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- Feb 8, 1999
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- Robert Harris
NOTE: I want to stress that I've now edited this commentary twice, as I'm seeing different results on different monitors.
Universal has finally released another in a series of films acquired from the Hughes organization.
Hell's Angels was begun as a silent production, and then almost entirely re-shot for sound -- the only remaining silent material seemingly the air footage.
Directed by Howard Hughes, with dialogue directed by James Whale, the film would be a forgettable early sound production were it not for the huge budget, the liberal use of two-strip Technicolor and tinted footage along with what appears to be either tinted and toned or some form of stenciled scenes.
Which means that Hell's Angels is a poorly acted technically brilliant cornucopian bag of tricks.
Anyone with an interest in the silent or early sound cinema will find everything they're seeking on a filmmaking level in this film.
The scenes with huge zeppelins stretching across the screen can not be forgotten, nor the brilliance of the air-war cinematography. This is a film which demands to be seen on a huge theatre screen.
There is so much background information to this film, that it could have had its own documentary.
The UCLA Film and Television Archive did a superb job of restoring Hell's Angel's to its road show proportions, inclusive of intermission, and their highly professional work should have been supported by an equally high end transfer.
So what we have is a coulda, shoulda situation.
Hell's Angels could easily have been one of the most important releases of 2004. But for whatever reason, it has been relegated to the bargain bin.
Because of the historical importance and technical brilliance of this film, I'm forced to recommend the purchase of a DVD which fails to fully deliver in technical areas.
NOTE: I have now viewed this DVD on five different systems. The less high end the system, the better it looks. When viewed via projection with line doubling in place, problems seem to disappear. They are most evident on monitors set for high definition. So in all fairness to this release, I must suggest that what one sees will be based upon one's system.
On higher end monitors, what appears to be film grain seems actually to be video noise. I suspect that this release is based upon an older transfer, but as it has taken on an almost chameleon-like appearance on my reference systems, I cannot be certain.
RAH
Universal has finally released another in a series of films acquired from the Hughes organization.
Hell's Angels was begun as a silent production, and then almost entirely re-shot for sound -- the only remaining silent material seemingly the air footage.
Directed by Howard Hughes, with dialogue directed by James Whale, the film would be a forgettable early sound production were it not for the huge budget, the liberal use of two-strip Technicolor and tinted footage along with what appears to be either tinted and toned or some form of stenciled scenes.
Which means that Hell's Angels is a poorly acted technically brilliant cornucopian bag of tricks.
Anyone with an interest in the silent or early sound cinema will find everything they're seeking on a filmmaking level in this film.
The scenes with huge zeppelins stretching across the screen can not be forgotten, nor the brilliance of the air-war cinematography. This is a film which demands to be seen on a huge theatre screen.
There is so much background information to this film, that it could have had its own documentary.
The UCLA Film and Television Archive did a superb job of restoring Hell's Angel's to its road show proportions, inclusive of intermission, and their highly professional work should have been supported by an equally high end transfer.
So what we have is a coulda, shoulda situation.
Hell's Angels could easily have been one of the most important releases of 2004. But for whatever reason, it has been relegated to the bargain bin.
Because of the historical importance and technical brilliance of this film, I'm forced to recommend the purchase of a DVD which fails to fully deliver in technical areas.
NOTE: I have now viewed this DVD on five different systems. The less high end the system, the better it looks. When viewed via projection with line doubling in place, problems seem to disappear. They are most evident on monitors set for high definition. So in all fairness to this release, I must suggest that what one sees will be based upon one's system.
On higher end monitors, what appears to be film grain seems actually to be video noise. I suspect that this release is based upon an older transfer, but as it has taken on an almost chameleon-like appearance on my reference systems, I cannot be certain.
RAH
