lzcutter

We all like to think that some one, some where has their eye on the big picture of saving American film. The reality is: <> Welcome to the world of film restoration, preservation and archiving.

Well yeah, I guess but it can't be getting terribly unfavorable terms for the WB-pre86 MGM - RKO films, since it's part of the same corporate umbrella, right? We don't know. It would be nice to assume that Warners gives them a break on the library (pre-49 WBros, pre-86 MGM and all RKO) that they used to own but we don't know that for a fact. The bottom line is that TCM has to rent every film it shows. Does it get a "deal, deal" (as Don Rickles would say) from WBros who can say? I would think we would see more WBros from all decades if that was the case. But we don't. Warners is the top of the pyramid for Home Video and TCM is the top of the pyramid for showing the classic era films. But TCM has been on the air since 1994 and just recently Sony smacked their forehead and went "We need to do a contract with these folks for our Columbia Library!" Disney went "Damn, our live action library could have an outlet" and even Paramount (who on any given day rarely knows what they have in the vaults) went "This sounds like a good idea" (paraphrasing on my part).

But would they ask for more money than TCM can pay, unless they thought they could go elsewhere and get that money if TCM can't pay it? I would think that if they see TCM as being the best channel for classic fare like this, they would try to come to an agreement that benefits both.>> But TCM no longer owns a library of films so each film it shows is rented. Considering the number of films it takes to program 24/7 for a year, it may just come down to economics. There are other cable stations that might pay, they be unwilling to compromise, it could be a number of factors. You would think at this late date, every studio would see TCM as an ally and work with them. But look how long it took to bring Sony to the table regarding the Columbia library.

Surely UCLA/MPI can come to some sort of arrangement with TCM to publicize these? >> It may have more do with MPI asking for more money than TCM can afford to spend to rent the films. We need to keep in mind that TCM, like every business, has a budget not only for film rentals, but the documentaries they produce, the Private Screenings they produce, the wrap arounds with Ben M and Robert O they do, the wrap arounds for the Essentials they do with Robert O and Carrie Fisher, the in between pieces they produce such as Word of Mouth, What a Character and the shorts such as the Rocky take off, the Dirty Dozen take off, the Ben Hur, Tarzan and other animated take offs. All that costs money and each department has a budget that they must work with in.

Anne, You are on Dish network aren't you? The analog problem only targets those individuals or families who are only getting over the air television (local and affiliate broadcasts such as NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox and PBS) . If you are currently watching television on satellite (Dish or DirecTV) then you do not need to buy another television, your television is capable of reading a digital signal. Hope this helps!

I am a little bit curious as to where the library is held on the company organization chart. I suppose it is with all of the current Warner Bros. films.>> Moviefan, As you know, the original Turner Film Library consisted of pre-1949 Warners, pre-1986 MGM and all of RKO. When Ted did the merger with Time Warner back in the late 1990s, the film library was part of that merge. It is now under the care of Warner Brother where it is now reunited, as you mentioned, with the almost all the rest of the Warners Library. One of the reasons that The High and the Mighty is no longer with Warners I think is because the Wayne family has a deal in place with Paramount for the release of Batjac films on DVD. Cinesage, one of the regular posters around here, can probably provide more accurate information about the relationship between Batjac and Paramount. I'm also thrilled that after many decades (pre-Turner), almost all of the Warners Library is back under the care of Warner Bros.

Believe me, I'm not kidding or being facetious when I say this next, but your words "That sounded cheaper than forcing every police station, fire station, EMT responder, hospitals and such to convert their equipment, I guess." actually made me laugh. I'm quite sure I could bet that there are a whole lot more households in the U.S. than those groups all put together, and 'forcing' them to go digital would have been much easier and cheaper, not to mention kinder to the population.>> Anne, In most cities, upgrade of response equipment for police, fire, hospitals and EMT response is paid for by the taxpayers through bond issues and such as they are usually considered to fall under city and county jurisdictions. Perhaps the thinking in Congress was that it was cheaper for households to buy a new television than for each taxpayer to have to bear the burden of Emergency Response upgrades to digital. With more space available on analog channels once television departs, the Emergency Responders might be able to make their inter-department and intra-department Response systems more compatible avoiding some of the problems and tragedies that happened during the Northridge earthquake here in 1994 and in NYC and Washington DC on 9/11. One of the big complaints by both police and firemen on 9/11 was that much of their communications were not compatible between different boroughs fire dept and the police. This is hoped to help alleviate that situation by opening up more analog channels. Message was edited by: lzcutter

Here is my question. How do you know whether your TV is up to date or not? I bought my TV in August of 2005. It is a 24" off brand Walmart creation, which has the best picture in comparison to the other 24" RCA's, Sony's and other offerings. All I know is I checked for a remote, whether it was cable ready, and how much it cost. It works beautifully with my DISH satellite, and has a sharp, and clear picture whether in color or B&W. So, how do I know if I'm screwed or not? Also, what airwaves are they clearing up and what for?>> Anne, Your television should be fine. Many of the stations you enjoy (including TCM) are now digital stations. Congress authorized the switch from analog to digital about five or more years ago. The reason they gave at the time was that there are a finite number of analog channels available whereas the number of digital channels is not as limited. The analog channels are used by television networks, cable networks, emergency response such as police, firefighters, EMTs and others. So, Congress decided that instead of all those groups fighting for a limited amount of channels, if they moved television and cable networks to digital, then there would be much more room for Emergency Response that is still operating on analog equipment. Plus the push with high definition has been around since the turn of the century if not the mid-1990s, I guess the thinking was given that it is now more often cheaper to buy a new piece of electronic gear than to repair it, Congress figured that by the time 2009 came along, the majority of Americans would own televisions that would broadcast digital. That sounded cheaper than forcing every police station, fire station, EMT responder, hospitals and such to convert their equipment, I guess. Because there was a loud (and justified) cry from AARP and others, the converter box was added to the bill so that seniors and others who were not watching their television via cable or satellite (the thinking was they owned older, analog only models) would not have to invest in a new television. The deadline for conversion was pushed back a few times with 2009 now supposedly the firm conversion date. But it's the government and there are still smaller television stations which have converted to digital yet. So, I guess we will have to wait and see how firm that 2009 date turns out to be. Hope this helps! If there is anything I got wrong, I hope other correct what ever mistakes I made.

Brazos, A number of Scott's westerns were shot up in Lone Pine, California. There were also a number of famous movie ranches here in Southern California as well; Corriganville started by Ray "Crash" Corrigan was in Simi Valley. It was torn down a few years ago for housing development. The Iverson Movie Ranch (where some of Stagecoach is reputed to have been shot) was located in a corner of Chatsworth. It was sold and part of it became a gated community and the lower part a housing development. The Iverson was famous for its Garden of the Gods natural rock structures. Melody Ranch owned by Gene Autry up in Newhall. Melody Ranch is still in existance and was most recently used as a shooting location for Deadwood. Paramount Movie Ranch which was rented out to other studios besides the home studio. It is located in the area between the San Fernando Valley and the coast. It is still in use. Parts of the HBO series Carnivale were shot there. The western town is still there for tourists to visit. Fox Movie Ranch which includes Malibu Creek State Park is still in use. It's probably most famous for being the location for the series MASH. Ahmanson Ranch which is where some of Gone With the Wind and They Died with Their Boots On were shot. It is now a park. The Spahn Movie Ranch in Chatsworth which is probably more famous for its connection to the Manson family these days than the movies that were shot there. This site may be of help to you: http://www.surfnetinc.com/chuck/location.htm

Gagman, Is the last restoration of the Wind the one that was done after Hollywood had its premiere here in the States? Sometime in the last 20 years I saw a screening of a beautiful tinted print of the film here in Los Angeles but I am thinking that screening was in the late 1970s or early 1980s.

If I recall what Cinesage said, they were leaning towards Criterion but somehow (I don't recall the specifics) Lion's Gate got involved and ended up with The Quiet Man. You might search the general forum to see if you can find the thread. It might have more details.

I guess I should have phrased it as "Those who were there". Many of the leading archivists from Europe and America were in the audience and many have voiced their opinions publicly about Brownlow's version since that screening.

It screened in London in the summer of 2005 and people who saw it say it was wonderful. Coppola threatened to have the screening canceled because of legalities but cooler heads prevailed. One other thing I should mention is that the Coppola produced restoration in 1981 was of an earlier Brownlow restoration. That earlier restoration is unique in that he had Gance himself often helping to identify pieces of lost footage. Some have noted over the years that Coppola had that version cut down to accommodate a shorter running time and his father's score. Despite the fact that better elements have been found, more authentic lost footage has been found and despite Brownlow's best efforts, up to now Coppola has refused (the screening in London notwithstanding) to budge on the issue of his rights vs Brownlow's rights.

Movieman, I think Cinesage posted just this past fall that Paramount worked a deal with Lion's Gate Entertainment and as part of that deal, Lion's Gate now owns the DVD rights to The Quiet Man. He was concerned as I recall that it would be just a basic job with no restoration and no extras.

Kenneth Browlow has spent most of his life searching for the lost scenes and restoring Napoleon. He became good friends with Abel Gance back in the early 1960s and there is a chapter on Gance and Napoleon in Brownlow's wonderful book about the silent film era: " The Parade's Passed By". The 1981 restoration produced by Robert Harris and Francis Ford Coppola runs 235 mins. It has a score by Francis Coppola's father Carmine. It was screened here in the States back in 1981 at various venues, including the Shrine Auditorium here in Los Angeles. The 2000 restoration (unseen here in America with a score by Carl Davis) that Brownlow supervised runs 330 mins. There is talk among archivists that Brownlow has found some more footage and incorporated that into his 2000 restoration so the running time would be longer than 330 minutes. In addition to Napoleon, Brownlow has produced documentaries on Chaplin (as well as restored a number of Chaplin films), Keaton, Merion C Cooper, Mary Pickford, Cecile B. Demille, Universal Horror Films, Lon Chaney, Sr, the epic Hollywood: An Appreciation of American Silent Film and Cinema Europe: The Other Hollywood, and many others. He is currently trying to find funding for a documentary on the life of Doug Fairbanks, Sr. He is to many one of the world's leading authorities on silent films and one of the leading preservationists of all time.

Since this movie is in the TCM system, why isn't it available in some format to purchase?>> Tdld, TCM no longer owns its original library. When Turner did the merge with Time Warner back in the 1990s, the library was part of that merge. It is now under the care of Warner Bros. (a Time Warner Company). TCM has to rent all the movies it shows. Lone Wolf was part of the Columbia Film Library that is now controlled by Sony Pictures. Sony has recently started to put more of the Columbia Library on DVD. That said, the fact that a number of Lone Wolfs have been made available to TCM to rent may mean that a DVD release may be coming soon.

According to the Home Theater Forum Chat that the folks from Warner Bros. were at last week, The Jazz Singer is coming to DVD in 2008 with lots of extras. If I remember correctly, they are trying to do a Deluxe Edition with the extras and the packaging. Stay tuned!

Sam, Unfortunately, NBC has the broadcast rights for Wonderful Life.

For example, people have to use a fork-lift to get me to a Johnny Depp, Jack Nicholson or Brad Pitt movie, but that's after seeing what they've done over a period of time and I was able to conclude it's just "not for me".>> MissGoddess, For my own sanity, I am thinking based on your previous posts in this forum that you do like John Wayne and find him to be a good actor. It is Depp, Nicholson and Pitt that you don't "cotton" to at all and not the Duke. Do I have that correct?

Twister, Excellent point, since the government has moved Daylight Savings Time up, we should all check our computers, PDAs and other electronic equipment to make sure they have the date and time right on Sunday. I think we have to do the same thing in the fall because DSTime will be ending after Halloween this year.

John, I remember when I was younger and the story was playing out in the papers here in the Southwest and Pacific West. I've always been fascinated by the case.

Sweetbaby, For some reason, this has been the usual m.o. for TCM for years now. Both a silent movie group and an archive group that I belong to have been talking about this phenom for the last few years.

Sam, It is at the top of the list of movies for Mr Cutter and I to see! Will let you know what we think!

There was a movie made in the mid-1970s called Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze starring Ron Ely and Paul Gleason. All these years later I still remember this memorable line" "Mona, you're a brick!" It was supposed to be a franchise movie with more episodes/films made but the box office was eclipsed that year by Jaws. Would love to see it one of these days.

Klondike, I, too, love October Sky and Matewan! I saw Matewan on its initial release and have been in love with Chris Cooper (and director John Sayles) ever since. I really liked that in Matewan he is the union organizer and in October Sky he is anti-union. James Earl Jones is very good in Matewan as well. It was one of his first roles.