NOAHS ARK (1928-29) This film was made during the transition from Silent to sound films. Some scenes were finished in silent and refilmed with sound. However there were very few scenes with sound. Perhaps 5. Its a highly ambitious early romantic melodramatic disaster epic film that had not been done before. As they did so often, Warners took another risk. The film starred Dolores Costello and George OBrien. During the filming of the climactic flood scene, the great volume of water used was so overwhelming One can see the looks on their faces of how scared they were. Even though by that time part-talking films like this one were considered nearly obsolete. Although it had cost far more than any Warner Bros. film to date—over $1 million—it ultimately grossed more than twice its cost. The film was re-released in 1957 as a 75-minute long silent film, with narration added. By Dominant Pictures. They also reissued several of the great Warner films to theaters one last time before being bought by United Artists for television and special screenings. For 30 years United Artists owned the Warner Bros Film Library. There was little restoration back then. I remember so well seeing the films on Tv, scratched spliced and severely edited. Thank Heaven for Ted Turner for purchasing the films along with others in 1986. He cared and restoration began and now most of then have a brand new life again. Also, UCLA Film Archive, Library of Congress, the George Eastman House, Others, All non profit working to save film history. Small history lesson. I saw the film screened at UCLA about 2 years ago. I thoroughly enjoyed the film. Especially knowing they were not sure what they were doing to get the movie filmed.
Posted on: Thu, 07 Aug 2014 20:54:03 +0000
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