kriegerg69

To answer my own questions (watching the movie right now): 1. No, and... 2. No TCM's print does NOT have the original stereo sound (it's in mono, in fact), and there was no Overture (so there will likely NOT be any Intermission or Exit music).

I suppose I'll find out in a little over 3 hours (since it's on this morning at 9:15 EST), but: 1. Does TCM's print have the original stereo soundtrack? The excellent Anchor Bay DVD release did not, although their print WAS the longer roadshow version. 2. AND....Unless I'm mistaken (haven't checked my AB dvd), TCM's listed running time for the movie might be a minute or two longer than the AB dvd, which I think was still missing the Intermission music. Does TCM's print also have the Overture, Intermission, and Exit musics? As the story goes (so I read a few years ago), Disney basically acquired rights to the ABC Films library, including Krakatoa: East of Java. Supposedly, their acquisition includes several original 70mm six-track stereo prints, which means that at some point they could remaster and restore the stereo sound to the film (and thusly to a new DVD release). That's why I posted about this today....Has such a sound restoration been done yet?

The problem with it....as I discovered while watching the recording I made when this aired....was that (as others have described) TCM showed the 81 minute cut-down U.S. release print, and NOT the 96 minute British print. The original Brit print HAS been released on Columbia Home Video years ago, so Columbia obviously has the original uncut version.....so what I'd like to know is why TCM aired the shorter version?

I figured it was likely censorship of sorts, although it's strange because Beery's torso was obviously seen in earlier films like THE CHAMP and even GRAND HOTEL (where he's walking around in a towel in front of Joan Crawford). Thanks for the replies.

Posted this question on another internet board, but thought I should try here: Who has seen VIVA VILLA with Wallace Beery? TCM showed it again tonight, and I had to watch just for the scene...about halfway through the film.....which takes place on a train with Villa and his followers riding on top of the train. Beery is seen taking a bath, only from the belly up.....but the entire lower right-hand corner of the screen has this very large Mexican hat effect apparently placed there DELIBERATELY for some strange reason. I can't tell if it's a matte effect or an optical composite of a shot of a real Mexican hat (presumably it's supposed to be the hat of someone on top of the train also), but even when the shot changes to a different angle, that darned hat effect is STILL there, same size and location onscreen. Any idea as to why this was done? It's not like Beery is **** onscreen or anything, but I can't figure out for the life of me why this was done. It's most definitely a sombrero seen onscreen. Only other strange thing I notice in that scene (dang....when the scene came up I almost started my DVD recorder so I could post an image cap from it)....is when the specific bath portion with Wallace Beery ends. As he almost starts to get up from the tub, grabbing a towel nearby right before he gets up (he's never actually seen rising from the tub), as the shot changes a splice can be seen in the film. Possibly some weird kind of last-minute editing....or censorship of some sort?

Well, I've had TCM on ALL DAY LONG in the hopes of seeing some appropriate and Halloween/sppoky-relevant shorts, "One Reel Wonders", and I was extremely disappointed in the (IMHO) idiocy of what was shown. Only THREE....count 'em, THREE...shorts were shown during today's Halloween fest. One was "Wild and Wooly" which had no bearing whatsoever on today's theme, and the other was the cute "Black Cats and Broomsticks"....which was shown TWICE today.....and that was it. NOTHING else. No "Tell Tale Heart" (the short with Joseph Schildkraut), no "Inflation" with Edward Arnold as Satan, no "Murder In Three Dimensions" (which really is an anaglyph 3D print TCM shows), no "Two Hearts In Wax Time" with a singing Frankenstein.....NOTHING like that. This was extremely disappointing and I was really dumbfounded as to why TCM didn't show more spookily-relevant One Reel Wonders throughout the day. The programmers need to do some serious rethinking of how shorts are put into the TCM schedule.

First, I have to say that although I have on one video format or another almost everything TCM is showing all day on Halloween, I'm particularly looking forward to the TCM premiere (in widescreen, no less!) of CASTLE OF THE LIVING DEAD. Haven't seen it since I was a kid! But on the subject of...um...short subjects :-) , even though it's already been stated many times here on the TCM boards that shorts are scheduled a day in advance, I really think that in an instance of a themed day....such as Halloween...I don't understand why the shorts cannot only be scheduled in advance, but also listed on the site (and in Now Playing). It doesn't make sense, does it? In regards to this year's Halloween schedule, the real reason I plan on staying tuned to TCM all day long is to catch any Halloween themed or spooky-themed shorts that get shown in-between the films. Specifically, some great ones like "Inflation" with Edward Arnold as the Devil (who keeps having phone conversations with Hitler!), "Black Cats and Broomsticks", any number of other similarly themed shorts, and more importantly "Murder In Three Dimensions", for which TCM (I've seen this only once before on TCM) actually shows an anaglyph 3D print! But again....When TCM does an all-day thing like Halloween programming, it doesn't make sense why the shorts can't also be programmed and announced in advance.

The strange thing I'm seeing here is the mis-labelling of these spots as "commercials".....which they are not. They are promotional spots, not commercials.

I happened to turn on TCM five minutes before the Karloff films Tuesday evening, and saw that TCM was not only showing "Third Dimensional Murder", but they were ACTUALLY showing an anaglyph 3D print! I would love to have recorded this....Does anyone know when it might be on again? (I'd guess they'd be showing it sometime this month again). ALSO: Why doesn't TCM have their short films listed in their schedule? That would really help for those of us who enjoy certain shorts (like Third Dimensional Murder, and another one I like called "Inflation" with Edward Arnold as Satan!).

> What the heck did you do to me and all my posts? Why > are all my posts from before August simply say > "GUEST"? I thought TCM abandoned guests registering > last December. PLEASE tell my why I am a GUEST!!?? Ignore my reply above....I made a mistake and accidentally went to the beginning of this thread, thinking it was a new post. You ask WHY? Probably because you deserve it. All anyone has to do is read through your rantings, and they'll understand WHY.

This is truly ridiculous and infantile....This REPETITIVE post by "Guest" is obviously crogan (whatever the name is) repeating himself/herself/itself under an anonymous name. If you despise TCM so much, stay away from the boards here....Just go away and leave us true film lovers ALONE, and stop cluttering the board with your ranting. > Where can I start? I used to like this network until > recently, when I discovered: > > 1) Turner library: I love the films from this > library, but I don't like the owner (AOL/TW). I HATE > the way the studios are run today (i.e. Sony owning > MGM's historic backlot, every studio being owned by a > conglomerate, etc.). From looking at back issues of > their Viewer's Guide and watching an old tape of them > with Nick Clooney, AMC was BETTER than TCM! Before > AMC went to hell and started endless showings of > films like Predator and Jaws, they had > 5,000 titles to choose from (basically, every other > classic film except MGM and pre-48 Warner Bros. That > way, you'd get to see all the Paramounts, 20th > Century-Foxs, Universal-Internationals and others! > TCM only shows 3 or 5 Fox films, and they are all the > same! TCM use to show 15 or 20 pre-48 Paramount > titles, but now that's stopped. And what did AMC pay? > They hardly payed anything because the studios all > leased them AMC's titles! ...then go watch AMC and shut up already. > 2) Bollywood: AMC never aired this kind > of crap. I am also worried about all the new films > like Austin Powers, and those commercials > which says that crap like Sleepless in Seattle > and As Good As It Gets are classics! NOTHING > from after 1967 is a "classic"! Foreign films (except > British) seem to be from a completely different > atmosphere. I live in a small town of 5,300 that had > two theaters: one played "A" movies within 2-3 months > of their release, and the other played "B" movies > only. The "A" theater did show nearly all English > films because they were released through major > American distributors (i.e. United Artists, > Universal-International, Selznick, etc.) Since most > of us are WASP, we can relate to these films, just as > much as we can relate to Hollywood films that take > place in another country. We can't relate to a film > in another language. Your comments about foreign films are bigoted and racist....and why ASSUME that most of us are WASP. That's simply NOT true, you racist! > And last of all... > > 3) Letterboxing: I absolutely HATE > letterboxing! Those dog-ugly black boxes are so > distracting that it actually makes the film look NEW! > They are just as distracting as those pesky network > IDs you see in the lower right corner of every other > network. Even films that weren't photographed in > CinemaScope or VistaVision or Panavision (i.e., films > photographed on a conventional camera) are presented > in letterbox! When AMC letterboxed a film it was only > during primetime. "Scope" films are in a 2.35:1 ratio.....Other such "conventional" films you referred to (and rather uneducatedly, I might add) are generally in a 1.85:1 "matted" ratio....and the whole POINT of letterboxing is to preserve the image composition as it was seen theatrically and was MEANT to be seen. > So what I'm saying is...TCM SUCKS!!! So do you and your uneducated, bigoted, and racist comments. Don't go away mad.....JUST GO AWAY!

> Thanks for the replies, everyone. I managed to > record a feeble rendition of me whistling what I > believe is a few chords of the refrain to this song. > > http://home.earthlink.net/~petrodena/test.wav > > Thanks. > > Mark Mark, I listened to that recording, and to me it sounds like the theme from EXODUS.

> I feel like I'm in on a really horrible bad joke > between cjrogan2003 and kriegerg69. C'mon guys, us > veterans of the TCM message boards are getting sick > of this sarcastic banter between the two of you! Nick, I happen to have posted here before, but a long time ago. Haven't been here in awhile, and when I came back to post (at first) about AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS, I first see a subject line and message that didn't come across as humorous at all to me, and I took offense to it. I happen to be a serious lover of classic movies, and a fan of TCM since AMC went down the tubes (which is not just my opinion, but the same feeling that a lot of others have).

> Kriegerg69, you sound like Uncle Kracker, who makes > all his music videos in colorless color. Who is "Uncle Kracker"? Never heard of him.

> Looks like AMC has a few of thier Executives signing > into the TCM website as "Spy's". To whom are you referring? Certainly not me, because I don't watch AMC anymore. > Listen I can't argue > with your comments about Bollywood, that was a huge > blunder by TCM that did turn alot of fans off! "Blunder" in what sense, and how do you know it "turned a lot of fans off"? They showed movies from India....no different than showing movies from any other country. > Also > you may have a point with the excessive letterboxing. > I saw The Blob Letterboxed the other night, Why? Why?...because THAT'S the orginal theatrical aspect ratio for the movie. That's also the correct ratio that the Criterion Collection released it originally on laserdisc, and more recently on DVD. Try comparing the widescreen BLOB to the full-frame version, and it's very obvious that there's a lot of excess space at the top and bottom of the image frame....the movie was meant to be shown in its 1.85:1 theatrical ratio. Also define "excessive"? If a movie was composed for, and meant to be shown in a particular ratio, why show it otherwise? Have you ever read about some movies where people have commented about seeing "the microphone in the picture" or the "top of the backdrop or set"? The reason is because a filmlike that is not being shown in its original matted widescreen ratio, and such things were never MEANT to be seen. Same thing applies to THE BLOB. > However when you post a headline that states "This > network Stinks!!!" you have offended me, Sir! Same here....which is why I responded the way I did to a subject line (and a message) that didn't come across as funny at all to me. > I never > really thought much of classic movies before I got > TCM, I never saw any of the classics and couldn't > imagine watching a silent movies. Well, years later > silent movies are my favorite genre of movies, all > because of TCM. I mean to be able to come to a > channel that is showing a Buster Keaton movie or a > Mary Pickford movie, it is precious! I can honestly > say that this was the first place I saw Casablanca, > Gone with the Wind, The General, The Gold Rush, > etc......I hope other people doubtful of old movies > will become believers too when they watch TCM for the > first time. Really? I've been a lover of the classics since I was a kid, and actually saw many, MANY silent films for the first time when I was younger.

> I was only kidding. > I DO like the Turner > library (seriously) ...then stop posting comments like that, because people are taking them seriously, and they're not funny to begin with. > but I do dislike > Bollywood and the Friday night foreign film (I'm > asleep so I won't miss it), as well as newer films. Whatever..... > I > have seen the letterbox short with directors Ron > Howard, Barry Levinson and Martin Scorsese. ...and you still don't get it? What size television are you watching on? I have a 27" tv and have NO problem with letterboxing. Maybe your tv is too small? > What > Robert Osbourne shourt are you talking about where he > says why TCM airs 80s and 90s films? Yes... > I do apologize for my rude comments. I > do like TCM for seeing films in their true > Technicolor, not in some > washed-out Metrocolor reprint from the 60s. ...then again: Stop posting rude comments like that because they're NOT funny. As far as the color subject....TCM (or any channel, for that matter) can ONLY show what's available to them.

> Again, I apologize for that comment. I was only being > sarcastic. Rogan, you should simply stop posting comments like that, because I took it SERIOUSLY......and it wasn't funny to begin with. "Ohhh, behaaave!" :-)

> Unforutnately, we haven't been able to get a > letterbox version of "Around the World in 80 Days" > that isn't significantly shorter than the theatrical > version we played today. Warner Brothers tells us > they're working on a transfer that will be ready in a > few months, but until then we have to go with what we > have. > > Charlie (head of programming for TCM) Thanks, Charlie. I just asked about this over in the General Discussions folder, and also on another internet board. What I gathered is that the shorter version which IS letterboxed is apparently the general release version, and the longer panned-and-scanned version currently being shown is the complete "roadshow" version....Am I right about that? Yes, I also read elsewhere that the movie is being remastered for widescreen DVD release, so I'd assume what we'll get soon from WB is the complete "roadshow" version letterboxed, and I'd also assume that would mean that TCM would then have access to a widescreen version at that point.

> TCM programming head Charlie Tarbesh addressed this > issue a few months ago. Look under the "Failure to > letterbox" discussion in the "Information, Please" > folder, and you'll find his answer. Thanks, Dan....I'm off now to check Charlie's reply.

> GOOD! TCM NEEDS TO SHOW MORE FILMS IN PAN-AND-SCAN > INSTEAD OF LETTERBOX! AND THEY NEED TO SHOW LESS 80s > and 90s **** SO WE WON'T END UP WITH ANOTHER AMC! Stop shouting! That was another obnoxious, trollish response.

Exactly, Bggalaxy....like I said at the end of my reply, it sounded trollish.

MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM (1933...correct date) is actually the one I favor over HOUSE OF WAX (which I still enjoy....but I favor MYSTERY). Still have my laserdisc double feature of MYSTERY and DOCTOR X (which I also hope makes it to DVD sometime). Looking forward to getting the WAX dvd soon. Also agreed that a deluxe edition of GONE WITH THE WIND is LONG overdue. Why wasn't a special edition put out in the first place? Go figure.... BIG fan of Universal horror classics here! I have the old MCA laserdisc with RAVEN on one side and BLACK CAT on the other. Those two really need to be done as a DVD double feature. BLACK CAT is probably my all-time favorite "cult" pick of any Universal horror classic...It's probably the one I've watched the most. Any time I find I'm in the mood for something really bizarre, I watch BLACK CAT. We frequently talk about it in the Universal group I moderate over on Yahoo. Who is releasing the Little Rascals/Our Gang shorts, btw?

I guess you're entitled to your opinionated ranting, CJrogan, but: "1) Turner library: I love the films from this library, but I don't like the owner (AOL/TW)." What does that have to do with the films or the TCM library? The films are what matters here. "I HATE the way the studios are run today (i.e. Sony owning MGM's historic backlot, every studio being owned by a conglomerate, etc.)." Again.....WHAT does that have to do with the film library on TCM? NOTHING. "From looking at back issues of their Viewer's Guide and watching an old tape of them with Nick Clooney, AMC was BETTER than TCM! Before AMC went to hell and started endless showings of films like Predator and Jaws, they had 5,000 titles to choose from (basically, every other classic film except MGM and pre-48 Warner Bros. That way, you'd get to see all the Paramounts, 20th Century-Foxs, Universal-Internationals and others! TCM only shows 3 or 5 Fox films, and they are all the same! TCM use to show 15 or 20 pre-48 Paramount titles, but now that's stopped. And what did AMC pay? They hardly payed anything because the studios all leased them AMC's titles!" Ok....but that was BEFORE AMC went to hell. Now, they show the same old crud (which can be seen on almost ANY channel these days) over and OVER again. I happen to like TCM's selection....and I never watch AMC anymore. TCM can only show films which they have broadcast rights to.....and their selection has obviously grown as they've acquired rights to more and more films, some of which used to be almost exclusive to AMC (such as many of the Universal horror classics), and obviously AMC couldn't show some of those MGM or WB titles because TCM had the broadcast rights. "2) Bollywood: AMC never aired this kind of crap. I am also worried about all the new films like Austin Powers, and those commercials which says that crap like Sleepless in Seattle and As Good As It Gets are classics! NOTHING from after 1967 is a "classic"!" WRONG! Have you ever seen the explanatory spot that TCM runs now and then, with Robert Osborne explaining why they show a more modern movie now and then. It's a perfect explanation as to why TCM shows movies after 1967. It makes perfect sense to me, IMHO.....you obviously just don't get it. AMC has no business calling themselves "American Movie CLASSICS" because virtually everything they show nowadays is a film from recent years....and the term "classic" encompasses so much more. "Foreign films (except British) seem to be from a completely different atmosphere. I live in a small town of 5,300 that had two theaters: one played "A" movies within 2-3 months of their release, and the other played "B" movies only. The "A" theater did show nearly all English films because they were released through major American distributors (i.e. United Artists, Universal-International, Selznick, etc.) Since most of us are WASP, we can relate to these films, just as much as we can relate to Hollywood films that take place in another country. We can't relate to a film in another language." You have a serious problem there, sir/madam....I have nothing against the Bollywood festival that TCM had, but I do happen to LIKE foreign films....and I personally CAN relate to a film done in another language. "Except British"? You mean because the spoken language s English, I think. Sorry....this part of your post almost reeked of some kind of bigotry, at least that's how it read to me. "3) Letterboxing: I absolutely HATE letterboxing! Those dog-ugly black boxes are so distracting that it actually makes the film look NEW! They are just as distracting as those pesky network IDs you see in the lower right corner of every other network. Even films that weren't photographed in CinemaScope or VistaVision or Panavision (i.e., films photographed on a conventional camera) are presented in letterbox! When AMC letterboxed a film it was only during primetime." Again.....you just don't get it. Have you ever seen that short spot which TCM runs, with the full explanation of letterboxing and WHY they run it? And "films photographed in a coventional camera"....What you're referring to there are films shot in a 1.85:1 "matted ratio", which....in most cases.....are shot full-frame (aka "conventional camera" to your mind), but composed and designed to be shown JUST as TCM shows them. The other formats can be anywhere from a 2.20:1 ratio to a 2.35:1 ratio (Cinemascope or Panavision).....and when you see them panned-and-scanned, you're only getting about HALF of the image you saw in theaters. "So what I'm saying is...TCM *****!!!" Well, so does some of your rantings. Go watch AMC (aka American Money Crud) then. Methinks this board has been TROLLED.

Nagooo, it could also possibly be "Do Not Forsake Me, Darling" from HIGH NOON. That had lyrics, but just because you heard it played on a piano doesn't mean the tune doesn't have lyrics.

Got this Oscar-winning film on TCM right now, and I'm very puzzled by something: TCM is apparently showing a panned-and-scanned print! The movie was filmed in the Todd-AO process in a 2.20:1 ratio, and I don't think the print/transfer TCM is running looks good. It's very, very contrasty (too much black areas), somewhat grainy, probably doesn't look as sharp as it should, and the colors don't look particularly vivid. Granted, this has obviously been panned-and-scanned, but I'm quite surprised TCM isn't showing a letterboxed version. Does anyone have any info as to whether this movie has ever had any sort of restoration (and I think it was out on laserdisc in widescreen years ago), or why TCM isn't showing it in widescreen? Inquiring minds want to know...