8mm Forum: Xanadu editing

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Posted by Dino Everette (Member # 1378) on November 15, 2010, 01:31 AM:

Is it me or is this digest edited WEIRD? Sometimes it felt like they were cutting in mid sentence....Then they cut the big musical number where the 2 bands are playing simultaneously....Bummer...I don't have many Universal 8 digests so I am curious if this is a weird one or a typical one because previous reviews had said it was really good...

Posted by David Kilderry (Member # 549) on November 15, 2010, 02:48 AM:

No, you are correct Dino, it is frustrating. It should have had more songs especially "Suddenly".

Posted by Tom Photiou (Member # 130) on November 15, 2010, 12:52 PM:

Its not one of the best edited films from universal, nor is the quality that good with a slightly soft and grainy look in some places, although i have seen much worse, this item could have been a lot better,
Some universals were very well cut, one that springs to mind was High Plains Drifter, i still have a copy of this (color has slight fade) and its as good to watch as its ever been,

Posted by James N. Savage 3 (Member # 83) on November 16, 2010, 06:57 PM:

I did a review on XANADU a while back, but this is my thought on the edits-

What I liked:

I liked that the songs/segments for "I'm Alive", "All Over The World", and "Xanadu" were intact, with no edits.

What I didn't like:

The editing showed 'laziness' in some scenes, like the first scene of the movie, when Micheal Beck is painting a picture, as the less-important credits continue on the screen. There are no cuts in that scene, and it goes on too long for a digest.

I didn't mind so much that they edited the "Forget About The Blues/Got Some Dancin To Do" number. While I like the song, the scene is not all that well done, and does drag on quite a bit.

And, as David said, MANY more songs should have been included, at least in part. The best thing about the movie was the soundtrack, and they should have exploited that, instead of the rediculous plot.

As far as U-8's editing on the earlier releases, they are some of the BEST editing jobs ever, and would work great even today as mini-features on DVD!

James.

Posted by John Hourigan (Member # 111) on November 18, 2010, 07:46 PM:

I could be wrong, but wasn't XANADU the last gasp of Universal 8?

However, I do agree that some of Universal 8's earlier 400-foot digests were very good in terms of editing (many times better than watching the entire feature, particularly the MUMMY sequels).

Posted by Tom Photiou (Member # 130) on November 19, 2010, 01:23 AM:

John, i think this was the last or one of the last items released along with the blues brothers, the two were released together.

Posted by James N. Savage 3 (Member # 83) on November 19, 2010, 01:32 PM:

Yes, these were THE last releases from Universal 8. They had advertised Xanadu, The Blues Brothers, Cheech & Chong (Up in Smoke, I think) and maybe one other movie in their final catalog. But I think only Xanadu and Blues Brothers made it, as sales in super 8 were dropping everywhere.

They both seem like some-what rush jobs. Still good for some scenes, and better than not having them at all. Just too bad about U-8's choice of film stock though.

James.

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