Frank Borzage

[Tuco]

Any chance that we'll ever see these released on U.S. blu-ray? I've only seen LUCKY STAR, but good gracious it looked gorgeous.

[hearthesilence]

In addition to John Ford's Pilgrimage (which I saw at home), I caught two Borzage films at MoMA: Street Angel ("new 4K restoration from nitrate elements held by MoMA, funded by Twentieth Century Fox") and Lazybones (probably a DCP of a good but worn 35mm print with no visible 'restoration' work done to it).

The former was made after 7th Heaven with the same two leads, and I think it's actually the better film. The sets are simply astonishing - for both the detail and their general scope, and this is clearly seen in a number of virtuosic sequences where Gaynor (in another outstanding performance) races across it like an obstacle course and where Farrell goes looking for Gaynor in its crowded streets. The former is done in long shot, including some striking tracking or dolly shots, and the latter is a tight medium shot that follows Farrell. It's every bit as impressive as 7th Heaven on a technical level, but the emotional heft is even greater and carried through to the very end. As the climax unfolded, it brought to mind the climax from The Searchers, though there's one crucial difference that kept it from playing out like a dramatic blueprint for the latter.

Lazybones was made several years before, and I only saw it on David Bordwell's recommendation. I knew virtually nothing about the film, and I didn't even read Bordwell's entire write-up on it. I only saw the part where he called it a "revelation," and he's absolutely right. I urge anyone who sees this to go in fresh because it's absolutely wonderful how it unfolds beautifully in unexpected ways. (The last act feels particularly bold and risky, though it's uncertain to me if it felt that way back then.) And once again, certain scenes brought to mind another John Ford masterpiece that was made decades later. Bordwell speculates that the film fell into obscurity because it was lost for decades until it was rediscovered in 20th Century Fox's archives in 1970, and even then I'm guessing it never got the proper restoration and distribution it deserved.

I wanted to mention Pilgrimage because even though I didn't see the actual restoration at MoMA, and even though this is a Borzage thread, the conflict (or tragedy) in all three films is driven by judgmental and puritanical beliefs. In each case, it irrevocably upends each and everyone's life, often denying the people in the respective films the relationships they should have had in their lives. It's a plot device that remains powerful to this day, and I think a big and unfortunate reason is that I've seen it play out with quite a few people in recent years.

[dustybooks]

I love both Lazybones and Street Angel and agree that the latter is truly enchanting and that the world it creates feels incredibly immersive and complete. Borzage's eye for idiosyncratic, well-observed little details shared between couples is something I find startling to this day -- even in lesser films like After Tomorrow, which has some of the most natural depictions of "young love" I've ever seen. So few other Hollywood directors seem to come anywhere close to that sensibility. (Wyler did sometimes.)

[therewillbeblus]

I think 7th Heaven may still be his masterpiece but Lucky Star blew me away, especially the first half's exchanges between Farrell and Gaynor, which were as sensitive and inviting as any silent film's demonstration of energetic human connection. There is unprecedented oscillating chemistry as Gaynor responds with careful doe-eyed awe and ages before us as she maturely blossoms into love while Farrell complexly wrestles with his own traumatic history to try to de-age himself to a place where he can return it. Farrell is at his best here, but Gaynor continues to destroy me and the camera together like a Medusa of innocent honesty accentuating all the right aspects of human expression. The communication dance between them is barely verbal, and all the insecurities and desires fluctuate from simmer to boil but are constantly on the verge of bursting through the social mores, as we bear witness to the real magic inherent in such reciprocal attraction that leaves one disabled by emotions, taking the common and finding the unique within. The back half isn't quite as great, but the melodrama must catapult Farrell to take action, and boy does he - in one of the great finales that you'll either roll your eyes at or buy in fully. Magical realism, maybe - foreshadowed by the beautiful conversation on "special occasions" coming full circle - but what better way to visually express movement towards accepting and embracing love than to be granted biblical powers.

[HinkyDinkyTruesmith]

Have you seen History Is Made at Night, TWBB? While I admire 7th Heaven and have great affection for Lucky Star, History is I think where Borzage's romantic power is at its fullest (and least problematic) blossom. It's where his material is at its closest to obliterating itself in sheer absurdity, but where the dignity of his characters transcends it. Shifts of tone and plot are so perfectly handled as to beggar belief. The conviction of him and his cast is awe-inspiring there, where I think the added adversity of dialogue makes it more of a challenge to navigate the unreality of the scenario, whereas in the silents the unnatural form itself accommodates such miracles.

[therewillbeblus]

Well that sounds right up my alley, I’ll seek it out! I really don’t have the right to declare any masterpiece from Borzage since I’ve barely made a dent in the scheme of things, so recommendations are most welcome. I love Bad Girl the most of the 30s works I’ve seen so far and am not crazy about his 40s stuff from what I’ve seen, but his silents hit me in a spot few others do.

[HinkyDinkyTruesmith]

History is on Criterion Channel right now––a pretty shit transfer, unfortunately. Let me know if you want a (marginally) better one. It doesn't affect watchability, but it certainly doesn't help.

[whaleallright]

I just wanted to pop in here to let folks know how Frank Borzage pronounced his last name, because even some people who should know better, don't (...like Whit Stillman in the commentary track to The Last Days of Disco, which he had hoped to call History Is Made at Night). It's "BORE-ZAYG-EE." (Stillman pronounced it so that it rhymed with "corsage.")

[therewillbeblus]

Have you seen History Is Made at Night, TWBB? While I admire 7th Heaven and have great affection for Lucky Star, History is I think where Borzage's romantic power is at its fullest (and least problematic) blossom. It's where his material is at its closest to obliterating itself in sheer absurdity, but where the dignity of his characters transcends it. Shifts of tone and plot are so perfectly handled as to beggar belief. The conviction of him and his cast is awe-inspiring there, where I think the added adversity of dialogue makes it more of a challenge to navigate the unreality of the scenario, whereas in the silents the unnatural form itself accommodates such miracles.

Finally caught up with History is Made at Night and while it’s too challenging for me to compare Borzage’s strengths in elicitation of emotion in silent vs sound films, I thought this was a terrific tale of the ‘grand romantic gesture’ of existential risk via one-way ticket to high stakes adventure. These types of plots walk the tightrope between being unbelievable contrivances or emotional proclamations of love-conquering-all (though I did have a professor once who claimed to have followed his love interest around the world to profess his love to her, so it’s not necessarily a fabrication!) but this one finds a sweet spot where Paul and Irene engage in this tense dance of attraction while remaining grounded to reality in awareness of consequence.

I loved the use of ‘Coco’ for Irene to express her affection, and the role-playing games that follow; a playfulness that most can probably recognize from blossoming romances in our pasts. The humor worked well too, in gentle warmth like Boyer’s transitional attitude between professionalism and peer loyalty when on the job, or for laughs like the excitable chef interaction descending into exaggerated Italian gibberish near the end.

I wasn’t crazy about the Titanic ending, not only because of the obvious physical metaphor, or because it felt out of step with the micro-intimacy of our participation outlets despite the range of space traversed, but because rest of the departure of attention to our surrogate characters for lengths of time which took me out of the movie during the act when audience involvement is critical to the payoff. Still, despite this detour, the rest of the film worked perfectly, and I appreciate the passion you have for it. Like many films, I could see this one growing on me with revisits, and I’m now hungry for more Borzage.

[HinkyDinkyTruesmith]

I think revisits will assist your appreciation of it, since you will not longer have to deal with the surprise at some of the more incredible plot developments. For me, it's the little details. I rewatched the Coco scene from it a couple weeks ago, and became entranced by the way Jean Arthur repeats "ask him to ask me to dance." Brought tears to my eyes.

In the words of Maurice Chevalier, isn't it romance!

[therewillbeblus]

I liked Bad Girl already, but a revisit prompted me to fall in love with what is certainly the best sound Borzage film that I've seen. What I missed the first time around is just how funny this film is in its first act, with the two women developing a more conservative precedent of the nouvelle vague kittenish vibe, before we descend into the hardened drama of relational miscommunications. This is above all else a wonderfully humble film about communication deficits in domestic partnerships, born from assumed gender roles, western cultural barriers, and lack of environmentally-reinforced skills to be open and transparent as neglected signs of intimacy. The grand gestures and self-conscious withdrawals each partner exhibits are not bombastically Dramatic but quietly conveyed with confidence, as Borzage understands he need not flood us with emphasis to sell the relatable truth inherent in this romantic tragicomedy, because any deep romance is a tragicomedy. Most melodramas anxiously default to a perceived need that they need to take us to exaggerated polar realms to deliver the feeling, but this film is exhibit A in demonstrating that with the right skills you don’t need to try so hard a la Douglas Sirk to make us laugh and cry in authentic rhythms of the banalities of everyday life. I admire Borzage's film for his courage to resist overcompensation, even if, like most, I love a good loud melodrama.

[senseabove]

Kickstarter for a DVD release of Back Pay and Valley of Silent Men based on new 2k/4k scans from the only surviving prints in the LoC collection.

[hearthesilence]

Well, this is awesome...

...for decades Man’s Castle has been available only in a heavily censored cut created in 1938, when this extremely pre-Code film was reissued to cash in on the back-to-back Oscar wins of its star, Spencer Tracy. A major subplot was dropped, weakening the film’s central conflict between the easygoing eroticism represented by showgirl Glenda Farrell and the more difficult and soulful connection proposed by Loretta Young, here astonishingly beautiful as an innocent young woman cast adrift in the Great Depression. Many individual shots were deleted to appease the strict moral guidelines of the Production Code Administration; perhaps most absurdly, a wedding scene in the seventh reel was moved up to the first, to give some moral cover to Tracy and Young as they share a shack in a Central Park shantytown.

Now, thanks to Sony Pictures Entertainment’s Rita Belda, Man’s Castle has been restored to a state quite close to its premiere version, and one can only say that a great film has emerged as something even greater, richer in its emotions and more profound in its philosophy. (Belda will be present on April 20 to conduct a workshop on the restoration.)

Screening at MoMA April 18–24, 2024, this will be accompanied by a selection of other recent Borzage restorations.

[Finch]

That's exciting news and I'm looking forward to seeing this reconstructed version from one of the boutiques next year. Hopefully Indicator instead of Criterion.

[hearthesilence]

The restoration for Man’s Castle is pretty awesome. I caught a screening and Rita Belda's excellent presentation, and it's a great credit to Borzage that it could still come off as a masterpiece, even his greatest work, despite a modest number of changes that were nevertheless substantial in how much they undermined the boldest and nerviest parts of the film.

Footage came from three sources: the OCN, a dupe negative made in 1938, and a 35mm nitrate print from the BFI's archives. This nitrate print was several generations removed from the OCN as it was an exhibition print with the kind of wear you'd expect from anything that's been run through a projector. The nitrate print's origin is also a bit mysterious: it was struck in 1943 (info printed on the film itself) but it was long speculated to contain lost footage cut for the censored reissue, which indeed was the case. How this came to be is unknown. (Perhaps it was a preview print of some kind, but regardless, no documentation exists to suggest any answer.)

They actually scanned the OCN in 2014 but they really wanted to see if a restoration of the original cut was possible, so they spent the time finding and gathering all the necessary materials, including all of the paperwork regarding changes and censoring. One major problem was that a guide to what was done had no information regarding actual content of scenes - it was all just numerical measurements of the length of film involved, and things were trimmed in a way where you could have lost a crucial moment and still have the scene come up with a measurement that matched what was there before. So they had to do the painstaking task of running all three sources side-by-side plus an old video transfer as a guide and pinpoint exactly what was in all three sources. I'm sure that was only the beginning of their work - a demo showed substantial flaws like scratches and blemishes in the nitrate print that had to be cleaned up. By 2019, there was interest in premiering their work at a major festival, and they thought maybe they could aim for 2020, but obviously that could not happen. It took a while to start up their restoration work again, but ten years after the OCN scan we now have it.

During the film, I noticed what looked like a subtle shift that suggested footage from a different source had to be inserted to complete a shot, and the demo confirmed this. (It's a close-up of Loretta Young at the restaurant in the second scene.) To their credit, this was very subtle, less distracting than even a scratched frame flying by. It was an extremely good match too - you can barely notice any change in quality, so it was not jarring at all. They must've graded it to match - a demo of the skinny dipping scene showed the raw scans for the OCN and the nitrate print side-by-side and as great as the nitrate print looked, you can see the loss in detail, the thicker grain and most of all the loss in dynamic range with a lot of stuff becoming more lost in darkness. One shot used from the nitrate is when Young says she doesn't have a bathing suit - the scene actually cuts back and forth between Tracy and Young here, and the other times they show the camera angle on Young is from the OCN, so you can compare the two and see how much better the OCN looks versus the nitrate - after restoration, it looks subtle but noticeable if you scrutinize closely and know where to look, but honestly, because of the editing, I bet most people won't notice at all. (FYI she said Sony's policy with restorations was to enhance the original artistic intent, i.e. don't go overboard with restoration tools and de-grain or over sharpen simply because you can.)

As for the content, the Code-butchered reissue really does sand away some edges. Innuendo is taken out, a controversial topic (sadly relevant to the U.S. today) is mostly gutted out, and one's profession as a prostitute is obscured, but the biggest botch is moving a crucial scene from reel 7 to reel 2 - so much happens in that scene internally for Tracy and Young's characters, but by placing it in the wrong context, the Code-butchered reissue completely robs it of its meaning and power. FWIW until 10 minutes ago I still had a copy of the TCM broadcast on a drive (PQ now looks comparatively awful) and to my surprise, that scene was back where it belongs, in reel 7. It was well-known what had been done with that scene due to the Code so maybe TCM and/or Sony decided to make things right years ago and make that change in the broadcast master? Certainly was doable, but moving that scene meant Columbia had to make cuts later and before, at least one of which created a terrible jump cut that I still remember. (I also remember an egregious jump cut unrelated to the scene move that takes place in a hotel room - that was to gut out some sexual content). You can see those cuts in the TCM broadcast as the missing footage had not been found yet, but from what I can tell, all of these cuts are now indeed fixed with the missing footage restored - no more jump cuts!

Finally, the skinny dipping censorship is more substantial than I thought. I knew about it before and knew what was cut, but that knowledge isn't enough, you really need to see it play out. Seen in its restored form, you get a greater sense of how that moment effected another character -

Spoiler

his predatory lust becomes much clearer and disturbing and as a result the motivation for what he does later becomes much more clearer and even more frightening, less contrived and less abstract.

Amazing work from everyone involved. This restoration is now available to anyone who wants to show it so contact your local programmer and plead with them to book it.

[Tuppence]

Man's Castle is coming on Blu-ray from Sony on May 21st.

[pistolwink]

Man's Castle is coming on Blu-ray from Sony on May 21st.

Any word on the quality?

This is listed as being burned on demand. It also seems to be bare bones, and the cover is just a still from the movie with the title over it. The whole thing seems like Sony just farted it out with minimal fanfare. I know that Sony archivist Grover Crisp has been trying to get them to release this film with the restored footage for years, and this must've been the maximum the video division was willing to do.

[domino harvey]

Sony does not burn MOD Blu rays anymore— this is a common misconception.

[andyli]

Man's Castle is coming on Blu-ray from Sony on May 21st.

Any word on the quality?

FWIW, the transfer is from a 4K restoration by Sony, limited only by the condition the existing materials are in.

[jheez]

Man's Castle is coming on Blu-ray from Sony on May 21st.

Any word on the quality?

FWIW, the transfer is from a 4K restoration by Sony, limited only by the condition the existing materials are in.

And it looks and sounds excellent!

[starmanof51]

And it looks and sounds excellent!

So not the 78 minute version, despite what the packshot said?

[jheez]

And it looks and sounds excellent!

So not the 78 minute version, despite what the packshot said?

It is indeed the 78 minute version

[starmanof51]

It is indeed the 78 minute version

Thanks for verifying

[hearthesilence]

I don't think it would make sense for it NOT to be the complete/restored 78-minute version, given the time and money spent on the project. Again, this is the version they're making available to anyone, they definitely want to put it out there.

[jmj713]

Has there been any word on a release of the restored "Secrets" (1924)? https://www.moma.org/calendar/events/9761 And is it the complete version? Couldn't find much about it.