A few words about…™ Matinee — in Blu-ray

4 Stars The Blu-ray is a quality affair, with proper color, density, a light sheen of grain, and a clean image.

Not since the days of P.T. Barnum, has there been an entertainment based showman with the passion, exuberance, and ability to blow things out of proportion with publicity, since the great master of schlock horror, Lawrence Woolsey (1917-1979).

Known for his theatrical stunts – nurses standing at the ready for films too frightening to survive, dummies rigged to travel above an audience, electrical contacts beneath theater seats – Mr. Woolsey made theater-going great fun, especially for teens.

Woolsey, always seemed to have a cigar in his mouth, and a personality bigger than life.

In 1992, Joe Dante created a loving biography to Mr. Woolsey in the form of Matinee, a sweet-natured film, that places many of Mr. Woolsey’s frightening creatures at the fore, along with the man himself, played by John Goodman.

Great fun, and nice to finally have on Blu-ray courtesy of Shout Factory’s Select label, which adds some nice extras, along with the original version of Mant (1962), as excerpted in the film.

The Blu-ray is a quality affair, with proper color, density, a light sheen of grain, and a clean image.

Image – 5

Audio – 5 (DTS-HD MA)

Pass / Fail – Pass

Recommended

RAH

Robert has been known in the film industry for his unmatched skill and passion in film preservation. Growing up around photography, his first home theater experience began at age ten with 16mm. Years later he was running 35 and 70mm at home.

His restoration projects have breathed new life into classic films like Lawrence of Arabia, Vertigo, My Fair Lady, Spartacus, and The Godfather series. Beyond his restoration work, he has also shared his expertise through publications, contributing to the academic discourse on film restoration. The Academy Film Archive houses the Robert A. Harris Collection, a testament to his significant contributions to film preservation.

Post Disclaimer

Some of our content may contain marketing links, which means we will receive a commission for purchases made via those links. In our editorial content, these affiliate links appear automatically, and our editorial teams are not influenced by our affiliate partnerships. We work with several providers (currently Skimlinks and Amazon) to manage our affiliate relationships. You can find out more about their services by visiting their sites.

Share this post:

View thread (12 replies)

ahollis

Patron
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Mar 1, 2007
Messages
8,864
Location
New Orleans
Real Name
Allen
The great bigger than life Lawrence Woolsey. Too bad he passed before he made Gator Gal. That would have been right up there Mant.
 

bujaki

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jan 1, 2012
Messages
7,096
Location
Richardson, TX
Real Name
Jose Ortiz-Marrero
Whatever happened to the OCN of Mant? The excerpts look wonderful; maybe Dante knows where the rest of the OCN resides. The complete film needs to be shown to a new, appreciative generation (maybe a Fathom event, or during a TCM festival in Hollywood). I hope Wade Williams doesn't have the rights to the film...
 

RichMurphy

Supporting Actor
Joined
Jun 15, 2005
Messages
881
Location
Somewhere, VA
Real Name
Rich
Whatever happened to the OCN of Mant? The excerpts look wonderful; maybe Dante knows where the rest of the OCN resides. The complete film needs to be shown to a new, appreciative generation (maybe a Fathom event, or during a TCM festival in Hollywood). I hope Wade Williams doesn't have the rights to the film...

I think Woolsey's boss, Cagey Calhoun, has the OCN.
 

cadavra

Supporting Actor
Joined
Jul 28, 2008
Messages
781
Real Name
mike schlesinger
Whatever happened to the OCN of Mant? The excerpts look wonderful; maybe Dante knows where the rest of the OCN resides. The complete film needs to be shown to a new, appreciative generation (maybe a Fathom event, or during a TCM festival in Hollywood). I hope Wade Williams doesn't have the rights to the film...

Assuming you're not kidding, there is no complete film. They shot about 23" worth of scenes, and it's all there.

Mike S.
 
Most Popular