Tweet LONG AWAITED "KING OF JAZZ" RESTORATION BEGINS IN 2012

My former post in this slot is reprinted two slots below, so I've decided to revise with two Whiteman related images

An album with guest stars Crosby & Keaton.................................The 1st (?) Celebrity Diet Book by his film star wife
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That rant out of the way, "King of Jazz" was added to the National Film Registry in 2013. According to the Library of Congress website, films selected for the National Film Registry will be "preserved as cinematic treasures for generations to come."

So there you have it. It will be preserved and being on a list like this almost guarantees some funding will be spent on a complete restoration and preservation. So cool your jets, kids, things take time in film land.

But, the Act of Congress that created the Film Preservation Board and the National Film Registry provided no money for preservation activities. A film being placed on the National Film Registry really doesn't amount to a whole lot.

quote="LouieD"
1. Preservation of films takes time and
2. Film preservation is NOT free….
quote="Harold Aherne
Online petitions are useless unless they have a focused goal and
are delivered to someone who has the power to effect change. .....
it's beyond the scope of the National Film Preservation Foundation's grant program.

Self-funded, or kick-started, restorations aren't an option for everyone,
but free petitioning is available to us all.
For instance, see https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/ and https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petitions.
Any petition on that gov. site garnering over 100,000 signatures gets an official White House response.
So, you want copyright limits returned to 56 years total, or increased government funding for restorations?
Submit a petition. Your doing so might, at least, attract the bored gaze of citizens and the media,
or even nudge business/government scoundrels to change their wicked ways...

quote="David Alp" I am 45 years old.

On this forum, that makes you jail bait. The expressed impatience concerning restorations and DVD releases

is understandable, considering the advanced age and declining condition of both vintage films and our membership.
Those as moony about a particular sound recording or piece of literature, as we are about film,
can nearly always find a new/used copy for borrowing or legal purchase.
But pre-1958 films and TV shows - that would've been public domain under the old laws -
will still be vaulted and copyright protected when our great-grandkids buy their tombstones.
It would be nice to see (insert film title here), and some of us aren't getting much younger…

Sir,

I like reading your posts, but my peepers are a bit on the blink, so to speak, and I have had to ask my man to rush up to the attic and get out the microscope in order to discern the letters, as they seemed designed for those Supermen amongst us who have the eyesight of an eagle.

In short, old thing, do you think you could enlarge your text on future erudite missives?

Thanks awfully.

Yes, it was inappropriate of Louie to call people "nuts." That's exactly the kind of personal invective we don't allow here.

Exactly! Thank you Mike. And now, on with the discussion in hand.

But, the Act of Congress that created the Film Preservation Board and the National Film Registry provided no money for preservation activities. A film being placed on the National Film Registry really doesn't amount to a whole lot.

Where did I say that it did. Just makes it easier to get it funded is all.

What I find unsettling is that I discovered KOJ on VHS in 1983 when I was 27. Now I'm reading of possible restoration circa 2014 and I'm now 57. Let's say another thirty years skip by. Maybe when I'm 87 I'll finally see it restored--by that time KOJ itself will be 113 years old. Ain't time grand!

[Mike Gebert]

Well, I rehabbed my house in 1999 and there sure are a lot of things that need fixing in 2014...

That is the nature of film, unlike other things, Hamlet doesn't need restoring every twenty years and even Michelangelo's paintings only get it every couple of centuries. You just have to look on the bright side. I watched Cinema Europe and first heard of Anthony Asquith's Underground in 1995, and just Thursday I got a package from Amazon UK that had the BFI's new blu-ray of it. Less than two decades! Now we'll see if I've even watched it by next year's Watch That Movie Night.

It's also why, as I started to going to fests like Cinevent and Cinesation (R.I.P.) I stopped keeping a list in my head of things I really really wanted to see someday. Partly because I did see them (Lonesome, check) but also because I came to love the surprises, that I would never have heard of, more. (And my wanna-sees got so obscure... Berthold Viertel's Little Friend? Fat chance).

So check the festival schedule. Cinefest is a month away, others follow. The world of film is tough to order off the menu sometimes, but like a church supper people may bring some real winners you weren't expecting.

What I find unsettling is that I discovered KOJ on VHS in 1983 when I was 27. Now I'm reading of possible restoration circa 2014 and I'm now 57. Let's say another thirty years skip by. Maybe when I'm 87 I'll finally see it restored--by that time KOJ itself will be 113 years old. Ain't time grand!

You do realize that the whole she-bang where the film & sound materials for the restoration were found happened in 2011, right?

So check the festival schedule. Cinefest is a month away, others follow. The world of film is tough to order off the menu sometimes, but like a church supper people may bring some real winners you weren't expecting.

I'll second that Mike. For people who are waiting for stuff to escape the archives and come to them, you are at a dead end. If you want to see the rare stuff you have to go to these shows, like Cinefest (which has probably the best line-up of films scheduled this year in all the 12 years I have gone), Cinevent, Cinecon, etc.

I tend to be an optimist and maybe things are brewing that we don't know about -2015 is Technicolor's 100th anniversary and now the listing of KOJ by the National Film Registry in December of 2013 might help.The George Eastman House has things in the work for Technicolor's anniversary. This film is important on many levels-first 2 color Technicolor cartoon,early Bing Crosby and Gershwin's Rapsody in Blue (turquoise ) Maybe there are some avid Bing Crosby experts out there that might know something.

Has anyone contacted Bing Crosby film preservationist BOB DEFLORES about the status of "The King of Jazz" restoration? Mr. Deflores was contacted by Kathryn Crosby some years ago to catalog and restore a number of her husband's features, shorts and TV appearances. According to my friend Dan Herbert (who has passed on), Mr. Deflores, doesn't use the internet much so I don't know if he is part of the NitrateVille community.
Thanks,
Bill

[
You do realize that the whole she-bang where the film & sound materials for the restoration were found happened in 2011, right?[/quote]

Yes, and I'm reasonably optimistic it won't take thirty years to make it available!



P.S. And I'm still awaiting word on what deep searching in the WB vaults has uncovered, as implied several months ago.

Re KING OF JAZZ, I first saw the film on BBC-TV (in b/w alas - fewer people had color in those days) in 1973/74. I'd either heard or read it was patched together from three or four defective prints but know little else about its restoration and how long it was unavailable. It's astonishing and splendid news that a pristine copy has turned up - why was it undiscovered for so long?

Having had various recordings (some doing great disservice to the Technicolor) over the years and never having seen it on a big screen it is excellent that it will eventually be made properly available at last. As the previous restoration was the best I expected to see one cannot grumble at the long wait.

but also because I came to love the surprises, that I would never have heard of, more. (And my wanna-sees got so obscure... Berthold Viertel's Little Friend? Fat chance).

http://www.ioffer.com/i/little-friend-dvd-nova-pilbeam-1934-98967391

[Mike Gebert]

Cool, let's see if it works a second time:

(And my wanna-sees got so obscure... Paul Fejos' Spring Shower? Fat chance).

Here ya go... it's about 1/4 of the way down the page, under Hungary/listed as follows:

Marie, a hungarian legend/Spring shower + Marie, légende hongroise (Pál Fejös 1933) (Annabella) vf sta 1H05 + vhg stit 5085 8/8 +

http://www.ioffer.com/i/dvd-rare-movies-hungary-poland-czech-russia-yugoslavia-494170806

Paul Fejos's SONNENSTRAHL (1933) is on YouTube also. Despite the 'eng subs' claim, there are no subtitles, but if LONESOME (1928) is anything to go by, this won't be too much of a problem. Clearly if the dvd does have them, it is the one to go for...

I wonder why early technicolor (two color) had so hight contrast and sharpness loss.

The sharpnes in terms can be due alignment of the two strips during makeing of the print. The contrast... maybe the early dye tranfer process had such problem...

Paul Fejos's SONNENSTRAHL (1933) is on YouTube also. Despite the 'eng subs' claim, there are no subtitles, but if LONESOME (1928) is anything to go by, this won't be too much of a problem. Clearly if the dvd does have them, it is the one to go for...

On YouTube, there is a "CC" icon/button along the bottom of the frame.
When I clicked on that, the English subs appeared for me for this film.

Rick

[silentfilm]

According to a Facebook post on the Vitaphone Project group by Paul Brennon, "Chris Horak, CEO of UCLA restoration advises me that MAMBA is now funded for the 100th anniversary of Technicolor in 1915, along with THE KING OF JAZZ."

in 1915, along with THE KING OF JAZZ.

If only my life could go backwards like that. Anyway it is good news. I have a lot of connection th KofJ and Mamba was found in my country.

According to a Facebook post on the Vitaphone Project group by Paul Brennon, "Chris Horak, CEO of UCLA restoration advises me that MAMBA is now funded for the 100th anniversary of Technicolor in 1915, along with THE KING OF JAZZ."

Hooray this is excellent news for us "King Of Jazz" fans. The last we heard only one reel was being restored [due to lack of funding] and now the entire movie is being restored. I realize that this doesn't automatically mean it will get a DVD/Blu-ray release; but it is a huge step in the right direction, and can be seen on the big screen if one can afford to travel to L.A.

It's a shame that UCLA is handling the restoration for "Mamba". If LOC (or some other similar non-stingy archive) was handling it anyone could buy a copy as the film is in the public domain. Most likely, UCLA will keep "Mamba" locked in its vault, just like it has the restored Technicolor print of the revue sequences of "Glorifying The American Girl" 1929 which they refuse to release even though it is in the public domain...

According to a Facebook post on the Vitaphone Project group by Paul Brennon, "Chris Horak, CEO of UCLA restoration advises me that MAMBA is now funded for the 100th anniversary of Technicolor in 1915, along with THE KING OF JAZZ."

It's a shame that UCLA is handling the restoration for "Mamba". If LOC (or some other similar non-stingy archive) was handling it anyone could buy a copy as the film is in the public domain. Most likely, UCLA will keep "Mamba" locked in its vault, just like it has the restored Technicolor print of the revue sequences of "Glorifying The American Girl" 1929 which they refuse to release even though it is in the public domain...

I wouldn't complain about things like that on this forum because you will get verbally Hung Drawn and Quartered by some of the members LOL!

It's a shame that UCLA is handling the restoration for "Mamba". If LOC (or some other similar non-stingy archive) was handling it anyone could buy a copy as the film is in the public domain. Most likely, UCLA will keep "Mamba" locked in its vault, just like it has the restored Technicolor print of the revue sequences of "Glorifying The American Girl" 1929 which they refuse to release even though it is in the public domain...

It is not the job of an archive to provide you with whatever film you want. The job of an archive is to preserve the film. Certainly UCLA, if they are restoring the film, will have screenings of it and it may even travel the country and appear at different festivals. Get out there and see it.

It's a shame that UCLA is handling the restoration for "Mamba". If LOC (or some other similar non-stingy archive) was handling it anyone could buy a copy as the film is in the public domain. Most likely, UCLA will keep "Mamba" locked in its vault, just like it has the restored Technicolor print of the revue sequences of "Glorifying The American Girl" 1929 which they refuse to release even though it is in the public domain...

It is not the job of an archive to provide you with whatever film you want. The job of an archive is to preserve the film. Certainly UCLA, if they are restoring the film, will have screenings of it and it may even travel the country and appear at different festivals. Get out there and see it.

I hope it tours "out of the country" to and gets to Oz!

Tell that to archives like the Library of Congress and other archives other the world that happily make copies of their film available to the public.. . Not everyone is part of the rich elite who can afford to travel and buy expensive airline and train tickets and take vacation whenever they feel like it. Some people have to work for a living. And not everyone lives in the USA either.

The people who work at UCLA make copies for their elite group of friends. Also if you are rich enough to fund the UCLA restoration you get a copy and you become part of the elite trading group who has copies of the restoration. But every once in a while a copy leaks through to the "common people" and an unselfish person shares it with others. That's what happened with films like "Follow Thru" and "Viennese Nights" among others.

Of course since you are defending their practices it wouldn't surprise me if you are part of that special group. How people can be so selfish is beyond me. It's truly unfortunate that some collectors and archivists are so stingy but i guess there are rotten apples in every barrel. Someday the people running the UCLA archive will retire and hopefully some unselfish people will be put in charge of things.

It's a shame that UCLA is handling the restoration for "Mamba". If LOC (or some other similar non-stingy archive) was handling it anyone could buy a copy as the film is in the public domain. Most likely, UCLA will keep "Mamba" locked in its vault, just like it has the restored Technicolor print of the revue sequences of "Glorifying The American Girl" 1929 which they refuse to release even though it is in the public domain...

It is not the job of an archive to provide you with whatever film you want. The job of an archive is to preserve the film. Certainly UCLA, if they are restoring the film, will have screenings of it and it may even travel the country and appear at different festivals. Get out there and see it.

Tell that to archives like the Library of Congress and other archives other the world that happily make copies of their film available to the public.. . Not everyone is part of the rich elite who can afford to travel and buy expensive airline and train tickets and take vacation whenever they feel like it. Some people have to work for a living. And not everyone lives in the USA either.

The people who work at UCLA make copies for their elite group of friends. Also if you are rich enough to fund the UCLA restoration you get a copy and you become part of the elite trading group who has copies of the restoration. But every once in a while a copy leaks through to the "common people" and an unselfish person shares it with others. That's what happened with films like "Follow Thru" and "Viennese Nights" among others.

Of course since you are defending their practices it wouldn't surprise me if you are part of that special group. How people can be so selfish is beyond me. It's truly unfortunate that some collectors and archivists are so stingy but i guess there are rotten apples in every barrel. Someday the people running the UCLA archive will retire and hopefully some unselfish people will be put in charge of things.

Lay off the drugs, son.

I need some information regarding "King of Jazz" - I am doing research on a baritone from the 30's named Felipe Delgado, and there are several newspaper references that cite his having performed in "King of Jazz." I wonder if anyone knows where he is in the film/what he sings/any other info? He's not listed in the cast lists I have found online, including a long list on imdb.com, but I trust my sources and believe that he's hidden in the film, somewhere! His concerts frequently included his playing guitar, in costume....any film fans out there able to help me with this? I can't identify him by face because the newspaper articles from the 30s that discussed him were very badly reproduced online; but I can say that he seemed handsome, with wavy dark hair and perhaps in his 30s in the 1930s.

Thanks for any help you can give me!

Hi,

I'm the guy who posted the youtube clip of "Rhapsody in Blue". At the risk of people piling on and saying horrible things about me, I wanted to say why it looks the way it does: I color-corrected it! I was not attempting to post an historically accurate example of 2-strip. I just wanted a fun version that the casual viewer would watch. So I fooled around with the VHS release until I got the best blue I could (although that transfer already had a lot of blue in it).

Personally, I prefer "Rhapsody in Blue" over "Rhapsody in Green", but I know that's anathema to the film historians and archivists here. I'm sure the restoration will be much greener than my little experiment. But is there any possibility that the prints being used have changed color over the years? I know IB Tech rarely fades, but was 2-strip as constant? I have read about the attempts to get some blue into the "Rhapsody in Blue" segment, and it makes sense that they would attempt something like that. I'd be happy with "Rhapsody in Aqua".

Finally, I will weigh in with my experience with UCLA. I agree that they are the worst when it comes to releasing what they hold. Others who have attempted to access their holdings for commercial releases confirm what I found: they ask outrageous fees, which means that much of what they have sits in their vaults, never to be seen. I hate hoarders.