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Major Westerns that are still MIA on DVD

#31
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6/26/08 at 6:35am
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Re: Major Westerns that are still MIA on DVD

Quote:
Originally Posted by Eric Peterson
That's awesome news!

I saw the documentary, but have only seen one Boetticher film thus far "Seven Men From Now". I can't wait to see some more.

You're in for a treat, except for the IMO slightly weaker Decision at Sundown I enjoyed all of them very much.

The last two also have the bonus of very nice Cinemascope photography and I was able to watch one of them theatrically which was a real highlight back then.
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#32
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6/26/08 at 6:46am
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Re: Major Westerns that are still MIA on DVD

Quote:
Originally Posted by John Hodson
Over at the Classic Horror Film Board, Sony insider Mike T. says that the Sony set will comprise The Tall T, Decision At Sundown, Buchanan Rides Alone, Ride Lonesome and Comanche Station. He adds:

The set will be rounded out by A MAN CAN DO THAT, the Eastwood-produced doc that originally aired on TCM. Expect it before the end of the year..

Nice.

Brilliant! I watched Comanche Station recently and was just blown away by it. It is such an elegantly made film. Everything is in the right place.
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#33
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6/26/08 at 6:54am
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Re: Major Westerns that are still MIA on DVD

Quote:
Originally Posted by Simon Howson
Brilliant! I watched Comanche Station recently and was just blown away by it. It is such an elegantly made film. Everything is in the right place.

That's the one I catched in the cinema - unfortunately it was really only me and an old lady that probably had ended up in the wrong movie
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#34
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6/26/08 at 7:04am
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Re: Major Westerns that are still MIA on DVD

Watched both 'The Tall T' and 'Comanche Station' on TV recently and the standard was quite something; both films bore the imprimatur of Sony - I think we're in for a treat.
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#35
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6/26/08 at 7:06am
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Re: Major Westerns that are still MIA on DVD

Quote:
Originally Posted by OliverK
That's the one I catched in the cinema - unfortunately it was really only me and an old lady that probably had ended up in the wrong movie

Do you mean on its initial release?

You - and that old lady - are lucky. The genius of the Hollywood studio era is that it could enable such extraordinary low budget films to be made. IMDB says that it was shot in just 12 days, yet I rate it more highly than many A films.

Stylistically the interesting thing is that Boetticher often keeps the actors quite a distance from the camera, which recalls how early CinemaScope films were shot. This makes a lot of the shot scales much looser, which gives the film the epic scale one associates with early 'Scope films. For me it is widescreen film making at its best.

Hopefully Warner will release Westbound, and Fox will release The Magnificent Matador.
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#36
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6/26/08 at 7:27am
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Re: Major Westerns that are still MIA on DVD

Quote:
Originally Posted by Simon Howson
Do you mean on its initial release?

Oh no, I was not even born then

But I catched a few Westerns in the 90ies that mostly played to empty houses in the city where I used to watch movies (Hannover, Germany).
As interest for westerns playing in cinemas was more or less non-existant I was happy to even catch those few.

I agree on the cinematography - Boetticher got the movies to look and feel bigger than the usual standard B-western fare, especially the two cinemascope westerns.
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#37
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6/26/08 at 10:14am
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Re: Major Westerns that are still MIA on DVD

Quote:
Originally Posted by John Hodson
Watched both 'The Tall T' and 'Comanche Station' on TV recently and the standard was quite something; both films bore the imprimatur of Sony - I think we're in for a treat.

Yes, they looked great! I think the tapes must have come from Sony.
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#38
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6/26/08 at 1:30pm
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Re: Major Westerns that are still MIA on DVD

William Wellman's ACROSS THE WIDE MISSOURI is being shown on the Western Channel this month. The film was released in a truncated version by the Dore Schary administration in 1951. The result was a 78 minute version which had at least a half an hour of exposition removed and an awkward narration (by Howard Keel) imposed on it. We hear of musical numbers being cut out of films and sometimes being found and placed on the dvds and certainly everyone is aware of THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS and GREED, but no one seems to know if any edited footage remains of ATWM or King Vidor's AN AMERICAN ROMANCE or the Anthony Mann episode from IT'S A BIG COUNTRY.

Charles Hoyt

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#39
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6/26/08 at 5:37pm
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Re: Major Westerns that are still MIA on DVD

Quote:
Originally Posted by Charles H
William Wellman's ACROSS THE WIDE MISSOURI is being shown on the Western Channel this month. The film was released in a truncated version by the Dore Schary administration in 1951. The result was a 78 minute version which had at least a half an hour of exposition removed and an awkward narration (by Howard Keel) imposed on it. We hear of musical numbers being cut out of films and sometimes being found and placed on the dvds and certainly everyone is aware of THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS and GREED, but no one seems to know if any edited footage remains of ATWM or King Vidor's AN AMERICAN ROMANCE or the Anthony Mann episode from IT'S A BIG COUNTRY.
Useful reminder, thanks. So, which version of ACROSS THE WIDE MISSOURI is Encore Westerns showing? The truncated 78m version or the full-length version, do you know?

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#40
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6/26/08 at 6:27pm
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Re: Major Westerns that are still MIA on DVD

I am certain that it is the 78 minute version which TCM shows. The issue that I was trying to bring up is that I know of no effort to locate the missing footage. Wellman, Vidor, and Anthony Mann are major directors and in the case of Wellman and Vidor, these are very personal projects. Apparently, missing footage was the reason that SILVER RIVER was not included in the Errol Flynn box. The only print that TCM shows of the terrific noir THEY WON'T BELIEVE ME is the reissue print missing 15 minutes.

Charles Hoyt

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#41
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6/26/08 at 8:29pm
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Re: Major Westerns that are still MIA on DVD

Quote:
Originally Posted by Charles H
I am certain that it is the 78 minute version which TCM shows. The issue that I was trying to bring up is that I know of no effort to locate the missing footage. Wellman, Vidor, and Anthony Mann are major directors and in the case of Wellman and Vidor, these are very personal projects. Apparently, missing footage was the reason that SILVER RIVER was not included in the Errol Flynn box. The only print that TCM shows of the terrific noir THEY WON'T BELIEVE ME is the reissue print missing 15 minutes.
I thought the issue with Silver River was that more work is required on the film elements. I've heard nothing about missing footage.

As far as Across the Wide Missouri, I would be shocked if anything besides the 78 minute version is released on dvd.
G.W. McLintock: Camille, you're on your own.
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#42
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6/27/08 at 6:32am
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Re: Major Westerns that are still MIA on DVD

Check out post #139 of the HOW THE WEST WAS WON thread. Apparently the TCM and VHS prints are edited from the original release print of SILVER RIVER by about 6 minutes.

Charles Hoyt

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#43
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6/27/08 at 7:22am
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Re: Major Westerns that are still MIA on DVD

Quote:
Originally Posted by Charles H
Check out post #139 of the HOW THE WEST WAS WON thread. Apparently the TCM and VHS prints are edited from the original release print of SILVER RIVER by about 6 minutes.
After I posted last night, I checked AFI and some other sources that confirmed the edited six minutes, however, is that the real reason why it isn't being released this year? By the way, Across the Wide Missouri appears to have only been released in its 78 minute version so it will be difficult for Warner to find any elements with the Wellman's version and then edit it with the Keel narration which I kind of like to be honest with you.




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