Is This Legit Release? Porgy And Bess 1959 (1 Viewer)

[RobertMG]

Porgy and Bess 1959 from Spain Is this a legit release? Notice it is not LTBX - Remember this film always being shown on WPIX in NY! Does anyone know why the film has been pulled in the USA?

 

[dana martin]

I would say most defiantly, a pirate, as the estate has held up any release in the states

 

[RobertMG]

I would say most defiantly, a pirate, as the estate has held up any release in the states

How long has this been out of circulation WPIX showed it up until the 1980's I think?

 

[Robert Crawford]

This is a bootleg! No links allowed.

 

[RobertMG]

This is a bootleg! No links allowed.

understand - i did not link it deleted link that is just the cover, just saw the older thread on this film by all means if u want you can deep six this thread!

 

[RobertMG]

http://gershwin.com/publications/porgy-and-bess-film-1959/ this is on GERSHWIN great page you can listen to the songs too http://gershwin.com/music-search/?song=404

 

[Jim*Tod]

Does anyone have any new information about the possible release of the film? In May of 2019 on the IN 70MM site it was said that "Porgy and Bess" 65mm and sound elements had been examined for possible preservation and reprinting. Within the last five years there were some vague reports that both the Gershwin and the Goldwyn estates had possibly agreed for the film to be reissued. I can think of plenty of reasons why this might never happen, but I'd still like to see a good version on blu ray.

 

[TallPaulInKy]

In May of 2019 on the IN 70MM site it was said that "Porgy and Bess" 65mm and sound elements had been examined for possible preservation and reprinting. Within the last five years there were some vague reports that both the Gershwin and the Goldwyn estates had possibly agreed for the film to be reissued.

In the racial climate we have today, I find it hard to believe the Gershwin estate will permit the film to be released on home video. Though planned by George as a "folk opera" to be performed by pop singers, over the last 40 years or so it has become respected as real opera, sung by trained singers, not movie stars. There is a Blu-Ray on the market by the San Francisco Opera Company. The film could very well be public domain in Spain (hence the DVD that started this thread). A good clue to that also is the Hallmark label in the Netherlands, which specializes in low quality disk dubs of Public Domain material on CD, issued the soundtrack album in 2010. The last legit CBS release was in 1989 in Germany.
I'd like to see the film too, as I was too young when it fist came out.

 

[Jim*Tod]

I saw the film in 1971 in 35mm mono at the Riverview theater in Norfolk, Va. I think it was withdrawn soon after that. People who have seen it more recently in some of the rare screenings say it is very static. I have seen it onstage several times and own three full versions of the score. I do think in that form it is a masterpiece. Apparently the Gershwin estate balked at the film turning it more into a musical comedy with dialog instead of recitative. Most of the cast (Pearl Bailey and Sammy Davis Jr. being the primary exceptions) were dubbed by trained singers. Even in 1959 there were protests about its depiction of African Americans. I cannot imagine it going over well today. It is also important to realize that Poitier did not want to be in the film, but Goldwyn essentially told him if he did not sign on he would see his film career was destroyed. My primary memory of seeing the film is how good Davis was---Sportin' Life was a role he was born to play. Two years ago there was talk of a new film version with a revised book. We shall see if that comes to pass.

 

[Matt Hough]

The soundtrack album for this film is usually my go-to disc when I want to listen to Porgy and Bess. I imported that German CD so I could have the soundtrack digitally but had been making do with the LP for many, many years.

 

[tsodcollector]

This movie is very rare maybe unlikely well never seen it again,or maybe there's talks about a DVD release but in responce of the PBS documentary American Masters Sammy Davis Jr.back in 2020 maybe there's talks about a DVD release.but that's up in the air but for now listening to the soundtrack on CD or Downloads.

 

[TallPaulInKy]

This movie is very rare maybe unlikely well never seen it again,...in response of the PBS documentary American Masters Sammy Davis Jr.

43 minutes into the PBS special they have a brief excerpt of a promotional film, where Davis said how proud he was to be in the film. The documentary tells how he campaigned for the part of Sportin' Life in the film. They did use one wide screen song excerpt and that was probably all they restored. Just the reel necessary for that clip. The film has very little commercial value today. In the50s Porgy and Bess was considered jazz.. probably the way Gershwin envisioned it. But most modern recordings of the Opera, are performed like serious opera. Having Hollywood stars like Sidney Poitier in a musical is just not what we think of today.
If you have the PBS Passport channel on your Roku or smart device.. you can watch the special. It's well worth your time.

 

[bujaki]

Gershwin always envisioned Porgy and Bess as an opera. Todd Duncan and Anne Brown (the leads) were classically trained singers. Check Wikipedia for more information on the opera's history, including the first European production in Copenhagen (1943) at the Royal Danish Theatre. The Nazis closed it down.
The role of Sportin' Life was envisioned as lighter, and was played by a vaudevillian.
But the work was always an opera in the creators' eyes.

 

[RobertMG]

This movie is very rare maybe unlikely well never seen it again,or maybe there's talks about a DVD release but in responce of the PBS documentary American Masters Sammy Davis Jr.back in 2020 maybe there's talks about a DVD release.but that's up in the air but for now listening to the soundtrack on CD or Downloads.

Let the film air once on TCM!