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November 2004, Week 1

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Film and TV Studies Discussion List <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Sun, 31 Oct 2004 16:33:56 EST
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Dear Friends of Milestone,

As part of Milestone's upcoming fifteenth anniversary celebration (which we 
announced in a recent email), we are planning to release some of our favorite 
films on DVD. And we have a wonderful new/old present to offer this November 
16th!

I first saw the Marquis Henry de la Falaise's LEGONG: DANCE OF THE VIRGINS in 
a gorgeously restored (by UCLA) two-color Technicolor 35mm print about ten 
years ago. It was an absolute revelation -- a bona fide masterpiece shot in 1935 
by an unknown director born to French royalty and produced by his wife (the 
legendary Hollywood actress Constance Bennett), that had been totally lost in 
the history books. As many of you know, I can never resist a challenge like 
that! So I didn't resist (long) and Milestone acquired the video distribution 
rights from the archive. 

UCLA took a year to ensure that the video master looked as beautiful as 
possible with the cleaned-up original soundtrack, then contracted with the Club 
Foot Orchestra and Gamelan Sekar Jaya to record their glorious new score for the 
film, and then we spent another year adding as many bonus features as we could 
to make this a truly deluxe DVD release! Also on the DVD is Robert Snyder and 
Allegra Fuller Snyder's stunning 1952 film GODS OF BALI which features an 
exceptional look into Balinese dance (it's being featured at Lincoln Center's 
2005 Dance Film Series in January) there is a recently rediscovered very rare 
glimpse of French colonial Indo-China (Vietnam) also by Henry de la Falaise. Shot 
in 1935, this may be the earliest feature film ever shot in Vietnam. 

The price of the DVD is $29.95 for standard use or $195 for public 
performance. Shipping and handling is $5.00 for the US and $6.00 for Canada and 
overseas. The best way to order one is by calling us directly at (800) 603-1104, or by 
email or fax. For more information on how to order, please see the very 
bottom of this email.

Best wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving,
Dennis (and Amy) / Milestone Film & Video / PO Box 128 / Harrington Park, NJ 
07640
Phone: (800) 603-1104 or (201) 767-3117 / Fax: (201) 767-3035
Email: [log in to unmask]     Website: http://www.milestonefilms.com

MILESTONE is pleased to announce the upcoming Deluxe DVD premiere of 
LEGONG: DANCE OF THE VIRGINS
A film by Henry de la Falaise

Also included are the complete feature films, Robert Snyder's GODS OF BALI 
and Henry de la Falaise's KLIOU THE KILLER. 
An Image Entertainment Release from the Milestone Collection. Retail Price: 
$29.95. 
Release Date: November 16, 2004

"A visual feast! Stunning sequences show authentic Balinese ritual dancing. 
It is vital, complex, mesmerizing!" – Peter Stack, San Francisco Chronicle

Restored by the UCLA Film & Television Archive, featuring the original 1935 
soundtrack 
and a new score by Gamelan Sekar Jaya and the Club Foot Orchestra,
composed by Richard Marriott and I Made Subandi

On the day of the temple feast of Tampaksiring, Poutou, a young maiden who 
performs the legong, the dance of the virgins at the sacred temple, meets Njong, 
a carefree youth from Northern Bali. As they gaze at each other, she 
remembers a prophecy that warned, "Should love enter thine eyes and go to thy heart, 
beware. For should he whom thou choosest not return thy love, thy gods will 
frown and disgrace will befall thee…"

In the 1930s, Bali became the place to be. Extolled as a paradise on earth 
with beautiful (mostly topless) natives and an exotic culture, the small island 
was soon swarmed by the rich and famous. When the Marquis Henry de la Falaise 
de la Coudraye – or "Hank" to ex-wife Gloria Swanson and current wife/producer 
Constance Bennett   – arrived in Bali with a Technicolor crew in 1933, there 
had already been a slew of "documentaries" that reaped box office success in 
the United States. Directed by the dilettante husband of two famous movie 
stars, how good could the film be? Slashed apart by censors around the world, 
Legong quickly disappeared and was forgotten.

Now fully restored to its glistening two-color Technicolor by the UCLA Film & 
Television Archive, Legong has been revealed as a cinematic classic. With its 
impressive sensitivity to Balinese customs (the dance and religious rituals 
they filmed have become extremely important for their ethnographic value alone) 
and an eye for the natural beauty of the island, LEGONG ranks with F. W. 
Murnau’s Tabu as an enduring masterpiece of tropical splendor. A spectacular 
addition to Milestone’s award-winning Age of Exploration series, Legong is a feast 
for the eyes and the imagination.

Also included in this deluxe edition are two additional features: Henry de la 
Falaise's previously "lost" second exploration film, KLIOU THE KILLER (1937), 
which ranks as one of the oldest feature films ever to be shot in Vietnam (at 
that time, Indo-China) and GODS OF BALI, a lovely 1952 documentary produced 
for American release by the famed director Robert Snyder.

Special Bonus Features
1) Picture and soundtrack restored by the UCLA Film & Television Archive.
2) A second optional track featuring a brilliant new score by Richard 
Marriott and I Made Subandi. Performed by members of Gamelan Sekar Jaya and the Club 
Foot Orchestra.
3) Complete feature film: Gods of Bali (1952. 56 minutes). American version 
prepared by Oscar®-winner Robert Snyder*. Courtesy of Allegra Fuller Snyder and 
UCLA Film & Television Archive.
4) Henry de la Falaise’s previously "lost" film, Kliou the Killer, shot in 
Vietnam. (1937. B&W version. 49 minutes.) Courtesy of Gerald Haber.
5) DVD-rom article on Legong written by ethnomusicologist Katherine Hagedorn 
and film studies expert Peter Bloom for Gamelan Sekar Jaya.
6) Video interview with the composers of the new score.
7) DVD-rom press kit for Legong written by Milestone Film & Video.

*Best Feature Documentary, The Titan: Story of Michelangelo (1950)

Legong: Dance of the Virgins
Bali. 1935. Two-Color Technicolor. 65 minutes. Produced by Constance Bennett. 
Director: Marquis Henry de la Falaise de la Coudraye. Story by de la Falaise 
and Gaston Glass. Cinematography by William H. Greene. Starring Goesti Poetoe 
Aloes, Njoman Njong, Goesti Bagus Mara and Njoman Saplak. Restored by the UCLA 
Film & Television Archive.

The press kit for LEGONG is available for download at 
http://www.milestonefilms.com/presskits.php

SCREENINGS OF THE 35MM PRINT OF LEGONG WILL BE HELD 
IN LOS ANGELES AT UCLA'S JAMES BRIDGES THEATER ON FRIDAY NOVEMBER 19TH AT 
7:30PM

AND IN NEW YORK AT THE WORLD FINANCIAL CENTER, JANUARY 19TH AT 7:00PM
AS PART OF WNYC AND JOHN SCHAEFER'S NEW SOUNDS LIVE SERIES

How To Order:

By Phone: Please call (800) 603-1104. We’re in the office 10:00 am – 6:00 pm 
EST, 
Monday – Friday. At other times, please leave a message. Outside the US, call 
(201) 767-3117.

By Fax and Email: You can fax us at (201) 767-3035 or email us at 
[log in to unmask] Milestone accepts American Express, Visa, MasterCard and Discover. 
Please include your name, address, phone number, credit card number, credit card 
expiration date, and whether you would like VHS or DVD. We also accept 
institutional purchase orders.

By Mail: To prepay, please send a check or money order (payable in US$ drawn 
on a US bank only) to: Milestone Film & Video, PO Box 128, Harrington Park, NJ 
07640.

Shipping Fees:
In the US:     Add $5.00 for the first VHS or DVD and 75¢ for each 
additional. 
To Canada:     Add $6.00 for the first VHS or DVD and $1.00 for each 
additional. 
Overseas:      Add $8.00 for the first VHS, $6.00 for DVD and $3.00 for each 
additional film. 

New Jersey residents: Please add 6% sales tax. 

And lastly and most importantly, if you would like to be removed from our 
email list,
please contact me directly at [log in to unmask] 




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