Jerry Lewis Films

I've got GEISHA BOY and ROCK-A-BYE BABY pre-ordered.

Weird thing is...I don't actually like Jerry Lewis . But these are movies I watched when I was a kid and they give me a warm,fuzzy feeling. I was born in 1958 (when these movies were made). Jerry Lewis is to my childhood what disco music to my early dating years...can't say I like either one but they remind me of the good times.

Here's another odd thing, until I saw Beavers review of ROCK-A-BYE BABY, I never knew it was in color. Of course, intellectually, I should know that. But I saw it on the old Black and White Viking TV set so many times that my mind only thinks of it in B&W.

I own five other Olive Blu-rays and these Jerry Lewis ones look pretty good in the screen caps.

I'm in Canada and I've bought some from amazon.ca but I've bought a couple from a local store.

Oddly enough, a store at a nearby mall carries the Olive titles. It's an HMV which I don't believe operates in the U.S.. The HMV store is currently stocking CRACK IN THE WORLD, HANNIE CAULDER, SANDS OF THE KALAHARI and THE HELLSTROM CHRONICLE. They did have a copy of AMER which I bought last week.

I have GEISHA BOY and ROCK-A-BYE BABY pre-ordered at amazon.ca. I'll be checking out the HMV for BOEING BOEING. The HMV is good for getting the titles but unpredictable about meeting release dates. Their Olive titles often show up a few weeks late.

I received ROCK-A-BYE BABY and GEISHA BOY today. Figured I'd give the former first viewing.

The menu is a bit scary because the EE used in the menu background scene is rather oppressive.

As is fairly common with most older films, things start out a bit rough with the first couple of minutes of the first reel. During the opening credits, there is an odd white line on the right side of the screen which makes a split second appearance each time a new credit appears. It's a distracting flash in your peripheral vision. Had this continued into the movie, it would have been a deal breaker. Fortunately, this is restricted entirely to the opening credits and is not seen again once the movie proper begins.

There is Edge Enhancement visible and it's particularly noticeable during the first scene of the film. There is also some light, white speckling present. The speckling significantly decreases after the first scene and is barely observed after that. In general, there is very little print damage evident. The film looks excellent. Only as the end of the movie approaches is there a slight uptick in speckling and dirt. Again, this is common with older films which shows their age at the beginning and end of the movie. The EE is quite tolerable...wish it wasn't there but it's within allowable limits.

Detail is very good with fine grain present so I can't identify DNR. If it's used (I assume it is used to some degree), it doesn't make it's presence obvious. Colors are excellent. Flesh tones are great and colors are well saturated. Contrast is very good...perhaps just a tad too contrasty for some taste but that's a judgement call.

The sound is mono and I mean real one channel mono. It's excellent. I very pleased indeed with the quality of the sound. I'm sensitive to soundtracks that seem to have dialogue at a different level than other sounds (Olive's HANNIE CAULDER annoys me with that issue). But ROCK-A-BYE BABY gets it right.

I'm very happy with disc.

Filter heavy Paramount? I must only be buying the great Paramount transfers, like White Christmas, The Ten Commandments, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and others, none of which have ANY filtering. Blanket statements are really silly, no?

And the other thing is - Olive have NOTHING to do with the transfers. They are handed to them by Paramount.

Apparently you have no idea what these films originally looked like, as both transfers are perfect. It's easy to pontificate, but, no, neither have been filtered. The gentleman who did those transfers knows exactly what he's doing and he's one of the best. Have you even seen the Blu-rays of those titles? I have owned 35mm IB Tech prints of both films and these transfers are perfection and look EXACTLY like film, which leads me to believe you either do like blanket statements, are judging based on some screen caps or, well, I don't know what the or would be

How many decades? Three? I have not attacked you and yet you pull out the usual Internet tropes like "stick to DVDs as your reference." I have WORKED with film, I've been in transfer rooms and I've owned both 35mm and 16mm prints - I've been watching movies for, I don't know, fifty-nine years or so. I don't defend anything that doesn't need defending - but you cannot come on here and make generalized statements without being challenged. And I'm assuming since you didn't answer the simple question of whether you've actually seen the Blu-rays in question, that it means you haven't, which make your statements even more challengeable. When Paramount (or any studio) does stellar work, you can bet I'll be there to defend it. When they do sloppy work you can bet I'll be there to castigate it. When West Side Story came out I was the first person to post about its problems and those who follow my posts know I went on ad nauseum about it. Had Paramount released it, I would have also done the same.

I'm sure you're a fan and I'm sure you love movies, but posts based on screen caps do everyone a disservice, especially the gentleman who supervised the two films in question - because he ONLY deserves kudos and praise for his fine work. And he's gotten that from most knowledgeable people, including Mr. Harris. But it's so easy to come on a board and just post anything without having actually seen what you're posting about. And, after having perused your other posts, that seems to be your "thing." It's fine, but I would hope that no one here would ever base not making a purchase on one of these posts.

The "usual Paramount slop" - Yes, The Ten Commandments is "slop" all right, and I agree, there's no point in any further discussion because no one on the Internet can ever back off an incredibly silly position. Thankfully, those who've actually seen the Blu-rays of these titles know enough to know they can also ignore any further posts about Paramount from you.

I just watched GEISHA BOY.

Not surprisingly, the overall look and quality is identical to ROCK-A-BYE BABY. Considering they are a related pair of 1958 VistaVision films, that's to be expected. So my earlier review applies to this film with a few additional notes.

GEISHA BOY doesn't have any issue with that wonky flashing white line during the opening credits. However, there is a briefly distracting event in the scene where the Jerry Lewis character meets the father played by Sessue Hayakawa. There is an odd and noticeable stobing color shift where the color keeps changing for several seconds. It's not a lengthy issue but I mention here in the interest of full disclosure.

I rate the overall audio/video presentation very high.

I noticed a couple of things of interest. At one point, Suzanne Pleshette clearly flubs a line but corrects herself and continues on*. It was only one word and it didn't bother me at all but I imagine that, today, they probably would have done ten takes on that scene.

Another thing I noticed was that, in order to indicate the Military Air Transport Service (MATS) plane travelling in different directions, they simply flipped the image. That might have worked were it not for the huge "U.S. AIR FORCE" written on the side in giant black letters...which appears BACKWARDS in some scenes .

Very enjoyable film and a worthwhile buy for fans of early Jerry Lewis. I, like many others, lost my taste for Lewis material in later years but I still enjoy his first few solo films.

*The flubbed line occurs when Suzanne Pleshette sits down next to Jerry Lewis on the MATS plane. The line should be "I've never met a magician before". She momentarily stumbles on the word "met" before catching herself, reading the line as :

"I've never read...met a magician before".

I think it's important to state that the films Paramount are giving Olive have not been restored or taken from the VistaVision negatives, and therefore they cannot be of the quality of any of the VistaVision films that Paramount has issued themselves on Blu-ray. They're not going to be giving any of those titles to Olive.

Re the wonky white line - I suspect I know what it is, but will wait until I see the transfer to confirm - I should have it on Monday.

Understood about the VistaVision negative stuff. Thanks for clarification.

The vertical white line seems to appear just momentarily when a new credit appears and then it goes away until the next credit appears...so it's not a continuous presence. Because it briefly appears and then dissappears, it initially manifests itself as a flash in your right peripheral vision.

Has anyone had a chance to see "Boeing Boeing" yet?

Being a fan of 60's sex farces, this is the flick that I'm most interested in.

Picked this up today, hope to watch it tonight, it's been years since I've seen it, I'm really looking forward to it. Now if they would only release Three on a Couch.

Watched this last night, the picture quality looked great for the most part, with the exception of the few outdoor scenes they where softer and more grainy. If you like 60's sex farces then this is for you it's not really your typical silly Jerry Lewis movie, my wife who hates most Lewis films also liked it.

Movie 4/5
Video 4/5
Audio 4/5

I passed on BOEING BOEING because it just doesn't do it for me.

I've got WHO'S MINDING THE STORE and IT'S ONLY MONEY on pre-order. But Olive films and amazon Canada is always a bit of a crap shoot. The first two Olive BDs I ordered from amazon.ca were four MONTHS late. The last two shipped a day early .

If the Blu-ray gods are with me, these next two Lewis films should be in the mail soon.

Who's Minding the Store, is one of my favorite Lewis films, so I will definitely be picking this one up. I don't think I've ever seen It's Only Money. Luckily there's a store near me that carries the Olive releases so I will just go by and pick them up. it would be helpful if Olive Films put up some trailers on their site.

Not sure if this ever came out on DVD, but I have an old moth-eaten copy on VHS, and it is one of my favorite Lewis pics, right up there with Nutty Prof and Visit to a Small Planet. The humor in IOS is goofey, juvenile, bawdy, and idiotic in the extreme (which is why I love it). And I think folks here may have a special appreciation for it, given the role he plays in the film.

One small correction... The title is really It'$ Only Money, with a dollar sign... sort of like Ke$ha.