Hondo (1953) [No 3D Blu-ray]

[hotandserious]

News is here:
https://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=8058

- Fingers crossed!

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by hotandserious

News is here:
https://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=8058

(Ah, yes, the usual Paramount studio-catalog backups: Clueless, Chinatown, Love Story, Clue......CLUE?????? )

- Fingers crossed!

I seriously doubt it--Apart from Warner and Dial M/Wax, think the idea of vintage 3-D literally won't have even OCCURRED to most studios until Universal gets a lot of pop-headline notice for releasing Jaws 3-D, and that's not till summer.
At which point Paramount would "experiment" with re-rendering Friday 13th 3.

Maybe by then, Sony will be brave enough to put "Mad Magician" and the two Stooges shorts on actual hard disk.
We've got a whole year of slow industry acceptance till then, although once we do, John Wayne has a lot better demographic chance than "Taza, Son of Cochise".

[hotandserious]

Here is an article from 2007 about the restoration and digital archiving of the 3D version of the film:

http://digitalcontentproducer.com/vi...o_return_duke/

While I fear EricJ is on the money, I'm going to try to be more optimistic. With contemporary audiences, the Duke is perhaps the best-selling classic movie star out there - and with a little bit of promotion (or if Paramount could just get the thing in to walmart at the retail level), I think John Wayne in 3D has the potential to make even more waves than Jaws 3D (pun-intended).

Thanks to their relationship w/ Waynes' Batjack Production Company, Paramount has access to a lot of Wayne films. The fact that Hondo has been singled out for release over so many others, gives me a little hope that they are going to use the 3D restoration.

Here's a lot more info on the history and restoration of the film:
http://www.3dfilmpf.org/info.html

[Indian Hills Theater]

Thanks for the links. This would be wonderful.

[wvl]

Could someone show the link/s where it says Hondo in 3D? All I've seen was 2D version and someone asking if this would be in 3D, but not actually a link that says it will be released in 3D. If anyone has a link to this, that would be great if you would post it here.

[hotandserious]

Originally Posted by wvl

Could someone show the link/s where it says Hondo in 3D? All I've seen was 2D version and someone asking if this would be in 3D, but not actually a link that says it will be released in 3D. If anyone has a link to this, that would be great if you would post it here.

It's not looking good:
http://www.amazon.com/Hondo-Blu-ray/...7318945&sr=1-4

[donald.brown]

IMO, this is a bad indicator for our seeing other great 50's 3D classics being released on Blu-Ray 3D.

[EricJ]

A) Studios still aren't aware that 3D movies existed before Polar Express,

and

B) It would need remastering from print sources:
http://www.3dfilmpf.org/info.html

[donald.brown]

Originally Posted by therainberg

Because it's expensive to restore them and the 3D isn't very good in any of them.

I don't know where you base your criteria.
The 3D is great in many of the 50's movies, like the House of Wax, Kiss Me Kate, Dial M For Murder, The Creature From the Black Lagoon, etc., etc.

[Gae]

Originally Posted by therainberg

I've seen all the films you mentioned and the 3D gave me headaches in all of them. I had to take rests and drugs to make it through them. The older films had huge stereo bases and the filmmakers would constantly violate the correct distances at which to capture shots... among other problems. The movies do have some terrific looking shots in them in 3D, but they are few and far between.

The 3D in House of Wax knocks the socks off the 3D in any modern 3D movie!

Just my opinion.

House of Wax 3D on my blog



Personally, apart from Prometheus and a few other top drawer modern 3D movies, I am more excited by the prospect of 3D Blu-ray releases of House of Wax, Dial M for Murder and other classic 3D movies from the 50's (and the 80's) than any modern 3D films. I think the slower pace of these older films is a better showcase for 3D and allows the viewer more time to soak up the 3D depth of each scene.

Gae

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by Gae

Personally, apart from Prometheus and a few other top drawer modern 3D movies, I am more excited by the prospect of 3D Blu-ray releases of House of Wax, Dial M for Murder and other classic 3D movies from the 50's (and the 80's) than any modern 3D films. I think the slower pace of these older films is a better showcase for 3D and allows the viewer more time to soak up the 3D depth of each scene.

Bob Furmanek, formerly president of the 3D Film Preservation Fund (now the 3D Film Archive), which restored the theatrical print of Hondo, now hangs out regularly on the Home Theater Forum, where he's the reigning expert on "Golden Age 3D".

As he puts it:

We have a real chicken and egg situation with the Golden Age titles. I've had plenty of people tell me they will buy a 3-D Blu-ray set-up when some older titles are available, but the copyright holders are reluctant to proceed and spend money because the numbers are so low.
I can tell you from the work I'm doing on our titles; mastering and re-aligning in HD for dual-strip 35mm 3-D material is not cheap!

[EricJ]

Looking back over the 3DFA's list of Golden Age titles, it's possible that there were actually MORE Westerns and Action-Noir produced for 50's 3-D than sci-fi/monsters, contrary to pop-myth.
(Which may be one of the things that killed it off--What do you "pop out" in a drama?)

Not saying that that's a bad thing, but it fits in more nowadays with the idea of 3-D being a "normal" way to watch a movie, and not some B-exploitation gimmick.

[Gae]

Isn't it about time the studios gave us something back and had a bit of faith in the consumer? I know that the movie studios are businesses but these movies need a wider audience to see them in 3D and I reckon in the end, it will work out as a good, positive step. No doubt there will be plenty of 3D doubters who would take the plunge if the classic 3D movies were released on the Blu-ray 3D format too. Also, isn't it important to preserve these films and keep them actively within the market place, rather than allowing them to just fade into obscurity and possible degradation in the archives? Don't studios have a responsibility to preserve and promote their own heritage too? Surely, its not always about money. The History and preservation of film (and classic 3D movies) has to be of more importance than purely monetary gain. Also, just like Scorcese, modern day film-makers could learn a lot from watching these classic 3D movies again.

Gae

[Tns49]

Originally Posted by therainberg

Because it's expensive to restore them and the 3D isn't very good in any of them.

For this title the title belongs to the Wayne family. They finished one restoration and showed it a few years ago. Not sure if it needs more restoration before going to Blu-ray in 3d. They are apparently only releasing a 2d version this year.

[fitprod]

Originally Posted by Gae

Surely, its not always about money. The History and preservation of film (and classic 3D movies) has to be of more importance than purely monetary gain. Also, just like Scorcese, modern day film-makers could learn a lot from watching these classic 3D movies again.

Maybe 10 to 15 years ago it was that way, before all of the vertical monopolization happened, it was that way. But not now... It's all about how you make money from sales. And to be brutally honest, outside of Dial M for Murder and the Creature from the Black Lagoon films, none of the older 3D films will sell enough copies to make it worth the money spent.

All the studios have people that care about preservation of their films, but they're fighting an uphill battle with their young marketing executives that probably can't even spell "film preservation" and generally cringe at anything made before 1990. (Plus, they'll completely throw up at the sight of a black and white film...)

fitprod

[Gae]

Originally Posted by fitprod

Maybe 10 to 15 years ago it was that way, before all of the vertical monopolization happened, it was that way. But not now... It's all about how you make money from sales. And to be brutally honest, outside of Dial M for Murder and the Creature from the Black Lagoon films, none of the older 3D films will sell enough copies to make it worth the money spent.

All the studios have people that care about preservation of their films, but they're fighting an uphill battle with their young marketing executives that probably can't even spell "film preservation" and generally cringe at anything made before 1990. (Plus, they'll completely throw up at the sight of a black and white film...)

fitprod

Sadly...it's so true.

Gae

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by Gae

Sadly...it's so true.

It's more a case of the fact that there are three things we all know about 50's 3-D:
50's audiences put on their red/blue glasses, and went to see cheesy low-budget 3D movies about flying saucers and gorillas in space helmets.
As a matter of fact, only ONE of those statements is actually true. (And Bob F. reports that the gorilla/space-helmet owner declined a restoration offer.)

The 3DFA did a major restoration on the desert adventure "Inferno", which is considered some of the best "serious" (ie., non-popout) 3D of the 50's, but is it the first movie that springs to mind for most fans, let alone execs?
We're lucky they remember House of Wax and Dial M, which, to be honest, are the first two 3D's people remember at ALL, outside of the 80's jokes.

We just need to get one OUT THERE and on the shelves. The discussion can come later, but we need something to show as illustration.
Even getting Mad Magician and the Stooges on hard copy would be something.

[3Dfan]

I saw on Amazon that Hondo starring John Wayne is being released on Blu-ray in June 2012. Unfortunately, it is only the 2D version and the 3D version is nowhere in sight.

Are the studios even aware that it was originally filmed in 3D and originally played at theatres in 3D?

[al bundy33]

I just transferred my copy of Hondo 3-D to dvd.
I recorded it off TV back in June 26th 1991. It must be worth something.

[bluskies]

It has just been disclosed that the 3D version of Hondo, starring John Wayne, will play at some point during the Turner Classic Film Festival, taking place in Hollywood from April 25-28. This will be the film's 60th anniversary.