I bought the tape for my personal research from a guy near the Kino
booth at Cinefest, in 1996, I think.
O.
At 10:36 AM 23/08/2011, you wrote:
I thought French films were never PD in Canada or I suppose you just
mean you got it from a company releasing PD films in the US? FYI if
the VHS came from 86 restoration with a new score ( or even an old
one) I don't think it could ever have been PD as opposed to a
bootleg of the restoration.
Any idea why it is not released even in France?
I know you love it and maybe I should give it another try if it
plays in NYC ( which it did again recently), but the one time I
tried to watch I was so bored I left, which is rare for me.
On Tue, Aug 23, 2011 at 10:25 AM, Oksana Dykyj
<<mailto:oks...@alcor.concordia.ca>oks...@alcor.concordia.ca> wrote:
The Bois D'arcy archival restoration dates from 1986. The VHS has
excellent visuals and sound (for a VHS). The NTSC copy I have came
from a PD distributor. The film is indeed very long but then again
how often do we get a chance to see an ensemble production such as
this: Paul Poiret did the costume design, Robert Mallet-Stevens did
the architectural design, PIerre Chareau was responsible for some of
the furniture, Rene Lalique for some of the objects, Fernand Leger
designed the sets for the laboratory sequences. Claude Autant-Lara
and Alberto Cavalcanti also contributed various design elements.
It's a veritable who's who of design in the gestating pre-art deco
period right before the 1925 Paris exposition. The film is rather
significant historically for this purpose rather than for its
narrative. The credits on the restoration indicate that Darius
Milhaud did the score for the film in 1925 but that it was
subsequently lost and the Bois D'Arcy restoration credits its
original musical score to Jean Christophe Desnoux. The producer of
the 1986 restoration is La Boite a images, and director Jean
Dreville was responsible for the tinting and toning in the
restoration. I love this movie: it has a dining room where the
eating area is on a kind of moat surrounded by a pool and Jaque
Catelain tools around in a beautiful Bugatti. Art Deco heaven to be sure.
Oksana
At 08:45 AM 23/08/2011, you wrote:
Another side note, even if the VHS was produced prior to GATT
(1998) taking effect, the score would almost surely be under
copyright. You would be surprised how many pirates of films that
might be PD then use copyrighted scores. Many years ago Kino was a
decent settlement with a company that literally ripped of the Kino
version of STEAMBOAT BILL JR which is indeed a PD title. Perhaps
the funniest one was a major chain that bought a ripped off
version of QUEEN KELLY. The even left the KINO LOGO on the DVD
(while putting in a crappy box).
On Tue, Aug 23, 2011 at 7:10 AM, Shoaf,Judith P
<<mailto:jsh...@ufl.edu>jsh...@ufl.edu> wrote:
I have thought about the ins and outs of treating the item as
public domain though I didn't think of section 108 because I'm just
a language lab, not a library. The first 1/2 hour is in fact
available online; last night I watched about 15 minutes of it and
found that viewing it in a small window helps with the "torn and
dirty pages" quality Jessica mentions; also, it has a terrific
performance of the score (by Milhaud) which I presume dates from a
postwar recording/performance (i.e. not PD) and really helps to
juice up the strange rhythms of the film. I am not sure I could
make a better digital copy from the tape, and NTSC VHS from SECAM
VHS is not likely to be much good either.
Apparently there was an NTSC copy in the media library, and I think
that probably means it was released in the US at some point.
Apparently a prof who has left UF took it with her and it is now on
its way back. I will look to see whether it's a US release with English subs.
The professor's 80's SECAM copy is probably the best option--I
assume it is based on the restoration/orchestral performance used
to make the online video, but it would be better visual quality.
I think that the professor is likely to agree with Jessica about
the film being boring--she told me she has never watched the whole
thing but wanted to use it for the class because of the subject
matter (Paris fashion in the movies). My impression is that the
reason the online project only presents the first half hour (about
1/5 of the whole film, I gather) is that this is the bit that has
the moderne costumes, sets, and special effects which make the film
"important." (The other interesting thing is the sci-fi/horror themes!)
Jessica, you mentioned a recent restoration, but nobody has said
anything about a DVD release. Does anyone know if it has been
picked up for release? Has anyone seen the restoration--it would be
interesting to know how well it "reads" in terms of the visuals...?
Judy
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and evolving video formats in libraries and related institutions.
It is hoped that the list will serve as an effective working tool
for video librarians, as well as a channel of communication between
libraries,educational institutions, and video producers and distributors.
VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of
issues relating to the selection, evaluation,
acquisition,bibliographic control, preservation, and use of current
and evolving video formats in libraries and related institutions. It
is hoped that the list will serve as an effective working tool for
video librarians, as well as a channel of communication between
libraries,educational institutions, and video producers and distributors.
--
Jessica Rosner
Media Consultant
224-545-3897 (cell)
212-627-1785 (land line)
<mailto:jessicapros...@gmail.com>jessicapros...@gmail.com
VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of
issues relating to the selection, evaluation,
acquisition,bibliographic control, preservation, and use of current
and evolving video formats in libraries and related institutions. It
is hoped that the list will serve as an effective working tool for
video librarians, as well as a channel of communication between
libraries,educational institutions, and video producers and distributors.
VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of issues
relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic control,
preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in libraries and
related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as an effective
working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of communication
between libraries,educational institutions, and video producers and
distributors.
