#film restoration

[jklind]

One of my side projects is starting to come together!

Back in 1978, Sanrio premiered a film they had billed as "Fantasia for the rock era", called Metamorphoses. The premiere was such a disaster, and the reviews so brutal, that they pulled it from release. Over the next year, they trimmed its run time by 7 minutes, rearranged its segments, added narration, and replaced its rock soundtrack with a new disco score. Now titled "Winds of Change", the film flopped.

For me, this film was just one of many VHS tapes I'd watched as a kid, forgot about, then struggled to find as an adult. Once I'd identified it and learned it'd been released on DVD in Japan, I imported the disc, and that was that. Until I learned of the film's history, and its original widescreen presentation...

Skip ahead - over the past year, I set about collecting the various home releases to try to Frankenstein together as much of the original image as I could. I've no idea how long it might take to finish, or even if I will, but for now this video shows a very, very rough version of what it could be.

[filmnoirfoundation]

Alan K. Rode talks to Yolanda Perdomo about NOIR CITY Chicago, starting at the Music Box Theatre tomorrow, Friday, September 5. Eddie Muller will host the opening weekend, and Alan will take over for the rest of the festival.

Passes, tickets and schedule.

[countesspetofi]

RKO 281 (1999) dir. Benjamin Ross

Liev Schreiber as Orson Welles James Cromwell as William Randolph Hearst John Malkovich as Herman Mankiewicz Roy Scheider as George Schaefer Melanie Griffith as Marion Davies

I know Welles identified with Mercury, but in retrospect it's hard not to see him as an Icarus figure, flying too high on his early talent and never quite recovering from a case of singed wings. When I was a kid, he was a messy old man, a figure of fun shambling drunkenly through commercials and talk shows that paid the bills while his independent projects languished in limbo. But, raised as I was on old movies, I always felt for the ambitious and disappointed young man on the inside.

I'm cautiously optimistic about the possible new cut of his Don Quixote. I've seen just enough of the Jess Franco cut to be disappointed in it, but Jess Franco is… Jess Franco, and in my mind that's kind of a synonym for uneven. I've loved some of his movies and found others unwatchable.

I guess we'll wait and see!

[cronengirly]

I'm never gonna be normal after this, ESPECIALLY after the Hellraiser: Bloodline workprint cut

[toddjurgess]

Blade Runner, comparison between an uncorrected scan of a 35mm print by a scan consortium online vs. the studio edition of the Final Cut

[thinkbolt]

Christmas Comes but Once a Year - the restoration process

[sexyseacaptainghost]

Am I going crazy, or does the “The Muppet Movie” film negative seriously need to be restored?

All of this talk about MuppetVision*3D has reminded me of something that’s been bothering me since I saw the Fathom Events rerelease of “The Muppet Movie”. The movie itself is wonderful. Of course it is; it’s the Muppets. But I couldn’t help but be distracted by several technical issues with the film. I’m talking a clear shift in visual and audio when Kermit and Piggy are at the restaurant, and most distressingly, a big black spot of ruined film against a blue tinted sky during the entire campfire scene up to the Electric Mayhem’s arrival (including Gonzo’s performance of “I’m Going to Go Back There Someday.”). Even when ignoring those issues, the picture quality is so distractingly grainy. I’ve recently seen “Jaws” on the big screen. “Jaws” is four years older and doesn’t look nearly as bad. Heck, fathom recently rereleased both “My Fair Lady” and “Lawrence of Arabia” in theaters; both films are more than ten years older than “The Muppet Movie” and both films look significantly better.

Here’s the part where I can’t help but wonder if I’m going crazy or just seeing things: after I saw “The Muppet Movie” I was so distressed that I wanted to do something and so I tried to find a copy of “I’m Going to Go Back There Someday” on YouTube. I found it. I did not see a black dot against a blue tinted sky. Indeed, there was no blue tinted sky at all; it was completely black. I tried finding my old VHS of “The Muppet Movie” to compare with what is presumably the DVD release, but my search has so far been fruitless.

I really didn’t want to say anything because I wasn’t sure if my mind was playing tricks on me or not. It’s possible that this is all in my head and I’m just imagining things. But now that MuppetVision might be gone forever, I can’t help but feel that I ought to say something on the off chance that someone saw what I did.

If on the off chance I’m not completely making this up, I know that while Disney owns the Muppets, Sony Pictures owns the theatrical distribution rights for “The Muppet Movie.” I am not familiar with rights laws and so I’m not sure which of the two companies would have the power to restore “The Muppet Movie” to its former glory (again, assuming that it needs it). Regardless, now that the Muppets are back in the spotlight, I feel like now is the time to speak up.

If anyone saw the Fathom Events release of The Muppet Movie, did you notice quality issues with the film negative?

[blackfilmgaze]

Chameleon Street (1989) dir. Wendell B. Harris Jr.

[standupcomedyhistorian]

Happy Halloween! Please reblog this post with any Bo Burnham or comedy-related costumes 😎

I'm rocking "MY FAVORITE POSITION?—CEO" with a yinyang black choker (kinda a combo of Bo stuff there, seeing as how he made a rap with T.J. Miller called "Ying Yang Friends" haha)

And here's a fun TRUE fact about me:

I was an Executive Producer on the restoration of Manos: The Hands of Fate! 🙌🏼

You might not recognize the title, but this movie is considered one of the worst ever made (and BOY is it hard to watch without MST3K riffing on it)!

So, yeah my ex-husband worked on the legal paperwork for the restoration—including handling the public domain status dispute—and, as a result, we both were credited on the Blu-ray version (pretty cool!). You can read more about it here.

I don’t know if it’s controversy or if it exists in one guy’s head. But so be it. We did have to do our homework and make sure the film was in the public domain. And even after we’ve done all that, one of the sons of the director of the film seems to believe he owns it. He was never able to prove that, but we had to take it seriously because we got a cease-and-desist from him.

So my intellectual property lawyer and I gave it due diligence and it seems that the threat is no more. It’s too bad because I know this fellow has some interesting stuff to share about his dad, but in order for him to share it he would have to admit that he doesn’t own the movie. But that probably won’t happen.

Anyway, I hope you all have a great Halloween, and keep it here for more comedy fun! ✌🏼🐔

[thebaltimoreyoudontknow]

Did you know Eubie Blake was born in Baltimore?

[filmnoirfoundation]

The NOIR CITY 2023 Annual is now available to purchase on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3XGN58U

The best of the best from the Film Noir Foundation's 2023 NOIR CITY Magazines, is here—essays, profiles, interviews, and appreciations of classic and modern noir films from today's top writers. This year's contributors are Imogen Sara Smith, Danilo Castro, Rachel Walther, Jake Hinkson, Vince Keenan, Steve Kronenberg, John Wranovics, Jeremy Arnold, Peter Tonguette, Wallace Stroby, Andy Wolverton, Thomas Burchfield, Ben Terrall, and Eddie Muller. Book layout and design by Michael Kronenberg. And, as with any purchase from the FNF, when you buy the NOIR CITY Annual 16, you'll be helping fund the non-profit foundation's film restoration efforts.

[thesapphocinephile]

Who do I need to talk to over at Warner Brothers to get them to release more restored old movies on Blu-Ray?

If it's a public domain is an issue, then just teach me how to do it, please

[everydayesterday]

FIlibus (1915) [also known as Filibus: The Mysterious Air Pirate].  dir. Mario Roncoroni, starring Valeria Creti.  

A restored version of the film by Milestone Films, with English intertitles, is available on Kanopy.  The restoration was expertly done and looks amazing for such an old film.

[thinkbolt]

Pots & Pans (Van Beuren, 1932) film restoration -

Steve Stanchfield talks about how he restores ancient films at Thunderbean studios