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Exhibiting Your Treasures #2: Where to Find Them Part 1

September 28, 2013  /  Arthur Grant

After mentioning various 'Treasures' and 'Gems' it's time to discuss their availability. DVDs have gone out of print in some Regions, yet are still available in others. Twilight Time in the United States are releasing very limited numbers of certain titles. When these titles are sold out, that's it. You might find them on E-bay at much higher prices. Some manufacturers are releasing titles on DVD and Blu-ray that have never been available before on any format. Some are "Made on Demand" DVDs to save on manufacturing costs. For classic film buffs these can be very exciting times!

Manufacturers of sought after titles often lock the region code on their software, so my strong recommendation is to acquire a multi-region DVD player that can play both PAL and NTSC discs. They can be purchased fairly inexpensively, and the savings can be put towards a Blu-ray player that can be encoded to play other region Blu-ray discs. It is very frustrating to have a favorite film or television program not play because of region coding. The improvement in picture and sound quality on Blu-ray over regular DVDs is often very significant even with older Black and White titles.

The following recommendations are geared toward U.S. Amazon customers; however they can be ordered online and sent to other Countries as well. I order from them constantly. If one has access to brick and mortar stores (like JB Hi-Fi here in Australia) check those first for the titles you are looking for, then use on-line services in your Country to save on shipping. Feel free to e-mail me, or ask in the comment section below this post, about the availability of any given title anywhere. I'm here to help.     

A.G.

 

Let's start with the Hidden Gems beginning with #1 which is currently not available on Blu-ray.

#Edit: Updated news has Hidden Gem #1 Now Available on a Blu-ray/DVD Combo (Region Free/1):

The Swimmer (Blu-ray/DVD Combo)
$26.96
Starring Burt Lancaster, Janet Landgard, Janice Rule, Joan Rivers
Buy on Amazon

The widescreen transfer on this Region 2 DVD from the U.K. is acceptable:

The Swimmer [Region 2]
$17.53
Starring Burt Lancaster, Janet Landgard, Janice Rule, Tony Bickley, Marge Champion
Buy on Amazon

Hidden Gem #2 is available in this set (Region B/2) with the Blu-ray offering stunning picture and sound reproduction originating from the U.K.:  

Deep End [DVD + Blu-ray]
$28.23
Starring John Moulder-Brown, Jane Asher
Buy on Amazon

Hidden Gem #3 is currently available with English subtitles in this Region 1 DVD set from Criterion:  

#Edit: Updated news has Hidden Gem #3 Now Available on Blu-ray (Region A locked) from Criterion:

Hidden Gem #4 is not currently available on Blu-ray or DVD, however was produced for VHS tape with English subtitles:

Maedchen in Uniform [VHS]
Starring Dorothea Wieck, Hertha Thiele, Emilia Unda, Hedwig Schlichter, Ellen Schwanneke
Buy on Amazon

#Edit: Updated news has Hidden Gem #4 Now Available on Blu-ray with English Subtitles:

Hidden Gem #5 is not currently available on Blu-ray but was (sound the trumpets) released with English subtitles on this fabulous anamorphic widescreen DVD originating in Holland: 

Police Python 357 [Regions 2 & 4]
$29.99
Starring Yves Montand, Stefania Sandrelli, Simone Signoret, Mathieu Carriere, Francois Perier
Buy on Amazon

Hidden Gem #6 Hotel Pacific is unavailable in any format. 

#Edit: Updated news has Hidden Gem #6 Now Available on Blu-ray with English Subtitles:


Hidden Gem #7 The Fifth Seal is unavailable on DVD with English Subtitles.

#Edit: Updated news has Hidden Gem #7 Now Available on DVD with English Subtitles:

Hidden Gem #8 is not currently available with any reasonable picture quality on Blu-ray or DVD but is available as a digital download widescreen with English subtitles for U.S. residents only: 

Hunter in the Dark
$2.99
Starring Tatsuya Nakadai, Yoshio Harada, Ayumi Ishida, Keiko Kishi, Ai Kanzaki
Buy on Amazon

Hidden Gem #9 has not been issued on DVD or Blu-ray but is available on VHS tape with English subtitles:  

Amor Bandido [VHS]
$27.98
Starring Paulo Gracindo, Cristina Aché, Paulo Guarnieri, Ligia Diniz, Flávio São Thiago
Buy on Amazon

Hidden Gem #10 They Won't Believe Me is only currently available on this Italian DVD, but it is the U.S. re-release shorter version which is minus approximately 15 minutes: 

They Won't Believe Me [Region 2]
Starring Susan Hayward, Robert Young, Frank Ferguson, Jane Greer, Rita Johnson
Buy on Amazon

#Edit: Updated news has Hidden Gem #10 Now Available on Blu-ray, fully restored including the film’s complete 95 minute running time (Region Free) from Warner Archive:

Next time: The availability of #11 - 20 Hidden Gems

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