My 2 cents worth on “Brothers Grimm” (1 Viewer)

[Interdimensional]

Mr. Strohmeier: If I may ask, what is the holdup, besides money, in restoring "Brothers Grimm." Thanks!

The fact that it's with WB I would think.

If it belonged to Cinerama 100%, I expect they would have worked with David Strohmaier and done everything conceivable to get it done to the highest possible standard on an appropriate budget, and I would guess it'd probably outsell every other Cinerama title they have released through Flicker Alley to date.

But let's just have reality, shall we? Cheerleading is fun, sure, but keep it real. Brothers Grimm was the 15th highest grossing film of 1962, if you believe Wikipedia. It grossed approximately 8.9 million dollars on a budget of 6.25 - that makes it a flop, I'm afraid, and a rather large one.

That is still a substantial gross for the time. The fact they lost money on it decades ago is only a function of it being such a lavish and elaborate production on a major budget. A film that sold that many tickets, that was seen by that many people, is a film that will still be of interest today.

 

[ahollis]

Was it the process that was the interest or the film that was of interest. I would suppose it was the process. In the US it was released before HTWWW, so it was the first Cinerama film to tell a story and had well known actors. That to me was what sold tickets. If it was as accepted as HTWWW was, then the gross for Grimm should be much higher

 

[Mike Frezon]

I have begun to delete posts that are about the thread itself...rather than on the topic of the thread.

I will continue to do so. So please save us both the effort and stay on topic.

 

[William Moore]

The fact that it's with WB I would think.

If it belonged to Cinerama 100%, I expect they would have worked with David Strohmaier and done everything conceivable to get it done to the highest possible standard on an appropriate budget, and I would guess it'd probably outsell every other Cinerama title they have released through Flicker Alley to date.



That is still a substantial gross for the time. The fact they lost money on it decades ago is only a function of it being such a lavish and elaborate production on a major budget. A film that sold that many tickets, that was seen by that many people, is a film that will still be of interest today.

Ed: I agree completely with your comments and I feel that "How The West Was Won" was more popular, first because it was a western and secondly, had way more stars to attract viewers and, let's face it, back in the day "starpower" sold tickets, Cinerama or not. I know I have been accused of "beating a dead horse" in this thread, but as someone who was associated with Cinerama when "Brothers Grimm" was released and who continued his love for and interest in this medium for over 50 years, I am dreaming of the day when I will hold in my hand and play in my home theatre the restored version of this legendary Cinerama movie.

 

[OliverK]

The fact that it's with WB I would think.
If it belonged to Cinerama 100%, I expect they would have worked with David Strohmaier and done everything conceivable to get it done to the highest possible standard on an appropriate budget, and I would guess it'd probably outsell every other Cinerama title they have released through Flicker Alley to date.

There is no reason to believe that Warner would not work on Grimm if it wasn't such a costly endeavour. So if you take out the question of money there is no holdup.

That is still a substantial gross for the time. The fact they lost money on it decades ago is only a function of it being such a lavish and elaborate production on a major budget. A film that sold that many tickets, that was seen by that many people, is a film that will still be of interest today.

Yes it was a successful movie at the time but as has been said a big part of that was certainly the Cinerama process.
And even if it was not the Cinerama process that increased the box office revenue we can safely say that the Brothers Grimm are not exactly timeless material that is of great interest for a modern audience nor can that be said for the "special effects" scenes of the movie.

And I am saying that as somebody who never saw the movie except for a few snipplets and I would LOVE to finally be able to see it in a proper fashion on Blu-ray or even UHD - the resolution is certainly there.

 

[cinemiracle]

Was it the process that was the interest or the film that was of interest. I would suppose it was the process. In the US it was released before HTWWW, so it was the first Cinerama film to tell a story and had well known actors. That to me was what sold tickets. If it was as accepted as HTWWW was, then the gross for Grimm should be much higher

Most of the Cinerama documentaries contained segments that told a story and had well-know actors in the film. SOUTH-SEAS ADVENTURE, for example had several actors in the Australian outback sequence including one actor from Disney's PRINCE AND THE PAUPER. Could the documentaries also be classed as only partial documentaries? SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD also had actors playing some parts.

 

[OliverK]

Ed: I agree completely with your comments and I feel that "How The West Was Won" was more popular, first because it was a western and secondly, had way more stars to attract viewers and, let's face it, back in the day "starpower" sold tickets, Cinerama or not. I know I have been accused of "beating a dead horse" in this thread, but as someone who was associated with Cinerama when "Brothers Grimm" was released and who continued his love for and interest in this medium for over 50 years, I am dreaming of the day when I will hold in my hand and play in my home theatre the restored version of this legendary Cinerama movie.

Nothing wrong with dreaming about seeing one of your favorite movies again.

Too bad that it may also be one of the hardest to restore based on condition of the elements, the nature of the process and the sheer volume of film stock involved.

And yes, if one was willing to get together something watchable without a 7 digit budget it would help if cinerama inc. held all of the rights to Grimm.

 

[ahollis]

Most of the Cinerama documentaries contained segments that told a story and had well-know actors in the film. SOUTH-SEAS ADVENTURE, for example had several actors in the Australian outback sequence including one actor from Disney's PRINCE AND THE PAUPER. Could the documentaries also be classed as only partial documentaries? SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD also had actors playing some parts.

I have all the Cinerama travelogues and none have stars the the caliber and popularity of the ones in WWOBG. Except for a Narrator or two, none were advertised either.

 

[Tommy R]

At the risk of contributing to the longevity of this thread when it seems to be an open and shut case if "too expensive", what about crowd-funding? Since it seems to be in an unfortunately unique set of circumstances, I for one am interested enough in the preservation of this film to put in 100 bucks. Are there not 10,000 other people out there who would do the same?

 

[William Moore]

At the risk of contributing to the longevity of this thread when it seems to be an open and shut case if "too expensive", what about crowd-funding? Since it seems to be in an unfortunately unique set of circumstances, I for one am interested enough in the preservation of this film to put in 100 bucks. Are there not 10,000 other people out there who would do the same?

Some posts back, I made the suggestion of starting a "Go Fund Me" page to raise money, but no one seemed to be inspired to get involved. BTW, what is the difference between "crown funding" and "go fund me?" I have no experience with either.

 

[Tommy R]

I think"crowd funding" is just a generic term and GoFundMe is a specific outlet that falls under the crowd funding concept.

 

[Matt Hough]

I believe someone said Warner Brothers would never sanction such a thing (but they certainly followed through with the movie of Veronica Mars which was crowd sourced).

 

[Allansfirebird]

I believe someone said Warner Brothers would never sanction such a thing (but they certainly followed through with the movie of Veronica Mars which was crowd sourced).

I think the difference with the Veronica Mars movie was that it was run and created by the actual people behind the original series, rather than a group of well-meaning and enthusiastic amateurs.

 

[Tommy R]

If this is true, then what the F is Warner's problem?

1. They won't restore it because of the money. Perfectly understandable, but...
2. They allegedly won't accept strangers' money to restore it, and...
3. They won't release it in any form at all if it doesn't meet their "standards".

Seems quite unreasonable. I know a crowd-funding campaign would be far fetched as the goal would be seven figures, but if they really won't even accept it if the funds came through, then what the heck?

 

[haineshisway]

I think the difference with the Veronica Mars movie was that it was run and created by the actual people behind the original series, rather than a group of well-meaning and enthusiastic amateurs.

Correct.

 

[Thomas T]

I for one am interested enough in the preservation of this film to put in 100 bucks. Are there not 10,000 other people out there who would do the same?

Not only do I seriously doubt there are 10,000 people out there who would cough up $100, I seriously doubt Wonderful World Of The Brothers Grimm would sell 10,000 copies!

 

[ahollis]

Not only do I seriously doubt there are 10,000 people out there who would cough up $100, I seriously doubt Wonderful World Of The Brothers Grimm would sell 10,000 copies!

I was thinking the exact same thing.

 

[Allansfirebird]

If this is true, then what the F is Warner's problem?

1. They won't restore it because of the money. Perfectly understandable, but...
2. They allegedly won't accept strangers' money to restore it, and...
3. They won't release it in any form at all if it doesn't meet their "standards".

Seems quite unreasonable. I know a crowd-funding campaign would be far fetched as the goal would be seven figures, but if they really won't even accept it if the funds came through, then what the heck?

Their sandbox - their rules.

 

[Tommy R]

Their sandbox - their rules.

Yep.

 

[William Moore]

I have mentioned this before, but there is a group called "Friends of the Brothers Grimm" who started a petition two years or so ago and amassed a few hundred signatures in hopes of persuading WB to restore WWOTBG. I think that petition is still on Facebook, so check it out and sign up!!