TheArchive: Reviewing the Rare, Retro, and Restored

Norma Jean Baker may need an introduction but Marilyn need not. The life of Marilyn Monroe has left so many stones yet to be overturned. And in just the few decades she was on the planet, more content, drama, and speculation has been conjured than could fill the annals of history.  Since we still have so much to learn, and the collective world has told us they have not grown weary of that learning, we wanted to celebrate this undeniable iconoclast’s birthday with some of our favorites from TheArchive . We start with Blonde , because it’s sexy, timeless, and has an amazing cast including Poppy Montgomery as Marilyn, Patricia Richardson, Patrick Dempsey, Wallace Shawn, Griffin Dunne, Emily Browning, Jensen Ackles, Ann-Margret, and Kirstie Alley. While Netflix has the Brad Pitt produced version starring the impossibly gorgeous Ana de Armas coming soon, TheArchive has our’s ready to stream free now on Roku . This mini-series mixes a fictional interpretation of Marilyn Monroe with actual e

We recently visited with Harry Eskin, one of our 4K restoration team members, to find out what it takes to restore a film to 4K. Harry is a member of a four-person restoration team headed by Sarah Smith, our Media Archive Manager, and supported by assistant Nicole Bajorek, and 4K film editor Meni Phillip. With over 100 hours and counting, and available to be streamed in 4K anytime, anywhere, on any device, TheArchive offers the most extensive independent library of rare films that have been restored to their original magnificence. Q: Thank you for taking some time to speak with us today about restoring films in 4K. I will jump right in. How did you get started on a career as a film archivist and restorationist?  Harry: I have always been a film buff with a particular interest in rare films; the rarer the film, the better. I was introduced to film archiving in college and decided it was something I wanted to pursue. After receiving a Master's Degre

The Whole Wide World is a true story of Novalyne Price Ellis (Renée Zellweger) one of the greatest pulp fiction writers of all time.  Based on her acclaimed autobiography, Ellis is a feisty West Texas schoolteacher who has a torrid and turbulent affair with Robert. E. Howard (Vincent D'Onofrio), the great pulp writer of the 1930s.  However, their conflicting personalities along with Howard’s emotional baggage,  including his sickly mother and absent father, puts a strain on their relationship.  The two struggle to carry on the romance  but it devolves to tumult, resulting in an unrequited love story. Howard becomes more immersed in his own struggles and deeply dis connected from the real world pushing his love further and further away.    No one said love is easy, but at least you can suffer through it in beautiful, free, 4K. You can stream it free on Roku now. Love hurts here at TheArchive .  TheArchive  channel is dedicated to

Fresh off binging last year’s Peacock reboot of “Saved by the Bell,” we decided to jump into TheArchive and see what old gems with the original cast we could find. And we did one better. We found Zack Morris from Saved by the Bell trying to revive Punky Brewster in a coma! This is not a Peacock marketing stunt gone wrong, but we’ll get back to that in a moment. If you thought the only time Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Soleil Moon Frye (honestly, typing those names is a nightmare) appeared in the same rarified air was in the revered episode of  Saved by the Bell , “Screech’s Spaghetti Sauce” circa 1992, guess again. Don’t mind if we do. Mark-Paul appeared  before  that in  Punky Brewster  as Punky’s tutor for whom she had a mad crush! Well the “chemistry,” was undeniable so they came together once more and we’ve got that only reunion on cel luloid, 1994’s  The St. Tammany Miracle . Directed by Joy Newton Houck Jr., best known for directing  Creature from the Black Lake  and being the son o

There are so many interesting stories embedded in TheArchive ’s deep archive. With a vast library of content and a rich history, we continue to distribute surprises every day.  For example, streaming on TheArchive now are all 39 episodes of 1956’s The Buccaneers starring the inimitable Robert Shaw, possibly best known for his iconic performance as Quint the shark hunter in Jaws, but an Oscar-nominee and Hollywood stalwart nonetheless, and a damn solid Buccaneer as well.  Talk about difficult schedules. 39 episodes shot over a single season, nearly a record, and only one number shy of Tom Brady’s record last year of passing touchdowns in a single season. That’s a reach in comparable statistics, but we  are  talking about the Buccaneers.  If you watch the series, one can see how amazingly, nearly 65 years later, art and life do continue to imitate one another. The plot centers around Captain Dan Tempest who as an ex-pirate, received a pardon from the King and turned privateer after his

Imagine Putin test-driving a Tesla gifted by the American people, with Trump riding shotgun!   What does an American President do when he knows his days are numbered?   One President indeed stepped down due to overwhelming pressure, the infamous Richard Milhouse Nixon, after some ridiculous stunts and justifications. One of the best made movies on Nixon is ‘ The Final Days ’ (1989) which premiered on ABC, with over 2.5 hours of live action mixed with archival footage, it captures all the details of Woodward and Bernstein’s best-selling book on the Watergate scandal.   Featuring a riveting performance from Lane Smith as Nixon, alongside legendary actors Richard Kiley, David Ogden Stiers, and Gary Sinise, we see the how Nixon and his staff navigate the intense scrutiny of his administration and the risky moves they made to extend his Presidency.   Under Nixon’s direction to ‘preserve the integrity of the Presidency’ and to ‘ensure national security,’ they inevitably allowed him to overru

Actor, author, and activist Michael J. Fox spent the 1980s playing a teen protagonist in massive TV series and movies, but he had a string of early roles that helped shape his future, including the role of Jay-Jay in the movie High School USA (1983).   This zany NBC pilot turned back-door M-O-W, is now on TheArchive , and features a who’s-who of TV stars like Todd Bridges, Dana Plato, Tony Dow, Ken Osmond, Bob Denver, and Dawn Wells, who unfortunately just passed away from Covid, to name a few; let’s just say the creators loved Gilligan’s Island, Diff’rent Strokes and Leave it to Beaver.  Other well-known actors rounded off this cast, including an uncredited Brad Pitt as a bumbling library nerd, but the highlights of this lovable American school title are the scenes with Crispin Glover, Nancy Mckeon and Anthony Edwards, with Edwards flexing his nerd-to-cool acting range just before starring in Revenge of the Nerds, Gotcha!, Top Gun and many other huge films and series like ER.    Whic