The Silver Screen column discussion

[Nicholas Vargo]

I personally think that both endings are terrific, but for different reasons. The original ending though is pretty dark though, so I understand immediately why audiences rejected it, but I think in order for that sequence to truly work in the new director's cut, it needs the original scene with Audrey and Seymour after he runs away from the reporters. The "Suddenly, Seymour" reprise was originally in there (You can see a glimpse of it in both the outtakes reel and the teaser trailer), and the new version desperately needs that. Too bad they couldn't get it in there. Still, seeing the actual original ending in color is such an awesome treat, and the ending sequence finally looks finished with all of the additions that Oz wanted to make to it.

The theatrical ending though is the one I grew up with, and maybe because of that, I still somewhat prefer it. Both endings have their strengths and weaknesses. For instance, I prefer Paul Dooley over James Belushi as Patrick Martin, but I also think that the sequence where the plant takes over the world still goes on a little too long. By trimming it by another minute or two, it could get to the same place quciker and still get the point across. Still, I know why it wasn't shortened further (The model work is absolutely amazing!).

It's a close call, but I think the original ending is going to just squeak past the theatrical, but it's very close. I think it needs a few more viewings though before I can make up my mind for certain though.

[Captain Eggsalad]

Hey,

I wanted to say thanks for that great read on Frankenstein...wonderfully assembled. I loved all the rare posters and newspaper ads...

Please tell me you have part 2 lined up?

Thanks again...great work.

The Cap'.

[RCinOttawa]

Where are all the columns on the classic movies?? They all seem to have vanished, I looked high and low.

One of the best things about the website.

???

[Pirate King]

Is this column no longer active? I really enjoyed the Silver Screen articles.

[Arkadin]

I noticed that a few weeks ago.
Robert seems to have left the building as far as new columns are concerned.
I think the old columns are still up, but they are kind of hard to find.
It would be nice to know what happened since those columns were very amazing imo.
Robert's last post was in November except for a single post in Feb of this year, so he appears to be pretty inactive at this point.
EDIT: actually his last activity is 3/7/13 so he has been on here recently.
who knows what the story is.
Robert?? Are you out there?

[Jowiko96]

So, no one knows what happened to the silver screen articles?

[Robert Siegel]

Thanks for all your comments and I appreciate all your readership. Blu-ray.com was not interested in continuing the column. I appreciate all of the kind remarks I received over the 20-some months I was posting. I am glad I was able to share some of the original theatrical publicity materials from my collection with all of you to some amazing films. If you like columns like this you can always write the site managers for whatever site you may be reading, I always looked at it as a nice gift back to the readers. I am, after a break, actively seeking a new home for The Silver Screen. My personal email is mntwister@yahoo.com if you want an update as to finding a new home for the column. Again, thank you all and thanks to Blu-ray.com!!!!

[oliver_67]

Sorry for being so late to discover this treasure. Robert thanks a lot for your amazing effort and proving much background and inside story about these classic films. I just read your article on Notorious. It is one of my personal favorite films of all time. have you been able to publish your effort elsewhere?

[Robert Siegel]

Originally Posted by oliver_67

Sorry for being so late to discover this treasure. Robert thanks a lot for your amazing effort and proving much background and inside story about these classic films. I just read your article on Notorious. It is one of my personal favorite films of all time. have you been able to publish your effort elsewhere?

Thank you so much for the kind comment. As a matter of fact, yes I have finally gotten to the point where I will be starting my own website later this fall (hopefully, or early winter) and it will feature many many more columns similar to the ones that were done here. It will be very theatrical, my objective is, with each column, to present each column as if these movies were just coming out. The movie premiered back then, so now the blu-ray premieres but I will treat it the same. That's what I was trying to do and will do with my new site.

I have had many emails about my column in the last few years and have asked why I decided on the format I did. I have always stated (in the first post of this thread as well, which was when my column started here) that you are reading exactly what the studios issued when these were released. The major part of this idea was making my personal collection available to classic movie fans, most of whom have never read these publicity stories nor have they seen many of the ad styles or exploitation and merchandising the studios did. When a movie poster was issued, that was usually the main graphic that people saw, but part of what I own are all of the other style ads (many films had 5-6 completely different ad styles for theaters to use).

I have almost tripled my collection of memorabilia in the last 3 years so I have so much to share with classic fans. I now have memorabilia from over 8,000 films from the 20's-on. I will make a post here with this site's permission when it becomes a reality.