- Joined
- Feb 8, 1999
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- Real Name
- Robert Harris
For anyone with an interest in special effects, sci-fi cinema, or the history of cinema in general, this set (or the individual releases) are a no-brainer purchase. The boxed set is the obvious deal, at $11 per disc.
Spanning three decades, with films from 1933 (Son of Kong, directed by Ernest Shoedsack), 1949 (Mighty Joe Young, directed by Ernest Shoedsack), 1953 (The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, directed by Eugene Lourie), and 1954 (Them!, directed by Gordon Douglas), the set allows us to peer inside the production arena, and see how film stocks, and changes in stop-motion, and other animation changed over the years.
An aside on Mr. Lourie. He worked on Abel Gance's Napoleon, and later lent his expertise in art and production design to the films of Jean Renoir. Worth reading his bio.
I believe three of the film are from original negatives, while one, Mighty Joe Young, is derived from a beautifully produced fine grain master.
While all four films are classics in their own right, with the two Kong sequels probably at the top of most cinephile's lists, the one that grabs my interest, from a production, post, and printing perspective, is Them! I saw it at a theater in Miami in 1954, and it scared the bejesus out of me.
Stop-motion allowed effects to be captured on original negative. Dupes, and there are some, inclusive of printer functions and titles, can be obvious. Them! had numerous effects, from the addition of sand/wind to stock footage.
And while some of the shots in Them! are apt to have a odd look to them, the one that caught my eye was the main title sequence.
A background plate shot in black & white, like the rest of the film, was originally duped, and combined on color stock with the main title graphic. Original prints were produced in Warner Color. In the intervening decades the Warner original dupe of the main title faded, and a replacement was probably produced from the faded original on IP stock.
For this unavoidable reason, the main title sequence is soft, and appears precisely like the dupe of a dupe of a dupe, that it is.
The grain structure in Them! will also be noted, as grain rises and falls with the various generations of dupes and printers functions throughout the film. That's what Them! looks like, and looked like in 1954.
Had the film been produced as originally planned, things might have actually been far worse. The original concept was to first shoot in 3D and WarnerColor, then WarnerColor alone.
Had they given the film a higher budget, and gone color, we would have been left with a bit of a mess, as it would have been printed single strand, with all Color printer functions duped in. It would have been as pretty as Giant.
Son of Kong
Image - 5
Audio - 5
4k Up-rez - 5
Pass / Fail - Pass
Very Highly Recommended
Mighty Joe Young
Image - 5
Audio - 5
4k Up-rez - 5
Pass / Fail - Pass
Very Highly Recommended
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms
Image - 5
Audio - 5
4k Up-rez - 4.5
Pass / Fail - Pass
Recommended
Them!
Image - 4.75
Audio - 5
4k Up-rez - 4.5
Pass / Fail - Pass
Recommended
A great set from WB, that should be included in every serious library.
RAH
