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July 2004, Week 4

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Subject:
From:
Leo Enticknap <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Film and TV Studies Discussion List <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Sat, 24 Jul 2004 10:47:49 +0100
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I haven't seen the Kino disc, but for what it's worth, I would strongly
suggest avoiding the PAL version published by Eureka in the UK like the
plague.  The film appears to be running at around 20fps, when it should be
16 (the running time - 91 minutes - is roughly consistent with the total
footage of the 1990s restoration transferred at 20fps).  The intertitles
are translated into very idiomatic English, with the backgrounds looking
like they've been done by a computer game designer.  There is no option for
watching the originals.  The tinting and toning looks flat and uniform, and
was almost certainly applied electronically.  The 'music' sounds like some
1970s hippie rubbish that would even make the Moroder soundtrack to the
infamous 1984 'Metropolis' rerelease seem authentic.

I would say that it was a complete waste of money, except that I now show
this disc to the third year students taking my module in moving image
archiving as a perfect example of an ethically problematic 'restoration'
(it reminded me of that wonderful scene in 'Gremlins 2' in which the Donald
Trump cable channel shows a trailer for 'Casablanca - now fully restored in
glorious Technicolor and with a happy ending!').  Needless to say, I have
avoided buying any Eureka DVDs since.

Leo

Dr. Leo Enticknap
Senior Lecturer in Media Studies
School of Arts and Media / Northern Region Film & Television Archive
University of Teesside
Middlesbrough
TS1 3BA
United Kingdom
Tel. +44-(0)1642 384022
Fax +44-(0)8712 249151

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