Cecil B. DeMille Collection on the 23rd of May (1 Viewer)

[Joe Karlosi]

Well, I have really wanted the pre-code SIGN OF THE CROSS on DVD for some time now. I saw it a couple of years ago and it was really wild and untamed for its time. But the films aren't going to be sold separately? Hmphhh.

 

[oscar_merkx]

wonderful news indeed as I have not seen any of the five mentioned.

a blind buy I guess then

Why is Sign of the Cross so special ?

 

[dana martin]

http://classicmoviefavorites.com/demille/sign.html

This might help explain Sign of the Cross a little pre-code

 

[oscar_merkx]

sounds like amust buy then reading this

cheers

 

[Charles H]

During World War II, THE SIGN OF THE CROSS was reissued with a 9-minute Prologue (directed by DeMille) that took place inside a bomber plane flying over Rome. (I recall they were going to drop pamphlets over Rome.) It featured Stanley Ridges, Tom Tully, and Arthur Shields and a abbreviated SIGN OF THE CROSS was offered as a flashback of Ancient Rome. The Prologue might make an interesting extra. The VHS version of SIGN was the original 124-version.

 

[dana martin]

Well the artwork is another photoshoped collage from universal, would have been to much for them to have the art department come up with something like the Hitchcock set? and i wonder if they will use the poster art for the individual releases, or just use a folder like the Marx Bros box that they did?

 

[CameronMcC]

the picture makes it look like a folder, and a very skinny one at that

 

[John_S]

I'm definately looking forward to getting this set!!! A must-buy

 

[Jeff_CusBlues]

Sign of the Cross was featured during one of AMCs Film Preservation Months way back when they were, IMHO, a quality channel. This was where I first saw this film and enjoyed it immensely. My only copy is a VHS that I taped from AMC. I thought this restoration restored the film to its original length. I always thought the violence in the arena scenes was far more shocking than any "skin". I will definitely buy this set.

 

[dana martin]

Funny that as soon as you say pre code everyone thinks skin actual it encompassed much more than that, that way when something has been restored, for a long time the line "now i know what it feels like to be god" was removed from Frankenstein, because of it's blasphemous nature for a good read on it...

http://www.artsreformation.com/a001/hays-code.html
or you can read from here as well really intresting stuff

http://prodcode.davidhayes.net/

after reading on them it does make me understand that it wasn't until the 60's that a film like the wild bunch could be made.

lots of great info

 

[Charles Ellis]

For me, the high point of The Sign Of The Cross was Joyzelle's performance of "Under The Naked Moon"- possibly the best sapphic come-on in movie history (though Catherine Denueve's seduction of Susan Sarandon to the music of 'Lamke' in The Hunger comes close). And let's not forget Claudette Colbert up to her boobs in asses' milk!!

 

[John Hodson]

Specs are up at the Universal website here; if these are finalised, then there are zero extras, not even trailers. The running times reveal that The Sign of The Cross appears to be uncut, but Four Frightened People is the shorter 1935 version. Of course, Cleopatra is uncut, as is The Crusades and Union Pacific.

 

[dana martin]

Wonder where the 17 min of film are?? They need to make this right.

 

[Patrick McCart]

UCLA is usually responsible for the restoration/preservation of the Paramount films owned by Universal... http://cinema.library.ucla.edu/cgi-b...&CNT=50&HIST=1

According to this, they preserved the film from the short version. Perhaps the long version is lost?

Also, it looks like all of these are from DeMille's own nitrate prints.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Crawdaddy

 

[oscar_merkx]

It would be a real shame to have no extras. So much history ...

 

[dana martin]

I read that at the UCLA site as well, it seems that they have an extensive DeMille Archive, that is where the hope of seeing the whole thing came from, along with the DeMille Trust thought maybe they found it in Utah

Agreed on the :frowning: of extras just one of the Documentaries on DeMille would suffice.