Olive Films

Vinegar Syndrome, Deaf Crocodile, Imprint, Cinema Guild, and more.
Post Reply
Message
Author
User avatar
jwd5275
Joined: Tue Jun 08, 2010 12:26 pm
Location: SF, CA

Re: Olive Films

#976 Post by jwd5275 » Sat Jan 26, 2013 1:24 pm

Many of the titles are available streaming on Netflix. My Son John and Caught for example...

User avatar
Drucker
Your Future our Drucker
Joined: Wed May 18, 2011 9:37 am

Re: Olive Films

#977 Post by Drucker » Sat Jan 26, 2013 4:58 pm

Robert Harris is less enthusiastic than others, but still pleased, with A Quiet Man, anybody here with a copy yet that can comment?

onedimension
Joined: Sat Nov 29, 2008 4:35 pm

Re: Olive Films

#978 Post by onedimension » Sat Jan 26, 2013 7:08 pm

Watching it on and off today- it's not perfect- I don't have technical expertise, but my eye recognizes that- I'm sure Harris talks about the optics or something. But it's one thousand times better than the old DVD..

User avatar
Drucker
Your Future our Drucker
Joined: Wed May 18, 2011 9:37 am

Re: Olive Films

#979 Post by Drucker » Sat Jan 26, 2013 8:02 pm

I get that it isn't as perfect as say The Red Shoes but, for comparison, is it as good as the David Lean technicolor films (from the Coward box set), or perhaps Criterion's Four Feathers?

I'm going to get it certainly, but I am curious.

User avatar
hearthesilence
Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2005 4:22 am
Location: NYC

Re: Olive Films

#980 Post by hearthesilence » Sat Jan 26, 2013 8:26 pm

I'll still get it, but I was disheartened to hear this:

RAH: "Unlike dye transfer prints of the era, which had a lush, velvety look, Olive's 4k work leaves the image devoid of that beauty. In its place what we get is something that appears gritty, hard and unfortunately, unpleasant."

"That is something i noticed already from the screen captures i've seen. i associate a soft, dreamy quality to ford's visionary ireland and was surprised at a certain "realistic" hardness to the images seen so far (i have yet to get my own copy)."

"I remember the color in THE QUIET MAN resembling the textures of a Turner water color. I'm very sad to hear that this quality is no longer present."

RAH again: "Another word I'll add to the new look of The Quiet Man is 'brittle.'"

onedimension
Joined: Sat Nov 29, 2008 4:35 pm

Re: Olive Films

#981 Post by onedimension » Sat Jan 26, 2013 8:33 pm

Yeah, I'd agree with that.. I was surprised on reading about it that Manny Farber compared it a surrealist painting- not this blu at all. Now that I think about it, that quality did come through a little more in the DVD. But the DVD was so bad that I was mostly just thrilled about the increased detail and clarity of the image, philistine that I am.

albucat
Joined: Wed Jul 20, 2011 12:06 am

Re: Olive Films

#982 Post by albucat » Sat Jan 26, 2013 10:36 pm

I can't say that this commentary is valuable, but it looks VERY close to the 35mm print I saw a few years back. I'm thrilled by what I see, and despite people's varying beliefs on what the platonic ideal of the film should/ever did look like, I can't imagine a home release ever looking better.

User avatar
The Elegant Dandy Fop
Joined: Thu Dec 09, 2004 3:25 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA

Re: Olive Films

#983 Post by The Elegant Dandy Fop » Sun Jan 27, 2013 7:12 am

I'm sure Robert Harris has a much better eye for these things than myself, but I'm confused as to the meaning the description of the image as "brittle". I have seen this film on a gorgeous 35mm print no more than two months ago and can say the Blu-ray (to me) seems to maintain the integrity of the image and original color, not so hard and gritty as R. Harris describes it. The print seemed to have a slightly softer and maybe a bit hazier image, particularly in the scene where they are working outside the house (DVDBeaver has a screengrab from that scene), but the Blu-ray still seems to resemble the print closely.
onedimension wrote:Yeah, I'd agree with that.. I was surprised on reading about it that Manny Farber compared it a surrealist painting- not this blu at all.
Manny Farber, known for hyperbole, is someone who I wouldn't trust accurately describing a Ford film. There's nothing surreal about the image in The Quiet Man. If we're comparing it to the visual art, I'd say it's expressionistic.

Props55
Joined: Wed Jan 09, 2008 11:55 am

Re: Olive Films

#984 Post by Props55 » Sun Jan 27, 2013 11:49 am

Based solely on Gary's caps (not the best reference to be sure) I had some of the same misgivings expressed by Harris and hearthesilence regarding the "rough, brittle" quality of the image. In fact, at first glance I thought I was seeing a comparison with the Lionsgate release. I've never seen QUIET MAN in 35mm and only once in 16mm IB (with registration issues in some reels but otherwise gorgeous) but I believe it very likely had a smooth, velvety "Irish fantasy" quality that was more akin to the MGM Freed look than anything else Ford produced in color at this time. The caps look more "harsh with expressionist outbursts of color" similar to JOHNNY GUITAR. I'd really like to hear David Hare weigh in on this as he is our resident authority on IB Tech and its (mis)representation on homevideo.

(*) Thanks jwd5275 for the info on Paramount/Olive streaming. I'll look for CAUGHT later this week!

peerpee
not perpee
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 3:41 pm

Re: Olive Films

#985 Post by peerpee » Sat Feb 02, 2013 6:17 pm

I defer to RAH, david hare, Tag, and others re: photochemical issues and the Blu-ray's fidelity to the film's original look... but I can say that I had a hell of a good time with this QUIET MAN Blu. The resolution is killer, the colours are stable, there's no visible damage, and there's no heavy-handedness with regard to DVNR (which I felt plagued parts of JOHNNY GUITAR). This really looks 4K (like LAWRENCE, BLIMP, RED SHOES), it's frequently breathtaking – but whether that's the look it should have, is something that will probably be discussed for a long time...

User avatar
Drucker
Your Future our Drucker
Joined: Wed May 18, 2011 9:37 am

Re: Olive Films

#986 Post by Drucker » Sun Feb 03, 2013 3:05 am

For what it's worth, Harris's comments don't seem to have any problems with the coloring, more about a stiff "feel" to it that is off.

Props55
Joined: Wed Jan 09, 2008 11:55 am

Re: Olive Films

#987 Post by Props55 » Sun Feb 03, 2013 12:51 pm

One explanation for the difference between the look of QUIET MAN and JOHNNY GUITAR BD (beside the DNR which peerpee mentioned) is that the Ray was shot in Republic's Trucolor (possibly with prints by Tech?) and this could also be a reason for the divergence in the look of the two films. In other words there's a basic difference at the camera negitive and photo-chemical source which would be emphasized in subsequent print runs,broadcast and home video transfers.

peerpee
not perpee
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 3:41 pm

Re: Olive Films

#988 Post by peerpee » Sun Feb 03, 2013 2:04 pm

Props55 wrote:One explanation for the difference between the look of QUIET MAN and JOHNNY GUITAR BD (beside the DNR which peerpee mentioned) is that the Ray was shot in Republic's Trucolor (possibly with prints by Tech?) and this could also be a reason for the divergence in the look of the two films. In other words there's a basic difference at the camera negitive and photo-chemical source which would be emphasized in subsequent print runs,broadcast and home video transfers.
Absolutely. There's a huge difference between how these two Blu-rays were made and the materials they used to make them. It's just that if someone is using various forms of heavyhanded DVNR/"grain management" – then they're likely to use their toys again – and I was glad they didn't! (probably because they were done at entirely different facilities too, but that's a guess).

beamish13
Joined: Sun Oct 14, 2007 5:31 am

Re: Olive Films

#989 Post by beamish13 » Fri Feb 08, 2013 5:31 pm

First public screening of the new restoration of THAT COLD DAY IN THE PARK. A shame that the pre-release montage is likely not included with the Olive disc.

User avatar
Tommaso
Joined: Fri May 19, 2006 10:09 am

Re: Olive Films

#990 Post by Tommaso » Sat Feb 09, 2013 6:54 am

david hare wrote:Mine finally arrived.

Even with a cursory chapter hop and 30 minutes of doodling the image is simply a pleasure to watch. I have not a single problem at all with the transfer which is so full of pin sharp fine detail, and what seems to me absolutely flawless color with the red jumping somewhat out of the spectrum.

It's absolutely lovely, I couldn't hope for better. But in place of a Tag video essay we get a hideous and atrociously recorded twenty five year plus prehistoric Leonard Maltin by the fireside piece which should have been left in the vault. The booklet at least has a Joe McBride essay to vaguely compensate, but still.
Watched the new "Quiet Man" last night (SD version) and couldn't agree more. Especially the outdoor scenes look exactly as you'd expect them to look if you've ever been to the West of Ireland. The light is simply different than in California, and for the first time in the home video history of this film, the transfer reflects this. Even though "The Quiet Man" is some sort of fairytale, I can't imagine that Ford (of all people) would have wanted to have it look like something out of "The Wizard of Oz" (which it did on the former dvd incarnations which were close to unwatchable not just because of the wrong colours).

A very fine edition of this marvellous film, and even though I also would have liked one of Tag's marvellous video essays, and perhaps some optional English subs (the Irish brogue can be hard to understand for non-native speakers in places), no complaints from me. I'm very, very glad this edition exists.

User avatar
captveg
Joined: Wed Sep 02, 2009 7:28 pm

Re: Olive Films

#991 Post by captveg » Wed Feb 13, 2013 6:06 pm

First announced April titles, with more to be announced soon:

Image

User avatar
matrixschmatrix
Joined: Tue May 25, 2010 11:26 pm

Re: Olive Films

#992 Post by matrixschmatrix » Wed Feb 13, 2013 7:16 pm

Champion seems like the obvious standout- has anyone seen it, or City that Never Sleeps?

User avatar
captveg
Joined: Wed Sep 02, 2009 7:28 pm

Re: Olive Films

#993 Post by captveg » Wed Feb 13, 2013 8:29 pm

matrixschmatrix wrote:Champion seems like the obvious standout- has anyone seen it, or City that Never Sleeps?
I've not seen any of them. Champion was nominated for six Oscars: Best Actor (Douglas), Supporting Actor (Kennedy), Writing Screenplay, Cinematography B&W, Score Drama or Comedy, Film Editing (winning the latter). It is currently on Netflix streaming, as is War of the Wildcats.

User avatar
gcgiles1dollarbin
Joined: Sun Sep 19, 2010 3:38 am

Re: Olive Films

#994 Post by gcgiles1dollarbin » Wed Feb 13, 2013 8:33 pm

Champion is a great boxing film with an occasionally vicious Kirk Douglas, if you enjoy his nasty side à la Ace in the Hole. I like it as much as Body and Soul, if not more than The Set-Up, my favorite '40s film on the subject.

User avatar
matrixschmatrix
Joined: Tue May 25, 2010 11:26 pm

Re: Olive Films

#995 Post by matrixschmatrix » Wed Feb 13, 2013 10:48 pm

gcgiles1dollarbin wrote:Champion is a great boxing film with an occasionally vicious Kirk Douglas, if you enjoy his nasty side à la Ace in the Hole. I like it as much as Body and Soul, if not more than The Set-Up, my favorite '40s film on the subject.
Haha, you had me at Ace in the Hole

User avatar
knives
Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2008 6:49 pm

Re: Olive Films

#996 Post by knives » Wed Feb 13, 2013 11:35 pm

Also directed by the super underrated Mark Robson who dramatically can do no wrong as far as I've seen. War of the Wildcats seems to have been directed by the same guy who did the 'funny' The Black Cat so its probably a C picture.

Hans Guerth
Joined: Mon Aug 20, 2012 1:01 pm

Re: Olive Films

#997 Post by Hans Guerth » Thu Feb 14, 2013 10:43 am

Drucker wrote:Robert Harris is less enthusiastic than others, but still pleased, with A Quiet Man, anybody here with a copy yet that can comment?
Did anyone see the picture - in 1952 or in the aftermath? The late Mr. Farber certainly did and for him it had the air of "some of the sunless, remembered look of a surrealist painting". Whatever that was supposed to mean, I wouldn't trust a man who loathed John Ford ("old wrangler type ... marred by a phlegmatically solemn Irish personality") and abhorred The Quiet Man ("no better than the overrated Informer and a bit worse than the recent potboiler ..."). Not to mention his other hogwash like "the women of Ford, who tend to be desexualized mother-figures". All of us have seen Maureen O'Hara, haven't we.

Anyone can enjoy today and in the aftermath of 2013 the glorious technicolours of The Red Shoes - thanks to an exemplary restoration and to a meticulous high-def-digitalization. But where is the adequate TQM? What is there hidden "in the vaults" of UCLA, as Robert Harris dares to make us curious about?

It should be better than the newest botch of that Paramount-smokescreen called Olive. We know that TQM is not for Paramount what Casablanca means for Warners. In fact they had nothing to do with the movie. By multifarious mergers and un-mergers inside the Viacom-Empire they acquired the rights, hardly knowing what to do with the stuff. Unfortunately, obligations do not go along with such rights.

I'm of a certain age but not old enough to have seen the movie in 1952. But I've read a lot about its appearance:

To start with that nasty Yates fellow (head of Republic): "Everything's all green. Tell the cameraman to take the green filter off." (of course ignored by Ford and Hoch)

"Visually, the movie endorses Sean's Edenic vision. The vibrant greens and scalding reds of Innisfree are so bright as to make Oz look drab by comparison." (William C. Dowling In: EIRE-IRELAND: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Irish Studies 2002)

"Three-strip dye transfer Technicolor was ... generally used not for naturalism but for glorious artifice. The deep scarlet of the roses is one such example, the greenness of the fields another - Ford was actually accused of painting the fields." (Tag Gallagher)

And as the old master himself has spoken to Bogdanovich:

"Color is much easier than black and white for the cameraman; it's a cinch to work in if you've any eye at all for color or composition. ... but it can go awfully wrong and throw a picture off. There are certain pictures, like The Qiet Man, that call for color - not a blatant kind - but a soft, misty color."

"It was photographed in the rain - or Irish mist, as they call it in Ireland. That helped the picture a lot."

And a word from the daughter, Barbara Ford, after leaving the cutting room: "It looks just like a fairyland."

I must confess, I see nothing of the sort in the recent Blu-ray.

mteller
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 3:23 pm

Re: Olive Films

#998 Post by mteller » Thu Feb 14, 2013 12:46 pm

Champion and City That Never Sleep are both good. Neither is a must-buy for me, but I'm considering Champion.

User avatar
"membrillo"
Joined: Sat Sep 01, 2007 2:12 pm
Location: San Diego, California / Tijuana, Baja California Norte

Re: Olive Films

#999 Post by "membrillo" » Thu Feb 14, 2013 2:46 pm

matrixschmatrix wrote:Champion seems like the obvious standout- has anyone seen it, or City that Never Sleeps?
Champion is awesome, one of my favorite boxing films. The story line is pretty conventional as far as boxing films go, Heart and Soul, but I think Champion is much better.

Kirk Douglas is badass in it and the dressing room scene, for me, probably one of the best in any sports film, ever!

User avatar
whaleallright
Joined: Sun Sep 25, 2005 12:56 am

Re: Olive Films

#1000 Post by whaleallright » Thu Feb 14, 2013 9:15 pm

Dave Kehr wrote an appreciation of John Auer and (among other films) The City Never Sleeps in Film Comment two years back; the full article doesn't appear to be online but one of Kehr's blog entries talks about Auer.

Post Reply