gagman66 Posted July 25, 2004 Share Posted July 25, 2004 Thank you TCM for re-airing "SAFETY LAST!" this evening! For those of you who have yet to see it or will being viewing it for the first time in it?s entirety, you are in for a treat! This picture is not Harold Lloyd?s best or funniest film, but it is probably in the top five or six of his career. It is certainly a Lloyd classic and one of the great silent comedies, and as such not to be missed! It has become his most famous work because it has been somewhat more accessible than most of his other features over the past 15 years or so. One thing that first time viewers should know. TCM has aired two versions of the film in the past. Both are full-length and complete. Each was commissioned by the Trust so the print quality is excellent. The first of the two is the1989 Thames edition, put together by Kevin Brownlow and David Gill, and scored by the great CARL DAVIS. The other is the new HL Trust edition, produced by Jeffrey Vance in 2002. The Trust/Vance print thankfully retained the magnificent Carl Davis score, but with one major difference! His score is now largely out of synch about 60% of the time or more! For Instance the Main title Theme builds up momentum, then hits it?s stride once the title of the film is first displayed on the screen in the Thames version. On the Vance/Trust edition the music doesn?t hit it?s stride until well after the title ?HAROLD LLOYD IN SAFETY LAST!? is already off the screen! The few scattered sound effects heard throughout the picture are mainly out of synch as well. Most of them you will hear either before or after the fact! A frequent gripe among Lloyd supporters! I myself was highly distressed over the poor dubbing job when this version made it?s TCM debut on May 28th 2002!Worse still is the ending, as with the other two Davis retained scores from the earlier Thames editions, (THE KID BROTHER, And SPEEDY), it is abruptly cut short before the orchestra has even stopped playing on this newer version! The Thames edition was in perfect synchronization, all the time and the orchestration didn?t end pre-maturely! Harold Lloyd fans that are familiar with the Thames originals have pondered how on earth the Trust could have conceivably been so sloppy as botch up the transfer of the Davis score?s to their new restorations as badly as they did for the past two or three years now! Doing a disservice not only to Mr. Lloyd, but Mr. Davis as well! Unfortunately, it seems as if the out of synch scoring Trust edition has replaced the Thames original all together! Hopefully this distressing anomaly will be rectified by the time SAFETY LAST and the other Davis scored features, are at long last finally released on DVD? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busterchaney Posted July 27, 2004 Share Posted July 27, 2004 A very interesting commentary on the status of Harold Lloyd films being unavailable to the public?.. You were lucky even to find them commercially on video (only a few titles were released). It really makes me wonder about the Harold Lloyd Estate (i.e. S.L.H.). There is no reasonable explanation for the great wait in releasing the Lloyd films to DVD. And then now even with this long delay for release there seems to be some unresolved quality issues. This reminds me of the "3-D Hollywood" book released by the Trust in 1992 (edited by S.L.H.), containing Harold Lloyd stereoviews taken from his collection, in which several of the pictures were presented incorrectly so as to lose the 3-D effect (not to mention the overall poor selection of subject photos as well). What is the problem with this group ? poor business structure, unsound organizational policies, lack of common sense, corporate greed, what??? Of course I seem to recall some similar complaint posts regarding the quality/print/soundtrack issues of the recently released Charlie Chaplin collections. Perhaps these studio/estate entities feel that close-enough is good-enough but it remains a shame that they do not realize what a great injustice it is not only to the appreciative audience but more importantly to the artist and the art itself. Just imagine for a moment the type of uproar these issues would receive if they involved the hardcore passions of a Star Wars fanatic and you have the same detail-oriented sentiments a silent film fan has for the genre. Why is it so hard to treat the art with the appropriate historical and aesthetic respect it deserves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gagman66 Posted July 27, 2004 Author Share Posted July 27, 2004 I?am sorry to say, I agree that the Harold Lloyd Trust has been pretty inept in accomplishing much of anything! The domestic airings of HL's films on TCM, is about it. No one outside of the US is even getting to see these extremely poorly publicized broadcasts anyway! With respect, Suzanne Lloyd has supposedly been trying to strike a DVD deal with a major releasing company, for the past two and half years or more. In all honesty though, I refuse to believe she has really done that much to make this come to pass! If she has been working on it each day as she claims, at the very least she has proven herself to be a very, very, poor, if not incompetent businesswoman! In spite of repeated misinformation from her that a contract was very close to being inked, numerous times, I see nothing to indicate this happening anytime soon. This is very sad. I can understand Ms. Lloyd wanting to get what she feels these films are worth and she is entitled too, but getting the titles out to the public doesn't appear to be her main objective! While I agree that the films are being seriously undervalued, and DVD companies that deal in silent's like Kino and Image probably are not offering enough money, as long as the Trust keeps a stranglehold on the major titles the films will never get the recognition or exposure they so justly deserve! Ms. Lloyd is intent on selling the rights to the complete Lloyd library all at once. Attempting to sell them this way appears an unsound if not outright foolish strategy. What's more the Trust has the power to produce it's own line of DVD's, and cut out the middle man! With the new MPEG 4 technology they could do this with DVD-R's and DVD+R's and not sacrifice anything in quality! (That is not to infer that they would use this sort of media.) Unfortunately the Trust seems to be totally ignorant of this? Hey my DVD-R's would satisfy most any collector, and I don't have MPEG 4 capability! The Trust has spent allot of money on new 35 Millimeter masters, digital transfers (ready for DVD production?) and in many cases new scoring. What good does any of this do if the films are still very rarely seen? Outside of the USA these editions are still unknown. Even in this country the films while making some new fans have remained pretty low profile! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busterchaney Posted July 28, 2004 Share Posted July 28, 2004 Yes, it?s quite obvious that the Harold Lloyd library of films has been under preparation for release for quite some time now, as can be witnessed by the new material design and year 2000+ copyright dates, as well as the frequent airings and displays of support from TCM. (It is a shame to learn however that some/many of these updated programs still have certain unresolved quality issues.) Granted, the Trust should remain protective of this asset and apply itself to attain the greatest reward for its value. Afterall, that is the basis for the Lloyd fortune all these years ? Harold Lloyd?s ownership and control of the material. However, if nothing is being done to secure that fortune and propagate the legacy of art and artist, then the purpose seems to be lost. Although it can be argued and debated, Harold Lloyd is probably the most successful film star of the silent era. Add to that the fact that, in addition to being wonderfully crafted and extremely FUNNY, the Lloyd films are probably the best body of silent works that translate well to today?s audience in terms of both current movie standards and holding a viewer?s attention. But in order for this to be recognized beyond the closets of silent film fan chats, these movies must be displayed (that is, as in the format in which they are produced ? SEEN and not just ?talked? about). Certainly there must be some resolution to this distribution situation. KINO VIDEO has done a wonderful job in its packaging and presentation of silent films (although the lack of titles from their video library released to DVD remains frustrating ? perhaps a separate legal issue). Of special note is the respectful treatment KINO reserved for series-sets from the ?partial pantheon? of main silent artists like Clara Bow, Lon Chaney, Douglas Fairbanks, Buster Keaton, Cecil B. DeMille, and D.W. Griffith, as well as titles from Louise Brooks, Harry Langdon, and Gloria Swanson. KINO has also released some outstanding sets packaging early-era material ? Movies Begin, Slapstick, First American Features ? and foreign silents (Germany, Russia). From an outside view, this would seem a perfect place for the complete Lloyd library of works. MILESTONE VIDEO has also done a masterful job with its silent movie releases, including the Mary Pickford titles and several excellent documentary films. If it?s a situation of money vs. full catalog value (ie, the distributor just wants to cherry-pick the popular silent works only) why not negotiate some type of tiered contract. In this case, an agreement can be reached for distribution of the full library. The product is then scheduled for release in three phases: 1) silent features, 2) early silent shorts, 3) later sound features. The sales performance of each release wave within an established period would then determine the financial contractual obligation (ie, a prorated scale between the buyer?s and seller?s figure). The point being: the Harold Lloyd Trust needs to make it happen. These films are too important to be shelved for any reason! This post probably is reaching a limited audience, and that?s too bad. Gagman66, thanks for the information and constant vigil on all issues Harold Lloyd. It is quite apparent that you are a most loyal fan, and your dedication is admirable. I saw where your zealousness brought you some heat a while back, and although I?m not taking any sides on that issue I believe I do understand your devotion. If the 66 is in reference to year of birth then we?re pretty close in age. I?ve been a Harold Lloyd enthusiast for over twenty-five years, ever since a college film course at UCLA. While I love and enjoy all silent films (the above references are just a few from my own collection, not a website!), I would probably have to rate Harold Lloyd as my single overall favorite (don?t be fooled by the name). Yes, silent films are not for everyone, but I still try at every opportunity to show others what they?re missing. If there is advice for which people can remain informed or some way to petition the Harold Lloyd Trust in force please give notice. (I?m usually too busy watching TCM!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gagman66 Posted July 28, 2004 Author Share Posted July 28, 2004 "BusterChaney" both of your post's are truly outstanding! Please consider submitting them on The Harold Lloyd forum soon? Or with your permission, I will do so on you behalf? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busterchaney Posted July 29, 2004 Share Posted July 29, 2004 Well, I guess as these forums are "public domain" anyone may use the material found within, and as my true identity remains unknown there seems no reason for fear or doubt. So, if you find an opinion worth quoting, feel free to use it. I did follow your lead to HaroldLloyd.com and briefly surveyed the territory (wherein you surely are regarded as a ?Giant?). I also noted the request to remain respectful to The Trust, so perhaps my commentary here would require editing (?). I?ll probably sign-up there at some point just to stay more in tune with this ridiculous DVD matter (uggh!). Perhaps I'll end up contacting you someday for a complete set of HL-DVD's (and at the rate The Trust is going, you may be the only resource!). I have a Panasonic DVD-R recorder with harddrive, so I have been doing my best to record what I can from TCM (whilst battling the occasional interruption in cable signal or prolonged broadcast of TCM logo). But while the unit has minimum editing powers, it has NO capability for custom menus or precise chapters. Someday I'll upgrade my computer system to do all these wonderful DVD recording extras but for now I bow to your superiority. My discs are certainly acceptable for viewing but the perfectionist in me would much prefer having more professional versions of items I cherish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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