Search - James Stewart: Columbia Screen Legends Collection (Bell, Book, and Candle / The Man from Laramie / Anatomy of a Murder) on DVD

Review is For the Product, Not the Movies

M. Cale | NC-USA | 06/02/2008

(1 out of 5 stars)

"James Stewart is without a doubt one of the greatest actors in American film history. His films run the gamut from fine romantic comedies, such as Harvey, The Philadelphia Story and The Shop Around the Corner to poignant powerful dramas such as The Glenn Miller Story, It's a Wonderful Life (my favorite film), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Rear Window, The Spirit of St. Louis and Vertigo, to outstanding western classics as Broken Arrow, Destry Rides Again, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and Winchester '73. But that's only touching the iceberg of his contributions to film and film culture.



My one-star is not for the films, Anatomy of a Murder, Bell, Book and Candle and The Man From Laramie, which are included in this collection. They alone would each rate five stars. All are totally entertaining and important drama, comedy and western film contributions to anyone who appreciates the fine art of classic filmmaking.



My gripe is completely over the product details of this set. This weekend I went out eager to purchase this set with a birthday card I had received from a family member. When I got to the store, I read the back of the DVD box carefully to see if all the films in the collection were presented in their prosper widescreen format. They were, so I made my purchase.



After opening the set at home, I found that both Bell and Laramie were listed properly with their correct aspect ratios of 1.85:1 and 2.35:1 respectively. However, upon inspection of the Anatomy of a Murder DVD, I found an error, a major error, on Columbia Pictures' part. On the back cover it mistakenly says the DVD has been remastered in Anamorphic Widescreen, and is in its proper 1.85:1 format. That would've been great---had it been true. After many years of waiting for Columbia to remaster this title, I found it to be the old FULL SCREEN version from several years ago. Perhaps Columbia had accidentally put the wrong version in the set, but I was disappointed, nonetheless. Now I have to take this back to the store to see if other copies are the same way. This is an inconvenience, particularly when all the websites I've seen for this title show they are all in widescreen.



If there are others out there who have purchased this, and experienced the same error, would you please let me know? If this is the case, I say buyer beware. Again, my rating is not for the films themselves, but for the careless packaging. Any help is greatly appreciated."

Anatomy of a Murder not widescreen .

David M. Koshuta | Indiana | 06/07/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The only reason I got this set was to upgrade to the widescreen version of Anatomy of a Murder. So much for that idea. I already owned all three films. I sold my originals and ended up dead even as far as the cost is concerned. Still don't have a widesceen version of Anatomy of a Murder. The films are still excellent."

James stewart and Harvey= a classic

Ludmilla Fowden | Melbourne Australia | 08/05/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Saw this movie a long time ago. Still enjoy the sheer how can I say "madness" of it. THe other movies in collection are quite good. Bell books and candle for one.A must for one's collection.Millie"