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Author
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Topic: Value of Laurel and Hardy Films
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Joseph Randall
Master Film Handler
Posts: 437
From: Wyckoff, NJ, USA
Registered: Jun 2015
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posted June 27, 2015 08:36 PM
quote:
Similar pattern with the introduction of VHS, as many recall, collectors dumped their film in favor of the tape, much to their later regret - No matter how far technology takes us, there will always be the want for where it started; motion picture film - Shorty
I agree. There's something special about screening a film. I still have VHS and DVDs -- the same way I have vinyl, tapes, CDs, and mp3s for music. Similarly, there's something special and more involving about playing a vinyl record on a good turntable.
With the L&H films, sadly I think that the fans are passing away at a faster rate than new fans are being created, particularly those who want to collect on film.
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Timothy Ramzyk
Expert Film Handler
Posts: 220
From: Milwaukee,WI,USA
Registered: Nov 2006
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posted June 28, 2015 10:31 AM
quote:
UCLA is undergoing a long-term restoration, it will take time and effort, but so far the results are incredible - I feel everyone should have at minimum, a representative sample of L&H, Chaplin and other genre - Shorty
Though Blackhawk, home 8mm and 16mm film truly was Laurel & Hardy's showing so far. I think every library in the US with an AV department had prints available.
I tried to see where things were with the UCLA restorations, and it's hard to figure out how far along they are. It seems like WAY OUT WEST and about 7 shorts are now completed for sure.
Unfortunately UCLA has a lot films they've restored, but like The Library Of Congress, they don't always have the ways and means to distribute the fruits of their labors. I'm hoping these films don't take so long that the possibility of a Blu-ray set isn't out of the question. I don't live near any major city like LA or NY that might screen them.
On an unrelated, I'm told that the 1910 Thomas Edison FRANKENSTEIN is currently at The Library Of Congress undergoing restoration, and they do have plans to make it available.
[ June 29, 2015, 01:11 AM: Message edited by: Timothy Ramzyk ]
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Osi Osgood
Film God
Posts: 10204
From: Mountian Home, ID.
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted June 29, 2015 01:04 PM
You are so right, Shorty.
I know that I have mentioned this before, but when I watch one of my DVD's of the Lads, lets say, "Big Business", it's a pretty good print they used and all, but I feel kind of at a distance to the material ...
but ohhhhh, when I run my super 8 print of the same title, film grain, occasional scratch and all, I really do feel like I'm back in that movie theater with the crowds, laughing right along with them.
Does anybody else get that feeling when screening they're prints?
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"All these moments will be lost in time, just like ... tears, in the rain. "
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Joseph Randall
Master Film Handler
Posts: 437
From: Wyckoff, NJ, USA
Registered: Jun 2015
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posted June 29, 2015 03:37 PM
quote:
Film - It is the only form that shows the way it was, imperfections or not - Shorty
quote:
I know that I have mentioned this before, but when I watch one of my DVD's of the Lads, lets say, "Big Business", it's a pretty good print they used and all, but I feel kind of at a distance to the material ...
but ohhhhh, when I run my super 8 print of the same title, film grain, occasional scratch and all, I really do feel like I'm back in that movie theater with the crowds, laughing right along with them.
Does anybody else get that feeling when screening they're prints?
I couldn't agree more -- yes -- that's why we're all here on this forum.
I am, however, happy when there are home-video releases so non-celluloid collectors can be introduced to the boys.
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Timothy Brown
Junior
Posts: 8
From: Milwaukee, WI. USA
Registered: Nov 2005
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posted June 29, 2015 07:39 PM
Its' kind of interesting how all formats for delivering a movie more or less follow the same trajectory. The beginning where they have a lot of room to grow, the peak in terms of proliferation, then the decline. Oddly enough most reach there greatest degree of technical excellence in decline. My Super 8 prints from Derann toward the end of Super 8 production were quite possibly the most technically excellent in my collection, and the color filmstocks the most stable.
Likewise, as we see the decline on physical movie media on disks, we see a level of technical excellence that is leaps beyond the first DVDs, especially in the form of a well mastered HD Blu-ray when projected.
I'd say all DVDs of Laurel & Hardy's films for Hal Roach, prior to the Vivendi DVD set reflect the limits of early video mastering and compression. The source is good, but the end result mixed by today's standards. The RHI masters are now twenty plus year-old analog techlines, and they look decidedly "video-ish" by comparison, with general soft flatness lacking texture or range.
I certainly fell in love with L & H through my Super 8 prints, and those of my library. Most of my Blackhawk prints were quite nice, though missing their original titles.
There is no doubt in mind however that we live in an age where the art of film restoration is at an all time high, and that these restorations are revealing detail unseen since these films were first created. I don't quibble over things like the reel change marks, lines or speckles. It's the integrity of photography I'm most concerned about. That's why the prospect of what these UCLA restortions will reveal excites me so much.
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Pulp Novelties
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