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Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)
Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17637
Location: North Carolina
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 Posted: Sat Apr 04, 2015 8:08 pm Post subject: On the Beach (1959) |
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The story is more drama than science fiction, relying heavily on the fear of nuclear war that pervaded the 1950s.
In this version of the end of the world, the fallout from the bombs dropped during a brief World War III is killing the last of the world's population. Gregory Peck is the captain of a submarine that visits some of the last inhabited places on Earth. The eerie scenes of a deserted San Francisco provide some of the film's best moments.
The unseen-but-ever-present radiation keeps the cast on edge. Australia is the safest (but not totally safe) spot on Earth, and the film's title theme (Waltzing Matilda) became a haunting dirge for the Cold War era, symbolic of the numbered days of mankind.
Kids will be bored stiff by "On the Beach" (no bombs, no ruins, no mutants), but adults will enjoy it if they don't let it depress them.
Directed by Stanley Kramer. Cinematography by Sam Leavitt. Starring Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, Fred Astaire, Anthony Perkins, Donna Anderson, John Tate, Guy Doleman. Screenplay by John Paxton from the novel by Nevil Shute.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
Last edited by Bud Brewster on Tue Aug 23, 2022 3:19 pm; edited 6 times in total |
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orzel-w
Galactic Ambassador
Joined: 19 Sep 2014
Posts: 1865
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| Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2015 12:20 pm Post subject: Re: On the Beach - (1959) |
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| Bud Brewster wrote: | | Kids will be bored stiff by "On the Beach" (no bombs, no ruins, no mutants), but adults will enjoy it if they don't let it depress them. |
I do get depressed every time I watch it. 
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...or not...
WayneO
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Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)
Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17637
Location: North Carolina
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| Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2015 1:16 pm Post subject: |
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Try watching the MST3K version! 
(I'm kidding. There isn't one, of course.)
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
Last edited by Bud Brewster on Thu Jun 29, 2017 11:08 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Pye-Rate
Starship Navigator
Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 598
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| Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2015 3:52 pm Post subject: |
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| Bad book, worse movie. |
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alltare
Quantum Engineer
Joined: 17 Jul 2015
Posts: 349
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| Posted: Tue Dec 01, 2015 11:00 pm Post subject: |
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OTB gets too melodramatic in many places, but I still like it. And if you don't know the song WALTZING MATILDA, you certainly will after you've seen this movie.
FYI, it will be on THIS TV tonight (12/1/2015).
Note: THIS often edits movies to the point of unwatchability. This one may or may not be a victim of such butchery. |
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ralfy
Mission Specialist
Joined: 23 Sep 2014
Posts: 473
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| Posted: Wed Dec 02, 2015 6:59 am Post subject: |
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| Very good movie, together with Threads, Testament, The Day After, and others. |
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Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)
Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17637
Location: North Carolina
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| Posted: Fri Dec 11, 2015 3:27 pm Post subject: |
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| alltare wrote: | FYI, it will be on THIS TV tonight (12/1/2015).
Note: THIS often edits movies to the point of unwatchability. This one may or may not be a victim of such butchery. |
Seriously? Perhaps I'm naive, but I thought the days of movies being cut-down by television stations were a thing of the past. People have so many better options for watching movies now that I'm surprised there are still station owners who practice this stupid policy! 
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
Last edited by Bud Brewster on Thu Jun 29, 2017 11:09 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Krel
Guest
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| Posted: Fri Dec 11, 2015 7:21 pm Post subject: |
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THIS TV, and other stations of it's kind, like Retro-TV are actually broadcast stations that are carried by the local cable provider, because Uncle Sam says that they have to carry all local stations.
Because they are a broadcast channel showing reruns, they butcher their programming like a maniac to provide more time for commercials.
David. |
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Rocky Jones
Astral Engineer
Joined: 17 Dec 2014
Posts: 224
Location: North Texas
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| Posted: Fri Dec 11, 2015 10:43 pm Post subject: |
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Oh, you really must not watch much cable or OTA TV, Bud. Living smack in the middle of Dallas/Fort Worth we get a zillion digital stations. All the old "normal" channels now have like 1 to 3 added point-whatever channels that are mostly filled with old TV shows or movies. What annoys me, though, is the movies are not only cut as mentioned, but they're all non-HD and never even wide-screen. Some even reduce the picture with letterbox-like blocking at top/bottom as well as the sides. I haven't figured that one out.
It's nice to have lots of channels showing old stuff, but rarely bother with the movies because they look so lousy. |
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alltare
Quantum Engineer
Joined: 17 Jul 2015
Posts: 349
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| Posted: Sat Dec 12, 2015 4:56 pm Post subject: |
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Rocky-
There are some OTA old movie stations that seem OK to me, editing-wise. MOVIES! and GET are 2 of them. But you're right- they're not HD. In my area, they're all 480i. Of course, that's better than the quality at which a lot of the old TV show reruns were recorded, but I wish the movies were higher Q.
I'm not sure of their reasons for the shrunken letterbox blocking that you mentioned. Maybe they shrink the size of widescreen programs so that older 4x3 TVs can see the whole picture. But if I hit the ZOOM button, it usually fills my wide TV screen almost perfectly. Unfortunately, at a resolution that is much reduced from 480.
A few days ago, I was talking to a Comcast rep about the severe editing that some channels apply. He told me that those stations are airing "the airplane versions" of movies. Those are movies that have been edited so that no airplane passenger of any race, color, or creed can possibly be offended. Political correctness to the point of unwatchability. THIS-TV shows airplane movies.
By the way, GET-TV has been playing lots of old SF flicks. Last night, they showed these:
The Gamma People
The 27th Day
4-D Man
The Blob |
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Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)
Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17637
Location: North Carolina
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| Posted: Sat Dec 12, 2015 9:29 pm Post subject: |
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Well, based on all these negative aspects of channels like THIS and ME and the others mentioned above, I guess I don't have any interest in getting them after all. It's just too easy to buy DVDs of the movies and shows I love, DVR the stuff I just "like", and download whatever I'm mildly interested in.
All in HD, commercial free, and uncut.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
Last edited by Bud Brewster on Wed May 27, 2020 1:20 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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alltare
Quantum Engineer
Joined: 17 Jul 2015
Posts: 349
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| Posted: Sat Dec 12, 2015 10:15 pm Post subject: |
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Bud-
My only real complaint is about THIS TV's heavy-handed editing of movies. Old TV shows are not in HD on these retro channels, but the image of an old tv show that is broadcast in HD will look no better than a 480 broadcast if the show is low-res to begin with. Movies are different, and I"m with you there- I would rather watch the dvd or blueray or dish. |
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Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)
Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17637
Location: North Carolina
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| Posted: Sat Dec 12, 2015 10:58 pm Post subject: |
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| alltare wrote: | | Old TV shows are not in HD on these retro channels, but the image of an old tv show that is broadcast in HD will look no better than a 480 broadcast if the show is low-res to begin with. |
Not quite true, sir -- I'm happy to say. Star Trek TOS, for example, looks stunning on the DVDs, far better than it ever did on television in the 1960s.
I realize that a TV series from days of old was not filmed with the same high quality as motion pictures were, but there's actually more clarity in the old shows than a non-HD image can provide!
That's why discerning viewers like Brent Gair are delighted by the release of shows like Lost in Space on Blu-ray.
And even the shows that were made ten years before that have more clarity than you might think. Just look at what Disneyland actually filmed for the mid-1950s episode Man and the Moon, which people only saw in black-and-white on the those horrible old round televisions back then!
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
Last edited by Bud Brewster on Wed May 27, 2020 1:21 pm; edited 3 times in total |
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Brent Gair
Mission Specialist
Joined: 21 Nov 2014
Posts: 466
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| Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2015 11:36 am Post subject: |
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| Bud Brewster wrote: | ...
I realize that a TV series from days of old was not filmed with the same high quality as motion pictures were, but there's actually more clarity in the old shows than a non-HD image can provide!
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In fact, in most cases, the filming process for old TV shows was identical to motion picture filming. The difference was more likely in the budget and small stage limitations of TV production which didn't allow for a wide variety of lighting and depth.
Example: I LOVE LUCY
I LOVE LUCY was filmed with Mitchell BNC cameras.
From Wikipedia: "Mitchell NC/BNC ... Improved model designed for production sound-shooting, introduced in 1932. This camera became the de facto standard for Hollywood Production for the greater part of the century ..."
The cinematographer for the show was no less than Karl Freund!
"He worked as a cinematographer on over 100 films, including the German Expressionist films The Golem (1920), The Last Laugh (1924) and Metropolis (1927). Freund co-wrote, and was cinematographer on, Berlin: Symphony of a Metropolis (1927), directed by Walter Ruttmann....At the beginning of the 1950s, he was persuaded by Desi Arnaz at Desilu to be the cinematographer for the televisions series I Love Lucy from 1951. Critics have credited Freund for the show's lustrous black and white cinematography, but more importantly, Freund designed the "flat lighting" system for shooting sitcoms that is still in use today. This system covers the set in light, thus eliminating shadows and allowing the use of three moving cameras without having to modify the lighting in-between shots. And where Freund did not invent the three camera shooting system, he did perfect it for use with film cameras in front of a live audience.
Freund and his production team also worked on other sitcoms produced at/through Desilu such as Our Miss Brooks."
So Karl Freund shot I LOVE LUCY in 35mm with three Mitchell BNC motion pictures cameras. The physical quality of the image in terms of detail and resolution will equal any motion picture.
Most shows were filmed in 35mm with standard motion picture cameras. It wasn't really until the 1970's that quality became an issue with some shows being shot on video or being shot on film but edited on video. The vast majority of these old shows have the POTENTIAL for image quality which equals motion pictures because they were shot with motion picture cameras and film.
That being said, the problem is that HD masters may not exist or may not be in use for shows being exhibited on these TV channels. There is likely 35mm source material for older shows but I would guess that a fair amount of what is seen is from older SD masters (I don't get these nifty channels in Canada so I have no first hand knowledge of what is being shown). |
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alltare
Quantum Engineer
Joined: 17 Jul 2015
Posts: 349
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| Posted: Mon Dec 14, 2015 12:14 am Post subject: |
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| Bud Brewster wrote: | | alltare wrote: | | Old TV shows are not in HD on these retro channels, but the image of an old tv show that is broadcast in HD will look no better than a 480 broadcast if the show is low-res to begin with. |
Not quite true, sir -- I'm happy to say. Star Trek TOS, for example, looks stunning on the DVDs, far better than it ever did on television in the 1960s.
I realize that a TV series from days of old was not filmed with the same high quality as motion pictures were, but there's actually more clarity in the old shows than a non-HD image can provide!
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My mistake. I should have capitalized. "HD will look no better than a 480 broadcast IF the show is low-res".
I'm not in disagreement with you and Brent, in general. |
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