Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: The Majestic

This is topic The Majestic in forum Film Handlers' Movie Reviews at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Sean McKinnon (Member # 612) on 12-23-2001, 01:03 AM:

Even though it got terrible reviews, I Liked it a lot. I didnt realize it would about the whole McCarthyism thing but they worked it well. It dragged a little in the middle but I liked the old mans speach about the movies bieng special.

Posted by Greg Mueller (Member # 17) on 12-23-2001, 09:15 PM:

Hollywood has given us a little of the magic that they used to be famous for.
Kudos.
Give us some more!

------------------
Greg Mueller
Amateur Astronomer, Machinist, Filmnut
http://www.muellersatomics.com/

Posted by John Anastasio (Member # 607) on 12-24-2001, 08:35 PM:

I agree, Sean. I enjoyed the picture, but they could have cut at least twenty minutes out of all that goo in the middle. What I couldn't figure out is why they cast all those wonderful old actors and then gave Jim Carrey the lead. Granted, he did okay, but just okay. As a dramatic actor, he's a lightweight. Still, I like him better in this film than in those gratuitously stupid comedies he's done. Was that silent footage from "The Big Parade"?

Posted by Josh Jones (Member # 447) on 12-25-2001, 11:26 PM:

was that a set of western electric sound heads and Powers projection heads I saw?

I liked the movie, but the theatre I saw it in sucked. #2 at West Acres Cinemas (dubbed waisted acres by some of the Fargo's staff, including me). first off there was no non sync befor or after the show. amazing how silence can make a guy feel somewhat antisocial. after that the aperature plate was overcut, spilling about a foot of picture onto the wall below the masking. the credits were severely spliced and scratched, and the coo to grab all graws, the tail could be heard running through the machine after the dowser closed. When I told an usher about it, he said "Dont worry about it, it happens once in a while."
If only the maguic spoken of in the film could have been evident in the theatre I saw this picture in. What ever happened to the magic, the atmosphere a theatre used to represent. I is sorely missed today, being kept alive by people like us who still see magic in an audience, and the darkness of a room were the imagination can soar.

Josh

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 12-28-2001, 09:49 AM:

Josh said: "What ever happened to the magic, the atmosphere a theatre used to represent? It is sorely missed today, being kept alive by people like us who still see magic in an audience, and the darkness of a room were the imagination can soar."

A poetic way of saying "Film Done Right". Bravo.

------------------
John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7525A
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: 716-477-5325 Cell: 716-781-4036 Fax: 716-722-7243
E-Mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

Posted by Jerry Chase (Member # 660) on 12-28-2001, 01:42 PM:

JP, any chance of Kodak making an instructional film detailing the fine art of "film done right?" A twenty minute reel should be enough to cover the basics of scratched vs. clean, properly applying cues to stop the soundtrack at the end of the reel, drops to analog sound, etc. We can write about this subject until the cows come home, but some people don't read and need the lesson taught on the big screen, in gory detail. Having a big name actor looking pointedly from the screen and saying "Don't screw up my film like this," and a director intoning that theatres doing lousy presentation are the scum of the earth might have some effect.

At bare minimum, one of the required attached trailers to major features could have a segment: "This trailer has been purposely scratched and made to appear dirty. This is the sound of the tail of the film running through the soundhead. If the film you are watching is scratched this badly, or if you hear the tail sound during the presentation, demand your money back and report the problem to your local news media. You have been cheated."

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 12-28-2001, 03:28 PM:

Kodak's first 35mm projection training film was produced in the early 1920's, and showed the importance of proper film lubrication. Later, Kodak produced a film called "Murder on the Screen", dealing with mishandling of film as a film noir detective story. In 1979, we sponsored another training film "Film Projection for Reel People" that had a hapless projectionist dealing with about every problem you could imagine (dented shipping cases, bad shipping reels, horrible splices, missing leaders, etc.), and creating a few of his own (poor rewinding, excessive tension, sloppy work ethic, lamp hotspotting, poor projector maintenance).

Today, the Kodak Projection Training Program covers "Film Done Right" with hands-on training and course materials:
http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/screencheck/projTraining.shtml
http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/screencheck/

Posted by Will Kutler (Member # 770) on 12-29-2001, 03:17 PM:

John~

What about a simple trailer to be run with previews that give the audience a short glimpse of what happens in a booth?

Posted by Chris Erwin (Member # 176) on 12-31-2001, 09:14 PM:

John,

Any chance of getting a hold of those films on VHS/DVD? I'm sure the gang here would like to see 'em. (Well, I would )

Oh, on the Majestic, I LOVED IT!!! When I get excited about taking time to go see one, I'm expecting something. It delivered. It didn't seem like 2 1/2 hrs. The neon on the cinema was what I'd like to see more of.

--Chris

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 01-03-2002, 08:21 AM:

Chris Erwin asked: "Any chance of getting a hold of those films on VHS/DVD? I'm sure the gang here would like to see 'em. (Well, I would)?

Unfortunately, some of the material is so dated it is almost funny. (Even the most recent one has only a brief mention of platters and xenon lamps, and they're still using cement splices). Never was transferred to video, and I don't think I could justify the cost of a transfer and clearing copyright for general release.

Posted by System Notices (Member # 2357) on 03-22-2009, 11:32 AM:

It has been 2635 days since the last post.

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 03-22-2009, 11:32 AM:

Well, I finally got around to seeing this jem.

I liked it...given its length, I didn't find it dragging at all. Sure the story was a bit contrived...even identical twins are not so identical that people that really know them can't tell them apart...let alone parents, lovers....etc.

However, I enjoyed most aspects of this movie. Good acting, good sound...I wish I saw it on a bigger screen to enjoy its cinematography more (I hope).

4/5 from me.

Steve

Posted by Hillary Charles (Member # 769) on 03-22-2009, 12:34 PM:

This is so odd! I am playing the DVD right now, and just logged on here to see this thread resurrected. For the record, I play this movie often, and wanted to dig it out after being reminded that James Whitmore had passed.

I saw this twice in the cinema, first with a friend, and then dragged my husband along--mostly because I wanted to watch it again. And we all got teary-eyed by the end.

To me, the town of Lawson believing Peter to be Luke was a case of wishing so hard after all their heartache that they were willing to overlook his dissimilarities. And in the case of Emmett, he purposely kept the illusion going for the greater good. And that sort of plays into the little socialist message, like the whole town being encouraged to help fix up the Majestic.

Or it might just be that they were being neighborly. I don't care about the politics of the movie, only that it shows Americana as I myself would wish it could be (even if it never was). One of my favorites! [thumbsup]

Thanks for bringing it up again, Steve.

Posted by Justin Hamaker (Member # 2165) on 03-22-2009, 09:38 PM:

The Majestic is one of my favorite movies. I'm not sure it would have a place on my top 10 list, but close.

Mostly I just loved the story. The McCarthy stuff that bookended the story maybe wasn't necessary, but I still enjoyed it.

One of the little things I liked is that when Peter finally got his memory back and figured out that he wasn't Luke, he didn't try keep pretending he was Luke.

Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper compared it to a Frank Capra film. I've never seen any Capra movie, but if it's a fair comparison than I'll have to start catching up.

Posted by Carey Barber (Member # 1586) on 03-22-2009, 09:58 PM:

I was intriqued to see this thread re-appear after so many years.

I enjoyed this movie back when I saw it. There is some special meaning for those of in the theatre industry.

It is also special for me because the very first real date that I went on with with the gal who would become my wife was to this movie.

Posted by Pravin Ratnam (Member # 1417) on 03-23-2009, 11:19 AM:

I tried watching it twice on HBO. Fell asleep both times without finishing even half the movie. For me, it is unwatchable.