We need "Our Town" (1940)

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by Tim Casey, Jun 4, 2004.

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  1. Tim Casey

    Tim Casey Active Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Boston, MA USA
    It seems like I've been waiting to see a good print of this since home video began. Directed by Sam Wood, designed by William Cameron Menzies, based on Thorton Wilder's play, and with a score by Aaron Copland, and every time someone releases it, it looks worse!

    The only DVD available is from a company that facetiously called itself "National Film Museum Incorporated". Their corporate philosophy was to take classic films and make them unwatchable. Watching their DVD of "Our Town" is like watching an SLP VHS tape through a very dirty goldfish aquarium with the speaker submerged in the water.

    This play shows America at its best. Some folks say its naive and simplistic in the manner of Norman Rockwell, but I always felt like it depicted an America we should all strive for.

    Anyway, I just wanted to vent. Seeing this film done right on DVD would mean a lot more to me than the latest (and soon to be forgotten) Hollywood Blockbuster....
     
  2. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host

    Sorry, the negative is gone and not even a complete 35mm print exists. The missing bits are 16mm. That's what happens when a film goes into the PUBLIC DOMAIN; it's not the wonderful thing that most of you think it is.
     
  3. Ken_McAlinden

    Ken_McAlinden MichiGort Staff

    Location:
    Livonia, MI
    It appears that the UCLA Film and Television Archive has a decent amount of material for this film, although the nitrate negative is not intact. Go to http://orion-1.library.ucla.edu, select "Film and television archive", and search on keywords "Our Town Sam Wood".

    Regards,
     
  4. Tim Casey

    Tim Casey Active Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Boston, MA USA
    I'd put up with a hybrid 35mm/16mm print that's as clear as the Paramount Marx Bros. DVDs. Anything would be better than the crap that's out there now.

    And I know what you mean about public domain films; it's a double-edged sword. If it's in the public domain, the studios dump their prints and you're left to the vagaries of collectors. If it's not in the public domain, you're hoping that the 25 year old yuppie in charge of back catalogue at the studio at least has a passing interest in anything produced before he was born. You're also hoping that your favorite classic film gets released before he gets fired or promoted.

    Thanks for the UCLA link; I'll check it out. Was anyone else excited like I was when they discovered the color prints of "Mystery Of The Wax Museum" and "Doctor X"?
     
  5. Tim Casey

    Tim Casey Active Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Boston, MA USA
    I just looked at the UCLA site. Wow! I think I just figured out what my dream job would be.....
     
  6. Phantom409

    Phantom409 New Member

    Location:
    Houston, TX
    "The only DVD available is from a company that facetiously called itself "National Film Museum Incorporated"."

    Actually, there are a couple different versions available. According to the reliable DVD Savant, the best version is on FOCUSFilm. He ranks the picture and sound quality as less than good, but it does have some interesting extras.
    http://www.dvdtalk.com/dvdsavant/s1047town.html

    There may be two different covers. There's the one on the review (which may be wrong) and there's the one on my copy - ersatz Norman Rockwell painting. (This one can be seen on amazon.com's website.)
     
  7. Tim Casey

    Tim Casey Active Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Boston, MA USA
    Good hunting, Phantom409, but it's the same DVD from the same company but with a different cover; I have the ersatz Norman Rockwell cover, too. DVD Savant probably doesn't want to slam the movie (for good reason - it's a great film) but this DVD is unwatchable.

    And it looks like there's at least two 35mm prints that UCLA knows of.
     
  8. Phantom409

    Phantom409 New Member

    Location:
    Houston, TX
    The good old days...

    "And it looks like there's at least two 35mm prints that UCLA knows of."

    I believe UCLA was responsible for the different cuts of MY DARLING CLEMENTINE and THE BIG SLEEP that are available on DVD. They also used to work with Republic Pictures Home Video, back in the laserdisc days, on presenting restored films from various studios such as FORCE OF EVIL, PURSUED, MACBETH, MOONRISE, THE ENFORCER, etc. The current owners of Republic are releasing some of these transfers on DVD, but don't seem to be interested in continuing the work on other films.

    ((One notable exception is the recent, unheralded release of the Roy Rogers film BELLS OF CORONADO by Republic \ Lion's Gate. The "Trucolor" on this very entertaining film is dazzling - much nicer than the blah colors on the cover of the DVD. The earlier Goodtimes release of this film was cut by ten minutes (ALL of the Goodtimes releases are cut), but the Republic release is complete. ))
     
  9. BradOlson

    BradOlson Country/Christian Music Maven

    I do have a Cascadia Entertainment DVD that has the uncut film as well.
     
  10. Tim Casey

    Tim Casey Active Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Boston, MA USA
    Speaking of Goodtimes, they had a remarkable print of an EXTREMELY guilty pleasure - "The Vampire Bat", a 1933 poverty row horror film with Lionel Atwill, Dwight Frye, Fay Wray and Melvin Douglas. Alas, they only released it in the eighties on an SLP VHS tape. Boy, what I'd give for a DVD of that print!
     
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