- Joined
- Feb 8, 1999
- Messages
- 18,422
- Real Name
- Robert Harris
I'll generally watch anything with Fred Astaire.
Throughout his extraordinary career, he was featured in about thirty musical films, and that fact that probably two-thirds of those have beautifully stood the test of time (some after 80 years), is both a testament to the overall quality of the films, as to Mr. Astaire as a consummate performer.
While I applaud Kino Lorber's release of his 1955 CinemaScope Daddy Long Legs, co-starring a Leslie Caron, who appears to look oddly unlike she did in Gigi, it doesn't fall into that highly touted "stood the test of time" category.
The more I think about Ms Caron's slightly chunky look in the film, the more I believe it may be at least partially caused by the odd anamorphics of the scope optics, but regardless...
Fox's CinemaScope HD master does a nice job of reproducing the original look of the film, along with a stereo track, that I'm not certain is original to the film. I did note that positioning of audio within the imaginary proscenium is a bit odd at times, with characters occasionally speaking, with their voices off screen to the sides.
Colors appear a bit weak at times, which I presume is just a bit of fade showing through, along with the makeup of the time, but generally the transfer is a pleasing affair, with good resolution, and grain structure.
For those who rely on liner notes, be aware that the film was not produced in 1972, nor is it in 1.85 aspect ratio. The film also runs a bit on the long side, at 126 minutes, and not the noted 91.
Regardless of typos, a quality affair from Fox via Kino Lorber.
As an aside, and from a historical perspective, the 1955 version of Daddy Long Legs is actually a musical re-make of a re-make.
The story first appeared in 1919, as a Mary Pickford vehicle, opposite Mahlon Hamilton, and then again as a sound film, in 1931 with Janet Gaynor in the lead, and Warner Baxter as the odd Mr. Pendleton.
Image - 4
Audio - 3.5
4k Up-rez - 4
Pass / Fail - Pass
RAH
Throughout his extraordinary career, he was featured in about thirty musical films, and that fact that probably two-thirds of those have beautifully stood the test of time (some after 80 years), is both a testament to the overall quality of the films, as to Mr. Astaire as a consummate performer.
While I applaud Kino Lorber's release of his 1955 CinemaScope Daddy Long Legs, co-starring a Leslie Caron, who appears to look oddly unlike she did in Gigi, it doesn't fall into that highly touted "stood the test of time" category.
The more I think about Ms Caron's slightly chunky look in the film, the more I believe it may be at least partially caused by the odd anamorphics of the scope optics, but regardless...
Fox's CinemaScope HD master does a nice job of reproducing the original look of the film, along with a stereo track, that I'm not certain is original to the film. I did note that positioning of audio within the imaginary proscenium is a bit odd at times, with characters occasionally speaking, with their voices off screen to the sides.
Colors appear a bit weak at times, which I presume is just a bit of fade showing through, along with the makeup of the time, but generally the transfer is a pleasing affair, with good resolution, and grain structure.
For those who rely on liner notes, be aware that the film was not produced in 1972, nor is it in 1.85 aspect ratio. The film also runs a bit on the long side, at 126 minutes, and not the noted 91.
Regardless of typos, a quality affair from Fox via Kino Lorber.
As an aside, and from a historical perspective, the 1955 version of Daddy Long Legs is actually a musical re-make of a re-make.
The story first appeared in 1919, as a Mary Pickford vehicle, opposite Mahlon Hamilton, and then again as a sound film, in 1931 with Janet Gaynor in the lead, and Warner Baxter as the odd Mr. Pendleton.
Image - 4
Audio - 3.5
4k Up-rez - 4
Pass / Fail - Pass
RAH
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