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Wings (1927) for 2006 release?

post #1 of 18
2/8/06 at 4:05pm
Thread Starter 
Do we expect to see Paramount releasing WINGS since so many studios seem to be putting out "Acadamy Award" series for 2006? Wasn't it being worked on (restored) the past couple of years? I have a Chinease version with a decent transfer so the elements are out there.

Eric
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post #2 of 18
2/9/06 at 3:36pm
I hope this comes out on DVD, I have never seen it and I grew up in back of William Wellmans house in Brookline, MA.
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post #3 of 18
2/9/06 at 4:31pm
I believe "Wings" and "Cavalcade" from 1933 are the only two best picture winners that are still hold-outs on DVD (region 1). All the other BP's have been out on DVD. Though I believe "Rebecca" from 1940 is the only one that is currently out of print.
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post #4 of 18
2/9/06 at 4:32pm
An 80th-anniversary edition in '07 seems like a gimme. Hopefully that will be available on Blu-ray as well.

CS
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post #5 of 18
2/9/06 at 4:39pm
Paging Patrick McCart. He has been pushing for this title to be released for as long as I can remember. Hopefully Craig is right and we will see this next year.
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post #6 of 18
2/9/06 at 5:18pm
Quote:
Paging Patrick McCart. He has been pushing for this title to be released for as long as I can remember. Hopefully Craig is right and we will see this next year.

I'm not pushing for a release as much as the other silents (I'd take The Wedding March or The Last Command before Wings), but Paramount is sitting on some real gems. Not to mention that all have digital stereo scores by organist Gaylord Carter.

ANY silent from a major is good.
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post #7 of 18
2/9/06 at 8:30pm
Eric---

As a fellow Richmonder I am sure you may have seen WINGS at the Byrd theatre accompanied by the mighty Wurlitzer. This used to be shown almost annually. Certainly a great movie experience.... I hope we get a good dvd from Paramount.

JC
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post #8 of 18
2/10/06 at 7:32am
Well Eric and Jim, just a thought, when they let Robert Wise restore Star Trek closer to his original concept they had a premier at a theater then it was released to dvd, i can think of two great places to do this, considering this would be a great tie in, but both of you would have to drive a little south, at the Va Air and space museum, is one choice, or, Kitty Hawk NC, first Best picture returns to the Birthplace of flight.
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post #9 of 18
2/10/06 at 9:20am
I believe there was a Thames Television orchestral score for WINGS by Carl Davis for a restored version we have never seen in the U.S. It is available on CD. Any chance we'll see this version here in the states?
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post #10 of 18
2/10/06 at 11:22am
Quote:
I believe there was a Thames Television orchestral score for WINGS by Carl Davis for a restored version we have never seen in the U.S. It is available on CD. Any chance we'll see this version here in the states?

There's barely a listing on SoundtrackCollector.com, but it's mentioned here: http://www.ukapress.com/modules.php?...howpage&pid=80

I'm very annoyed that so few of his scores are available with silent films here. Warner Home Video has included the ones for The Flesh and the Devil and Ben-Hur. They'll be including it on The Big Parade's restored 1925 version. Other than that, just The Phantom of the Opera (Milestone's 2-disc SE), It (Milestone SE), and the Harold Lloyd Trust kept his scores for Safety Last, The Kid Brother, and Speedy.

Kino missed opportunities to include his scores for The Birth of a Nation (Jon Mirsalis's score is great, though), Intolerance (beautiful remaster, horrible score), Broken Blossoms (same as before, awful score), The General (great Robert Israel score, though), and The Thief of Bagdad (Rodney Sauer's score is excellent).

MK2 didn't even bother to include his re-orchestrations of The Gold Rush (for the 1925 version) or City Lights.

Francis Ford Coppola has practically banned Carl Davis from performing his outstanding score for Napoleon.


I guess it's better to have someone on synthesizers or hire some avant-garde musicians (like the horrible Sherlock Jr. score on Kino's DVD), than going the extra mile with using an orchestral score. This is why I'm so glad the Harold Lloyd Trust hired Robert Israel to score the rest of his films (other than the three Carl Davis worked on) instead of having a bunch of crappy synthesizer music.
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post #11 of 18
7/29/08 at 2:27pm

Re: Wings (1927) for 2006 release?

I caught a bit of this on TCM the other night. It was about half way into it so I decided to Netflix it but to my surprise, this is not available. Is there any reason why this classic film has yet to be released?
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post #12 of 18
7/29/08 at 2:54pm

Re: Wings (1927) for 2006 release?

Paramount holds its library in absolute contempt. They rarely release anything made before 2000 anymore.

The only possible way you'll ever see it is if they allow a third-party DVD company to license it.
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post #13 of 18
7/29/08 at 3:05pm

Re: Wings (1927) for 2006 release?

Since I believe (please correct me if I am wrong) Paramount does hold the rights to "Wings"...and it is generally regarded as the first film to win the Academy Award....it does amaze me, generally around Oscar time, that it hasn't been released...I can't fathom why. Surely they could release a decent print, slap a sticker on it "1rst Best Picture Award....Ever!" and it would sell some. But then, I don't work for a studio so what would I know?
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post #14 of 18
7/29/08 at 3:19pm

Re: Wings (1927) for 2006 release?

According to my sources it does not look like Wings is owned by Paramount but by William Wellman's son as he is the one that paid for the full restoration of it several years ago. It may be a co-ownership thing such as the Warner-Maria Cooper ownership of The Hanging Tree. Anyway below are some comments I found on it in my email database.

This was part of an email dated to me June 4th 2007 concerning Wings:

"William Wellman's son paid to have the print completely restored. Symphony Space here in NYC had a premiere showing a couple of years ago. Wellman told me that evening that he hoped to have it out on DVD within the year. But, still not out."
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post #15 of 18
7/29/08 at 5:21pm

Re: Wings (1927) for 2006 release?

Criterion maybe?
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post #16 of 18
7/29/08 at 5:28pm

Re: Wings (1927) for 2006 release?

Dang, I wish I'd had the heads up that this was going to be on TCM. I would have liked to have made a recording of it. On the TCM website it's not scheduled to be rebroadcast anytime soon.
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post #17 of 18
7/30/08 at 3:49pm

Re: Wings (1927) for 2006 release?

Quote:
Originally Posted by DanMel
According to my sources it does not look like Wings is owned by Paramount but by William Wellman's son as he is the one that paid for the full restoration of it several years ago. It may be a co-ownership thing such as the Warner-Maria Cooper ownership of The Hanging Tree. Anyway below are some comments I found on it in my email database.

This was part of an email dated to me June 4th 2007 concerning Wings:

"William Wellman's son paid to have the print completely restored. Symphony Space here in NYC had a premiere showing a couple of years ago. Wellman told me that evening that he hoped to have it out on DVD within the year. But, still not out."

Thanks for keeping us updated
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post #18 of 18
7/31/08 at 3:17pm

Re: Wings (1927) for 2006 release?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark-P
Dang, I wish I'd had the heads up that this was going to be on TCM. I would have liked to have made a recording of it. On the TCM website it's not scheduled to be rebroadcast anytime soon.


TCM has shown it at least three times since January 2008, so I doubt you'll have to wait too long.
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