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Author
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Topic: Hoppity Goes To Town!!
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Osi Osgood
Film God
Posts: 10204
From: Mountian Home, ID.
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted August 23, 2014 10:51 AM
Joe!!
Thank you for that totally awesome info!! I LOVE learing something further about a beloved print!!!
You are right, the Red Fox print, while slightly better than the Derann and the original full length, does have some splice issues from the original source, (as well as some slight "white" lines the appear here and there from the original source material) ...
I always wondered why the Red Fox was so exquisitely SHARP and has such great contrast to the print. My question has been answered in spades. Once again, KUDO'S to Joe!!!
By the way, on the official Blu-ray release, at least on Gulliver, they did restore the original Paramount titles to the beginning, as I have that. (OK, I am assuming that it is an official release, as it is totally restored and a 720p download. Lovely to look at. Now .... to look forward to an official "Hoppity" Blu-ray)!
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"All these moments will be lost in time, just like ... tears, in the rain. "
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Joe Balitzki
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 529
From: Charleston, SC, USA
Registered: Aug 2005
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posted August 24, 2014 03:22 AM
The "Gulliver's Travels" Blu-ray release is not a "official (Paramount Pictures) release". It was done independently from several prints; at least 2 35mm IB Technicolor Original Prints from a Re-Release were used as well as a AGFA 16mm Print. Its a composite. That is why there is such Richness of Color. It was also not "Digitally Tweaked" excessively. So, there are negligible faults in the picture which are only considered faults by those that cannot stand to see a scratch or dirt. The graininess of the prints used also was not tampered with excessively. It was a Labor of Love since it exists in far too many terrible video versions. It was funded by donations asked for online. If it was not in the Public Domain it would likely have never been done. It was done because Paramount has no inclination to do so. Many are fond of the two Fleischer Features, so if Paramount ever does Officially Release them I have no doubt they will sell many. I do not know if Paramount financed the UCLA Restorations, but I imagine they did contribute somewhat and that High Definition Masters were created. Finally, when "Gulliver's Travels" Eastmancolor prints were struck by NTA for Television, the Vibrant Reds from Technicolor were printed lighter (desaturated). It had more to do with the fact that Eastmancolor print stock was used. The same thing was done with Eastmancolor/Metrocolor prints of "Gone With The Wind" when it was Re-Released. The timing and saturation of entire reels was altered by MGM with the co-operation & supervision of David O. Selznick. Print stocks have improved greatly since then but even so, they are not the same as viewing a IB Technicolor print. Close perhaps, with careful lab work but the shadows and subtleties of the gradations of the Colors are not the same. Especially if one views a Nitrate IB Technicolor print.
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Movie Lovers Do It in the Dark
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Osi Osgood
Film God
Posts: 10204
From: Mountian Home, ID.
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted September 03, 2014 12:02 PM
" They ain't no Disney Timothy...that's for sure! "
True, but then the Fleischer studio had it's own charm and "urban" comedy and style, while Disney had that farmyard "west coast" style, and while Disney was the greatest at "technical" animation (to this day, in my opinion), The Fleischers films were far funnier and the humor tends to hold up better than in the Disney's.
I rarely watch any of the Disney shorts anymore, but I still regularly view the Fleischer "catalog". ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
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"All these moments will be lost in time, just like ... tears, in the rain. "
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Osi Osgood
Film God
Posts: 10204
From: Mountian Home, ID.
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted May 03, 2019 12:01 PM
Just two ...
Gullivers Travels
Hoppity Goes to Town.
"Hoppity" broke the bank for the Fleischer studios. In what turned out to be an illegal seizure of his studio, (he finally won his court case in the early 1970's), when Hoppity bombed at the theaters, Paramount stole the studio from out under Max and Dave Fleischers hands. The sad thing is that Hoppity is definitely a better film that Gulliver, but it had two things working against it ...
1. Paramount barely bothered to even market the film, not liking the original title "Mr Bug Goes to Town" ...
2. it had the unfortunate timing of being released the weekend of December 7th, 1941 ...
Peoples minds were immediately sidetracked, and sadly, "Bug" bombed.
It may not have the "craft' of a Disney feature at the time, but the subject matter certainly worked to the Fleischers strong points when it came to animation and story-telling.
The bluray still isn't out there yet but boy, I do look forward to it someday!
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"All these moments will be lost in time, just like ... tears, in the rain. "
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