upcoming screenings of classic movies!

[dave jenkins]

Digital Cinema Package, the new standard in digital cinema. In other words, most likely a 2K projection.

Yet when I go to the cineplex, they usually advertise 4K projection.

I assume that 2K is roughly twice the pixels as 1080?

[moviesceleton]

Yet when I go to the cineplex, they usually advertise 4K projection.

I assume that 2K is roughly twice the pixels as 1080?

I meant that the films in question are probably presented in 2K. DCP can be either 2K or 4K.

"2K" has 2048x1080 pixels at the most, depending on the aspect ration. HD has 1920x1080 pixels. So the difference in terms of pixels is quite minimal, but DCP has a better compression i.e. higher data rate.

[drinkanddestroy]

ok I definitely want to go to an evening showing today (Thursday June 7), so it comes down to either
FAFDM at 9:45 PM, or
THE PRICE OF POWER at 7:45 PM (which inclues book signing with Alex Cox).

I'd prefer to see FAFDM but if someone wants to come with me, I'll be glad to see whatever he does. Please lemme know ASAP if u r interested in going to a screening tonite!  

[dave jenkins]

ok I definitely want to go to an evening showing today (Thursday June 7

Did you go?

[drinkanddestroy]

No,

either I, or all of my friends, are losers!

[dave jenkins]

Now that school's out and I have some free time, I might go to some of these. My dilemna: if I see more than a few, I might as well buy a FilmForum membership. To make a membership pay, you need to see at least 15 films a year. If I can watch about half that number during the SW program, there's a pretty good chance I'll get to the other half over the course of the year (after the summer months, I generally get to Manhattan about once a month).

So this is kind of what I'm thinking as per the schedule:

6/13 The Big Gundown

6/17 The Price of Power
        Once Upon a Time in the West
        The Ruthless Four

6/19 The Mercenary

6/21 GBU
        Death Rides a Horse

It's nice to be able to group my shots, as that allows me to dollar cost average my transportation in and out of the city.

[Groggy]

Looks like an awesome lineup.

[dave jenkins]

6/13 The Big Gundown

I went and thoroughly enjoyed myself.

The DCP projection looked really good, with a crisp image and vibrant colors. Flesh tones were correct. The only thing--apparently the Italians like to DNR their digital images to death, because there was no grain in the image whatsoever (although, I was sitting quite far in the back, so maybe there was some and I just couldn't see it). From where I was sitting, though, good image that it was, it did not seem film-like. This didn't bother me, however; nor did it seem to bother my fellow audience members. Man, was the theater packed! (and for a 4:40 p.m. showing--don't people have jobs anymore?).

The sound was through the standard art-house tinny-sounding speakers (D&D, you would have hated it). The subtitles were easy to read--they looked like the kinds of titles you get on Blu-rays. I'm guessing there's a really good Italian BD release of this already out or soon to be on its way.

Bottom line: this was the most fun I've ever had watching this title.

[drinkanddestroy]

The sound was through the standard art-house tinny-sounding speakers (D&D, you would have hated it).

Was the volume lower than OUATIA at Lincoln Center?

[dave jenkins]

I didn't have any problem with the volume at the Walter Reade. That is, I took no notice of it at all, so it must have seemed fine to me. At the Film Forum screening yesterday, I definitely noticed that the sound was sub-par.

[cigar joe]

I went and thoroughly enjoyed myself.

The DCP projection looked really good, with a crisp image and vibrant colors. Flesh tones were correct. The only thing--apparently the Italians like to DNR their digital images to death, because there was no grain in the image whatsoever (although, I was sitting quite far in the back, so maybe there was some and I just couldn't see it). From where I was sitting, though, good image that it was, it did not seem film-like. This didn't bother me, however; nor did it seem to bother my fellow audience members. Man, was the theater packed! (and for a 4:40 p.m. showing--don't people have jobs anymore?).

The sound was through the standard art-house tinny-sounding speakers (D&D, you would have hated it). The subtitles were easy to read--they looked like the kinds of titles you get on Blu-rays. I'm guessing there's a really good Italian BD release of this already out or soon to be on its way.

Bottom line: this was the most fun I've ever had watching this title.

Cool 

[dave jenkins]

6/17 The Price of Power
        Once Upon a Time in the West
        The Ruthless Four

In the event, I didn't go Sunday, but went yesterday instead (so just saw OUATITW and Ruthless 4). That turned out to be a pretty good choice as yesterday was hot as, well, blazes. Sitting in an airconditioned theater for 5 hours during the heat of the day was a good call.

Seeing OUATITW with an audience is an interesting experience. Unhappily, at Film Forum, if you sit up near the front (where there is no incline) you get the hair of the head of the guy in front of you in your line-of-sight. However, most of the screen remained visible. The audience reaction was interesting at different points--"They call them millions" got the biggest laugh. The fuckwits in the projection room screwed up the final reel change, and we had to watch clear leader for a minute. It was the Scorcese cut, and the print looked pretty good. I now realize I prefer the image they've produced for home video--details on DVD and Blu-ray are clearer, no doubt due to contrast boosting.

Ruthless 4 turns out to be a pretty bad film, but there's a lot of unintentional humor in it so it was entertaining in parts. It's basically a Spaghetti version of Treasure of the Sierra Madre. It's weird seeing both Van Heflin and Gilbert Roland in an SW--their Italian, though, is impeccable. Things are rather dull until Kinski shows up--in a priest's dog collar!--saunters up to the bar and orders a glass of milk. The soundtrack is really weird: a bolero plays when they're doing things like crossing the Almerian "desert" or making their way through one of the "dangerous" Almerian quarries. But at other times the director likes to hit us with stings, whether the scene requires them or not. I've never seen a film with more stings. Heflin offers Roland a cup of coffee--sting! Kinski twitches--sting! At times you think you're watching a parody of an SW. This helps alibi the ineptly staged action sequences. But after Kinski--and the gay sub-text--leaves the picture, everything becomes predictalbe and boring. This is not a film I'll be rewatching.

There were a few broads in the audience for these but mostly it was a stag event.

Final day of the program today: I'll be going back for GBU and DRAH!

[titoli]

"THE GREATEST GENRE EVER!"  J. Hoberman, Film Comment

Uh?

[dave jenkins]

Hoberman is an ass.

Yesterday was the hottest day of the year and i was glad to be in the air-conditioned confines of Film Forum. Lots of other folks had the same idea--the GBU showing was a near sell-out. I enjoyed seeing the film projected for the first time. In fact, I was really struck by how good the image was. Sure, it was the 2003 restoration, but how was it that such a good looking print got struck and survived in such good condition until now? Of course, it turns out it wasn't a print at all--it was a DCP projection. Now I know: comparing this with the excellent print of OUATITW I saw the day before, I clearly prefer a good digital presentation to film. The sound was better too.

There were fewer people on hand for DRAH, which was in English, in a faded print that was totally beat to shit (especially on either side of the reel changes). I didn't enjoy the presentation much, but I couldn't decide if that was the fault of the print or if I just don't care for the movie any more. The showing was preceded by a extremely short intro from Lee Van Cleef's grandson--turns out he's one of the ushers at the Film Forum. All he said was that DRAH was the film his grandfather most enjoyed making. He gave no further details.

Well, so much for the SW program at the Film Forum. That Leone guy made some pretty good films. Those other guys, not so much.

[titoli]

Hoberman is an ass.

That Leone guy made some pretty good films. Those other guys, not so much.

That's the people who disqualify the good by exalting the bad and the ugly indiscriminately.

Still, if I remember well, the magazine had a reputation in the '60's and '70's. Times change.