NitrateVille.com

Did anyone see last night?
They showed Ozu "Where Are The Dreams of Youth".

There was no sound - no music.

I thought it was a problem with my box, so I rewound & Jacquiline Stewart commentary was fine. it had full audio. Then the film rolled in & it was totally silent. Did anyone else notice?

Agnes wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 21, 2020 2:16 pm

Did anyone see last night?
They showed Ozu "Where Are The Dreams of Youth".

There was no sound - no music.

I thought it was a problem with my box, so I rewound & Jacquiline Stewart commentary was fine. it had full audio. Then the film rolled in & it was totally silent. Did anyone else notice?

I noticed, Agnes. I went back to my BFI 2-disc DVD set of Ozu's STUDENT COMEDIES. The four films have new scores by Ed Hughes--piano and percussion primarily--which are just OK but not great. The English subtitles differ, as well, being a bit more "polite" on the BFI set. The TCM airing credited Janus Films (and maybe the Criterion Collection, as well, but I can't remember) while the BFI prints only mention Shochiku Co. masters. Still room for a Region 1 NTSC set from Criterion, I think, with better scores. These early OZU films, however, are so good that I can watch them with no scores at all.

David

Since there likely are some Nitratevillains who have a means of contacting TCM brass without being either ignored or just getting a stock, boiler-plate "thank-you-for-your-interest" reply -- please ask if the mute screening was a technical mistake or the start of a new policy of not requiring a music track in order to show silents.

Frame Rate wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 21, 2020 4:33 pm

Since there likely are some Nitratevillains who have a means of contacting TCM brass without being either ignored or just getting a stock, boiler-plate "thank-you-for-your-interest" reply -- please ask if the mute screening was a technical mistake or the start of a new policy of not requiring a music track in order to show silents.

i rather hope it is a new policy. The Criterion Channel does that. It greatly expands the library of silent films they can show if they can chose a film that has been restored but does not have a recorded score. If no recorded score they are not going to spend the money to add one to show on the channel. Otherwise, if people insist on their being a score we will be back to the same old recycled films.

Matthew

I wouldn't want to kill the goose that lays the (silent) golden eggs.I am not trying to cause problems. I just thought it was strange - I have never seen TCM run a silent without a score. That has always been the argument....that they have more films in the vault, but without scores they can't show them.

I don't want to restrict them to the handful that are restored & scored ( though we do have some talented folks here who could be commissioned for piano scores). I just thought it strange...at first I thought my connection was bad.

Hopefully this will get them to dust off a few more. Given this this is against their policies for I guess ever since they started the channel I wonder if Miss Stewart is the reason for them going to the Attic. If it is Bravo for her

When TCM showed "Show Boat" (1929), the long section with the missing sound discs was silent. I just assume TCM is willing to show silent material for which they do not have music ready, instead of withholding the movies altogether.

I was watching this as well. I was curious why there was no music and I did a google search of the film and came upon the Criterion Channel website.

If you look at the website you will see that this film is (Presented without score.)

I would offer that the music has some sort of rights issue and a new score has not been recorded. The print that TCM aired had the Criterion logo before the film.

https://www.criterionchannel.com/where- ... s-of-youth

Hope this helps.

yanceycravat wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 21, 2020 11:52 pm

..the music...

What music? Is there reason to believe there is some?

Histogram wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 22, 2020 8:32 am

yanceycravat wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 21, 2020 11:52 pm

..the music...

What music? Is there reason to believe there is some?

From Trueblood's post above -

I went back to my BFI 2-disc DVD set of Ozu's STUDENT COMEDIES. The four films have new scores by Ed Hughes--piano and percussion primarily--which are just OK but not great.

Different releases. Criterion vs. BFI.

Having watched "Where Now Are the Dreams of Youth" recently, it's clear Jacquiline Stewart wasn't familiar with the film's real story before it aired.

It's a good film with a modern 'westernized' story. The music I used wasn't Oriental, but it seemed to mostly match what was seen on the screen. It felt like a 1950s film.

Spoiler Alert

.
When one of the friends inherits his families business, his friends from school eventually come looking for a job. Just like in school, these friends cannot pass the employment test without a 'cheat sheet'. But that's not what the film is really about.
Now that he's their boss, they naturally change how they respond to him. He meets up with a girl from his youth (first seen in the opening minutes) and decides to begin a romance with her, not knowing she had already accepted a marriage proposal from one of his friends.
When no one objects to his romantic pursuit of the girl, he becomes angry with them all for not telling him how they really felt. He tells them how lonely it is when no one will confide their true feelings to him. He then stops his pursuit of the girl.
With that out of the way, the film ends with the happy couple going by train on their honeymoon.

Well, TCM's Silent Sunday Night just ran ACROSS TO SINGAPORE again, for the umpteenth time, and the inaccuracy of all claims (in defense of current management) that they won't premiere any of the remaining silents they own -- because of the prohibitive expenses of restoration and orchestral scoring -- is once again on display.

The print was in terrible condition and accompanied by an anonymous lone pianist!

While I'm certainly glad the film can be seen at all, and I heartily thank TCM (and Warner Archive) for keeping it in circulation, its continued visibility gives the lie to virtually any excuse (other than story-rights tangles) for keeping all those other preserved-but-not-restored-or-scored WB/FN/MGM silents locked in the vault forever.

(You'd think that all the promo-cash they're currently saving from not currently being able to run nostalgia cruises or war-horse film festivals would at least cover the expense of a few new telecine transfers and solo-piano/organ accompaniments.)

"Too Many Kisses" (1925) premiered on TCM last night. A sharp romantic comedy that's been nicely restored.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0016439/

Our Christmas present from TCM.

Just this morning I accepted an offer (nothing signed yet) for TCM to license my beloved Little Old New York to debut some time during 2021. Several Marion Davies showcases might be considered or maybe just a Silent Sunday premiere.

This will be my fifth project to air on TCM, my third collaboration with Ben Model to be televised.

Congratulations! Your musical collaborators are going to start negotiating with you in earnest.

Bob

drednm wrote: ↑

Mon Nov 30, 2020 2:08 pm

Just this morning I accepted an offer (nothing signed yet) for TCM to license my beloved Little Old New York to debut some time during 2021. Several Marion Davies showcases might be considered or maybe just a Silent Sunday premiere.

This will be my fifth project to air on TCM, my third collaboration with Ben Model to be televised.

Super, Ed! Congrats, and best to you.

Big Silent Fan wrote: ↑

Mon Nov 30, 2020 6:20 am

"Too Many Kisses" (1925) premiered on TCM last night. A sharp romantic comedy that's been nicely restored.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0016439/

Our Christmas present from TCM.

Sorry I missed seeing this! Do these Silent Sunday Night films generally get replayed on Watch TCM? I don't see it there yet.

Film Preservation Society is releasing the title on DVD, pre-orders happened before the screening and should be arriving any day, but I assume you can still order at their website as well.

Thanks Miss Dupont, it looks intriguing!

missdupont wrote: ↑

Mon Nov 30, 2020 4:01 pm

Film Preservation Society is releasing the title on DVD, pre-orders happened before the screening and should be arriving any day, but I assume you can still order at their website as well.

I thought it was only on Blu-ray?

Set your DVR’s for TCM on October 17, as they will be screening the new Academy Archive restoration of THE ROARING ROAD (1926) with Kenneth McDonald. The film was recently rediscovered by collector Mark Heller.

silentfilm wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 23, 2021 12:54 pm

Set your DVR’s for TCM on October 17, as they will be screening the new Academy Archive restoration of THE ROARING ROAD (1926) with Kenneth McDonald. The film was recently rediscovered by collector Mark Heller.

IMDB list this film as, "A Thriller." If it is, I'm interested.

The AFI Catalog entry on The Roaring Road (1926) is scant, to say the least. I was easily able to find more comprehensive synopses at newspaper archives, but I won't post them as they tend to be pretty spoilerific. It's the story of two brothers who were previously partners in an auto company, but become rivals on the speedway track. Sounds like fun, and Kenneth MacDonald - recently seen during Cineconline in Dynamite Dan (1927) - is quite an appealing leading man.

Also, next Saturday October 2nd, archivist Tom Stathes will present a "Cartoon Carnival" silent cartoons program at 8 p.m. EDT, followed by "The 100th Anniversary of Fleisher Animation, The Silent Era" at 9:45 p.m. and continuing with "The Sound Era" at 10:45 p.m. EDT.