Roger Ebert's 5th Overlooked film Festival--slate announced (1 Viewer)

[Jeff Kleist]

I honestly don't know anything about how the distribution process works, but I imagine that would land him in some legal hot water with Miramax.

Miramax owns a chunk of the film, which is letting them do their bastardized remake. Show the whole film, not a butchery.

 

[Jarod M]

Ok, forget about what I said about The Right Stuff not being overlooked. Turns out that it didn't make a whole lot of money at the box office...the fact that it made less money than High Road to China that year is a good indication that it wasn't as popular as I thought.

Any forum members besides Mark, and maybe Seth, coming from out of town for the festival? It's a little over a week away, so not much time left to make your plans.

 

[Mark Pfeiffer]

Looks like there must have been some trouble getting I Was Born, But.... It's no longer listed on the Ebertfest site. The Grey Automobile takes its place. Check the Overlooked Film Festival website for the updated film schedule.

Jarod, it doesn't look like anyone else here may be turning up. I thought perhaps the festival would draw more this year, especially with all the attention given to it on Rotten Tomatoes. Perhaps the lack of a big "star" guest has tempered some of that? I'm sure the theater will still mostly be full for most screenings, though.

 

[BrettB]

I thought perhaps the festival would draw more this year, especially with all the attention given to it on Rotten Tomatoes. Perhaps the lack of a big "star" guest has tempered some of that?

From Roger's Welcome on the website;

"With three silent programs this year, it is only appropriate that our traditional Sunday afternoon musical be "Singin' in the Rain," the greatest of all Hollywood musicals, which is about the transition from silents to talkies. How is it "overlooked?" Simply that in its 50th anniversary year, with a brilliant new 35mm restored print, it would be a crime to overlook it. We hope to have two of its great stars, Miss Cyd Charisse and Donald O'Connor (of Danville, Ill.), on stage for a tribute afterwards."

Looking forward to first hand accounts.

 

[Mark Pfeiffer]

The fun starts tonight. I know I'll see Jarod there at some point. Anyone else going?

 

[Jarod M]

Well, just thought I'd share a few comments on the festival. I enjoyed it a lot, and there wasn't much different from previous years in terms of atmosphere and organization. The worst thing about the festival was the rather weak food stands set up out front, and that wasn't all that bad. All the scheduled guests showed up to the films I attended. Ebert was his usual jovial self, and there were no signs of any lingering health problems. According to the local paper, all films sold out. I'm going to plan on buying my pass in December for next year's festival, because they might not last long considering the way attendance has been increasing each year. I'm not really sure that there are more people coming from out of town though; it might just be more locals attending. The one disappointment was The Right Stuff. The print that they used was a 35mm print in rather poor condition. We are used to watching films that look pristine or at least very good at the festival, so this came as quite a shock. Especially since it was in the same time slot that the previous two year's 70mm films were in, both of which looked stunning. Mark got the details on what went wrong, so hopefully he will chime in.

 

[Mark Pfeiffer]

I've been swamped trying to catch up since returning home from the festival. Expect a more comprehensive recounting at www.dvdmon.com, and potentially at The Film Journal, in the near future. And pictures too!

I had a lot of fun at the festival again this year, and it was nice to meet up with Jarod again. I felt a little bad with my positive words about Stone Reader and the benshi/theater performance with The Grey Automobile since he missed those.

To make a long story short on The Right Stuff print, rather than go for a 70mm blow-up--the last two years the fest has opened with 70mm films--they chose to go for better image quality and a 35mm print. They might as well have gone with the 70mm, as the 35mm was scratched up pretty good. Supposedly it was a studio print that may have been in circulation during the film's initial run.

I agree that it seems like the locals are coming out more. While plenty of people travel to the festival, a lot seem to be coming down from Chicago, which I find a little odd seeing as they have probably had access to a goodly sum of these films already. I bought my pass back in December, and I'll do the same if that's when they go on sale for next year's festival.

The food situation leaves something to be desired, but I suppose the current state is better than an overly commercialized bombardment of places trying to latch onto the festival.

I didn't quite realize it at the time, but the quality of this year's selections was fairly high. Keep an eye out for Charlotte Sometimes and Stone Reader. These two are either in or starting commercial runs.

 

[Jarod M]

I wholeheartedly agree with Mark that Charlotte Sometimes is worth seeking out. Ignore the inexplicably low rating at the IMDB.

I have a feeling that next year Ebert will choose a 70mm film on par with 2001 and Patton. He made reference to The Big Trail, a 70mm film that is REALLY overlooked because most people don't realize that the format goes all the way back to 1930. But Ebert went on to question how good the movie is, so I have a feeling we won't be seeing The Big Trail anytime soon, assuming a decent quality 70mm print could even be obtained.

Again, I agree with Mark that the quality of films at the festival was high, and I think that Ebert did a good job picking "overlooked" films, though The Right Stuff is still a little questionable.

Oh, another tidbit I read in the local paper. They are only going to have 12 films next year, instead of 14 (to allow for longer breaks and more after-film discussion time). That's the plan anyway.

Mark, I look forward to reading your articles and seeing the pictures.