- Joined
- Feb 8, 1999
- Messages
- 16,745
- Real Name
- Robert Harris
Passion and research.
Any quality restorative effort of a motion picture requires both, but not necessarily in equal measures.
If it's your assignment at the studio level to save a film that you've never seen, or never particularly liked, without proper research, the project can fail. With proper research and even a bit of passion, the result is far likely to be better, even if not superior.
Conversely, passion alone will not win the day. Even with some research and a reasonable team in support of the project, there can still be problems.
These were the concepts going through my mind, as I was viewing Film Preservation Society's new restoration of the Fred Niblo (Ben-Hur, Way Out West) directed 1921 The Three Musketeers, the second swashbuckler from the legendary Douglas Fairbanks.
Knowing a bit about the extant film elements was helpful. Mr. Fairbanks had contributed his original nitrate films to MOMA in 1939. It was not until the 1960s that preservation occurred. An odd lapse, but understandable under budgetary constraints and the state of the art.
As a note, the information on the reverse of the new Blu-ray is incorrect in that this scan was not harvested from the OCN, which no longer exists, but rather from the fine grain produced by MOMA.
From a purely technical perspective, the work appears about as expected with a single exception. There is a visual defect just to the left of center frame in certain portions of the film. Many viewers won't notice it, but I make note as it's there. I'm not certain what it is, but suspect Newton rings, as nitrate decomp wouldn’t normally be as stable in its position.
That's the summation of the cons.
The positives are many, as the fine grain was decently produced aside from the above anomaly, and the scan seems impeccable. Normal grain can be seen. The image is as highly resolved as one might expect from a hundred-year-old film. Stability if fine. Nice gray scale. Good blacks. Lovely original tints.
It's both a nice image harvest, as well as a well-compressed and produced Blu-ray.
The score by Mont Alto Orchestra is superb, and beautifully fits the subject.
You've been waiting to see where passion came into play.
As most of you are aware, during the pre-sound era, and even into the sound era, films were produced either in black & white or color. But some black & white had added tints, tones, tints combined with tones, as well as other effects.
The special effect in The Three Musketeers is known as the Handschiegl color process, and it was interesting.
It came about in 1916, and first appeared in Joan the Woman (1917) for C.B. DeMille and was thereafter used for other Paramount productions before use elsewhere.
Without getting into details, it involved the production of a matrix, much akin to those used by Technicolor, which contained ONLY the portion of the frame to be printed with a certain dye.
You've also been waiting to see where research came into this equation.
In 2019 The George Eastman Museum acquired a short piece of original print from The Three Musketeers, which by divine coincidence happened to be a sequence not seen since 1921 - the Handschiegl color added to the overall tinted image - which was just Mr. Fairbanks' horse - and the horse was printed in a specific buttercup yellow.
This was added back to the new restoration, which also corrected some previous problems, and at least to me that single attribute is worth the price of admission. It's amazing.
I'll not kid you about cost. The release seems to be solely available via the Film Preservation Society website, and it will be more expensive than some might expect at $35 plus $5 shipping, but it's worth it. FPS is a charitable organization, and all income to goes restore other films - more Fairbanks projects as well as the Biograph library is ongoing.
I'd love to see the entire output of Biograph available, as that would allow us to at least partially trace the invention of cinema as a language.
Extras on the disc are minimal, but one is of interest - a 1917 short pushing the patriotism of war bond purchases, with appearances by many actors of the era, inclusive of Mr. Fairbanks and Ms. Pickford. It survives, a bit rough around the edges, but at least we have it.
There's also a 1910 Griffith Biograph, A Call to Arms with Mary Pickford, which has some digital clean-up problems.
But you're here for the main attraction, which is more than worth the price of admission. It's beautifully done and well worth your time and attention.
You can order The Three Musketeers and other FPS restorations at:
www.filmpreservationsociety.org
I wholeheartedly support their efforts, as FPS’ work is loaded with both passion as well as research.
Image - 4.25
Audio - N/A
Pass / Fail - Pass
Upgrade from DVD - Absolutely
Works up-rezzed to 4k - Yes
Very Highly Recommended
Any quality restorative effort of a motion picture requires both, but not necessarily in equal measures.
If it's your assignment at the studio level to save a film that you've never seen, or never particularly liked, without proper research, the project can fail. With proper research and even a bit of passion, the result is far likely to be better, even if not superior.
Conversely, passion alone will not win the day. Even with some research and a reasonable team in support of the project, there can still be problems.
These were the concepts going through my mind, as I was viewing Film Preservation Society's new restoration of the Fred Niblo (Ben-Hur, Way Out West) directed 1921 The Three Musketeers, the second swashbuckler from the legendary Douglas Fairbanks.
Knowing a bit about the extant film elements was helpful. Mr. Fairbanks had contributed his original nitrate films to MOMA in 1939. It was not until the 1960s that preservation occurred. An odd lapse, but understandable under budgetary constraints and the state of the art.
As a note, the information on the reverse of the new Blu-ray is incorrect in that this scan was not harvested from the OCN, which no longer exists, but rather from the fine grain produced by MOMA.
From a purely technical perspective, the work appears about as expected with a single exception. There is a visual defect just to the left of center frame in certain portions of the film. Many viewers won't notice it, but I make note as it's there. I'm not certain what it is, but suspect Newton rings, as nitrate decomp wouldn’t normally be as stable in its position.
That's the summation of the cons.
The positives are many, as the fine grain was decently produced aside from the above anomaly, and the scan seems impeccable. Normal grain can be seen. The image is as highly resolved as one might expect from a hundred-year-old film. Stability if fine. Nice gray scale. Good blacks. Lovely original tints.
It's both a nice image harvest, as well as a well-compressed and produced Blu-ray.
The score by Mont Alto Orchestra is superb, and beautifully fits the subject.
You've been waiting to see where passion came into play.
As most of you are aware, during the pre-sound era, and even into the sound era, films were produced either in black & white or color. But some black & white had added tints, tones, tints combined with tones, as well as other effects.
The special effect in The Three Musketeers is known as the Handschiegl color process, and it was interesting.
It came about in 1916, and first appeared in Joan the Woman (1917) for C.B. DeMille and was thereafter used for other Paramount productions before use elsewhere.
Without getting into details, it involved the production of a matrix, much akin to those used by Technicolor, which contained ONLY the portion of the frame to be printed with a certain dye.
You've also been waiting to see where research came into this equation.
In 2019 The George Eastman Museum acquired a short piece of original print from The Three Musketeers, which by divine coincidence happened to be a sequence not seen since 1921 - the Handschiegl color added to the overall tinted image - which was just Mr. Fairbanks' horse - and the horse was printed in a specific buttercup yellow.
This was added back to the new restoration, which also corrected some previous problems, and at least to me that single attribute is worth the price of admission. It's amazing.
I'll not kid you about cost. The release seems to be solely available via the Film Preservation Society website, and it will be more expensive than some might expect at $35 plus $5 shipping, but it's worth it. FPS is a charitable organization, and all income to goes restore other films - more Fairbanks projects as well as the Biograph library is ongoing.
I'd love to see the entire output of Biograph available, as that would allow us to at least partially trace the invention of cinema as a language.
Extras on the disc are minimal, but one is of interest - a 1917 short pushing the patriotism of war bond purchases, with appearances by many actors of the era, inclusive of Mr. Fairbanks and Ms. Pickford. It survives, a bit rough around the edges, but at least we have it.
There's also a 1910 Griffith Biograph, A Call to Arms with Mary Pickford, which has some digital clean-up problems.
But you're here for the main attraction, which is more than worth the price of admission. It's beautifully done and well worth your time and attention.
You can order The Three Musketeers and other FPS restorations at:
FPS Shop — Film Preservation Society
www.filmpreservationsociety.org
I wholeheartedly support their efforts, as FPS’ work is loaded with both passion as well as research.
Image - 4.25
Audio - N/A
Pass / Fail - Pass
Upgrade from DVD - Absolutely
Works up-rezzed to 4k - Yes
Very Highly Recommended
Last edited:
Perhaps an open bottle of Aramis fell into it 
