International BFI release of Mary, Queen Of Scots (1971) (1 Viewer)

[Thomas T]

For those who were disappointed that KL's blu ray eliminated the overture and intermission to Mary, Queen Of Scots that was on the Universal DVD, BFI is including it in their upcoming R2 release of the 1971 film.

 

[Dick]

I might go for this one...

 

[Douglas R]

For those who were disappointed that KL's blu ray eliminated the overture and intermission to Mary, Queen Of Scots that was on the Universal DVD, BFI is including it in their upcoming R2 release of the 1971 film.

The back cover does indeed say "Original overture and musical intermission" but neither are on the disc. Someone seems to have duplicated the wrong master!!

 

[lark144]

The back cover does indeed say "Original overture and musical intermission" but neither are on the disc. Someone seems to have duplicated the wrong master!!

Thanks for checking! I was considering buying it. So much for curiosity.

 

[PaulRossen]

The back cover does indeed say "Original overture and musical intermission" but neither are on the disc. Someone seems to have duplicated the wrong master!!

Thanks for this info. I was going to purchase this ‘complete’ version but not now…

 

[haineshisway]

This film in its original release never had an overture, intermission music OR an intermission, or exit music. As long as everyone understands that. It was NOT a roadshow release here in the US and the running time was two hours and eight minutes everywhere.

 

[Thomas T]

This film in its original release never had an overture, intermission music OR an intermission, or exit music. As long as everyone understands that. It was NOT a roadshow release here in the US and the running time was two hours and eight minutes everywhere.

I saw Mary Queen Of Scots in its first run engagement in San Francisco at the Regency Theater (1320 Van Ness Avenue) and I can assure you, there was an intermission exactly where it is on the Universal DVD. It did not, however, have an overture. Perhaps like West Side Story (1961), theaters were given an option to run the film with or without an intermission (which was Robert Wise's preference). When I saw West Side Story first run it played through without an intermission. When I saw Gandhi (1982) the first time in Century City, it played without an intermission. When I saw it two weeks later in Hollywood, there was an intermission.

Curiously when I saw Spartacus (1960) in a theater, they changed the intermission break which occurred with Kirk Douglas and Jean Simmons walking off together in the forest to be alone. When I watched the blu ray, I thought they got the intermission in the wrong place but Robert Harris assured me that's where the intermission belonged (and always was). So it seems that theaters either had an option where the intermission was placed or took matters into their own hands.

 

[haineshisway]

Your memory is playing tricks on you, I'm afraid. West Side Story is over two and a half hours long. Mary, Queen of Scots is two hours and eight minutes. No two hour and eight minute film of that era, especially one that wasn't roadshow, would never have had an intermission. San Francisco's run would have been no different than the LA run, I assure you. Lest anyone starts arguing with me, Mary, Queen of Scots opened on March 4 at the Regency 2 in San Francisco. Its show times were 7:00 and 9:30. and continuous on the weekends at two and a half hour intervals. Do the math. Two hours and eight minutes let twenty-two minutes to clear the theater, clean up, and get the new audience in for the 9:30 show. Not possible to have even a ten-minute intermission on that schedule, not even a five-minute intermission. Memory's a funny thing. If you saw Spartacus roadshow the intermission was exactly where Mr. Harris said. It could not have been anywhere else. If you saw it in a reissue cut version, yes, the intermission point was moved.

 

[Thomas T]

Your memory is playing tricks on you, I'm afraid. West Side Story is over two and a half hours long. Mary, Queen of Scots is two hours and eight minutes. No two hour and eight minute film of that era, especially one that wasn't roadshow, would never have had an intermission. San Francisco's run would have been no different than the LA run, I assure you.

No, my memory is not playing tricks on me. It did have an intermission. I was surprised since it wasn't a roadshow release. During the intermission, I asked the manager (who I knew as he was a former boss at a different theater when I was an usher during my college days) about it and he shrugged and said, "It gives us a chance to sell more popcorn".

Of course, if you say it never happened and I'm just imagining it then I guess I also imagined Francois Truffaut and Jacqueline Bisset sitting behind me at a screening of Day For Night, that Neil Simon and Marsha Mason sat in front of me at a screening of F.I.S.T., that the screening of Death Becomes Her had Tracey Ullman in the cast as Bruce Willis' future wife, that Richard Roundtree was in my acting class, that I was petting a one eyed stray cat when Christopher Walken walked up and fed the cat sushi, that James Woods was at the urinal next to me in the men's room! What a fantasy life!

 

[Douglas R]

Curiously, Mary, Queen of Scots seems to have had only one 70mm showing in the UK at the Odeon Leicester Square for the Royal Film Premiere. I don't know whether that had an intermission but after that one showing subsequent showings were 35mm. I didn't see it at the Odeon but saw it on general release without intermission.

 

[haineshisway]

No, my memory is not playing tricks on me. It did have an intermission. I was surprised since it wasn't a roadshow release. During the intermission, I asked the manager (who I knew as he was a former boss at a different theater when I was an usher during my college days) about it and he shrugged and said, "It gives us a chance to sell more popcorn".

Of course, if you say it never happened and I'm just imagining it then I guess I also imagined Francois Truffaut and Jacqueline Bisset sitting behind me at a screening of Day For Night, that Neil Simon and Marsha Mason sat in front of me at a screening of F.I.S.T., that the screening of Death Becomes Her had Tracey Ullman in the cast as Bruce Willis' future wife, that Richard Roundtree was in my acting class, that I was petting a one eyed stray cat when Christopher Walken walked up and fed the cat sushi, that James Woods was at the urinal next to me in the men's room! What a fantasy life!

My friend, there is no disputing the proof I included in my post. Perhaps you can explain it to me. Film begins at 7:00. Somewhere an hour in they throw in an intermission for fifteen minutes (it would not have been less than that). Then at 8:15 they show part two, which runs an hour and eight minutes (it doesn't matter where they put the intermission, of course, as the running time is the running time) - that means the film ends at 9:23. That would make the turnaround - getting everyone out of the theater, and then letting all the people waiting for the 9:30 showing, exactly seven minutes to get in, get their refreshments and find their seats. And that is impossible and no theater anywhere would do such a thing. Even the twenty-two minutes without an intermission would have been tight. All the other stuff you bring up is just distraction. You can look at the advert I took the time to find for you, see the show times - there is simply no arguing with this, I'm afraid. Then again, everyone is positive they saw the "to be continued" card during the original run of Back to the Future. Cannot argue with those people - they saw it and will not be dissuaded, despite the fact that it wasn't there.

And there's a whole ton of people here in Los Angeles who will go to their graves swearing they saw the original Cinerama run of How the West Was Won at the Cinerama Dome. They will berate you, they will castigate you, when you tell them that they didn't. They saw it with their pappy or their mummy and the memory is imbedded in their brains, seared there, irrefutably real. When you point out to them that, no, it did not play there during its original run, that it played the Warner Cinerama on Hollywood Blvd. they double down and get even more irritated and obstinate, citing MORE details that mean their memory is not faulty. Even when you post a photo of the film playing at the Warner Cinerama, post the adverts for the film playing at the Warner Cinerama won't change their minds. And even when you point out the pesky little detail that the Cinerama Dome wasn't even BUILT when How the West Was Won opened won't change their minds.

Same people will also swear they saw 2001: A Space Odyssey during its original run - at the Cinerama Dome. Nope. It played the same theater as How the West Was Won. Same thing with Jaws - the SWEAR they saw it during its original run at the Cinerama Dome - nope, they didn't. But no matter how much proof you offer, they will not be dissuaded.

 

[Thomas T]

My friend, there is no disputing the proof I included in my post. Perhaps you can explain it to me. Film begins at 7:00. Somewhere an hour in they throw in an intermission for fifteen minutes (it would not have been less than that). Then at 8:15 they show part two, which runs an hour and eight minutes (it doesn't matter where they put the intermission, of course, as the running time is the running time) - that means the film ends at 9:23. That would make the turnaround - getting everyone out of the theater, and then letting all the people waiting for the 9:30 showing, exactly seven minutes to get in, get their refreshments and find their seats. And that is impossible and no theater anywhere would do such a thing. Even the twenty-two minutes without an intermission would have been tight. All the other stuff you bring up is just distraction. You can look at the advert I took the time to find for you, see the show times - there is simply no arguing with this, I'm afraid. Then again, everyone is positive they saw the "to be continued" card during the original run of Back to the Future. Cannot argue with those people - they saw it and will not be dissuaded, despite the fact that it wasn't there.

And there's a whole ton of people here in Los Angeles who will go to their graves swearing they saw the original Cinerama run of How the West Was Won at the Cinerama Dome. They will berate you, they will castigate you, when you tell them that they didn't. They saw it with their pappy or their mummy and the memory is imbedded in their brains, seared there, irrefutably real. When you point out to them that, no, it did not play there during its original run, that it played the Warner Cinerama on Hollywood Blvd. they double down and get even more irritated and obstinate, citing MORE details that mean their memory is not faulty. Even when you post a photo of the film playing at the Warner Cinerama, post the adverts for the film playing at the Warner Cinerama won't change their minds. And even when you point out the pesky little detail that the Cinerama Dome wasn't even BUILT when How the West Was Won opened won't change their minds.

Same people will also swear they saw 2001: A Space Odyssey during its original run - at the Cinerama Dome. Nope. It played the same theater as How the West Was Won. Same thing with Jaws - the SWEAR they saw it during its original run at the Cinerama Dome - nope, they didn't. But no matter how much proof you offer, they will not be dissuaded.

Well, I won't argue with you because we'll just go around in circles. The showing did have an intermission. If you choose to believe dementia has set in or that I'm outright lying is up to you, I'll let that pass. Why anyone would fantasize they saw an intermission when there wasn't one is beyond my ken but if you insist that the showing did not have an intermission even though I was there (and you weren't), I'll let you rest in satisfaction.

Which begs the question, why did Universal create a a fake overture, intermission and entr'acte for the DVD if the elements weren't already there? As for short running times and intermissions, I won't remind you of 3D movies circa 1953/1954.

 

[compson]

^ You’re not alone. From comments posted in 2013:
”Another odd and curious moment comes only an hour into the film when there is an 'intermission'”

https://rateyourmusic.com/film/mary__queen_of_scots/

Another site, which, admittedly, I’ve never heard of, reports an intermission after Darnley joins the conspirators:

Mary, Queen of Scots (1971)

Mary, Queen of Scots is a 1971 British biographical film directed by Charles Jarrott, about the strife between the two reigning queens on the British Isles in the late 16th century: Mary, Queen of Scots (Vanessa Redgrave) and Elizabeth, Queen of …

tvtropes.org

 

[JPCinema]

I saw MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS in 70mm in LA on opening day. I remember there was an intermission.

 

[haineshisway]

Okay, I give up, folks. There was certainly no intermission in LA. I was never saying anyone is delusional, I'm saying people misremember stuff all the time. Did no one read the endless examples I gave? I've talked to others who confirm to me there was no intermission during its original release. As to why that stuff was created, music-wise, Charles Jarrott has addressed that and it's not difficult to find. Originally the film WAS to have an intermission because it was MUCH longer - Hal Wallis cut it down to two hours and eight minutes so there was zero need for an intermission in a non-roadshow presentation. I do understand that everyone believes what they believe and as I said in the list of my many examples of misplaced memories, there is zero chance of dissuading them outside of a time machine back and even then... It is simply not possible to clean and clear a theater and then let in the next audience in seven minutes. At least not in my experience. Twenty minutes, absolutely. But let me help even further - here is the LA Times review of Mary, Queen of Scots - see anything about an intermission anywhere? I don't. On the other hand, here is a review of Nicholas and Alexandra, which opened the same day as Mary. See a mention of an intermission? I do.

 

[Thomas T]

Okay, I give up, folks. There was certainly no intermission in LA. I was never saying anyone is delusional, I'm saying people misremember stuff all the time. Did no one read the endless examples I gave? I've talked to others who confirm to me there was no intermission during its original release. As to why that stuff was created, music-wise, Charles Jarrott has addressed that and it's not difficult to find. Originally the film WAS to have an intermission because it was MUCH longer - Hal Wallis cut it down to two hours and eight minutes so there was zero need for an intermission in a non-roadshow presentation. I do understand that everyone believes what they believe and as I said in the list of my many examples of misplaced memories, there is zero chance of dissuading them outside of a time machine back and even then... It is simply not possible to clean and clear a theater and then let in the next audience in seven minutes. At least not in my experience. Twenty minutes, absolutely. But let me help even further - here is the LA Times review of Mary, Queen of Scots - see anything about an intermission anywhere? I don't. On the other hand, here is a review of Nicholas and Alexandra, which opened the same day as Mary. See a mention of an intermission? I do.

I never insisted that the film had an intermission everywhere. I only said it had an intermission when I saw it on a Saturday night during its first run at the Regency Theatre in San Francisco. For all I know, it may have been the only theater in the U..S. that had an intermission during its run. That's it, I'm outta here.

 

[JPCinema]

Your memory is playing tricks on you, I'm afraid. West Side Story is over two and a half hours long. Mary, Queen of Scots is two hours and eight minutes. No two hour and eight minute film of that era, especially one that wasn't roadshow, would never have had an intermission. San Francisco's run would have been no different than the LA run, I assure you. Lest anyone starts arguing with me, Mary, Queen of Scots opened on March 4 at the Regency 2 in San Francisco. Its show times were 7:00 and 9:30. and continuous on the weekends at two and a half hour intervals. Do the math. Two hours and eight minutes let twenty-two minutes to clear the theater, clean up, and get the new audience in for the 9:30 show. Not possible to have even a ten-minute intermission on that schedule, not even a five-minute intermission. Memory's a funny thing. If you saw Spartacus roadshow the intermission was exactly where Mr. Harris said. It could not have been anywhere else. If you saw it in a reissue cut version, yes, the intermission point was moved.

I saw it at the Beverly Hills Wilshire on a Sunday and it had an intermission. I remember distinctly wondering why there was an intermission for a relatively short film

 

[haineshisway]

Look at the review I posted with no intermission mentioned. Look at the review of Nicholas and Alexandra from the same day - intermission mentioned because the Times always mentioned whether there was an intermission. I think we've all said what we have to say.

 

[Robin9]

. . . . . Originally the film WAS to have an intermission because it was MUCH longer - Hal Wallis cut it down to two hours and eight minutes so there was zero need for an intermission in a non-roadshow presentation. . . . . .

I offer no opinion about Mary, Queen Of Scots, but when I first saw For A Few Dollars More, a film of similar length, there was an intermission. Unnecessary too incidentally and the audience groaned in disappointment.

 

[Ross Gowland]

View attachment 145028
I saw it at the Beverly Hills Wilshire on a Sunday and it had an intermission. I remember distinctly wondering why there was an intermission for a relatively short film

Again, the screening times in that ad suggest that it wouldn’t have had an intermission.

Just to make it clear, I don’t think anyone is lying here. The memory really does cheat. Case in point: I have a vivid early memory of seeing Pete’s Dragon at a certain cinema in Walton-on-Thames. Monty Python fans will recognise it as the one the family who live in the street are camped outside. But the snag is, that cinema closed about four years before Pete’s Dragon was released. It’s impossible for me to have seen it there. Yet, in my memory, there I am in that cinema watching Pete’s Dragon.