Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954) ….coming from WAC (1 Viewer)

[haineshisway]

Once again I agree with you. PRETTY BABY did not "creep me out." I thought it was a beautifully photographed and, yes, controversial period drama that explored a small corner of hidden society that nowadays would be absolutely verboten as a theatrical film in the U.S. It has not showed up on Blu-ray anywhere, and I was even surprised when a DVD emerged. It is true that society mores bend (and sometimes break) this way and that. GIGI, which does not have any of PRETTY BABY's stigma, nonetheless turns me off. We're all different, Bruce, and we all express our opinions here as you do, thus the term "forum." Let's enjoy the diversity of perspectives, even if we find some of them vacuous.

Back to the topic at hand: I like SEVEN BRIDES, although its studio-bound sets are a bit distracting when one really wants to see authentic mountain vistas, there are enough memorable moments (the barn raising sequence in particular) to keep me interested. Still, I have always wanted to like it more, and it looks as though the coming Blu-ray might precipitate that. And as Mr. Harris indicated somewhere above, the underscore is wonderful, and I prefer it to the songs (I would say the same for GIGI, if only I could find a copy of it isolated from dialog and sound effects).

My posts really weren't directed at you - just the whole general "today" thing.

 

[Stephen_J_H]

AFAIK, 7B47B was heavily damaged during the optical process, creating 70mm prints.

A myriad of reasons.

Sep masters may have been improperly produced, orienting more toward a normal filtration and exposure of Eastman 5248.

But the stock wasn’t. Therefore seps would probably answer incorrectly.

Finest surviving materials should be extant portions of OCN, as well as one or two early IPs, produced pre-damage.

There’s a story here to be told, of WB’s continuing challenge to save their library.

I believe everyone will be thrilled when 7B arrives.

And this is why I enjoy restoration featurettes, when they are included as bonus features.

 

[Stephen_J_H]

Modern concerns - for a period piece set in what year? THAT is the problem here - everyone is putting their own stuff on this - the movie is a period piece that takes place at the turn of the twentieth century. Different time, different world. But of course, let's just paint over history for our delicate modern sensibilities. Want a fun game? Imagine a screening right now of Louis Malle's Pretty Baby. Just imagine that. He'd probably be arrested if he made that film today and the film would probably be burned. That's where we're headed folks.

This can be summed up in one word: presentism, or the unwillingness to consider material in its temporal context. i won't say inability, because it doesn't fit.

 

[davidmatychuk]

My mom, nearly 91 years old when she died 5 years ago, loved "Seven Brides For Seven Brothers", which she saw in the theatre with my dad when the movie was new. She loved everything about it, and she loved being able to watch it at home, first on pan-and-scan VHS, then on a letterboxed laserdisc ("Look, mom: seven brides, seven brothers"), then on the double letterboxed laserdisc ("They shot the movie twice, mom: it's the same, only different"), then on the double DVD, by which time we were watching it on a 58" JVC D-ILA ("We've come a long way from 3 1/2 brides for 3 1/2 brothers, mom"). She won't actually be here to watch the Blu-Ray of "Seven Brides For Seven Brothers", but she'll be in the room regardless. For anybody wondering why a restored Blu-Ray of a delightful, corny old musical with regressive sexual politics and painted backdrops but great songs and performances might mean something more than that to somebody, that's my answer. On behalf of my mom, can I add that my parents each had 6 siblings, and that one of her brothers married one of my dad's sisters?

 

[kinopanorama.widescreeen]

This is amongst my favourite musicals. Have always loved the music, and in particular Adolph Deutsch's superb arrangements, not to mention his adroit conducting. I was always a fan of Anscocolor, despite others having a less than high opinion of this tri-pack film process. It's put to great use in this film. J Steven Lasher.

 

[Joel Arndt]

My mom, nearly 91 years old when she died 5 years ago, loved "Seven Brides For Seven Brothers", which she saw in the theatre with my dad when the movie was new. She loved everything about it, and she loved being able to watch it at home, first on pan-and-scan VHS, then on a letterboxed laserdisc ("Look, mom: seven brides, seven brothers"), then on the double letterboxed laserdisc ("They shot the movie twice, mom: it's the same, only different"), then on the double DVD, by which time we were watching it on a 58" JVC D-ILA ("We've come a long way from 3 1/2 brides for 3 1/2 brothers, mom"). She won't actually be here to watch the Blu-Ray of "Seven Brides For Seven Brothers", but she'll be in the room regardless. For anybody wondering why a restored Blu-Ray of a delightful, corny old musical with regressive sexual politics and painted backdrops but great songs and performances might mean something more than that to somebody, that's my answer. On behalf of my mom, can I add that my parents each had 6 siblings, and that one of her brothers married one of my dad's sisters?

Great story and similar situation here without all the siblings.

My parents homeymooned in NYC in early August 1954 and saw the film first run at Radio City Music Hall. They loved it and I've been through every home video iteration since the first VHS release in the early 80s.

 

[Robin9]

Yes! One can hear the work of Andre Previn and Conrad Salinger througout Gigi. Two of the best people to ever work in film music. It was a real loss that Previn decided to leave the movies. And Salinger's arrangements impact most of the classic MGM musicals, one of the strongest people MGM ever had.

I believe Conrad Salinger's contribution was rejected as unsuitable by Lerner and Loewe.

 

[PMF]

My mom, nearly 91 years old when she died 5 years ago, loved "Seven Brides For Seven Brothers", which she saw in the theatre with my dad when the movie was new. She loved everything about it, and she loved being able to watch it at home, first on pan-and-scan VHS, then on a letterboxed laserdisc ("Look, mom: seven brides, seven brothers"), then on the double letterboxed laserdisc ("They shot the movie twice, mom: it's the same, only different"), then on the double DVD, by which time we were watching it on a 58" JVC D-ILA ("We've come a long way from 3 1/2 brides for 3 1/2 brothers, mom"). She won't actually be here to watch the Blu-Ray of "Seven Brides For Seven Brothers", but she'll be in the room regardless. For anybody wondering why a restored Blu-Ray of a delightful, corny old musical with regressive sexual politics and painted backdrops but great songs and performances might mean something more than that to somebody, that's my answer. On behalf of my mom, can I add that my parents each had 6 siblings, and that one of her brothers married one of my dad's sisters?

Delightfully uplifting, David.
For this - and no joke - I became the 7th member to press "Likes".
Wish HTF had a "Loves"; one for this story and the other for your mom.

 

[Dick]

My posts really weren't directed at you - just the whole general "today" thing.

That's cool. I wasn't upset.

 

[Garysb]

I have read that funds from 7BF7B's budget were diverted to Brigadoon's budget as Brigadoon, a known stage hit, was seen as the film with more box office potential. Of course, the opposite occurred when the films were released.

I have heard this story also. One wonders where that money went as Brigadoon was also filmed with backdrops. Was anything in Brigadoon filmed outdoors? At least parts "Bless Your Beautiful Hide" was filmed on the backlot.

 

[ABritch]

Modern concerns - for a period piece set in what year? THAT is the problem here - everyone is putting their own stuff on this - the movie is a period piece that takes place at the turn of the twentieth century. Different time, different world. But of course, let's just paint over history for our delicate modern sensibilities. Want a fun game? Imagine a screening right now of Louis Malle's Pretty Baby. Just imagine that. He'd probably be arrested if he made that film today and the film would probably be burned. That's where we're headed folks.

my number one rule to anyone i recommend an older film to - you must watch the film within the context of the time it was made.

 

[Cineman]

I will definitely be buying this Blu-ray of Seven Brides For Seven Brothers. I trot out the DVD often to watch on my home theater system with someone who has not seen many "old" movies and claims not to be a fan of musicals. It has never failed to grab their attention and entertain them from start to finish. They will usually ask me what the name of that movie was months later when they are trying to recommend it to someone else.

Even after watching it many, many times, I am still impressed by the very smart screenplay (among several, including Best Picture, Best Editing, Best Color Cinematography and Best Scoring of a Musical Picture, for which it won, it was nominated for an Oscar for Best Adapted Story and Screenplay) and the beautiful and effective staging and subtle direction of each character. You can pick out any one of the brothers and brides (and, for that matter, even the "bad" guys who are their rivals) to keep an eye on in those very wide screen groupings of them throughout the movie and see the care and detail put into conveying exactly the right gesture, focus and reaction for each so as to only enhance and never distract from the moment.

You really need an extraordinarily high level of theatrical smarts, knowing, competence and talent before and behind the camera to get that so right so often. And marveling in the glorious display of it is one of the many fine pleasures in watching this one.

 

[ABritch]

clarification please.
i have the two disc dvd release with both versions (2.55 and 1.77).
is this upcoming blu-Ray the HD release of what i have or has the film been restored since the two disc dvd?
extras seem to be the same.

 

[Mark-P]

clarification please.
i have the two disc dvd release with both versions (2.55 and 1.77).
is this upcoming blu-Ray the HD release of what i have or has the film been restored since the two disc dvd?
extras seem to be the same.

From the press release: NEW 2018 1080p HD MASTER
If you know the Archive, you know they would never put an existing master on Blu-ray. Right after they made the announcement I pulled out my 2 disc DVD just to refresh my memory of how it looked and all I can say is ugh, we’ve come a long way in 14 years.
By the way the preorder link is live on Amazon now.

 

[JohnMor]

Not a fan of this film really. It just never grabbed me, for whatever reason. But I’m thrilled to hear about the restoration. I will be buying the blu-ray day one to support Warners for their efforts. Perhaps in this new HD release it will finally carry me away the way it does so many others.

And for what it’s worth, I love Gigi, especially the title tune! And who knows? Maybe soon there’ll be a push-back against the PC push-back and people will say we shouldn’t engage in “courtesan shaming.”

 

[Cineman]

I've always kind of liked the "fake" background scenery of both films as they show the enormous talent of the artistic/scenic team MGM had under contract at the time. Plus, being musicals, it gives them more of a fantasy element.

I like them, too, and am rarely taken out of the moment because of them, as some might say. I suppose that would be true as long as "the moment" is filled with plenty of value anyway regardless of what is going on in the background.

I also feel the transitions from location shots to studio shots in 7 Brides are quite smooth and the painted backdrops rather convincing. How convincing? I never mention it during the movie, but after it is over and friends who have never seen it before are going on about it, just for fun I will usually return to the "Wonderful, Wonderful Day" scene where it has transitioned from a location shot to a studio set. There is that moment during Jane Powell's lovely singing when a flock of birds is released into the set. Don't blink and you might notice one of those birds crash right into the painted backdrop and ricochet into another direction after having discovered too late that what he thought was a means of escape to the promised land of high mountains and blue sky is nothing more than the interior wall of a sound stage in Culver City. lol.

Perhaps no higher personal tribute has been paid to, as you rightly put it, the enormous talent of the artistic/scenic team at MGM studios.

 

[commander richardson]

This is amongst my favourite musicals. Have always loved the music, and in particular Adolph Deutsch's superb arrangements, not to mention his adroit conducting. I was always a fan of Anscocolor, despite others having a less than high opinion of this tri-pack film process. It's put to great use in this film. J Steven Lasher.

I want this movie............NOW

 

[Hal Masonberg]

Has it? I'm not so sure. This is a really fascinating time to be releasing this film, and at the very least I'd think we can all be mature enough to have a reasonable discussion about the movie's "problematic" content (by today's standards, and using the preferred vernacular of the moment) while also celebrating the fact that Warners have seen fit to release it despite possible objections. In fact, I'd contend that this is one of the reasons why the movie should be released - so we can discuss its relative merits as a movie (it remains one of my two or three all-time favorite musicals) within a historical context while also acknowledging that it could never be made today. To the commenter who mentioned their film studies professor declining to show it out of concern for offending people, I'd say that a good film studies professor should have screened the film then encouraged a discussion around the film's history and contextualizing the things that might be considered offensive.

Regarding Gigi, I'll admit that I've never really loved the movie in part due to the ickiness factor - a perfectly reasonable objection to have if that's one's reaction - and in part because I've always found it somewhat stodgy (as I find a lot of Minnelli's movies). But I also recognize it's a well-loved classic and that any issues with the content should in no way stand in the way of its being restored, released and widely screened - in fact, these issues are one of the reasons why it should be shown. If you're going to start declining to show classic movies because their content doesn't fit our modern standards of cultural acceptance - brother, you're not going to have a lot of classics to choose from.

I'm celebrating Seven Brides' restoration today because I dearly love the film while I'm also acknowledging that it's a film that could not be made in our current climate and that that may or may not be a good thing. Even yesterday when I posted my joy at the movie being released on Facebook I had someone who by NO means is either a cinephile or a champion of political correctness (in fact he's usually antagonistic toward it) comment on how it's a great movie but also "a bit strange." I seriously doubt this had anything to do with TCM declining to screen the restoration at the festival (it's still shown frequently on the channel and, I imagine, garners pretty steady viewership). Either way, I'm glad we're getting it and can't wait to click the "order" button.

I agree. SBFSB is one of my all-time favorite musicals. Been hoping for this release for a long time. AND cinema is a reflection of and a commentary on our society, our culture. I think the growth that is happening in our country right now in terms of awareness of misogyny and patriarchy is essential. It's not gonna be an easy road, and there will be both appropriate and inappropriate, healthy and unhealthy responses to it, but it's long past due, in my opinion. I think it's our job as lovers of cinema to help people see the deep artistic and social value of cinema. Even in its day, SBFSB wasn't a film condoning kidnapping and forced marriage. It was well aware of its own "backwards" story-line and mined a lot of humor in that. Is it also a film that will trigger some people, push some buttons. Of course! But that's not a bad thing. Cinema has been doing that since day 1. As Mark VH said, we can have "a reasonable discussion about the movie's "problematic" content (by today's standards, and using the preferred vernacular of the moment) while also celebrating the fact that Warners have seen fit to release it." Sensitivity around lifetimes of oppression and destructive narratives are not inappropriate. They're a necessary part of growth, healing, evolution. I still stand behind BIRTH OF A NATION as an amazing piece of cinema. AND I also find it disturbing in ways it was not intended to be. And I certainly understand it being a massive trigger for many for whom the messages of the film helped perpetuate violent oppression on a mass scale. AND it's a film that should be shown, seen, discussed, and even celebrated for its technical and storytelling merits. Both can co-exist. My suggestion is not to berate, malign or even resent those who have lived with oppression and react to films that have perpetuated those destructive narratives. We also have an opportunity to present these films in a context in which they can also be appreciated and enjoyed. And not everyone will be ready to go down that path. But I still want to see a release of PORGY & BESS and SONG OF THE SOUTH, THE DEVILS, etc. Remember, we're all on a learning curve here. There is more than one appropriate reaction. It's keeping the discussion open and flowing that allows us to evolve and for these amazing works of art and entertainment to continue to have an important place in our lives, our culture, our society.

One final note, I love GIGI. I love Minelli. This is a stunning film with amazing music, performances & cinematography. And, yes, it also perpetuates some narratives about men and women that have been destructive to many. A large percentage of films from that era have. Just as there are modern films today that continue to perpetuate destructive narratives that we are currently engaged in, blind to, or not ready to confront. What an amazing window into our cultural and social progression film is. Among so many other things.

 

[dana martin]

gotta love the absurdity of Amazon trying to get this up so quick for the pre orders, look at that coverart and the press release, check it on Amazon 1 disc, LOL

 

[David Weicker]

Release date announced - June 5th