ted

One of the things that TV watchers have going for them in Norf Amerika is Turner Classic Movies (TCM) which broadcasts Brit and US fillums from its vast vaults practically continously and commercial free. They just finished the 1935 "The Tunnel" with Leslie Banks, Richard Dix, Basil Sydney, C.Aubrey Smith, George Arliss, Walter Houston - a wild science fiction plot but with some nice futuristic touches. Didn't see it in '35 but it was quite enjoyable tonight.

Ted, Ottawa

Steve Crook

Just a shame about the quality. It's often not great. But that's NTSC for you.
When friends have recorded things from TCM (US) for me I'm always very glad to see things that I couldn't see otherwise, but I'm always saddened at the quality and I wonder how anyone could get to like films if they only saw them on TCM.

It's not such a drastic difference with B&W films but compare a British Technicolor film like The Red Shoes or Black Narcissus as seen on TCM with how it looks when projected in 35mm on a big screen.

And yes, The Tunnel is a great film

Steve

ted

Wot is NTSC?

I wonder whether viewing TCM on High Definition TV makes a difference? When we first got our set we were amazed at the glistening quality of B and W films. TCM ran "The Red Shoes" a couple of weeks back. It looked pretty good to us, too.

Not a film but "Madame Butterfly" was broadcast live from the Lincoln Centre in New York last week. In wide screen and HD it was positively stunning. I found myself applauding with the audience, foolish though that sounds.

Dunno if you use cable as much as we do, but all our TV comes to us over it (with high speed internet) via a digital box that does the recording and I feel this has to improve the quality.

Ted, Ottawa

Steve Crook

NTSC = Never The Same Color
It's actually the initials of the National Television System Committee who set the standard that is used in North America and a few other places. Most of the rest of the world uses PAL (Phase Alternating Line) which gives a higher definition picture and better colour reproduction. But that's all before HD and all the oncoming technologies.

If you thought The Red Shoes was good on TCM, just wait until you can see it projected in 35mm onto a big screen. That's the way it was made to be seen, and it really does make a difference.

I haven't heard of it being shown in a theatre in the Ontario area for a while, but various good quality prints regularly do the rounds.

There's nothing wrong with applauding a good performance, even if the people that created it are long dead or recorded it in a studio or theatre miles away. I often do it.

I use cable (fibre optic) for my broadband internet connection and for the phone and for the TV & radio.

Steve

orpheum

Ted,getting back to the point of your thread you are very lucky to have TCM(USA).We simply do not have any channel on UK tv which can compete with it for such a variety of vintage films.I fortunately have a friend in the States who records films for me.Many of the films i see have never been shown either on tv or at the NFT.The question of quality is rather irrelevant.I have never had any problem.
In any event comparing watching a 1930s B?W film with a 1940s Technicolour film is a bit pointless.wild horses would not drag me into any cinema to see The Red Shoes,what a bore.

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lordtednfs

Living in the Philippines we have NTSC as our "choice" of TV standard signal and I find the picture quality can differ from film to film. Colour movies can be a bit iffy, but generally B+W is much better. I have a HD tv and find the best quality to come from progs downloaded from Blighty, TCM is fine but cannot compete with PAL, it's so much better.

Come on Sky, UK Sky that is, come over here and show everyone here what they are missing, but keep your prices down.

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Merton Park

In reply to Orpheum

I thought you watched The Red Shoes every other week? Or is that The Red Shirts? Same difference!

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Steve Crook

I was not suggesting that you compare a 1930s B&W film with a 1940s Technicolor film. That would be pointless as you say.

I was just using The Red Shoes as an example of a British Technicolor film of the 1940s where the colour is used very well. Dramatic but not garish. There are lots of other examples. Watch any of them projected as 35mm and watch the same film on American TV and you'll be amazed at the difference.

There is also a noticeable difference between a 1930s B&W film projected as 35mm and how the same film is seen on US TV. The difference isn't as dramatic as with colour films, but it is noticeable.

But I blame the NTSC standard, not TCM. I agree that TCM do offer a huge number of great films and is a great channel

Steve

ted

Well, now. That's the first time I've started a thread and fun it was, too. Must do it again.

Ted, Ottawa

Steve Crook

Please do. And see how quickly it drifted off topic
It started about The Tunnel and turned into a discussion about the merits, or lack of them, about NTSC. That sort of drifting often happens

Steve

Gaumont

Back to the tunnel, then - it came out on PAL video a few years back - it might be worth searching for it on eBay. I transferred mine to DVD a while back.

Gaumont