One-Eyed Jacks 11.8.11

[HuggyBear73]

So ONE-EYED JACKS is up for pre-order? This movie has a rough history on home video. Who is E1 Entertainment? Never heard of them.


EDIT: I just checked Amazon. KOCH ENTERTAINMENT is putting this out. Are they the same at KOCH MEDIA?

One-Eyed Jacks Blu-ray PRE-ORDER

[PowellPressburger]

Interested in the title if the transfer pans out.

I have the now OOP Limited Edition score that was released a few months back as a 2 Disc edition.

OneEyed.jpg

[pro-bassoonist]

It could possibly the same transfer used for the German release:

One-Eyed Jacks Blu-ray


We will have to wait and see.

[Crimson King]

This film has had a haphazard life on home video due to it's being in the public domain, I'm hoping this is a solid transfer!

I remember back in the days of VHS, Paramount released a pretty nice version of it (it was P&S though).

This is one of my favorite Brando films.

[HuggyBear73]

I tried looking for some reviews on this German release. Can't find any. Checked dvdbeaver as well.


EDIT: I just checked over at Amazon.de for some reviews. Doesn't sound too good.

[Arkadin]

99.999999999999% it will be exactly the same as the German release.
I mean same cover, company name, etc. etc.
pretty obvious imo.
reviews were not good, but still could be better than nothing considering how awful most pd dvds of this film have been.

[HuggyBear73]

Originally Posted by Arkadin

99.999999999999% it will be exactly the same as the German release.
I mean same cover, company name, etc. etc.
pretty obvious imo.
reviews were not good, but still could be better than nothing considering how awful most pd dvds of this film have been.

Exactly! Even if it's just dvd quality, I'm buying it anyway. Who knows if it will ever get the proper treatment. But having this, I will at least sleep well at night knowing I have a solid transfer of this title. Which will be far better than anything that has been released in the past.

[whitesheik]

The German blu-ray is HORRIBLE - completely faded (after the main title sequence) and very ugly to look at. This is one of the great color films - dye transfer prints were gorgeous. The only transfer I've seen on DVD that is even in the ballpark is from France.

[HuggyBear73]

Originally Posted by whitesheik

The German blu-ray is HORRIBLE - completely faded (after the main title sequence) and very ugly to look at. This is one of the great color films - dye transfer prints were gorgeous. The only transfer I've seen on DVD that is even in the ballpark is from France.

So it's not even dvd quality then? Criterion....are you listening?

[BluBonnet]

Best source material on home video that i've seen was the paramount laserdisc (letterboxed, too)

[JASON221]

Originally Posted by whitesheik

The German blu-ray is HORRIBLE - completely faded (after the main title sequence) and very ugly to look at. This is one of the great color films - dye transfer prints were gorgeous. The only transfer I've seen on DVD that is even in the ballpark is from France.

Agree with you

[Bruce Morrison]

Originally Posted by BluBonnet

Best source material on home video that i've seen was the paramount laserdisc (letterboxed, too)

Yes I still have that, one of the few laserdiscs I've kept, although I virtually never play laserdiscs these days. Paramount probably still have the original film elements in their vault but I despair of ever getting a decent transfer on BD unless Criterion (maybe in partnership with someone like Scorsese, who is interested in film preservation) can be prevailed upon to fund a full restoration project - and how likely is that?

[CheapChildren]

Originally Posted by HuggyBear73

So it's not even dvd quality then? Criterion....are you listening?

From what I hear, they don't do public domain titles..

[knifethrower]

Originally Posted by CheapChildren

From what I hear, they don't do public domain titles..

The Naked Kiss?

[Lino11]

anyone wanna see my one-eyed jack?

[rvmeeker]

Well, this is one my personal movie Holy Grail's, and I've been waiting forever for a good transfer to home video. I owned probably half a dozen public domain DVD releases -- all but one of them quite poor, and all but one was 1.33:1 aspect ratio. The laserdisc was actually pretty good (and widescreen). It doesn't sound hopeful that this version will be particularly good, but it looks to at least be widescreen. This film truly deserves a great transfer; it was a brilliant psychological drama, with terrific performances and beautiful cinematography. I wonder, would Criterion tackle a title such as this? Also, does anyone know exactly why this title is in the public domain?

[Douglas R]

Originally Posted by rvmeeker

Also, does anyone know exactly why this title is in the public domain?

The film was produced by Marlon Brando's production company Pennebaker Productions (Pennebaker was Brando's mother's surname). Presumably, whoever was responsible at Pennebaker, failed to protect copyright of the film. Copyright problems have often occurred when the studios themselves do not have complete ownership. It's a very annoying situation especially as Paramount could, if they wanted, release a quality version of the film from their elements.

[DavePS3]

Love this film... saw it together at an old theater showing much older films, along with Charley Varrick. Jacks needs a good transfer!

[rvmeeker]

Originally Posted by Douglas R

The film was produced by Marlon Brando's production company Pennebaker Productions (Pennebaker was Brando's mother's surname). Presumably, whoever was responsible at Pennebaker, failed to protect copyright of the film. Copyright problems have often occurred when the studios themselves do not have complete ownership. It's a very annoying situation especially as Paramount could, if they wanted, release a quality version of the film from their elements.

Good information, Doug. I'm curious, why does Paramount have better film elements? Was Pennebaker Productions absorbed by them? Should we be directlng our lobbying campaign at Paramount?

[whitesheik]

Originally Posted by Bruce Morrison

Yes I still have that, one of the few laserdiscs I've kept, although I virtually never play laserdiscs these days. Paramount probably still have the original film elements in their vault but I despair of ever getting a decent transfer on BD unless Criterion (maybe in partnership with someone like Scorsese, who is interested in film preservation) can be prevailed upon to fund a full restoration project - and how likely is that?

Paramount does have all the elements, and the film doesn't need any restoration, at least in the sense of the true meaning of the word restoration in terms of film. It just needs to be lovingly brought to HD by the team that did Tiffany's - it would look absolutely amazing.

The only DVD that does any justice to this film (and it's as good as the laserdisc AND it's anamorphic) is from France - I got it pretty recently, so it may still be available - it's worth getting - not perfect, by any means, but it's taken from a French print and looks SO much better than any of the other PD abominations that are out, and that includes several others from France - the one you want is on Wild Side Video.