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King of Jazz (1 Viewer)

TJPC

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After much excitement about the restoration of this 2 strip technicolor feature from 1930 and a flurry of showings at many movie festivals, in North America, there has been silence.
Has anyone heard about a DVD or hopefully a Blu ray release? There seems to be a large amount of people who would make this a first day purchase.
 
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Rob W

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Based on absolutely nothing but intuition, I'm expecting to see this via Criterion in the next year, as it would really lend itself to the kind of special features that Criterion is so good at.
 

deepscan

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I won't be surprised if Shout Select wins the rights. They have done some great stuff with Universal as well, hope they also do E.T. too.
 

Roger Grodsky

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I asked one of the restorers about a blu-ray release at the MoMA screening and he said that they were concentrating on the festival circuit and that there were no plans for a release. But that was a while ago and I imagine there will be one at some point. It's thrilling that Universal is finally recognizing (and funding!) their legacy.
 

Robert Harris

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After much excitement about the restoration of this 2 strip technicolor feature from 1930 and a flurry of showings at many movie festivals, in North America, there has been silence.
Has anyone heard about a DVD or hopefully a Blu ray release? There seems to be a large amount of people who would make this a first day purchase.

The film is more properly referenced as 2-color, as it was photographed not with two strips of negative, but over/under.

I'm told that it's beautiful.
 

Robert Harris

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As I recall, all 2 color tech was double frame. Early prints had two dye records glued together, and later, imbibed.

You may wish to double check. Wide Screen Museum is generally best.
 

TJPC

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My point of course was not to discuss the technical aspects of how early technicolor movies achieved their colour, but to question when a particular movie was to be sold on disc.
I believed by using the well known and common term "two strip technicolor" everyone would know what I was talking about. I think they do.
 

Tony Bensley

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I asked one of the restorers about a blu-ray release at the MoMA screening and he said that they were concentrating on the festival circuit and that there were no plans for a release. But that was a while ago and I imagine there will be one at some point. It's thrilling that Universal is finally recognizing (and funding!) their legacy.

While I want to maintain some degree of optimism, the 5 words that I've bolded seem to somewhat confirm my worst fears regarding this charming film! Believing that at some point there will be a release in of itself doesn't make it so, unfortunately! Over the past couple of years, I've heard of too many films getting restored only to end up confined to the festival circuit (IE. The now near complete Laurel & Hardy 1927 silent comedy, BATTLE OF THE CENTURY!), with those limited by circumstance to at home viewing left out in the cold, so to speak! I do hope that I'm wrong in this case!

CHEERS! :)
 

Robert Harris

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My point of course was not to discuss the technical aspects of how early technicolor movies achieved their colour, but to question when a particular movie was to be sold on disc.
I believed by using the well known and common term "two strip technicolor" everyone would know what I was talking about. I think they do.
Possibly on cinephile sites. I'd be careful about using terms like "two-strip Technicolor" in public.

People have been locked up for sedition for less.
 

ajabrams

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I was also at the MOMA screenings (I went twice!) and the impression I got from one of the restorers was that there were no IMMEDIATE plans for a BD release, and that they indeed wanted to concentrate on theatrical and festival exhibition first. I trust that the studio must know about the demand for a home video release and that we'll see one in the not too distant future. Let's all keep our fingers crossed!!
 

PODER

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And yet the wonderful book KING OF JAZZ: PAUL WHITEMAN'S TECHNICOLOR REVUE came out last
November. I expected this to be a tie-in with a Blu-Ray release of the restored film. Ah well, the best
laid plans of mice, men and movie fans ...
 

Matt Hough

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I did watch my commercial VHS tape of this last night. It was shorter than I remembered it being and was color throughout which I also didn't recall. Universal really tried to give this some originality with unusual numbers (MGM tried that with The Hollywood Revue, too). But Universal was wise to make the comic sketches really brief and not prolonged. Of course, they didn't have the stars to feature in long sketches like MGM had.

I have an old RCA Victor LP with songs from early talkies, and I don't know why I didn't remember John Boles' "It Happened in Monterey" was from this.

Watching it made me curious to revisit the other early talkie studio revues: Hollywood Revue, Show of Shows, and Paramount on Parade (which is going to be complete on YouTube in the next week).

Has anyone ever seen Fox's early talkie revue Happy Days? Has it ever been commercially released?
 

bigshot

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It Happened In Monterey was one of Whiteman's biggest hits. It sold so many copies you can still find it in just about any thrift store with 78s.
 

bujaki

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I did watch my commercial VHS tape of this last night. It was shorter than I remembered it being and was color throughout which I also didn't recall. Universal really tried to give this some originality with unusual numbers (MGM tried that with The Hollywood Revue, too). But Universal was wise to make the comic sketches really brief and not prolonged. Of course, they didn't have the stars to feature in long sketches like MGM had.

I have an old RCA Victor LP with songs from early talkies, and I don't know why I didn't remember John Boles' "It Happened in Monterey" was from this.

Watching it made me curious to revisit the other early talkie studio revues: Hollywood Revue, Show of Shows, and Paramount on Parade (which is going to be complete on YouTube in the next week).

Has anyone ever seen Fox's early talkie revue Happy Days? Has it ever been commercially released?
I have seen Happy Days. I harbor practically no recollection of it.
 

Bert Greene

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I always thought "Paramount on Parade" was missing a reel. Does it now indeed exist in complete form? I remember enjoying the film, thinking it perhaps the best of those early 'revue' extravaganzas. But it's been ages since I saw it.
 

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