Exodus (1 Viewer)

[AdrianTurner]

I find it interesting how all the above comments focus on Preminger's technique, what we in the trade used to call mise-en-scene, and indeed that is how Preminger earned his reputation among cinephiles of the 50s and 60s. His photographic fluency took precedence over the content - otherwise Exodus is a wordy, hectoring, sentimental paean to the foundation of Israel, with the best-looking actor in the world as the terrorist-freedom fighter and a little blonde girl as a concentration camp survivor. Call me concentration camp cynical, but this movie is pretty gross. Apart from the camerawork of course!

I do, though, like The Cardinal, Anatomy of a Murder and Advise and Consent. I saw Preminger, interviewed on stage at the NFT, and he was pretty outrageous. He also made a legendary appearance on Desert Island Discs - a deeply traditional and pretigious BBC radio show - on which he chose six soundtracks of his own movies, his book choice was his own autobiography and his luxury was a mirror. The presenter, Roy Plomley, was not amused.

 

[Mark B]

The laserdisc and the DVD are not the same. Look at the opening credits, for example. The font is different and the timing of them also (by timing I mean when they appear in relation to the background images and music). In fact, the laserdisc had Ronald Neame's credit over the approaching car, whereas the DVD has his credit prior to the dissolve. The laserdisc also has "The End" over the last shot and the DVD does not. The laser has Judy's "Hello Bluebird" jacket timed as blue, and in the DVD it is green.

Anyway, back to EXODUS.

 

[john a hunter]

I am sure I read somewhere that Exodus does not survive in its 70mm form and all negs etc have been lost. Even the recent CD of the wonderful score sounds like it came from a cassette which adds credence to idea that all the materials asssociated with this film have been lost. Let's hope we get a decent transfer eventually.I have refused to purchase the MGM mess but have fond memories of the last 70mm screening I saw at London's NFT.

 

[Bill Huelbig]

Chuck P.: I guess the word "perfect" is inaccurate after all. But compared to the DVD, the Film Fest HD screening was a revelation. I've always liked the movie and would buy it again in a minute if it looked like that.

 

[BethHarrison]

...

 

[Simon Howson]

I don't think there is a true dichotomy between form and content, they are both aspects of the same thing - the conversion of story into a film's image (well, and soundtrack). The style of the film inflects the story by adding or removing emphasis to different events. I find it hard that how events are filmed is unimportant to the over all effect of the narrative.

The sequence I described is a triumph of cinematography and mise-en-scene, but - as I tried to explain - it helps create a unique point of view for the film where the audience is forced to form their own judgment about the events.

But if all there is in that sequence is mise-en-scene, then I hope that is a cinema we can go back to.

 

[Charles Ellis]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned his relationship with Dorothy Dandridge, which proved detrimental to her psyche after several years (it started with their time together on Carmen Jones)- he had promised to leave his wife but didn't, so she left him. She signed to do Porgy & Bess with Rouben Mamoulian (who directed the stage version) as director, but Samuel Goldwyn fired Mamoulian in a dispute and replaced him with Preminger. Apparently Goldwyn felt that the Preminger-Dandridge teaming would create movie magic a second time. (Ironically years earlier Otto replaced Mamoulian as the director of Laura, the film that first made him famous in America). Things were very strained between the ex-lovers on the set, and both her leading men, Sidney Poitier and Brock Peters, were disgusted with the way the director treated her. When you consider the number of leading ladies who worked under him who later suffered from mental illnesses, and the list is quite a long one:

Marilyn Monroe (of whom he said, "Directing her is like directing Lassie")
Gene Tierney
Maggie McNamara
Paula Prentiss
Jean Seberg
Dorothy Dandridge
Jennifer O'Neill

you do wonder what he felt about the opposite sex in real life. On the other hand, he did have a successful third marriage and spent his later years as a devoted father. But the stories of his treatment of actresses is disturbing......

 

[Simon Howson]

Has anyone seen Preminger's version of Porgy & Bess? I wish I could see it, but it seems that it is a film where various estates don't want it released.

Also, if you read the Foster Hirsch biography, it doesn't sound like Preminger's wife ever wants Skidoo to see the light of day again. She summarises her thoughts on the film by saying
Personally I don't like it when people say what dead filmmakers think about their films. But if she has any say whatsoever in which of Preminger's Paramount films make it onto DVD, it seems she will never allow it while she is alive.

Sad really, because I'm sure it would be a hilarious train wreck of a film.

Hopefully Paramount at least release Hurry Sundown...

 

[Charles Ellis]

Well, the whole Porgy & Bess thing is complicated. You've got the Gershwin estate supposedly blocking it because the movie version wasn't as good as the original opera (the family hated the idea of Mamoulian being replaced by Preminger). Then there's the issue of groups like the NAACP not being happy about the film- while filming was about to be made, there was pressure on Sidney Poitier not to do the film. Well, as a person of color I liked the film as a kid, and looked forward to seeing it on TV on Sunday afternoons when the local station used to play it several times a year until around 1980 or so. I remember that my parents had a '101 Strings' album of selections from the score, and I played the hell out of it. I just hope the original elements are still around for a restoration and God willing, a future DVD release with extras. Sidney Poitier and Diahann Carroll are still around, so maybe they can give commentary, along with Samuel Goldwyn, Jr. and Preminger's son Erik. Let us have today's audience and critics get the the opportunity to see the film and judge its merits.

 

[Chuck Pennington]

I don't know I COULD GO ON SINGING inside and out like you apparently do, but the image on both formats looked terribly soft and murky. Both transfers are pretty hideous. Agree? The film looked nothing like either DVD or LD release when it was on HDNET MOVIES 2 yrs ago.

 

[Mark B]

Yes, Chuck, both releases have many shortcomings, and one that is consistent is the high level of red in both. The black levels take on a reddish hue which throws everything off, especially skin tones.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I've read direct quotes from Sidney Poitier that he's embarassed by this film so don't expect him to do any commentary. According to him, he wouldn't have made the film if not made to do it by the studio.

 

[Jon Martin]

SKIDOO had a rare TV screenings just a few weeks ago on TCM. I reviewed it here:

The Moviezzz Blog: FORGOTTEN FILM: SKIDOO (1968)

It deserves a release on DVD, if only for the curiosity factor. TCM showed it full frame and it needed letterboxing, so I guess the film hasn't been remastered.

 

[Bill Huelbig]

"Porgy and Bess" was shown at New York's Ziegfeld Theater last September, for two nights. The 35mm print belonged to a private collector. I hadn't seen it since the ABC network TV broadcast in 1967, and enjoyed it very much. Although Dorothy Dandridge's singing voice was dubbed (as was Sidney Poitier's and most of the principal actors), her performance was truly heartbreaking.

Hope Preminger, Otto's widow, attended the screening and spoke to the audience. I wish I'd known enough to ask her to release "Skidoo" anyway, despite the way she feels about it. I love that movie!

 

[Simon Howson]

I believe it was shot in Panavision, so it must've been pan and scan, rather than full frame. But I completely agree with you, it should be out on DVD, including a documentary on why the hell the FBI investigated the film because of the script.

 

[Jon Martin]

Yes, it was originally in Panavision. And the TCM airing wasn't even panned and scanned. They just showed the center of the image even while the action went off to the sides. It was obvious Paramount hadn't even gotten around to making a pan and scan version of it.

 

[Simon Howson]

Crazy! See if I was part of the Preminger estate I would be restoring everything, so that it is already to go on DVD and Blu-ray.

Even a film like In Harm's Way could look a lot better than it does.

 

[Matt Hough]

Actually, I believe PORGY AND BESS was shot in Todd-AO.

 

[Simon Howson]

We were posting about Skidoo.

But the fact Porgy And Bess was shot in Todd-AO is another reason it should be restored and release on DVD.

 

[AdrianTurner]

Porgy and Bess was shot in Todd-Ao and was shown in that format in London at the Dominion Cinema, Tottenham Court Road. Its release was hugely delayed because of the long run of South Pacific. It didn't last long and quickly made way for, I think, Cleopatra. I did see Porgy then, however, and have the souvenir brochure, but I can't remember much about it