- Joined
- Feb 8, 1999
- Messages
- 18,396
- Real Name
- Robert Harris
How many films can you think of, in which a lead actor plays the same (or essentially the same) role in a re-make?
Such is the case with this very important pre-code classic, with not only a great yarn, but huge star power.
Take a look at the credits.
Directed by Victor Fleming - Gone with the Wind, Wizard of Oz
Photographed by Harold Rossen - Manhandled, Docks of New York, Tarzan the Ape Man, Red-Headed Woman, The Garden of Allah, The Wizard of Oz, Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, Duel in the Sun, Singin' in the Rain
Edited by Blanche Sewell - Grand Hotel, Queen Christina, The Wizard of Oz, Ziegfeld Girl
Art Direction by Cedric Gibbons - Wild Orchids, The Kiss, Grand Hotel, Rasputin and the Empress, Tarzan and His Mate, The Thin Man, The Merry Widow, David Copperfield, Mutiny on the Bounty, A Night at the Opera, A Tale of Two Cities, Camille, Yellow Jack, The Shopworn Angel, Boys Town, The Wizard of Oz, Ninotchka, The Shop Around the Corner, Ziegfeld Girl, Mrs. Miniver, Lassie Come Home, Madame Curie, Gaslight, Kismet,, Meet Me in St. Louis, National Velvet, The Postman Always Rings Twice, The Yearling, Easter Parade, Little Women, Adam's Rib, On the Town, Kim, Quo Vadis, Singin' in the Rain, The Bad and the Beautiful, Kiss Me Kate, Brigadoon, High Society, Lust for Life
A great many titles to make a simple point.
This was a production created by M-G-M's "A" team.
The problem was this.
The original nitrate negative was lost in the GEH fire.
No nitrate fine grain. The only decent surviving element was a safety fine grain, struck after a great deal of damage to the original.
This is a film that really could not look decent without a heavy dose of digital medicine.
And Warner's MPI has come to the rescue.
While not pristine -- a virtual impossibility -- the new DVD is a very high quality representation of a film that I've personally never seen look anywhere near as good.
Did I mention that it stars Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, Gene Raymond, Marty Astor and Donald Crisp?
A necessity for the collection of any true fan of the cinema, and a film via its pre-code roots that holds up beautifully eighty years after it was made.
Image - 4 (based upon surviving elements)
Audio - 3
Very Highly Recommended.
RAH
Such is the case with this very important pre-code classic, with not only a great yarn, but huge star power.
Take a look at the credits.
Directed by Victor Fleming - Gone with the Wind, Wizard of Oz
Photographed by Harold Rossen - Manhandled, Docks of New York, Tarzan the Ape Man, Red-Headed Woman, The Garden of Allah, The Wizard of Oz, Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, Duel in the Sun, Singin' in the Rain
Edited by Blanche Sewell - Grand Hotel, Queen Christina, The Wizard of Oz, Ziegfeld Girl
Art Direction by Cedric Gibbons - Wild Orchids, The Kiss, Grand Hotel, Rasputin and the Empress, Tarzan and His Mate, The Thin Man, The Merry Widow, David Copperfield, Mutiny on the Bounty, A Night at the Opera, A Tale of Two Cities, Camille, Yellow Jack, The Shopworn Angel, Boys Town, The Wizard of Oz, Ninotchka, The Shop Around the Corner, Ziegfeld Girl, Mrs. Miniver, Lassie Come Home, Madame Curie, Gaslight, Kismet,, Meet Me in St. Louis, National Velvet, The Postman Always Rings Twice, The Yearling, Easter Parade, Little Women, Adam's Rib, On the Town, Kim, Quo Vadis, Singin' in the Rain, The Bad and the Beautiful, Kiss Me Kate, Brigadoon, High Society, Lust for Life
A great many titles to make a simple point.
This was a production created by M-G-M's "A" team.
The problem was this.
The original nitrate negative was lost in the GEH fire.
No nitrate fine grain. The only decent surviving element was a safety fine grain, struck after a great deal of damage to the original.
This is a film that really could not look decent without a heavy dose of digital medicine.
And Warner's MPI has come to the rescue.
While not pristine -- a virtual impossibility -- the new DVD is a very high quality representation of a film that I've personally never seen look anywhere near as good.
Did I mention that it stars Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, Gene Raymond, Marty Astor and Donald Crisp?
A necessity for the collection of any true fan of the cinema, and a film via its pre-code roots that holds up beautifully eighty years after it was made.
Image - 4 (based upon surviving elements)
Audio - 3
Very Highly Recommended.
RAH
