Tweet Press Release: WINGS (1927) on DVD and BluRay

[silentfilm]

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases ... 66293.html

Paramount Home Entertainment Proudly Presents the Very First Best Picture Academy Award® Winner on Blu-ray™ and DVD for the First Time Ever - WINGS
Fully Restored, Breathtaking Epic Debuts on January 24, 2012 Featuring Brand New Enlightening Documentaries on the Film and its Restoration
PARAMOUNT HOME ENTERTAINMENT WINGS Paramount Home Entertainment Proudly Presents the Very First Best Picture Academy Award(R) Winner WINGS On Blu-ray and DVD For The First Time Ever January 24, 2012. (PRNewsFoto/Paramount Home Entertainment) HOLLYWOOD, CA UNITED STATES

HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Nov. 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Paramount Home Entertainment kicks off the studio's centennial celebration in 2012 by releasing the inaugural Best Picture Academy Award® winner WINGS for the first time ever on Blu-ray™ and DVD January 24, 2012. Meticulously restored to give fans the chance to view the visually stunning epic in pristine condition, the 1927 World War I drama explores the devastating effects of war through the story of two men who go off to battle and the woman they both leave behind. Featuring groundbreaking aerial dogfights and epic battle sequences, WINGS is both a cinematic spectacle and a compelling story of love and sacrifice that effectively dramatizes the bitter wages of war. The historic piece of cinema stars Clara Bow, Charles "Buddy" Rogers and Richard Arlen, and also features Gary Cooper in one of his first feature film roles.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20111115/LA06429)

The filming of WINGS was a major undertaking for Paramount Pictures when it began shooting in September of 1926. Because the studio planned to make the film a major roadshow feature, executives immediately cast the top film star of the day, Clara Bow. However, director William Wellman wanted to cast lesser-known actors around Bow and ultimately chose Buddy Rogers and Richard Arlen, as well as the unknown Gary Cooper in a small, but key role.

Because of the extraordinary demands of the epic, the studio reached out to the U.S. Army for assistance and the picture was made with the cooperation of the largest garrison of troops in the U.S. at the time in San Antonio, Texas. Large-scale battlefields were built on more than five acres of land near the barracks and thousands of real-life soldiers appeared in the massive ground sequences.

For the breathtaking aerial battles, groundbreaking new film techniques were used to capture a sense of authenticity that audiences of the day had never experienced before. In fact, WINGS was one of the first films in which the actors actually went up in real planes and were able to activate the mounted cameras themselves—a brave feat for the likes of Buddy Rogers, who had never flown before.

At a time when few films cost as much as $1 million, WINGS' budget soared to an extraordinary $2 million. But the investment paid off when the film opened and became a resounding hit, playing for over a year at its original New York engagement. And in 1929 WINGS became the first film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture, as well as a second Academy Award for Engineering Effects, now known as special effects.

Because the original negative was lost decades ago, contemporary audiences have only seen WINGS in a compromised form. The restoration process utilized a duplicate negative housed in the Paramount archive, but despite this being the best element available, the negative was beset by damage, including entire reels that were strafed with scratches and printed-in nitrate deterioration that was literally eating into the edges of the frames. Using state-of-the-art digital tools normally used to create special effects, the film was meticulously restored frame-by-frame. Original tints and effects, such as colors that were embossed onto the film strip to give flames and explosions a fiery look, were also digitally recreated based on a detailed continuity script that still existed and tinting/toning guides from the period.

For this release, the film's original paper score was procured from the Library of Congress and recorded with a full orchestra. Like many silent film scores, the music was a combination of original composition, popular songs of the period and themes from classical music. Musicians with expertise in silent film music were chosen to recreate a truly orchestral experience.

In addition, Academy Award-winning sound designer Ben Burtt (Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark) and the outstanding team of sound engineers at Skywalker Sound added World War I sound effects as authentically as possible using library sounds from earlier eras to give viewers a true-to-the-period experience.

The WINGS Blu-ray includes the new documentaries "Wings: Grandeur in the Sky," which gives perspective on the remarkable cinematic achievements of William Wellman and his team of filmmakers; "Dogfight", which explores the history of early aeronautics; and "Restoring the Power and Beauty of Wings", which details the painstaking process of returning this monumental epic to its original glory.

WINGS Blu-ray

The WINGS Blu-ray is presented in 1080p high definition with a newly-restored musical score by J.S. Zamecnik in 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and an organ score by Gaylord Carter in 2.0 Dolby Digital that Wings fans may be familiar with, as well as French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles. Disc contents are as follows:

Wings: Grandeur in the Sky
Dogfight!
Restoring the Power and Beauty of Wings

WINGS DVD

The WINGS DVD is presented in full screen with a newly-restored musical score by J.S. Zamecnik in 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround and an organ score by Gaylord Carter in 2.0 Dolby Digital, as well as French and Spanish subtitles. The disc includes "Wings: Grandeur in the Sky."

About Paramount Home Entertainment

Paramount Home Entertainment (PHE) is part of Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment. PPC is a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), a leading content company with prominent and respected film, television and digital entertainment brands. PHE is responsible for the sales, marketing and distribution of home entertainment products on behalf of various parties including: Paramount Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, Insurge Pictures, Paramount Famous Productions, Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central, CBS and PBS and for providing home entertainment fulfillment services for DreamWorks Animation Home Entertainment.

For artwork please visit https://arc.paramount.com

WINGS


Street date:
January 24, 2012

Suggested Retail Price:
$29.99 U.S. (Blu-ray)
$24.99 U.S. (DVD)

Runtime:
144 minutes

U.S. Rating:
Not Rated

Canadian Rating:
PG

SOURCE Paramount Home Entertainment

So, the Gaylord Carter score is there too. I'm very excited to see the Zamecnik score (since I expect it to be very good), but it's nice to see Carter and the theater organ still getting some exposure.

Just pre-ordered my copy from amazon! Blu ray is 20.99.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0067MLCEI/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Thanks Coleman, just did the same.

Rick

If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go explode from joy!

Every time a silent film is put on Blu-Ray an angel gets its wings.

Might be time to finally get a blu-ray player.

I've also placed a pre-order. Happy dance, this is great news.

Might be time to finally get a blu-ray player.

Yeah.

Tiny planes. Big sky. Uncompressed audio. Blu-Ray recommended.

Supposedly the DVD / Blu-Ray cover:

Rodney,

Fantastic article. Thanks for posting the link. The trouble is whenever I see a still from WINGS, I automatically start humming the Carl Davis Main-Title theme for the movie. I'm sure that will change once I have heard the J.S. Zamecnik theme. Although it may take awhile. In any event, I finally, can agree with Louie. Time to get a Blu-Ray Player it seems.

Amazing, the price is so economical. One thing about the negative mentioned in the article from Bruce. The original camera negative was lost decades ago and no print of the film was extant until the print we've all seen found in ?Cinema Francaise. So where did this 'duplicate' camera negative come from all of a sudden? unless the dupe they're talking about was made from the French print. Well I wonder. But yes finally wings getting the respect it deserves. Even more than Blu-Ray I'd even like to see it in IMAX, if that were to one day be possible. Just a thought.

I'm happy to hear another Silent has been worked on to give future audiences an opportunity to see what made them great.

Amazing, the price is so economical. One thing about the negative mentioned in the article from Bruce. The original camera negative was lost decades ago and no print of the film was extant until the print we've all seen found in ?Cinema Francaise. So where did this 'duplicate' camera negative come from all of a sudden? unless the dupe they're talking about was made from the French print. Well I wonder. But yes finally wings getting the respect it deserves. Even more than Blu-Ray I'd even like to see it in IMAX, if that were to one day be possible. Just a thought.

sepiatone,

The monochrome acetate safety stock transfer was struck in 1965. So I assume that a surviving nitrate print was uncovered in the early 60's. WINGS was actually still considered a lost film when William K. Everson wrote his book on the 50 Greatest Silent films in the late 50's. I don't believe that WINGS was even profiled in the book? Apparently, because Everson didn't get to see it. He did get to see LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT, which at that time wasn't lost yet.

In any event, I finally, can agree with Louie. Time to get a Blu-Ray Player it seems.

I don't know if you're a Black Friday shopper but there will be a bunch of BD players on sale for less than $50 at places like Walmart and Worst Buy.

This is the first review I've seen of the WINGS Blu-Ray, coming out next week. Hooray!

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Wings-Blu-ray/33615/#Review

Sounds good.

I'm glad this got a good review. Can't wait to get my copy! I really hope Wings sells well. Everyone here should buy 10 copies so we get more blu-ray silents from the big studios

Another review:

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film3/blu-ray_reviews56/wings_blu-ray.htm

And am I the only one that thinks Clara Bow looks more like Diane Keaton in this poster than Clara Bow?

Thanks so much for posting the 2 upbeat reviews. I have passed these on to the "powers-that-be". Just a week away from release!! Hooray!

Maybe it's time to upload some of the pics I have from "Wings"......................

[Christopher Jacobs]

I'm glad this got a good review. Can't wait to get my copy! I really hope Wings sells well. Everyone here should buy 10 copies so we get more blu-ray silents from the big studios

I'm really looking forward to the WINGS Blu-ray, and it's very reasonably priced ($30 list marked down to the more sell-through price of $20 at Amazon). If it is stocked by our local Target, Walmart or "Best Buy," I'll buy it on its first day of release (possibly one at each location to support local sales of classics and to give as gifts to friends and relatives with Blu-ray players). Otherwise I'll have to order through Amazon (and may still order two or three copies to help encourage more silents on Blu-ray).

I saw WINGS last night at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Goldwyn Theater, in a salute by the Academy to Paramount's 100th anniversary.
The restoration job is excellent. According to the program notes, the source was a duplicate negative made in the 1950s from a nitrate print which had considerable wear. You would never know this from the way it looked on screen.
It was digital projection to an 18 foot high screen. I'd be pretty certain that this is the same file that is being used for the DVD/BluRay coming out next week.

DM

I saw WINGS last night at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Goldwyn Theater, in a salute by the Academy to Paramount's 100th anniversary.
The restoration job is excellent. According to the program notes, the source was a duplicate negative made in the 1950s from a nitrate print which had considerable wear. You would never know this from the way it looked on screen.
It was digital projection to an 18 foot high screen. I'd be pretty certain that this is the same file that is being used for the DVD/BluRay coming out next week.

DM

Excellent news! I've had it pre-ordered and can't wait to see it at home. Although I wish I had been a fly on the wall at the Goldwyn Theater, nothing like seeing Wings on the big screen.

Maybe it's time to upload some of the pics I have from "Wings"......................

I've got this two-page promo from a Paramount release book:

The only "problem" with the WINGS presentation at the Motion Pic Academy is that for some reason they opted to use a live organist, which eliminated both the newly recorded soundtrack and, I believe, the restored sound effects. There is a screening at Paramount Studios on Thursday evening with the restored film,score, et al... I was also told by Wellman's son that there will be a retrospective of his father's work - some 50 odd films - in NYC in February - with the restored WINGS kicking off the retrospective. I believe that in April in Los Angeles the TCM Festival (Robert Osborne) will present an annual film restoration festival, with WINGS being one of the chosen films for screening...

Here is a link to Los Angeles Festival in April, featuring "WINGS"


http://www.robertosborne.com/content/filmFestival.html

Clark Wilson sounded great on the organ last night. Haberkamp does that so that new silent fans can experience what an actual audience would have experienced back in the 1920s. The film looked great and played well last night, and Haberkamp announced they will be doing something for Universal's Centennial later this year. As this story from Deadline reports, Brad Grey, chairman of Paramount, said that they are donating WINGS original score and effects for the Academy Museum.
http://www.deadline.com/2012/01/academy ... ore-216764

If you're pondering a blu-ray player purchase, you might want to keep an eye out for one that can be made to be region-free. I found one (made by Seiki, whoever they are, for $70), which is great for all the non-N.A. releases that are coming out in the UK via imprints like the BFI and Eureka's Masters of Cinema.

Also, at least some of the sound effects were included last night, as Haberkamp stated that Burtt had sent him a file of sound effects. The organ was digitallly programmed to sound like a pipe organ, so the effects I assume were downloaded and included in the sound we heard last night.

I wonder if Clark Wilson was playing from the original score or his own version...

I am guessing the latter....

But he is, without doubt a tremendous organist and I am sure the effect was fantastic.