Warner Gangsters Collection, Vol. 3 DVD Credits:

Region: 1

Warner Gangsters Collection, Vol. 3 DVD Release Date: 24th March 2008

Our Rating: Extras Rating:

User Rating:  Log in to rate this DVD

Warner Gangsters Collection, Vol. 3 DVD Review:

Special features have become more than common for the average DVD release, so much so that there is often an onslaught of unnecessary junk to wade through on many of these as well. Quantity has become more important than quality with DVD releases, and despite the technology available which brags its ability to hold more information on one disc, value is still placed on a higher number of discs where DVD is concerned. This is only one of the reasons that HD has seen a rocky transition, among many others, but don’t get me started on that mess. Whereas Warner Brothers certainly knows how to pile the material on where needed, as was available on the incredible 3-disc release on The Jazz Singer on DVD last year, but everything included in significant and impressive on the release of all classic films. Constantly releasing sets for actors, directors and genres of classic Warner Bros. films, there is plenty to choose from, but the latest gangster collection is liable to attract the attention of any avid film fan.

In the first gangster collection there were some of the most significant gangster films of the period, seeing as Warner Bros. made most of them during the 1930s, at least what now seems to be the best of them, just as we now look back at the musical of MGM and the horror films of Universal. Even the second set of Warner Bros. gangster films had a few recognizable titles, but the third is filled with some lesser known gems. This set is filled with great performances by James Cagney, Edward G. Robinson, and Humphrey Bogart starring in one and co-starring in another. These are films made after they had already developed their personalities in the gangster genres, so they are allowed plenty of room to swagger as they did best, or in Cagney’s case, slightly change each gangster type in three films made in the same year.

Cagney stars in three of the six films, with one co-starring role under Robinson. The three he stars in are The Picture Snatcher, The Mayor of Hell, and Lady Killer. In The Picture Snatcher Cagney is a reformed gangster who decides to become a photographer for a seedy newspaper instead. He takes all of the most controversial photos in the business, having the morals of a gangster. In Lady Killer Cagney is a reformed gangster who takes a try at the movie business after his gang abandons him. Unfortunately fame isn’t easy on him either, because the crooks return for a cut when they hear of their friend’s new luck in Hollywood. The Mayor of Hell actually shows the reformation of the gangster as Cagney plays a good-willed gangster who has decided to make an effort to reform the kids. Eventually he gives up the lifestyle in order to live what he is teaching the kids. Smart Money is one of the Robinson films, and Cagney co-stars as the loyal right-hand-man. In it Robinson is an extremely lucky gambler who goes to the big city to get in the real games, but he is scammed and loses all of his money. Realizing the only way to win is by playing dirty, he begins a rise in the gambling world, under the pretense of being a barber.

Smart Money was the only film to feature Cagney and Robinson together. The other Robinson film is Brother Orchid, a fun film that has Robinson as a gangster that is nearly killed by rival gangster Humphrey Bogart and is forced to hide in a monastery. Using his trickery as a gangster he gets along fine at the monastery until he is forced to deal with his life on the outside. Humphrey Bogart also has one starring film, which is an odd inclusion, lumping hate groups in the category of gangsters. Bogart is a machine runner in a factory in Black Legion, and when he isn’t given the foreman position he thinks he deserves a KKK-like approaches him with help. They run the foreign foreman out of town and Bogart is given the position, which is only the beginning of the commitment expected on him. This was Bogart’s first starring role and it is a shocking one.

The significant special features described above are significant when considering consumers likely to be interested in this release in the first place. With this consideration the Warner’s Night at the Movies feature is a brilliant conception available on all titles included in the set. When enabled, this feature starts an experience that is meant to replicate what it would have been like to see the film when it was originally released in theaters. A newsreel, cartoon, trailer, and one or two shorts are shown before the feature begins. All of the newsreel bits that are inserted in these sets are of police progress in the war on organized crime. Not all of the shorts are great, but the feeling that you are experience history makes it tempting to watch it all anyways. This is just as much the preservation of history as it is entertainment, and I can’t praise these releases enough. I’m tempted to climb to the roof and shout it, as I fear my readership may be too small to reach enough people.

Our Rating: Extras Rating: User Rating:  Log in to rate this DVD

Warner Gangsters Collection, Vol. 3 DVD review written by: Ryan Izay