- Joined
- Feb 8, 1999
- Messages
- 18,374
- Real Name
- Robert Harris
What a beautifully produced musical, using the 30fps Todd-AO system to full advantage.
Some work has been done here since the last time we visited the film, mostly in toning down the yellow highlights in the whites -- this due to the faded original negative.
The image, while soft, is satisfactory, but won't win any awards for resolution.
The main title sequence is an abortive mess and far below studio standards.
The film is supposed to begin with something known as an "Overture."
What this means is that music is heard while the screen is black.
Now let's be honest. We know that there are some idiots out there in home video land. These are the same people who call tech support at computer companies because they can't get their computer to load, but haven't yet plugged it in.
The "Overture" thing was something that I thought we had addressed a decade and a half ago.
Its easy.
Start your music.
Fade up a simple title which says something like "Overture."
Leave it on screen for ten seconds for the slow readers.
Fade it to black.
Not the case with Oklahoma!
We're back to "OVERTURE" sitting on screen continuously.
We should then, if memory serves, hit a title which reads something like "A Magna Production"
This fades out and is replaced by the opening credits.
Not here.
The Magna title has been removed, and in its place is a credit to The Samuel Goldwyn Company.
The Samuel Goldwyn Company, to the best of my knowledge, had absolutely nothing to do with the production of this film. I believe they hold distribution rights. An appropriate credit, if at the head end, and done with any elegance whatsoever, might have read "The Samuel Goldwyn Company presents" in Oklahoma typeface to match the credits...
leading into the original Magna credit, and then on to the main titles.
But things are even worse.
Because of fading and color correction the main titles look totally abysmal -- a wretched gold surrounding a wretched red.
This is followed by an equally abysmal Todd-AO credit, again in a sort of ochre. Not pretty.
And this wouldn't have looked quite as bad had Fox not added the title "OVERTURE" in the very same Oklahoma typography...
but in proper brilliant red with glorious gold.
which makes the actual credits look as horrific as they do.
I'm not one for changing credits.
Universal, for the restorations of Rear Window and "Vertigo" agreed with the propriety of returning the original Paramount credits to their former places. They recently restored the Paramount logo to Psycho.
Paramount was the company behind the production and distribution of these films.
Universal added their credit to the head end before the film proper begins, which is totally appropriate.
Not so with the Goldwyn credit, replacing Magna.
The 35mm version is also included in this release, along with a myriad of extras.
If only they had done right by the Todd-AO version.
Yet another terrific classic film, which needs to be redone.
The bottom line here is that the 35mm CinemaScope version looks sharper, with higher resolution than the Todd-AO version, and it shouldn't. The audio on both version is superb. The Todd-Ao extras are a treat.
Another superb extra is a short discussion regarding the difference between CinemaScope and Todd-AO, with a brief history of the process, inclusive of a visit to Curator Martin Hart of The Widescreen Museum.
There's an imbalance here, with the extras taking precedence over the main attraction as far as quality.
And if the classics division of one of the studios had an executive brave enough and with enough forsight, the film could be released in theatres in Todd-AO as a special attraction, rather than as an out of focus home video.
Recommneded reluctantly.
RAH
Some work has been done here since the last time we visited the film, mostly in toning down the yellow highlights in the whites -- this due to the faded original negative.
The image, while soft, is satisfactory, but won't win any awards for resolution.
The main title sequence is an abortive mess and far below studio standards.
The film is supposed to begin with something known as an "Overture."
What this means is that music is heard while the screen is black.
Now let's be honest. We know that there are some idiots out there in home video land. These are the same people who call tech support at computer companies because they can't get their computer to load, but haven't yet plugged it in.
The "Overture" thing was something that I thought we had addressed a decade and a half ago.
Its easy.
Start your music.
Fade up a simple title which says something like "Overture."
Leave it on screen for ten seconds for the slow readers.
Fade it to black.
Not the case with Oklahoma!
We're back to "OVERTURE" sitting on screen continuously.
We should then, if memory serves, hit a title which reads something like "A Magna Production"
This fades out and is replaced by the opening credits.
Not here.
The Magna title has been removed, and in its place is a credit to The Samuel Goldwyn Company.
The Samuel Goldwyn Company, to the best of my knowledge, had absolutely nothing to do with the production of this film. I believe they hold distribution rights. An appropriate credit, if at the head end, and done with any elegance whatsoever, might have read "The Samuel Goldwyn Company presents" in Oklahoma typeface to match the credits...
leading into the original Magna credit, and then on to the main titles.
But things are even worse.
Because of fading and color correction the main titles look totally abysmal -- a wretched gold surrounding a wretched red.
This is followed by an equally abysmal Todd-AO credit, again in a sort of ochre. Not pretty.
And this wouldn't have looked quite as bad had Fox not added the title "OVERTURE" in the very same Oklahoma typography...
but in proper brilliant red with glorious gold.
which makes the actual credits look as horrific as they do.
I'm not one for changing credits.
Universal, for the restorations of Rear Window and "Vertigo" agreed with the propriety of returning the original Paramount credits to their former places. They recently restored the Paramount logo to Psycho.
Paramount was the company behind the production and distribution of these films.
Universal added their credit to the head end before the film proper begins, which is totally appropriate.
Not so with the Goldwyn credit, replacing Magna.
The 35mm version is also included in this release, along with a myriad of extras.
If only they had done right by the Todd-AO version.
Yet another terrific classic film, which needs to be redone.
The bottom line here is that the 35mm CinemaScope version looks sharper, with higher resolution than the Todd-AO version, and it shouldn't. The audio on both version is superb. The Todd-Ao extras are a treat.
Another superb extra is a short discussion regarding the difference between CinemaScope and Todd-AO, with a brief history of the process, inclusive of a visit to Curator Martin Hart of The Widescreen Museum.
There's an imbalance here, with the extras taking precedence over the main attraction as far as quality.
And if the classics division of one of the studios had an executive brave enough and with enough forsight, the film could be released in theatres in Todd-AO as a special attraction, rather than as an out of focus home video.
Recommneded reluctantly.
RAH
