Classic movie site with rare images, original ads, and behind-the-scenes photos, with informative and insightful commentary. We like to have fun with movies!
Archive and Links
grbrpix@aol.com
Search Index Here




Wednesday, March 14, 2018

A Welcome Western In 3-D


Gun Fury (1953) Promised Much, But Did It Deliver?

This By Far The Dominant Art Even On Euro Posters
A western was a western was a western by 1953, unless advertising could somehow set one apart from the rest. Often that was done with sex-specific ads, and promises of content that the film would not deliver. Why would Code policies be suspended for the likes of Gun Fury? --- yet exploitation as here gave hope that this time maybe things would be different, that we'd see a woman made victim of an "act of violence" while her man is bound up and forced to watch. There was a scene in Gun Fury with a man tied and a woman carried off, but it was nowhere approximate to what lurid ads suggested. "If It Was Your Woman This Happened To ..." meant one thing, and movies were years away from license to depict that onscreen. Notion of "her man" riding south to "avenge" the act was also not fulfilled, short of motive painted very broad and having nothing to do with an assault that does not take place. This sort of art and graphics, however, was what sucked patronage into theatres for Gun Fury, a western few would mistake for anything other than ordinary. What stood it out, then and more so now, was application of 3-D, a process more than rehabilitated by what digital can now do.




Lately-out Gun Fury on Blu-Ray is at least as good as most 3-D of the era. Raoul Walsh directed, him with one functioning eye since 1929, of which some express wonder how he could perceive depth, but where was need of that for a man forty years in film by 1953? Instinct alone made seeing of result superfluous. Busy foreground and known tricks were familiar to the recipe, guns fired at the camera like in The Great Train Robbery (which RW probably saw first-run), plus jolt of a rattler leaping for the lens, a best shock effect I've so far seen in depth (we wonder who dreams up 3-D gags --- the director, camera crew, a brought-in consultant?). Distinction of Gun Fury is in story and dialogue, so 3-D could lie back as it has for sixty-five years and we'd still have an adequate show (Inferno a same sort of treat, flat or deep). Up and comer writers were at work, one of them Roy Huggins, who'd pen more westerns, then run the table once cowpokes took over television (Maverick was his). To Gun Fury depth, add that of heavies Phil Carey and Leo Gordon, both shaded well for interact with convention-serving Rock Hudson and Donna Reed.




High Noon made outdoor action a lure to grown-ups who liked nuance beyond black hat-white hat. So-called "adult" westerns, done both cheap and expensive, waited in wings as Saturday saddles were put permanent in 50's bunkhouse, Republic, then Columbia, even biggest names like Autry and Rogers, giving up spurs to thirty-minute TV or rodeo appearing. Seems kids did a lot of growing up during and after the war and wanted cowboys to speak plainer, result a lot of theatres doffing short-pants action in favor of leather slapped harder. I had a friend whose parents took him to a presumed kid appeal show that had The Law and Jake Wade for a second feature, that one tough as most came in postwar reboot of westerns. The boy was eight when exposed to what for him may have been a first theatrical western, but die was cast, and nothing older time cowpokes did after this could win him. The 50's were possibly a peak decade for westerns, which like crime thrillers or what's loosely called noir, were prolific as sand on a beach. How much of it have we still not accounted for? (I keep coming across good ones that are new to me)


Comin' At Ya In Promotional Stills


3-D features can look better on our TV's than they ever did in theatres. Snafu-ing was rife during fad peak. Much of what made ships sink was presentation foul-up. Never mind what could go wrong ... better to ask what went right. In wake of digital takeover, would there be anyone left who could sync up 35mm dual prints today? Talk about gone --- show me a booth that even has side by side 35mm projectors (outside collector cribs that won't give film up). Imagine if they had digital in 1953-54. 3-D in that event might have stayed for keeps. What always soured me was dimness of depth images, at least where projected (memory of botched 70's revivals hard to shake). Best result nowaday comes of flat screen television where you don simple specs rather than battery-operated goggles required for projection TV. Success of Twilight Time 3-D discs bode well for more of same, and Kino has announced The Maze, plus Sangaree, for 2018 release. Find out more about those at 3-D Archive.

2 Comments:

Blogger Reg Hartt said...

I'm 100% for BIG SCREEN PROJECTION 3D. I was using Peter Wimmer Stereoplayer and shutter glasses which are great but then found that my new Optoma Projector pushes a beam and uses DLP glasses that are better than what I was using before. Now the results are seamless.

GUN FURY does promise everything and, really, deliver nothing beyond 83 minutes spent without squirming in our seat which ain't so bad so it passes the Harry Cohn test for a good movie.

I had made 2D to 3D conversions of many 1950s 3D movies in the vain hope of getting an idea of how these films looked in 3D. To finally see films like INFERNO and GUN FURY as they are designed to be seen really brings out the poverty of those 2D to 3D conversion systems.

There are three things that look spectacular in 3D. Those are birds, bugs and fish. I can spend hours watching whales and dolphins in 3D. There is nothing for me like seeing a whale in "Z" space. That may be bad taste for 3D experts who prefer foreground action to off screen pizazz but good taste not bad taste is the enemy.

Twilight Time is doing a great job with their 3D releases. Kino is doing even better with its wonderful 3D Film Archive Restorations. I eagerly await being 'A-MAZED BY THE MAZE." Too bad Warner won't dust off their 3D holdings and even worse that the fellow who owns ROBOT MONSTER, CAT-WOMEN OF THE MOON and HANNAH LEE refuses to get a proper restoration of his titles by Bob Furmanek and crew. Even worse that Olive ruined a 3D restoration of MONEY FROM HOME while Jerry Lewis (who was looking forward to it) was around to appreciate and help promote it.

3D Cinema is a lot like the early movies which were viewed as bastard, illegitimate theater. That attitude presents itself with everything that is new.

Does 3D have a value 2D does not? It sure does. David Attenborough's wonderful 3D documentaries literally feel flat in 3D as do the many wonderful IMAX 3D films. I have a Sony HDR TD 10 digital 3D camera plus several Sony Bloggie 3D cameras. Musician friends whose shows I have filmed have found their 3D apathy converted to enthusiasm when they see the results. 3D film making is a wonderful new language that is best learned by using it.

It is important that as many as possible of the 3D motion pictures prior to the digital era get proper restorations NOW while we have the talents of the skilled crew at the 3D Film Archive at their service. I am told Criterion (which ought to know better) has kiboshed titles offered to them. Why in blazes don't we have a 3D restoration of BWANA DEVIL? It's a landmark film. Film history requires it be available in the 3D format.

If anyone reading this has a library of 3D dvds using the field sequential format (which won't work with 3D projectors) you can use 3D Combine (http://www.3dcombine.com/)to convert them to side by side as I have done and then convert those files to Blu-ray and, voila!

TREASURES OF THE FOUR CROWNS was the follow-up to the wonderfully tasteless Italian 3D western COMIN' AT YA! It seems it is not going to get the 3D restoration treatment which is a pain 'cause the 3D in it is as sensational as it is tasteless. Luckily, with 3D Combine I turned my field sequential dvd copy into a Blu-ray version. It is real easy to do. No particular skills required. Did the same with my FS version of REVENGE OF THE CREATURE which is long overdue for a proper 3D restoration and with my FS versions of ROBOT MONSTER, CAT WOMEN OF THE MOON and HANNAH LEE.

No, they are not the visual quality of GUN FURY, and proper Blu-ray restorations but they will do until those come along.

By chance I discovered this great IMAX 3D Film of D-Day. It is only available here:
https://www.paratrooper.fr/en/dvd-blu-ray/1911-d-day-normandy-1944-blu-ray-0634158628306.html .

You are right. Digital 3D overcomes all the flaws inherent in 1950s 3D which also required that each projector have the same light intensity. 3D is now here to stay just as the movies, despite the naysayers, were.





7:28 AM  
Blogger Beowulf said...

God bless ya'all if you think 3D is coming back.

4:03 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home

grbrpix@aol.com
  • December 2005
  • January 2006
  • February 2006
  • March 2006
  • April 2006
  • May 2006
  • June 2006
  • July 2006
  • August 2006
  • September 2006
  • October 2006
  • November 2006
  • December 2006
  • January 2007
  • February 2007
  • March 2007
  • April 2007
  • May 2007
  • June 2007
  • July 2007
  • August 2007
  • September 2007
  • October 2007
  • November 2007
  • December 2007
  • January 2008
  • February 2008
  • March 2008
  • April 2008
  • May 2008
  • June 2008
  • July 2008
  • August 2008
  • September 2008
  • October 2008
  • November 2008
  • December 2008
  • January 2009
  • February 2009
  • March 2009
  • April 2009
  • May 2009
  • June 2009
  • July 2009
  • August 2009
  • September 2009
  • October 2009
  • November 2009
  • December 2009
  • January 2010
  • February 2010
  • March 2010
  • April 2010
  • May 2010
  • June 2010
  • July 2010
  • August 2010
  • September 2010
  • October 2010
  • November 2010
  • December 2010
  • January 2011
  • February 2011
  • March 2011
  • April 2011
  • May 2011
  • June 2011
  • July 2011
  • August 2011
  • September 2011
  • October 2011
  • November 2011
  • December 2011
  • January 2012
  • February 2012
  • March 2012
  • April 2012
  • May 2012
  • June 2012
  • July 2012
  • August 2012
  • September 2012
  • October 2012
  • November 2012
  • December 2012
  • January 2013
  • February 2013
  • March 2013
  • April 2013
  • May 2013
  • June 2013
  • July 2013
  • August 2013
  • September 2013
  • October 2013
  • November 2013
  • December 2013
  • January 2014
  • February 2014
  • March 2014
  • April 2014
  • May 2014
  • June 2014
  • July 2014
  • August 2014
  • September 2014
  • October 2014
  • November 2014
  • December 2014
  • January 2015
  • February 2015
  • March 2015
  • April 2015
  • May 2015
  • June 2015
  • July 2015
  • August 2015
  • September 2015
  • October 2015
  • November 2015
  • December 2015
  • January 2016
  • February 2016
  • March 2016
  • April 2016
  • May 2016
  • June 2016
  • July 2016
  • August 2016
  • September 2016
  • October 2016
  • November 2016
  • December 2016
  • January 2017
  • February 2017
  • March 2017
  • April 2017
  • May 2017
  • June 2017
  • July 2017
  • August 2017
  • September 2017
  • October 2017
  • November 2017
  • December 2017
  • January 2018
  • February 2018
  • March 2018
  • April 2018
  • May 2018
  • June 2018
  • July 2018
  • August 2018
  • September 2018
  • October 2018
  • November 2018
  • December 2018
  • January 2019
  • February 2019
  • March 2019
  • April 2019
  • May 2019
  • June 2019
  • July 2019
  • August 2019
  • September 2019
  • October 2019
  • November 2019
  • December 2019
  • January 2020
  • February 2020
  • March 2020
  • April 2020
  • May 2020
  • June 2020
  • July 2020
  • August 2020
  • September 2020
  • October 2020
  • November 2020
  • December 2020
  • January 2021
  • February 2021
  • March 2021
  • April 2021
  • May 2021
  • June 2021
  • July 2021
  • August 2021
  • September 2021
  • October 2021
  • November 2021
  • December 2021
  • January 2022
  • February 2022
  • March 2022
  • April 2022
  • May 2022
  • June 2022
  • July 2022
  • August 2022
  • September 2022
  • October 2022
  • November 2022
  • December 2022
  • January 2023
  • February 2023
  • March 2023
  • April 2023
  • May 2023
  • June 2023
  • July 2023
  • August 2023
  • September 2023
  • October 2023
  • November 2023
  • December 2023
  • January 2024
  • February 2024
  • March 2024