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Topic: That's Entertainment Part 2

Graham Sinden
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1131
From: Kent, UK
Registered: Aug 2005

posted December 26, 2009 07:30 AM

Derann 5x600ft
US 1976 133mins
Letterboxed widescreen

This film is the second in the series and includes more of the same of great musical clips but this time also adds a bit of comedy and drama with the Marx Brothers, Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn but musical songs make up the bulk of the footage. Rather than have many stars introduce the segments individually this time new introductions have been specially filmed in a studio with Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly not only talking but also showing us that they can still dance after all these years. All these new introductions are filmed in widescreen. Naturally this film could never be as good as the first as the best numbers were already used in that but TE part 2 is still full of gems like the Triplets number from the Bandwaggon and Bobby Van's pogo dance from Small Town Girl(where does he get all that energy from!). Long title sequence from Saul Bass.

This film was available from Derann from the mid 1980's but has been deleated for some time but occasionally pops up on dealers lists. The print is of masked widescreen (no scope lens required) with the 4:3 clips smaller on the frame but the widescreen sections take up the full width. The film was originally supplied on 5 x 600ft reels but my copy is on a 1600ft supaspool + a 1200ft reel which gives you an idea of the length. Unfortunately this print is not one of Derann's best with slightly soft focus throughout and slightly lower contrast but with all things considered is not a bad print and very watchable. The picture is rock steady and the mono sound is good but can be rerecorded into stereo from the dvd. However its biggest letdown in my opinion is that the B/W sequences, of which there are many, have a strong 'blue' tint to them which is a shame as the colour sequences are good. My copy is on Eastman LPP.

Taking all things into consideration TE part 2 is a worthy addition to your Super 8 collection if you also have films 1 and 3 and though the picture may not be as good is not that bad either if you can put up with blue and white (instead of black and white) clips.

Picture A/B
Sound A mono

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Paul Adsett
Film God

Posts: 5003
From: USA
Registered: Jun 2003

posted December 26, 2009 03:22 PM

Hi Graham,
Thanks for that nice review. One advantage of your bluish print may be that, as the print fades over time, it may become more red and compensate, so that the black and white sections actually become more black and white!
I have TE1 and TE3. The TE3 print is really excellent with rich colors, great contrast, and very sharp. I re-recorded in stereo which added greatly to the enjoyment of the film. I particularrly like the Esther Williams montage and the Judy Garland reel.

The print of TE1 is not quite as good. It's still very sharp, but the contrast is quite a bit less. But I think the material of TE1, not suprisingly, is the best of the series. By the time they got to TE3 a lot of the really great musical numbers had already been used.
The thing I really like about these films on super 8, is that they are very repeatable, plus you do'nt have to show the whole film at any one time. Each reel of the film stands up very well as a separate piece, so you can just pop your favourite part of the film onto the projector at any time and enjoy it. I have often used a reel of the TE'S as a show filler.

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Graham Sinden
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1131
From: Kent, UK
Registered: Aug 2005

posted December 27, 2009 12:06 PM

Thanks for that reply Paul. Yes its great that these films are very repeatable. There are many films on super 8 which you might pay a lot for, show them once a year then place back on the shelf again but these films you can watch odd reels of them again and again.

Its also great to have all 3 films on super 8 and lets not forget That's Dancing, another great compliation also on super 8.

As for the blue and white scenes you get used to it. The colour bits do not look 'blue' at all and I suppose id rather have it blue than pink!

When was TE2 deleated from derann lists, I think derann issued it around 1985?

Graham S

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