Once upon a time, there were two ... geniuses (1 Viewer)

[RichMurphy]

I know that David Strohmaier has pretty much finished working on all of the Cinerama films, but I wish Warner Bros. would send him raw scans of whatever they have for RAINTREE COUNTY, AROUND THE WORLD IN EIGHTY DAYS, and any other problematic large format productions they own, and let him and Tom March work their magic once again in their home offices so that Blu-Ray releases could be feasible. I wish MGM would do the same for THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD.

Watching the documentary that came with GRIMM, I thought of the stereotype that older people can't handle modern technology. Strohmaier and March are of my generation, and they could show those young whippersnappers a thing or three.

 

[Ethan Riley]

Around the World can end up in no better hands, after viewing Grimm. Just astonishing. I hope they have the means and the wherewithal to do this.

 

[RolandL]

The DVD of AROUND THE WORLD IN EIGHTY DAYS is pretty much the complete roadshow version. I would vote for RAINTREE COUNTY as that has not been released on DVD, the best version was shown on TCM but, it's cropped (not the full 2.76 AR), and about 160 minutes (roadshow was 188 minutes).

 

[Stephen_J_H]

We know the elements on Around the World are, shall we say, problematic. RAH can shed some more light here, but I would love nothing more than for more large format titles from the 50s and 60s to get the best possible treatment in HD or 4K.

 

[Robert Harris]

We know the elements on Around the World are, shall we say, problematic. RAH can shed some more light here, but I would love nothing more than for more large format titles from the 50s and 60s to get the best possible treatment in HD or 4K.

Well researched

 

[Andrew Budgell]

I know that David Strohmaier has pretty much finished working on all of the Cinerama films, but I wish Warner Bros. would send him raw scans of whatever they have for RAINTREE COUNTY, AROUND THE WORLD IN EIGHTY DAYS, and any other problematic large format productions they own, and let him and Tom March work their magic once again in their home offices so that Blu-Ray releases could be feasible.

That is my most fervent hope!

I've got Grimm waiting for me to kick off my Easter holiday. I can't wait to see the miracle they performed for myself!

 

[SFMike]

I wish MGM would do the same for THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD.

I second that as even though I don't think this is overall a great movie, it is an extremely well thought out visual experience on an artistic level that is totally ruined by the lousy old transfer that is now available. This film needs a pristine image to give it real relevance and for the sake of future film lovers. I'm not so concerned about Raintree County as I feel it's a very mediocre film and poor adaption of a great novel that would best be made into a HBO series that could actually present the story as written. The 2+ hour version is not enough to contain this novel. It of course needs to be restored to the best version that is possible.

 

[RichMurphy]

I guess I should add CAN CAN to my wish list, even more unlikely given its current ownership. I was distressed to see the same weird color fluctuations on the recent TCM broadcast that exist on the old DVD. Too bad TCM didn't include the DVD's disclaimer about how this was sourced from the best available elements.

 

[Robert Harris]

I guess I should add CAN CAN to my wish list, even more unlikely given its current ownership. I was distressed to see the same weird color fluctuations on the recent TCM broadcast that exist on the old DVD. Too bad TCM didn't include the DVD's disclaimer about how this was sourced from the best available elements.

Same problems as Alamo.

 

[RobertMG]

I second that as even though I don't think this is overall a great movie, it is an extremely well thought out visual experience on an artistic level that is totally ruined by the lousy old transfer that is now available. This film needs a pristine image to give it real relevance and for the sake of future film lovers. I'm not so concerned about Raintree County as I feel it's a very mediocre film and poor adaption of a great novel that would best be made into a HBO series that could actually present the story as written. The 2+ hour version is not enough to contain this novel. It of course needs to be restored to the best version that is possible.

Never understood why Mr. Stevens even made this film a few short years after King of Kings 1961 - that film was not critically acclaimed although it did financially better and is now considered one of the best in the epic cycle

 

[Bill Huelbig]

Never understood why Mr. Stevens even made this film a few short years after King of Kings 1961 - that film was not critically acclaimed although it did financially better and is now considered one of the best in the epic cycle

George Stevens was attached to the Greatest Story project since 1958. I guess he didn't want to give up on it. Both movies are very good, but Stevens really worked hard to make his film as beautiful as it could possibly be.

 

[RobertMG]

George Stevens was attached to the Greatest Story project since 1958. I guess he didn't want to give up on it. Both movies are very good, but Stevens really worked hard to make his film as beautiful as it could possibly be.

Did not know that about the film being worked on so long. Greatest Story has many stunning scenes in the camera work dept.

 

[Stephen_J_H]

Did not know that about the film being worked on so long. Greatest Story has many stunning scenes in the camera work dept.

Yes, the history is long. Stevens' original plan was to film it in CinemaScope, then CinemaScope 55, Grandeur 70 [while the film was strill at Fox], and 3 days of fillming were completed with 3 panel Cinerama cameras, before Stevens gave up and switched to Ultra Panavision.

 

[RobertMG]

Yes, the history is long. Stevens' original plan was to film it in CinemaScope, then CinemaScope 55, Grandeur 70 [while the film was strill at Fox], and 3 days of fillming were completed with 3 panel Cinerama cameras, before Stevens gave up and switched to Ultra Panavision.

Does any of the Cinerama footage exist? Whats frustrating about the film is it is either loved or not loved - sad that Stevens and even Capra ended their wonderful careers with long ponderous films Pocketful Of Miracles and The Greatest Story Ever Told - I love It's a Wonderful Life but George Bailey goes through 2.5 hours of torture it is a great film but I still feel there needed to be a coda like a newspaper headline Mr. Potter arrested for stealing the Baileys bank deposit.

 

[Bill Huelbig]

Did not know that about the film being worked on so long. Greatest Story has many stunning scenes in the camera work dept.

The cinematographer responsible for those beautiful images, William C. Mellor, died of a heart attack during production. He won an Oscar for The Diary of Anne Frank, Stevens' most recent film. He was replaced by Loyal Griggs, who had won an Oscar for Stevens' film Shane.

Greatest Story was quite a troubled production, and ultimately not a financial success, but I'm one of those people who's always loved it. I wish it could get the Brothers Grimm treatment!

 

[richardburton84]

Does any of the Cinerama footage exist? Whats frustrating about the film is it is either loved or not loved - sad that Stevens and even Capra ended their wonderful careers with long ponderous films Pocketful Of Miracles and The Greatest Story Ever Told - I love It's a Wonderful Life but George Bailey goes through 2.5 hours of torture it is a great film but I still feel there needed to be a coda like a newspaper headline Mr. Potter arrested for stealing the Baileys bank deposit.

Agreed about the film being ponderous. While the film does have some good moments and some amazing cinematography, the sluggish pace of the film doesn’t really do it any favors. The butchering of Alfred Newman’s beautiful score and replacing parts of it with Handel and Verdi also doesn’t help my opinion of it. I wonder if any of the footage from the initial roadshow version (including John Wayne’s closeup) still exists, as well as the Cinerama test footage.

 

[RichMurphy]

I love It's a Wonderful Life but George Bailey goes through 2.5 hours of torture it is a great film but I still feel there needed to be a coda like a newspaper headline Mr. Potter arrested for stealing the Baileys bank deposit.

One of the reasons I love this film is that Mr. Potter DOESN'T get his comeuppance at the end; that would be too predictable. It's annoying, but Potter wins by his standards, and the Baileys win by their standards.

 

[Bill Huelbig]

Agreed about the film being ponderous. While the film does have some good moments and some amazing cinematography, the sluggish pace of the film doesn’t really do it any favors. The butchering of Alfred Newman’s beautiful score and replacing parts of it with Handel and Verdi also doesn’t help my opinion of it. I wonder if any of the footage from the initial roadshow version (including John Wayne’s closeup) still exists, as well as the Cinerama test footage.

When I first saw Greatest Story as a kid, I thought the Calvary music was one of the most beautiful things I'd ever heard, but I thought Alfred Newman wrote it. I had no idea it was from Verdi's Requiem. I was under that mistaken impression for years.

 

[RolandL]

Greatest Story is with MGM. Can-Can is with 20th Century Fox . They are not with WB so David Strohmaier would not be involved with restoring them.

 

[RichMurphy]

Greatest Story is with MGM. Can-Can is with 20th Century Fox . They are not with WB so David Strohmaier would not be involved with restoring them.

Huh? If Strohmaier is now an employee of Warner Bros., that's news to me.

By the way, my wish list was based not on ownership, but solely on the fact that Strohmaier and his colleagues have achieved cost-effective miracles with problematic large format productions using off-the-shelf software. With I believe two exceptions, their projects were NOT Warner Bros. properties.

I assume their projects could be ported onto DCPs and maybe even printed back onto "fillum".