Blu-ray Review A Few Words About A few words about...™ - The Bat Whispers -- in Blu-ray (3 Viewers)

[cadavra]

Yes.

Not certain that this is PD, but doesn’t matter. The original elements are closely held by the Mary Pickford Foundation, and are uniquely used with their cooperation.

Well, it will be in another 17 months.

 

[Robert Harris]

Well, it will be in another 17 months.

Which is a pity as some folks will steal the restored version.

 

[roxy1927]

I saw the 65MM print at MOMA in the 80s or 90s. The print looked fine. I don't remember much about the film except Una Merkel. Who I always remember. Unfortunately the MOMA proscenium is too narrow to do justice to a wide screen film.
Interestingly it opened at the Rivoli in NY which would then in the 50s be turned into NY's preeminent Todd AO house by Mike Todd. Though Todd would put his wider curved screen in front of the original proscenium which you could see the top of.

What I would give to see a restored Todd AO print of 80 Days in a Todd AO house which today even if you got a restored print would be impossible.

 

[Camps]

The clip I saw of this UCLA restoration was pretty breathtaking; looking forward to picking up this VCI release.

 

[johnmcmasters]

I'd preordered a while ago, and just got a shipping notice. Really excited about this release.

 

[bujaki]

Watched the VCI release of The Bat Whispers (65mm version). Looks very good. I had seen the widescreen version at MoMA a long time ago. Roland West was a very interesting director (championed by Bill Everson).
This release offers both the US and UK cuts of the 35mm version. It includes snippets of the restoration of the 1926 The Bat.
It also includes Vincent Price's version: The Bat.
So in total we get 4 films.

 

[aPhil]

Watched the VCI release of The Bat Whispers (65mm version). Looks very good. I had seen the widescreen version at MoMA a long time ago. Roland West was a very interesting director (championed by Bill Everson).
This release offers both the US and UK cuts of the 35mm version. It includes snippets of the restoration of the 1926 The Bat.
It also includes Vincent Price's version: The Bat.
So in total we get 4 films.

The 1959 Vincent Price film included? I have the older Blu-ray; does this one look good?

 

[GerardoHP]

I saw the widescreen version in a 35mm anamorphic print at UCLA several decades ago, following the restoration. I found the widescreen images (they looked more like 2:1, not 2.35:1) fascinating for a 1930 film but I cant remember anything about it except that it was a very, and I mean very dated "horror" movie. That said, I'm ecstatic that these films are seeing the light of day again and I'm going to purchase it if nothing else to support the efforts made to recover exceptional films from long ago, the exception here being Grandeur.

 

[Robert Harris]

I saw the widescreen version in a 35mm anamorphic print at UCLA several decades ago, following the restoration. I found the widescreen images (they looked more like 2:1, not 2.35:1) fascinating for a 1930 film but I cant remember anything about it except that it was a very, and I mean very dated "horror" movie. That said, I'm ecstatic that these films are seeing the light of day again and I'm going to purchase it if nothing else to support the efforts made to recover exceptional films from long ago, the exception here being Grandeur.

Thank you for supporting film restoration.

 

[bujaki]

The widescreen process is here called Magnifilm.

 

[Robert Harris]

The widescreen process is here called Magnifilm.

Not to be confused with Magnascope.

 

[roxy1927]

Not to be confused with Magnascope.

The only Magnascope I know of was used at Radio City Music Hall for segments of films before the 1.88 era that would benefit from the larger screen. Such as the race in National Velvet the stampede in King Solomon's Mines and perhaps the water swing aquacade in Million Dollar Mermaid and the climax of Greatest Show on Earth. When I worked there in the 70s the chart for setting up the borders of the Magnascope screen was still at the side of the stage.
When they briefly showed revival films without stage shows at 11AM in the late 70s I believe they used the Magnascope screen for the '51 Showboat and Good News so the screen would not have the postage stamp look that films in the 1.33 ratio had. It was too grainy and impeded enjoyment of the film.
Maybe it was used for The Iron Horse at the Rivoli in the 20s.

 

[Robert Harris]

The only Magnascope I know of was used at Radio City Music Hall for segments of films before the 1.88 era that would benefit from the larger screen. Such as the race in National Velvet the stampede in King Solomon's Mines and perhaps the water swing aquacade in Million Dollar Mermaid and the climax of Greatest Show on Earth. When I worked there in the 70s the chart for setting up the borders of the Magnascope screen was still at the side of the stage.
When they briefly showed revival films without stage shows at 11AM in the late 70s I believe they used the Magnascope screen for the '51 Showboat and Good News so the screen would not have the postage stamp look that films in the 1.33 ratio had. It was too grainy and impeded enjoyment of the film.
Maybe it was used for The Iron Horse at the Rivoli in the 20s.

Technicolor films were never grainy.

 

[roxy1927]

Blown up these films were very grainy. So maybe they weren't Technicolor prints? I assumed that's why when they showed Singin in the Rain in '75 the screen was very small and the Technicolor was so beautiful the film could have been in 3D. I was thinking had people been watching these films for a couple of decades on a screen so small? It was very surprising. Yet when they showed Fantasia during the stage show era the screen was large and it looked great.
There is a Hitchcock film where the chase is across the Music Hall stage during a film. I can't remember which film it is and I know it wasn't filmed in the Hall but look at the size of the screen. It is small like Rain was. Yet close to 6,000 people were enthralled by these small images if it was a hit film?
I bet when they expanded the screen for Magnascope it caused excitement and great expectation in the audience. Which is what happened when the film expanded to three strip for Napoleon which of course you know Mr. Harris.

 

[ColbyCo82]

I’ve had this on pre-order since winter. Glad they changed the cover art and looking forward to replacing my dvd version with the old snapper style case on my shelf.

 

[Robert Harris]

Blown up these films were very grainy. So maybe they weren't Technicolor prints? I assumed that's why when they showed Singin in the Rain in '75 the screen was very small and the Technicolor was so beautiful the film could have been in 3D. I was thinking had people been watching these films for a couple of decades on a screen so small? It was very surprising. Yet when they showed Fantasia during the stage show era the screen was large and it looked great.
There is a Hitchcock film where the chase is across the Music Hall stage during a film. I can't remember which film it is and I know it wasn't filmed in the Hall but look at the size of the screen. It is small like Rain was. Yet close to 6,000 people were enthralled by these small images if it was a hit film?

What are The 39 Steps?

I bet when they expanded the screen for Magnascope it caused excitement and great expectation in the audience. Which is what happened when the film expanded to three strip for Napoleon which of course you know Mr. Harris.

 

[bobclampett]

For those who want to test drive before buying, the widescreen version is on YouTube. Didn’t think it was very good. Some nice miniature work but the acting, editing and pacing was poor. Checked my film guides to see if I was missing something but they echoed my assessment. Leonard Maltin gave it 1-1/2 stars and Halliwell’s gave it a generous 2 stars. The YouTube version didn’t look restored but I don’t know if a pristine copy would overcome all the other issues.

 

[warnerbro]

This is a superior film and VCI does superior work. Not wild about the artwork on the cover, but who cares, we get both versions restored.

 

[Stephen_J_H]

Ordered. Thanks RAH, I think; we'll see what the wife has to say when the Amazon package arrives.

 

[warnerbro]

Does anyone know what happened? I was scheduled to get my copy today after a 9 month wait and I got this message from Amazon: There is a delay in shipping your order because of a supply chain issue.