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'As for the situation with the movie, Paramount still owns the negative. A while back they made a brand new HD transfer. Then were told to forget any DVD or blu-ray release because the film fell into PD. So their newer master just sits there in the vault. I was told by someone I know who worked in Paramount Home Video that the transfer looked superb, better than anything done previously. '
Years ago (when Brando was still alive) I contacted Paramount about releasing the full uncut version of One Eyed Jacks. In my discussion with Paramount, I mentioned how Spartacus was being re-done for release and Jacks deserved the same treatment. The official said he thought it was admiral of me to want to have the film done, but I would have to contact Brando because he was in control of the film.
Brando (according to a bio. Have it here somewhere, but cannot locate the book now that I need to) turned in a 4 hour version, which was cut down. Correct me if I am wrong here (which is always), but I think the book said Brando shot footage of his character in the Mexican jail. The stuff is supposedly rather rough for the time. What can you tell me about the longer version of One Eyed Jacks?
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That's unfortunate. This is a film that deserves to be properly released on DVD. The PD versions are all crappy pan & scan versions.
There was a widescreen laserdisc release, which I've held on to, since there's no DVD forthcoming.
Greg Espinoza
A classic Western drama , vastly underrated.
btw tecnichally the pd versions are not P&S
OEJ was shot in Vista Vision so while you are not getting some image from the sides, you are getting more on top.
bruce
"You scum sicking pig"
-Rio
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Posted: |
Aug 23, 2010 - 2:04 PM
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By: |
Ed Nassour
(Member)
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'As for the situation with the movie, Paramount still owns the negative. A while back they made a brand new HD transfer. Then were told to forget any DVD or blu-ray release because the film fell into PD. So their newer master just sits there in the vault. I was told by someone I know who worked in Paramount Home Video that the transfer looked superb, better than anything done previously. '
Years ago (when Brando was still alive) I contacted Paramount about releasing the full uncut version of One Eyed Jacks. In my discussion with Paramount, I mentioned how Spartacus was being re-done for release and Jacks deserved the same treatment. The official said he thought it was admiral of me to want to have the film done, but I would have to contact Brando because he was in control of the film.
Brando (according to a bio. Have it here somewhere, but cannot locate the book now that I need to) turned in a 4 hour version, which was cut down. Correct me if I am wrong here (which is always), but I think the book said Brando shot footage of his character in the Mexican jail. The stuff is supposedly rather rough for the time. What can you tell me about the longer version of One Eyed Jacks?
Well, Brando lost artistic control of the film after he stormed off the lot. Paramount owns the elements. The rights though have fallen into public domain which is why Paramount refuses to issue it on blu-ray.
There was a very lengthy version that Brando cut together. From what I gathered speaking with cinematographer Chales Lang Jr. as well as actor Timothy Carey, the long version was somewhat disjointed. Lang told me that Brando held onto these spectacular shots taken up at Big Sur, sometimes for several minutes before cutting back to the story. Carey said (with him I take whatever he said with a large grain of salt!) that he fell asleep during the marathon screening. Carey was one of the weirdest actors I ever met. He'd hand out his business card with his name and telephone number printed on it along with "A Public farter" next to his name. Carey loved to pass gas which when I spoke with him he did repeatedly. Thank God we were outdoors at the time. When I asked Carey what he thought of James Dean, Carey said, "He was one weird dude!"
Anyway, Friedhofer was impressed with the long version and said so. The film was subsequently reduced in length to just under three hours which Friedhofer supposedly timed his score to. But Paramount realized it could never go out at that length and pleaded with Marlon to cut it down to under two hours. He refused, stormed out and left to work on "Mutiny on the Bounty."
I ran into Brando in 1966 when I was photographing the graduation of a friend from a prestigious military academy in Brentwood, California. It turned out that one of Marlon's sons attended that school so he was there to watch the graduation ceremony. As I filmed away using what had been one of my father's 16mm Cine Special cameras, Marlon walked over and looked at the camera. Eventually he asked me about it. Over the course of our conversation I asked him about "One-Eyed Jacks." Marlon said Paramount ruined the film and he washed his hands with it.
Later on when I worked on "Clockwork Orange" and was on the telephone with Stanley Kubrick who remained in London, I happened to ask him about his involvement with the film. He told me how the ending was all screwed up, that he wanted to shoot it where Rio's girlfriend is shot, falls off the horse, Rio gets off to attend to her while the crowd surrounds them, obviously to string up Rio. I guess Brando shot a version where she is shot by her stepfather, but she and Rio make it to the ocean where she dies in his arms. Fade out. Paramount hated that ending and forced Brando to film the cornball one we see in the finished film.
Of all the endings, the one Kubrick envisioned is the best.
Now as to whether Paramount retained all the negative trims, that can only be answered by a close inspection of all the various elements retained.
I was told that the original three-track magnetic music masters are no longer there. As to what became of them, that's anyone's guess. Thank God the entire score was copied over and in stereo.
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So, is the version Bruce is releasing the music score to the longer cut of the film, or the film as it stands?
Not that I really would be bothered. I'd have been happy if he released just the original lp; I'm overjoyed there's a lot more than that now....
As for the film, I don't think I've ever seen the whole thing through from beginning to end, even though I played the old lp a lot. Then there was some b**t CD release from Europe somewhere, which was just the lp tracks, and I got that. (Believe me, the days of that b**t in my collection are now numbered....)
Great score. I love Friedhofer. I'll buy any score of his that gets released.
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Since bringing up this topic, I forced myself to do a bit of dogpile searching. One site said, Brando told someone he destroyed the cut footage, because he did not like the ending (Ed mentions that in his reply) Paramount forced on him. The site went on to say they doubted this. In searching, check out what I found on one site. In discussing all of Brando’s films and giving brief on set episodes, the site said this exchange happened between Brando and the Director of Burn. Brando did not like the way the director treated locals and became angry:
‘At this point Brando was increasingly finding himself offered less work in Hollywood, which led to him working with European directors such as Pontecorvo (most famous for The Battle of Algiers). Brando and Pontecorvo had increasingly volatile disagreements throughout the making of Burn!... Brando was upset by the director's ill treatment of the extras (played by local islanders) and the two men took to threatening each other with weapons (Brando had a rather large knife, Pontecorvo started carrying a gun).’
God, can you image that! So, the actor stabs the director. End of film. The director shoots the actor, end of film. I laughed so hard, I burst into tears...
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So, is the version Bruce is releasing the music score to the longer cut of the film, or the film as it stands?
Not that I really would be bothered. I'd have been happy if he released just the original lp; I'm overjoyed there's a lot more than that now....
As for the film, I don't think I've ever seen the whole thing through from beginning to end, even though I played the old lp a lot. Then there was some b**t CD release from Europe somewhere, which was just the lp tracks, and I got that. (Believe me, the days of that b**t in my collection are now numbered....)
Great score. I love Friedhofer. I'll buy any score of his that gets released.
Hugo scored the cut that was released - we have his entire dramatic score for the film - there is no more, every cue accounted for by a slate. The film as it stands is the only cut of the film that has ever been shown publicly and it is the version of record. Every film ever made goes through assemblies, rough cut, preview cut, and then the fine-tuned final version. People's obsession with these other cuts that were never shown is odd to me - I understand why the footage might be of interest, but I really have no need to see a five-hour One-Eyed Jacks. And the running time is plenty long at 141 minutes.
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Timothy Carey was the weirdest man I've ever met, actor or otherwise. I cast him in a couple of short comedy films I made for a cable series called Likely Stories. He brought with him his "assistant" who was, if possible, weirder than Carey. One of the parts he played was a gynecologist - I shudder to think about it even now, but it was funny.
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'I understand why the footage might be of interest, but I really have no need to see a five-hour One-Eyed Jacks.'
I've been curious for years to see the missing footage. Perhaps another urban legend concerning the film, again, supposedly there is a rape scene by Brando's character. Something a hero at the time (no matter his good-bad guy role) I guess could not be allowed to show.
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Posted: |
Aug 23, 2010 - 3:32 PM
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By: |
Ed Nassour
(Member)
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Hugo scored the cut that was released - we have his entire dramatic score for the film - there is no more, every cue accounted for by a slate. The film as it stands is the only cut of the film that has ever been shown publicly and it is the version of record. Every film ever made goes through assemblies, rough cut, preview cut, and then the fine-tuned final version. People's obsession with these other cuts that were never shown is odd to me - I understand why the footage might be of interest, but I really have no need to see a five-hour One-Eyed Jacks. And the running time is plenty long at 141 minutes.
Hugo did record the score to a much longer version. He said so.
But I always think of the film in its original form. I had an album version of the original score, which I had edited myself. But they had made innumerable cuts in the film, in addition to these two story points that annoyed me so, so that they had the devil's own time bridging musical sequences that had been slashed into. The only way they could do it was by goosing up sound effects and lowering music levels. I saw the picture once, in the studio, after they had made these cuts and I walked away from it kind of ill. As a result of these cuts and all that, I might possibly have snagged myself another music nomination, but alas, no.
Do your notes list which cues were dropped or played so low as not to be heard?
As for wanting to know about the longer version, I find it interesting, but I do agree with you that at 141 minutes it's long enough.
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Benniw woulda bashed him over the head with his baton!
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So, is the version Bruce is releasing the music score to the longer cut of the film, or the film as it stands?
Not that I really would be bothered. I'd have been happy if he released just the original lp; I'm overjoyed there's a lot more than that now....
As for the film, I don't think I've ever seen the whole thing through from beginning to end, even though I played the old lp a lot. Then there was some b**t CD release from Europe somewhere, which was just the lp tracks, and I got that. (Believe me, the days of that b**t in my collection are now numbered....)
Great score. I love Friedhofer. I'll buy any score of his that gets released.
Hugo scored the cut that was released - we have his entire dramatic score for the film - there is no more, every cue accounted for by a slate. The film as it stands is the only cut of the film that has ever been shown publicly and it is the version of record. Every film ever made goes through assemblies, rough cut, preview cut, and then the fine-tuned final version. People's obsession with these other cuts that were never shown is odd to me - I understand why the footage might be of interest, but I really have no need to see a five-hour One-Eyed Jacks. And the running time is plenty long at 141 minutes.
Wow! Thanks.
I'll have to catch up with it at some point.
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Hugo scored the cut that was released - we have his entire dramatic score for the film - there is no more, every cue accounted for by a slate. The film as it stands is the only cut of the film that has ever been shown publicly and it is the version of record. Every film ever made goes through assemblies, rough cut, preview cut, and then the fine-tuned final version. People's obsession with these other cuts that were never shown is odd to me - I understand why the footage might be of interest, but I really have no need to see a five-hour One-Eyed Jacks. And the running time is plenty long at 141 minutes.
Hugo did record the score to a much longer version. He said so.
But I always think of the film in its original form. I had an album version of the original score, which I had edited myself. But they had made innumerable cuts in the film, in addition to these two story points that annoyed me so, so that they had the devil's own time bridging musical sequences that had been slashed into. The only way they could do it was by goosing up sound effects and lowering music levels. I saw the picture once, in the studio, after they had made these cuts and I walked away from it kind of ill. As a result of these cuts and all that, I might possibly have snagged myself another music nomination, but alas, no.
Do your notes list which cues were dropped or played so low as not to be heard?
As for wanting to know about the longer version, I find it interesting, but I do agree with you that at 141 minutes it's long enough.
What he said all those years later is not necessarily reliable. I'm telling you, unless he completely re-scored the film at its shorter length, we have everything he wrote.
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I doubt Friedhofer' account is false. The reason I say that is Charlie Lang told me at one point Brando had the film trimmed to around two hours, forty-five minutes and fought hard to keep it at that length. But Paramount kept up pressure on him to trim it. Friedhofer definitely composed to a much longer film.
Do the CD notes say which cues were shortened and which were dropped?
No, because we had EVERYTHING. What is hard to understand about this? I don't care who told you what - I have the scoring logs - that's where all the cue titles came from. That's the scoring logs from the recording session - so you can say as much as you like that he scored a longer film and while the film may have been longer he wrote what he wrote, at least according to the logs. Unless the scoring logs are completely false, and somehow I'll believe them rather than someone's memory of something that happened in 1961.
You can read Nick Redman's notes online, although he does not do a cue breakdown. All the cues presented are as they were recorded. What happened to them in the film is easy to ascertain by watching the film. You can and will, of course, continue to speculate. So, I'll bow out of that conversation here because I find speculation pointless and not very interesting.
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