Peter Apruzzese
Senior HTF Member
- Joined
- Dec 20, 1999
- Messages
- 4,909
- Real Name
- Peter Apruzzese
Tino, I couldn't make the CE3K showing, but I hear it went off very well. A virtually brand-new print of the final "Director's Cut" (or whatever they call the version on the DVD) was screened. The audience was over 200 strong, which is more than I thought would be there for it.
I was there all day today - what an experience! Took my son and a friend to see the "kiddie" show of Brain from Planet Arous and Dr. Who & the Daleks. I also had the pleasure of meeting fellow HTF member Bill Huelbig at the matinee. Both prints were near-mint, the audience (around 100) was having a real good time, especially with Brain. Dr Who - for a Peter Cushing fan such as myself - was treat to see in Technicolor and Techniscope, even though it's deadly slow and juvenile. Went to dinner, got my wife to take my son home - three movies in one day would have been too much for him - and then went back for Forbidden Planet.
Am I glad I went back! First, there was a huge line waiting to get in (final attendance was somewhere north of 600 people!). Then, after the usual introductions, there were trailers and a very amusing MGM short about Perspecta Sound, which gave a brief introduction about how it will sound. This item was produced in late 1955 (and included a clip from Forbidden Planet that had a scene NOT in the final film!) and was a treat. Old-timers will remember the days of HiFi test records with ping-pong stereo and train sounds. This short was along similar lines and really primed the audience for the show. Then, there was another MGM short subject ("The Thieving Magpie Overture" by the MGM Orchestra) and a Tom & Jerry cartoon.
Now, the main event. The curtain opened on the big, wide, screen and my eyes nearly fell out. The color was flawless! Anybody who's seen Forbidden Planet theatrically will tell you the color is always a crapshoot, though MGM has struck new prints from time-to-time. The color on this print was AMAZING! For the first time (and I've seen FP in 35mm a bunch of times) you could really see the green sky and the colors inside the spaceship. Gone was the overcast of red, which had a nice side benefit of making all the dupe opticals look better than ever. Another great thing was the condition of the print - near lab-mint quality. Aside from some very slight negative wear (identifiable by white marks), the print was super-clean. I detected almost no dirt and wear. Bob informed me that the print was right from the MGM archive and had probably only seen a couple of playdates and no platters. Then there is the Perspecta Sound. What a difference from straight single-speaker mono! The panning of the stage speakers was smooth as could be and really added to the presentation. I can only hope that when Warner reissues the DVD that they try to include the Perspecta track as well as the rechanneled stereo track.
The audience was really into the picture as well. The folks in the row behind me had not seen the film before and their kids were getting frightened during the "Monsters from the id" sequence. A great round of applause followed the closing curtain and another great film memory is planted in my brain.
Seeing FP this way was nearly as impressive as the 70mm 2001: A Space Odyssey screening I saw last November at the Uptown in Washington - that's how good the Loew's presentation is! I URGE all HTF members in the New York metro area to make it out to the Loew's for a show. Next weekend is your last chance until the fall season starts. GOLDFINGER on Friday night, ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE on Saturday afternoon and DR. NO on Saturday night All three will be IB Technicolor prints and will be spectacular!
Thanks for reading...
I was there all day today - what an experience! Took my son and a friend to see the "kiddie" show of Brain from Planet Arous and Dr. Who & the Daleks. I also had the pleasure of meeting fellow HTF member Bill Huelbig at the matinee. Both prints were near-mint, the audience (around 100) was having a real good time, especially with Brain. Dr Who - for a Peter Cushing fan such as myself - was treat to see in Technicolor and Techniscope, even though it's deadly slow and juvenile. Went to dinner, got my wife to take my son home - three movies in one day would have been too much for him - and then went back for Forbidden Planet.
Am I glad I went back! First, there was a huge line waiting to get in (final attendance was somewhere north of 600 people!). Then, after the usual introductions, there were trailers and a very amusing MGM short about Perspecta Sound, which gave a brief introduction about how it will sound. This item was produced in late 1955 (and included a clip from Forbidden Planet that had a scene NOT in the final film!) and was a treat. Old-timers will remember the days of HiFi test records with ping-pong stereo and train sounds. This short was along similar lines and really primed the audience for the show. Then, there was another MGM short subject ("The Thieving Magpie Overture" by the MGM Orchestra) and a Tom & Jerry cartoon.
Now, the main event. The curtain opened on the big, wide, screen and my eyes nearly fell out. The color was flawless! Anybody who's seen Forbidden Planet theatrically will tell you the color is always a crapshoot, though MGM has struck new prints from time-to-time. The color on this print was AMAZING! For the first time (and I've seen FP in 35mm a bunch of times) you could really see the green sky and the colors inside the spaceship. Gone was the overcast of red, which had a nice side benefit of making all the dupe opticals look better than ever. Another great thing was the condition of the print - near lab-mint quality. Aside from some very slight negative wear (identifiable by white marks), the print was super-clean. I detected almost no dirt and wear. Bob informed me that the print was right from the MGM archive and had probably only seen a couple of playdates and no platters. Then there is the Perspecta Sound. What a difference from straight single-speaker mono! The panning of the stage speakers was smooth as could be and really added to the presentation. I can only hope that when Warner reissues the DVD that they try to include the Perspecta track as well as the rechanneled stereo track.
The audience was really into the picture as well. The folks in the row behind me had not seen the film before and their kids were getting frightened during the "Monsters from the id" sequence. A great round of applause followed the closing curtain and another great film memory is planted in my brain.
Seeing FP this way was nearly as impressive as the 70mm 2001: A Space Odyssey screening I saw last November at the Uptown in Washington - that's how good the Loew's presentation is! I URGE all HTF members in the New York metro area to make it out to the Loew's for a show. Next weekend is your last chance until the fall season starts. GOLDFINGER on Friday night, ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE on Saturday afternoon and DR. NO on Saturday night All three will be IB Technicolor prints and will be spectacular!
Thanks for reading...
