Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has announced the standalone, single-disc Blu-ray releases of
Little Caesar (1931),
The Public Enemy (1931),
The Petrified Forest (1936) and
White Heat (1949). All four catalog titles arrive individually and as part of
The Ultimate Gangster Collection Classic set -- which includes a fifth disc: a bonus DVD with feature-length documentary "Public Enemies: The Golden Age of the Gangster Film" -- on May 21st.
The studio also detailed audio specs, subtitles and extras:
Little Caesar
Synopsis: "R-I-C-O, Little Caesar, that's who!" Edward G. Robinson bellowed into the phone. And Hollywood got the message: 37-year-old Robinson, not gifted with matinee-idol looks, was nonetheless a first-class star, and moviegoers hailed the hard-hitting social consciousness dramas that became the Depression-era mainstay of Warner Bros.
Little Caesar is the tale of pugnacious Caesar Enrico Bandello, a hoodlum with a Chicago-sized chip on his shoulder, few attachments, fewer friends and no sense of underworld diplomacy. And Robinson -- a genteel art collector who disdained guns (in the movie, his eyelids were taped to keep them from blinking when he fired a pistol) -- was forever associated with the screen's archetypal gangster.
The Blu-ray edition of
Little Caesar features English DTS-HD Master Audio Mono and Spanish Dolby Digital Mono; English SDH, Spanish and French subtitles; and the following extras:
- Leonard Maltin Hosts Warner Night at the Movies 1931 with Newsreel, Spencer Tracy Short The Hard Guy, Cartoon Lady Play Your Mandolin and Theatrical Trailers
- Feature Film Commentary by film historian Richard B. Jewell
- Little Caesar: End of Rico, Beginning of the Antihero featurette
- 1954 Re-release Foreword
The Public Enemy
Synopsis:
The Public Enemy showcases James Cagney's powerful 1931 breakthrough performance as streetwise tough guy Tom Powers -- but only because production chief Darryl F. Zanuck made a late casting change. When shooting began, Cagney had a secondary role, but Zanuck soon spotted Cagney's screen dominance and gave him the star part. From that moment, an indelible genre classic and an enduring star career were both born. Bristling with '20s style, dialogue and desperation under the masterful directorial eye of William A. Wellman, this is a virtual time capsule of the Prohibition era: taut, gritty, hard-hitting -- even at breakfast when grapefruit is served.
The Blu-ray edition of
The Public Enemy features English DTS-HD Master Audio Mono; English SDH, Spanish and French subtitles; and the following extras:
- Leonard Maltin Hosts Warner Night at the Movies 1931 with Newsreel, Comedy Short The Eyes Have It, Cartoon Smile, Darn Ya, Smile! and Theatrical Trailers
- Feature Film Commentary by film historian Richard B. Jewell
- Beer and Blood: Enemies of the Public featurette
- 1954 Re-release Foreword
The Petrified Forest
Synopsis: A rundown diner bakes in the Arizona heat. Inside, fugitive killer Duke Mantee sweats out a manhunt, holding disillusioned writer Alan Squier, young Gabby Maple and a handful of others hostage. As trapped as his captives, Mantee admits: "It looks like I'll spend the rest of my life dead."
The Petrified Forest, Robert E. Sherwood's 1935 Broadway success about survival of the fittest in the modern world, hit the screen a year later with Leslie Howard (Squier) and Humphrey Bogart (Mantee) magnificently recreating their stage roles and Bette Davis (Gabby) ably reteaming with her Of Human Bondage co-star Howard. Sherwood initially wanted Bogart for a smaller role. "I thought Sherwood was right," Bogart said. "Icouldn't picture myself playing a gangster. So what happened? I made a hit as the gangster." So right was he that Howard refused to make the film without him...and helped launch Bogey's brilliant movie career.
The Blu-ray edition of
The Petrified Forest features English DTS-HD Master Audio Mono and Spanish Dolby Digital Mono; English SDH, Spanish and French subtitles; and the following extras:
- Leonard Maltin Hosts Warner Night at the Movies 1936 with Newsreel, Musical Short Rhythmitis, Cartoon The Coo Coo Nut Grove and Theatrical Trailers
- Feature Film Commentary by Bogart biographer Eric Lax
- The Petrified Forest: Menace in the Desert featurette
- Audio-Only Bonus: 1/7/1940 Gulf Screen Theater Broadcast
White Heat
Synopsis: As a psychotic thug devoted to his hard-boiled ma, James Cagney -- older, scarier and just as electrifying -- gives a performance to match his work in
The Public Enemy as
White Heat's cold-blooded Cody Jarrett. Bracingly directed by Raoul Walsh, this fast-paced thriller tracing Jarrett's violent life in and out of jail is also a harrowing character study. Jarret is a psychological time bomb ruled by impulse. He murders a wounded accomplice and revels in the act. He neglects his sultry wife (Virginia Mayo) and adores his doting mother. It is among the most vivid screen performances of Cagney's career.
The Blu-ray edition of
White Heat features English DTS-HD Master Audio Mono and Spanish Dolby Digital Mono (both Castilian & Latin); English SDH, Spanish and French subtitles; and the following extras:
- Leonard Maltin Hosts Warner Night at the Movies 1949 with Newsreel, Comedy Short So You Think You're Not Guilty, Cartoon Homeless Hare and Theatrical Trailers
- Feature Film Commentary by film historian Dr. Drew Casper
- White Heat: Top of the World featurette