Il deserto rosso (Red Desert) was Antonioni's fourth film in a series preceded by L'avventura, La notte, and L'eclisse. It was also his first film made in color. Criterion's Blu-ray of Desert, which I watched late last week, is rich with texture and nuanced color. I need to re-watch it because I saw a vertical reddish-yellow streak in a few frames at one point and didn't note the timestamp so I could glance back at it. The transfer is otherwise visually flawless, with the look of a pristine 35mm print. More on this disc soon.
Unforeseen personal matters have come up over the last few days that have unfortunately brought the column (and life in general) to a screeching halt. I can assure you that I should return Monday or Tuesday with a flood of things, including Ozu pieces (that are mostly-done, but need some polishing). Thanks for your patience.
I've yet to see any of the wonderful movies in the Thin Man series in 35mm, but that changes this week thanks to the Paramount Theatre's Summer Film Series. Tuesday and Wednesday, Austinites can see a double bill of Another Thin Man and The Thin Man Goes Home, the third and fifth pictures in the 6-title franchise.
Notable landmarks in the series include the introduction of baby Nicky Jr. in Another, and the late-WWII setting of Goes Home, which was released in January of '45. The movie that came between these two, Shadow of the Thin Man, is notable for its release coming just two weeks before the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Also, the previously ultra-rich Charles family transplants from a mansion to an apartment to better reflect the populace at the time, all of whom were cutting back.
It's rare to see lots of the movies the Paramount Theatre is showing this summer on the big screen, but especially these classic Warner mystery/comedies. Show times and days are listed below.
Another Thin Man 7 Tues; 9:10 Wed.
The Thin Man Goes Home 9:15 Tues; 7 Wed.
Last weekend, Iron Man 2 beat Robin Hood on the latter's opening weekend, with neither claiming the dollar advantage of 3D screens. It would seem that word of mouth and brand value didn't propel people to the 55th or so retelling of the outlaw story. Maybe if they'd gone in the fundamentally different direction of the original Nottingham script, it would have been a bigger deal. If you want to see the same general story retold in a way you haven't seen before, you have better options on DVD.
Just last week, Sony issued four catalog Robin Hood titles on DVD that I hadn't seen before. Two of them are "next generation" sequels starring someone as Robin Hood's son, and the others are new permutations of the standard Hood tale. Read on and add to your Netflix queue as appropriate.
The Bandit of Sherwood Forest (1947)
Coming scant years after the end of WWII, Cornel Wilde plays Robin Hood's son Robert, who teams up with good ol' dad to prevent a reign of tyranny. THe Regent of England (William of Pembroke) locks up the boy King and tries to swipe the throne for himself. Beautifully-shot by the same Cinematographer as The Adventures of Robin Hood (Tony Gaudio), Bandit looks great in Academy ratio Technicolor.
Prince of Thieves (1948)
Costner's movie swiped its title from this flick, which stars Jon Hall, the same guy who played Ali Baba in Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, as Robin Hood. This one was done as a reworking of the traditional Robin Hood myth, and only runs 72 minutes. Shot in Cinecolor instead of Technicolor, darker scenes early in the movie look like they were colorized from black and white with a dash of acid. I don't mean that as a bad thing.
Rogues of Sherwood Forest (1950)
Another "son of" Robin Hood tale, I never thought I'd see a "Hood" movie directed by the same guy who made THEM! (Gordon Douglas), but here it is. Rogues was Alan Hale Sr.'s final film appearance, which was also his third time playing Little John over a span of 28 years. Hale's first go was opposite Douglas Fairbanks and his second was in the iconic and much-beloved Michael Curtiz-directed Adventures of Robin Hood with Errol Flynn.
Sword of Sherwood Forest (1960)
Some people only need the incentive of seeing Peter Cushing play the Sheriff of Nottingham to get them. Add in the director of Hammer Films' Horror of Dracula (Terence Fisher), and you seal the deal. Richard Greene, who played Hood throughout the 50's on TV, plays him on the big screen for the first time here.
Of the four "Hood" movies released on disc recently, this is the only one in 2.35:1 MegaScope widescreen, and it looks wonderful. Combine solid visuals with a story involving an assassination plot against the Archbishop of Canterbury, and this one's more irresistible than the rest. Oliver Reed and Desmond Llewelyn appear in a couple parts early in their careers.
All four titles are $9 from Amazon and can be ordered by clicking on the accompanying screenshot.
I haven't had time to re-watch the replacement copy of Saving Private Ryan that arrived this afternoon, but I thought it'd be good to get the physical differences in packaging out there to those who'd be interested.
In his commentary track on the Casablanca DVD and Blu-ray (recorded in 2003), Roger Ebert hits the nail on the head, to wit:
"We're living in a time when, for a lot of people, cinema history begins with Star Wars. A lot of younger viewers are not too interested in old movies, they aren't interested in silent movies, they don't like black and white movies, and yet...they make an exception for Casablanca."
That, better than anything I could come up with, is why the movie is always a good way to start a Summer Film Series.
I've agreed to contribute some regular column inches to the Summer Film Series held annually at the historic Paramount Theatre here in Austin.
My payment is being remitted in the form of a summer-long, all-access pass and complimentary soda/popcorn for myself and a guest. Don't tell anyone at the Paramount that I was planning to do this anyway, but the comped admission and cinema staples make it more financially feasible to spend as much time at the Paramount as I'd really like to this summer.
The style of the programming is predominantly double features running two days apiece, reversing order the second night. The 2010 lineup has great movies coming out of its ears. Here's a taste of some must-sees from now until early September:
Another Thin Man
The Thin Man Goes Home
On the Waterfront
Frenzy
Batman (1966) with Adam West in-person
The Taking of Pelham One, Two, Three
Goodfellas
Raging Bull
Giant
The Last Picture Show
Lone Star
The Adventures of Robin Hood
Shane
The Searchers
Freaks
Alien - The Director's Cut
All That Heaven Allows
Rebecca
All That Jazz
Showgirls
Valley of the Dolls
Mutiny on the Bounty
Captain Blood
Bride of Frankenstein
A Night at the Opera
Badlands
The Red Shoes
Ran
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
Breathless
Sunrise
M. Hulot's Holiday
West Side Story
Lawrence of Arabia (in 70mm)
Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines
Vertigo (in 70mm)
The Big Lebowski
There are even more wonderful titles peppered in there, so take a look at the full calendar and don't miss a chance to see classics the way they were meant to be seen.
"Film Fan" members of the Paramount get a sneak show of Casablanca tonight preceded by an opening party. Casablanca is tonight at 7pm, followed by The Maltese Falcon ay 9:20pm. They swap showtimes tomorrow night. They show again Sunday in a double-double as follows:
Casablanca
3:45pm & 8:20pm
The Maltese Falcon
1:30pm & 6:05pm
Whether you live in Austin or not, seek out your local summer retro film series and support it. These classics of various stripes are the backbone of the cinema world, and they need support.
I wish I hadn't been disappointed with Universal's Blu-ray of Spartacus from the opening frame, but this one is a burn. The opening shot contains so much edge enhancement that I honestly thought I was watching a DVD. I'm still rather shocked that Spartacus turned out this badly.
There's so much visible de-graining that it's like Universal added a "botoxify" button to the machines that do their masters. The Blu-ray horror show I'd compare it to the most is Fox's Patton, which suffers from similar digital plastic surgery. There's a shot here and there that looks...all right I suppose, but this is a movie that should transfix you on this format, not make you squint or shrink back.
Robert A. Harris, who supervised a very expensive restoration a couple of decades ago, weighed in with his thoughts a few days ago. I agree with him on every point, especially that this rush-job does considerable damage to the brand and reputation of the Blu-ray format. Set aside the fact that as with Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and others, Universal chose not to license the extras created by the Criterion Collection for their DVD edition. Anyone with the Spartacus Criterion DVD should keep it. Forget about this release completely, since it really has nothing of note to offer.
Remarkably, DVD Beaver gives this release a pass in spite of the consistently redder-than-it-should-be color palette and other glaring issues. Yes, the audio is improved, and yes, the picture is better in some respects in some places, but overall this is a burn, baby, burn from scene one.