Nickelodeon Blahs

The dirty little secret of Sony Home Video’s recently-released Nickelodeon DVD is that neither of the two versions — the original color release plus the new monochrome re-do from the hand of director Peter Bogdanovich and Sony restoration guru Grover Crisp — are very attractive.

Snap of monochrome Nickelodeon as it appears on my 42-inch plasma.

Okay, the black-and-white version looks a bit crisper and more distinctive at times, but at other times it seems a wee bit murky and shadowy. Look at any old-time black and white film and you’ll notice how carefully lit everything is; how every last detail is crisp and precise and easy to eyeball. The black-and-white Nickelodeon doesn’t have this quality. It lacks that silver-nitrate polish, and looks, in fact, like a color print that’s been adjusted down to monochrome, which is more or less what it is.

On top of which this recreation of old-time, pre-Birth of the Nation Hollywood filmmaking looks wrong in a 16 x 9 aspect ratio. Bogdanovich asked for the remastering so the film would finally be seen in black and white (which is what he originally wanted when he first made it in ’75 or thereabouts) because it seems to blend with the era. But why didn’t he also push for a 1.33 to 1 aspect ratio, which is closer to how films appeared in the early days? If Bogdanovich had been a real stickler for mood and atmosphere he would have pushed for the even-boxier aspect ratio of silent films.

He shot Nickelodeon at a much taller aspect ratio anyway with information cropped off at the top and bottom; you can tell this right away from the crammed-into-a-small-space Columbia logo at the beginning.

12 thoughts on “Nickelodeon Blahs”

Why does it seem that Jeff is the only one here (or anywhere for that matter) who is interested in Nickelodeon?

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I’m curious about it, because Bogdanovich made some great stuff when he was on point. It is funny, though.

My thing is, I don’t think it’s fair to criticize the black and white remaster for not having been shot in actual black and white like a black and white movie from the ’40′s. Looking at the still above, it looks similar to ‘Last Picture Show’ or ‘Paper Moon’ (but that might be just that still, sure).

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I had no idea ‘Sledgehammer’ was in it.

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I’m curious about it, because Bogdanovich made some great stuff when he was on point. It is funny, though.

Paper moon was shot in black and white.

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as was last picture show..

it looks nothing like either of those movies.

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Oh, please, Jeff. How many first-run theatres in 1976 could project 1.33:1? That would’ve been complete suicide.

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rr3333 wrote:

I had no idea ‘Sledgehammer’ was in it.

Brian Keith was. Haven’t seen the film since its original release, but I think that’s him in the still.

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Informal poll: does anyone under 35 remember Brian Keith? Does the name Mr. French mean anything to you at all, or do you stare blankly the way I did when my parents talked about, say, Maynard G. Krebs?

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Keith was also in Tenspeed and Brownshoe … err …. I mean Hardcastle & McCormick.

I knew it wasnt ‘Sledgehammer’ (David Rasche), but it did look like him.

Speaking of which … I want Tenspeed and Brownshoe on dvd. Great Jeff Goldblum/Ben Vereen short-lived ABC Series.

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The Man Who Wasn’t There was shot in color, and yet it looks fantastic in B&W. I’m a little disappointed that they weren’t able to get an acceptable transfer out of Nickelodeon, I would have rented it.

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Nickelodeon Blahs

12 thoughts on “Nickelodeon Blahs”

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