Cinema Cycle - The Dawn Of Sound / Supplemental Material

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

DATE VIEWED: 07/10/2015

TITLE: The Dawn Of Sound (Supplemental Material)

FORMAT: LaserDisc

TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 47 minutes

DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 9.9 miles

TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 2085.1 miles

SYNOPSIS: A collection of short subjects that highlight the studios songwriting, dancing and trained dog tricks.

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: In relation to the entire box set, how the various studios were promoting themselves through the use of new technology and a large talent pool, to convince potential movie goers that their studio was the best.  

PROS AND CONS: Interesting short pieces that show some very rare glimpses of early Hollywood.  There are some things that will never be available on DVD, Hulu, Netflix and streaming.  Stuff that is so obscure and buried in the studio vaults that it will never see the light of day.  

I have been to those vaults through the supplemental material in this box set, and their contents are strange and surreal.  There is the ‘playoff’ by various composers sitting at grand pianos writing music on the fly.  The over-the-top dance production number from “Golddiggers of 1920” and last but not least, the ‘Dog-Toon’ of a Hollywood Review completely acted by dogs.  

My jaw was on the floor after finishing this ride.  

To read an overview of this project, check out the initial post for this series.

This film is a part of my LaserDisc Collection.

Clicking on the title will take you to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) entry for this film. 

This film was viewed while exercising on my recumbent cycle.  A summary of my time spent working out on my journey through movie-land can be found on Strava.com.

Cinema Cycle - Show Of Shows

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

DATE VIEWED: 07/08/2015

TITLE: Show Of Shows (Dawn of Sound LaserDisc Box Set)

FORMAT: LaserDisc

TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 2 hours 5 minutes

DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 32.2 miles

TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 2075.2 miles

SYNOPSIS: A string of acts; musical, comedy, drama, duet and large dance numbers.  There is no plot.  

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: “Entertainment Tonight” and “The Kardashians” have been with us forever.  Presented here are the stars of yesteryear (many of which are long forgotten) with the production studio (in this case Warner Brothers) pulling all the stops to show its technical and talent prowess.

PROS AND CONS: As mentioned on the two previous installments on this Box Set, the entertainment value here is nil.  While this film did prove to be the more well done of the three, it was still amateurish in parts.  Much of the material is dated and has little or no reference to today’s society.

The most redeeming part of this film were the choreographed dance numbers which were lavish.  The final number with the entire cast was especially impressive.  But with the exception of Myrna Loy, I did not know who any of the cast of 30.  IF you think you know the roots of Hollywood entertainment, I certainly hope you have watched these films.  

To read an overview of this project, check out the initial post for this series.

This film is a part of my LaserDisc Collection.

Clicking on the title will take you to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) entry for this film. 

This film was viewed while exercising on my recumbent cycle.  A summary of my time spent working out on my journey through movie-land can be found on Strava.com.

Cinema Cycle - The Broadway Melody

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

DATE VIEWED: 07/06/2015

TITLE: The Broadway Melody

FORMAT: LaserDisc (Box Set - “The Dawn of Sound”)

TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 1 hour 40 minutes

DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 25.1 miles

TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 2043 miles

SYNOPSIS: Two 1920 showgirls audition for a musical number in a Broadway Review

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: Different time, different world.  A world where young women dreamed of running off to the great white way and eventually marry a wealthy man.  The transition between vaudeville and motion pictures.

PROS AND CONS: Like the other movies in this box set, this film is more entertaining for its historical significance than its entertainment value.  As a show it is amateurish and not very well done.  The musical numbers are little better than grade school quality and the acting is awful.  

Since this movie spans the time between vaudeville, Broadway and motion pictures, it still tends to show the acts as individual pieces, that are strung together by a thin plot line.  Basically, backstage at a big Broadway musical review.  

To read an overview of this project, check out the initial post for this series.

This film is a part of my LaserDisc Collection.

Clicking on the title will take you to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) entry for this film. 

This film was viewed while exercising on my recumbent cycle.  A summary of my time spent working out on my journey through movie-land can be found on Strava.com.

Slices of Life - 7/04/2015

Slices of Life

Random pictures from the week of 07/04/2015.



Spring colors, Bisbee, Arizona. Taken with a Lytro Graphite Light Field Camera.


Don’t Laugh. It is Bisbee….anything can happen. Taken with a Lytro Graphite Light Field Camera.


Black Water, fountain on Tombstone Canyon Road. Taken with a Lytro Graphite LIght Field Camera.


Hanging Outboard. Taken with a Lytro Graphite LIght Field Camera.


Not meant to be pretty, just functional. Please use the handrails. Taken with a Lytro Graphite LIght Field Camera.


Neighborhood watch-cat. Taken with a Lytro Graphite LIght Field Camera.


“B” Mountain - Bisbee, AZ Taken with a Lytro Graphite LIght Field Camera.


Rainy Day Bloom. Bisbee, AZ Taken with a Lytro Graphite LIght Field Camera.

Slices of Life - 6/21/2015

Slices of Life

Random pictures from the week of 06/21/2015.



Only ⅓ of a mile to go (out of 3). On the way to the summit of Carr Peak, Huachuca Mountains. Sony Mavica-CD bracketed images merged in Photomatix.


Hummingbirds by night. Feeder with an evening shower moving in. Lytro Illum Light Field bracketed images, merged in Photomatix.


What happens to old ties after retirement? They become lampshades. In the Man Cave, Sony Mavica-CD bracketed images merged in Photomatix.


Crossing the Finish Line - Bisbee 1000 Stair Climb 2014. Shot with a Bronica ETRS camera shooting expired Ilford FP4+ 120 film. Hand developed, negative scanned, modified in Photoshop.


…..miles to go before I sleep. Hiking through the woods while descending Carr Peak Summit, Huachuca Mountains, Arizona. Sony Mavica-CD bracketed images, merged in Photomatix.


Thread the Needle. Near Lowell Arizona. Lytro Graphite light field image, modified in Lytro Desktop.


Feels like home. Porch of 37D, Bisbee Arizona. Sony Mavica-CD bracketed images, merged in Photomatix.


Mexican Bird of Paradise. Flowers in bloom at the top of Brewery Gulch. Sony Mavica Floppy image, modified in Sketch Guru.

Cinema Cycle - Hollywood Revue of 1929

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

DATE VIEWED: 05/19/2015

TITLE: Hollywood Revue of 1929

FORMAT: Laserdisc

TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 1 hour 58 minutes

DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 28.5 miles

TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 2017.9 miles

SYNOPSIS: A collection of vignettes from MGM highlighting their talent and theatrical abilities, including the use of sound and the dawn of technicolor.

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: Entertainment is evolutionary.  From Greek tragedy, to Ben Hur, to Hot Tub Time Machine, every work builds on what came previously.  That is the case here.  While the entertainment value of this collection is questionable, the historical value is priceless.  

PROS AND CONS: As in other films I have reviewed in this genre, this first of three films in a box set is more fascinating for it’s historical value than its entertainment value.  

Presented here are forms of entertainment not much removed from Vaudeville.  Some of the acts and stars evolved and are still with us today, while others died long ago.  Here we get to see a 20 year old Joan Crawford sharing the stage with Ukulele Ike.

I found two things annoying while watching this film.  The video transfer was not good.  The image on the screen had a portion of the left side of the screen cropped off so I wasn’t getting the proper framing or aspect ratio.  

The second annoyance was the editing between acts.  When an MC ended his introduction and walked off stage, the viewer stares at the curtain for 20 seconds.  Awkward….

To read an overview of this project, check out the initial post for this series.

This film is a part of my LaserDisc Collection.

Clicking on the title will take you to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) entry for this film. 

This film was viewed while exercising on my recumbent cycle.  A summary of my time spent working out on my journey through movie-land can be found on Strava.com.

Cinema Cycle - War And Peace

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

DATE VIEWED: 06/17/2015

TITLE: War & Peace

FORMAT: VHS

TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 6 hours 41 minutes

DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 81.3 miles

TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 1989.4 miles

SYNOPSIS: The lives of aristocratic 19th century Russians during the Napoleonic Wars is documented from 1810 through 1814.  

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: The question of mortality, destiny and eternity set in a vast dreamlike realm of privilege and ceremony.  

PROS AND CONS: Six hours is a long time to watch a film.  But that said, this is the second time that I have watched this film all the way through.  It is an epic film and follows Tolstoy’s masterpiece (which I have also read) very closely.  

This is a large work of grand scale that documents people and times that are far removed from what we understand today.  Russian cinema often has an underlying theme of fatalism and questioning our purpose in life.  This fatalism and searching is the focus of many of the characters in this film.  Sprinkle this narrative with the concept of young men and woman involved in passionate relationships in a society that has very strict codes of conduct and finally throw in Napoleon and you have a lot of stuff going on.  It takes 6 hours just to weave it all together.  

To read an overview of this project, check out the initial post for this series.

Clicking on the title will take you to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) entry for this film. 

This film was viewed while exercising on my recumbent cycle.  A summary of my time spent working out on my journey through movie-land can be found on Strava.com.