Paul Newman was a great actor, but his contributions as a humanitarian are also a shining legacy for the late Newman. It has been nearly a year since he died and Fox has put out a “Tribute Collection” but it’s a mixed bag. I don’t mean to knock it since I greatly enjoyed Newman, but there are some things you should know about.
On September 26, 2008, Paul Newman lost a short battle with lung cancer. The world mourned a fine actor, but it also lost a great human being. We’ll always have the movies, but in 1982 Newman along with author A.E. Hotchner formed a line of food products dubbed Newman’s Own. The profits from the venture would be donated to charity. The amounts donated to charity from Newman’s Own are over 265 million.
He also founded the Hole in the Wall Gang camp in 1988 that provides summer fun to seriously ill children. The camp serves over 13,000 children every year for free. It brings a tear recalling the great actor dressed in a several sizes too small cowboy hat and playing with ill children.
Those are just the two things he was mainly known for, but I’d imagine that the actor gave above and beyond those. A glowing presence on the screen as well as sure to elevate any picture he appeared in.
Fox has decided to pay tribute to the star by putting all of the available films they own with the actor into a newly formed set. The films are The Long Hot Summer, Rally 'Round the Flag Boys, From the Terrace, Exodus, The Hustler, Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man, What a Way To Go!, Hombre, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Towering Inferno, Buffalo Bill and the Indians, Quintet, and The Verdict.
One of the problems is that it’s just a repackaging of DVDs that have already been released. Some of the titles were only available in other sets. For example Hemingway’s Adventures of a Young Man was only in a Fox Hemingway set and Quintet was only in an Altman boxed set.
Rally ‘Round the Flag Boys was also part of a Joan Collins set, but it was also available separately. I guess what’s also nice is that if Fox put out a two-disc special edition then you get that edition instead of them going back and cleaning out the warehouse of the old one disc editions.
So you get the newer two-disc editions of Hustler, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Towering Inferno, and the Verdict.
All the films are presented in their original aspect ratios and most are enhanced for 16x9 televisions. Another oversight is that Exodus and Buffalo Bill and the Indians are presented in their old non-anamorphic transfers that MGM put out years ago. However, both are out of print.
Special features are what were presented on the older discs, but this set does feature a new 136 page book that features rare photos of Newman, bits about each film, and quotes from the actor. The packaging does feature a very nice picture of the actor and feels hefty in the hand.
However, when I opened it up several of the discs fell out since they were only held in by slits cut in the cardstock. Some of them seemed lightly scratched and “dusty” as well.
Long Hot Summer features the AMC Backstory: Long, Hot Summer, Movie Tone News: The Long Hot Summer in World Premiere, and the theatrical trailer. Rally ‘Round the Flag Boys features a commentary by author and film historian Aubrey Solomon, an animated photo gallery, a restoration comparison, interactive press book, advertising gallery, and the theatrical trailer.
From the Terrace features Movie Tone News: From the Terrace Star mobbed at preview and the theatrical trailer. Exodus features the theatrical trailer. The Hustler features a commentary with Newman and others, three new featurettes, trick shot analysis, and more.
Adventures of a Young Man features a commentary by film historians Patricia King Hanson & Frank Thompson, Remembering Ernest: A.E. Hotchner's Last Days with Hemingway, Papa's Last Days, A.E. Hotchner & Paul Newman: A Legacy of Charity, a restoration comparison, still gallery, and theatrical trailer. What a Way to Go has newsreels and a trailer.
Hombre has a still gallery and the trailer. Buffalo Bill has a trailer. Quintet has the Developing the World of Quintet featurette. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Towering Inferno, and The Verdict have all the features of the two disc collector’s editions.
The Paul Newman Tribute Collection is both good and bad. Yes, I did look over the titles and feel that Newman was well represented in the films. However, I wasn’t happy that some of the titles were non-anamorphic.
The book looks gorgeous, but the packaging of the discs could cause problems since they don’t hold the discs well.
On the devil’s advocate side, you do get a passel of Newman films for cheap. The set is available online right now for just over $60 which means that it’s about $4 a film. That is if you don’t already have a title or two in your collection.
I miss Newman, but I also wish a tad more care would’ve been put into this collection. I’m giving the set a high rating in his memory and some of the films are classics, but with the reservations I’ve mentioned above.
Paul Newman: The Tribute Collection is now available at Amazon . Visit the DVD database for more information.
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