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Robert Harris on The Bits - 10/3/02 column - OFFICIAL THREAD (1 Viewer)

Robert Harris

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This group is coming up with a great master list.

Re: Hard Day's Night - A nice DVD set...

a great transfer of reels two through 9. One and ten are unfortunately problematic at the moment.

RAH
 

Kent K H

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Hard to believe no one's brought it up, but whenever someone asks me my favorite musical, I have but one answer:
The Blues Brothers
And it is a true musical because it has many spontaneous burts of song, not just on stage. (i.e.: Ray's Music Exchange, The Diner, etc.) not to mention numbers like The Old Landmark. The sequel, though inferior, also features some wonderful musical sequences, my favorite being Ghost Riders in the Sky.
I do think the Disney Films and South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut should be included. Also: The musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Once More with Feeling, while not a theatrical musical does everything it can to employ the same feelings and is worthy of a mention and is out on DVD to boot, although rare. Finally, I find it surprising Tommy hasn't been included. 'Cause that deaf dumb blind kid sure plays a mean pinball...
 

BarryR

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I really wish WB would dust off PENNIES FROM HEAVEN (1981), originally from MGM, and make a nice DVD of it--it really deserves a renewed look.
 

Scott Leopold

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Kent K H, I watched the Blues Brothers last night, and was planning on recommending it being added to the list. I agree that it definitely qualifies as a musical, and is one of my personal all-time favorites. Another one I'd consider a musical, although some may argue, is O Brother Where Art Thou. The songs helped move the script along, conveyed atmosphere and emotion, and were used in the traditional musical sense in at least one scene (the sirens). Another great addition to the genre in recent years, IMO.
 

matt_hargett

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Hi,

Interesting article yet again, thanks!

Perhaps a bit off-topic: what's the latest news on the possible restoration of it's a "mad, mad, mad, mad, mad, mad world?"
 

Matthew Belson

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Another great article, Mr. Harris. I would like to know if you have any comments on the "film" restoration of "Singin' in the Rain." The 50th anniversary edition, in Dolby Digital 5.1 will be playing at the Castro Theater in San Francisco soon and I was curious if/how the picture was restored for this version. The restoration process done for the DVD does not sound like it could be duplicated for film, unless every frame from each of the three strips of negative was scanned to computer at sufficiently high resolution, combined and output to film, sort of like George Lucas did (for different reasons) for much of Phantom Menace (emphasis on SORT OF).

Thanks for all the great info, especially the SMPTE charts.
My only suggestion for a future article: movie sound - do theaters use Large front speakers (home theater terminology) plus a subwoofer or 2 for the LFE signal? Can any theaters do 8.1 (7.1 EX) when using 8-channel SDDS?
I'm sure others have many more questions.

Matthew Belson
 

Robert Harris

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I have not had the opportunity to view the new video version of SitR transferred to film. The important thing to remember here is that this is a video-derived version of the film.

It may look quite beautiful projected.

But -- and this is not to take away from the final product -- a true test of the "restoration" would be to view it side by side with a full quality 35mm print.

Re: speakers in theatres. There are many theatres in which a great part of the screen surface is covered by sound -- either tremendous Voice of the Theater or other large units.

It is quite a different situation than your home theatre.

I would suggest that you call an older, established theatre in off hours and request a back of screen tour. Most managers will be more than happy to help you. The Castro would be a superb candidate.

RAH
 

Peter Rohlfs

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I didn't mention animated musicals since Mr. Harris didn't include any. One could say they are catergorized as animations.

BTW Labrynth (the Heson film) might qualify as a musical.

Peter
 

Aaron Cohen

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You forget "Newsies", Rob. It's available on a great dvd (if you like the film) put out by Disney and actually offers anamorphic widescreen which I found very surprising as Disney has dropped the ball on many releases....

I loved your article though and as this was the first one by you I have read I look forward to reading them on a regular basis in the future.
 

Brian E

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I didn't mention animated musicals since Mr. Harris didn't include any. One could say they are catergorized as animations.
See, to me animation is just the method the film/story is presented. There are musical, horror, drama, action, sci-fi and just about any other genre you can think of that have animated films. To classify all of these as just animation doesn't work, at least not for me.
 

Robert Harris

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Alright, folks...

Let's add those Disney titles.

Someone please come up with a list.

RAH
 

Gordon McMurphy

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I can't believe that no one has mention Baz Luhrman's, Moulin Rouge! It's perhaps the only 'true' musical of the last... 20 years? I liked it. Good camp fun, and lots of exuberant song and dance numbers.
I've got Neil Young's 1978 concert film, Rust Never Sleeps spinning right now. Sounds great in 5.1, there's DTS too! 'Like A Hurricane' sounds insanely great as ever.
But that's by the by. I'm not a big fan of musicals. My favourite is the 1954 CinemaScope version of A Star Is Born with Jimmy Mason and Judy Garland. Great ending.
Brian De Palma's 1974 cult oddity, Phantom Of The Paradise is a pet favourite of mine (as are most De Palma shows) and I have a far bigger blast watching it than the turgid
Rocky Horror Picture Show-off. Leave it to De Palma to make a glam rock movie version of The Phantom Of The Opera that has a sub-plot about a glam rock version of Faust! :D
In resonse to the debate on films that extensively use pop/rock songs on its soundtrack, I have to say that nothing beats the best film that George Lucas' ever made - his 1973 bittersweet nostaglia masterpiece, American Graffiti. :star::star::star::star::star:
Scorsese uses songs in his movies better than anyone, but Wes Anderson has a scary knack of choosing perfect songs for his scenes in his movies. Nico's beautiful, floating renditions of Jackson Browne's 'These Days' and 'The Fairest Of The Seasons' are exemplary examples of how to combine movie images with popular music.
Great stuff, folks! :) :emoji_thumbsup:
Gordy
 

James_Garner

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I Think The key words here are American movie musical . Translation: Hollywood-Based Point-of-orgin. By that definition then,"Jesus Christ Superstar" & "Sgt. Pepper's Band" would most definitely be included because they were financially backed by Universal (& Pepper was filmed at the old Culiver City MGM studios to boot); But "Tommy" would not because the financing, etc. came from European sources. Columbia only distributed the film in America. I dont think Columbia financed the film at all, but i could be wrong
 

Gordon McMurphy

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In reply to Glenn Heberle:
What a mook I am! :b Need glasses! :D
I can't talk about Evita, as I detest Madonna with a vengeance. :thumbsdown: James Bond songs now, is it? [Vomits]:angry:
You'll keep me right, Mr Heberle! ;)
Cheers,
Gordy
 

GlennH

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Well, I certainly am not the world's biggest Madonna fan, but I thought she did a pretty decent job in Evita. She's not a great actress but that movie was more like a long music video, which is more her element. And she did seem to express the emotions well, IMO.

In any case, love it or hate it, Evita certainly was a musical.
 

Greg_M

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After the success of "The Sound of Music" Hollywood turned out dozens of expensive musical films some good "Oliver!", "Funny Girl" some disappointing "Lost Horizon". These films were for the most part filmed in 70MM, with 6 track stereo soundtracks and millions of dollars were spent on the cinematography, production design, costumes and sound, yet only a handful are available on DVD in the widescreen format. (It is a crime that "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" is presented in Pan and Scan when it is the [only]? children/family film to be filmed in the 70MM format) Musicals aren't very heavy and hold up well to repeat viewings much like MTV - so why are so few of these films for sale?
 

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