The Extras - Warner Archive 15th Anniversary Listener Appreciation Phone Calls

Episode Date: April 1, 2024

This Warner Archive 15th Anniversary BONUS episode is chocked full of listener calls of appreciation for George Feltenstein and the Warner Archive. Each story shared in this episode is a thread in the rich tapestry of our collective film heritage—a heritage that Warner Archive has been meticulously weaving for 15 years, bringing joy, inspiration, and a sense of community to movie buffs everywhere.The Entertainment District PodcastWelcome to The Entertainment District Podcast! 🎙️ Dive into the world...Listen on: Apple Podcasts   SpotifyThe 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, Tim Allard here. And this is a bonus episode that we're providing because we had such a great response from so many of you who wanted to call in and leave a message for George Feltenstein and the Warner Archive with your appreciation, your memories, and your stories of what the archive has meant to you as part of our Warner Archive 15th anniversary celebration. I was overwhelmed by the response as was George, so what I'm calling an experiment really, really turned out well because of your involvement. And it's easy to be cynical these days for a variety of reasons because of the corporate

way that entertainment is run. But I love it that we have so many listeners that look beyond the cynicism and see the great work that individual people like George and others at the Warner Archive and at Warner Brothers That you see the hard work and what they do to try to bring all of these great movies to our shelves So thank you for that and I think you'll really enjoy hearing from people. It's a unique perspective We often talk about how so many people on social media And I think you'll really enjoy hearing from people. It's a unique perspective. We often talk about how so many people on social media leave their complaints.

And this is a truism of life that it's easier to leave a complaint than to leave something positive. So this is an opportunity to give a positive word of feedback and appreciation to everybody at Warner Brothers and Warner Archive. So thank you for doing that. Thank you for being involved, taking time out of your schedule to call and leave a message. And I think for those of you who are listening, maybe didn't know this was going on, I think you'll enjoy hearing from people here who listen to the podcast from around the world. Films and movies are an international phenomenon

and people from everywhere enjoy what's being put out by the Warner Archive each month. So it was great to hear from people from Germany, from Australia, from the UK, from so many places, because we have listeners from so many parts of the world. And just know that if you called and you don't hear your message here, we did have a few technical issues, some of the comments I could not use. I know that George did hear them, but they're not going to be included here for that reason. So thank you to everyone who did call in. It was a tremendous success and hopefully we'll do more of this type of thing in the future. I think you'll enjoy it and it's a great way to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Warner Archive. Oh hi, this is Tom in San Francisco and a big thanks to you Tim for providing this forum.

And a big thanks to you, Tim, for providing this forum, not only this opportunity to lead the message, but also for the podcast itself. And a big thanks to George, who I consider the patron saint of physical media for many years, probably going back to the laser disk days. My shelves are brimming over with DVDs and Blu-rays that go back to the launch of Warner Archive 15 years ago. I just want to say many thanks. And I know you are working feverishly and fighting battles behind the scenes that we consumers are not fully aware of to keep bringing us quality products.

So don't let the naysayers get you down and I really appreciate all you do and I look forward to more exciting announcements in the future. Thanks a lot. Hello Tim and hello George. My name is Ben and I'm from Texas. I wanted to call and give a great big shout out. Thank you. Kudos, a great big warm hug to George Felgenstein first of all, for all you do for Warner Archive. You are basically a celebrity in the classic film community.

To Tim Millard for all you do for supporting the archive. For everybody at the Warner Archive and for everybody at Warner Brothers Motion Picture Imaging. Thank you, thank you, thank you. You are the reason that we are able to see these classic films in pristine condition. I have loved classic film ever since I was a little boy. I grew up watching them with my grandparents and now I have the opportunity to sit down again with my grandparents and watch these films once again on beautiful stunning blu-rays and it's because of your work. So thank you so

much. I also wanted to say happy 15th birthday. That is amazing. 15 years later and we're still here. That's awesome. I am looking forward to another fun-filled 15 years of classic film with the Warner archive. So thank you so much and happy birthday. Hi there. This is Johnson with, of course you realize this means podcast.

Thank you for opening up the episode celebrating 15 years of the Warner Archive for the fans to chime in with their appreciation. I want to commend everyone at the extras podcast and George Belton steam alongside everyone over at the Warner Archive for their efforts in spotlighting Looney Tunes and vintage animation in general with the restoration series. My wife and I are having a blast with all the shorts so far and anticipate many more in the Collector's Choice series that we will undoubtedly be showing to our future daughter. From our podcast to yours, take care. This message is for George Fenancy. My name is Frank, retired lieutenant YPD.

George, I just want to thank you for keeping up with these classic movies and preserving the history of Hollywood. You're probably the best one since William Emerson, which I used to attend at the new school when he'd show a couple old Warner Brothers movies every Friday night back in the 70s. God bless you and I just want to let you know I purchased over 200 of Warner archives, so I've been a faithful fan. Keep them coming and hopefully get some 3Ds out on the Georgia Feather River and the Phantom Room,

you and more. Thank you again, George. Hello, my name is Cindy and my husband, Kurt and I live in Arizona. We would like to thank Mr. Feltonstein and all the folks at Warner Archive for their superb work that makes movie nights so special for all of us physical media and home theater enthusiasts.

The quality of Warner Archive releases is unsurpassed in our book, and this is very much appreciated. Congratulations on 15 great years. We look forward to many more. Thanks again, George. Take care. Hi, this is John in Massachusetts. George, just wanted to thank you for all of the preservation efforts and sort of the breadth of catalog that Warner Archive has put out. I have to say my favorite releases are Dr. X and Mystery of the Wax Museum. Just never thought those movies could look as good as they do. I really appreciate all of the sort of pre-code that's been put out.

Safe and Hell, Christopher Strong, ladies they talk about, One Way Passage. It's actually planning on a sort of a K. Francis double feature tonight doing Mary Steven's MD, a Blu-ray and then I was going to watch Wife Wanted, the last film she made for Monogram. Just really appreciate everything that's been put out and then I'd say one of my other favorite releases is also Monogram. I wouldn't be in your shoes. Just really amazing to see a fairly cheap but amazing film get such a spectacular relief. So I just wanted to say thank you for all of those efforts and I'm looking forward to what's coming next. Hi, my name is Rob.

I'm from Evansville, Indiana, and I just want to say that I appreciate the Warner Archive as much as anyone possibly could because these Looney Tunes Collector's are, I mean in one word, fantastic. In another word, unbelievable. I absolutely love these sets, everything about them. I don't have one negative word to say about them. They're amazing. I hope the volumes just keep coming and keep coming. The job they've done with these classics are as great as anything, honestly. It's fantastic. I can't say enough great things about it,

just like I feel about the Mooney Tunes golden collection, platinum collections, and all the other releases Like I feel about the Looney Tunes Golden Collection, Platinum Collections and all the other releases with these restored cartoons that are hard to come by. I cannot thank you guys enough. I think it's absolutely wonderful. I also wanna say that the movies that they've put out, like Bye Bye Braverman, thanks to the Warner Archive, I have a copy of that movie. Never thought I'd get to see the full thing uncut.

Again, thank you, Warner Archive. Keep those collectors' choice sets coming. Any titles that are not released yet to go on. I just love that formula you guys are using, like putting those out. Even putting on restored cartoons that have been available as unrestored ones, which I was happy enough with,

but seeing the restored ones greater, greater. Okay, thank you again. And keepative greater, greater. Okay. Thank you again and keep them coming. As I say, thanks. Thanks so much. Hi, this is land from South Carolina. I'm a huge fan of the extras podcast and of the warner archives. And I had a short story that I wanted to share about collecting physical media and how it connects to the podcast. I've been a longtime fan of Classic Hollywood and a passionate collector of physical media. For years, I had been buying movies from the Warner Archives and movie collections and Turner Classics collections, but I'd never really given much thought about how

these things got to market or who was behind it all. And it wasn't until I started listening to the Extras podcast that I realized that the common denominator between so many of the things that I was buying and enjoying over those years was George Feltenstein. And I've spent many hours listening to George on the podcast, learned a lot about movie history and just about what it takes to create these beautiful new releases on the especially the Blu-rays that we enjoy so much from the Warner archives that we've been getting recently.

I just wanted to express my gratitude to you, Tim, for bringing us all these wonderful stories and to George for all the incredible work that he does. Every fan of classic movies owes a huge debt to George. So thank you for bringing these stories out. Also to George for making all these incredible movies available to us fans. So thank you. I look forward to many more movies, many more podcasts, and I'll be here watching and listening. Yes. My name is John and I'm from Oklahoma. I'd like to give thanks to Warner archives for all the work they've done these last 15 years, especially Mr.

George Feldstein for the work he's done as well. And particularly on the Warner Brothers TV shows which I just bought, Co 45 and Blu-ray subtitles which I enjoyed very much. I watched a few of them and we just give thanks to, again to Mr. Feldman's son for his work. We hope that he will keep up the good work and bring us more Warner Brothers TV. Thank you. Hi, this is David from Illinois

and I just wanted to wish a happy 15th anniversary to the Warner Archive and let George Feltonstein know that I appreciate all the hard work that you do in restoring all these classic films and bringing them to us to be appreciated. Thank you for all of your hard work. Hi this is Constantine Nassar and I wanted to call and wish George Feltonstein and the Warner Arch, the most amazing and joyous celebration of 15 years of incredible, incredible work for the films we love, for the fans that celebrate movies from Warner Brothers and MGM and RKO and all of the great films that the television shows and animation that George has found ways to constantly restore and continue to share and promote and give back to the world of cinema, which he is one

of the key caretakers of. He's been that way for decades and I pray for many more decades. George has been someone I've looked up to for many, many years, and I've been very grateful and very honored to have known him and to call him a friend for the last 20. It is always like a call from the President of the United States when George calls for any reason, and I've had such incredible opportunities to help support his efforts and the efforts that he has done through Warner Archives, in particular over the last few years. I wish him all the very best and I congratulate him on all of his achievements.

And I just can't wait to see what the future holds. So bravo, thank you very much and I wish you all the very best. Bye bye. Hello there. I'm Lloyd from California and I just wanted to call in and say thank you to the Warren Archive for the wonderful work they do for, you know, a lot of great releases of Golden Age Hollywood movies on Blu-ray and the beautiful work they do to restore them. The release of United Opera on Blu-ray was really what got me in the movies of that era. Before that, the only ones I really recall seeing were some Disney movies, Kind of Merry Millionaire, The

Wizard of Oz, and The Burns. Now I own, I would say about like 600 of them on Blu-ray and I guess about a hundred of them are from the Warner Archive actually over a hundred of them If I could recommend a Warner Archive release That I think is kind of underrated. It would be Lible Lady. It has a great cast, a great script William Powell is fantastic as always like in the Sandman and One Way Pass is also a great recent Warner Archive release fantastic as always, like in the thin man and one-way passage, also great, we sent one archive release and I just love that fishing scene with him.

Um, the bonus short on their, uh, keystone hotel is also fantastic. A wonderful short with, I love Ben Pervin in there. Fantastic job on that release. Uh, I know it came out like a few years ago, but I'm excited to see more of your 2024 lineup. Right now I got the drive by night and the silent double feature collection pre-ordered. Thank you. Hi, this is Kevin from Arlington, Virginia. I want to extend my appreciation to Warner Archive and in particular Jerry Beck and George Feltonstein for the exceptional cartoon DVDs and stories that they've been putting out over the past few

years especially the Popeye sets, the Tech Savory sets and most definitely the Looney Tunes Collector's Choice. Thanks for everything. Hello and this is Ronald from Ohio and I just want to say thank you guys so much for putting in all the work you do for the Warner Archival releases. It means so much to me and with other collectors in the live action and the animation community that you guys are doing this for everybody. It's really great. And I really just want to say please keep up the hard work for Mr. Beck, Mr. Films,

and everybody involved in these disc productions. Thank you guys so much, you know, again for what you're doing for the community and have a great night. Hey, this is David of Interline Media and I appreciate the work that George and his team at Warner Archive does to restore and put out these great titles. And I hope he continues to do for a while. And maybe, hopefully, they let War Archive do like a 4K of like Forbidden Planet or some other, you know,

title from the archive, for example. So have a good one George and you know I hope Warner Archive still around doing such great work ten years from now. Hi my name is John from New Jersey. I want to give a thank you to George for all the great work that he and his team have done with Warner Archive. When the pandemic arrived in 2020 and working in healthcare, films have helped me get through some tough days. I started to get back into collecting physical media

and upgrading to Blu-rays when I noticed the Warner Archives putting out great titles each month. The care and restoration being put into these titles makes me excited for what is in the future while also looking back at the films of the past. I'm happy to add them to my collection and see them all myself. Thank you for all the hard work you do and thanks again to you, George, for your insight

and knowledge of the Warner Brothers, MGM, and RKO film libraries. Thank you. This is Rich from Virginia. Years ago in the pre-internet era, I had written a letter to MGM Home Video with a thank you for their work and a request for future titles. To my surprise, soon afterward, I received in the mail an envelope with Leo the Lion on the return address. It contained a letter from George responding to my letter point by point.

His continued loyalty and responsiveness to movie fans is unwavering and is always appreciated. Happy anniversary, George, and many, many more. Thank you for all you do. Stay with us. We'll be right back. The Entertainment District podcast, we review everything from movies to anime. Whether you like comic book movies, shows like Game of Thrones, or just want to debate Krillin vs Tanjaro, the Entertainment District Podcast is the place for you. And trust me, not only

are we giving our takes, but we're cracking mad jokes along the way. Listen to us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or watch us on YouTube. Again, the Entertainment District Podcast is the place for you. Hey, this is David from Indianapolis. I think the thing is, the thing that's great is that George is basically one of us who made it. And you know, unlike some ones of us who made it, he didn't sort of fall into the elements of the corporate culture that's against the goal

of the archive. Like, he didn't gradually become one of those people saying, hey guys, just be glad you're getting anything at all, stop complaining. He's retained that sense of excitement and exploration and the notion that this archive is basically a treasure chest. And I also appreciate the vastness of his sort of his vision of what to do with it. I think I am actually most impressed with the archive when something comes out that I have absolutely no interest in because it means other people are having their day.

And there are people with different loves than I have. I love the classic films. Other people love Hannah-Barbera animation. Some people want to see really obscure B-movie stuff. And that's just great that he covers all that. And he doesn't even pick his own favorites. So it's not like we can look back on the archive and say, oh, you remember in 2017 when George was going through

his Barbara Stanwyck phase and you can just tell by the collection because you get two a month and nothing else came out? That doesn't happen because he's there for everybody, not one group and not even himself. And I think that shows that he understands his community better than I do. And his understanding of his community even shows in how he handles complaints on the old podcast, which was weekly. They would get people asking, like, why does this take so long? Why is this taking so long?

And he basically answers genuinely as if it's an honest question rather than a gripe. And that's not always easy to do, but I think he gets that that that's where that even if it is delivered as a gripe he knows that's where that question comes from. From love of the material and belief that there's probably an answer and he gives a good answer. So he's a man in his most right place and look I mean hats off to Good Grief of Looney Tunes for the last year has been fantastic. I think someief of Looney Tunes for the last year. It's just been fantastic. I think some review of the third disc said, by the way, this year we have gotten more than a single, maybe even a single golden collection in terms of cartoons released on

Blu-ray. I know that works for me. They're great choices. I love the fact that they're digging it. The second disc, some people wrote reviews that said, well, these aren't the best cartoons. Well, exactly, they're not your favorite cartoons, but you know what?

They're the ones that have them in and out. And maybe somebody else will love them. So he and Jerry Beck are doing a fantastic job with limited, so I hope they keep it up. Hi Tim and George, Dave here, film and animation critic and historian from Melbourne, Australia running the YouTube channel, Dave Lee Down Under. Thanks so much for asking me to call in with a message to wish the Warner Archive a happy

15th anniversary. I want to personally thank you George for all your amazing work restoring all of these incredible classics and getting them into our hands and onto our shelves in the best quality possible. I've been collecting your Blu-ray releases since day one and have hundreds of them. Thank you for getting so many sought-after favorites onto Blu-ray while also introducing us to scores of hidden and underappreciated gems. You've helped further my own education and lifelong love for classic cinema. With, in my opinion, the single greatest film library in Hollywood, the work that you've done not only for film fans and collectors, but for film preservation and legacy, cannot

be understated. The work you have done will quite literally be cherished for generations. I also want to say thank you on behalf of the animation community for doing so much for the medium, giving much needed attention to previously undervalued and cult titles from the vault of Warner, NGM, Hanna Barbera and in the cases of the Popeyes, Paramount. Tim, George, please keep up the amazing work. Your announcement podcasts are incredible and the perfect companion to the monthly releases, adding an extra layer of history and context to the films. Happy 15th anniversary Warner Archive.

Thanks for everything. Good morning, George. This is Frank from near Philadelphia, PA. I'm just calling to congratulate you on your 15th anniversary. Every month I look forward to your announcements. Some months I'm very happy, sometimes I just please.

You all do a great job. The masters that you produce are just beyond flaw and keep them coming. I know you have thousands of titles to select from. Some months I'm lucky and some not as not but keep up the good work and I hope you're around for a long time. Thank you and happy anniversary. Yeah this is Pam from Minnesota and I just like to say what I really enjoy is the Tim Millard show with the extras because I bought the movie Dangerous One Wet because I was listening to you guys talking about the special features and one of the ones I absolutely loved was the outtake with Fernando

Llamas and Darcelle but there's so many other extras that came along with it also and that's what I really look forward when I'm buying a DVD and that was one of the first ones I bought when I started listening to your show so I would just recommend everyone listen to your show every time you get a new segment. Thank you. Bye. Sam and George, this is Matthew Roberts. I live in Tennessee now, but from Louisiana. And I just wanted to say that Warner Archive has been an amazing blessing to me. I'm an avid cartoon collector and old movie collector, and it is brought a lot of titles Um and shows that I never thought I would have an opportunity to see i'm only 29 So I missed a lot of those golden years

Um being born in the 90s, but it's amazing to get to catch up on those now and I I'm thankful for the last 15 years at the library you guys have released Um, and i'm excited for the next 15 years and to see what that holds in store. I'm very excited for this this past month of March and looking forward into the future. So thank you guys so much for what you do. My name is Mark from Los Angeles and George Feltenstein has been a tremendous boon to movie lovers from the Laserdisc days onward.

I would specifically say one of the reasons why Warner Archive has been so wonderful is that from the very beginning, when he first launched the program, one of the first titles he released was a favorite of mine that I thought could never get released because of all the musical artists involved in it and that was the seminal concert film, Urg of Music War. Theatrical prints were missing bands and it seemed like, oh, all those bands, all those record labels, no way they'll ever clear it. And he did it all but for one artist and they were so obscure, probably they couldn't find where they disappeared to.

So he knew from the very gate that it was about trying to get everything done. And I know there's still some holy grails he's working on and the fact that he hasn't given up on him. And that nobody has given up on Warner Archive is testimony to his tenacity. And we're lucky to have him. Yeah, Tim, this is Kenny Creely Jr. from Leary, Ohio, and I've been a huge supporter of Warner Brothers and the Warner Archive collection for many, many years. What I like about the Warner Archive collection is that they get titles out when nobody expects them to come out. Like for example, I'm a big DC fan as you know and when Justice League Unlimited

came out from the Warner Archive collection a few years ago, I was thrilled. I loved the DC anime universe and that was a great release. Also when Black Lightning seasons three and four came out, that was a great release. I only have season three but hope to get to season four soon. It's just amazing. Also the others like DC film releases for more archives, the Superman films, both Superman movie, the Ascended TV type and Supergirl 1984. It was great to have those. Those are correct the transfers.

Anyways guys, thanks for doing all that you do and take care. Hello, I am Kevin from Valley Stream, Long Island. And I have to tell you the Warner Archive is the best thing that's ever happened to me. When I started collecting on video I wanted only to collect cartoons as I loved from childhood that sort of filmmaking. But the Warner Archive made me appreciate film in all its incarnations and if that's what it actually set out to do, it's achieved that as far as I'm concerned. My favorite releases of course are the Looney Tunes, Collector's Choice, and anything related to classic cartoons of the

1930s and 1940s theatricals. But I've also begun to like films of those eras as well. And I am so appreciative that George Falkenstein, Jerry Beck, and others have done such a wonderful job and continue to do such a wonderful job. Here's hoping for a grand future. It looks like it is off and running. I hope it grows in stature because this is what film collecting was once about. And I could never appreciate it until the age of video cassette and then DVD and now

especially Blu-ray. To me, it's almost like finding a nitrate print and being able to run it in my own home. Thank you, George Feltestein. Thank you, Jerry Beck and everybody involved. It is such a wonderful project. And I wish you much luck in this, your anniversary. Well, this is Christopher from California. And I'm so glad that the Warner Archive exists. That's really like when it comes to like made for TV movies and stuff because a lot of people

look down on made for TV movies like the movies of the week from the Sundays and 80s and stuff. Also when it comes to cartoon shows that may not have been successful by network centers of the Sundays or 80s but still have like you know, like, you know, like, you know, but may not have been successful by not worth the owners of the Sundays or age, but still have like, you know, conservable forms of it. I'm so glad that Warner archive exists and stuff. So I'm, I'm glad that people like George Fulton seen like, you know, care about such stuff, you know, cartoons and made for TV movies and that. I mean, thank you, Mr.

Fulton, seen him and others who are involved with the Warner archive. Like, I appreciate it. Thank you. Oh,ive. I appreciate it. Thank you. Hello, Tim. Hello, George. This is Glenn calling from Coral Springs. And boy, where to start when it comes to giving thanks to George Faltenstein and all he's given us over the years? Well, really congrats on 15 years of the Warner Archive. so many films to choose from. Thanks for continuing to see your passion through with all these great restorations. Going back even thanks for the laser disc collections that were curated by George years ago, those great four for 44 sales that we had, and even thanks George for skipping school back when you were younger to go see these movies that

kind of lit the flame and started everything. You know, I think somewhere in those old Warner Archive podcasts, there was that interview with George. He did with Mickey Rooney and at the very end, Mickey sings to George his song that he wrote about Thanksgiving. And I think that that's really, that kind of sums it up. You wrote a song for Thanksgiving. Yes. Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving, the time that we've waited for. Both Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving with families we all adore. We've counted our blessings. I can't conceive. I only hope I give half what I perceived. Well that's a beautiful song. Well thanks again guys and thanks for

having this Extras podcast ongoing. It's terrific and 15 more years and beyond. Take care. Bye bye. not included again here so if you want to hear that episode check that out and you can hear also the listener calls there. If you enjoyed today's podcast I suggest you join our Facebook group where you can share your love for the Warner Archive releases with other like-minded fans like those you heard in these messages. There's a link in the podcast show notes or you can search Facebook for the Warner Archive and Warner Brothers catalog group. If you you haven't already, please follow or subscribe to the podcast and leave us a review at your favorite podcast provider. Until next time, you've been listening to Tim Millard.

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