Godzilla/Gojira. Oh boy! Oh boy! OH BOY!

Big G on the rampage. Credit: Toho Co. Ltd.

                               
                                Godzilla/Gojira. Oh boy! Oh boy! OH BOY!

       It's been announced the original 1954 Godzilla is getting the ole Criterion treatment. This means high quality/high resolution restoration. NOT the kind where every little scratch, burn, cut, splice, hair, whistle, snap, crackle, n' poop comes in with crystal clarity on whatever old public domain print someone dug up from under an outhouse. No, it means the results from the best print obtainable will be presented as audiences saw it when it was first released.

      Not quite in this case. Due to the then gritty conditions at Toho studios back in the early 50s the original release prints had some defects. As I understand it Criterions' treatment will correct that. I am so waiting for this.

      And that's not all! Not only the original film but a second disc will have the version we older westerners grew up with: Godzilla King of the Monsters with Raymond Burr (Where Perry Mason takes the big guy on as a client. NOT!). This pairing has been done already by Classic Media, howsomever, through their contacts, Criterion has managed to obtain a "lavender" (first generation) print of the Burr version! Hopefully this is what is used in the restoration.

      Due out with extra features 1-24-12.

Websites of a couple of real G-fans here & here.

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An Early "Preview" Of Colorization

                                        

                                                    Poster credit: Warner Bros. Studios                                        

                                         

                                           An Early "Preview" Of Colorization                             

                                                                                by
                                                                                 
                                                                                  Jay Agan
   
      Some time after the discovery of fire, a media mogul named Ted Turner promoted film restoration on a scale never before dreamed of. As part of his plans to reintroduce classic films to the world, he promoted colorization technology. I take it this was in an effort to instill an appreciation of older black & white films to the superficial, shallow, thrill seeking youth of this age. (Who know the price of everything & the value of nothing.) Youth is wasted on the young. They don't Know what to do with it. A co-worker used that statement in reference to young women being wasted on young men for the same reason. However, I digress.
   
      Before Mr. Turner crashed onto the national scene, two friends & I were heavily into the wargaming hobby. In the summer of '75 we attended a small regional convention at a college in Cinncinatti. It was there I experienced a most singular phenomenon.

      After a long Saturday of Afrika Korps, Stalingrad, & Angrief, we repaired to one of the dorms common rooms wherin resided a color TV set. They Died With Their Boots On, a late 30s black & white western with Errol Flynn, was being aired & we settled in to watch. Something slowly registered as we watched. It gradually dawned on me something about this movie wasn't quite the same as previous viewings. Then it hit, literally between the eyes.
     
      The film was in color! Sort of.
     
      TV reception wasn't as good as it should have, being from a local station & all. Maybe the antenna was slighty "off" or its connections were defective in some way (picture slightly fuzzy though still very watchable). Maybe the signal was interacting with the set in an odd way. What I do know is the film came across as color. Moderatly faint & fluctuating at times, but color nonetheless.
   
      And the colors were in the right places. Fleshtones nonexistant, but every thing else was there. Right down to the reds & blues on the feathers of the Indians war bonnets. Highlights in the actors eyes in some shots had a bizarre multicolor effect but this only added to the experience. Suffice to say, I enjoyed this new dimension for as long as this lucky accident lasted. Wich was right to THE END.
   
      Of course it doesn't compare to todays processes, but this odd set of circumstances had me enthralled that night in 1975. Until I heard about colorization a year or so after, I had often wondered if such a thing was possible to be done deliberatly. As it was, I felt fortunate to have experienced something that (at the time) I thought I would never see again.

                                                       Article copyright © Jay Agan

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DISCLAIMER: All images used on this blog are strictly copyrights of their owners. I do not claim credit/ownership for any images used here in my blog unless stated otherwise. If I have offended anyone by posting any images on my blog, please contact me via email and I will remove specified image(s) ASAP.

Transylvania Noctourne

                                                                by

                                                                   Jay Agan

              Photo credit: Universal Studios.

          One AM, an early July or August morning 1983.

     

          I was a bit tired & had just quit DXing (station hunting) on AM & shortwave. Not wanting to do any reading either (it was my heavy Lovecraft period) I thought I'd turn on the tv in the hope something watchable was airing. Had no idea what could be on. The Mt. Vernon News had this annoying habit of putting only "movie" in the listings spaces. Sure, you knew a flick was on the way but.....what?

           Saturday Night Live wound down & ch 4 (WCMH) proceeded with the All Nite Theater (Jerry Beck long since left that gig by then. Sad.) Oh. The 1931 Lugosi Dracula. Hadn't seen that one in a while (Had an old audio tape I recorded of it back in the 70s.) What the hey! I settled in to enjoy myself.

           What the hey, indeed. From the moment the opening credits ended I noticed something different right off. Not only was the picture sharp & clear, but the sound (except for a slight background hiss) was as well. To say I was astounded would be an understatement. Never before had I seen such a clean, viewable example of an old film of any kind let alone this one. No scratches, burn marks, "hair", jumpcuts/splices either. I never thought beutiful prints like this ever existed. By far, worlds better than the worn examples I'd seen on other stations.

           This was a time before Ted Turner et al. grabbed the bull by the horns & got the film restoration movement of today rolling. What's routinely commonplace today was certainly a treat back then, I'm here to tell ya. You younger film buffs have no idea how good you have it now. Cheers.

                                                 Article copyright © Jay Agan

Go to MAIN PAGE.

DISCLAIMER: All images used on this blog are strictly copyrights of their owners. I do not claim credit/ownership for any images used here in my blog unless stated otherwise. If I have offended anyone by posting any images on my blog, please contact me via email and I will remove specified image(s) ASAP.