Olive Films Press Release: Dragonfly Squadron (3D Blu-ray) (1 Viewer)

[Josh Steinberg]

My copy came earlier in the week, and I had a chance to view it on Wednesday night. I was really impressed with the disc. Hats off to Bob Furmanek and everyone else at the 3D Film Archive who worked on this.

Watched on an Epson 5030 projector, the presentation was fantastic. The popout on the main titles seemed to be at the limit of what the projector could do, but didn't present a problem, and that was about the only moment I can remember where the 3D appeared anything less than perfect (and I'd bet that's more of a display issue than a disc authoring issue). The use of depth throughout the film wasn't gimmicky, but did help in making everything seem a little more realistic. The movie itself was a solid "b" movie - in general I'm not a huge watcher of war movies, so I was probably not destined to be this movie's biggest fan in the first place, but I enjoyed it more than I expected. The first half really flew by for me (pun not intended), I was surprised when the "intermission" card came up as I had lost track of time. (I have to admit that I occasionally got so caught up in admiring the technical quality of the presentation that a couple of times I forgot to pay attention to what the actors were saying!)

The technical quality of the 3D presentation was great. The alignment did seem flawless, I didn't notice any ghosting or anything else that would take a viewer out of the movie when watching it. There was the occasional scratch or speck of dirt during the film, but absolutely nothing that would take away from the movie. All things being equal, the work that Bob and Co did on the film's alignment was way more important to overall presentation quality than digitally scrubbing the film to be perfectly spotless would have been. I would gladly run out and buy all of the other vintage 3D films if they were released on disc at this level of quality.

This is one blind buy I am super happy to have, one that has at the least lived up to my expectations, if it didn't exceed them. A lot of us have different passions for different kinds of movies and genres and have at least one area where we'll blind buy or at least see anything - some people collect everything Criterion or Twilight Time put out, some people collect all of the Academy Award nominees, some people are into vintage formats like Laserdisc, some people collect silents or pre-code movies - and my area of blind buys is 3D. This was a great one.

I'm eagerly awaiting "The Bubble" and whatever other tricks Bob has up his sleeve!

 

[bujaki]

Josh Steinberg wrote:
"A lot of us have different passions for different kinds of movies and genres and have at least one area where we'll blind buy or at least see anything - some people collect everything Criterion or Twilight Time put out, some people collect all of the Academy Award nominees, some people are into vintage formats like Laserdisc, some people collect silents or pre-code movies - and my area of blind buys is 3D".

Amen to this statement, Josh. If only everyone else were so tolerant of our foibles and little vices...

 

[Bob Furmanek]

The gentleman who complained of "pixelation" seems intent on posting his negative review everywhere.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/review/R350CB4NPJVMLR/ref=cm_cr_pr_rvw_ttl?ASIN=B00M1CFYHE

If you good people don't mind, would you please post your honest reviews and ratings on Amazon? Greg and I would be most grateful.

Thank you!

 

[revgen]

Also, make sure to click "no" when Amazon asks you if his review was helpful.

 

[Stephen_J_H]

Clicked no on was his review helpful. Will be picking this up soon. This is the type of guy who would probably rave about Transformers: Age of Extinction ( or is it Ex-stink-tion?).

 

[phillyrobt]

Just watched after days of anticipation; greatly + really enjoyed it. Funny thing, while watching this, my Mad magazine spoof mentality kicked in and I was thinking how plot devices work...the writer John Champion also wrote Zero Hour - the basis for Airplane! Will be rewatching this many times especially after reviewing the work of the actors..the only people I recognized was Chuck Connors (Tourist Trap..one of my favs!) and Benson Fong. The 3d really helps convey the atmosphere and tension of combat life and puts the viewer in Korea.
To all involved...Great work and Thanks! Spoiler: ?god eht ot deneppah tahW

 

[StephenDH]

The basis for "Airplane" is actually a novel called "Flight into Danger" by John Castle and Arthur Hailey. "Zero Hour" was the first film version. It was also filmed as "Terror in the Sky" in 1971.
The novel is one of my earliest reading memories and is quite gripping. Even "Airplane" couldn't ruin it.
I really should get out more.

 

[Todd J Moore]

My thoughts on the release:

http://todd3d.blogspot.com/2014/10/3d-classics-on-blu-ray-dragonfly.html

 

[Bob Furmanek]

That's wonderful, thanks Todd!

 

[Bob Furmanek]

From Leonard Maltin:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/leonardmaltin/rare-finds-on-dvd-20141021

 

[StephenDH]

It's not that I doubt anyone's word but all the suppliers I've asked (and who could actually be bothered to reply) have been quite adamant that "Dragonfly Squadron" is not region free. At the moment the vote is 2 from HTF in favour and 2 suppliers against.
Colour me baffled.

 

[Bob Furmanek]

It is region free. That's what we requested and several other reviewers have confirmed.

 

[StephenDH]

It is region free. That's what we requested and several other reviewers have confirmed.

OK I'm convinced. Ordered from Amazon.

 

[SAM33]

While I've had this since it released (I pre-ordered it of course) October's been a crazy work month for me so just last night was I able to sit down and finally watch this all the way through.

Just what I expected - an entertaining if not top-notch drama, and ABSOLUTELY top-notch 3D! Nary a ghost on my Epson 5020, bright and clear, with many great shots of vintage WWII era planes and explosions in full dimensional photography.

I knew Bob would do no less than a careful and excellent job! If only others who hold some of the vintage 3D titles would be willing to work with him on restoration and release! Can't wait for THE BUBBLE and especially 3D RARETIES.

 

[StephenDH]

Just in case any UK fans are in doubt, I can confirm that the "Dragonfly Squadron" 3D Blu-ray is, as promised, region free and plays perfectly on UK machines.
I just finished watching it and whilst it's a somewhat ropey film, the 3D is very good indeed.
Forward to "The Bubble"!

 

[Doug Bull]

Congratulations to Bob and everybody else involved at 3D Film Archive for the 'brilliant' restoration of this film.

The whole experience took me back to the fifties again and what a privilege to be able to view it for the first time in almost flawless 3D.
Again well done 3D Film Archive and Olive Films for having the guts and fortitude to venture into financially uncertain territory.
Let's hope that this dedicated and technically successful effort repays many times over and in doing so opens the door for more 3D treasures from the fifties.

I just can't wait for "3D Rarities" Pre-orders to be announced.
Along with "Kiss Me Kate" 2015 promises to be something special for all 3D enthusiasts.

Doug.

 

[Bob Furmanek]

Thank you very much! I'm so glad that you're pleased with this release.

2015 promises to be a VERY exciting year for vintage 3-D. There are some projects in the works which will be quite a treat for 3-D connoisseurs.

 

[RolandL]

Only $17.99 at Best Buy

 

[Mike Ballew]

Hi, everyone,


Just thought I'd help get the word out that Dragonfly Squadron will be screening on Saturday, December 12th, at the Downtown Independent Theater in Los Angeles. The show starts at 7:30 and includes a Q&A with Bob Furmanek and Greg Kintz, two of the key players in the 3-D Film Archive, and in my view the two men most at the vanguard of preserving vintage stereo cinema for future generations.


If you've never seen Dragonfly and want to check it out, or even if you own the Blu-Ray, come see what a serious war drama, circa 1954, looks like in beautiful 3-D on the big screen.

 

[Mike Ballew]

In an e-mail correspondence with a friend of mine, I made some remarks that I felt might be of interest to some of you. I don't think anything I have to say here qualifies as a full-blown spoiler, but if you are sensitive to such matters and have yet to watch Dragonfly Squadron, please proceed with caution.

I am glad so many people, including many younger than ourselves, are willing to seek out Golden Age 3-D movies on Blu-Ray. But I think there are occasions when some small detail, unnoticed and unremarked by audiences today, seriously undermines appreciation for a given film; the gap between the film and its modern audience is more than just a passage of time, but a lapse of memory.

I feel I've only recently really begun to understand Dragonfly Squadron. For the longest time, I kept wondering why the reporter, Dixon, had to be such a raging a-hole right out of the gate, never relenting even in the third act, when cooperation, if not a certain battlefield camaraderie, would seem to be the order of the day. There was that throwaway line about his having lost two brothers on Wake Island, but for the longest time I just took it for granted he meant he'd had two brothers in the Marines during World War II. It is sad they died, very sad, but plenty of good Marines died in the Pacific.

Then I happened to read, very recently, a first-person account of what happened on Wake Island by a man who was there in December 1941. There were some military personnel stationed on Wake, sure, but also a ton of civilian contractors, and in the days and weeks immediately following Pearl Harbor, assistance and reinforcements from outside the island were simply not forthcoming. The civilian contractors fought alongside the Marines with meager resources to help defend Wake, but after two weeks of relentless bombing by Japanese air squadrons and a massive, all-out assault by enemy invaders, the island had to be surrendered. Seventy civilians were killed in the battle, and of eleven hundred civilians taken as POWs, an additional 99 civilians were murdered in captivity in October 1943. This latter certainly qualifies as a war crime.

No wonder Dixon is so bitter! In his view, the politicians and the military brass are being cagey with what they know about North Korean (and Soviet) intentions on the peninsula, and Dixon feels that civilians like the Cottrells, Anne Taylor, and the ordinary people of South Korea will end up paying the price for it. To audiences of 1954, the Wake Island tragedy was a relatively recent memory, and surely would have informed their understanding of Dixon's motivations and the film overall; to casual audiences of 2016, it is almost completely unknown. This one little piece of historical information adds a whole new dimension to the picture. (For once, no pun is intended.)​