Our Relations - Preservation
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To illustrate the extra dimension added by viewing beautiful, pin-sharp 35mm prints, author Scott MacGillivray extolled their virtues which were abundantly clear -- as well they should be -- during a 1986 theatrical revival arranged through Films Incorporated. "The 35mm format offered a wealth of definition, which was not as noticeable in smaller gauge copies," MacGillivray noted. "The prints were so good that eagle-eyed viewers could distinguish new subtleties in the backgrounds (paintings, furniture, etc.). In OUR RELATIONS, for example, James Finlayson gives the boys a battered one-dollar bill to split between them. The restored print disclosed every detail of the grimy, withered note -- making it plain the actual denomination was twenty dollars!" One can also clearly see the tattoo on Babe Hardy's forearm in OUR RELATIONS during his impersonation of a Singapore Eskimo. That is, unless, of course, like Hardy your "eyes are getting worse every day," and those films, like this page "is just a blur." The preservation elements manufactured in 1994 are now safely stored in a vault just outside of Munich, on a quiet street near fifth and eighth, catty-cornered between sixth and seventh, on ninth. On duty is an able, uniformed security guard who keeps a mallet handy, behind the bar. -- by Richard W. Bann -- |