"The Alamo"s Status? (1 Viewer)

[Timothy E]

This week finally saw the official announcement of a release of the roadshow version (more or less) of It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World by Criterion.Wouldn't it be nice to see Criterion release the extended version of The Alamo? How about the same release with The Last Command included as a special feature?(If you are going to dream, then dream big.)

The Last Command actually made it to blu-ray before The Alamo courtesy of Kino. When I wrote this originally, I thought The Last Command would appear on blu-ray when pigs fly, so I guess anything can happen.

 

[Robin9]

Unbelievable that , a film of this status and popularity (2318 posts here alone !) has never made it to Blu-ray even wit a enthusiastic audience willing to but it !

That's what today's MGM can do for you!

 

[Allansfirebird]

Unbelievable that , a film of this status and popularity (2318 posts here alone !) has never made it to Blu-ray even wit a enthusiastic audience willing to but it !

We're looking at a really small sample size, though, once you factor in a lot of those posts come from the same people.

 

[OliverK]

We're looking at a really small sample size, though, once you factor in a lot of those posts come from the same people.

It's a patriotic John Wayne film so you can count on a substantial number of interested people out there even if they do not frequent the forum.

And let's not forget that this for a change was not about costs being prohibitive but it was about MGM refusing outside help and financing.

It seems to be more accepted now that entities like the film foundation step in and do work on important movies from various studios but back then MGM may have thought it would make them look weak if they accepted help with The Alamo.
It may just work out if somebody brought up the proposal today which begs the question if MGM could be approached again now and under new leadership provided that it was still possible to secure funding.

 

[Allansfirebird]

It's a patriotic John Wayne film so you can count on a substantial number of interested people out there even if they do not frequent the forum.

I'm aware of that. I was saying judging the film's popularity by a single thread in an internet forum is a false equivalency.

 

[LouA]

I'm aware of that. I was saying judging the film's popularity by a single thread in an internet forum is a false equivalency.

But , I think that John Wayne films generally sell pretty well. Look at how many are available on Blu-ray.

 

[Worth]

A few thousand copies isn't going to pay for a million-dollar investment.

 

[OliverK]

A few thousand copies isn't going to pay for a million-dollar investment.

That wasn't necessary with the original proposition put forward by RAH.

 

[B-ROLL]

The Alamo will be re-airing on LightTV 10am on Monday - 31/2 hours with commercials

https://www.lighttv.com/

 

[TonyD]

The Alamo will be re-airing on LightTV 10am on Monday - 31/2 hours with commercials

That link doesn’t work.

 

[cinemiracle]

Whether you like THE ALAMO film or not,the big question in my opinion, is why was the original negative allowed to end up in such a bad state? It was the same for THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF THE BROTHERS GRIMM. If those and numerous other films were properly looked after in the first place then no restorations would be necessary. In the long run it would have been far cheaper. Blame the studios that never cared about the preservation of their films. Now future generations have to suffer as a result. At least those of us who experienced the original roadshow releases still have the memories to cherish in seeing these films.

 

[OliverK]

Whether you like THE ALAMO film or not,the big question in my opinion, is why was the original negative allowed to end up in such a bad state? It was the same for THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF THE BROTHERS GRIMM.

You can add Raintree County to that and then ask which studio held the negatives for them for a long time - MGM.

 

[Robin9]

You can add Raintree County to that and then ask which studio held the negatives for them for a long time - MGM.

You can also add The Guns Of Navarone to the list.

 

[Robert Harris]

Whether you like THE ALAMO film or not,the big question in my opinion, is why was the original negative allowed to end up in such a bad state? It was the same for THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF THE BROTHERS GRIMM. If those and numerous other films were properly looked after in the first place then no restorations would be necessary. In the long run it would have been far cheaper. Blame the studios that never cared about the preservation of their films. Now future generations have to suffer as a result. At least those of us who experienced the original roadshow releases still have the memories to cherish in seeing these films.

Sorry, that’s incorrect.

WB is not at fault re Grimm. The problem was a vault flood/leak.

Alamo is age of stock, combined with chemical damage, along with MGM not wishing to allow the film to be saved.

Very different.

 

[Robert Harris]

You can also add The Guns Of Navarone to the list.

Navarone was restored to film by Robert Gitt, c. 1989-90.

An extremely problematic film, with many dupes, and an over-printed OCN.

 

[deepscan]

More effectively, yes, however there are currently no large format elements from which a quality image can be harvested without high end restoration and heavy lifting. The original roadshow version might best be oriented toward HD uses, while the shorter version could be taken out theatrically -- but with great effort and immense data throughput.Sorry, but nothing more to report at this time.RAH

Well, RAH,

At this point with that possibility, we may be moving in the right direction, with proper funding. Time (however short) will tell.

 

[displacedneb]

Well, it might help if MGM ever found the video master they had made for the LaserDisc release on the premiere version. Of course the quality would not be that great on the remastered scenes from the print found in Canada.

 

[DVBRD]

You can add Raintree County to that and then ask which studio held the negatives for them for a long time - MGM.

Makes me wish Ted Turner took The Alamo with him so they'd both be at WB. Even George Feltenstein implied on his WAC podcast that it doesn't deserve to be at MGM. At least we'd know that one less movie would be collecting dust. It's a movie that's well-known enough for WB to restore, but not well-known enough for a smaller company like NuMGM to restore.

 

[OliverK]

That would probably have helped with a restoration through external funding. If Warner had to pay for The Alamo themselves we have already seen that Warner does not think that their more demanding large format properties are worth revisiting at this point. I doubt this would be different for The Alamo.

 

[Robert Harris]

That would probably have helped with a restoration through external funding. If Warner had to pay for The Alamo themselves we have already seen that Warner does not think that their more demanding large format properties are worth revisiting at this point. I doubt this would be different for The Alamo.

Also, incorrect. Warner is extremely proactive regarding their library.

While they hold a number of large format productions, only two, both with major problems, and neither of which could be in any way self-supporting, are in less than safe condition.

All others have viable camera negatives, as well as secondary supporting film elements.