3-D
Rarities
(1922 - 1952/Flicker Alley Blu-ray 3D)/The
Puppetoon Movie
(1987 compilation/B2MP Limited Edition Blu-ray Set)/Thunderbirds
Are Go!
(1966)/Thunderbird
6
(1968/United Artists/MGM/Twilight Time Limited Edition Blu-ray)
3D
Picture: B+ Picture: B Sound: B-/B-/B Extras: B-/B+/B
Films: B+/B-/B & C
PLEASE
NOTE:
The
Puppetoon Movie
limited edition Blu-ray is now out
of print and have been followed by two more volumes since still in
print as we update this coverage, while
the Thunderbirds
double feature Blu-ray
was first issued by Twilight Time, sold
out and was reissued by Kino. The Gerry Anderson estate has told us
they have no intention of issuing any of their TV shows in 4K or on
4K disc, but Amazon/MGM might yet issue these two feature films this
way, so we'll see. A second volume of 3-D
Rarities
was also issued and both are still in print. You can read more about
both volumes below...
When
TV finally started to arrive in the late 1940s in U.S. homes, the
Hollywood Studio System (which was on the way to slow collapse for
reasons to long to go into here) started mixing things up. Some of
the studios sold their old films & catalog to TV (Paramount to
Universal, Warner to a third party), while all but Disney started
shedding their animated shorts divisions, plus live action shorts and
other specialty films. This included some of the most important
animation ever made and extended to other animated artforms like
stop-motion animation, some still under copyright, others not. The
three releases here are all terrific new releases all serious film
fans need to know about...
3-D
Rarities
(1922 - 1952) is a remarkable new collection from the great
independent home video company Flicker Alley,
issuing this new Blu-ray 3D collection (also here in 2D) that
features a priceless collection of 3D as an art, technical
innovation, technical breakthrough and great entertainment. Running
a never-long-enough 147 minutes, it is a crash course and history
lesson on how early and how good 3D was in the beginning and how out
of the way filmmakers had gone to present it.
The
contents on this great disc (to extrapolate on the press release)
includes...
Kelley's
Plasticon Pictures,
the earliest extant 3-D demonstration film from 1922 with incredible
footage of Washington and New York City.
3D
test by Jacob Levinthal with William T. Crespinel (1924 - 1927) &
John Norling (1935).
New
Dimensions,
the first domestic full color 3-D film originally shown at the
World's Fair in 1940 showing the stop motion animated construction of
a Chrysler/Plymouth automobile in color.
Thrills
for You,
a promotional film for the Pennsylvania Railroad meant to promote the
technology all over the place.
Around
Is Around,
a 3-D animated gem by Norman McLaren.
O
Canada
and Twirligig
in polarized 3D from Canada (both 1952).
Bolex
Stereo
(1952) promotes the legendary movie camera company's effective,
successful 3D attachment you would attach to their highly engineered
(and still
expensive to this day!) 16mm cameras and make instant 3D movies. The
aspect ratio now looks like a cell phone, but it works and this
attachment is also still very expensive, but Bolex's advertising was
always top rate too. This shows you how much!
M.L.
Gunzberg Presents Natural Vision Three-Dimension
(1952) is a great short to demonstrate and promote the format, which
was a success and worked well, as this short proves.
Original
Theatrical Trailer for Universal Pictures' It
Came From Outer Space
(1953) which is in 3D and the film remains one of the greatest 3D
films ever made. Universal issued it in 4K and Blu-ray 3D disc in
2023.
Rocky
Marciano vs. Jersey Joe Walcott,
the only 3-D newsreel.
Original
Theatrical Trailer for Hanna
Lee
(1953) from the troubled Pathecolor independent Western in 3D, save a
few seconds. Now I really want to see the film and am still waiting!
Stardust
In Your Eyes,
a hilarious standup routine by Slick Slavin.
Original
Theatrical Trailer for The
Maze,
with fantastic production design by the legendary William Cameron
Menzies, who was also a film director himself. A Blu-ray 3D version
was issued by Kino in 2018 that fans liked.
Doom
Town,
a controversial anti-atomic testing film mysteriously pulled from
release.
The
Adventures Of Sam Space,
a widescreen puppet short considered lost at one time.
I'll
Sell My Shirt,
a burlesque comedy unseen in 3-D for over 60 years.
Original
Theatrical Trailer for Miss
Sadie Thompson
(1953, Columbia Pictures), a 3D, Technicolor, stereophonic, musical
remake of Rain
with Rita Hayworth was later issued in a Limited Edition Blu-ray 3D
by Twilight Time also now out of print, but you can read more about
it at this link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/14733/Arcade+Fire:+The+Reflector+Tapes+(2017/Univers
and
Casper in Boo
Moon,
an excellent example of color stereoscopic animation, one of the most
expensive animated shorts ever made and one of the greatest
appearances of Casper ever!
An
incredible collection, these are all must-see films and this disc is
worth going out of your way for!
You
can read more about the second volume here...
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/15725/Postcard+Killings+(2018/RLJ+Blu-ray)/3-D+Raritie
Arnold
Leibovit's The
Puppetoon Movie
(1987 compilation) was an attempt to reintroduce the amazing stop
motion animation shorts by George Pal, an animator who eventually
became a major film director, producer and legendary fantasy
filmmaker in Hollywood. The film only lasts 79 minutes, but it is a
great documentary intro that includes entire shorts to show what was
made and how amazing it remains, especially more than ever in this
era of a glut of usually really, really bad digital animation. The
great independent B2MP label has issued the film in a Limited Edition
Blu-ray set that includes a bunch of the original shorts in their
entirety and much more. Here's all the goodies you also get, to
paraphrase the press release...
Puppetoons
(High Definition):
And
To Think I Saw It On Mulberry Street
500 Hats of Bartholomew
Cubbins
The Sky Princess
Rhapsody in Wood
Date with
Duke
Jasper and the Beanstalk
Rhythm in the Ranks
The
Great Rupert
(High Definition, B/W) starring Jimmy Durante, Terry Moore, and the
Puppetoons
Previously
unreleased interview footage (Standard Definition) with Ray
Harryhausen, Ray Bradbury, Gene Roddenberry, Roy Disney, Wah Chang,
Duke Goldstone & Russ Tamblyn.
BONUS
Puppetoons
(Standard Definition as better prints need to be found and were not
available, for now we hope):
What Ho She Bumps
Mr. Strauss
Takes A Walk
Olio for Jasper
Philips Cavalcade
Jasper's
Derby
Hoola Boola
Ether Symphony
Aladdin and the Magic
Lamp
The Magic Atlas
Jasper and the Haunted House
The
Philips Broadcast of 1938
The Ship of the Ether
The
Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal
(Standard Definition); Arnold Leibovit's inspired tribute to George
Pal
Audio
commentary by Arnold Leibovit and Jerry Beck
The
Philips shorts actually are incredible, elaborate ads for their
amazing cathedral radios that are worth serious money today and are
ever stunning, while the Jasper films are considered politically
incorrect and can be on the racist side, but like animated cartoons
from the major studio catalogs of MGM, Warner, Disney and others, it
is a product of its time. At their best, they are also remarkable
and not always racist, but the worst parts can get ugly, so parental
discretion is advised. Otherwise, the use of color, amazing puppet &
model design and visual tricks make watching these like entering
another world as they should be and deserve serious rediscovery. Too
bad the dated, controversial side of Jasper holds them back, but the
same can be said for Disney's Song
Of The South,
though I am 100% against the censorship and pleased these are not
being hidden. Like the Sam
Space
short in the Rarities
set, the art of puppeteering is not seen enough and people love it
more than current studios give them credit for from these shorts to
Team
America
to recent TV commercials and music videos and some British TV series
that landed up becoming hits and a few classics from Lord Lew Grade
and ITC in England.
The
theatrical film versions
of the hit ITC British SuperMarionation TV series Thunderbirds,
David Lane's Thunderbirds
Are Go!
(1966) and Thunderbird
6
(1968) had received rare DTS DVD releases from MGM, which we reviewed
at this link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/1406/Thunderbirds:+International+Rescue+Edition+(1966
Twilight
Time reissued the films on Blu-ray with missing footage added to Go!
and limited to only 3,000 copies, it sold out very quickly. However,
it looked and sounded better, had more extras and is a great set fans
should track down with footage only shot for these films and not
recycled from the TV show. More on the tech side and extras, but we
should also address the TV show briefly.
Unfortunately,
Twilight Time did not issue the Blu-ray version of the TV show in the
U.S., but Shout! Factory and the now defunct Network U.K. Labels did.
While the picture and sound were reportedly good and the aspect
ratio was correct at 1.33 X 1, Shout's lacked extras Network and even
the A&E DVD set had. That was still better than earlier European
Blu-rays which horrified fans by cutting the image to 1.78 X 1 for
fake widescreen, ruining the show. Still, more extras are out there
and unless you are a hardcore diehard fan of the show buying/owning
several sets, turns out a special Japanese box set with 1.33 X 1
transfers has a ton of extras and a big price tag. All the
SuperMarionation shows are being upgraded to HD transfers and their
live action sister shows U.F.O.
(which git its own Japanese mega Blu-ray box set) and Space:
1999
(see the Season
One
Blu-ray set elsewhere on this site: the second & final season was
later restored and has been issued several times on Blu-ray), so the
demand is out there and being met.
The
1080p 1.78 X 1 MVC-encoded 3-D - Full Resolution digital High
Definition images on the Rarities
shorts have various aspect ratios, usually 1.33 X 1 until the early
1950s arrive, looks remarkably good throughout and have been
carefully upgraded to look great via 3D Blu-ray set ups by a great
team of serious 3D fans and scholars who really deliver the goods and
this release belongs on the same shelf as any and all the other major
Blu-ray 3D releases we have ever seen. Yes, it is that good.
The
1080p digital High Definition image transfers across all the Blu-rays
here look really good throughout and rarely show their age. It
likely helps that the color in most of the shorts in both sets and
the 2.35 X 1 Techniscope presentations of the Thunderbirds
films are from films originally issued in dye-transfer,
three-strip Technicolor. In the best shots, which are many, you even
get demo shots including on the 3D
Casper
short, many of the vintage Puppetoons
and both Thunderbirds.
Since the shorts have been almost lost, orphaned or abandoned, it is
all the more amazing in the case of the shorts, but the two
Thunderbirds
features look much better here than they did in their decent, if soft
DVD presentations. With more work in the original 35mm camera
negatives, I could see these looking really good. The black and
white 1.33 X 1 1080p Rarities
shorts don't disappoint either with nice sharpness and clarity that
can defy their age at times. That makes all three releases true
collectors items just based on the visual playback quality, which is
impressive, surprising and delivers.
Sound
is also as good as it is going to get with most of the Rarities
shorts in lossless DTS-HD
MA (Master Audio) 5.1 mixes to push the sound as much as possible,
with silent films often with stereo music and newer shorts in true
stereo. The main Puppetoons
film is presented in DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) in a 4.0 lossless mix
and PCM 2.0 Stereo, while the rest is in PCM 2.0 Mono. The
Thunderbirds
films offer DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mixes from their
DTS DVD presentations, upgraded a bit (by default?) with a little
more warmth and detail, though a key battle scene in the first film
loses some impact in a slight mixing error that you can hear more
clearly in the DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 1.0 lossless mix included on
the film, featured on both films for purists.
Extras
in in all three cases include well illustrated booklets (a nice
foldout in the Puppetoon
case with a Jerry Beck essay) on the films including informative text
that are excellent complements to the Blu-rays. Essays by Julian
Antos, Hillary Hess, Thad Komorowski, Donald McWilliams, Ted Okuda,
Mary Ann Sell and Jack Theakston are in the Rarities
booklet, while Julie Kirgo writes on Thunderbirds
in it's booklet. With all the shorts in the first two sets, the
makers had to distinguish how to say what is an extra, so Rarities
includes an introduction
by Leonard Maltin and Trustin Howard, 3-D photo galleries on
Hunchback
of Notre Dame
(1923, reviewed on Blu-ray elsewhere on this site from Flicker
Alley), New York World's Fair (1939), Sam
Space
Sawyer View-Master reels (1950, later known as the GAF View Master
before current owners Fisher Price/Mattel bought it up) & 3-D
Comic Books
(1953), 3-D footage directed by Francis Ford Coppola from The
Bellboy and the Playgirls
(1962) and audio commentary tracks by Thad Komorowski and Jack
Theakston. See the Puppetoon
review above for its extras, which I kept with its main content
because the shorts are from the same series.
Thunderbirds
repeats many of the DVD's extras including animated photo galleries,
their original theatrical trailers, and full-length audio
commentaries by Sylvia Anderson and director David Lane and three
featurettes. The first film offers History
& Appeal,
Factory
Of Dolls & Rockets,
and Epics
In Miniature,
while the second offers Lady
Penelope,
Building
Better Puppets
and Tiger
Moth.
New extras on both films are Isolated Music Scores, the first film
newly adds a feature length audio commentary by film historians Jeff
Bond & Nick Redmond, Excitement
Is Go! - Making Thunderbirds
documentary, previously unseen test footage of Cliff Richard &
The Shadows, Come
With Me To The Rushes
and What
Does FAB Mean?
featurette and the second film adds A
Call From Stanley Kubrick
and A
Television Tribute.
Needless to say these extras far exceed the U.S. Blu-ray set for the
series.
-
Nicholas Sheffo
