Well, dear readers, I am sitting here like so much errant and truant fish, listening to Benjamin Britten’s magical Four Sea Interludes as conducted by Eugene Ormandy with the Philadelphia Orchestra, a beautiful performance and recording on Columbia in stereophonic sound. I blame the errant and truant part of my dozing off a little while ago, thereby causing me to begin writing these here notes later than intended. We’re now on the second of the Four Sea Interludes, which definitely informed Mr. Jerry Goldsmith and his score for Islands in the Stream. I think Four Sea Interludes would go very well if paired with Two Grecian Urns, don’t you? Anyway, I must now write like the wind and I think we all know just how fast the wind writes. First of all, I did watch two motion pictures last evening, both on Blu and Ray. The first motion picture was entitled The Counterfeit Traitor, starring William Holden and Lilli Palmer, written and directed by George Seaton. I saw it on its opening day at the Warner Hollywood, which had been a Cinerama theater up until it was reconfigured in 1961 – but the reconfigured was short-lived – I believe the only two films that played there before Cinerama was put back for Brothers Grimm were Flower Drum Song, which opened at the end of 1961 and played through April 12 of 1962, and The Counterfeit Traitor, which opened on April 13. In any case, I absolutely loved The Counterfeit Traitor, everything about it was compelling and fascinating to the fourteen-year-old me. It was long but never felt long. The Alfred Newman score was tops and had a haunting theme for Lilli Palmer’s character, Marianna. I kept waiting for the soundtrack to come out, but that never happened until we released it some years ago. Interestingly, Paul Francis Webster wrote lyrics to the Marianna theme, and it was released as a single, sung by the one and only Johnny Mathis. So, of course I bought that instantly and played it to death on my RCA portable 45rpm record machine. I went back about six times to see it again and I loved it every time. I’ve seen it on every home video iteration, too. All those had an older, faded source for the transfer and none looked anything like the film I’d seen so many times with prints by Technicolor. Then Via Vision overseas put it out from that same old dreary transfer – happily, I didn’t waste my time or money. And finally, Kino put it out a few weeks ago, touting a new 4K transfer off the camera negative. I don’t trust Kino in any way with transfers. But everyone raves about them, and most reviewers did about this new Blu-ray. But then, this person or that person would post and say they were disappointed with it. Well, the reviewers, I truly believe, simply have no idea what these films are supposed to look like. Because this new transfer is nothing like what it should be. Some of the exterior shots look okay – not quite right, color-wise, but not too far afield. The interiors, for the most part, are an entirely different matter – flat, brown, pasty skin tones that don’t even match the same actor’s skin tones when they’re outside. Since Kino is paying Paramount to do these transfers, I think what they’re being given is perfunctory transfers with not much time spent in cleaning up issues or getting consistent color timing, because doing the latter would up that bill considerably. And for something that’s purported to be from the camera negative, it’s never really sharp enough. It’s really baffling to me. But I did love the film as much as always. Then I watched a bit of the new Blu-ray of The Rainmaker, touted as being a 6K transfer from the VistaVision negative. I watched fifteen minutes of it – color is nice, but it looks nothing like a 6K transfer off a VistaVision negative, sorry. And it’s gotten the most unbelievable raves. All one need do is a quick comparison with White Christmas, The Ten Commandments, or Vertigo – THOSE look like transfers from the VistaVision negative. Sharp as a tack and gorgeous. This is never sharp like that. I have a query into someone who is an expert on this stuff to get those thoughts, and I’ll continue watching it. Then I watched The Reincarnation of Peter Proud, whose greatest claim to fame is that its featured on the marquee of the Pix Theater when Susie is singing The Lights and the Smiles on Hollywood Boulevard in The First Nudie Musical. It’s not very good but it does sport a nice Jerry Goldsmith score. But THAT transfer is just what it should be – great color and looking just like a film from that era should look.
Yesterday was a weird old day. The plan was to sleep in. That plan went to HELL and back when I woke up after two-and-a-half-hours of sleep. I went back to bed around eight-thirty and slept until one-thirty, so I did get seven hours or thereabouts, but it sure didn’t feel like it. Once up, I answered e-mails, got dressed, and then moseyed on over to the mail place and picked up the Vitello’s envelope and a couple of packages, then went and deposited the contents of the Vitello’s envelope into the ATM, then went to Taco Bell and brought home some foods. I ate the foods, did some work on the computer, and then settled in for my viewing. At some point, for a snack, I had some potato chips and onion dip. The rest you know.
Today, I’ll be up by eleven-thirty, I’ll make myself presentable as much as possible, then I’ll mosey on over the hill to have a belated birthday lunch with dear reader Jeanne, which I’m looking forward to. After the lunch, I’ll come right home, choose more songs, and then watch, listen, and relax.
Tomorrow and the rest of the week is I don’t know what – getting all the young folks their music, praying for major miracles so we can have a nice holiday season, doing whatever needs doing, and then seeing the first cut of episode four.
Let’s all put on our pointy party hats and colored tights and pantaloons, let’s all break out the cheese slices and ham chunks, let’s all dance the Hora or the tango, for today is the birthday of dear reader Ginny. So, let’s all give a big haineshisway.com birthday cheer to dear reader Ginny. On the count of three: One, two, three – A BIG HAINESHISWAY.COM BIRTHDAY CHEER TO DEAR READER GINNY!!!
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up by eleven-thirty, have a belated birthday lunch, choose songs, and watch, listen, and relax. 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, befuddled by the mystery of the baffling Blu-ray transfers.