- Joined
- Feb 8, 1999
- Messages
- 18,433
- Real Name
- Robert Harris
For fans of Joan Crawford, and much akin to Mildred Pierce, which was her first film for Warner Bros., Flamingo Road (her fifth for the studio) re-unites her with director Michael Curtiz.
The film is a quality production and well reviewed at the time, so in terms of "stands the test of time," it's all there.
Two elements stood out.
The first was technical, and I'll have to do a bit of research to get some answers, but the OCN, which was used for this image harvest, was cut and conformed for printer functions in full-cut as opposed to cut in as short bits, which means that when we go to a fade or dissolve, the entirety of the function is dupe, and it's quite obvious. Nothing like Giant, mind you, but the generational difference is interesting. This is something that I noticed on Mildred Pierce, and now it had me wondering how long WB had handled their negatives differently than other studios.
Checking back a few examples from the early '40s, and as far back as Gold Diggers of 1933, this seems to have been routine. I'd just never thought about it. I've not checked enough examples to make a absolute statement, but found it interesting.
The other is something else that I'd taken for granted. Or actually, someone.
Sydney Greenstreet.
The portly actor probably best known for his appearances with Humphrey Bogart, plays Sheriff Titus Semple in this film. Similar to many of his other characterizations.
What I found interesting is that Mr. Greenstreet, of Maltese Falcon and Casablanca fame, only acted for eight years. Maltese Falcon was his first appearance in 1941. His final was Malaya in 1949. He appeared in 24 films during that span with most being for Warner Bros. He was born and raised in England, and did stage work both there and here in The Colonies. A subject for further discovery.
Image – 5
Audio – 5 (DTS-HD MA 2.0)
Pass / Fail – Pass
Works in projection - Yes
Works up-rezzed to 4k - Yes
Upgrade from DVD - Absolutely
Highly Recommended
RAH
The film is a quality production and well reviewed at the time, so in terms of "stands the test of time," it's all there.
Two elements stood out.
The first was technical, and I'll have to do a bit of research to get some answers, but the OCN, which was used for this image harvest, was cut and conformed for printer functions in full-cut as opposed to cut in as short bits, which means that when we go to a fade or dissolve, the entirety of the function is dupe, and it's quite obvious. Nothing like Giant, mind you, but the generational difference is interesting. This is something that I noticed on Mildred Pierce, and now it had me wondering how long WB had handled their negatives differently than other studios.
Checking back a few examples from the early '40s, and as far back as Gold Diggers of 1933, this seems to have been routine. I'd just never thought about it. I've not checked enough examples to make a absolute statement, but found it interesting.
The other is something else that I'd taken for granted. Or actually, someone.
Sydney Greenstreet.
The portly actor probably best known for his appearances with Humphrey Bogart, plays Sheriff Titus Semple in this film. Similar to many of his other characterizations.
What I found interesting is that Mr. Greenstreet, of Maltese Falcon and Casablanca fame, only acted for eight years. Maltese Falcon was his first appearance in 1941. His final was Malaya in 1949. He appeared in 24 films during that span with most being for Warner Bros. He was born and raised in England, and did stage work both there and here in The Colonies. A subject for further discovery.
Image – 5
Audio – 5 (DTS-HD MA 2.0)
Pass / Fail – Pass
Works in projection - Yes
Works up-rezzed to 4k - Yes
Upgrade from DVD - Absolutely
Highly Recommended
RAH
