Well, dear readers, a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away there was a wonderful thing called Million Dollar Movie. Million Dollar Movie was a syndicated series of movies that were run all over the country – here in LA it aired on channel nine. The hook was that they’d show the same film every night for a week. Of course, this was decades before there would ever be such a thing as home video or cable, so having the opportunity to see a film you enjoyed over and over again was heaven on Earth. The title of the show led the young me to believe that every movie shown on the Million Dollar Movie was a classic – otherwise how could it be part of the Million Dollar Movie? That name just reeked of “classic.”
The young me LOVED the Million Dollar Movie. And here we are over fifty years later and I still remember certain films as if I’d just seen them, and it’s not just because I’ve seen them subsequently – it’s because after five viewings in a row they became embedded in my consciousness forever. The ones that stuck are an interesting group – Carnival in Costa Rica, Don Juan Qulligan, The Fuzzy Pink Nightgown – not exactly classics but I sure thought they were. Even better, of course, was The Beast With Five Fingers – that one I adored and after five successive viewings I could do a perfect Peter Lorre impression, saying “The hand – the hand.” Even BETTER was The Jolson Story and after five successive viewings of that film I could sing every Jolson song in the film just like Jolson.
But the one that topped them all was a little film called Godzilla. We didn’t know then that there was anything BUT the American version with Raymond Burr, and that wasn’t a “version” it was the film. We had no idea there was a whole different cut of the film or that it was originally a Japanese only film WITHOUT Mr. Burr. I loved Godzilla. I watched it every night. On our smallish black-and-white bedroom TV it looked mighty. And it didn’t look like any American monster movie – it had a completely different look and feel, and the music was unlike any I’d ever heard.
So, it’s always grand fun to revisit Godzilla, which is what I’ve been doing. I first saw the original Japanese cut on a Japanese laserdisc without subtitles and even without subtitles I could see it was a brilliant film. I then got a homegrown beta tape of it with subtitles and it obviously made it even greater. But I will always have a special fondness for the American redo. First of all, it’s really cleverly done. The way director/editor Terry Morse integrates Raymond Burr into the Japanese footage (today you could do it all in the computer – then you couldn’t do anything but film Mr. Burr and other actors separately and then cut them into the scene. But the way in which it was done just worked wonderfully. And Burr is always great and gives his all.
Of course, it’s a much different film in its American version. The original Japanese version was made in the aftermath of Hiroshima and the film is permeated with subtle and not so subtle references to it. All of that was removed for the American version. The Japanese runs about ninety-six minutes. The American runs eighty minutes and of the eighty minutes only about forty are from the Japanese version – the rest are the newly created scenes. Criterion has issued both versions on Blu and Ray. I have no idea what the source for the transfer of each is, but I’d have to believe that the camera negative for the original Japanese is either missing in action, damaged, or wasn’t used. That, however, is only a caveat because the transfer, despite the obvious flaws of the source material used, is really pleasing with excellent contrast and sharpness. The audio also sounds better than it ever has. This release outdoes by a very long way any previous home video release in the United States of America. The Raymond Burr version is in slightly rougher shape but still looks pretty good, especially when you take into account that ALL the Japanese footage that was supplied to the American version was dupe footage, i.e. many generations away from the camera negative. And then you have to add more generations away when the American version was composited and a new negative was created. So, the US scenes look very good and the Japanese scenes look a bit washed out and muddy – that’s the way it’s always been. Highly recommended by the likes of me. Now, where in HELL are the Blu and Rays of Don Juan Quilligan, The Fuzzy Pink Nightgown, Carnival In Costa Rica, The Jolson Story, and The Beast With Five Fingers?
Well, that was a little notes detour, wasn’t it? Prior to reminiscing about the Million Dollar Movie, I got up, did a two-mile jog to get myself back into that mode, had some bacon and eggs and a half a waffle and proofed more of the new book, picked up no packages and came home. Then it was time for rehearsal, but we virtually got no rehearsal done. We spent two hours assembling a medley of seven songs, and then another hour doing a put-together of two songs. That stuff takes the time it takes. We were all exhausted after that, so we took a dinner break and went to the Studio Café. Then we came back, played through a few more things, and that was that.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I must get a good night’s beauty sleep because it’s going to be a long day tomorrow.
Today, I don’t think I’ll have time to do a jog. I have to call muse Margaret in the morning with a couple of questions, and then Shelly Markham is coming by to work on the Kritzerland show. Directly after that, we rehearse with the singer. Then we’ll take a food break, then rehearse some more. Then Lanny and the singer go back to New York to work on what we’ve worked on. From then on, I direct long distance.
Tomorrow, we have our first Kritzerland rehearsal and then the evening is mine all mine. Saturday is mine all mine, but Sunday is not mine all mine – I have to go to some soundtrack roundtable thing. I really wish I didn’t have to go but I’ve said I would and I do know everyone who’ll be there (it’s pretty much every soundtrack label person). I have no idea what it will be like.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, call muse Margaret, I must work with Shelly Markham, I must work with the East Coast singer, I must eat, I must hopefully find time to hopefully pick up some packages, and I must relax. Today’s topic of discussion: What movies did you discover on television that became favorites? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland where I shall watch the Million Dollar Movie over and over again.