A Few Words About A few words about...™ Peyton Place -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Robert Harris]

Mark Robson's 1957 Peyton Place is a right of passage.

Based upon a steamy (for the time) novel, and peopled with some of the top talent of the era, it was a "must see" when it arrived at the end of 1957.

It's a long film, with lots of entanglements and couplings.

Does it stand the test of time?

Actually, pretty much.

It's beautifully photographed (shot in Maine), with a great score, and Twilight Time's new Blu-ray looks far better than it should, for a 1957 film.

I've read Mr. Kimmell's take, and I agree.

There are blues. And the, reds. Note what's worn during the graduation. Very red. Impossibly red.

Bottom line, I have no problem with the color. I think it looks great.

The negative is single strand, and the prints function are cut in, but they've been nicely digitally toned down, and are almost transparent.

To complete the discussion of color, there are others beyond blue and red, and they all look fine.

Grain is not problematic. I noted some oddities, but viewing, whilst up-rezzing to 4k, it's difficult to know what's on the disc, and what is being added, so we'll leave that.

I spent some serious time trying to decode the audio, which sounds as though it has stereo music, but with dx and fx more or less centered.

Is this the original 4-track?

Doubtful, but who knows, after processing.

All in all, a hit for Twilight Time, and a film that should be seen.

It's a fun tribute to a long-ago era, and a great way to spend a nostalgic 2 1/2 hours.

For those who may remain disinterested, consider that the film was nominated for nine Academy Awards, inclusive of Best Picture.

Best to grab a copy, while they're available.

Image - 4.25

Audio - 4

4k Up-rez - 4

Pass / Fail - Pass

Recommended

RAH

 

[Dee Zee]

Just ordered one today earlier before fore I saw your review. Cool.

 

[Robert Crawford]

My video grade is 4.75 and audio is 4.5, but I'm just a somebody and not an expert in such things. However, I do know what looks and sounds good to my eyes and ears.

 

[Robin9]

My disc arrived this morning and I'll be watching it tonight.

I've just read Julie Kirgo's essay. I'm very pleased she notes the contribution made by producer Jerry Wald. I've liked his films for a long time and, having watched Mildred Pierce last night, I hope Twilight Time can use the new 4K restoration of The Long Hot Summer.

 

[Robert Crawford]

My disc arrived this morning and I'll be watching it tonight.

I've just read Julie Kirgo's essay. I'm very pleased she notes the contribution made by producer Jerry Wald. I've liked his films for a long time and, having watched Mildred Pierce last night, I hope Twilight Time can use the new 4K restoration of The Long Hot Summer.

There is a good documentary on the disc that talks about Wald with a couple of the surviving cast members Russ Tamblyn and Terry Moore.

 

[Robert Harris]

There is a good documentary on the disc that talks about Wald with a couple of the surviving cast members Russ Tamblyn and Terry Moore.

As well as another delving into the locations, seen today.

 

[Will Krupp]

I have a friend who was raised in Belfast, Maine and he took me up to look at the school and the church and some of the other locations. Locals LOVE to tell the story that Diane Varsi couldn't POSSIBLY have run from one location to the other as quickly as she does in the movie because the are actually quite far apart.

 

[PMF]

[edit by PMF]

 

[Robert Crawford]

As well as another delving into the locations, seen today.

That was a 8-9 minute documentary too.

 

[PMF]

I have deliberately avoided Peyton Place for all the right reasons.
I wanted my first-time experience of this 50's classic of folklore to be seen in the best of lights, concerning a print or transfer.
Consider that "Peyton Place" was a Best Cinematography nominee from one of our greats: William C. Mellor.
Add to this that very few films have 5 acting nominations attached to it; and this is the last remaining of those I've seen.
Throw into the mix the 3 nominations for Picture, Director and Screenplay.
Solid stuff; so, therefore, I wanted my first impressions and experience of "Peyton Place" to be given its optimum opportunity.
Short of a restoration in a Palace Theater, TT's offering became that "best of lights" to which I've waited.
I am looking forward to this purchase.

 

[Stephen PI]

As you can see from the photo below, from the August 1957 issue of American Cinematographer, that the "PEYTON PLACE" production utilized the Fox three microphone recording technique that they are well-known for.
The end of the microphone boom is visible in the top left portion of the photo and also throws a clear shadow right below it:



I have ordered the TT blu ray of "PP" but have not yet received it.
I have listened to the dvd and it is clearly the 4-track stereo soundtrack. A scene at the beginning of chapter five of the dvd clearly demonstrates the authentic directional dialog that Fox successfully introduced in "THE ROBE".

 

[Stephen PI]

I received my copy of "PP" today and I am relieved to say that the soundtrack is the original 4.0 track that is on the dvd, represented here as a 5.1.

 

[Robert Harris]

I received my copy of "PP" today and I am relieved to say that the soundtrack is the original 4.0 track that is on the dvd, represented here as a 5.1.

Thanks for confirming. I felt that I was hearing stereo music, but could not conform dtrectional dia.

 

[Mark-P]

I received my copy of "PP" today and I am relieved to say that the soundtrack is the original 4.0 track that is on the dvd, represented here as a 5.1.

Thanks for the confirmation. That's a relief.

Thanks for confirming. I felt that I was hearing stereo music, but could not conform dtrectional dia.

Directional dialog is really sloppy in these 1950s original mixes. That's because rather that potting up the dialog into the desired channel, all dialog was recorded with three boom mikes. So while one microphone is supposed to pick up the actors on one side of the stage, the other two microphones would pick them up as well, and you never had really clean separation. But if you listen closely to the dialog on Peyton Place you will hear voices coming through at various levels from different speakers.

 

[Stephen PI]

Thanks for the confirmation. That's a relief.


Directional dialog is really sloppy in these 1950s original mixes. That's because rather that potting up the dialog into the desired channel, all dialog was recorded with three boom mikes. So while one microphone is supposed to pick up the actors on one side of the stage, the other two microphones would pick them up as well, and you never had really clean separation. But if you listen closely to the dialog on Peyton Place you will hear voices coming through at various levels from different speakers.

I don't think it's sloppy, I think the three-microphone technique, which I illustrated in post #11 (did you see it?), more closely emulates the way we hear people speak from various distances and move around. I would say varying perspectives (closing off one ear that is closest to the person speaking while listening with the other ear demonstrates this) rather than changing levels and the idea of clean separation wasn't necessarily the main objective of the Fox sound engineers to the extent of which you describe.
I also think the alternative method of recording dialog monaurally and panning the signal is less natural and effective. I've listened to panned dialog with the center muted and you often hear late pans when the angle changes.
From what I have observed from photos and studying the soundtrack, the left and right microphones could vary their distance, from changing set ups, relative to the center microphone, which is fixed, via a rod at the end of the boom.
The idea of this is when the camera is photographing a master shot and characters are placed far from the camera, the L/R mikes are positioned farther apart than a tighter shot when two characters are placed closely to the camera occupying left and right positions of the screen.
This would have been more of a challenge with the first handful of CinemaScope releases as they used three individual booms and operators.

 

[Nick*Z]

What?!? No isolated score for Franz Waxman's luminous score. For shame!!!

 

[Dick]

As well as another delving into the locations, seen today.

I'm not big on soap opera plots and have resisted this film until now. It was, however, filmed largely in Camden-Rockport, which is about an hour East of me, and I am hoping the film will give me a good enough glimpse of the area so that I can get a sense of what it was like in the 50's (especially as there is a location featurette). CAROUSEL, on the other hand, did not do this so well for Boothbay Harbor. Why Hollywood hasn't tapped this gorgeous state far more than it has I guess has to do with other New England states offering better tax incentives. For example -- one of many -- ON GOLDEN POND, which in the novel took place where author Ernest Thompson had a residence on Great Pond in Belgrade Lakes (where I summered as a kid and close to where I live now), but when it came time to film, the studio chose a lake in New Hampshire.

 

[Peter Apruzzese]

What?!? No isolated score for Franz Waxman's luminous score. For shame!!!

From the other thread:

I do know the reasons there is no isolated track - obviously if there were good stereo music tracks there would have been an isolated score track.

 

[john a hunter]

I have to agree wholeheartedly with Stephen in 15 above.
I just played Garden of Evil from the TT release in the 4 track mode ( and I wish there were more of them).
The DD is excellent. Often when the track is 5.1 the DD seems to disappear. Badly remixed.
While DD is better on some than others depends on how good or bad the tracks have been stored.
Often the surround or A.P track is hardly ever there as I believe they were stored separately and now lost.

 

[Stephen PI]

I have to agree wholeheartedly with Stephen in 15 above.
I just played Garden of Evil from the TT release in the 4 track mode ( and I wish there were more of them).
The DD is excellent. Often when the track is 5.1 the DD seems to disappear. Badly remixed.
While DD is better on some than others depends on how good or bad the tracks have been stored.
Often the surround or A.P track is hardly ever there as I believe they were stored separately and now lost.

Hi John, thanks for your support.
If I understand you correctly, to confirm, when a Fox 4.0 is converted to a 5.1 the front three channels remain untouched. The surround channel is split and, if an LFE is used, it would be of course sourced from the front channels. (I usually turn off the LFE and run the front channels full range).
The final stereo mixes at Fox were always to a 4-track 35mm magnetic full-coat, so, in this case, the surround track wouldn't get lost. Unlike MGM, in the fifties on their stereo mixes, the LCR was transferred and stored to a 35mm 3-track magnetic full-coat. The surround channel was stored on seventeen and a half magnetic film, so there is always the danger of it getting separated and lost. (This happened in the case of "Forbidden Planet" where it was either lost or deteriorated. The surround channel had to be re-created from the front channels).