Crawdaddy's "Random Thoughts" about Home Video, Film & TV (1 Viewer)

[Matt Hough]

Congratulations on finishing your westerns project. I plan to watch 3 Godfathers off the TCM app today. I watched Lady in the Lake off the app a few days ago. Montgomery is not a favorite Marlowe of mine, but the film is a fine mystery and the point of view camera lifts it another level.

I hope we get both of these films on Blu-ray in the coming year. Lady in the Lake needs a lot of work, but so did The Thin Man, and it now looks beautiful.

 

[Walter Kittel]

Nice job finishing up the Western Project.

I have the time, but not the motivation or discipline to undertake a similar undertaking. I think I have the attention span of a fruit fly some days.

- Walter.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Another great podcast with George Feltenstein as he talks about "Ivanhoe", the Technicolor process and other Technicolor films that are in the pipeline. I must listen for those interested in those topics as well as to what happen to some Technicolor film elements during that George Eastman fire.

 

[Matt Hough]

I watched 3 Godfathers off the TCM app this afternoon. Looked okay, but it obviously needs much work to bring it to Warner Archive Blu-ray. Movie quite memorable, of course.

After hearing Dave Karger's intro, I paid more attention to the credits this time. I had never realized that though it had the MGM logo, MGM personnel had nothing to do with this film. No Cedric Gibbons, no Douglas Shearer, no Irene/Giles Steele costumes, etc. This was John Ford's company all the way.

 

[Mark-P]

I watched 3 Godfathers off the TCM app this afternoon. Looked okay, but it obviously needs much work to bring it to Warner Archive Blu-ray. Movie quite memorable, of course.

After hearing Dave Karger's intro, I paid more attention to the credits this time. I had never realized that though it had the MGM logo, MGM personnel had nothing to do with this film. No Cedric Gibbons, no Douglas Shearer, no Irene/Giles Steele costumes, etc. This was John Ford's company all the way.

You‘re talking about the 1936 version, Three Godfathers, right? Because the 1948 version, was fully restored last year for HBOMax and looks impeccable.

 

[Robert Crawford]

You‘re talking about the 1936 version, Three Godfathers, right? Because the 1948 version, was fully restored last year for HBOMax and looks impeccable.

No, I don't believe the 1948 version has been restored as looked the same as my iTunes digital. I think it was a mistake that listed it as such on HBO Max. By the way, a film like "3 Godfathers" can look great streaming, but that doesn't mean it will look great on Blu-ray with a video presentation that is not compressed like it is when streaming. I'm talking Warner Archive standards of looking great on Blu-ray.

 

[Robert Crawford]

After hearing Dave Karger's intro, I paid more attention to the credits this time. I had never realized that though it had the MGM logo, MGM personnel had nothing to do with this film. No Cedric Gibbons, no Douglas Shearer, no Irene/Giles Steele costumes, etc. This was John Ford's company all the way.

3 Godfathers was an Argosy production, but this film was promoted as a MGM film too. Look at the original artwork below. Also, I found this interesting tidbit on AFI about the film's production and distribution:

"Pre-production news items in HR noted that Argosy Pictures negotiated a one-picture releasing contract with M-G-M for this film, and that it marked the first time that M-G-M accepted a distrubution deal without a financial investment or creative input in the production."

 

[Robert Crawford]

I plan to watch I watched Lady in the Lake off the app a few days ago. Montgomery is not a favorite Marlowe of mine, but the film is a fine mystery and the point of view camera lifts it another level.

I hope we get both of these films on Blu-ray in the coming year. Lady in the Lake needs a lot of work, but so did The Thin Man, and it now looks beautiful.

Yesterday, as I watching "Lady in the Lake" off the TCM app. I kept thinking that Robert Mitchum would've been really good in that movie with Montgomery directing it.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Congratulations on finishing your westerns project. I plan to watch 3 Godfathers off the TCM app today.

Nice job finishing up the Western Project.

I have the time, but not the motivation or discipline to undertake a similar undertaking. I think I have the attention span of a fruit fly some days.

- Walter.

Yeah, I won't do that again as it does take a lot of motivation and discipline to complete that task as 100 westerns was a little too much. Anyhow, today I'm back watching some more westerns. I pulled out my Blu-rays of "Once Upon a Time in the West" and "Flaming Star". I'm going to try to watch at least one western each day until Friday then reevaluate what I watched to see if I want to replace some more titles off my original "100" listing.

 

[Matt Hough]

Yesterday, as I watching "Lady in the Lake" off the TCM app. I kept thinking that Robert Mitchum would've been really good in that movie with Montgomery directing it.

He would have been perfect casting for that project. I loved him as Marlowe in Farewell, My Lovely, but a younger Marlowe would have been spectacular.

 

[benbess]

Another great podcast with George Feltenstein as he talks about "Ivanhoe", the Technicolor process and other Technicolor films that are in the pipeline. I must listen for those interested in those topics as well as to what happen to some Technicolor film elements during that George Eastman fire.

This is a very interesting series of interviews. I caught up on the other recent episodes too. For me one key insight was how much was lost in the 1978 George Eastman fire. For instance, all of the three-strip Technicolor negatives for the Looney Tunes classics were apparently lost in that fire. I've wondered over the years why those look good but not great, and that's the answer right there. Interesting too that some films were partially lost in that fire, with just a few reels remaining. What a tragedy that fire was. And what a mess from what remains. It's a miracle that a complete set of camera negatives for some films survive at all. Also interesting is how the Warner Archive label has apparently always been profitable by keeping costs low and quality high. GF also makes it clear that when we vote with our wallets by buying something it encourages other movies of that genre or era to be released. And so if you buy a Warner Archive blu-ray of a Western that encourages the release of other Westerns, and ditto for dramas, musicals, horror, movies of the 1940s, etc. Finally, it's interesting that the "Ultra-Resolution" process for precisely combining the three-strips of a Technicolor negative was so expensive a dozen years ago that it could only be used on a few movies, like The Wizard of Oz. It cost over a million dollars back in 2009. But because of advances in computer technology it sounds like today using the new version of the Ultra-Resolution process is still pricey, but costs maybe something like half of what it was a dozen years ago.

 

[Mark-P]

No, I don't believe the 1948 version has been restored as looked the same as my iTunes digital. I think it was a mistake that listed it as such on HBO Max. By the way, a film like "3 Godfathers" can look great streaming, but that doesn't mean it will look great on Blu-ray with a video presentation that is not compressed like it is when streaming. I'm talking Warner Archive standards of looking great on Blu-ray.

If the iTunes streaming version looks exactly like the beautiful version that was on HBOMax a while back, I need to reconsider buying it on iTunes, which I haven’t done because we were expecting an Archive announcement.

 

[Walter Kittel]

Yeah, I won't do that again as it does take a lot of motivation and discipline to complete that task as 100 westerns was a little too much. Anyhow, today I'm back watching some more westerns. I pulled out my Blu-rays of "Once Upon a Time in the West" and "Flaming Star". I'm going to try to watch at least one western each day until Friday then reevaluate what I watched to see if I want to replace some more titles off my original "100" listing.

Not telling you anything you didn't experience first hand - but 100 films breaks down to 2 per week which doesn't seem like a daunting number, but when they are all in the same genre / category the sameness definitely makes it more of a task.

Honestly, I might be able to do it for SF films; but I spend so much time with sports programming and video gaming that I am woefully behind on my 'normal' viewings without the added time requirements of (mostly revisiting) 100 SF films.

But, it is something to think about.

- Walter.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Not telling you anything you didn't experience first hand - but 100 films breaks down to 2 per week which doesn't seem like a daunting number, but when they are all in the same genre / category the sameness definitely makes it more of a task.

Honestly, I might be able to do it for SF films; but I spend so much time with sports programming and video gaming that I am woefully behind on my 'normal' viewings without the added time requirements of (mostly revisiting) 100 SF films.

But, it is something to think about.

- Walter.

What I didn't account for when I decided to do this western challenge is my severe moodiness. Two westerns a week is nothing, but am I in the mood to watch a particular western or two? Furthermore, I love movies across different genres so that limits my time availability.

I'm also a sports nut in which I have the DirecTV's Extra Innings, Sunday Ticket and NBA Pass so I'm constantly watching live sports which doesn't even account for college sports.

My TV viewings has taken a hit, as I got 6-7 episodes piled up on my DVR for each of the 3-4 network TV shows I do watch besides "The Rookie" which I've watched each week so I was never behind on that particular show. TBH, I haven't missed those TV shows too much, except for "Bluebloods".

 

[Mike Frezon]

Mike,

I'll be interested in what you think about both films. IMO, "Minari" was a film I could better connect with than "Nomadland". Perhaps because of the children, but I just enjoyed that movie more so.

Robert: You made that post on June 3rd of this year. I can finally close this circle.

This was my brief reaction after seeing Minari back in October:

And we also watched Minari a week or so ago. Minari started strong. Characters were interesting. Story was interesting. But then the ending happened. Too bad. It was shaping up to be an excellent film. But the creative team couldn't close the deal. The film was so deliberate in the creation of its universe and characters that, at times, it seemed like it was moving too slowly (until I realized we were 1:15 in and it seemed like it had only been minutes) but then it was as if they realized they were running out of film and had to wrap things up in a few short minutes.

And then we FINALLY got around to watching Nomadland last night. As we were watching it and it was playing out...we were both surprised by how much it was holding our attention (due to its minimalism). We would wonder what would happen next in the life of the main character. Peg used the word "melancholy" several times during the film. Although the score was obviously designed to evoke melancholy, I didn't feel that way about the story at all. I found her to be quite a strong character who was pursuing her dream/mission.

Peg said she wished Fern wanted more for herself because Peg wanted more for her. I felt that she was doing what she wanted to do and that's why I didn't get sad about it (although I wished they used a less sad score). Peg felt Fern didn't seem very happy in her existence, but I felt she was given other options/offers of ways to live and rejected them because she was happy doing what she was doing.

We were both quite taken by several of the directorial choices. Some of them left us wondering, but we certainly weren't bored and both liked it.

Minari and Nomadland are such different films...but both with great merit. I don't know how else to compare them but to say that if we could only pick between the two of them to watch--we would both likely lean towards Minari.

Sorry it took so long to report back.

 

[Robert Crawford]

The latest "Ask Eddie" segment from last night that I watched and listened to "live". Anne made a mistake with the January date as it was last night on December 30th.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Furthermore, a few foreign films deserve mention. Visconti's Ossessione is much darker that The Postman always Rings Twice. It wasn't constrained by the Code.

"Ossessione" is a much greater film in every way than MGM's "Postman", in fact, it might even be one of the greatest Italian films ever made, totally original, exceeding dark, sexy as all hell, at certain points you're wondering why the film doesn't combust considering what's happeneing on the screen, though elegantly photographed, hey, it's Visconti, and extraordinarily acted, though nearly impossible to see because of the James M. Cain estate--I saw an excellent 35mm print somewhere 25 years ago MOMA? Columbia University? NYU?--but all that being said, John Garfield and Lana Turner are hard to beat.

Eddie Muller in the latest "Ask Eddie" segment gives a shout out to "Ossessione" as being a "great" film.

 

[Robert Crawford]

TCM's January Schedule:

TCM Monthly Schedule - View the Full TCM TV Schedule

Find TCM's full month schedule and learn what classic movies will be airing on Turner Classic Movies. A printable schedule organized for the current month's programming is also available here.

www.tcm.com

Looks like Kay Francis is being featured this month.

Star of the Month: Kay Francis

Mondays in January / 42 MoviesKay Francis, TCM Star of the Month for January, was a smart, glamorous leading lady who exerted tremendous influence over moviegoers during her heyday in the 1930s. Women copied her fashions, hairstyles, jewelry and makeup, while the male audience responded to her

www.tcm.com

 

[Robert Crawford]

The Criterion Channel's January Schedule:

The Criterion Channel’s January 2022 Lineup

Ring in the new year with the French New Wave, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and a look back at the 1992 Sundance Film Festival.

www.criterion.com

 

[Robert Crawford]

This weekend's "Noir Alley" movie is "Repeat Performance" (1947). This is the second showing of this fine movie on "Noir Alley". However, I think this is the first showing of the Film Foundation's restoration of the movie which Flicker Alley is releasing onto Blu-ray next month on February 11th. I still can't believe that Joan Leslie was only 21 years old when filming began on this movie. This was Richard Basehart's film debut.



Updated TCM's Noir Alley 2022 schedule:


01-01-22: Repeat Performance
01-08-22: Nightmare Alley
01-15-22: The Mob
01-22-22: Over-Exposed
01-29-22: Quai des Orfèvres
02-05-22: The Turning Point
02-12-22: Side Street
02-19-22: Cast a Dark Shadow
02-26-22: TBA