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Old Movies Digitised?
posted by
tommo
on
February 17, 2005 at 5:20 am
Hello,
Does anybody know if old movies such as “Citizen Kane” or “Metropolis” have been digitised and are able to be distributed and screened digitally?
Thankyou,
Tom.
Comments (8)
I assume you are asking if these movies can be run theatrically in a digital format (DVD) I would contact KINO.com, the distributor of Metropolis to see if they license that film to be run in a digital format. Obviously these titles are on DVD, and with a good, bright auditorium-designed digital projector they could be shown from DVD.
Another alternative would be to rent the film and show a digital instead….I would contact the distributor, since commercial digital theatre projection is on the horizon.
What I meant was with permission of the movie’s distributor you could run a digital version instead of the film. Nowadays copyrights are taken very seriously in the business.
No matter what the format, if you plan on exhibiting the film theatrically the distributor holding the licensing rights to the film will charge you for the rental…
Thank you to EvanC and nova for replying to my query. What I wanted to know was whether or not there was a distributer who had the license to all these old movies and was able to distribute them electronically, i.e. via a download system, for digital projectors to screen…
Also does anyone know how much a digitised version of a film like ‘Metroplois’ would cost to rent to screen theatrically?
Many thanks, Tom.
I don’t know of any major distributor who offers classic titles via download for digital projectors. They offer them in 35mm prints.
As for your question about a distributor who has a “license to these old movies”, there isn’t one single distributor. Each studio maintains its own repertory or classics division and you need to contact them about any films you want to show. Don’t waste time contacting the home video divisions, they have nothing to do with theatrical showings. Your best bet is to hire a film booker to inquire for you if you have no experience in this area.
Yes, some copies of Metropolis are in public domain, but not the latest restoration that Transit Film of Munich did – USA theatrical rights are controlled by Kino and that version is copyrighted.
Pete Apruzzese
Director of Film Programming
Big Screen Classics at the Lafayette Theatre
The prints that I viewed were absolutely beautiful. They really spent alot of time cleaning the film up.
Tommo
Public viewing is a such a tricky thing to get the studio to agree on. Good luck.
I am searching for a 1948 movie named “10th Avenue Angel”. Can not find it anywhere. I would sure love to find anyone who might have it, or might know how to aquire it.
10th Avenue Angel was originally released by M-G-M, so it’s a good possibility that the rights are now held by Warner Bros. (who control the majority of the M-G-M films) – whether they have 35mm prints of it or not is another story.