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Posted by Bill Vermillion on 01/08/05 11:32
In article <8sadnXSJbqzB0OfeRVn-ug@adelphia.com>,
Billy Joe <see.sig@invalid.org> wrote:
>Bill Vermillion wrote:
>> In article <d91jn15an850c1h8088jvv4onb3ntrdnbo@4ax.com>,
>> <FM98.3@WKLLradio.com> wrote:
>>> On Wed, 09 Nov 2005 21:23:12 GMT, "DVD" <dvd@dvd.nu> wrote:
>>>> Is there anywhere to download old films?
>>> Why bother. Walmart has been selling old films on DVD for $1
>>> each.
>> Places like archive.org have old films that aren't available
>> anywhere else. Not DVD and not VHS.
>> For an example I got an old comedy "I'm From Arkansas" from
>> archive.org. It's a comdey - not great - but has old line
>> start Slim Summervile and El Brendel.
>> It's from PRC - Producers Releasing Corporation - who made
>> a lot of B-Budget films - a lot of them westerns for the
>> double-feature Saturday matinee crowd. $50,000 was a big budget
>> for them.
>> TCM has shown three or four films from them spotlighting
>> directed by Edward G. Ulmer. But almost all of their output
>> [IMDB shows they distributed 286 films and produced 222 before
>> they went out of business in 1948] arent' available anywhere,
>> and there are several on archive.org
>> I recognized several of the films as the second 'cowboy' film
>> they'd show on Saturday's when I was kid. Usually starring
>> "Lash LaRue".
>> Some of the Ulmer films, and one of the most popular films they
>> released - the Enchanget Forest - reputed to be the first film
>> blown up from 16MM to 35MM for theatrical release - are on
>> DVD and/or VHS. But most are just missing in action - except
>> for transfered old prints that look like they were used in TV
>> sations in the 1950s that are on these sites.
>> Bill
>Well said, Bill.
>However, whether within the spirit of the law of not, the only
>place to find some items is among fans who utilize the internet.
>De Dva (The Dove) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062906/ is one
>such example.
>While two of the crew went on to either recognizable or stellar
>careers, this early, farcical, 12 minute effort deserves a much
>wider audience than it has received since one of its very few
>showings on Z-Channel, thanks to Jerry Harvey - as a between
>feature filler.
That's truly a funny film. I actually have it - somewhere - in my
piles of VHS or Beta - probably Beta - that I recorded years ago.
It's probably the funniest if you've seen some of Bergman's films.
I have so much stuff I've recorded I'll probably never get around
to seeing them all - as I first started recording off-the-air
in 1977 with the old Beta I.
>Were it not for some astute VHS, or more likely Beta, enthusiast
>at that time, there'd not be any copy available. The copyright
>owner may or may not have turned it to Public Domain, but it's
>unlikely that it will ever have another commercial release or
>that anyone is concerned with infringement or protection from
>public viewing. While acolades are not dollars, kudos to the
>writer, director, and cast of this clever bit of film.
>One has to search for a while to find a source, but the effort
>will be rewarded. The poor image quality and frame size is
>forgivable, as there doesn't seem to be another copy.
And the cost of Beta tapes was so high - I often recorded only
parts of a show. I have about 2 tracks from the Rolling Stone
10th Anniversary show. [I think it was 10th.]
And there was a series that had Jean Marsh narrating some of the
best animation from Canada. It really is too bad that so many good
things aren't available anywhere. And thinking about it, I think
that's where I saw "The Dove".
Last year I was transferring some old VHS things - one I had
recorded off the air when I was on vacation - traveling with
a 20-pound 'portable' Qusar. Since I was involved with music at
that time I found "The Day The Music Died" to be quite interesting.
It's a documentary on the disatrous Randall's Island Music Festival
- where the fences got torn down and artists cancelled because
there was no money to pay them. I got that from an old TV
series called "Night Flight".
And then there is Pop Gear - with lip-syncing of about 16 of the
English rock acts of 1965. AMC showed it on the July 4th weekend
back in 2000. But it's nowhere to be seen anywhere else.
And then you see some of the drek that IS released you wonder why
good things just sit somewhere - hidden - so no one gets a chance
to see them.
And there were many movies on cable/broadcast 10 years ago that
also seem to have disappeared - never even showing up on VHS
commercially.
It's hard being a vidiot. :-)
Bill
--
Bill Vermillion - bv @ wjv . com
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