Monday, January 16, 2012

These Amazing Shadows Giveaway Winners


Congratulations to Bob F., Janie, Bob G and Sam for winning my These Amazing Shadows (2011) BluRay giveaway. I asked contestants to write about a film they think should be in the National Film Registry and why or to share some information about the registry. Here are the winners' entries:

Bob F. of Allure:

Mystery of the Leaping Fish, The (1916) gets my vote. It shows just how different the cultural attitude toward certain controlled substances was at the time.  And it Doug Fairbanks and Bessie Love, what's not to make it a perfect candidate for inclusion.  

Janie:

It's wonderful that the National Film Registry does this so all generations can look and  learn about/from movies/culture, the history of film, different cultures, the older style of special effects is on of my favorites, the things they could do way back when..   we've come a long way
Bob G.:

"I feel the National Film Registry should include a Gene Autry film.  I would consider Melody Ranch from 1940 or Back in the Saddle from 1941. I fully realize that none of the ninety-three Gene Autry pictures ever rose to the budgetary or artistic levels of a John Ford Western, yet he was more popular than John Wayne for nearly a decade. Voted the top Western star for six years straight, and was the fourth most popular of all box-office stars in America by exhibitors in 1940. I fell that the cultural impact of his films merit his consideration for inclusion
Part of his impact on American culture  was demonstrated in 1994. Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and Kris Kristofferson spent four days together in a Los Angeles studio making what would be their third and final album as the Highwaymen. Among their recording selections was an old favorite: Gene Autry's Back in the Saddle Again. These legends of country music were born during the Great Depression and had grown up with Gene Autry as their hero. Gene was a great influence on these superstars trough his films.
Over the course of his career he was a star on Radio though Chicago's WLS National Barn Dance and later had his own radio show Melody Ranch. Autry's movies reinvigorated the Western with the addition of his country songcraft to action-packed morality plays. In his films, good versus evil was easily delineated. Gene Autry was in inspiration to next generation of artists, encouraging and supporting Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, and others who followed. Some of his most celebrated acolytes range from Ringo Starr to Solomon Burke, Aaron Neville to James Taylor. Taylor told audiences during his 2006 tour that the inspiration behind his first hit, ""Sweet Baby James,"" was to write a cowboy lullaby like the ones he'd heard Gene Autry sing in movies when he was a boy."


"I wrote them a letter a couple of weeks ago to find someone to take an interestingly large personal collection of 16mm films that I own. I mentioned that I have an original copy of THE HEART OF TEXAS RYAN (1917) with both the Spanish and French subtitles included. The response I got from them was to contact one of 2 other organizations because my copy may be in better condition than theirs. It was a breath of fresh air to receive such nice treatment when they could have just let me slip through the cracks.
THE HEART OF TEXAS RYAN was shot on Tom Mix's ranch in Newhall CA by the Selig Polyscope Company and released Feb. 12, 1917."

Thank you to everyone who entered!

3 comments:

  1. Thanks so much Raquelle, it's been a long time since I've won anything that didn't entail playing a claw crane arcade game at a bowling alley. :-)

    PS - I'm with Bob G. on Autry.

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  2. Great contest. I keep hearing about anticipation of the film on podcasts, weblogs... can't wait to see it.

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  3. Hello Raquelle, I received my blu-ray DVD and am very excited to watch it. I love the B&W era and the Golden Years from movies to TV. Thanks again..

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