A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC -- film-version coming to DVD! — Page 3

ABout what Best12Bars (so odd--I use that same Monty avatar on a movie forum) and others said re stereo.

As I mentioned ALNM came out from Roger COrman's distribution arm (New World Pictures?) and theyw ere *very* cheap, I'm sure this was a factor as to why it was mono--the album is stereo so the songs were recorded in steroe anyway. Of course ALNm wasn't even released widely I believe--

On a movie forum I asked a while back when stereo became a mainstay for theatrical movies and no one knew an answer--wikipedia under stereo is no better (yes geeky questions like this bug me)

I know that the first stereo film was Fantasia with Walt DIsney's specially created Fantasound Surround multiple speaker system but that was only for the full original (flop) roadshow release--it was quickly remixed to mono. By the 1950s with widescreen movies competing with TV stereo also became a part (mid-late 50s) of these *major* movies--again I know Disney's 1959 wide screen Sleepign Beauty had its initial roadshow release in stereo. I think this was common for movies thru the 60s--the epic roadshow releases of major movies anyway would be stereo but most theatres probably still could only show mono and except for the big huge productions most was mono I think (however most musicals of the 60s were big huge productions so prob in stereo).

I assumed stereo was regular with movies by the mid 70s but I think am wrong--I know such major releases from major studios as Dressed to Kill in 1980 and Alien in 1979 were still made only in mono. By 1982/83 though you have even smaller films like Last Unicorn being in stereo so I guess the switch was made for sure by then.

But liek I said because Night Music was so cheaply handled on EVERY level (which is why Id on't think you can even compare it to epic disasters like Mame or say The Little Prince--it was always meant to be a modes tlittle film) none of these aspects (widescreen, stereo sound) that usually affected musicals even in the 70s played a part.

Ah, yes...."Something For Everyone"! Talk about a film that's virtually faded into obscurity!

someone said:"Importantly, this was the first form of the show to use the beautiful and haunting "Petra's song" -- the piece of "Glamourous Life" that really soars. It's one of Sondheim's most poignant melodies and somehow deepens the beat in the story. "

I hadn't heard this before--do you mean that the melody for the film Glamorous came from a song intended for Petra?

E

Interesting that there are now two Dames above the title...Dame Elizabeth Taylor and Dame Diana Rigg. Who'd have thought that when they made it that would have happened.

I second the vote for a DVD release of Something For Everyone.

I know this is a total tangent, but elaborating on what EricMontreal22 said regarding stereo movies...

Fantasia was indeed the first. It was presented in 5.0 stereo in only two theatres as an experiment. The rest of the country got the mono release initially in 1940. After that, a few other studios tried it out in the early '40s, most notably Fox on two big band movies ("Sun Valley Serenade" with Sonja Henie and Tyrone Power, and "Orchestra Wives"). Also a few short subjects were tested in stereo, which was still viewed as a novelty (since the theatres were required to have stereo systems installed in order to take advantage of it), much in the same way color was a novelty when it first began commercial use (again Disney was the first to try 3-strip Technicolor for its 1932 Silly Symphony short "Flowers and Trees").

Stereo remained a novelty until TV came along. Then starting in the early to mid 1950's studios wanted to lure audiences back into the theatres with things that TV couldn't do, such as stereo sound and wide screen presentations. So the "event" movies of the '50s came out in full stereo or surround sound (mostly musicals, bible epics, or just "epics" in general, regardless of the genre... but nearly all dramas were still released in mono, and most in B&W as well). This audio trend lasted until around '72, when nearly all movies (including musicals like "Cabaret") were being released in mono. For the next 5 years until '77, virtually ALL movies were released in mono. And then with Close Encounters and Star Wars, the new six-track Dolby surround era began. Again, most dramas were released in mono all the way up to around '84 (including the Best Picture winners Ordinary People and Terms of Endearment). Then starting around '84 and '85 the "mono" era was all but over, and nearly all movies regardless of the genre were being produced in stereo. I'd say you'd be hard pressed to find any feature film today that is produced in mono (at least here in the U.S.).

But with the DVD age came major film restoration for the Home Entertainment market, and they began finding original source materials in vaults that would allow many of these mono movies to be remixed into stereo. Even going back to the old MGM musicals of the '40s like Meet Me In St. Louis, etc. The orchestras at MGM were recorded with several source mics, at least a "right orchestra" and "left orchestra" mic, and the sources were ultimately mixed into mono for the film release. Finding those separate recordings (for each mic) allowed modern mixers to create a true stereo remix of the original recordings. So it's not "faked stereo," even if it's not great stereo. I suppose two mic sources is better than one, but scores for The Wizard of Oz and Meet Me In St. Louis weren't recorded with a dozen mics allowing for advanced mixing. Still it's "real" stereo, and I find it pretty thrilling to hear.

I'm still glad that in most cases, these DVDs have their original mono tracks restored as well, but I prefer the new stereo mixes nearly every time, with only a few exceptions.

*end of tangent*

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Worth seeing at least once. Diana Rigg is wonderful.

"It wasn't just musicals and bible pix and epics."

Well, that's what I said, bk.

There's a "mostly" in my post (which I stand by), and I also mentioned other genres.

But you can go ahead and be disagreeable "just because," if you want to.

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Well, cuing off the packaging images that brodyfosse posted, no.

But you won't have to rewind it, and it won't fall apart in your player or start to degenerate after only a few years. Isn't that reason enough?

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The DVD is now available for pre-order at Amazon.com.

Shipping estimate for these items: June 5, 2007
Delivery estimate: June 7, 2007 - June 9, 2007 1 "A Little Night Music"
Elizabeth Taylor; DVD; $16.99

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best12bars, I wasn't being disagreeable. I don't make a secret of it when I'm being disagreeable and I can be disagreeable with the best of them. I was simply pointing out that there were more genres than the ones you listed, and that certain black-and-white films were also stereo. None of it was meant to be disagreeable, just factual.

Notice Liz Smith liked it.

Than again she likes everything

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She is getting more ornery lately. Possibly because she is 900 years old and only doing her column 3 times a week.

Thank you for the cover art. It is nice of you. I wonder if the DVD will have any extras??

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Bump.

Here's an early review of the DVD release, for those interested.

I also happen to agree (almost) entirely with this reviewer's assessment of the film itself.
Link...

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