8mm Forum: A NIGHT AT THE OPERA 800 Foot Digest

This is topic A NIGHT AT THE OPERA 800 Foot Digest in forum 8mm Print Reviews at 8mm Forum.

To visit this topic, use this URL:
https://8mmforum.film-tech.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=4;t=000335

Posted by Tony Stucchio (Member # 519) on January 29, 2009, 05:56 PM:

A NIGHT AT THE OPERA 800 Foot Digest
with the Marx Brothers
Released by M-G-M in 2 parts of about 16 minutes each.

Arguably the Brothers best film (or at least 2nd to DUCK SOUP).
A pretty good condensation of the film. You get the feel that you've seen the whole movie -- always the mark of a good digest.

Assuming you are familiar with the feature-length film (90 minutes), you get about 1/3 of it.

Highlights of what you get:

Part I
-------
1. Part of opening restaurant scene
2. The contract scene ("the party of the first part")
3. Part of "Alone" song.
4. The stateroom scene ( a few minor edits.)

Part II
--------
1. "Cosi Cosa" song (pretty much complete)
2. Parts of Chico piano solo
3. Parts of Harpo harp solo.
4. Most of hotel room scene (moving furniture from one room to another, with some minor edits.)
5. Part of final "Il Trovatore" scene, with edits. Feels like nothing much is missing, though.

Changes I would have made:
--------------------------
Part I:
I would have eliminated "Alone" and included the stateroom scene intact.

Part II:
I would have included the entire hotel room scene. Though I actually like "Cosi-Cosa", I would have preferred to eliminate it in favor of complete Chico piano and Harpo harp scenes. I don't think you could eliminate Chico and Harpo music and still feel like you've seen a complete Marx film. The only major comedy scene not represented is Chico's "and that's how we sail across the ocean" scene.

I really don't like edits in the middle of major comedy scenes that I know so well, but overall, this is a great cut-down. Too bad they never did A DAY AT THE RACES.

Print quality -- sharp and bright, but looks like a Universal 8 (a little dupey) rather than theatrical density like a typical Castle release. On my copy, the sound on Part I is ever-so-slightly out-of-sync -- most noticeable during the contract scene. Part II looks like there was some very minor, but noticeable, decomposition in the source neg in some scenes.

Overall, I would give it 3 1/2 out of 4 stars.

Posted by Douglas Meltzer (Member # 28) on January 29, 2009, 07:07 PM:

Tony,

Thanks for the great review. I need to get this film!

Doug

Posted by Ferran Gimenez (Member # 1069) on January 30, 2009, 02:56 AM:

Very good review!

I remember my father used to rent this digest back in the 70s,
with Spanish sound of course. Great memories!...

Cheers

Posted by Tony Stucchio (Member # 519) on January 30, 2009, 07:46 AM:

Doug:

About to end, but here it is anyway:

eBay: NIGHT AT THE OPERA, Part I

BTW, each part is about 18 minutes, not 16, so you get about 36 minutes!

Posted by Brad Kimball (Member # 5) on January 30, 2009, 08:12 AM:

I have this, as well as "Singin' In The Rain" which now has really bad color fade. I agree that MGM/Ken did a really nice job with the digest, but couldn't they have made it a 3-parter like they did with "Clash Of The Titans", "Ben Hur" and "Mutiny On The Bounty"? You can't truly cut down a Marx picture like ANATO and not sacrifice something so integral and so beloved such as the music pieces by Chico or Harpo and the banter routines like the contract scene you mentioned. How 'bout it DERANN - you could probably do wonderful things with a treasure like this? I'd love to see DERANN re-release all the vintage A&C/Monster Classics/W.C. Fields 400'ers from U-8 (or perhaps create their own). Alot of what's in these pictures is fluff and nonsense that wouldn't be missed. That's what was so wonderful about digests (if done properly and with care) you get all the meat and veggies and eliminate alot of the starch (all the starchy sub-plot crud that you just fast-forward past anyway).

Posted by Tony Stucchio (Member # 519) on January 30, 2009, 05:31 PM:

$30 is a little high to pay for one part -- as listed in the eBay auction. I bought mine together, used but in mint condition in the original boxes, nearly 15 years ago, for $50 total. And that was when Super 8 prices were at their peak, I believe. I've since put it on an 800 foot reel. The bonus is that Part II includes the M-G-M lion introduction, as in Part I. I took it out after I joined the reels (obviously you don't want it in the middle) and spliced it onto the beginning of one of my Blackhawk Laurel and Hardy features!

I'm surprised Red Fox never released this full-length with M-G-M/UA, as they did with FRA DIAVOLO. A 3-parter would have been great, too -- that would have been 66% of the picture. But as I said, overall it is very satisfying in its 2 part format.

BTW, Brad -- does your Part I suffer from an out-of-sync sound issue? And does your Part II look like it came from a slightly damaged negative in some of the early scenes in that reel? Not splices, but maybe wear/decomposition?

Also, the clipped dialogue during the contract scene in Part I also occurs on the version I taped from TV a while back.

UBB.classic^TM 6.3.1.2