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Robert Harris

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Senior HTF Member
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18,272
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Robert Harris
Whether producing for his own entity, Selznick International, or via one of his earlier relationships with studios, David O. Selznick is generally considered to be one of the great showmen, and producers of extremely high quality films.

With a career going back to the early 1920s, he came into his own in the 1930s, first at RKO, as an exec. producer, and later producer, of films such as What Price Hollywood?, Bird of Paradise, The Most Dangerous Game, Bill of Divorcement, Christopher Strong, and King Kong.

Moving to M-G-M, Dinner at Eight, Viva Villa!, David Copperfield, Anna Karenina, A Tale of Two Cities...

and then he formed his own production company, taking over the old Ince studio in Culver City, down the street from M-G-M, and continued (as an early supporter of Technicolor) with Garden of Allah, A Star is Born, The Prisoner of Zenda, Nothing Sacred and others, finally producing the Best Picture of 1939.

The Selznick International (Vanguard) library ended up with ABC, and is now controlled by Disney. Preservation of the original elements has been ongoing, and films have been licensed to various publishers.

Some of the films landed with Criterion (Rebecca, Spellbound), while others have been made available via Kino Studio Classics.

They currently have Duel in the Sun, The Paradine Case, Portrait of Jennie in release, with Intermezzo, The Young at Heart, and The Wild Heart, scheduled for January of 2018.

There are two films that always seemed to link, almost as one, in my mind.

Both from 1944 - Since You Went Away, in some ways earlier take on Best Years of Our Lives, was released in June of 1944, and I'll Be Seeing You, as a Christmas release.

Both are well worth your time.

SYWA was photographed by Stanley Cortez and Lee Garmes, with a score by Max Steiner, while IBSY by shot by Tony Gaudio, and directed by William Dieterle.

Here's where it got confusing, and this probably goes back to my interest in all things Selznick when I was in my teens and early '20s.

Since You Went Away stars Claudette Colbert, Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten and Shirley Temple, along with an extraordinary cast of other players.

I'll Be Seeing You stars Ginger Rogers, Joseph Cotten and Shirley Temple.

Somehow they've always been oddly conjoined in my mind, especially as they're both set during WWII.

All of that aside, it's nice to be finally getting access to this library of films.

Since You Went Away is the original Roadshow, with Intermission.

Both appear to be taken from decent fine grains, or dupes, and are of nice quality.

Garden of Allah is around the corner, and that, presuming it's from the recombine performed a dozen or so years ago, should be magnificent.

Image - 3.75 - 4

Audio - 5

Pass / Fail - Pass

Recommended

RAH
 

Nick*Z

Screenwriter
Joined
Apr 30, 2003
Messages
1,792
Location
Canada
Real Name
NICK
Wonderfully produced book, and essential to the library of any true fan of cinema.

Amen. A cornerstone in film-lore literature; along with Haver's book on the creation, destruction and restoration of 1954's A Star Is Born. Essential reading. One other book to champion: Lion of Hollywood - The Life and Legend of Louis B. Mayer, by Scott Eyman.
 

PatrickDA

Supporting Actor
Joined
Jan 27, 2005
Messages
518
Location
USA, Midwest
Real Name
Patrick
I love "Since You Went Away" and can't wait to get the blu-ray in the mail sometime this coming week. I just wish I had some special features.

I, too, must confess to confusing the two films in my earlier days and still think of them as being connected in some way. Just like Mr. Harris.
 

Steven Ward

Auditioning
Joined
Aug 7, 2016
Messages
14
Location
San Diego, CA- USA
Real Name
Steven
Whether producing for his own entity, Selznick International, or via one of his earlier relationships with studios, David O. Selznick is generally considered to be one of the great showmen, and producers of extremely high quality films.

With a career going back to the early 1920s, he came into his own in the 1930s, first at RKO, as an exec. producer, and later producer, of films such as What Price Hollywood?, Bird of Paradise, The Most Dangerous Game, Bill of Divorcement, Christopher Strong, and King Kong.

Moving to M-G-M, Dinner at Eight, Viva Villa!, David Copperfield, Anna Karenina, A Tale of Two Cities...

and then he formed his own production company, taking over the old Ince studio in Culver City, down the street from M-G-M, and continued (as an early supporter of Technicolor) with Garden of Allah, A Star is Born, The Prisoner of Zenda, Nothing Sacred and others, finally producing the Best Picture of 1939.

The Selznick International (Vanguard) library ended up with ABC, and is now controlled by Disney. Preservation of the original elements has been ongoing, and films have been licensed to various publishers.

Some of the films landed with Criterion (Rebecca, Spellbound), while others have been made available via Kino Studio Classics.

They currently have Duel in the Sun, The Paradine Case, Portrait of Jennie in release, with Intermezzo, The Young at Heart, and The Wild Heart, scheduled for January of 2018.

There are two films that always seemed to link, almost as one, in my mind.

Both from 1944 - Since You Went Away, in some ways earlier take on Best Years of Our Lives, was released in June of 1944, and I'll Be Seeing You, as a Christmas release.

Both are well worth your time.

SYWA was photographed by Stanley Cortez and Lee Garmes, with a score by Max Steiner, while IBSY by shot by Tony Gaudio, and directed by William Dieterle.

Here's where it got confusing, and this probably goes back to my interest in all things Selznick when I was in my teens and early '20s.

Since You Went Away stars Claudette Colbert, Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten and Shirley Temple, along with an extraordinary cast of other players.

I'll Be Seeing You stars Ginger Rogers, Joseph Cotten and Shirley Temple.

Somehow they've always been oddly conjoined in my mind, especially as they're both set during WWII.

All of that aside, it's nice to be finally getting access to this library of films.

Since You Went Away is the original Roadshow, with Intermission.

Both appear to be taken from decent fine grains, or dupes, and are of nice quality.

Garden of Allah is around the corner, and that, presuming it's from the recombine performed a dozen or so years ago, should be magnificent.

Image - 3.75 - 4

Audio - 5

Pass / Fail - Pass

Recommended

RAH
 

Steven Ward

Auditioning
Joined
Aug 7, 2016
Messages
14
Location
San Diego, CA- USA
Real Name
Steven
One very important title here that needs a MAJOR RESTORATION is the 1938 "THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER " . I found it, finally, on a 3-feature KID-SHOW, (forget the other two titles on this one); also a KOREAN version, however not as good. This film is such an all-time classic and it's really been a neglected item for sure, and I'm amazed no one has mentioned this beloved and best version of the Twain Classic.
 

davidmatychuk

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Mar 10, 2012
Messages
2,140
Location
Vancouver, B.C.
Real Name
David Matychuk
Last week I saw a rare opportunity and I took it: I bought newly-released Blu-Rays of three Joseph Cotten/David O. Selznick 40's classics all at once. My Mom, a big Joseph Cotten fan, would have been proud of me. By the way, no review that I read mentioned it, but "Portrait Of Jennie" has a reversible cover with a beautiful vintage design that is far preferable to the more generic regular cover.

Scan-005.jpg
Scan-006.jpg
 

GlennF

Supporting Actor
Joined
Aug 11, 2013
Messages
536
Location
Toronto, Canada
Real Name
Glenn Frost
As I posted in another forum...I bought Since You Went Away for $16.06 (even with the exchange it was cheaper than buying in Canada). I like Portrait of Jennie, but the reviews I have read are not great. When someone looks at it, please post your thoughts.
 

davidmatychuk

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Mar 10, 2012
Messages
2,140
Location
Vancouver, B.C.
Real Name
David Matychuk
As I posted in another forum...I bought Since You Went Away for $16.06 (even with the exchange it was cheaper than buying in Canada). I like Portrait of Jennie, but the reviews I have read are not great. When someone looks at it, please post your thoughts.

I think they did a great job with it. I love this weird little movie, and the picture quality has it all over the old Anchor Bay DVD, which I was very happy to have before now. The effects and subtleties of the highly-stylized black and white photography are easier to appreciate and the bits of colour pop with more impact; barring a restoration miracle, this is the best "Jennie" I expect to see in my lifetime (keep it down there in the Peanut Gallery). There's a surround sound audio option to replicate the theatrical surround sound during the storm sequence. There's an audio commentary that I'll be listening to soon, because the bit I sampled was very interesting (and because, let's face it, "Portrait Of Jennie" is a movie that can use all the context it can get). There's the five bonus Selznick trailers, like on "Since You Went Away", which are nice as a set-up for the feature (it's short). And the previously-unheralded (see above) reversible cover is sweet indeed. I don't know if the thing that my brain does would be considered "thoughts" by most folks, but on the "Portrait Of Jennie" Blu-Ray, those are them.
 

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