I still haven't received any cancellation notice yet but did notice that there is no longer any mention of the set on Network's site. I thought the copyright issue was over The Jazz Singer and that it had been resolved.Contacted Network about that Hollywood set:Thank you for your enquiry, 'Hollywood' has been withdrawn from the release
schedule due to rights clearance issues. I do not have a revised release
date yet, all i can advise is that you keep checking the Network website in
the 'forthcoming' section for any further updates.
Hollywood (Kevin Brownlow)
- htdm
- Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 3:46 am
A poster at DVDForums just posted this:
- HerrSchreck
- Joined: Sun Sep 04, 2005 11:46 am
Or CC announce SHANGHAI EXPRESS, or VAMPYR, or EISENSTEIN SILENT YEARS, and so many others. Look at Fox & BOOMERANG.
Oftentimes the best intended biz practices and good faith gentlemanly efforts of due dilligence of I'm-compltely-new-to-you-and-so-therefore-you-should-I'd-imagine-have-no-reason-whatsoever-to-fuck-me-over gets met with a howitzer booming out storms of ill will & pure shit. Every single employee of every single entertainment company feels so completely immersed in--and tortured by-- dishonor, dishing out heartbreak with a few kind sincere words is rote.
Oftentimes the best intended biz practices and good faith gentlemanly efforts of due dilligence of I'm-compltely-new-to-you-and-so-therefore-you-should-I'd-imagine-have-no-reason-whatsoever-to-fuck-me-over gets met with a howitzer booming out storms of ill will & pure shit. Every single employee of every single entertainment company feels so completely immersed in--and tortured by-- dishonor, dishing out heartbreak with a few kind sincere words is rote.
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- Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2004 3:49 pm
- Location: Round Lake, Illinois USA
A good example is A Stairway to Heaven (A Matter of Life and Death) 1946 which was to be released by Columbia on a region 1 dvd and i pre ordered it on Amazon. The release date came and went but was not released and this was over a year ago!! I think the delay is because they want Martin Scorsese's commentary on it but i have not heard any thing new on this.
- godardslave
- Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 4:44 pm
- Location: Confusing and open ended = high art.
this is very disappointing, news.
But i guess given the wealth of different clips, hardly surprising.
But i guess given the wealth of different clips, hardly surprising.
i think this sums up the disappointment i feel pretty well, thanks schrek. Your facility and use of the english language is quite fascinating, have you ever tried poetry?HerrSchreck wrote:gets met with a howitzer booming out storms of ill will & pure shit.
- HerrSchreck
- Joined: Sun Sep 04, 2005 11:46 am
- godardslave
- Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 4:44 pm
- Location: Confusing and open ended = high art.
- htdm
- Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 3:46 am
Just got this email from Amazon.uk:
The order was never cancelled the many times Hollywood was pushed back before so this feels somewhat final.We wanted to give you an update on the status of your order. We are sorry to report that the release of the following item has been cancelled: "Hollywood - Complete Series"
This item has now been cancelled from your order and we can confirm that
you have not been charged for it.
Please accept our apologies for any disappointment or inconvenience
caused.
- devlinnn
- Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 3:23 am
- Location: three miles from space
- NABOB OF NOWHERE
- Joined: Thu Sep 01, 2005 12:30 pm
- Location: Brandywine River
MoC to the rescue. Please!!!!devlinnn wrote:The delay/cancellation may be due to rights, but a friend in semi-regular contact with Kevin Brownlow reports that he was none to impressed with Network's Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow release, and had lost faith/interest in them doing a decent job with the Hollywood series.
- MichaelB
- Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2006 6:20 pm
- Location: Worthing
- Contact:
The problem is, you're damned if you do and damned if you don't. Get the release out as quickly as possible, and you're slammed for doing a rush job. Take years of painstakingly meticulous restoration and you're slammed for not releasing it next week.HerrSchreck wrote:Every single employee of every single entertainment company feels so completely immersed in--and tortured by-- dishonor, dishing out heartbreak with a few kind sincere words is rote.
Pre-release announcements are just as fraught with peril - the distributor usually has to make them well in advance of the actual DVD authoring, and sometimes before every dot and comma of the rights deals has been approved. But if the announcement is too vague, this leads to vast amounts of eager speculation in forums like this and inevitable disappointment when the finished release doesn't quite match up to the absolute and probably unachievable perfection that fans have envisaged in their heads. If they're too specific, and something has to drop out for whatever reason (rights issues, inadequate masters), this leads to equally vehement accusations of promise-breaking.
But 'twas ever thus.
- tryavna
- Joined: Wed Mar 30, 2005 4:38 pm
- Location: North Carolina
Just out of curiosity, Devlinn, do you know what Brownlow particularly disliked about Network's treatment of that title? Admittedly, I don't own many Network DVDs, but I've been reasonably pleased with the two or three I have purchased.devlinnn wrote:The delay/cancellation may be due to rights, but a friend in semi-regular contact with Kevin Brownlow reports that he was none to impressed with Network's Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow release, and had lost faith/interest in them doing a decent job with the Hollywood series.
- devlinnn
- Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 3:23 am
- Location: three miles from space
- Rufus T. Firefly
- Joined: Wed Nov 10, 2004 4:24 am
- Location: Sydney, Australia
If it is of any comfort I have occasionally experienced items being cancelled by amazon.co.uk simply because the release date was delayed, not because the items were not being released. They cancelled my order of the 1982 Lohengrin on Euroarts recently, claiming that the release of that item had been cancelled (the same standard message as dmkb received). However it was released a month later and I have it in my possession.
Until we get confirmation from Network that Hollywood is off the schedule don't assume that Amazon is correct.
Until we get confirmation from Network that Hollywood is off the schedule don't assume that Amazon is correct.
- htdm
- Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 3:46 am
While what Rufus T. says/writes is certainly true - the fact that Network yanked from their line up and haven't answered any inquires regarding the delay doesn't seem to bode well for the project. While not trying to belabor the point, at least before, they were very forthcoming about the status of the project including answering questions about the rights problems. Just my two cents.
- godardslave
- Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 4:44 pm
- Location: Confusing and open ended = high art.
- HerrSchreck
- Joined: Sun Sep 04, 2005 11:46 am
I dunno about the perfectionist angle when it comes to discs. He put out analog sourced restoration of THE CHESS PLAYER from a resto that was then approx 13 yrs old at time of Milestone/BFI's disc... had no problem with unpreconverted masters going to Milestone on his restoration of PHANTOM OF THE OPERA resulting in one of the few discs I've seen that actually surpasses the horrible interlaced Image BERLIN disc via it's ghosting problems. Virtually unwatchable. LA TERRE by Antoine is equally unimpressive in it's digital presentation.devlinnn wrote:I'm presuming, being the perfectionist he is, that Brownlow would have been saddened with Network not using the original print with all the interviewee identifiers. Although it was said this would be fixed with a later pressing, I wouldn't be holding my breath any longer.
He may be a perfectionist when it comes to film restoration, but his handling of the digital home entertainment medium doesn't qualify as perfectionism.
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- Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 3:09 pm
- Location: here and there
Do you think he really had control over what happened technically with those masters for R1, and what was done with them? Once the probable promises weren't kept as to conversion quality, I doubt he had any recourse or final approval of the said versions.HerrSchreck wrote:
I dunno about the perfectionist angle when it comes to discs. He put out analog sourced restoration of THE CHESS PLAYER from a resto that was then approx 13 yrs old at time of Milestone/BFI's disc... had no problem with unpreconverted masters going to Milestone on his restoration of PHANTOM OF THE OPERA resulting in one of the few discs I've seen that actually surpasses the horrible interlaced Image BERLIN disc via it's ghosting problems. Virtually unwatchable. LA TERRE by Antoine is equally unimpressive in it's digital presentation.
He may be a perfectionist when it comes to film restoration, but his handling of the digital home entertainment medium doesn't qualify as perfectionism.
However, I agree some of those restorations were pretty long in the tooth by the time of release to DVD, but I can't imagine the funds (or Brownlow's interest, perhaps) were there to start from scratch from film materials again.
What I find strange, is why either quality or rights issues could be so thorny on this series. Certainly the clips from the films are in many ways secondary to why the series is so good. And why any of the rights holders would deny clearance on something that could only generate interest in the various films covered, is a mystery. I suppose those problems aren't about actual artistic matters, but laziness or greed, or some other tail wagging the corporate dog.....
- myrnaloyisdope
- Joined: Mon Jan 07, 2008 7:41 pm
- Contact:
Kevin Brownlow
Well I just finished watching [Hollywood] last night. I watched all 13 1-episodes in a couple of days, and with good reason. This is an incredible, indispensable, fascinating, and glorious documentary.
For those who don't know, Hollywood is basically the history of silent film in the US. The series follows it from it's beginning to to it's end covering an incredible amount of ground. The fact that Brownlow was able to incorporate clips from virtually every major film, and tons of minor ones is a miracle, given how many different companies hold the rights.
Another great thing about the series is the incredible variety of people interviewed ranging from Gloria Swanson, Colleen Moore, and King Vidor to Allan Dwan, Louise Brooks, and Anita Loos. Actors, actresses, stuntmen, cameramen, writers, critics, directors, producers and the occasional relative are all interviewed at length to give a wonderful picture of the silent era. Thankfully the series was filmed throughout the 70's so many of these wonderful people were still around to tell their stories.
It's absolutely wonderful to hear Gloria Swanson talk about the perils of filming with a lion, and to listen to old stuntman Harvey Parry dissect the different types of pratfalls that make up comedy.
It's incredible the amount of obscure footage that was compiled for this series ranging from wardrobe tests for Birth of a Nation to a promotional film of Marion Davies cleaning her apartment.
Oh and it's narrated by James Mason.
It's an absolutely incredible achievement, and tragically due to rights issues it probably won't be released on DVD.
I bought from a seller online, and I recommend you do the same.
For those who don't know, Hollywood is basically the history of silent film in the US. The series follows it from it's beginning to to it's end covering an incredible amount of ground. The fact that Brownlow was able to incorporate clips from virtually every major film, and tons of minor ones is a miracle, given how many different companies hold the rights.
Another great thing about the series is the incredible variety of people interviewed ranging from Gloria Swanson, Colleen Moore, and King Vidor to Allan Dwan, Louise Brooks, and Anita Loos. Actors, actresses, stuntmen, cameramen, writers, critics, directors, producers and the occasional relative are all interviewed at length to give a wonderful picture of the silent era. Thankfully the series was filmed throughout the 70's so many of these wonderful people were still around to tell their stories.
It's absolutely wonderful to hear Gloria Swanson talk about the perils of filming with a lion, and to listen to old stuntman Harvey Parry dissect the different types of pratfalls that make up comedy.
It's incredible the amount of obscure footage that was compiled for this series ranging from wardrobe tests for Birth of a Nation to a promotional film of Marion Davies cleaning her apartment.
Oh and it's narrated by James Mason.
It's an absolutely incredible achievement, and tragically due to rights issues it probably won't be released on DVD.
I bought from a seller online, and I recommend you do the same.
- domino harvey
- Dot Com Dom
- Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm
- Sloper
- Joined: Tue May 29, 2007 10:06 pm
I remember bingeing on this one Christmas about seven years ago, what a treat! It's unashamedly a celebration of the silent era, with many of the episodes largely taken up by lengthy clips from the films, but it's also not afraid to show up the more depressing side of '20s Hollywood - the hypocrisy, the disregard for human life, the careers destroyed. Wallace Reid and Fatty Arbuckle spring to mind.
The stuntman episode is the real stand-out, and yes Harvey Parry is one of the best interviewees. Pretty horrifying stuff, though! Men getting bashed against trains, drowned in freezing rivers, run over by stagecoaches...
My favourite gruesome story is the one about Michael Curtiz filming Noah's Ark, and surprising a lot of inexperienced extras by dropping several tons of water on them, then throwing rocks at them when they tried to climb out of the ensuing flood (in which various horned animals were also flailing about). They needed something like 28 ambulances afterwards.
There was a wonderful clip in one of the episodes (I think the one about directors, 'The man with the megaphone' or something) from a Rex Ingram film called Mare Nostrum. It showed a Mata Hari-type figure being put in front of the firing squad. The film remains unavailable as far as I know, but it was such a privilege even to be able to glimpse it like this. There are hundreds of other examples - the series is a revelation even today, and must have been still more so back in 1980.
I also love Carl Davis's score, which even at its naffest is head and shoulders above the dross you usually hear on these things. Brownlow and Gill seemed to stop working with Davis as of the Griffith doc in '94, for which some of the incidental music was done by Nic Raine - did they have a falling out or something?
The stuntman episode is the real stand-out, and yes Harvey Parry is one of the best interviewees. Pretty horrifying stuff, though! Men getting bashed against trains, drowned in freezing rivers, run over by stagecoaches...
My favourite gruesome story is the one about Michael Curtiz filming Noah's Ark, and surprising a lot of inexperienced extras by dropping several tons of water on them, then throwing rocks at them when they tried to climb out of the ensuing flood (in which various horned animals were also flailing about). They needed something like 28 ambulances afterwards.
There was a wonderful clip in one of the episodes (I think the one about directors, 'The man with the megaphone' or something) from a Rex Ingram film called Mare Nostrum. It showed a Mata Hari-type figure being put in front of the firing squad. The film remains unavailable as far as I know, but it was such a privilege even to be able to glimpse it like this. There are hundreds of other examples - the series is a revelation even today, and must have been still more so back in 1980.
I also love Carl Davis's score, which even at its naffest is head and shoulders above the dross you usually hear on these things. Brownlow and Gill seemed to stop working with Davis as of the Griffith doc in '94, for which some of the incidental music was done by Nic Raine - did they have a falling out or something?
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- Joined: Sat Feb 03, 2007 12:08 pm
I saw most of this through ILL a few years ago and everything I saw was great. I should make a point to watch the rest or re-watch what I already saw and complete it this time.
Cinema Europe is well worth checking out. Thankfully I got that while it was still in print as it is being sold for nothing less than $200 on amazon right now.
I suspect that these will never be released again and that is really too bad.
If you haven't seen the Keaton, Chaplin and Lloyd ones that he did in the eighties, check them out. You are in for a treat.
Cinema Europe is well worth checking out. Thankfully I got that while it was still in print as it is being sold for nothing less than $200 on amazon right now.
I suspect that these will never be released again and that is really too bad.
If you haven't seen the Keaton, Chaplin and Lloyd ones that he did in the eighties, check them out. You are in for a treat.
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- Joined: Sat Jun 07, 2008 3:31 am
- Location: Somerset, England
Mare Nostrum is shown fairly often on the US TCM channel. It was even screened at least once on the UK equivalent (then called TNT) in the 1990s, as part of a Rex Ingram season. As a whole, I found it disappointingly slow and dull. No doubt Ingram's painterly style works best in 35mm projection, though I enjoy The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, The Conquering Power and The Magician on video.Sloper wrote:There was a wonderful clip in one of the episodes (I think the one about directors, 'The man with the megaphone' or something) from a Rex Ingram film called Mare Nostrum. It showed a Mata Hari-type figure being put in front of the firing squad. The film remains unavailable as far as I know, but it was such a privilege even to be able to glimpse it like this. There are hundreds of other examples - the series is a revelation even today, and must have been still more so back in 1980.
I also love Carl Davis's score, which even at its naffest is head and shoulders above the dross you usually hear on these things. Brownlow and Gill seemed to stop working with Davis as of the Griffith doc in '94, for which some of the incidental music was done by Nic Raine - did they have a falling out or something?
Carl Davis has worked on silents with Kevin Brownlow more recently - for example, on the score for DeMille's The Godless Girl, broadcast last year. Incidentally, I'd love to see Brownlow's two-part documentary on DeMille, made in 2004 and the only one of his more recent docs that is unavailable. With all the DeMille movies on DVD, somebody should have licensed it as an extra.
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- Joined: Sat Feb 03, 2007 12:08 pm
I saw that when it originally aired and I wish that I could see it again. It was filled with interesting stories (if I recall correctly a man was interviewed whose job it was on the set to follow DeMille around with a chair in case he wanted to sit down) and great film clips. TCM are often guilty of over playing some of their documentaries but I don't recall this one being on too often at all.Jonathan S wrote:I'd love to see Brownlow's two-part documentary on DeMille, made in 2004 and the only one of his more recent docs that is unavailable. With all the DeMille movies on DVD, somebody should have licensed it as an extra.