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| Captain America (1943/1944) | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: May 20 2011, 05:55 PM (1,093 Views) | |
| AndyFish | May 20 2011, 05:55 PM Post #1 |
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Movie Watcha Foist Class
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We had a regional power outage here so Mrs Fish and I watched a couple of chapters of Captain America which I had downloaded onto my iTouch during our trip to Japan-- we were both struck at the violence in this one, and it held up better than I remembered it. Dick Purcell was less middle aged doughy than I remember and pretty much no nonsense in his dispatch of his enemies. The Mrs doesn't usually take to serials, although she liked Batman and all of the Flash Gordon's-- don't blame her though-- she hasn't seen her 30th birthday yet and had no experience with 'em growing up. I'm thankful Channel 56 in Boston showed them in the late 70s when I was a kid, otherwise I'd probably have never given them a chance. |
| www.andytfish.com | |
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| AndyFish | Sep 27 2017, 09:37 AM Post #2 |
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Movie Watcha Foist Class
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Over on a Porky Pig 101 Thread there is talk of the SS Captain America and since I do like this serial I decided to do a side by side comparison of the sample up on their site to my copy (which is either Orsak or Fred based). First, for anyone that has the SS release, is that overlong opening on all of the chapters? I doubt I'd care if this was put on the closing credits of the final episode but churning through 2 minutes of credits before the episode even starts would be too much for me. Second, that SS Logo is pretty big. I can understand the want to watermark but this is a distraction at best and an obstruction at worst. Now for the comparison-- virtually the same-- my copy is just slightly softer but has better blacks-- the SS is sharper by a smidge and has grey where I have black. So I won't be adding this one to the batch, I'm quite happy with the print I have. |
| www.andytfish.com | |
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| Pa Stark | Sep 27 2017, 04:28 PM Post #3 |
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Charter Member
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Grood kept the chapter one lead player opticals in every chapter except for the final few. I don't understand exactly why it was done. One thing different in the fights in CAPTAIN AMERICA from the other Republic's of the era, is here Cap gets knocked on his butt several times in every fight. When I was a teenager, before I got to see this, I heard how great the fights here are, but there must be at least six other Republic serials that have better fights including SPY SMASHER, KING OF THE MOUNTIES, G-MEN VS. THE BLACK DRAGON, SECRET SERVICE IN DARKEST AFRICA, and THE MASKED MARVEL. Amazing coincidence with THE MASKED MARVEL and CAPTAIN AMERICA, both lead actorsDavid Bacon and Dick Purcell died soon after filming concluded, but the actresses who played the heroine, Louise Currie and Lorna Gray out lived them by over 70 years. Another unrelated coincidence, all four of the innocent suspects for the Ghost in DICK TRACY VS.CRIME, INC died within 10 months of each other. Hooper Atchley Nov 16,1943 John Dilson June 1, 1944 Robert Frazer Aug 17,1944 Robert Fiske Sept 12, 1944 Others who died in this same time period, Edward Todd Feb 1,1943 Tully Marshall March 10, 1943 Wade Boteler May 7, 1943 David Bacon Sept 13, 1943 Hobart Bosworth Dec 30, 1943 Jack C. Smith Jan 14,1944 Dick Purcell April 10, 1944 George Seitz July 8,1944 Lee Powell July 30, 1944 Richard Fiske Aug 10, 1944 Also Tom Steele and Harry Lauter, stars of TRADER TOM OF THE CHINA SEAS both died on the same day, Oct 30, 1990. Edited by Pa Stark, Sep 28 2017, 09:27 AM.
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| Honest and Lovable Pa Stark | |
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| John Doe | Sep 28 2017, 05:53 AM Post #4 |
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Charter Member
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Pa - Was the credits and intro footage at the beginning of each chapter not the same as the original theatrical footage on the SS DVD version of Captain America? Did you mean that Grood altered things on that DVD? |
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| Pa Stark | Sep 28 2017, 09:30 AM Post #5 |
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Yes, they were original, only change was Grood kept the chapter one lead player opticals for about 10 chapters instead of just listing the major players afterwards. I have to check to see if he kept the end credits on those chapters. |
| Honest and Lovable Pa Stark | |
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| The Batman | Sep 28 2017, 09:43 AM Post #6 |
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John & Pa, I've read your question and answer 5 times and am still not sure what is being asked and how it is being answered? John, you are asking if the credit info on the SS DVD is the same as the theatrical release? Pa, you are saying that the Chapter One credits are the same as the theatrical, but Grood added (or kept?, there is a difference) the Chapter One credits to 9 of the remaining 12 chapters, eliminating the original chapter credits for these? I also ask, did Grood actually go to the trouble of adding Chapter One credits to 9 of the remaining chapters, or is that what he had to work with? Appreciate a clear answer, as others I have asked about this have gone out of their way not to answer. Basically, is there proof Grood went to the effort to make these changes, or is this just malicious inference by people who have had valid bad dealings with Grood who are now projecting those experiences on to everything Grood has done, whether justified or not? I'm not defending Grood, I just want a freaking straight answer, so I know what is what. I do my best to make informed opinions. |
| Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman...then always be Batman! | |
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| Pa Stark | Sep 28 2017, 11:53 AM Post #7 |
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Bats, I am not into the technology of what goes into a DVD, but is it possible that Grood programmed it so that the same data, ie the credits were used over and over to save disc space? He reused the chapter one credits in the other episodes, so those chapters show the lead players, not just having their names listed. I seem to remember him saying something about that when it came out. Also, the end credits might be missing on those chapters. I have to check my DVD to see what happened. |
| Honest and Lovable Pa Stark | |
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| The Batman | Sep 28 2017, 12:37 PM Post #8 |
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Pa, I'm no expert, either, but how would using the longer Chapter 1 credits in subsequent chapters save disc space? |
| Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman...then always be Batman! | |
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| Pa Stark | Sep 28 2017, 04:06 PM Post #9 |
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Charter Member
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I just talked with Grood, and he confirmed what I thought. He said back in 2003, the serial used up almost all his computers memory, and filled up the entire two discs. He saved space on the disc by using the same data over and over again. He claimed they didn't have the same compression on the discs back then that they do now. |
| Honest and Lovable Pa Stark | |
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| Laughing Gravy | Sep 28 2017, 05:44 PM Post #10 |
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Is that why he cut a kiss out of one serial, added Karloff's name to another, and added sound effects, music, and color raygun blasts to another, too? If there's one thing beyond dispute it's that Eric is a liar. |
| "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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| riddlerider | Sep 28 2017, 07:40 PM Post #11 |
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Balcony Gang, Foist Class
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I'm an advocate of making serials available in the form in which they were originally released. For that reason I always objected to Eric's tampering, because in making editorial changes he was substituting his judgment for that of the original filmmakers — a practice that, in my own opinion, was antithetical to the idea of "restoration" that he pretended to champion. Having said that, I think repeating the optical player credits on every chapter of Captain America is the least of his sins. Personally, I love "opticals." Besides, at various points in serial history their use in every episode was common practice. For example, optical player credits (or "album credits," as they were also called) were used on all chapters of early talkie Universal serials (Perils of Pauline, Pirate Treasure, Vanishing Shadow, etc.) and the 1938-39 Columbia serials produced by Jack Fier (Spider's Web, Flying G-Men, Overland with Kit Carson, Mandrake the Magician). I love 'em. The repetition of album credits isn't as objectionable as cutting or tampering with scenes within the narrative. That, to me, is by far the more egregious offense. And since Gravy makes such a fetish of watching only one chapter a week, I'm surprised he or his audiences would find the Captain America repeat footage particularly annoying — especially if the Squadron presentation is the best available copy of a given serial. |
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| The Batman | Sep 28 2017, 07:59 PM Post #12 |
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Thank you, Pa, for finding out the truth for us. That settles it for me. Whatever Eric did with other serials was not the point here, and the continued character assassinations by one individual are starting to get tiresome. RR, always a voice of sanity. And I agree, if you are only watching a serial one chapter a week, the credits would hardly be noticeable. Me thinks someone is tilting at windmills. |
| Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman...then always be Batman! | |
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| Pa Stark | Sep 28 2017, 10:49 PM Post #13 |
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Charter Member
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Bats, I was watching my Blu-ray of ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MARVEL. and the beginning credits of every chapter after the first one has the same white scratch on the left side of the screen, so maybe what Grood did is very common. |
| Honest and Lovable Pa Stark | |
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| riddlerider | Sep 29 2017, 07:09 AM Post #14 |
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Balcony Gang, Foist Class
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Hey, don't get me wrong. I've no objection to "continued character assassinations" as long as Eric is the target. He's either mentally disturbed or a despicable human being. Maybe both. That's the conclusion I've reached after multiple personal experiences with him, whereas most people here only know him as a guy who runs a website and sells serials on DVD. But like I said, repeating credits on Captain America strikes me as the least of his sins. |
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| The Batman | Sep 29 2017, 07:14 AM Post #15 |
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Pa, again a voice of reason. RR, I totally agree that you and others have valid reasons for hating Eric, fine by me as I have no horse in that race. But, to repeatedly bring up all his transgressions, especially ones unrelated to the subject at hand, get tiresome for those of us who have never been burned by him. Yeah, we get it, he's the Hitler of serials. Play a new record, please. |
| Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman...then always be Batman! | |
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