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December 23, 2012:

ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE CITY OF STUDIO

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, I have finished watching the “restoration” of Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in America and I wish the news was good, but it’s not only not good, it’s truly awful. I have a long history with this film. I saw it on its opening day at the Vogue Theater. At that time, I did not know anything about it, other than it was Sergio Leone’s first film in years. Since I was a huge fan of his films there was no way I wasn’t seeing the very first show on opening day. What I saw was a stunningly beautiful-looking film that seemed herky-jerky to me, disjointed, but so full of brilliant moments that I forgave it. I went back later that evening and saw it again. Then I read some of the dreadful reviews and found that Mr. Leone’s almost four hour film had not only been cut down to two-and-a-half hours, but had been put in chronological order where the original version had gone back and forth between various eras. I was intrigued and sought out the Variety review of the long version. That was fascinating reading – it certainly wasn’t a rave, but it whetted my appetite in incredible ways because it was a whole different film being reviewed. One interesting thing about that original version: I was told that producer Fred Roos was desperately looking for a young girl for a film he was doing called Seven Minutes to Heaven. I called him and told him to get over to the Vogue immediately because I thought that young Jennifer Connelly’s performance as Young Deborah was incandescent and I simply told him he would not find young girl more beautiful or more talented. He went, and he cast her immediately.

I then began collecting everything I could about the film, just to try to piece together what was missing and how Mr. Leone’s version played out. The bastardized version only lasted a week and it was gone. When it arrived on VHS and Beta, I bought the Beta tape of it – since there was no way to see the long version I’d have to be content with the short. I managed to get hold of an original story synopsis of the long version and that just made me want to see it more. Then I managed to get hold of a script, and that was incredible. Then I began to hear rumblings that the long version was finally going to be screened in the United States – that enough pressure had been put on The Ladd Company and Warner Bros. by filmmakers all over the world, that they decided to finally make Mr. Leone’s film available for audiences, the way Mr. Leone had made it. I found out about the very first screening (in advance of its eventual small theatrical release) and I made sure I was there. My reaction to the longer version was interesting in that I didn’t love it instantly. It took me three viewings to get with Leone’s original vision. And funnily, I thought that a couple of the film’s most emotional moments actually played better in the bastardized chronological version. But, I grew to love the long version and saw it eight or nine times during its run. I then procured an LPP 35mm print, which I also ran several times before I sold all my 35mm prints. The photography and look of the film was gorgeous – from the set direction to the costumes to the lighting – just brilliant work from all concerned, especially the film’s cameraman, Tonino Delli Colli.

When Warners put out the Blu and Ray I was thrilled and had it here on release day. I didn’t think the transfer to Blu-ray was great – it wasn’t quite sharp enough and there wasn’t quite enough detail, but I was grateful that the look of the film, color-wise and contrast-wise was just right. Then we heard about the Leone family restoring the film from its original camera negative and adding in another twenty minutes of scenes, which would bring the running time over four hours. That restoration was shown at Cannes this year. And then Warners in Italy snuck out a Blu-ray of it. And it is a first-class disaster. Most of the criticism by the usual suspects is all about putting the four-hour film on one disc. There’s nothing inherently wrong with putting a four-hour film on one disc if it’s a high bitrate, a BD 50, and no extras on the disc, which all except for one thing is exactly what this Blu-ray is – the bit rate, however, is not nearly high enough. But the compression problems, which I don’t really even see, is the least of it. You could spread this transfer over five discs and it wouldn’t look good for one very key reason: The color is awful. I have my guess as to why they’ve done it – the new footage cannot be from any camera negative – there is simply no way to go from a camera negative and end up with something that looks like a fifth generation dupe of a dupe of a dupe transferred to VHS and then transferred to hi-def. Yes, the new footage is THAT bad. And my guess is that they muted the color to try and make the new footage not so jarring – but it’s still jarring and all they’ve succeeded in doing is making a mockery of Mr. Delli Colli’s photography. The original Blu-ray from Warners has perfect color and contrast. The new Blu-ray has no contrast at all, and the color is brown, with all of Delli Colli’s wonderful lighting and gradations of all colors rendered to a pasty brown mess. I’m told that the family Leone is going back to do more work on the new footage. What they really need to do is go back to Mr. Leone’s original color timing because there is no way that Papa Leone would have ever allowed such a sorry-looking thing to be shown. His color films all have a similar look and it’s obvious what he liked – all one has to do is watch them. My print and every screening I’ve ever seen of the long version has color that matches the first Blu-ray release. That release has other problems, including lack of detail, especially in the second half – the first half is at least decent. But for color and contrast, that’s the Blu-ray that’s correct. It’s sad to think that this new thing may be the only way for people to see Mr. Leone’s masterpiece. The usual wags on the boards don’t ever talk about wrong color – they simply don’t know anything about color and what films should look like in terms of it. I also didn’t think any of the additional twenty minutes was all that necessary. And that’s what I have to say about that.

Other than that, I had a lovelier than lovely Saturday. I got up at nine, answered e-mails, printed out some orders, then moseyed on over to Teddy’s salon and gave him his box of caramels and a copy of Album Produced By. Then I came back to the San Fernando Valley and had an omelet and a bagel. After that, I went to the mail place and picked up a package, but not the envelope from Washington that I’m expecting. I was assured on at least two different occasions that it had been sent, so hopefully it will show up on Monday. Then I went over the Mystery and Imagination Books and gave Malcolm and Christine a box of caramels. They each had one and were properly mind-boggled by how yummilicious they were. Then I came home. It was drizzling for a few hours but no real rain came. Then I went to Gelson’s and did my big Christmas Do shopping. I’d made a whole list in the Notes thing on my iPhone. I opened it and there it was – for a second – and then it just disappeared completely. I couldn’t believe it. But, thankfully I forgot nothing. I bought pasta, mushrooms, onions (red and brown), garlic, Entenmann’s chocolate donuts, tuna, and lots o’ other stuff. I came home, put everything away, ate some caramels, and then finished watching Once Upon a Time in America.

Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I must get a good night’s beauty sleep.

Today, I have no plans whatsoever. I’ll definitely eat something light but amusing, and I will start writing the contextual commentary for the January Kritzerland show, which I totally forgot I had to do – I also have to put the songs in show order and I also have to choose one more song for one of the female singers. I’ll watch a movie or three, I’m sure, and in the evening I’ll make the tuna pasta salad.

Tomorrow, I will, of course, be cooking all the livelong day, and then it’s the annual Christmas Eve Do, which I have not missed doing since 1988. I will, of course, have a full report. The rest of the week is really mine all mine, save for one meeting and one one-hour work session.

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, write, find the show order, choose one more song, relax, and make tuna pasta salad. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s free-for-all day, the day in which you dear readers get to make with the topics and we all get to post about them. So, let’s have loads of lovely topics and loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, where I shall dream of making a new film entitled Once Upon a Time in the City of Studio.

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