Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Long lost films

When it comes to classic movies, the one thing that frustrates me most is the frequent unavailability. I find it quite nerve wracking how SO much stuff I want to watch is unfortunately unavailable. Too many. That goes for a lot of old television, radio, music, and even cartoons as well. It's even worse to think of how most of it will most likely never even see the light of day. Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one who actually cares about preserving as much as possible of our precious past.

Another disappointing issue that's almost as bad are releases that don't do justice. They sometimes lack any bonus features such as deleted scenes, featurettes, documentaries, or even an official trailer/teaser. I suppose a bare bones official release or even a grainy bootleg amateurly manufactured "public domain" copy is still better than nothing. If I'm really desperate to see something, I'd settle for "less than" and believe me, I've seen my fair share of low quality.

But, there has been some cases where a movie that was long thought lost is discovered, restored and remastered to perfection, and released... much to us gold digging movie buff's pleasure!

Like "Summer Children" (1965) 
which is a lovely cross between a 1960's beach movie (with an edgier, less campy twist)
and European experimental film with even a hint of thrilling suspense.
Not a masterpiece by any means, but a miracle to finally be made available to wide distribution.


I'm a sucker for the rare and obscure.
I actually Love "B-movies", and I don't mind minor flaws such as historical innaccuracy or films that practically scream low budget.
Usually, and inconveniently, the older a film is, the harder it is to find.
What a bummer!
Maybe that's not always the case though, because I've come across movies on YouTube from pre-1910! It's astounding that those films still exist and even moreso that they survive in watchable condition. There's just something fascinating about looking into the past.
No matter how pixelated and grainy it looks, or how muffled it sounds. Amazing.


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