Toto - Il piu comico spettacolo del mondo 3D Blu-ray (1953) [Region B Locked]

[Richard--W]

Totò - Il più comico spettacolo del mondo 3D Blu-ray Italian audio and subtitles ONLY, no English options

Original post:
A musical comedy featuring the Italian clown Totò, and released in English-speaking countries as Funniest Show On Earth. It was shot in "Ferraniacolor" using Richardson 3-D, dual strip 35mm according to the imdb. Dennis Bartok tried to get this film for the last Expo, but no luck. I couldn't find a poster, but this might be a clip:

Totò 3D Il più comico spettacolo del mondo - YouTube

Perhaps both eyes survive?

[bavanut]

Richard, you probably remember the European Rarities show presented at Expo III by Stefan Droessler. Others who weren't there will be interested to learn he presented a scene from one of the 3-D Totò films, presumably Funniest Show On Earth. In disguise wearing drag, Totò performs a very comical massage on an unsuspecting and very buxom massage parlor patron. I remember thinking the 3-D looked really, really good during that 2- or 3-minute clip. So did the color. (I like the look of early 1950s monopack color.)

[Zivouhr]

Looks interesting and likely filmed with strong 3D for the era it was created.

[Richard--W]

Originally Posted by bavanut

Richard, you probably remember the European Rarities show presented at Expo III by Stefan Droessler. Others who weren't there will be interested to learn he presented a scene from one of the 3-D Totò films, presumably Funniest Show On Earth. In disguise wearing drag, Totò performs a very comical massage on an unsuspecting and very buxom massage parlor patron. I remember thinking the 3-D looked really, really good during that 2- or 3-minute clip. So did the color. (I like the look of early 1950s monopack color.)

I remember that Stefan Droessler gave a European 3-D Rarities seminar but not the contents. Did he say if a 3-D print survives? What else was in the seminar, do you recall?

[bavanut]

Originally Posted by Richard--W

I remember that Stefan Droessler gave a European 3-D Rarities seminar but not the contents. Did he say if a 3-D print survives? What else was in the seminar, do you recall?

I am of the impression that all the Italian 3-D survives, but I cannot absolutely prove that.

I regret that I did not take notes during the European Rarities screening in September 2013, as I did later during the General Rarities show. I have reconstructed the following list partly from memory, and partly from notes about Droessler's lecture found online:

• Circa 1900, risqué 3-D films by René Bünzli.

• Accidental 3-D by Georges Méliès, who shot movies with a double camera to produce duplicate negatives, one for the European market, one for the American market. (Le Chaudron infernal [1903], L'Oracle de Delphes [1903]).

• L'Arrivée d'un train, 1935. Lumière.

• Mother and baby, 1935. Lumière.

• Children playing on the beach, 1935. Lumière.

• Behind the scenes footage of an ordinary 2-D movie, circa 1936. Lumière.

• L'Ami de monsieur (Gentleman's Friend) outtake, a ski scene, circa 1936. Lumière.

• Circa mid-1930s: Stereo footage of Vienna, done in an eclipsing system similar but not identical to the Laurens Hammond films of 1922, meant to be viewed through rotating cylindrical shutters. This was a new one on me; I'd never, ever heard of it before!

• The Berlin Olympics, Germany, 1936. Among other innovations was a camera that recorded a stereo pair and a moving clock to preserve an accurate record of races.

• 6 Mädels rollen ins Wochenend, (Six Girls Get the Weekend Underway), Germany, 1939.

• Die Flakschiesslehre ("Anti-aircraft firing instructions"), Germany, 1943. An Allied plane gets shot down during this footage, and one lone person started to applaud, then abruptly caught himself and stopped. This was the one film clip that (apart from the cited exception) drew only polite silence from the crowd.

• Volkswagen commercials, Germany, 1950s.

• Oktoberfest commercial ("waren Sie schon in München?"), Germany, 1950s.

• Italian 3-D footage featuring Totò, presumably from The Funniest Show on Earth.

• Soviet 3-D: Scenes from Kontsert (vertical 3D).

• Soviet 3-D: Scenes from Robinson Crusoe / Robinzon Kruzo (1946). The full feature was presented separately.

• Soviet 3-D: Scenes from Crystals.

• Soviet 3-D: Scenes from Mastera sporta (Masters of Sport).

• Soviet single-strip 3-D from circa 1954: footage in a Moscow amusement park, title unknown to me.

I have included everything I remember, but it's all subject to verification from someone-- anyone-- with complete notes from the day itself. Droessler also presented numerous production stills, occasional technical diagrams, and rare photographs, including a very good one of Felix Bodrossy, the Hungarian 3-D pioneer, with his over-and-under single-strip 3-D rig. But I don't personally recall seeing clips of Bodrossy's work during the screening. Maybe someone can set me straight on that.

[Robert Furmanek]

It exists - has been restored - and I tried to license it for 3-D Blu-ray release last year after DRAGONFLY SQUADRON and THE BUBBLE were released.

I wrote the copyright holder and never got a reply.

[Interdimensional]

Originally Posted by Robert Furmanek

It exists - has been restored - and I tried to license it for 3-D Blu-ray release last year after DRAGONFLY SQUADRON and THE BUBBLE were released.

I wrote the copyright holder and never got a reply.

Thanks for trying. Good to know it's been restored. Hopefully they're preserving it to be seen, not just hidden away in some storage facility.

Is it any good?

[Robert Furmanek]

I've never seen it but the legendary Karl Struss was one of the DP's. He was an active Stereo Realist user at the time.

[Interdimensional]

Originally Posted by Robert Furmanek

I've never seen it but the legendary Karl Struss was one of the DP's. He was an active Stereo Realist user at the time.

well that can't hurt!

I googled, apparently this was one of three 3-D films he made while in Italy. I wonder if they'll ever be seen like that again.

[Robert Furmanek]

Has anyone seen this new release?

https://www.amazon.it/Tot%C3%B2-3D-c...d-K1YDcvah4TJA

[Paul H]

Originally Posted by Robert Furmanek

Has anyone seen this new release?

https://www.amazon.it/Tot%C3%B2-3D-c...d-K1YDcvah4TJA

Interesting find!

I like the review given:

Screen Shot 2021-03-05 at 7.10.05 AM.jpg

[Robert Furmanek]

I'm trying to get a copy of this release but it may take a while.

Please let me know if anyone sees this and what the quality is like. Thanks!

[the13thman]

I'll take one for the team and order it. It won't be English-friendly but as long as it's in 3D I'll be happy enough.

[Robert Furmanek]

Let the region free complaining begin!

[bavanut]

I ordered this so fast, I was scared the earth might go in reverse. Two copies!

[grazina31]

Originally Posted by bavanut

I ordered this so fast, I was scared the earth might go in reverse. Two copies!

I also bought this real fast. Now Bob is responsible for us spending money on movies he did not restore. Lol

Originally Posted by Robert Furmanek

I'm trying to get a copy of this release but it may take a while.

Please let me know if anyone sees this and what the quality is like. Thanks!

Hi. I found these two sellers on ebay and they both appear to sell and ship to the USA. Have a look and maybe message them to confirm it is brand new and sealed and shipping method in case you want a tracking number. Also look forward to you having this and telling us if it is up to your standards.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/TOTO-3D-IL-...p/303867076866
https://www.ebay.com/itm/4108045-Tot...l/174632393712

[Robert Furmanek]

Great, thanks, I've just ordered it via eBay and should have it around April 9.

This is exciting as I've long wanted to see Karl Struss' work in third-dimension. He was an avid stereo photographer and his one US project (Carmenesque for 3-D Follies) is lost in depth.

Here's more info on Struss: https://www.stereoscopy.com/3dlegends/struss.html

And 3D Follies: http://www.3dfilmarchive.com/golden-age-3-d

[BleedOrange11]

I ordered from Amazon Italy.

I ordered Every Thing Will Be Fine from Seatownrecords on eBay almost a month ago, and they still haven't shipped it or responded to my message, so I have to recommend avoiding them. I don't know if it's because it's out of print or because of COVID restrictions or if they just haven't updated shipping status.

Amazon has the best customer service and is safest for me. DVDland.it is another option to save a few bucks that ships to the U.S.
https://www.dvdland.it/en/blu-ray/to...fast_search=fs

[BleedOrange11]

The back cover describes 3D equipment required to view the film in 3D. No subtitles listed. I'm trying to find subtitles in any language on the internet and no luck so far. Even an Italian SDH file could be google translated and muxed.

[grazina31]

Originally Posted by Oboler

Translated by google, from the distributors website. I can’t find confirmation that the blu ray is 3D. It also might not have subtitles? Not a deal breaker, but subs would mean is non Italian speakers could enjoy the movie as well as the camerawork.

“”Restored with the most modern 3D technology, the first three-dimensional film in the history of Italian cinema is finally back in cinemas after almost 60 years. TOTÒ IN 3D - THE MOST COMIC SHOW IN THE WORLD will be premiered at the 6th edition of the Rome International Film Festival, scheduled from 27 October to 4 November. Among the most beloved comedies interpreted by the Prince of laughter, Totò in 3D - The most comical show in the world has returned to life thanks to a long and complex restoration work strongly desired by the producer Aurelio De Laurentiis and carried out by Cinecittà Digital Factory with the supervised by Pasquale Cuzzupoli. It took almost a year for the technicians to restore the film to its original splendor. What made the operation particularly difficult was the need to intervene on two negatives. The film was shot 00 in 1953 with a system for three-dimensional shooting, patented by Carlo Ponti and Dino De Laurentiis and called Podelvision from the initials of their surnames, which in fact provided for the use of several cameras at the same time and subsequently the printing of two copies of identical films: one for the left eye and one for the right eye.“”

From everything I’ve been able to read, it does not have any subtitles whatsoever.
As for wether or not it is in real 3D, the back cover couldn’t be any clearer.




The case mentions a 2019 date, so I find it really funny they show a ps3 as a minimum requirement.