Before the Show

[pasithea]

I tend to watch a lot of old movies and when I do, I often wish the movies were presented the way they originally were displayed. Like, I'd so love it if they included the cartoon and newsreel that would have gone with the film when it originally broadcast. Probably not practical for copyright and licensing reasons alone, nevermind that the same news/cartoon may have got played with more than one film or varied regionally so it might not be practical. But something at least from the same month would be really cool. Add a lot of the feel of the show.

On a related note, I was thinking about how sad it was that they no longer put cartoons in front of films and I wonder... Do you suppose it was really cost that made them drop the cartoons or was it that the actors and directors got tired of frequently being compared to the cartoon by negative reviewers. I don't know this is true but I imagine it. I bet if one looked up old papers that many of the negative movie reviews would compare someone's acting skill to Daffy Duck or handling their lines like Porky Pig.

Anyhow... That concludes this random musing.

Comments

[doctorpinkerton.livejournal.com]

Do you remember in the early 90's, when Warner Bros. started putting classic cartoons in front of their films again? This carried on for about a year... I remember seeing things like 'Drip-Along Daffy', 'Duck Dodgers', and even some of the Tracy Ullman Show 'Simpsons' shorts during this brief but wonderful experiment. I was so let down when they pulled the plug on the fun.

Now all we get is nonstop commercials before the film...

[frith]

I seem to remember being told that originally cartoons were used as "chasers", that is, they were meant to chase people out of the theater after the main feature finished. Back in the days of vaudeville entertainment, acts were sorted according to crowd appeal, and those with the least appeal were placed either first (while the late arrivals were settling in) or last (to encourage the crowd to leave). As for copyright, I believe copyright expires after 50 years in film (unless, like Disney, you make a sequel to maintain copyright on the characters). Thus, cartoon shorts and newsreels from the 40's and early 50's should be in the public domain. Film historians ahoy! Please verify.

[dv-girl.livejournal.com]

No. I missed that.

Ugh. As for the commercials, they're my number one reason not to go to films. Cost doesn't bother me but the HOUR of commercials they put in front does. When I go, I take a reading light and ignore the commercials. I still hate the concept that I'm paying, in effect, to watch a dozen commercials before the show.

[prickvixen.livejournal.com]

Ah, but the joke's on you! You're paying for ALL commercials... they're tax-deductible!

[centauress.livejournal.com]

Here's a handy link about media copyrights: http://www.pdinfo.com/faq.htm

Apparently, everything is extended out to 2067 so only things 1922 and earlier are Public Domain... Unless specifically given.

Renewing apparently is optional now.

[paka.livejournal.com]

That's one of the few good memories I have of weekends as a kid. There was this show on PBS, "Matinee at the Bijou" and it really was formatted like going to the movies in the '30s. You'd get a newsreel keeping you current with the '30s news, and I don't remember cartoons but there were some truly awful serials (the one I remember was about Atlantis) and then a feature length film (the one I remember best was this terrible movie about a mad scientist draining spinal fluid from people to keep his pet brains alive, and people thinking that a vampire was behind it instead).