Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Trailer Salutes The Spirit of America

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Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 01-04-2002, 12:46 PM:

Trailer Salutes The Spirit of America

HOLLYWOOD, December 20 - Millions of movie fans will experience The Spirit of America, an uplifting message from the entertainment film industry during the holiday season. The three-minute trailer will be featured on more than 9,000 screens.

The Spirit of America, created by Oscar®-winning director Chuck Workman, consists of a rapid-fire series of scenes culled from more than 100 motion pictures that show the courage, diversity, patriotism and character of America as depicted in the movies.

The film was made possible by the commitment and help of studios, and others in the entertainment industry, with leadership provided by the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO), and with support from Kodak and Technicolor Laboratories.

"We are proud that this patriotic message is being distributed on Kodak film," says Jack Teahan, global accounts manager and vice president of the Kodak Entertainment Imaging division. "It is also appropriate because every clip featured in the trailer came from a classic movie produced on Kodak film. That's not surprising because the chances are very high that anytime you go to a cinema you are going to be watching a motion picture produced on Kodak film."

Teahan points out that the film projected just on United States cinema screens this year is the equivalent of about six and a half billion snapshots.

"The idea for creating and distributing this patriotic trailer was a response to the events of September 11," says Emmy Award-winning producer Michael R. Rhodes. "We wanted to find a way to pay tribute to the indomitable American spirit and find a way to make people feel good again."

Teahan concludes, "Movies capture the enthusiasm, energy and patriotism of our country in a way no other medium can. We think audiences will cheer as they see The Spirit of America and share that spirit through all the scenes from those great films."
http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/news/spirit.shtml

------------------
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 Ian Price (Member # 14) on 01-04-2002, 02:23 PM:

Ky saw this trailer and was greatly dissapointed. First of all Chuck Workman didn't get origional elements for this work and it looks like he culled everything from video. Second of all he said it looked like a rush job and wasn't very good.

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 01-04-2002, 03:58 PM:

I haven't seen it yet. Getting good quality elements on short notice from the studios and archives can be a problem. I suspect Mr. Workman tried to get the best he could, but perhaps he could only get his hands on prints and video transfers. His previous work has been excellent.

Posted by Aaron Haney (Member # 747) on 01-04-2002, 03:58 PM:

Agreed, Ian. I saw this over the holidays, and was surprised to see a mixture of video and film used as source material. They had letterboxed 2.35:1 images taken from NTSC video in some places.

On the other hand, there were some bits of it that had excellent quality film used as source material. The clips from "Dr. Strangelove" looked much better than I have ever seen that film look (I've only seen it on video).

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 01-04-2002, 04:03 PM:

Precious Images was outstanding, but I have to agree with Ky on this one completely. It was poorly thrown together in an obvious rush, some of the shots were so fast you couldn't get enough of a glimpse to tell what film they were coming from (which was not a problem with Precious Images) and the entire thing looked like a bad VHS video transfer. UA is running it in place of their policy trailer and at 3 1/2 minutes, it's just too long. (Also, there are no scope versions.) I don't care for it at all, besides I've always felt it was inappropriate to remind people of the world's problems right before a movie. That's a main reason why people come to the movies...to take a quick trip away from life. Running this trailer just gets everyone thinking right before the entertainment they paid for. First it was that horrid "America The Beautiful" thing, now it's the "Spirit of America". People need to drop this sort of crap at the movies.

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 01-04-2002, 07:30 PM:

I really liked Precious Images, so I'd kind of like to see this new one, although it's disappointing to hear that many scenes used poor quality elements. That sort of thing tends to give "old movies" a bad name.

Posted by Aaron Haney (Member # 747) on 01-04-2002, 08:53 PM:

Strangely, it was the old stuff that generally looked better, whereas many of the clips of newer movies from the mid-to-late 1990s appeared to be taken from video.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 01-05-2002, 12:38 AM:

Apparently this WAS quite a rush job. It was only about a month between the time we first got notice of it from NATO, and when the prints arrived. What I'm surprised at is there aren't more screens running it, when so many theatres participated in "Benefit Day At The Movies."

According to NATO the original cut of the film was around five minutes but it was edited to 3:30 at the request of some chains. I think the length is OK but it feels rushed in places.

I agree it's not as good as Precious Images.

Posted by Charles Everett (Member # 889) on 01-06-2002, 11:25 AM:

Yep, another piece of flag-waving

shoved down our throats. And its running length is longer than the Pepsi Girl!

AMC is not running "Spirit of America" -- nor is the stadium theater near my home.

I had to put up with that "America the Beautiful" in front of Waking Life at the UA Union Square. That so-called "policy" snipe did get me thinking: 9/11 was an excuse for militarism abroad and repression at home. If Waking Life weren't as compelling as it turned out to be, I would have left the theater with a sour stomach.

Posted by John Walsh (Member # 168) on 01-06-2002, 11:28 AM:

A little harsh there, Charles.

Posted by Richard C. Wolfe (Member # 431) on 01-06-2002, 09:45 PM:

Now that theatres may be open again in Afghanistan, maybe Charles can transfer there and run one of those. It appears he would like it there better.

Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 01-07-2002, 11:09 PM:

Anyone have an extra copy or two of AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL? I have two venues that love that kind of stuff. They've been hounding me to find a National Anthem trailer. I know Pikes got one, maybe Filmack, but I am not thrilled with the idea of having to see that EVERY show till the end of time.

I agree with Brad, though. Whatever plays before a feature shouldn't more provocative than the film itself. Ten minutes into the feature, you don't want your audience still thinking back about the spot they saw about 9/11 or dying refugees in Bangladesh.

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 01-07-2002, 11:20 PM:

Whenever we dump ours I'll send you a couple if you remind me. No telling how many months we will be playing them though (not that it really matters, just a waiting issue).

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 01-08-2002, 06:38 AM:

About 10 years ago now, I worked for a brief time at the Museum of the Moving Image in London (now closed down, thanks to those geniuses at the British Film Institute) and we had another Chuck Workman compilation short called 'Pieces of Silver' playing continuously in one of the exhibits. I remember that a lot of it looked umpteenth generation grainy and video-to-film telerecorded (I believe this is called Kinescoping in the US). Pity - the film was a nice idea but it would have looked even better if more of it had been sourced from good quality elements.

Posted by John Walsh (Member # 168) on 01-08-2002, 07:35 AM:

I'm reminded of that scene in "The Smallest Show on Earth" where everyone is running out of the theater at the end... Or the short story "The Anthem Runners" by Ray Bradbury.

Posted by Charles Everett (Member # 889) on 01-09-2002, 03:21 PM:

Well, well! This fine case of US chauvinism has had some unintended consequences -- also known as "blowback".

Here's the rundown from today's Hollywood Reporter online edition:

"The dormant feud between the writers and directors guilds over who is entitled to receive the 'film by' credit has been unexpectedly stirred to life ... The sole hangup concerned whether the film's director, Chuck Workman, would receive a 'film by' credit. In a letter sent to 'Spirit' producer Michael Rhodes, the Writers Guild of America said: 'The guild's waiver committee, at its meeting on Nov. 28, 2001, voted to approve a one-time-only, nonprecedential, noncitable waiver to permit the use of excerpts from theatrical motion pictures in the above documentary film as outlined in your letter on the condition that no possessory credits (e.g., 'a film by ...') appear on the film.' WGA's conditional waiver left Rhodes in a bit of a bind, for he had already offered the controversial credit to Workman. 'I was happy to grant Chuck a 'film by' credit as a producer of this project,' Rhodes said. 'But once I did that, I felt I couldn't with any integrity take it back.' "

While it curtsys before "Chicken Hawks" and panders to "Pinhead Patriots", Hollywood isn't aware that this benediction would "Set It Off".

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 01-16-2002, 01:14 PM:

While at the ITEA Projection Seminar in Los Angeles last week, I mentioned the concerns about the quality of some of the clips used in the trailer to Mary Ann Grasso, Executive Director of NATO. She noted that Mr. Workman was often provided only video transfers or prints, rather than higher-quality pre-print elements, due to the tight schedule.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 01-19-2002, 12:34 PM:

Good grief. Why didn't they just change it to "A montage by Chuck Workman" or "A compilation by Chuck Workman" and forget about it? The whole thing will be forgotten in 2 months anyway. Don't these people have something better to do?

Posted by Charles Everett (Member # 889) on 01-19-2002, 12:42 PM:

Now, now, Mike B. Blind worship of the flag is how the gov't keeps the people from more juicy stuff . . . like Enron.