OKLAHOMA! Todd-ao version restored! (1 Viewer)

[JPCinema]

TCM Film Festival in April will be showing a restored Todd-Ao version of OKLAHOMA in 4K and shown in the proper 30 frames per second!!! Great news!!! Can a Blu Ray release be far behind???

Oklahoma! (1955)4K restoration presented in collaboration with Twentieth Century FoxFew actresses get to make their big-screen debuts in a film as eagerly awaited as Oklahoma!, but that's just what happened to Shirley Jones when Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein chose her over Joanne Woodward to


star in the film version of their first big hit. The songwriters held up making the film until they could get just the right picture. With the arrival of Todd-AO, Mike Todd's patented wide-screen process, they finally knew they could reveal the majesty of the frontier in all its glory, including corn as high as an elephant's eye (16 feet tall, to be exact). But despite the production's mammoth size, the focus remained simple, detailing the romance of farm girl Jones and cowboy Gordon MacRae. Agnes de Mille re-created much of her stage choreography, which had introduced modern dance to the stage musical, while director Fred Zinnemann brought a surprisingly realistic approach to the production.
This unique 4k presentation, painstakingly restored from 65mm Todd-AO elements by Twentieth Century Fox and Fotokem, will be screened at 30 frames per second—the same frame rate as when the film was originally released in 1955. The original 6-track soundtrack has been also restored and re-mastered at Twentieth Century Fox, in collaboration with End Point Audio and Chase Audio by Deluxe.

 

[Rob W]

Shirley Jones was scheduled to introduce one of her films at two previous TCM Fests and cancelled both times at the last minute. Wonder if she'll go for the trifecta this year...

 

[FoxyMulder]

When they talk about restoring the 6 track original soundtrack i wonder if the high frequencies will be intact or if just like on The Sound Of Music the highs are gone, i think on magnetic soundtracks the highs, with time, are the first thing to go.

I also wonder if the reason we lost the highs on TSOM was to get rid of audible hiss, i hope a future re-release can improve on things, but back to Oklahoma, what are the chances of a 30fps blu ray release of Oklahoma or will they just go for the usual 24fps.

 

[rsmithjr]

The South Pacific Blu-ray, also from 70mm elements and 6 track magnetic, is quite excellent. That would be the benchmark I would use.

South Pacific is my demo Blu-ray of choice for my system.

 

[john a hunter]

The South Pacific Blu-ray, also from 70mm elements and 6 track magnetic, is quite excellent. That would be the benchmark I would use.

South Pacific is my demo Blu-ray of choice for my system.

Great choice.

 

[Ethan Riley]

The South Pacific Blu-ray, also from 70mm elements and 6 track magnetic, is quite excellent. That would be the benchmark I would use.

South Pacific is my demo Blu-ray of choice for my system.

Yup; I agree. Hopefully Oklahoma will be just as good. Wonder about the other version, though? Did they restore that too?

 

[AnthonyClarke]

I'm sure (without having heard anything) that we'll get a Blu ray offering both this restored Todd-AO version and the Cinemascope. I do prefer the Todd-AO version and it does mean I'll be able to finally retire my old non-anamorphic DVD of it, which is still so much better a version than the murky muddy version offered up on the final 2-disc DVD incarnation.
And yes, South Pacific is a blissfully beautiful Blu ray, and in fact the last DVD version was a showcase in how good a DVD could be.
So I'm hanging out for Oklahoma! and hoping that we get a Carousel of similar quality. For me, R & H's top offerings were always Oklahoma!, South Pacific and Carousel, though I do have a soft-spot for State Fair as well. And come to think of it, The Sound of Music does have its moments .....

 

[Steve Tannehill]

I wish Carousel would be the NBC live musical for Christmas. The stage version is oh so different than the film.

Spoiler

In the film, Billy Bigelow falls on his knife. In the stage version, he commits suicide (which caused the audience to gasp when I saw it on Broadway in 1994).

As for Oklahoma, I am looking forward to seeing the Todd-AO version again...I've been a fan since the laserdisc.

 

[Tim Glover]

I love this musical!

 

[Matt Hough]

I, too, prefer the Todd-AO to the CInemascope version, and I played that nonanamorphic DVD the other day when I was so snowed in and didn't have anything to review.

It makes my mouth water to think this gorgeous film is some day going to get the remastered Blu-ray treatment for both picture and sound. Can't wait to see and hear it!

 

[DP 70]

I imagine the 4K DCP will be 2.20.1 in a DCI 2.39.1 box and also the sound will only be in the 5.1 format also 30fps HFR.It would be good to see this at Bradford in 4K sometime in the future.

 

[Rick Thompson]

I wish Carousel would be the NBC live musical for Christmas. The stage version is oh so different than the film.

Spoiler

In the film, Billy Bigelow falls on his knife. In the stage version, he commits suicide (which caused the audience to gasp when I saw it on Broadway in 1994).

As for Oklahoma, I am looking forward to seeing the Todd-AO version again...I've been a fan since the laserdisc.

Not going to happen. They're going with Peter Pan, which has been done to death already (Mary Martins and then Cathy Rigby -- not to mention the Disney version and its sequels and Spielberg's Hook).

This is in line with NBC's policy of killing off shows (in this case, live musicals) that win timeslots and demos. And don't think I just refer to dropping Leno. Don't forget that NBC canceled JAG after one season. It was then picked by CBS, ran nine more years and spawned NCIS.

 

[MatthewA]

I'm sure the Blu-ray will be a huge leap forward in terms of picture quality. How can it not be considering the remastered 2006 DVD had so many problems, some people actually like the old non-anamorphic DVD better?

This is in line with NBC's policy of killing off shows (in this case, live musicals) that win timeslots and demos. And don't think I just refer to dropping Leno. Don't forget that NBC canceled JAG after one season. It was then picked by CBS, ran nine more years and spawned NCIS.

That policy has affected everything from Punky Brewster (demos were too young) to Harry's Law (demos were too old). All hail the mighty 18-34 age demographic, as if we all like the same things!

 

[Garysb]

Not going to happen. They're going with Peter Pan, which has been done to death already (Mary Martins and then Cathy Rigby -- not to mention the Disney version and its sequels and Spielberg's Hook).

This is in line with NBC's policy of killing off shows (in this case, live musicals) that win timeslots and demos. And don't think I just refer to dropping Leno. Don't forget that NBC canceled JAG after one season. It was then picked by CBS, ran nine more years and spawned NCIS.

NBC's model for their live Broadway show is to choose something family friendly and extremely familiar. They are pretty much limited to Annie ( soon to be a remade movie), Oliver, Hello, Dolly, Mame, and Fiddler On The Roof. The Broadway Grease is probably not family friendly enough. A show such as "She Loves Me" which is family friendly and tuneful , plus it is set at Christmas time, would never be chosen because it is not well known though the story is.

 

[David_B_K]

When they talk about restoring the 6 track original soundtrack i wonder if the high frequencies will be intact or if just like on The Sound Of Music the highs are gone, i think on magnetic soundtracks the highs, with time, are the first thing to go.

I also wonder if the reason we lost the highs on TSOM was to get rid of audible hiss, i hope a future re-release can improve on things, but back to Oklahoma, what are the chances of a 30fps blu ray release of Oklahoma or will they just go for the usual 24fps.

I am inclined to think the highs were killed in an attempt to get rid of the dreaded hiss. They do it to older audio recordings all the time. Removing highs to get rid of hiss is the audio equivalent to using DNR to remove visual grain from films.

 

[MatthewA]

I am inclined to think the highs were killed in an attempt to get rid of the dreaded hiss. They do it to older audio recordings all the time. Removing highs to get rid of hiss is the audio equivalent to using DNR to remove visual grain from films.

Nothing was as bad as the audio on the DVD of Hello, Dolly! Even the laserdiscs sounded better than that.

 

[cwilli]

TCM Film Festival in April will be showing a restored Todd-Ao version of OKLAHOMA in 4K and shown in the proper 30 frames per second!!! Great news!!! Can a Blu Ray release be far behind???

Oklahoma! (1955)
4K restoration presented in collaboration with Twentieth Century Fox
[font="Arial;font-size:10pt"]Few actresses get to make their big-screen debuts in a film as eagerly awaited as [/font]Oklahoma![font="Arial;font-size:10pt"], but that's just what happened to Shirley Jones when Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein chose her over Joanne Woodward to [/font]


[font="Arial;font-size:10pt"]star in the film version of their first big hit. The songwriters held up making the film until they could get just the right picture. With the arrival of Todd-AO, Mike Todd's patented wide-screen process, they finally knew they could reveal the majesty of the frontier in all its glory, including corn as high as an elephant's eye (16 feet tall, to be exact). But despite the production's mammoth size, the focus remained simple, detailing the romance of farm girl Jones and cowboy Gordon MacRae. Agnes de Mille re-created much of her stage choreography, which had introduced modern dance to the stage musical, while director Fred Zinnemann brought a surprisingly realistic approach to the production. [/font]
[font="Arial;font-size:10pt"]This unique 4k presentation, painstakingly restored from 65mm Todd-AO elements by Twentieth Century Fox and Fotokem, will be screened at 30 frames per second[/font][font="Arial;font-size:10pt"]—[/font][font="Arial;font-size:10pt"]the same frame rate as when the film was originally released in 1955. The original 6-track soundtrack has been also restored and re-mastered at Twentieth Century Fox, in collaboration with End Point Audio and Chase Audio by Deluxe. [/font]

Did not realize that Joanne Woodward was up for the lead in Oklahoma. Interesting. I wonder if she was a good singer.

 

[John Skoda]

She's not a soprano, but Joanne Woodward can sing. I've read a Ken Darby interview where he spoke about working with her on her songs for the nightclub sequence in THREE FACES OF EVE. He said she was doing so well that they ended up having to back up a little so she would sound appropriately amateurish.

 

[Rick Thompson]

NBC's model for their live Broadway show is to choose something family friendly and extremely familiar. They are pretty much limited to Annie ( soon to be a remade movie), Oliver, Hello, Dolly, Mame, and Fiddler On The Roof. The Broadway Grease is probably not family friendly enough. A show such as "She Loves Me" which is family friendly and tuneful , plus it is set at Christmas time, would never be chosen because it is not well known though the story is.

The "family friendly" model goes much further: The King and I, My Fair Lady, Brigadoon, Oklahoma!, Guys and Dolls, Kiss Me Kate, Funny Girl, Damn Yankees, Hello Dolly!, South Pacific — the list goes on. If you want a (somewhat bawdy) comedy, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. There's also The Music Man, so we wouldn't have to see that awful Matthew Broderick version ever again. Or they could erase memories of the equally awful Brandy remake of Cinderella by doing it the way Rodgers & Hammerstein wrote it (not the PC-ification now on Broadway).

There are lots of good, well-known and family-friendly choices.

But Peter Pan? B-o-o-o-r-r-r-i-i-i-n-n-n-g!

 

[bujaki]

Unless they used--and they won't--the Leonard Bernstein version that played B'way with Karloff and Jean Arthur, but the complete score as written, not as played during that original run. It's got great music and it's a shame that it's forgotten.