I’m a cinema purist. I want my films shown in the correct aspect ratio. I don’t approve of colorization, adding new and “improved” special effects, or 2D-to-3D conversions. I’m offended when the DVD or Blu-ray disc of a classic doesn’t include the original mono soundtrack. Yet, in terms of the esthetic cinematic experience, I wouldn’t [...]
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For the fourth year in a row, Randy Haberkamp of the Motion Picture Academy came to the Rafael with an overview of one-hundred-year-old films. For the first time, I was there to see it. Haberkamp introduced and presented seven one-reelers (pretty much all there was in those days) from 1910—six of them narrative fiction. Despite [...]
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Twice this month I saw, projected digitally, an older, arguably classic film, originally intended to be screened in 35mm. One was a major disappointment—technically, at least. The other was perfectly acceptable. Both films were new “director’s cut” versions. I’m guessing that the owners of these films chose not to spend money on a 35mm print, [...]
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I attended two very different British films at the Pacific Film Archive Sunday. They were not a double bill. The Red Shoes I’d seen this 1948 Technicolor backstage ballet drama in the 1970’s, and didn’t care for it then. But it’s considered a classic and has recently been restored, and I felt it was time [...]
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I finally saw The Big Country on the big screen last night–at the Rafael. I was wrong to give this sprawling, 1958, pacifistic western a B. This is A material. This was the second of the Rafael’s three-part, weekend-long Academy Color Restorations series. Part 3, Jean Renoir’s The River, starts tonight at 7:00. The restoration [...]
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You may remember my post from last month, Precious Prints Lost to Fire. Universal Studios lost almost its entire collection of archival 35mm prints in the fire that also damaged parts of the amusement park. While new prints could be struck from the unharmed negatives (stored in Philidelphia), economic realities suggested at that time that [...]
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You’ve probably heard about the big fire at Universal Studios, and about how nothing irreplaceable was destroyed. While that’s true in the technical sense, economic realities control what does and does not get replaced. Thus, thanks to that fire, many an old Universal and Paramount movie will probably never be properly screened again (Universal owns [...]
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