Welcome to Big Screen Classics, a blog devoted to discussions and reviews of classic and not-so-classic Hollywood movies on both the big screen and your home screen. Plus a whole lot more: movie soundtracks, home theater technology, and whatever else crosses my mind. Your comments are welcomed and encouraged. Your host - Pete Apruzzese. Please note that we are not affiliated with TCM's "Big Screen Classics" movie series or the Lafayette Theatre.
8/30/16 UPDATE: Bob Furmanek just announced the following update: The upcoming 3-D Blu-ray release of IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE is Region-free and has the following extras: 3-D trailer, 2002 featurette on the history of the film, commentary track by historian Tom Weaver and closed-captioning! It is also available from Amazon Canada and Amazon UK. -----
This post is just a little preview of the upcoming 3-D Blu-ray release of the 1953 favorite IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE, coming on 10/4/2016 from Universal Home Video and available initially as a retail exclusive atBest Buy (link updated 9/15), with general availability at other retailers to be announced at a later date.
[Note that this will not be the red/green anaglyph conversion from the 1970s that came out on VHS tape at one time, but a modern Blu-ray 3-D version of the original dual-strip film elements.]
I was recently granted the opportunity to see a preview of the final 3-D Blu-ray master that will be used for this release. Bob Furmanek, head of the 3-D Film Archive, invited me plus several others to view the master on his setup utilizing an Epson 5030 LCD projector running an image about 8 feet wide.
The results, courtesy of Archive Technical Director Greg Kintz's 3-D alignment and panel matching, are nothing short of superb. I ran a 35mm dual-strip Polarized print at the Lafayette Theatre, plus I've seen it several times via this same process, and the 3-D Blu-ray is even better. Greg managed to correct 99.9 % of the errors in the original (there is one shot that Bob described as being impossible to fix - I think it lasts 4 seconds - and I didn't notice it while we watched the movie) and it just looks great.
And there's a huge upgrade in the sound department - they were able to access the last surviving element of the original 3-track stereo master (Left-Center-Right) and have preserved the original - v e r y w i d e - dynamic range and channel placement. The previous DVD used a tamed-down version of this mix and hearing the Blu-ray is a revelation.
I'll follow up this post with a full review when the Blu-ray hits the street, but this posting can serve as a preview and assurance that you can safely pre-order this science fiction classic with confidence.
For more information about the film and its history, go to the 3-D Film Archive.
Saved from near-oblivion by the 3-D Film Archive, the science fiction favorite GOG gets a new lease on life via this stunning 3-D Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics GOG Blu-ray 3D specifications
Distributed By: Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Video Resolution: 1080p high definition
Presented in original theatrical 3-D or alternate 2-D
(GOG, 1954, directed by Herbert L. Strock, written by Tom Taggart and Richard G. Taylor from a story by Ivan Tors, produced by Ivan Tors, photographed in color & Natural Vision 3-D by Lothrop B. Worth, 1.66:1 aspect ratio, music by Harry Sukman; starring Richard Egan, Constance Dowling, Herbert Marshall, John Wengraf, Philip Van Zandt, Michael Fox, William Schallert; theatrically released by United Artists)
Studio Synopsis
In a remote, underground research laboratory two scientists, engaged in space travel research, are frozen to death in a cold chamber when their instruments comes under the control of an unknown power. A security agent, Dr. David Sheppard (Richard Egan, The 300 Spartans) arrives at the secret space research base, home of two experimental robots to investigate the possible sabotage. Early in his investigation, Sheppard finds that the underground laboratory under the control of the Supercomputer NOVAC and experimental robots GOG and MAGOG. Herbert L. Strock (The Crawling Hand) directed this Sci-Fi/Horror classic with a stellar cast that includes Constance Dowling (Black Angel), Herbert Marshall (The Letter) and William Schallert (TV's "The Patty Duke Show").
About the film
Fans of early 1950's science fiction films are in for a treat with this new Blu-ray release of Gog, the third in producer Ivan Tors' OSI Trilogy (The Office of Scientific Investigation): The Magnetic Monster (1951), Riders to the Stars (1953), and Gog (1954). The trilogy presented hard science fiction ideas in an entertaining - and occasionally juvenile - manner, surrounded by laboratory equipment, stoic leading men, lots of exposition, and colorful action. Gog is the culmination of the trilogy, telling its story of an underground space exploration lab besieged by unexplained sabotage. Is it caused by the Commies or an alien invasion? In 1954, you paid your 49 cents on a Saturday afternoon matinee and waited to find out. But unless you were in one of five California theaters, you didn't get to see Gog in its intended 3-D form. Its dimensional release was severely curtailed by distributor United Artists as it was coming at the very end of the 3-D craze.
Featuring an intriguing circular multi-level lab - which must have inspired the very similar design in Michael Crichton's novel and film of The Andromeda Strain - Gog was still a visual treat even in 2-D, color & widescreen and was fondly remembered by science fiction fans. Those fans were ill-served by the the film's television distribution where the majority of the prints were converted to black & white. During the DVD era, MGM released it via their manufacture-on-demand service, but again in only full-frame open-matte 2-D (harming the intended widescreen compositions) and from an element that had seen better days. For years, there didn't seem to be any hope to ever see the film again in 3-D. But that's where the story takes a happy turn and things get interesting.
About the Blu-ray & Restoration
As described in the Restoration Featurette on the disc, Gog was lost in its 3-D version for many years as the studio only maintained materials for the "right eye"; remember that 3-D movies contain two separate images: a "left eye" and a "right eye". The 3-D Film Archive tracked down the last surviving left eye print - in a totally faded-to-pink condition - nearly five decades later. Working in cooperation with MGM (who now owns the film) and supported by Kino Lorber, Bob Furmanek and Greg Kintz of the Archive began a months-long restoration to bring the film back to 3-D life for a Blu-ray release. Using numerous proprietary techniques, the Archive was able to return color to the left eye and then do a painstaking shot-by-shot matching of the color, image alignment, and cleanup of debris on the left and right prints. The result is an outstanding 3-D presentation on the Blu-ray. I was been lucky enough to see the original 3-D print a number of years ago in dual-projection polarized 35mm and this version gives a far better representation of the original film. The full story is told in the restoration featurette on the Blu-ray and on the Archive's website.
Lobby Card image courtesy of the 3-D Film Archive
Belying the myth the 3-D films from the 1950's were always filled with eye-poking off-screen effects, Gog instead uses depth to draw the audience into its environment. The staging of the scenes emphasizes the size of the underground laboratory. The use of depth betrays the low budget the film was produced under - all the sets look larger than they really are. Many scenes have multiple layers of action showcased - there's a particularly striking sequence about 7 minutes in that shows foreground action, background action and then another level of depth shot through a window. This type of depth exploitation has rarely been used in modern Hollywood 3-D films, with the possible exception of Martin Scorsese's Hugo, and is sorely missed. When the action gets moving in the final third, we are treated to a good selection of off-screen effects: notably a flamethrower and the wild gesticulating arms of the rampaging robots. Director Herbert L. Strock suffered from monocular vision (just as House of Wax's Andre de Toth did) so he relied on cinematographer Lothrop B. Worth (plus Natural Vision Supervisor M.L. Gunzberg, visual consultant Julian Gunzburg M.D., and Natural Vision consultant O.S. Bryan) to help him stage scenes to maximize the 3-D effects. The result is one of the best photographed 3-D films of its era, certainly equal to the efforts of the major studios. And all of it is presented for you ghost and artifact free on this Blu-ray.
Bonus features on the Blu-ray include an informative Audio Commentary by Tom Weaver, Bob Furmanek and David Schecter; a lengthy featurette on the restoration, archival interviews with director Herbert L. Strock and cinematographer Lothrop B. Worth, and trailers.
For fans of vintage 3-D, you can't go wrong with GOG. Highly recommended - buy it now.
Here is a brief peek at the restoration (the full version of the Restoration Featurette is on the Blu-ray; as an added bonus this short is filmed and presented in 3-D):
The original trailer (unrestored version):
For even more information on Gog, visit the 3-D Film Archive website.
Reviewed via a Vivitek DLP 1080p 3-D projector (ISF calibrated), EstarAmerica DLP-Link glasses, custom acoustically-transparent screen (100" diagonal), Sony Blu-ray player, Denon receiver, Paradigm speakers.
June 10, 1915 saw the first public exhibition of stereoscopic motion pictures, it took place at the Astor Theatre in New York City. 100 years later, on June 13, 2015, New York City's Museum of Modern Art opened a three-week long film exhibition called "3-D Summer". As the saying goes, you've come a long way, baby.
Arriving around 3:30 at the Museum for the 4:30 show of 3-D Rarities, there was already a decent-size crowd gathering. From running classic films for over 10 years at the Lafayette Theatre I built up a pretty good sense of how an audience is going to shape up and was not at all surprised by the anticipation these folks were feeling. I did recognize some people there who had been regulars at my shows so I knew the event was drawing people from far and wide. I met up with the 3-D Film Archives' head honcho Bob Furmanek, the Archives' Technical Director Greg Kintz, John McElwee of Greenbriar Picture Shows (Executive Producer of 3-D Rarities), and the Archives' Associate Producer Jack Theakston. Bob also introduced me to to the Museum's Adjunct Film Curator, Dave Kehr, who I was delighted to finally meet after reading his New York Times columns for so many years. The upper lobby quickly filled and we headed downstairs to MoMA's Theatre #2, which has a capacity of just over 200 people. While I was further chatting with Bob, Dave came by and told us that the last ticket had been sold and this was now officially a sell-out. Not a bad start at all. Unlike many museum shows, which contain a lot of museum patrons and gallery visitors, this audience was composed primarily of film and 3-D fans.
(L to R) Greg Kintz, Bob Furmanek, Dave Kehr,
John McElwee, Jack Theakston
First up was the East Coast premiere of 3-D Rarities, which contains 94 minutes of rarely seen short films saved and preserved by the 3-D Film Archive. Courtesy of Bob, I had seats in a prime location - about eight rows up and just off the center of the screen. The sight lines in this theatre are good, it's got a fairly steep rake so the viewing angles are ideal. By the time the show was to begin the theatre was filled to capacity and Dave brought Bob up to the microphone to give an introduction to the program. This introduction was an essential part of the show as it put the origin and purpose of many of these shorts in the proper context. Seeing them cold with no foreknowledge wouldn't be half as much fun.
Early 3-D test footage
(courtesy 3-D Film Archive)
Starting with the earliest surviving stereoscopic film from 1922 and continuing through 1953's "Boo Moon", the sequencing is a delight. Presented in chronological order, the shorts painted a unique image of how filmmakers viewed the possibilities of stereoscopic cinema. There was a terrific reception to the early test scenes - many of which featured scores of huge off-screen effects - as well as a wild ride on Riverside Drive and a visit to Coney Island's Thunderbolt roller coaster. Always a audience favorite, "New Dimensions" (aka "Motor Rhythm") got a very strong round of applause as did "M.L. Gunzburg Presents Natural Vision 3-Dimension" - which features not only the human presence of Lloyd Nolan (cutaways of him listening intently to an ophthalmologist explain how eyesight works are a treasure) and Miss USA Shirley Tegge (with her own brand of 3-Dimension), but the antics of the original Beany & Cecil puppets as well.
Lloyd Nolan and Shirley Tegge
(courtesy 3-D Film Archive)
From there, we moved into several trailers and another audience favorite, "Stardust in Your Eyes," which features music and comedy performer Slick Slavin doing impersonations of Hollywood greats in 3-D. This is another short that always gets a great audience reaction and delighted the museum crowd. Next up was the sobering "Doom Town", a rarely-seen and rather downbeat piece about a reporter's visit to an atomic bomb test outside of Las Vegas.
Fortunately, we moved into more entertaining avenues with the
Puppetoon-style "The Adventures of Sam Space", the racy-for-its-time "I'll Sell My Shirt" vaudeville short and concluded with "Boo Moon," a stunning cartoon featuring Casper the Friendly Ghost. When it began I could hear several audience members singling along with the theme song. There's something to be said about shared memory there.
All in all, the 3-D Rarities show was a huge success.Urge your local classic cinema to contact Flicker Alley and arrange to show it as these shorts are best seen BIG. If that's not possible, the next best thing is the Blu-ray release as it contains all of the above plus nearly 60 additional minutes of material, including animations from the National Film Board of Canada plus much more. Order from Amazon and wherever Blu-rays are sold, or direct from Flicker Alley HERE.
3-D Rarities credits:
3-D Restoration – Greg Kintz
Producer – Bob Furmanek
Associate Producer – Jack Theakston
Executive Producer – John McElwee, Greenbriar Picture Shows
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After a brief break, and a look at some of the Museum's current Scorsese Collects movie poster displays (gorgeous), it was time to head back for John Wayne in Hondo. Contrary to myth, Hondo had one of the widest 3-D releases of any film from the Golden Age, including a smashing three week run at New York's 3600-seat Paramount Theater. But it's rarely been revived in 3-D and last night's MoMA audience got to experience something special as this is the first time in over 60 years that Hondo has played in Manhattan in 3-D. Even though there have been any number of 3-D festivals in the area since the late 1970's, Hondo was not among the titles screened at them. The film's owners, BATJAC Productions (the John Wayne estate) gave Hondo a photo-chemical preservation in 1994 and then a new digital restoration, clean-up and alignment was completed on it in 2013. For a fully detailed look at its history, I highly recommend this article over at the 3-D Film Archive's website: The 3-D Release of HONDO
Once again, the theatre's lobby filled quickly and a long line of eager ticket-holders formed with a lot of repeat customers from the Rarities show. Dave Kehr opened the show with some brief introductory notes and then presented BATJAC's Gretchen Wayne (wife of the late Micheal Wayne and now the custodian of the Wayne estate) who further detailed the problems they faced bringing Hondo back to 3-D life.
The film itself is terrific, a very solid western with a particularly strong performance by Wayne. His scenes in the first third with Geraldine Page are a delight and shows just how good an actor he could be with the right material. The later action scenes are expertly done and the story gathers to a very satisfying conclusion. Technically, the film is superb - one of the most natural-looking of all the 3-D films from that time with an exceptional use of screen space and depth and a minimum of off-screen gimmick shots (arrows, knives, etc.). There are a number of shots in the film that are not in 3-D due to camera malfunctions while shooting on location, but the digital work they've performed keeps it from becoming a distraction.
Again, as with 3-D Rarities, the audience greeted the conclusion of the film with a sustained round of applause. Sadly, there are no plans for Hondo to get a Blu-ray 3-D release, your only chance to see it the way its makers intended will be at one of the upcoming MoMA screenings - the schedule is HERE.
