Freddy

Listening to Parky's Sunday Supplement he mentioned this article. Haven't been able to find anything else on it.
Let's hope some of the 'Big Screen' theatres show them.

By Chris Hastings and Beth Jones, Sunday Telegraph
Last Updated: 12:35am BST 24/06/2007

Regarded by many as the finest ever film director, Sir David Lean won a total of 28 Oscars with 16 productions. Now, to mark the centenary of his birth, his entire back catalogue is to be released in cinemas in their original format.

His classics, including Lawrence of Arabia, Dr Zhivago, Brief Encounter and Great Expectations, will compete with modern rivals such as Indiana Jones 4, The Incredible Hulk and The Mummy 3, which owe more to computer-generated special effects than to the lavish productions favoured by Lean.

Kevin Brownlow, the film-maker who wrote a biography of the director, who died in 1991, said: "These are some of the best films made in this country and there is no doubt that they are going to find an audience."

Lean is lionised by current directors such as Steven Spielberg. Three of his works made a list of the top 10 British films compiled by the British Film Institute (BFI).

Often taking years to develop and produce, Lean favoured the use of huge casts in exotic locations. Some of his sequences, such as T E Lawrence's trek across the desert and the ice palaces in Doctor Zhivago, are considered to be some of the finest ever shot.

The BFI has received funding from the David Lean Foundation to restore the director's seven black and white films and his first two colour movies. The intention is to produce digital copies that can be shown in cinemas across Britain.

Alongside the release of the films next year in Britain and the United States, a series of events, including screenings at the Cannes Film Festival, are planned.

Sarah Miles, who starred in the 1970 epic Ryan's Daughter and whose husband Robert Bolt wrote three of Lean's screenplays, said: "I think the films stand the test of time because we simply haven't made anything to equal them since. David and Robert were working on a deeper level than most of today's film-makers."

Regards

Freddy

Marky B

That's good news,Freddy. I did hear a mention of Lawrence of Arabia whilst listening to Parky,but was busy at work to take it all in. Thanks for that info.
Ta Ta
Marky B

I am special. The heavens always open for me.

Brief Encounter

Any details of cinemas??

Freddy

Pleasure Marky B,
I know like me, you' re a fan of Sunday Supplement and LOA.

Hello Brief Encounter,
Nothing on the BFI website yet. I also wonder what the quality of the digital copies will be. What is the best format for cinema?
Regarding LOA will it be the extended film as available on dvd.

Hopefully this could start a trend for re-releasing great films back onto the large screen. Others such as Grand Prix and Zulu come to mind.

Regards

Freddy

dyranian

Great Expectations at Arts Cinema, Cambridge Tuesday 3 July. Not a new print I shouldn't think, hope to get along to see it. Cambridge Film Festival next month features new prints of Thief of Baghdad and Dracula (1958 Hammer-Christopher Lee/Peter Cushing) plus a digital restoration of Henry V.

Steve Crook

A new print of The Thief of Baghdad?
I presume you mean the 1940 one with Conrad Veidt & Sabu
Do you know who did the print?

Steve

dyranian

yes, the programme simply states print source:Park Circus, if that is any help to you

Steve Crook

Never heard of 'em - but I'll ask around. Thanks.
The NFT is also showing it 7 times in August.
They usually only do such a flood of screenings when they've got a new print - but they don't advertise it as a new print.

Odd

Steve

dyranian

just "googled" them see Park Circus - Classic Films

Steve Crook

Thnks again. It might be one of those cases where it's a new print, but struck off the same old negatives (or inter-negs) and so looks exactly the same as the prints that have been around for some time

Steve

Steve Crook

The Cambridge Film Festival is also showing The Boy Who Turned Yellow as part of a special Saturday morning pictures session

Steve

Mr Dean

Park Circus (Nick Varley and JohnLetham) were featured in Cinema Business Magazine in May 2007, where they were praised for their re-release policy. I suspect that they will become well known in this forum sonce they control some 6,000 titles for UK and international distribution, including the Granada and MGM Libraries. Granada (Carlton) Library holds many of the classic British film titles.

Park Circus will be releasing Hamlet, Henry V, Richard III and Thief of Baghdad in August. Most of these will be digital prints in the current JPEG2000 standard. So, look for a local cinema in the Digital Screen Network (check the list onDSN List of Cinemas - UK Film Council)

Re the quality of digital prints, I've seen a wide range and they were all excellent (though different to 35mm in terms of colours and contrast. The only problem I've come across is a very rare occasional pixellation/judder and in Black Narcissus, the unfortunate side effect of greater clarity in that the 'join' between the set and matte work was visible.

Steve Crook

Yes, that join on the matte work is a problem wioth clearer prints. Especially on a couple of shots. Some of the prints are so sharp you can almost see the brush strokes on the mountains - almost

But have you also noticed the fade to blue error on some of the more recent prints?

Steve