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Author
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Topic: The Magic Box
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Paul Adsett
Film God
Posts: 5003
From: USA
Registered: Jun 2003
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posted January 08, 2006 10:35 AM
The Magic Box 1951
120 mins, 2400ft
Color, Derann
This is the 1951 feature made by the British film industry to celebrate the festival of Britain. The film stars a virtual who's who of all the famous British cinema actors of that time, and one of the fun things about this film is trying to identify all of them as they pop up in various cameo roles.
The story is the biography of William Friese- Greene, who this film claims invented the motion picture camera and projector. Edison and Lumiere are casually acknowledged as also being motion picture pioneers, but Friese-Greene is claimed to have had the first intermittent mechanism (presumably the maltese cross) used in today's cinema projectors. It also claims that he invented the biocolour process, where colour motion pictures are produced by rotating two colour filters in front of the camera and projector (KinemaColour).
The lead role is beautifully played by Robert Donat as the quiet intense inventor obsessed with producing moving photographs, and his wife is competently played by Maria Schell. Also appearing in cameo roles are Michael Redgrave, Richard Attenborough, Peter Ustinov, Stanley Holloway, Michael Dennison, the great Dennis Price, the beautiful Glynnis Johns and her father Mervyn Johns, the eccentric Joyce Grenfell, the wonderful Margeret Rutherford, and a host of others too long to mention. The most famous cameo is by Sir Laurence Olivier, as the astonished policemean who witnesses Friese-Greene's first triumph, the projection of moving images of Hyde Park on an improvised sheet screen. This is the most remembered scene of the film, and Friese Greene's excitement at this event reminded me of my own excitement when I first turned the handle on my first Pathescope 9.5mm projector!
The film is of great interest to film collectors and movie buffs, containing beautiful shots of old wood and brass magic lantirns and early movie equipment. There are many wonderful scenes, such as the Victorian photo studio where they show customers having to stand absolutely still for 30 seconds to get their photo taken! The film was produced by Roy Boulting, and the beautiful victorian settings and costumes are sumptously photographed by Jack Cardiff. My family and friends really enjoyed this movie, it is low key almost like a BBC period drama, but if you are a film collector you will love it.
We take the showing of films in our homes for granted these days, and it easy to forget the real struggle by inventors such as Friese- Greene to achieve what seemed impossible at the time.
American audiences will of course have to (at least temporarily) suspend their belief that Edison was the sole inventor of the motion picture camera ( in fact Edison was primarily a buisness man and enterpreneur who copied many of the motion picture concepts developed by Lumiere in France)
This film is very rare indeed. I don't think it exists on VHS or DVD,(certainly not in the USA), so if you find an S8 print grab it! My particular super 8 print is a Derann 2400 ft Agfa colour print, pin sharp with beautiful rich colours and great contrast. The mono magnetic track sound quality is very good for a film of 1951 vintage.
Highly recommended, if you can find it.
Print A
Sound A
Content A
Packaging None. I have mounted my print on two 1200ft reels and made a special cardboard box with downloaded graphics of the film on the cover- looks pretty good!
[ February 18, 2008, 02:06 PM: Message edited by: Paul Adsett ]
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The best of all worlds- 8mm, super 8mm, 9.5mm, and HD Digital Projection,
Elmo GS1200 f1.0 2-blade
Eumig S938 Stereo f1.0 Ektar
Panasonic PT-AE4000U digital pj
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Keith Ashfield
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 997
From: U.K.
Registered: Dec 2006
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posted February 23, 2008 06:59 AM
Just got my DVD this morning and I have to say, I totally disagree with the reviewer on Amazon that Paul wrote about. As Paul so rightly said, the picture quality is no where near Super 8 quality but, in my opinion it's not bad at all. The print has obviously not been "digitally restored" in any way, which is a great pity, but the colour is better than some of the so-called "more popular" releases of films from the same era, on DVD. As it doesn't get shown on T.V. a great deal, I urge non Super 8 print owners to get it. I will be watching it on my video projector tonight.
I remember my Dad telling me he had the great fortune of seeing this film when it was released in 1951, (the year of my birth), at the Festival of Britain. For the lover of "reel" film it is a "must have". Below is a "snapshot" of the digital image from the DVD
P.S. Paul / James - Derann released the feature print in late 1994.
[ March 11, 2008, 12:03 AM: Message edited by: Keith Ashfield ]
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"We'll find 'em in the end, I promise you. We'll find 'em. Just as sure as a turnin' of the earth".
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Andrew Woodcock
Film God
Posts: 7477
From: Manchester Uk
Registered: Aug 2012
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posted May 15, 2017 01:55 PM
From my own point of view, it is simply that the fascination for the subject matter only makes it all the more charming and humbling by viewing it on the very machinery which only came about by virtue of what this film is all about in its content.
Without even viewing this movie yet on real film, I can only imagine it can and will undoubtedly, only further enhance my total admiration for the subsequent equipment designed impeccably for placing these images up on our screens.
Seeing the very concept of motion pictures unfold on screen for the very first time and then glancing around occasionally at one of its successors far further along the evolutionary chain, can surely only bring about further admiration for the pioneers, inventors and subsequent design teams of such equipment.
A picture very much brought about for those truly fascinated by motion pictures, I'd say.
For this particular movie, I doubt very very much if it would ever be possible to generate that same set of emotions from any kind of Blu Ray presentation from my own personal point of view.
[ May 17, 2017, 06:46 PM: Message edited by: Andrew Woodcock ]
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"C'mon Baggy..Get with the beat"
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Andrew Woodcock
Film God
Posts: 7477
From: Manchester Uk
Registered: Aug 2012
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posted May 16, 2017 06:43 AM
Like all of the films I buy, I of course like the film or else I wouldn't bother buying them. As to whether or not I prefer to view the films as films using a cine projector or a digital projector, that usually depends on such factors as print quality, sound quality, nature of the movie and the era which the film comes from as to ultimately which I prefer.
As I have said here previously, I have both the Blu Ray and a mint copy on Super 8mm of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.
If I had the Blu Ray only, I'd probably watch this movie only a handful of times throughout my probable remaining lifetime, but on film, I watched each reel of film at least half a dozen times just in the first few weeks of ownership alone. It really was/ is such a beautiful print as well as a timeless classic of a film.
In another example, I love my scope print of Die Hard, but I have always maintained to our friend Tom here, the Blu Ray blows it out of the water so far as colour rendition and it's original soundtrack from Derann is concerned.
As for this particular film up for debate here, there is no doubt that it will be the Super 8mm low fade print which I'd much rather see up there on screen David, for all the reasons already spoken of above.
Film of course is a hobby pursued through passion and affection just as music is, to that end your comment regarding Joy Division can only lead me to say David, There is no accounting for taste is there? ![[Wink]](wink.gif)
The only purpose it served was to generate the feeling of atmosphere and passion as we feel from watching a film on screen say, or in this case, listening to a piece of influential music brought about entirely through passion and a full spectrum of emotions by the legendary late Mr Curtis.
We are after all, all very different people with very different opinions, brought together here only for one common reason,..our love for screening real film on film associated equipment.
[ May 16, 2017, 09:22 AM: Message edited by: Andrew Woodcock ]
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"C'mon Baggy..Get with the beat"
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