Site created 12/15/97.		page created: 7/23/03 Back to Part One Robert A. Harris - Main Page Starting in 1950, three-strip features, were, for the most part, printed on safety film, which was less archival than nitrate. Where nitrate reference prints are available for nitrate features, they begin to be less available for safety. In 1952 the three-strip process began shooting on safety stock, which had more problematic shrinkage characteristics than nitrate, and this can be seen as imperfect registration for films in the 1952 to 1954 period. Where Technicolor productions of the early years carried with them a sense of color artistry, by the time that the process reached the 50s, there was less control and eventually, little difference in production design between three-strip and Eastman color. 2003 will be remembered by those appreciative of classic cinema as the year the damn broke. With Fox's WWII series, and more recently Universal's Western Collection, many people's budgets will be overspent well before Christmas. The Universal Western series is comprised of eleven titles, seven starring James Stewart. On top of this, there were the Bob Hope and Bing Crosby Paramount productions. One of the staples of Universal's output in the 1940s and 50s was the western. Take a close look at the list of Technicolor films and you'll note the number. Technically, the films run the gamut as far as aspect ratios, color processes and photographic mechanisms. Bend of the River*, Law and Order, The Redhead from Wyoming and The Duel at Silver Creek were shot in three-strip Technicolor. The DVDs are fine representations of those productions. Shenandoah, The Far Country*, Night Passage*, The Rare Breed and Two Mules for Sister Sara*, in its uncut 114 minute version, were shot in Eastman color, but on different negative stocks. The Far Country* (1954) original elements were too badly faded to be used and the transfer was produced from a dupe negative derived from the separation masters. Although shot full aperture (perf to perf), the dupe was produced optically to regular aperture, but the sharpness of the slightly larger exposed negative area makes for a beautiful DVD. Night Passage* (1957) is an interesting production, as it was the first film to be photographed in the new Technirama process (8 perf 35mm with a 50% anamorphosis). The original negative had enough information intact to enable Universal to produce a new interpositives, and the sharpness of the original is easily recognized on the DVD; a meticulous image. Winchester '73* (which has a commentary track with Mr. Stewart discussing the film, originally created for the laserdisc release) and Destry Ridges Again* were both shot black & white and regular aperture. The original negative of Destry was gone decades ago, and although the extant element shows its age in places, the film is a genuine classic and not to be missed. Also from Universal and in line with the Bob Hope releases are a series of three double bill DVDs of Bing Crosby films originally produced at Paramount. Three are additional three-strip Technicolor productions. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court* (1949) is paired with a 1948 Billy Wilder film, which I had not seen until now, The Emperor Waltz* (although quite un-Wilder like is a necessary addition for any Wilder completest. ) The other disc of interest is Blue Skies (1946) which pairs Crosby with Fred Astaire and s shares the disc with Birth of the Blues (1941), which is one of very few films to have footage printed as black & white key image along with a registered Technicolor image. The Women has similar footage, and apparently that was the original plan for The Wizard of Oz as Dorothy opens the door to Technicolor. The quality of Universal's releases continues to be superb, and with the release of the Hope and Crosby films, can Lubitsch and Sturges be far behind? Fox has gone well beyond their Classic Collection with an initial release of WWII oriented titles, adding to a number of previous releases. New to the series is A Yank in the R.A.F. with Tyrone Power and Betty Grable, To the Shores of Tripoli with Randolph Scott, D-Day, Between Heaven and Hell, The Desert Rats*, released along with companion The Desert Fox*, both featuring James Mason as Rommel, Halls of Montezuma with Richard Widmark, Guadalcanal Diary* with Anthony Quinn, Wing and a Prayer*, The Young Lions*, Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison* with Robert Mitchum and Deborah Kerr, 13 Rue Madeleine with James Cagney, Sink the Bismarck* and The Blue Max. As I mentioned, the vault doors have opened to the benefit of film-loving DVD viewers, and the only problem will now be keeping up with them. A Confluence of Events and a Few Notes on Mr. Newman After receiving several of Paul Newman's classic films over the past couple of weeks, I happened to be at my local Costco over the weekend and picked up a pair of Newman's Own salad dressings. Each bottle had a discreet legend across the top, which read something like "Over 100 million dollars to charity." While most people are aware of Mr. Newman's charitable nature and his (along with Miss Woodward's) work to help those in need and bring up the level of our society, one really must take notice of this number. Over one hundred million dollars! There are a reasonable number of celebrity charities out there and for many different reasons, but few if any, have made the contributions that have come from the Mr. & Mrs. Newman. People constantly speak of James Dean, who died much too early and tragically. But I occasionally wonder what would have occurred had Dean been around for half a century. Would his iconoclastic performances of the tortured teen have continued to grow and mellow with his craft, or would he have worn himself out by age thirty? Several years older than James Dean, Mr. Newman's early roles have every bit the tension, passion and quality of Dean's work, and fortunately fifty films and an equal number of years later, Mr. Newman is still very much with us, and making his work look so easy that we sometimes forget that he's acting. Thanks to some of Fox's new releases, and several from Warner which have been out for a while, I've now had the opportunity to view some films that I either have never seen in their original widescreen formats or have not seen in decades. There have been quite of few lists of actors work on HTF lately and I'm going to add one more, annotated in YELLOW with films currently available and short notes on some of the transfers. Road to Perdition - 2002 - A beautiful transfer of the late Conrad Hall's final work. A great performance and a beautiful film. Where the Money Is - 2000 Message in a Bottle - 1999 Twilight* - 1998 Nobody's Fool - 1994 - coming from Paramount The Hudsucker Proxy* - 1994 Mr. & Mrs. Bridge* - 1990 Blaze - 1989 Fat Man and Little Boy - 1989 The Color of Money* - 1986 - A great film with a less than stellar transfer. Harry and Son - also Director - 1984 The Verdict * - 1982 Superb transfer and performance. Absence of Malice* - 1981 Fort Apache the Bronx - 1981 When Time Ran Out... - 1980 Quintet - 1979 Slap Shot - 1977 Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson* - 1976 Silent Movie - 1976 The Drowning Pool - 1975 The Towering Inferno - 1974 The Sting* - 1973 The Mackintosh Man - 1973 The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean* - 1972 Pocket Money - 1972 Sometimes a Great Notion - 1971 WUSA - 1970 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid* - 1969 Winning - 1969 The Secret War of Harry Frigg - 1968 Cool Hand Luke* - 1967 Hombre - 1967 Torn Curtain* - 1966 Harper - 1966 Lady L - 1965 The Outrage - 1964 What a Way to Go! - 1964 The Prize - 1963 A New Kind of Love - 1963 Hud - 1963 Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man - 1962 Sweet Bird of Youth - 1962 Paris Blues - 1961 The Hustler* - 1961 From the Terrace* - 1960 Exodus - 1960 Horrific transfer. Avoid. The Young Philadelphians - 1959 Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys! - 1958 Cat on a Hot Tin Roof* - 1958 The Left Handed Gun - 1958 The Long, Hot Summer* - 1958 Until They Sail - 1957 Why Was I Born? - 1957 The Rack - 1956 Somebody Up There Likes Me - 1956 The Silver Chalice - 1954 There has been some discussion about the lack of original 4.0 stereo tracks for some of the CinemaScope Fox titles, but even where they are no longer extant and we usually have a two track rendition, the audio is quite acceptable. One, which is not, is From the Terrace*. Now heard in two-track stereo, the audio has problems. Dialogue will, for little reason, pop from the left channel to the right or remain on the wrong side while the actor is on the other. I can't be sure whether this is a very poor job of fake stereo or out of control stereo tracks. Nonetheless, the film is definitely worth owning. I would suggest attempting to play back in mono. Where the original stereo audio elements have survived, they have appeared as such on a superb selection of new Fox releases. There seem to be two concurrent series coming from Fox. While the Studio Classics series has been reaping a great deal of publicity, their secondary set of classic films from the past decades has been quickly making its way to the shelves of our DVD stores. Along with WB, it appears that this will be a huge year for DVD releases from the Fox vaults, inclusive of many of their early CinemaScope releases. This is not to say that the other studios are lagging behind, as they are not. Their releases will be discussed in another column. The Dunes of Guadalupe With its 80th anniversary this year I thought it a proper time to mention the treasure which sits on, in and below the dunes in Guadalupe, CA. When production was completed on Cecil DeMille's 1923 The Ten Commandments, the huge sets; temples, idols, animal statuary were all buried beneath the dunes on which they had been constructed to both clear the land and keep other companies from using them for their own production purposes. A small group of historians and archaeologists has, for the past several years, been attempting to find the funds to unearth and preserve the modern artifacts. A couple of years ago, on my way back to L.A. from the San Luis Obispo Film Festival, I made a stop at the Dunes and surveyed the area, picking up several old nails and artifacts along the way. Although little can be discerned from above ground, part of our cinematic history lies not far beneath. Contributions are welcome. The group's website can be found here. Short Notes on a Few Newer Releases Wind* - A beautifully crafted DVD from Columbia with some of the most gorgeous cinematography in recent years. The Rescuers - From Disney (which still will not tell us in what year a film was produced on its packaging) another film in anamorphic 1.66:1 aspect ratio. Walk, Don't Run - Another from Columbia in anamorphic 2.40, this remake of George Stevens' 1943 The More the Merrier, was the final film appearance for Cary Grant, still very much in his prime after more than 32 years on screen. Lady Chatterley's Lover* - A 1993 offering from Ken Russell via Acorn Media. Made for British television, and a bit more main stream than one might expect of Mr. Russell, the mini-series a must have for any serious Russellphoeliac. Flight of the Phoenix* - From Fox, a personal favorite from Robert Aldrich, who is finally getting some representation on DVD. One of James Stewart's finest performances along with a superb supporting cast. Under Capricorn - Jack Cardiff shot this three strip 1949 Technicolor production for Alfred Hitchcock. Parodied in Mel Brooks High Anxiety, the release is a barely adequate transfer from Image Entertainment, which in no way reflects the look of the original. The Battle of Britain* - From the lens of Freddie Young, this all-star British production from M-G-M is highly recommended. A re-done Tom Clancy Trilogy: Hunt for Red October*, Patriot Games* and Clear and Present Danger* have received a proper re-issue with new (for the first time) anamorphic transfers and quality extras courtesy of Paramount, replacing their original non-anamorphic transfers. Viewing Song of Bernadette* from Fox one can see why The Academy gave the Best Actress statuette to Jennifer Jones. The transfer is an elegant example of what a properly transferred element can look like on DVD when handled delicately in both the analogue and digital domains. Highly recommended. As a final note, Columbia's new SuperBit release of Charlie's Angels* appears to be the new reference disc for picture quality. With a transfer rate which seldom moves below 8, and on occasional hits the 10 mark, this is a title which can make high end video systems literally glow with eye candy. Robert Harris --- * Designates a film worthy of purchase on DVD. RAH Designates a film worth of "blind" purchase on DVD. Don't forget - you can CLICK HERE to discuss this article with Robert and other home theater enthusiasts online right now at The Home Theater Forum. And speaking of that, thanks to the HTF's Ron Epstein for the picture of Robert seen in the column graphic above. Robert A. Harris - Main Page
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