public domain ----)) bad print??
i hear that's b/c the film is in the public domaian, making chances for a proper restoration nil.
true??
"The Strange Love of Martha Ivers" is in the public domain. That doesn't stop anyone from issuing a resoration. "My Man Godfrey" is in the public doman too, but Criterion have issued a definite version of that classic.
My $2.00 copy of Matha Ivers actually isn't too bad. Quite watchable.
I would hope that a full scale restoration could be made some day, but it isn't as badly needed, perhaps, as for some other classic movies that are only available in atrocious versions.
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The print I've got gets wonky in a few parts, suggesting to me it was once re-edited for time (as the affected bits, maybe two minutes total, aren't especially integral to the part; they're bits of idle conversation in the first part, essentially designed to make character interaction more normal so that in the latter half, as people get more intense, there's greater contrast). The print isn't even dirty, it just blurs slightly the way footage from early 1950s tv looks, which makes me think it was restored from a tv broadcast version.
My copy of TSLOMI is part of a film noir set (I assume all the films on it are PD), and the print is much better than some of the others it's packaged with, such as Scarlet Street or Detour.
Yeah, I happen to love the grainy look of my old VHS copy. Adds to the mood of the film.
That said, I'll be first in line for a restored version as well.
"Yeah, I happen to love the grainy look of my old VHS copy. Adds to the mood of the film."
Being a fan of old movies, especially noir, I don't think the grainy look adds to the film. A lot of old movies have been digitally restored wonderfully, and then you really see how utterly amazing the cinematography really was. And the actors' faces, and the clothes, and the sets, and so on...
Jessica Rabbit
"I'm not bad. I'm just drawn that way."