Universal Pictures restores silent film, 1929’s "The Last Wa

[silentfilm]

https://www.shootonline.com/newsbriefs/ ... st-warning

Universal Pictures restores silent film, 1929’s "The Last Warning"
"The Last Warning" poster art

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif.
--

Universal Pictures announces the premiere of the restored 1929 silent film classic, The Last Warning. The film will screen on June 4, 2016 at the Castro Theater as part of the San Francisco Silent Film Festival. Directed by Paul Leni and starring Laura La Plante, The Last Warning is a dramatic horror centered on an unsolved murder during a theatrical performance and the revival production meant to solve the mystery. This restored version is a part of Universal’s silent restoration initiative announced last year.

“The Last Warning is significant in Universal’s history as it was Paul Leni’s last film and a key role for Universal’s leading lady of the 1920s, Laura La Plante,” said Michael Daruty, sr. VP, NBCUniversal Global Media Operations. “Through the silent film initiative, our two goals are to preserve the films for the future and share them with audiences.”

Beginning in March 2015, Universal’s team of restoration experts conducted a worldwide search for The Last Warning’s available elements. After extensive exploration, a 35mm nitrate dupe negative was located at the Cinémathèque française, and was loaned to the Studio. This French negative became the base element. However because of its origin, the negative contained French title cards. In order to obtain the English title cards, Universal turned to a 16 mm English print from the Packard Humanities Institute Collection in the UCLA Film & Television Archive. Universal’s restoration team then replaced the French title cards with the English.

The Last Warning’s star La Plante was a prominent Universal contract player known for her celebrated roles in Skinner’s Dress Suit (1926), The Cat and the Canary (1927), Show Boat (1929), and King of Jazz (1930). In this horror film, a producer reopens a theatre production, where one of his former actors had been murdered during a performance. The producer proceeds to stage the show exactly as it was with the exception of the murdered actor. The film was adapted from the 1922 Broadway play by the same name written by Thomas F. Fallon based on the story The House of Fear by Wadsworth Camp, the father of the writer Madeleine L’Engle. The Last Warning first premiered in 1929 and was popular with audiences of the time.

Other silent film titles being restored by Universal include Outside the Law, Sensation Seekers, and Oh, Doctor! The Universal Pictures silent film restoration initiative builds on the company’s ongoing restoration commitment. Since the program was first announced in 2012, nearly 50 titles have been restored and 25 more titles are expected to be restored by 2017. Fully restored titles to date include All Quiet on the Western Front, The Birds, Buck Privates, Dracula (1931), Dracula Spanish (1931), Frankenstein, Jaws, Schindler’s List, Out of Africa, Pillow Talk, Bride of Frankenstein, The Sting, To Kill a Mockingbird, Touch of Evil, Double Indemnity, High Plains Drifter, Holiday Inn, Spartacus, King of Jazz, and One-Eyed Jacks.

[Daniel Eagan]

Will also be screening at the MoMA Universal series on June 11 and June 15. Even in old, beat-up prints this was superior entertainment, funny, perverse, technically astonishing. I can't wait to see the restoration.

[syd]

It is good to see major studios once again taking an interest
in their archival material. In the case of Universal Pictures,
though many horses left their barn a long time ago, it is never
too late.

[Brooksie]

Grapevine have just announced that they are releasing the 2K restoration on DVD and Blu Ray. If you already bought their previous version, they will sell you the upgrade at a discount.

[camaro]

Has anyone seen the restoration of The Last Warning and if so how is it? The reason I'm asking is I just received the blu ray from Grapevine that is supposed to be the 2k restoration but I'm not able to tell much restoration work has been done. There was certainly no dust or scratch removal done and the title cards are all in really rough shape. Being Universal I would have expected this to be a lot cleaner for a full restoration that these are supposed to be getting so just checking to see if they are using the correct restored version from Universal or if maybe I got a copy using the non restored??

[buskeat]

Has anyone seen the restoration of The Last Warning and if so how is it? The reason I'm asking is I just received the blu ray from Grapevine that is supposed to be the 2k restoration but I'm not able to tell much restoration work has been done. There was certainly no dust or scratch removal done and the title cards are all in really rough shape. Being Universal I would have expected this to be a lot cleaner for a full restoration that these are supposed to be getting so just checking to see if they are using the correct restored version from Universal or if maybe I got a copy using the non restored??

Did Grapevine ever actually say it was the recent 2K restoration? I see no mention of that on their page: https://grapevinevideo.com/last-warning-brd.html/. It looks like it might just be a 2K transfer of the elements to which they already had access.

[camaro]

Has anyone seen the restoration of The Last Warning and if so how is it? The reason I'm asking is I just received the blu ray from Grapevine that is supposed to be the 2k restoration but I'm not able to tell much restoration work has been done. There was certainly no dust or scratch removal done and the title cards are all in really rough shape. Being Universal I would have expected this to be a lot cleaner for a full restoration that these are supposed to be getting so just checking to see if they are using the correct restored version from Universal or if maybe I got a copy using the non restored??

Did Grapevine ever actually say it was the recent 2K restoration? I see no mention of that on their page: https://grapevinevideo.com/last-warning-brd.html/. It looks like it might just be a 2K transfer of the elements to which they already had access.

No just took a look and it does say a 2k transfer and digital work to lesson scratches and damage but it certainly does not seem to be the Universal restoration. At least I certainly hope not! I do think they should point that out that it is not the official restoration from Universal to avoid confusion but I have sent them an email just for confirmation.

[BenModel]

The Universal restoration looks very good. I played for a show of it last year from a DCP we got from the studio.

Ben

[camaro]

The Universal restoration looks very good. I played for a show of it last year from a DCP we got from the studio.

Ben

Good to know! I just received a reply from Grapevine confirming that no this is not the restoration from Universal so a bit misleading on their site.

[TheAvon]

This was one of my "Holy Grails", but I've never been able to see it in a WATCHABLE copy...
I purchased the Grapevine edition with high hopes, and, while I was finally able to actually SEE the movie (and it is excellent, with all the Paul Leni flourishes I was expecting), it is by no means RESTORED! In fact, its in pretty bad shape!
It looks like some of the early copies of The Cat and the Canary before it was finally available in a restored version.
The movie is good, the Grapevine BluRay is the best I've seen, but that ain't saying much.
I'm looking forward to a much nicer edition.
Do I feel ripped off? Not at all. I was finally able to see this gem, and that means a lot!

[Brooksie]

Apologies if I misled anyone. The page with the original announcement seems to have been taken down so I can't check the exact wording, but the product page advertises it as 'A new 2K digital transfer and with digital work to lessen scratches and wear on print.' I assumed this meant Universal's restoration, but I guess not. Here's hoping that restoration does make it on to Blu Ray at some point, because it truly is worth waiting for.

[Danny Burk]

I watched it a night or two ago as well. Agreed, it's definitely not the restoration - some parts are fairly bad, but certainly watchable and better than previously available. But yes indeed, it would be great to have the proper Universal restoration.

Does anyone know whether the soundtrack survives?

[camaro]

Apologies if I misled anyone. The page with the original announcement seems to have been taken down so I can't check the exact wording, but the product page advertises it as 'A new 2K digital transfer and with digital work to lessen scratches and wear on print.' I assumed this meant Universal's restoration, but I guess not. Here's hoping that restoration does make it on to Blu Ray at some point, because it truly is worth waiting for.

I assumed the same thing so it is a bit misleading on their part. I have told them that a few at least have thought it was the Universal restoration with the wording and just assuming that a release would be the new restoration. They did offer to give me a refund but since I like the movie I'm going to keep it and hope that one day the Universal restorations start getting a release from someone.

[monks19]

Does anyone knows if an official release of the new restoration will come out either from Universal or another publisher (Criterion, Flicker Alley, Undercrank, Kino Lorber, etc) ?

[camaro]

Does anyone knows if an official release of the new restoration will come out either from Universal or another publisher (Criterion, Flicker Alley, Undercrank, Kino Lorber, etc) ?

Not that I've been able to find out. I know Criterion released The King of Jazz which isn't a silent but is one of the Universal restorations so I was hoping they would be releasing some of the silents. Even though stuff has been restored it can be years before it is released sadly.

[s.w.a.c.]

Does anyone knows if an official release of the new restoration will come out either from Universal or another publisher (Criterion, Flicker Alley, Undercrank, Kino Lorber, etc) ?

Not that I've been able to find out. I know Criterion released The King of Jazz which isn't a silent but is one of the Universal restorations so I was hoping they would be releasing some of the silents. Even though stuff has been restored it can be years before it is released sadly.

Criterion also released the Universal part-talkie Lonesome with Broadway as an added bonus, so it's possible.