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Uncut print of "A Night At the Opera" found??

#1
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7/6/08 at 8:17am
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Can anyone here verify this? The link goes to an undated article and I haven't seen this story anywhere else either online or in print, so I have my doubts.

"Racz Tamas in Hungary has done it again! He has visited the Hungarian National Film Archive and unearthed an uncut print of A Night At the Opera!"

Uncut scenes in Hungarian copy of "A Night at the Opera"
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#2
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7/6/08 at 8:35am
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Re: Uncut print of "A Night At the Opera" found??

with the references to Italy restored??????

cool!
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#3
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7/6/08 at 9:25am
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Re: Uncut print of "A Night At the Opera" found??

hope its true
dvd aficionado
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#4
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7/6/08 at 10:30am
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Re: Uncut print of "A Night At the Opera" found??

Whether this one is true or not, I can't say. I do have a suspicion, however, that, in the wake of the confirmed Metropolis news, all kinds of unfounded rumors (and outright hoaxes) of supposed "re-discoveries" of "uncut" prints of lost masterpieces are about to rear their heads. Best to keep your BS detectors on high alert.
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#5
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7/6/08 at 12:20pm
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Re: Uncut print of "A Night At the Opera" found??

Quote:
Originally Posted by SD_Brian
Whether this one is true or not, I can't say. I do have a suspicion, however, that, in the wake of the confirmed Metropolis news, all kinds of unfounded rumors (and outright hoaxes) of supposed "re-discoveries" of "uncut" prints of lost masterpieces are about to rear their heads. Best to keep your BS detectors on high alert.

Nothing solid on this. All I got from Googling "Racz Tamas" was a Google news group on this same subject and a few pages in Hungarian. Nothing yet on the AP, UPI, Reuters or AFP. So we'll have to wait on this one.

The "Metropolis" story was picked up even by small local newspapers so now "lost" films will be found everywhere. But I bet we do get some real finds after this from legitimate sources like museums and film archives.
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#6
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7/6/08 at 7:51pm
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Re: Uncut print of "A Night At the Opera" found??

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan1
so now "lost" films will be found everywhere. But I bet we do get some real finds after this from legitimate sources like museums and film archives.

Oh I sure hope so!

Based on the reaction from the execs at Universal after the fire, it seems too many of these archives and those responsible for them do not really know what they own. Perhaps the surprising interest from "mainstream" media generated by the Metropolis find will really result in more "lost" films, outtakes, alternative versions, etc. being found.
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#7
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7/7/08 at 3:29pm
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Re: Uncut print of "A Night At the Opera" found??

Hi,

I run the Marx Brother website which features this article. Here is some additional information:

"with the references to Italy restored?"
Unfortunately not the scene at the beginning which took place in an Italian street, but there are some additional references to Italy in the dialogue.

"in the wake of the confirmed Metropolis news, all kinds of unfounded rumors (and outright hoaxes) of supposed "re-discoveries" of "uncut" prints of lost masterpieces are about to rear their heads".
The news about the Marx Brothers rediscovery was published on 25 June, the Metropolis announcement came on 1 July.

"nothing yet on the AP, UPI, Reuters or AFP. So we'll have to wait on this one. "
Wouldn't that be nice. While there are a lot of Marx Brothers fans, I think the world press don't regard them as important enough.

"All I got from Googling "Racz Tamas" was a Google news group on this same subject and a few pages in Hungarian."
Several month ago he had already found some posters from the movie which had scenes not in the film.
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#8
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7/7/08 at 4:00pm
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Re: Uncut print of "A Night At the Opera" found??

Quote:
Originally Posted by marxfan
Hi,

"in the wake of the confirmed Metropolis news, all kinds of unfounded rumors (and outright hoaxes) of supposed "re-discoveries" of "uncut" prints of lost masterpieces are about to rear their heads".
The news about the Marx Brothers rediscovery was published on 25 June, the Metropolis announcement came on 1 July.

"nothing yet on the AP, UPI, Reuters or AFP. So we'll have to wait on this one. "
Wouldn't that be nice. While there are a lot of Marx Brothers fans, I think the world press don't regard them as important enough.

Where was the news published on 6/25/08? Do you have a link?

Finding lost scenes from a well-known movie would get press attention, or at least a small story on one of the EU wire services which would be quickly picked up here in the US by the AP or UPI.

No offense, but I still think we need more confirmation of this story.
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#9
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7/7/08 at 7:21pm
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Re: Uncut print of "A Night At the Opera" found??

I agree that this story needs more confirmation. The Marx Brothers are very much a recognizable entity in 2008, and a find such as this would find its way into the mainstream media. When a previously missing foreign language Laurel and Hardy film was discovered a year or two ago that was widely reported. Maybe not front page news, but it still hit the wire reports.
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#10
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7/8/08 at 4:17am
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Re: Uncut print of "A Night At the Opera" found??

I presume that even if it is a reliable report, it would take a while to check the whole film, inform Warners etc.

My only concern though is that the archive didn't seem that bothered and I'm concerned that they won't pass on news of this discovery to Warners.

If and when Warners find out and can verify that lost footage has been found, it should be big news given the fact that A Night At The Opera is so famous and well-regarded.
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#11
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7/8/08 at 9:30am
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Re: Uncut print of "A Night At the Opera" found??

Quote:
Originally Posted by griffin801
My only concern though is that the archive didn't seem that bothered and I'm concerned that they won't pass on news of this discovery to Warners.

Good point. Warner owns this film. The archive is obligated to inform the owner of the film. And they might be in the process of doing that right now. If this story doesn't appear in the press in a few weeks then something about it is just not right.
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#12
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7/8/08 at 6:05pm
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Re: Uncut print of "A Night At the Opera" found??

I'd rather see an uncut version of Horsefeathers with the wallpapering scene intact. Universal is using a cut TV print of this film because Paramount won't share the uncut camera elements with them.
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#13
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7/8/08 at 9:14pm
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Re: Uncut print of "A Night At the Opera" found??

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan1
Good point. Warner owns this film. The archive is obligated to inform the owner of the film. And they might be in the process of doing that right now. If this story doesn't appear in the press in a few weeks then something about it is just not right.
Why would there be any legal obligation for the archive to contact and hand over the print to Warner? If the archive owns the print, then they own the print.

Of course, archives usually work in good faith, but just because Warner has distribution rights doesn't mean that additional prints of the film that are in the possession of other collectors is their property.
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#14
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7/9/08 at 5:59am
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Re: Uncut print of "A Night At the Opera" found??

Quote:
Originally Posted by bigshot
I'd rather see an uncut version of Horsefeathers with the wallpapering scene intact. Universal is using a cut TV print of this film because Paramount won't share the uncut camera elements with them.

Actually, those elements were trashed in the 1950s after the sale of the rights to most of their pre-1948 talkies to MCA.
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#15
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7/9/08 at 7:10am
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Re: Uncut print of "A Night At the Opera" found??

Quote:
Originally Posted by Brandon Conway
Why would there be any legal obligation for the archive to contact and hand over the print to Warner? If the archive owns the print, then they own the print.

What is the law regarding situations like this? Any lawyers on this board?
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#16
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7/9/08 at 1:36pm
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Re: Uncut print of "A Night At the Opera" found??

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan1
What is the law regarding situations like this? Any lawyers on this board?

I am not a lawyer but I believe anyone can legally own a print of a film. What you can't do is sell tickets to see the film. This came up in the Star Is Born thread .

Per Robert Harris in A Star is Born thread:

Both 35mm and 16mm prints have been sold by certain studios for decades, inclusive of overrun prints for use as fill leader, old prints clearing out exchanges and new 16mm prints produced to order.

Anyone who owns a print owns the sprocket holes and ability to use it in a home setting. Prints cannot be used for any type of commercial purpose.

As an example, many 16mm prints of the pre-1949 Warner productions, inclusive of dye transfer prints of The Adventures of Robin Hood were sold to collectors for home (non-theatrical) use only, for life of print. Many of these prints are still out there.

While one should not have a 35mm print of Indy 4 (for example), an old print from the '50s should not cause any waves unless used inappropriately.

Generally, the studios, inclusive of WB, are extremely collector friendly.

RAH

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/...olution-2.html
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#17
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7/9/08 at 3:01pm
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Re: Uncut print of "A Night At the Opera" found??

That also means that archives can have free screenings of prints they own in their collection. For example, Jimmy Stewart donated his personal film collection to the BYU Archive, and every year in late November/early December they screen his print of It's a Wonderful Life.
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#18
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7/10/08 at 4:17pm
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Re: Uncut print of "A Night At the Opera" found??

Has anyone tried looking for an uncut print in Italy?

Seriously though, it should be mentioned that the found print contains Hungarian subtitles.
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#19
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7/25/08 at 10:42pm
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Re: Uncut print of "A Night At the Opera" found??

any word on this yet?
dvd aficionado
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