A Few Words About A few words about...™ Dietrich & von Sternberg in Hollywood -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[haineshisway]

It is here. It is mine. Morocco this evening.

 

[B-ROLL]

It is here. It is mine. Morocco this evening.

It's a long road

there

 

[Danny Burk]

Andrew, I envy your discovery of these films - I think you'll love them. I've just finished SCARLET EMPRESS, and finally it looks as it should - ravishing. Later tonight, DEVIL IS A WOMAN.

 

[Matt Hough]

My set is coming later this week and I can't wait. I bought a 65" OLED today, and these films, many of which I'll be seeing for the first time, will be among the very first I watch on my new TV!

So happy you've joined the OLED fold. It's the best TV I've ever owned without a doubt.

 

[Andrew Budgell]

So happy you've joined the OLED fold. It's the best TV I've ever owned without a doubt.

Thanks, Matt! It's only been up and running for a few hours now but I'm already so thrilled with it!

 

[Andrew Budgell]

Andrew, I envy your discovery of these films - I think you'll love them. I've just finished SCARLET EMPRESS, and finally it looks as it should - ravishing. Later tonight, DEVIL IS A WOMAN.

"The Scarlet Empress" is one of the two in the set I've actually seen (the other being "Shanghai Express") and I can't wait to see it on Blu. I know it's going to be a massive upgrade over my Criterion DVD.

 

[Robert Crawford]

My box set arrived today too from Barnes & Noble. I'm looking forward to watching "Morocco" as my first choice this week.

 

[haineshisway]

Morocco - I understand it's the weakest in the set - I wasn't horrified by it or anything, but one does wish it were a bit better. I did have the complete set in pristine 16mm prints and my Morocco looked incredible. But this is fine, and I'm looking forward to the better elements.

 

[lark144]

Morocco - I understand it's the weakest in the set - I wasn't horrified by it or anything, but one does wish it were a bit better. I did have the complete set in pristine 16mm prints and my Morocco looked incredible. But this is fine, and I'm looking forward to the better elements.

Yes. I saw what I believe was a nitrate 35mm print at MOMA in the 70's and it was amazing. The clarity, sheen and glow of the grey scale was beyond belief. All the jewels around Ms. Dietrich's neck glittered wherever she walked to the point that one needed sunglasses. And everything was so tactile. The texture of clothes and hair, even the shadows stood out in a way I had never seen either before or since. Previously I had watched Morocco in 16mm a number of times, but this was a completely different experience. And of course I was hoping that this Blu-Ray would finally reproduce to some extent the luster and glow that was present in that 35mm nitrate so many years ago. But I'll take what I can get.

 

[haineshisway]

I absolutely love Morocco - every frame of it is dripping with Von Sternbergian atmosphere and Lee Garmes' work is astonishing.

 

[loaloa55]

Thanks, Robert, sounds wonderful. The one i miss in Blu-Ray is one of my favorite, The Shanghaî Gesture, but Marlene was not playing in it, so that's why it's not in the pack. No big drama, it will be release in Blu-Ray one day or another.

In the meantime those who have never seen The Shanghaî Gesture can watch it at the link below, Gene Tierney has never been so beautiful ( she was 20 when Von Sternberg filmed Shanghaî Gesture, so it helps ). Walter Huston ( father of John Huston ) and Victor Mature are also playing and there is the great Ona Munson as the unforgettable character "Mother Gin Sling"! If you've never watched The Shanghaî Gesture, you must watch it, it's an incredible film noir movie.
Look at the others videos posted by the one who posted it on Youtube as there is more rare Gene Tierney movies, including a 1945 Zanuck production "Leave her to Heaven" with Gene Tierney, Cornell Wilde AND Vincent Price in glorious Technicolor colors! The video on Youtube is a pretty good copy.

 

[david hare]

Wildside in France announced a Blu Ray of this over two years ago. Nothing so far and there is no record of a restoration (or funding) from the C.N.C. Database. Any US release my have copyright problems with it whereas in France the DVD release therecame out of the notorious cooyright speculator Galeshka Moraviof on his Films Sans Frontieres label. Those prints are attached to the Cinematgeque Francaise which does no restoration work itself. But you never know. Maybe next year.

 

[cadavra]

The older restoration of MOROCCO was shockingly soft; I'm hoping that this new version will correct that.

Mike S.

 

[david hare]

Morocco is still the "palest" and least sharp of the transfers but it's way above any 16 or 35 or video of it I have seen of it since 1968. Every now and then you wish there was more black and shadow but it wasn't shot like that, in fact Lee Garmes shot it as far as I know on orthochromatic stock which enhances whites. The biggest shock of the set, and it's a great one is Dishonored, which is the only one on the titles to carry a UCLA restoration card (which is where I suspect most if not all these new 4Ks began). The quality is outstanding, every so often it looks like one of those 30s Columbia or Warner nitrate sourced restorations. Shanghai looks terrific too. I noticed with great interest the oft discussed shot around 40 minutes with the cut for four lines of dialogue has, until the cut, now been meticulously digitally repaired. In all the older DVDs and tapes, etc, the print gets extremely ragged at this point with nicks, tears, jitter, and then the cut. It now looks like they've done digital clean up on literally every frame up to the cut and even that is "eased over." Venus looks as I expected to be from the 4K used for the French disc last year but the Criterion has double the bitrate and grain rez is flawless in this. Blacks are deeper as well.The last two again look as I expected with Empress having had a 720p streaming release earlier this year. THe source print again was the one used for the French DVDs back 10 pus years or so but the 4K (everything except Morocco was scanned at 4K) gives it the rez it needed. The set is far and away the most important box I own, and its up against earlier this month the terrific Inidcator boxes from the UK of Boetticher and more recently Fuller (which is a doozy Mr Kimmel.)

 

[haineshisway]

Tonight I watched Dishonored - made one year after Morocco and THAT is what Morocco should look like but sadly doesn't. Again, while one wishes it were better, it's still fine and watchable. Dishonored has always been the weak sister in the von Sternberg/Dietrich films, but I've always liked it - it's wacky in certain ways, but that just makes it all the more von Sternbergian. And then I watched Shanghai Express, which looks fantastic, I thought, right up there with Dishonored and maybe even better. So, Blonde Venus next (my personal favorite).

 

[david hare]

Tonight I watched Dishonored - made one year after Morocco and THAT is what Morocco should look like but sadly doesn't. Again, while one wishes it were better, it's still fine and watchable. Dishonored has always been the weak sister in the von Sternberg/Dietrich films, but I've always liked it - it's wacky in certain ways, but that just makes it all the more von Sternbergian. And then I watched Shanghai Express, which looks fantastic, I thought, right up there with Dishonored and maybe even better. So, Blonde Venus next (my personal favorite).

The big difference between this visually is That ever sequence in Dishonored is set at night. I think the new 4k is a knockout.

 

[haineshisway]

It is - I really couldn't believe how good it looked, and I thought Shanghai Express looked every bit as good. I'm so happy right now. Haven't really watched the extras yet, save for the interview with Nick von Sternberg, who, BTW, was a grip on my little movie

 

[Matt Hough]

My set came today, and I watched Blonde Venus first, also my favorite of their films together and the first Dietrich film I ever saw (on television). The transfer has a couple of small scratches here and there, and grain haters are going to loathe it, but I was impressed by the detail in many shots. The opening bathing scene with the girls was the clearest it's ever been (clearly some of them are nude, though in one shot Dietrich appears to have on a suit as some straps seem visible when she swims away). I have always loved the songs in the film especially "I Couldn't Be Annoyed" and "You Little So-and-So" along with the fetching lullaby she sings in her head voice in German.

Little Dickie Moore is so precious. This was a couple of years before the first juvenile Oscar was awarded (to Shirley Temple), but he and Jackie Cooper should have had them for their work as tiny tots. Jackie, of course, got a legitimate Oscar nomination for Skippy, but Dickie never did.

Also watched all three bonus features on this disc. I'm sure all of the discs in the set will be equally intriguing and filled with fine bonus material.

 

[battlebeast]

Nick von Sternberg... ...was a grip on my little movie

I curious, which movie was that?

 

[battlebeast]

My set came today, and I watched Blonde Venus first, also my favorite of their films together and the first Dietrich film I ever saw (on television). The transfer has a couple of small scratches here and there, and grain haters are going to loathe it, but I was impressed by the detail in many shots. The opening bathing scene with the girls was the clearest it's ever been (clearly some of them are nude, though in one shot Dietrich appears to have on a suit as some straps seem visible when she swims away). I have always loved the songs in the film especially "I Couldn't Be Annoyed" and "You Little So-and-So" along with the fetching lullaby she sings in her head voice in German.

Little Dickie Moore is so precious. This was a couple of years before the first juvenile Oscar was awarded (to Shirley Temple), but he and Jackie Cooper should have had them for their work as tiny tots. Jackie, of course, got a legitimate Oscar nomination for Skippy, but Dickie never did.

Also watched all three bonus features on this disc. I'm sure all of the discs in the set will be equally intriguing and filled with fine bonus material.

Jackie Cooper was great in SKIPPY; I wish Universal would release it...

My set comes next week, as it takes longer to ship to ... but I think I’ll start with SHANGHAI.