King Solomon's Mines (DVD)

As grateful as I am about Warner releasing so many old movies on DVD, I'm kinda pissed that these movies aren't being restored. I just watched "Ivanhoe" the other night, and the colors look very drab. Technicolor is supposed to offer bold, vibrant hues, not washed-out olives, pinks, and aquas.



Also, as "impressive" as the restoration was for "Gone With the Wind", the final transfer still reveals a lot of print damage, excessive grain in some scenes, and discolorations.

Nah, you just need a new television.



John

LOL.

Yeah, we'd all like to see these old movies restored to their former glory, but it's cost prohibitive. The studios would never pay for the cost of frame-by-frame restorations with the meager profits they must make on smaller old titles. It's only the big older titles like "GWTH," "Casablanca," or "The Adventures of Robin Hood" that get the full restoration treatment because the studio knows the discs will sell well.



So, where's "The African Queen"? We get every low-budget horror movie imaginable and no "African Queen" yet?



John

I just got Ivanhoe too and I want it in widescreen but no dice, boo. They need to do a better job with these old movies but the color is better than the VHS.

"Ivanhoe" was made in 1952, a year before the introduction of widescreen CinemaScope and a few months before widescreen Cinerama. In other words, "Ivanhoe" was made in the Academy Standard ratio of the day, 1.37:1, which is how it is presented on the DVD (or close enough at 1.33:1).



John

And where's Captain Blood and The Sea Hawk??? And in the bedroom farce column, where's Teacher's Pet??



I'm disappointed to hear the color is drab on Ivanhoe, which I've ordered for myself. You're right, Eddie. Color is what made those old spectacles and adventures so grand, and why people like Ted Turner wanted to throw paint all over the B&W ones like Blood and Hawk.

"where's Captain Blood and The Sea Hawk??? And in the bedroom farce column, where's Teacher's Pet??"



Good question I'd kill to see those movies on dvd along with The Buccaneer, The Black Sheild of Falworth, The Sword of Lancelot, and the 1950's Musketeer movies. Hell all swashbucklers need to be on dvd. Its my favorite genre.

Jim,



Actually, Ted Turner is an idiot.



Eddie