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| Buster Keaton DVD Release; Any comments on the quality? | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Nov 27 2008, 07:10 AM (1,286 Views) | |
| Laughing Gravy | Apr 6 2009, 07:09 AM Post #16 |
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The Navigator is the only Keaton I've ever seen on the big screen, at a sold-out offering at the Film Forum in NY, and remains a fave to this day. The sequence in which Keaton and The Girl are roaming the boat, each unaware of the other's existence and just missing each other, is a masterpiece sequence that really comes alive on the big screen. |
| "I'm glad that this question came up, because there are so many ways to answer it that one of them is bound to be right." - Robert Benchley | |
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| panzer the great & terrible | Apr 6 2009, 08:40 AM Post #17 |
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Mouth Breather
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That brings up a topic we avoid -- how silent movies work better on the big screen. I watch mine on the computer so I at least get the illusion of a big picture. They weren't meant to be seen on a tiny little TV screen, and don't have anything like the emotional impact they have in a theater. Of course this leads to a more imponderable topic: why do we collect movies on DVD in the first place? In my case I think it fills some emotional hole, but I can't pretend it's rational. Why do I have a dozen Fairbanks silents of which I've seen maybe four? I dunno. Why do I have hundreds of serials on tape and DVD? Search me. I hardly ever watch 'em any more, but continue to buy every one that comes along. I have a theory it's because I never got to see a serial all the way through as a kid; there was always something the grownups thought was more important. So my adult self is trying to give my child self what it didn't get, or something like that. I formed that theory by observing my friend Henry, who will collect absolutely anything, useful or not. He loves to talk about his deprived childhood, so I put two and two together. Just thinking out loud, folks. |
| Life is just a bowl of cherries, it's too mysterious, don't take it serious... | |
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| marlin lee | Apr 6 2009, 10:47 AM Post #18 |
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I don't buy the idea that there is any one reason why we buy DVDs.I can say that with certainty because I buy DVDs for different reasons. Probably the biggest reason I buy DVDs is because I like the title and plan on rewatching it from time to time. That isn't as true now that I have over 1000 titles as it was when I had less than 100. But it is still true. Another reason is to be able to watch them with someone else. I like John Wayne and Elvis movies. But even if it is what I consider one of their lesser titles I am still likely to buy it because Mom also likes their movies and we can watch them together. Early memories also influence my purchases. Watching the Billy Jack movies was just part of being a teenager in the 70's. I don't really plan on rewatching them very much. But I couldn't pass up the chance to relive my teen years at least occasionally. Then there is a films historical significance. The Indians are Coming and Blazing the Overland Trail aren't my first choice of serials to watch. The main reason I ordered them from Rodney was because they were the first all talking and last theatrical serials. Edited by marlin lee, Apr 6 2009, 10:48 AM.
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| rodney | Apr 6 2009, 12:51 PM Post #19 |
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People do tend to collect things that had an impact on them in childhood. When I was a kid, I'd scan through the movie and TV show listings at what was on cable at the time and wish that I could see these old offerings. I already knew who many of the stars were, thanks to listening to old-time radio shows, but I wanted to see the movies. As I got the opportunity I was more than willing to seek them out, and purchase a copy so that I could watch it whenever I wanted. As I got older, I realized that this stuff was important to me, and if I didn't preserve it in my own little way, my kids, should we ever have any, probably wouldn't get to see it, and they may end up the same boat that I was. My comics, radio shows, movies etc all have this thinking behind it. |
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| KanSmiley | Apr 6 2009, 06:11 PM Post #20 |
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Charter Member
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As some of you know I have access to a 300 seat audiorium that has a full size movie screen in it. You name the date and we'll all get together and watch silent movies all day long. Kan |
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http://www.saturday-matinee-memories.com/ intoxicated, adj.: When you feel sophisticated without being able to pronounce it. | |
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| Stony Brooke da Mesquiteer | Apr 6 2009, 06:23 PM Post #21 |
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Sapient Balconeer
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Sounds good to me. Which city? |
| It's like Rodney King used to say, "Can't we all get a bong." | |
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| JazzGuyy | Apr 8 2009, 12:56 PM Post #22 |
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Balcony Gang, Foist Class
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Some of us collect things because we are natural pack rats and collecting can become a sort of end in itself. I'm sort of in that camp but do try to limit what I amass to things I really love which is mainly music and movies and books. I've told my wife I would be a wealthy man today if I'd stayed out of book, record and video stores (and their on-line equivalents). I like having all the discs because then I can always pick something to meet my mood, whatever it is. I can revisit old friends or see something I've never seen before. I also tend to be a completist (further evidence of my compulsive behavior) and that's why the serials accumulate. I'm lucky that I have a nice big 60" screen to watch stuff from 10 feet away so I can get some approximation of the theater experience at home. If I had a more appropriate space for it, I would probably have a video projector and an 8 to 10 screen, but that isn't possible. Finally, I've got all this stuff because I've promised myself I can't die until I watch, listen to and read it all. This means I will live for at least another 200-300 years. |
| TANSTAAFL! | |
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| CliffClaven | Apr 10 2009, 12:30 PM Post #23 |
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Balcony Gang, Foist Class
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Back in the day, you could get a silent (as in no soundtrack) two-reeler in 8mm from Blackhawk for $14 -- big money for mere lad. A single color cartoon or 7-minute cut of a movie, also without sound, cost about the same. If you wanted to see any kind of vintage feature, you had to wait for a college showing or struggle to tune in that UHF station that ran old Universal monsters or Paramount comedies in the middle of the night. Now, if you shop around, $14 inflation-ravaged bucks can buy a COMPLETE Ray Harryhausen movie, EIGHT Abbott & Costello features or TWO DOZEN THREE STOOGES SHORTS — with sound, (original) color, pretty darn good picture and no commercials for Furniture USA. And you can OWN legal, pristine copies of stuff you couldn't even rent in 16mm just a few years ago. I wasn't a deprived child by any means. But anyone with similar memories is going to understand why I ran out and grabbed Universal's sorry Marx Brothers box and considered myself blessed. |
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| rodney | Apr 11 2009, 06:47 PM Post #24 |
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Charter Member
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Sounds good to me too! |
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| panzer the great & terrible | Apr 11 2009, 07:06 PM Post #25 |
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Mouth Breather
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It's a long way for me but I'm tempted. |
| Life is just a bowl of cherries, it's too mysterious, don't take it serious... | |
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| CliffClaven | Apr 12 2009, 11:05 AM Post #26 |
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Balcony Gang, Foist Class
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It may be worth the trip. I like "Safety Last," but I was stunned by the wild audience response at a live showing. And it wasn't primarily a silents crowd, since it was during a festival devoted to "maverick" modern films. |
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| panzer the great & terrible | Apr 12 2009, 04:56 PM Post #27 |
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Mouth Breather
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Regular audiences go apeheck for silent comedies -- seen it again and again. |
| Life is just a bowl of cherries, it's too mysterious, don't take it serious... | |
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| Laughing Gravy | Apr 12 2009, 06:55 PM Post #28 |
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Sorry, guys, I've been 49% busy and 51% sick as a dog (thinking I shouldn't have eaten that peanut brittle Dr. Grood sent me for Easter) but I will reverse that ratio and get back to posting my typical crap around here soon. Thanks for your patience and your emails. I'm just glad we don't have a DVD Calendar due for a while! And I have been watching some outstanding films... Make sure you see "Search for Beauty" with Buster Crabbe and Ida Lupino on that new Universal pre-code set. It's a gem! |
| "I'm glad that this question came up, because there are so many ways to answer it that one of them is bound to be right." - Robert Benchley | |
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| Pa Stark | Sep 15 2009, 09:15 AM Post #29 |
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SHERLOCK JR. should just blow anyone away who sees it. Hard to believe that everything Keaton did was done exactly as it looks, without special effects, and except for one scene in COLLEGE, did all his own stunts. My other favorite Keaton film is SEVEN CHANCES. Somewhere I read that the boulder sequence was done as an after thought. |
| Honest and Lovable Pa Stark | |
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| Pa Stark | Sep 15 2009, 09:21 AM Post #30 |
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Charter Member
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As some of you know I have access to a 300 seat auditorium that has a full size movie screen in it. You name the date and we'll all get together and watch silent movies all day long. Kan[/quote]Gee I didn't know you had electricity out on your farm yet.
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| Honest and Lovable Pa Stark | |
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