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Three-strip Technicolor on Blu-ray: any recommendations? (1 Viewer)

Matt Hough

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Billy Batson said:
A few I'd love to get really good HD versions of:Dodge City '39The Four Feathers '39Northwest Passage '40Unconquered '47Sarabande For Dead Lovers '48The Flame & The Arrow '50Bend Of The River '52The Greatest Show On Earth '52Scaramouche '52The Robe (4x3 version) '53Hopefully I'll get a couple of these.
Criterion issued a Blu-ray of The Four Feathers three years ago. You can read my review here.
 

Mark-P

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Speaking of Criterion and 3-strip Technicolor productions, let's not forget the David Lean Directs Noel Coward box set. This Happy Breed and Blithe Spirit are very nice-looking transfers.
 

classicmovieguy

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Vic Pardo said:
I could probably come up with a list of feature film titles I'm interested in, although I'm quite sure most of those haven't even come out on DVD (e.g. WHITE SAVAGE, 1943; FRENCHMAN'S CREEK, 1944; I'VE ALWAYS LOVED YOU, 1946; DESERT FURY, 1947, etc.). So just off the top of my head, here are some titles from that period that I would like to see on Blu-ray:
"Desert Fury" came out on DVD a few years ago in Australia. Good disc.
 

Will Krupp

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All this Technicolor talk gave me a hankering to pop THE RED SHOES in again over the weekend. Truly ravishing.

If you aren't sure which Powell & Pressburger blu to start with, I would recommend this one. It's going to give you that three-strip dopamine high that I think you're craving.
 

Robert Harris

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Cinescott said:
If I'm not mistaken (and I might be), How the West Was Won is in Technicolor and looks fantastic.
Eastman Color Negative 5250
 

Mark-P

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Cinescott said:
If I'm not mistaken (and I might be), How the West Was Won is in Technicolor and looks fantastic.
Hahaha. Three-strip Technicolor times Three-panel Cinerama. Imagine a camera with nine strips of film in it. Oh wait, that was Circle-Vision 360, except it was nine separate cameras all tied together.
 

Doug Bull

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Other good examples of Technicolor on Blu-ray include,
"The Mikado" (Gorgeous soft pastel colors - Criterion)
"Zulu"
"Quo Vadis"
"Pandora and the Flying Dutchman"
and one of the very best examples of later Technicolor and a superb quality Blu-ray "Circus World"

Doug.
 

FoxyMulder

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Doug Bull said:
Other good examples of Technicolor on Blu-ray include,
"The Mikado" (Gorgeous soft pastel colors - Criterion)
"Zulu"
"Quo Vadis"
"Pandora and the Flying Dutchman"
and one of the very best examples of later Technicolor and a superb quality Blu-ray "Circus World"

Doug.
Zulu is a poor example, both versions are nowhere near what they could be, the UK edition has boosted contrast and colours while the Twilight Time suffers from edge enhancement and some fading. I also don't think Zulu used three strip Technicolor.
 

EddieLarkin

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Doug Bull

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EddieLarkin said:
Remember, after 1952 three strip Technicolor almost completely died off, and by 1956 was gone forever. Films like Zulu and Circus World were merely processed by Technicolor, not shot in.
Sorry, I missed the '3 strip' reference in the thread title.

Yet another senior moment.
 

AnthonyClarke

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Ah, another senior moment , from someone other than me for a change.
Now people know why you and I rushed in to order the R & H collection -- another couple of months might be too late for us!
And to be pertinent to this thread: the R & H Collection does include a really beautiful example of three-strip Technicolor ... 'State Fair' from 1945. The DVD looked pretty good so the forthcoming Blu ray should be wonderful.
 

Doug Bull

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Sadly, Universal's "FOXFIRE" which is listed as being the last 3 STRIP TECHNICOLOR production, is yet to make an appearance on DVD or Blu-ray.
A Blu-ray might be too much to ask for, but surely it deserves a DVD release at the very least.
I'd certainly buy either.

Here are some 35mm frame grabs.
fox1.jpg
fox3.jpg
fox5.jpg
fox6.jpg
fox8.jpg
fox7.jpg

fox2.jpg


Aspect ratio Bob?


Doug.
 

AnthonyClarke

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It's sad that 'By the Light of the Silvery Moon' (1953) seems just a few months too late to have benefited from true Technicolor. Its immediate predecessor 'On Moonlight Bay' is in Robert Harris's list -- I must check my DVD to see if the colour is noticeably inferior -- though of course much would depend on the quality of the transfer. Would Robert be able to tell me what process was used for that later film?
 

Robert Harris

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I have no idea, offhand, if Silvery Moon was shot three-strip or only printed via dye transfer. Entirely possible.

RAH
 

Will Krupp

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AnthonyClarke said:
It's sad that 'By the Light of the Silvery Moon' (1953) seems just a few months too late to have benefited from true Technicolor. Its immediate predecessor 'On Moonlight Bay' is in Robert Harris's list -- I must check my DVD to see if the colour is noticeably inferior -- though of course much would depend on the quality of the transfer. Would Robert be able to tell me what process was used for that later film?
I can't imagine it WASN'T shot three-strip.

I ran to check my copy of David Kaufman's biography of Doris Day and the book says it was shot between August 11 and October 14, 1952. a Technicolor production shot during that time frame would certainly only have been shot using the old camera.
 

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