subscribed or following the show at your favorite podcast provider,

you may want to do that so that you don't miss anything that's coming up. Until next time, you've been listening to Tim Millard. Stay slightly obsessed. Hi, this is Tim Millard, host of the Extras Podcast and I wanted to let you know that we have a new private Facebook group for fans of the Warner Archive and Warner Bros. Catalog physical media releases. So if that interests you, you can find the link on our Facebook page or look for the link in the podcast show notes.