DigiGods Episode 269: Legendary film archivists Robert Harris and James Mockoski on restoration of the 1926 silent classic “Beau Geste” and the next century of cinema.
1 hr 1 min
Changes are coming to the DigiGods podcast, as they are to CineGods.com with the launch of the new 4K Film School column. As we prepare for the 100th anniversary of both synchronized sound motion pictures and the Academy Awards next year, we thought it suitable to combine both the re-launch of the podcast and the launch of 4K Film School with a crossover tribute to a too-often overlooked classic, Herbert Brenon’s silent adaptation of P.C. Wren’s adventure classic, Beau Geste. A beloved classic in its day, the picture was rapidly overshadowed in the sound era by the William Wellman-directed remake starring Gary Cooper — significantly because it starred Gary Cooper and was directed by Wellman, who famously directed the first-ever Academy Award-winner for Best Picture, Wings — but also because it was released during what many regard as the single most legendary movie year of all time, 1939. The restoration of Brenon’s silent classic, however, will give modern audiences a chance to properly evaluate which is the greater achievement. Had Louis B. Mayer’s timeline for the establishment of the Academy Awards nudged back just a few months, Beau Geste might well have become the first-ever Best Picture winner, and star Ronald Colman — who would also go on to a distinguished career in talkies — might have become more synonymous with the title character than Cooper. The good news is you don’t have to take my word for it or wait for the restored Beau Geste to show up at a special screening near you — you can pick up the dazzling new 4K restoration on Blu-ray from Artcraft Pictures, made possible through an extraodinary collaboration which united the resources of Maltese Film Works, The Film Preserve, MoMA, George Eastman Museum, The Library of Congress, UCLA Film & Television Archive and Paramount Pictures. While “restoration” is thrown around rather casually these days — rarely to describe a true restoration — this one has platinum credentials: renowned archivists Robert Harr...
