|
I'm sure there are other issues too: remastering the audio, the video quality and all of the other blah-blah stuff. I remember a time when the only way to obtain the shows was to find Japanese collectors who circulated them on Super-VHS (available through dealers in "Goldmine" magazine), the quality was considered "of quality" then but a few of those were dubs of dubs... of dubs.
I still feel a lot of music-related films would have a welcome home on Netflix, but with films with music, that adds another batch of clearances. Some films exist amongst collectors while others simply don't exist. I know of a guy in Portland, a writer and comic book fanatic who is a deep blaxploitation film fanatic. He doesn't just specialize in films that are in the vein of SHAFT and SUPERFLY, but black cowboys? He wants to cover that too, to show that it was just much more than a parody in BLAZING SADDLES. He goes out of his way to track down surviving film directors, editors, or warehouses that may still have these films. A lot of times those films may have only been shown during trial runs in Hollywood and nowhere else, or in some instances. the drive-in movie circuit of the 60's and 70's. A film may have had a buzz somewhere but once it was gone, it was forgotten or hopped around and given two to three different names (not unlike some kung fu movies). What this guy (David Walker) does is track down the original negatives if they exist, and does a digital transfer. If those negatives no longer exists, he hunts down any existing prints, or creates an existing version from existing prints, as one version of a print may have a few seconds that was edited out in other versions. He's trying to do for black films what Criterion does on a normal basis. If those films are discovered, he sometimes has a special presentation in Portland during any given time. He often comes across movies he had never heard of, or discovers films that are briefly mentioned on IMDB but wants to discover if they existed as anything but a mention in some Hollywood publication. It's not unlike horror movie fanatics who have to have their gory flicks in every variation, in as many languages as possible.
My point is, as you know very well for anything related to music, discovering the outline of something, be it multi-tracks or track sessions, can be difficult depending on who does the archiving. Licensing for an album may have changed hands over the years, so Warner Bros. may have one tape while Polygram/Universal may have another and within that time, it may have been loaned to a film company for something. Same with music concert films. A lot of times, what is released on DVD (if they are ever released) is only a partial film or whatever they can afford to clear. With WATTSTAX, it was not a problem since Stax had owned the majority of the film. There were loads of other films that are lost in time and there's one concert film I would love to see if it exists in some form, just so it can be seen in the 21st century. The one I want to see again was an Isley Brothers film released in 1970 called IT'S YOUR THING:
http://i57.tinypic.com/2ecdcu0.jpg
Nothing from this film is circulating, not on YouTube or any streaming service. This concert film also has Ike & Tina Turner, The Winstons (would be nice if they played "Amen Brother" but most likely it's just them doing "Color Him Father" but you never know), Patti Austin, Moms Mabley, and many more.
Basically, I know I'm unable to just say "hey, can you release this?" so why I'm passing it to you. Director Mike Gargiulo has a deep connection with NBC, as he used to produce tons of TV shows in the 1950's, 60's, and 70's and his son, Michael Gargiulo, is (or was) a well known NBC news anchor/reporter. If anything, that films needs to be revived. Have it presented on Netflix for a few months, then have it out on DVD/Blu-Ray for public consumption. Or limit it to just Netflix, since that's what everyone else seemsd to be heading to.
Anyway, if you want to read up a bit on David Walker and his works, check out his website at BadAzzMofo.com:
http://www.badazzmofo.com/2014/09/13/black-westerns-a-brief-overview/
I don't "know" him, I only know of him, but he was a member of one of my favorite Portland-based podcasts so I respect his interests and why he does it. There's a passion that comes from being a fan and a collector, and wanting to celebrate a part of who he is, which we can both relate to (in whatever it is/may be).
THE HOME OF BOOK-NESS:
http://www.thisisbooksmusic.com/
http://twitter.com/thisisjohnbook
http://www.facebook.com/book1
http://i32.tinypic.com/kbewp4.gif
http://i60.tinypic.com/a59mp3.jpg
|
Printer-friendly copy 
Email this topic to a friend
The Lesson
, i just mean 'ITS ON!' cuz, yep, Aspire IS now on DirecTv in HD (381), AND the Train will likely be pulling in sometime this year! So ALL smiles here, thanks for the updates folks!