Blu-ray Review A Few Words About A few words about…™ A Night at the Opera – in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[verneaux]

So what we have is the 1948 cut of the 1935 film featuring three of the four Marx Brothers, affectionately known to fans as "The Boys."

I’ve been a fan for years and have never heard them referred to as “The Boys”. I have heard the term applied to Laurel and Hardy frequently.

 

[B-ROLL]

I’ve been a fan for years and have never heard them referred to as “The Boys”. I have heard the term applied to Laurel and Hardy frequently.

Shirley you can't be Serious !

 

[dirwuf]

When Sam Wood's Marx Bros epic was re-released in 1948, it wasn't gingerly re-edited.

Someone took a cleaver to it, whilst removing five minutes of mayhem.

The deletions were presumably destroyed.

No original prints are known to exist.

So what we have is the 1948 cut of the 1935 film featuring three of the four Marx Brothers, affectionately known to fans as "The Boys."

The Brothers Marx began their feature film career at the Paramount Astoria Studios in Queens, NY in 1929 with The Coconuts, and followed with Animal Crackers (also Astoria) in 1930. Both were sound on disc releases.

In 1931 they moved west, and continued their Paramount series with Horse Feathers (1932) and Duck Soup (1933).

They had moved to M-G-M in Culver City for A Night at the Opera, hence this Warner Archive release, and appeared in another four films, as well as Room Service for RKO.

Warner Archive's new Blu-ray looks fine. It's derived from a duplicate printing negative, and is therefore presumably third generation. It's perfectly okay. Just nothing special.

In my estimation and I do love the antics of The Boys, they had one more quality film ahead of them - A Day at the Races (1937), which I believe has superb extant film elements. Had they quit then...

With all of the Paramount films available from Universal, there's but one more major title to come from Warner, and I'll be quite happy.


Image – 3.5

Audio – 4

Pass / Fail – Pass

Upgrade from DVD - Yes

Highly Recommended

RAH

Actually, Hays Office paperwork has come to light showing that the cuts were actually made in 1938, after complaints from the Italian government that the film made Italians look foolish....so all references to the first part of the film taking place in Italy were cut.

 

[Desslar]

Actually, Hays Office paperwork has come to light showing that the cuts were actually made in 1938, after complaints from the Italian government that the film made Italians look foolish....so all references to the first part of the film taking place in Italy were cut.

The Great Dictator must have had a lot of cuts in that case.

 

[Lord Dalek]

The Great Dictator must have had a lot of cuts in that case.

Doubtful. The European market was almost completely closed off to the US in 1940.

 

[Desslar]

Doubtful. The European market was almost completely closed off to the US in 1940.

Ah, I didn't think of it in terms of the overseas audience. I was just thinking it seems strange that Hollywood would have been concerned with keeping Mussolini happy.

 

[Kent K H]

Ah, I didn't think of it in terms of the overseas audience. I was just thinking it seems strange that Hollywood would have been concerned with keeping Mussolini happy.

A lot of studios were worried about keeping the Axis happy, especially the German film market, right up until the beginning of the war, then immediately moved into pro-war propaganda without so much as a pause. See: Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondent working very hard to not say "Germany" in favor of some nebulous European power through most of the filming, but then changed to be explicitly anti-German before release, especially with the ending of the film.

 

[Desslar]

A lot of studios were worried about keeping the Axis happy, especially the German film market, right up until the beginning of the war, then immediately moved into pro-war propaganda without so much as a pause. See: Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondent working very hard to not say "Germany" in favor of some nebulous European power through most of the filming, but then changed to be explicitly anti-German before release, especially with the ending of the film.

Very interesting. I hadn't thought of the Axis markets as big moneymakers for Hollywood. I wonder if there is international box office data from the 30s and 40s stored anywhere.

 

[Kent K H]

Very interesting. I hadn't thought of the Axis markets as big moneymakers for Hollywood. I wonder if there is international box office data from the 30s and 40s stored anywhere.

I've head in several places how Disney almost folded because they were counting on money from the European market to bring in a profit for movies like Pinnochio, and they almost folded because of the war. The thing that saved them was Dumbo's success on a paltry budget.

 

[David Weicker]

The thing that saved them was Dumbo's success on a paltry budget.

Especially when Robert Stack went to see it.

 

[Desslar]

I've head in several places how Disney almost folded because they were counting on money from the European market to bring in a profit for movies like Pinnochio, and they almost folded because of the war. The thing that saved them was Dumbo's success on a paltry budget.

Now that you mention it, a lot of Disney's early animated films have European settings - Snow White, Pinocchio, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, 101 Dalmatians, The Sword in the Stone, The Aristocats, Robin Hood, etc.

I always thought the heavy focus on Europe came about because that was what American audiences wanted to see at the time, but maybe Disney was actually trying to appeal to European markets.

 

[BobO'Link]

Now that you mention it, a lot of Disney's early animated films have European settings - Snow White, Pinocchio, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, 101 Dalmatians, The Sword in the Stone, The Aristocats, Robin Hood, etc.

I always thought the heavy focus on Europe came about because that was what American audiences wanted to see at the time, but maybe Disney was actually trying to appeal to European markets.

It was more that most of those stories are in the public domain and can be freely used. They all have European settings in the original tale and Disney didn't change it for US audiences which makes it more authentic, especially if you've read the stories.

As far as the two listed that aren't traditional (and PD), English/European fairy tales/stories, 101 Dalmations was written by an English woman and The Aristocats was an in-house story originally developed as a live-action episode of Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color but after 2 years Walt suggested it would make a better animated tale and put it on that track instead.

 

[Kent K H]

It was more that most of those stories are in the public domain and can be freely used. They all have European settings in the original tale and Disney didn't change it for US audiences which makes it more authentic, especially if you've read the stories.

As far as the two listed that aren't traditional (and PD), English/European fairy tales/stories, 101 Dalmations was written by an English woman and The Aristocats was an in-house story originally developed as a live-action episode of Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color but after 2 years Walt suggested it would make a better animated tale and put it on that track instead.

If we're going to the end of the Walt era, then there's The Sword in the Stone, which was adapted from a 1938 book that was licensed, but based on the King Arthur legend, and how do you not set that in England unless you're doing a complete reimagining?

 

[Garysb]

Currently $11.30 at Amazon.

See on Amazon

 

[titch]

Currently $11.30 at Amazon.

See on Amazon

But, strangely enough, one of those Warner Archive titles that has never been available for purchase for overseas customers from Amazon.com.

 

[mskaye]

When Sam Wood's Marx Bros epic was re-released in 1948, it wasn't gingerly re-edited.

Someone took a cleaver to it, whilst removing five minutes of mayhem.

The deletions were presumably destroyed.

No original prints are known to exist.

So what we have is the 1948 cut of the 1935 film featuring three of the four Marx Brothers, affectionately known to fans as "The Boys."

The Brothers Marx began their feature film career at the Paramount Astoria Studios in Queens, NY in 1929 with The Coconuts, and followed with Animal Crackers (also Astoria) in 1930. Both were sound on disc releases.

In 1931 they moved west, and continued their Paramount series with Horse Feathers (1932) and Duck Soup (1933).

They had moved to M-G-M in Culver City for A Night at the Opera, hence this Warner Archive release, and appeared in another four films, as well as Room Service for RKO.

Warner Archive's new Blu-ray looks fine. It's derived from a duplicate printing negative, and is therefore presumably third generation. It's perfectly okay. Just nothing special.

In my estimation and I do love the antics of The Boys, they had one more quality film ahead of them - A Day at the Races (1937), which I believe has superb extant film elements. Had they quit then...

With all of the Paramount films available from Universal, there's but one more major title to come from Warner, and I'll be quite happy.


Image – 3.5

Audio – 4

Pass / Fail – Pass

Upgrade from DVD - Yes

Highly Recommended

RAH

this podcast would be interesting to those on this thread....

 

[mskaye]

When Sam Wood's Marx Bros epic was re-released in 1948, it wasn't gingerly re-edited.

Someone took a cleaver to it, whilst removing five minutes of mayhem.

The deletions were presumably destroyed.

No original prints are known to exist.

So what we have is the 1948 cut of the 1935 film featuring three of the four Marx Brothers, affectionately known to fans as "The Boys."

The Brothers Marx began their feature film career at the Paramount Astoria Studios in Queens, NY in 1929 with The Coconuts, and followed with Animal Crackers (also Astoria) in 1930. Both were sound on disc releases.

In 1931 they moved west, and continued their Paramount series with Horse Feathers (1932) and Duck Soup (1933).

They had moved to M-G-M in Culver City for A Night at the Opera, hence this Warner Archive release, and appeared in another four films, as well as Room Service for RKO.

Warner Archive's new Blu-ray looks fine. It's derived from a duplicate printing negative, and is therefore presumably third generation. It's perfectly okay. Just nothing special.

In my estimation and I do love the antics of The Boys, they had one more quality film ahead of them - A Day at the Races (1937), which I believe has superb extant film elements. Had they quit then...

With all of the Paramount films available from Universal, there's but one more major title to come from Warner, and I'll be quite happy.


Image – 3.5

Audio – 4

Pass / Fail – Pass

Upgrade from DVD - Yes

Highly Recommended

RAH

this podcast would be interesting to those on this thread....

Some really interesting information about surviving Marx Bros. elements such as that the only original nitrate material of any Marx Bros. Paramout movie is what currently exists on the The Coconuts (and in the recent DVD.)

 

[Timothy E]

The story in post #17 about extra surviving footage in Hungary is fascinating. Has this been verified? It strikes me that this footage, if it exists, should be scanned before the elements disintegrate, as nitrate footage will inevitably in time.

 

[Osato]

The story in post #17 about extra surviving footage in Hungary is fascinating. Has this been verified? It strikes me that this footage, if it exists, should be scanned before the elements disintegrate, as nitrate footage will inevitably in time.

Agreed. It should be preserved.

 

[PMBen]

Sorry, I've just realized I posted something that had already been included.