Olive Films

Vinegar Syndrome, Deaf Crocodile, Imprint, Cinema Guild, and more.
Post Reply
Message
Author
User avatar
hearthesilence
Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2005 4:22 am
Location: NYC

Re: Olive Films

#1651 Post by hearthesilence » Fri Jul 22, 2016 7:20 pm

FWIW, I had a BD with a clear manufacturing defect, so I called up Olive to get it rectified. (If you go to their site, they list all their contact info accompanied by some friendly boilerplate, encouraging you to contact them.) They did absolutely nothing. The bare-bones approach to their releases seems to be the philosophical foundation of the whole company, because unless they issued a recall (have they ever done that?), they said they wouldn't do anything. For comparison's sake, three companies I've contacted regarding defective media are Criterion, Rhino Records (before they were gutted and became a perfunctory Warner label) and Audio Fidelity, and they all worked with you, they gave you a good, reasonable pathway to getting a replacement if your item was defective. In other words, they were the complete opposite of Olive. It's ridiculous because they're a small label, which makes them more dependent on customer relations.

Calvin
Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2011 11:12 am

Olive Films

#1652 Post by Calvin » Fri Jul 22, 2016 7:24 pm

I seem to remember Tag Gallagher offered them a video essay for The Sun Shines Bright but was turned down or ignored - here's hoping they get back round to it with an Olive Signature re-release

User avatar
hearthesilence
Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2005 4:22 am
Location: NYC

Re: Olive Films

#1653 Post by hearthesilence » Sun Jul 31, 2016 7:54 pm

I didn't realize Olive released Leo McCarey's Good Sam but MoMA just screened a longer 130 minute cut this weekend. I was still finding a seat during the introductory comments, so I wasn't fully paying attention, but apparently this cut was the one deposited with the Library of Congress. What they screened was a new scan of a 16mm dupe - apparently somewhere down the line, the dupe was made so that the nitrate could be (regrettably) destroyed, or rather recycled as fertilizer. A policy since discontinued, they apparently did this to kill two birds with one stone - destroying what was considered dangerous material and to help out the Department of Agriculture. It definitely looks like a dupe, but still very watchable. Supposedly the biggest difference with that more improvised bits were left in.

I've yet to see the theatrical version but this was quite good, almost a tongue in cheek wag at Frank Capra, and I much prefer it to Mr. Deeds Goes to Town - Cooper is marvelously charming here as a very sweet and decent pushover who's quite lustful for his wife.


User avatar
rockysds
Joined: Wed May 19, 2010 11:25 am
Location: Denmark

Re: Olive Films

#1655 Post by rockysds » Wed Aug 03, 2016 9:29 am

Strategic Air Command, Villa Rides, Special Effects, Return of Dracula, Little Fauss & Big Halsy, Gas-S-S-S and a couple of recent Korean films: Fake and King of Pigs coming in October.

User avatar
FrauBlucher
Joined: Mon Jul 15, 2013 8:28 pm
Location: Greenwich Village

Re: Olive Films

#1656 Post by FrauBlucher » Wed Aug 10, 2016 2:37 pm

The Quiet Man and The Night of the Grizzly are the next to get the Signature Series treatment.

The Quiet Man:
Mastered from 4K scan of original camera negative
Audio commentary with John Ford biographer Joseph McBride
Tribute to Maureen O’Hara with Ally Sheedy, Hayley Mills, and Juliet Mills
“Don’t You Remember It, Seánín?: John Ford’s The Quiet Man” – a visual essay by historian and John Ford expert Tag Gallagher
“Free Republic: The Story of Herbert J. Yates and Republic Pictures”
“The Old Man: Remembering John Ford” – an appreciation of the director with Peter Bogdanovich
“The Making of The Quiet Man” – Written and hosted by Leonard Maltin

YEAR: 1952
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH (with Optional English subtitles)
TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 129 mins
RATING: N/R
VIDEO: 1.37:1 Aspect Ratio; COLOR
AUDIO: MONO

Coming to DVD and Blu-ray October 25th.

User avatar
Drucker
Your Future our Drucker
Joined: Wed May 18, 2011 9:37 am

Re: Olive Films

#1657 Post by Drucker » Wed Aug 10, 2016 2:51 pm

I am now perplexed. I could have sworn the Quiet Man was from the 4k Paramount restoration, and the notion that there was some restoration that Olive hadn't used was a myth.
Last edited by Drucker on Wed Aug 10, 2016 2:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
perkizitore
Joined: Thu Jul 10, 2008 3:29 pm
Location: OOP is the only answer

Re: Olive Films

#1658 Post by perkizitore » Wed Aug 10, 2016 2:52 pm

I was hoping for Innisfree, but they are not even including Dreaming the Quiet Man! ](*,)

Noiradelic
Joined: Sun Jul 19, 2009 12:45 am

Re: Olive Films

#1659 Post by Noiradelic » Wed Aug 10, 2016 5:01 pm

Drucker wrote:I am now perplexed. I could have sworn the Quiet Man was from the 4k Paramount restoration
No one has actually said it wasn't. :wink:
perkizitore wrote:I was hoping for Innisfree, but they are not even including Dreaming the Quiet Man! ](*,)
I'm disappointed, but not surprised. Great they're doing the Signature Editions, but it is, after all, still Olive.

User avatar
Drucker
Your Future our Drucker
Joined: Wed May 18, 2011 9:37 am

Re: Olive Films

#1660 Post by Drucker » Wed Aug 10, 2016 5:29 pm

So this is just presumably a properly encoded version of their old release, now with extras?

Rupert Pupkin
Joined: Thu Oct 20, 2005 9:34 am

Re: Olive Films

#1661 Post by Rupert Pupkin » Thu Aug 11, 2016 1:18 am

Well, I own the MoC release and while the encoding is better than the Olive version and I can't believe that it can looks even better on a blu-ray (I though too that the previous Olive was from a x4 restoration).
Well, if they can't do better I won't complain, but I'm really curious to see how it could look better since this is one of the most stunning technicolor restoration I've ever seen on blu-ray.

User avatar
captveg
Joined: Wed Sep 02, 2009 7:28 pm

Re: Olive Films

#1662 Post by captveg » Wed Aug 31, 2016 2:34 pm

11/15/16

Carrington (1995) - MGM
Coffee and Cigarettes (2003) - MGM
Houdini (1953) - Paramount (previously released by Legend)
J'accuse! (1938)
Lulu Belle (1948) - Republic/Paramount
One of Our Aircraft Is Missing (1942) - Republic/Paramount
Pimpernel Smith (1941) - MGM


I seem to recall that One of Our Aircraft Is Missing was previously rejected due to poor elements.

Anyone know who they would have licensed J'accuse! from?

User avatar
barryconvex
billy..biff..scooter....tommy
Joined: Fri Aug 24, 2012 10:08 pm
Location: NYC

Re: Olive Films

#1663 Post by barryconvex » Tue Sep 06, 2016 12:44 am

Zinnemann made a few good films-- Oklahoma, A Hatful of Rain, the Nun's Story...
Don't forget Act of Violence, one of the greatest of all noirs.
Behold a Pale Horse is also surprisingly good as is some of his shorts.
Day Of The Jackal anyone?

User avatar
RobertB
Joined: Fri Jan 08, 2010 8:00 pm
Location: Sweden

Re: Olive Films

#1664 Post by RobertB » Tue Sep 06, 2016 12:06 pm

captveg wrote:11/15/16

Carrington (1995) - MGM
Coffee and Cigarettes (2003) - MGM
Houdini (1953) - Paramount (previously released by Legend)
J'accuse! (1938)
Lulu Belle (1948) - Republic/Paramount
One of Our Aircraft Is Missing (1942) - Republic/Paramount
Pimpernel Smith (1941) - MGM


I seem to recall that One of Our Aircraft Is Missing was previously rejected due to poor elements.

Anyone know who they would have licensed J'accuse! from?
I went to a screening two years ago, and posted in the Flicker Alley thread. This is what I posted:

"Just came back from a screening of Gance´s j'accuse. It was a 2K scan from Lobster and Flicker Alley based on the 2008 restoration. English intertitles, unless where they are artistic. This seems ready for a blu-ray release."

User avatar
tenia
Ask Me About My Bassoon
Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2009 11:13 am

Re: Olive Films

#1665 Post by tenia » Tue Sep 06, 2016 12:16 pm

Interestingly, Gaumont is handling the 1938 version Blu Ray French release (so far expected for december 2016), while Lobster released the 1919 version end of 2014.

User avatar
RobertB
Joined: Fri Jan 08, 2010 8:00 pm
Location: Sweden

Re: Olive Films

#1666 Post by RobertB » Tue Sep 06, 2016 12:34 pm

Silly me. I missed that it was the 1938 version.

User avatar
FrauBlucher
Joined: Mon Jul 15, 2013 8:28 pm
Location: Greenwich Village

Re: Olive Films

#1667 Post by FrauBlucher » Wed Sep 07, 2016 2:10 pm

MacBeth and Hannie Caulder are the November Signature Seris titles.
MacBeth extras.....
-New High-Definition digital restoration
Includes 1948 and 1950 versions
-Audio Commentary with Welles biographer Joseph McBride
-“Welles and Shakespeare” – an interview with Welles expert, Professor Michael Anderegg
-“Adapting Shakespeare on Film” – a conversation with directors Carlo Carlei (Romeo & Juliet) and Billy Morrissette (Scotland, PA)
-Excerpt from We Work Again, a 1937 WPA documentary containing scenes from Welles’ Federal Theatre Project production of Macbeth
-“That Was Orson Welles” – an interview with Welles’ close friend and co-author, Peter Bogdanovich
-“Restoring Macbeth” – an interview with former UCLA Film & Television Archive Preservation Officer Bob Gitt
-“Free Republic: The Story of Herbert J. Yates and Republic Pictures”
-“The Two Macbeths” – an essay by critic Jonathan Rosenbaum

Annie Caulder extras.....
-New High-Definition digital restoration
-Audio Commentary by Western expert Alex Cox (Walker, Repo Man)
-“Exploitation or Redemption?” – an examination of rape-revenge movies by film scholar Ben Sher
-“A Very British Horror Studio” – interview with Sir Christopher Frayling on the history of Tigon Studios
-Essay by film critic Miriam Bale

User avatar
domino harvey
Dot Com Dom
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm

Re: Olive Films

#1668 Post by domino harvey » Wed Sep 07, 2016 2:35 pm

Great sounding extras for MacBeth, and I don't even care for the film! I care even less for Hannie Caulder, though-- what an inexplicable choice to upgrade to this line

Etimh
Joined: Mon Jul 04, 2016 6:39 pm

Re: Olive Films

#1669 Post by Etimh » Wed Sep 07, 2016 2:49 pm

The original release of Hannie Caulder was unwatchable, complete shit. Of course I just bought it during that last Olive sale. It's now a coaster so I'm glad for this upgrade.

User avatar
domino harvey
Dot Com Dom
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm

Re: Olive Films

#1670 Post by domino harvey » Wed Sep 07, 2016 2:55 pm

Etimh wrote:The original release of Hannie Caulder was unwatchable, complete shit. Of course I just bought it during that last Olive sale. It's now a coaster so I'm glad for this upgrade.
But it's still the same film

User avatar
Drucker
Your Future our Drucker
Joined: Wed May 18, 2011 9:37 am

Re: Olive Films

#1671 Post by Drucker » Wed Sep 07, 2016 2:58 pm

So there doesn't appear to actually be a new restoration of any of these films, with the noticeable and welcome exception of Johnny Guitar, we're just getting the same master but this time with extras. Pretty weird but I suppose there will be a market for it.

Etimh
Joined: Mon Jul 04, 2016 6:39 pm

Re: Olive Films

#1672 Post by Etimh » Wed Sep 07, 2016 5:21 pm

domino harvey wrote: But it's still the same film
Are you saying that it'll be the same film (that you're not interested in), or that the new release will use the same source material (with no fix to the terrible audio problem)?

You'd think they'd at least fix that on a new release, knowing that everyone feels it was a problem. I can't even believe that they continued to sell the thing, knowing how bad it was.

User avatar
domino harvey
Dot Com Dom
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm

Re: Olive Films

#1673 Post by domino harvey » Wed Sep 07, 2016 5:34 pm

I was being a smartass, so the former, but as Drucker pointed out, either reading may apply given that there's no mention of a new remaster (saying there's "digital restoration" is the same thing Alpha and other PD bandits say, it means nothing on its own, though one would think any known issues in the first release would be addressed by a deluxe release like this)

Noiradelic
Joined: Sun Jul 19, 2009 12:45 am

Re: Olive Films

#1674 Post by Noiradelic » Thu Sep 08, 2016 6:10 pm

Drucker wrote:So there doesn't appear to actually be a new restoration of any of these films... We're just getting the same master but this time with extras.
When I asked about this on FB, they replied:
They're from the same masters, but we've done a good deal of digital restoration on them. They'll be visually improved over the old Blu-rays, in addition to the bonus features, subtitles, and new art

User avatar
Drucker
Your Future our Drucker
Joined: Wed May 18, 2011 9:37 am

Re: Olive Films

#1675 Post by Drucker » Thu Sep 08, 2016 6:33 pm

Wait, surely at least Johnny Guitar is coming from the new 4k restoration that toured theatrically right?

Post Reply