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Author
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Topic: Crocodile Dundee (optical sound super 8!)
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Osi Osgood
Film God
Posts: 10204
From: Mountian Home, ID.
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted January 07, 2007 12:06 PM
Here's a personal favorite of mine from the land down under! I was quite happy to get a print of this, (thanks Dimitri!) a short while ago, and having watched it again inspired a review.
Many of us know the story already, but I digress.
A news reporter (played by Linda Kozlowski) here's of a man in Australia who survived a vicious croc attack and dragged himself back to civilization. She goes to investigate, ending up at his favorite tavern filled with his best mates. The Corcodile Dundee shows up, and it is soon discovered that his injuries are half as bad as were made out, (he still has his leg, but a good bite was taken out.
After some fun rough housing, The reporter is invited out to the Croc's stomping grounds to inv estigate his life and the evidence of the attack, (the wrecked boat, ect.) The Croc is a rather eccentric character, but certianly a man of his word. At one point, upon hearing a diatribe about the roles of the sexes, the reporter heads out on her feminist own, but being attacked by a croc (and being rescued by the Dundee) cures her of going out on her own. While there, she meets up with an aborigine man, which leads to a funny scene where the Croc tells her that aboriginine can make thier way in the dark due to extra sensory perception, at which point the aboriginine promptly smacks right into a tree hard! (funny) While experiencing the outback, the two of them start to fall in love.
Upon heading back to civilization, the reporter invites the Croc to come back to New York and civilization with her. He agrees, (his first flight on a plane is funny!) He arrives in New York, which is great as well. (His reaction to the escalator is great!)
The man from down under is friendly with everyone, except for the reporters obnoxious drunk boyfriend, (which is easily cured with a good punch in the snoot ... poor man can't hold his liquer!). He meerts up with some hookers as well as a number of New Yorks other finest, (discovering as to whether the woman really is a man under that dress is classic. "That Sheila is a man! Ay?!") Also most memorable is the street thug attempting to rob the Croc with a most inferior knife. The Croc takes out his blade... "Now that's a knife!"
At a dinner party, the obnoxious boyfriend proposes marriage to the reporter. Rejected, the Croc hits the streets for awhile. He then decides upon a walkabout and leaves his hotel.
The reporter, who doesn't love her obnoxious boyfriend, but who has become rather smitten with the Croc, chases him down to the subway, where she proclaims her love in yet another memorable scene, and the two reunite! Fade out.
This movie is one memorable scene after another and apart from a few cuss words, (this was rated PG) this is old fashioned film-making at it's best. There's really not one mis-spent step in the movie. Every scene is needed. Needless to say, though Paul Hogan had made a few films before this one, this made him famous, ever to be the Crocodile Dundee!
I was highly impressed with the VERY loud optical sound on this print, louder than nearly any print I have heard, and not once does the sound fade or get scratchy, which sometimes happens with optical sound films. Very clear and crisp with warm tones thru-out.
The sharpness and contrast are absolutely wonderful. Optical sound super 8 has always tended to have outstanding image quality, and this is no exception. This is really no suprise, as these optical sound prints werwe almost always taken directly from brand new prints from the scource material, which were brand new releases at the time.
One interesting thing of note, the whole credit scene is "masked" to give you the complete cinemascope widescreen and amazingly, it was very sharp, especially noting that there is no lense required to view it that way. I have seen masking before, but it has not been the scope width (233. something, I believe, or is it 1.33?)
and yet it worked.
I believe that this was either printed on KODAK SP or Eastman LPP. I'm betting that it's KODAK SP, as most optical sound super 8 prints were printed on KODAK SP after 1983, thankfully kissing goodbye the dreaded Eastman. There is the very slightest warming to this print, yet perfect complete reds greens blues and yellows are ever present. Being that this print is 22 or 23 years old, it looks marvelous! Not a scratch on this baby!
The only major changes to this film was the slight editing of a few cuss words, but as stated earlier, this is a PG film, so it wasn't anything you'd really miss.
Well worth the seeking out, but as it is printed on KODAK SP (undoubtably), make sure that the colour is okay!
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"All these moments will be lost in time, just like ... tears, in the rain. "
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Steve Klare
Film Guy
Posts: 7016
From: Long Island, NY, USA
Registered: Jun 2003
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posted January 07, 2007 03:36 PM
G'day, Osi!,
Now you've gone and done it! Until this review I never regretted not having an optical sound projector!
The Dundee movies (with the probable exception of "3") are favorites of mine. The man's a hero in the classic sense, and despite being a fish out water, he adapts just fine, maybe even brings people over to his way of seeing things.
Personal Note: The mansion he storms in "2" is the Vanderbilt Museum in Centerport, Long Island, New York: perhaps two miles from this house!
Happy Birthday to the only Yank I've ever met who spells it "colour"!
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All I ask is a wide screen and a projector to light her by...
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Osi Osgood
Film God
Posts: 10204
From: Mountian Home, ID.
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted January 07, 2007 05:14 PM
I've noticed using "colour" instead of color. I think it's because of being involved with these British indivisuals thru the forum, although I am 75 percent British and 25 percent Irish, I was just brought up over in America.
I know what you mean about the Croc. There's that one line about secrets or faults, and the way the Croc and his mates deal with it is by having it gossiped all around town and then there's no real problem with it anymore. It makes sense, the secret problem is only a major problem if it's secret; when everybody knows, the shame you feel makes you make quick corrections in your behavior.
Anyway, enough philosophizing. It's certianly not too late to find a decent optical/magnetic sound super 8 projector. They come up on ebay from time to time. Just keep in mind, (if you should choose to accept the mission) stay away from the "Copal"
or "Sanyo" (or is it Sankyo?) projectors, as they have a much lower optical sound output, as well as being somewhat unkind to your films in general. Best to stick with the Elmo's or Eumig's
I swear by my Eumig, (with many a profanity, haha!), and until I actually hear an Elmo with optical sound then I'll stick with my Eumig.
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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 April 22, 2015 12:44 PM
I haven't watched this for awhile, but I'm betting that you are correct about the editing. There were a few little bits that I guess a whole family with kids might be a little un-amused with, but I thought the film was pretty darned clean, especially by todays standards.
The colour has held up pretty good on my print. Someone asked a good while ago if this is a LPP print. By bet is that it isn't as, while the daytime shots have spot on colour, the night time shots have the slightest bit of browning to them, so my bet is that it's Kodak SP, but a good stock of it, as the colour looks pretty good to this day.
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"All these moments will be lost in time, just like ... tears, in the rain. "
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