Blu-ray Review A Few Words About A few words about...™ - Maria Montez and Jon Hall Collection -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Will Krupp]

Did they do the USA release of A Matter Of Life And Death and The Red Shoes?

They definitely (as Universal-International) distributed A Matter of Life and Death in the US as Stairway to Heaven, but I believe the other UI American releases were I Know Where I'm Going! and Black Narcissus. I could be wrong, but I think Eagle-Lion handled the US distribution of The Red Shoes as well as the UK.

 

[RobertMG]

They definitely (as Universal-International) distributed A Matter of Life and Death in the US as Stairway to Heaven, but I believe the other UI American releases were I Know Where I'm Going! and Black Narcissus. I could be wrong, but I think Eagle-Lion handled the US distribution of The Red Shoes as well as the UK.

Black and white they released Great Expectations and Hamlet maybe Oliver twist?

 

[Will Krupp]

Black and white they released Great Expectations and Hamlet maybe Oliver twist?

GE and Hamlet yes, but by the time Oliver Twist was released stateside in 1951, UI had given up the ghost, so to speak, on "classy" British productions and it was released by United Artists. I feel we're getting too far afield from dear old Maria so I'm going to bow out of this one moving forward. No offense, I hope!

 

[RobertMG]

GE and Hamlet yes, but by the time Oliver Twist was released stateside in 1951, UI had given up the ghost, so to speak, on "classy" British productions and it was released by United Artists. I feel we're getting too far afield from dear old Maria so I'm going to bow out of this one moving forward. No offense, I hope!

Why did it take 3 years for Oliver was it because the depicton of Fagin??

 

[Robert Crawford]

This thread is drifting off topic!

 

[RobertMG]

This thread is drifting off topic!

Hope Montez Hall sells well! Were their films top grossers for Uinivesal?

 

[Joel Arndt]

Hope Montez Hall sells well! Were their films top grossers for Uinivesal?

Yes. Their first, Arabian Nights (a Kino release, BTW), was a smash hit and that's why these follow-up films were given the green light for production. Perfect colorful campy escapism for war weary moviegoers. I own this set and am looking forward to watching it.

 

[Robert Harris]

This thread is drifting off topic!

No, they were thinking.

It will not happen again.

 

[Beckford]

My favorites of the Montez/Hall pictures are "Arabian Nights", "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" and "Sudan". Though I must say that "Gypsy Wildcat" (included on this set) emerges as a very well put together swashbuckler, capped off by a terrific outdoor chase scene. Really enjoyed the David Del Valle commentary on that last one, too.
Kudos to Kino for having brought all of them to Blu-ray at this point. Among Montez's Universal titles without Hall there are still a couple of real goodies yet to appear in the format.
"Pirates of Monterey" from 1947 is a radiant looking Technicolor adventure that teams her with Rod Cameron, Phillip Reed and Gilbert Roland. A really lively addition to the lady's filmography. Even better is "The Exile", probably the finest of her efforts at Universal. Douglas Fairbanks Jr and Paule Croset aka Paula Corday are the actual leads. Montez's contribution is more of an extended cameo (although her contract stipulated top billing). But under the guidance of master director Max Ophuls, she gives the best performance of her career. Fully contributing to the sense of witty, elegant fun that permeates the whole project. Set in 17th century Netherlands, it's a beautiful looking movie, exquisitely mounted and photographed with a camera that's always on the move. "The Exile" was a black and white film, though some initial prints were sepia-toned. Wouldn't it be lovely to see the picture that way again?
The films Montez made after she left Universal are usually either disparaged or ignored. But I like them all.
"Siren of Atlantis" (released by UA) teams her with real-life husband Jean-Pierre Aumont and Dennis O'Keefe - and is my favorite screen version of l'Atlantide.
After that, she and Aumont decamped to Europe where they worked steadily, all the while hobnobbing with the French artistic and intellectual crowd (of whom Aumont had been a part before the war). Reportedly Jean Cocteau seriously considered Montez for the role of Death in "Orphee". But - even without that particular feather in her cap - the European films she made were still an interesting lot. "Hans le Marin" aka Wicked City was a moody drama about a French-Canadian sailor (Aumont) torn between two women (Montez and Lilli Palmer). It was barely seen in North America. Ditto the intriguing ""Portrait d'un Assassin" in which Montez shared the screen with Erich von Stroheim and Arletty. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be an easily accessible version of this one with English subtitles.
Before her unfortunate death in 1951 the lady made three more black and white adventure films "Il Ladro di Venezia","Schatten uber Neapal" and "La Vendetta del Corsaro". They're all entertaining but I count the first of them as a genuine masterpiece of the swashbuckling genre. Directed by American John Brahm ("Hangover Square") and filmed on location in Venice, it has the same kind of dazzling visual punch as Tyrone Power's "Prince of Foxes' and Orson Welles' "Othello". Really a terrific picture - climaxed by one of the screen's best (and longest) swordfights. 20th Century Fox gave the film a half-hearted American release in '52 (in a somewhat truncated version as "The Thief of Venice"). But - unfortunately - it made barely a ripple.
I'm hoping Kino eventually gives us "Pirates of Monterey" and "The Exile". I suppose it's unlikely we'll ever see Blu's on the later European projects. Our loss - because they're all well worth viewing.

 

[timk1041]

I would also include the 1946 CANYON PASSAGE, which, as directed by Jacques Tourneur and photographed by Edward Cronjager, has an extraordinary and innovative use of Technicolor, including the painting of natural foliage in order to create a sense of drama as well as a decorativeness. I believe that was independently produced by Walter Wanger, and distributed by Universal--as was ARABIAN NIGHTS, the first of the Montez-Hall films, and Universal's first three-strip production--which may be why you left it out.

Yes. Forgot that one.

 

[bujaki]

My favorites of the Montez/Hall pictures are "Arabian Nights", "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" and "Sudan". Though I must say that "Gypsy Wildcat" (included on this set) emerges as a very well put together swashbuckler, capped off by a terrific outdoor chase scene. Really enjoyed the David Del Valle commentary on that last one, too.
Kudos to Kino for having brought all of them to Blu-ray at this point. Among Montez's Universal titles without Hall there are still a couple of real goodies yet to appear in the format.
"Pirates of Monterey" from 1947 is a radiant looking Technicolor adventure that teams her with Rod Cameron, Phillip Reed and Gilbert Roland. A really lively addition to the lady's filmography. Even better is "The Exile", probably the finest of her efforts at Universal. Douglas Fairbanks Jr and Paule Croset aka Paula Corday are the actual leads. Montez's contribution is more of an extended cameo (although her contract stipulated top billing). But under the guidance of master director Max Ophuls, she gives the best performance of her career. Fully contributing to the sense of witty, elegant fun that permeates the whole project. Set in 17th century Netherlands, it's a beautiful looking movie, exquisitely mounted and photographed with a camera that's always on the move. "The Exile" was a black and white film, though some initial prints were sepia-toned. Wouldn't it be lovely to see the picture that way again?
The films Montez made after she left Universal are usually either disparaged or ignored. But I like them all.
"Siren of Atlantis" (released by UA) teams her with real-life husband Jean-Pierre Aumont and Dennis O'Keefe - and is my favorite screen version of l'Atlantide.
After that, she and Aumont decamped to Europe where they worked steadily, all the while hobnobbing with the French artistic and intellectual crowd (of whom Aumont had been a part before the war). Reportedly Jean Cocteau seriously considered Montez for the role of Death in "Orphee". But - even without that particular feather in her cap - the European films she made were still an interesting lot. "Hans le Marin" aka Wicked City was a moody drama about a French-Canadian sailor (Aumont) torn between two women (Montez and Lilli Palmer). It was barely seen in North America. Ditto the intriguing ""Portrait d'un Assassin" in which Montez shared the screen with Erich von Stroheim and Arletty. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be an easily accessible version of this one with English subtitles.
Before her unfortunate death in 1951 the lady made three more black and white adventure films "Il Ladro di Venezia","Schatten uber Neapal" and "La Vendetta del Corsaro". They're all entertaining but I count the first of them as a genuine masterpiece of the swashbuckling genre. Directed by American John Brahm ("Hangover Square") and filmed on location in Venice, it has the same kind of dazzling visual punch as Tyrone Power's "Prince of Foxes' and Orson Welles' "Othello". Really a terrific picture - climaxed by one of the screen's best (and longest) swordfights. 20th Century Fox gave the film a half-hearted American release in '52 (in a somewhat truncated version as "The Thief of Venice"). But - unfortunately - it made barely a ripple.
I'm hoping Kino eventually gives us "Pirates of Monterey" and "The Exile". I suppose it's unlikely we'll ever see Blu's on the later European projects. Our loss - because they're all well worth viewing.

I did see a beautiful 35mm nitrate print of The Exile. It was indeed sepia toned. Very good Ophuls film.

 

[MartinP.]

One of my favorites is Cobra Woman, which I got to see in a theater as part of a Universal Films retrospective a few years ago. It was the first time I'd seen it! I have not seen the three films in this collection and will be getting it at some point.