batman

Jack Nicholson is a fine actor and has reached the top of his profession by producing some excellent performances over the past 40 years.

Don't miss out on a chance to win a rare film in Bat-Quiz 13 closing date - 31/8/8.

Multi-Region

No, not all, but a lot. One of my fav is SUNSET BLVD (Yes, about Hollywood!), and I am a Film-Noir fan too, but a lot of them are spoiled by the production code sensorship.

Regarding pre-code movies, I recommend:

- FORBIDDEN HOLLYWOOD Vol. 1
(on the cover the legs of Norma Shearer)

and

- FORBIDDEN HOLLYWOOD Vol. 2
(on the cover a young Bette Davis)

One of my fav pre-code films. I look forward to a DVD release of MIDNIGHT MARY (1933) with a seductive Loretta Young.


Robert

"I was born when you kissed me and I died when you left me. I lived a few weeks, when you loved me."

CaptainWaggett

Surely censorship was just as strict in British films (or indeed any other films) of the period?

batman

Do you know what region code the Forbidden Hollywood dvds are? The DVdBeaver site says R1,2,3,4 while amazon lists them as R1 only.

Don't miss out on a chance to win a rare film in Bat-Quiz 13 closing date - 31/8/8.

Multi-Region

The un-cut PAYROLL (1961) lasted 15 mins. longer, which scenes were cut?

"I was born when you kissed me and I died when you left me. I lived a few weeks, when you loved me."

CaptainWaggett

No idea as I've never heard of the film. It was more of a general point - you won't find much explicit sex or nudity in British films during the time the Hays Code was in operation (though the Wicked Lady was allowed more cleavage in Britain!) so it seems an odd reason to dismiss Hollywood. Personally I enjoy seeing the ingenuity with which scriptwriters managed to defy the censors though obviously a little more frankness would have been nice.

Multi-Region

As far as I know, the Forbidden Hollywood Collection is R-0. Fornutately my player is region-free; stricktly speaking, I never check the DVD-region.
Vol. 1: £ 13.40; Vol. 2: £ 17.44.

Much more movie-fun: upgrade your DVD-player to multi-region/region-free/all-region: Link 1 or Link 2.
Region-free Blu-ray players by the way: Link 3!

About 85% of my DVD collection (many Film-Noirs and pre-Code films) is from Region-1 now; very attractive with the low dollar exchange rate. On-topic again: sometimes I hate Hollywood, today not the dollar rates...
Besides, much more movies are available in R-1 and they are often restored. And I like the R-1 DVD cover-art and their low prices.
R-1 on-line shop with very low DVD-prices: DVDPacific (accepts £ too).

Robert

PS
My recent DVD player is a multi-region DENON DVD3930.
Off-topic, but region-free upgrade for the DENON DVD2930 and DVD3930, a 1 minute-job:
1. Turn power off by Power Switch.
2. While holding the "stop" and "pause" buttons down simultaneously turn the power of the unit by the power switch.
3. Using the remote, press the following numeric number "73194628"; after accepting the code the unit will enter standby mode.
4. Switch off the unit and back on for this to take effect.

"I was born when you kissed me and I died when you left me. I lived a few weeks, when you loved me."

batman

Cheers.

Don't miss out on a chance to win a rare film in Bat-Quiz 13 closing date - 31/8/8.

TimR

I would agree that sentimentality does interfere with many of the Hollywood films of the "code" era, and that many examples of product were simply junk.

But I would strongly disagree with your positive comparison between the post-code films and the pre-code talkies. The era from the 30s through the 50s was the heyday of Welles, Ford, Wyler, Hawks and Hitchcock's American films, and later Zinneman and Huston.

It was the time of Preston Sturges and the screwball classics and well as many individual examples of films that were either enjoyable entertainement or, in the best cases, works of art. It was also the era of classic musicals.

The pre-code talkies were, very often, trash. The great film makers of the silent era were either no longer working or no longer producing outstanding films. The sound technology was often very poor. They are highly enjoyable, but the mere that fact the producers and writers and directors were allowed to get away with R-rated material did not guarantee a good, or even an acceptable film.

Midnight Mary is a crackerjack melodrama and Loretta Young is indeed very beautiful. But it isn't more than that. A Free Soul with Gable, Shearer and Barrymore is the same.

Perhaps you are also including the silent films? In that case I would agree with you. But the code would make very little difference there.

I will stop now - discussion of American films is not part of this forum, but the title of the thread seems to allow this.

Hereafter, in a better world than this,
I shall desire more love and knowledge of you

donna

oh but werent the Amercian cowboy films and musicals just the best , you cant take it away from them sorry to disagree, Singing in the Rain got me hooked. loved Tammy too, and Im a Western fantatic that we just dont do.

donna

just found out Loretta Youngs sister was married for 61 years to Ricardo Montalban, the wonderful actor, she died last year, and that Loretty Young had Clark Gables child, a girl . but the girl only met her dad once.

davidb

they should bring back the eady levy ,that would teach em !, coming over here with their blockbuster movies ,

donna

Hugh Grant to me looks wimpish , public schoolboy, doesnt do it for me at all, in the right place at the right time I feel except in that parked car in the states.