TheArchive: Reviewing the Rare, Retro, and Restored

This year’s Oscars was certainly a different affair. But one more memorable believe it or not, than years past. It had an intimacy that felt more personal and story-driven than ever before. Tyler Perry said it best, "It is my hope that all of us would teach our kids, and not only to remember, just refuse hate. Don't hate anybody." Kudos to Steven Soderbergh, Stacey Sher, and Jesse Collins who made the show far more about the stories behind the stories rather than the glitz and glamour ahead of the stories - a noble effort to get us all longing for a return to the movie theaters.   It was fascinating to hear the humble beginnings of the nominees. Some started out by making popcorn in a theater, selling junk out of their car to make ends meet, apprenticing, often for free on an independent film set, or in the case of last night's Humanitarian Award winner Tyler Perry, he was homeless.   We sometimes lose sight of the fact that most in Hollywood were not born in Hollywoo...

Since everything from a burrito to finding a rainbow has a holiday, and those are just in April, today we pause and reflect on our planet’s well-deserved holiday…Earth Day. Earth Day now in its 51 st   year, is the most universally observed secular holiday on the planet. Nearly 200 countries and over a billion people participate "to build environmental democracy and advocate for sustainability," according to   EarthDay.org   and this year, it runs alongside the Biden administration’s global climate summit. From the pandemic to other global calamities and social unrest we’ve all seen, felt, or been directly connected to, this moment to take in the majestic miracle that is earth comes at the perfect time.   Says John Kerry in   Climate Refugees , “ Climate change is on a complete collision course with civilization as we know it.” So what do we do? According to   EarthDay.org , The 2021 theme of Earth Day is "Restore Our Earth" and   ''focuses on natural ...

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 .  T...

At the start of Women’s history month, we celebrated the shattering of the glass ceiling with TheArchive ’s Decoy - the first television series to feature a policewoman as its syndicated star. Beverly Garland solidified her place in history as a cinematic trailblazer - offering women of the '50s an empowered and respected female hero of the silver screen; a role model whose story was worth telling week after week! Garland made way for many other female “TV cops” but it took over 16 years! While Angie Dickinson did arrest our hearts in the late 70’s in Police Woman , that did not necessarily open the flood gates overnight. It took years until we had the likes of Helen Mirren in Prime Suspect , S. Epatha Merkerson and Mariska Hargitay in Law and Order , and most recently Regina King in Watchmen .  While there have been other greats, we thought it would be interesting to focus on a truly untapped space, the female buddy cop TV drama. It wasn’t until 1982 that we finally saw the famil...

The power of the British Crown is undeniable and has been for centuries.  Its influence on pop culture is no exception. And now with the parallels being drawn between Princess Diana and Meghan Markle, history certainly repeats, but this time the Crown may be the one influenced. It’s certainly on its heels in terms of public perception.  As such, we decided to revisit a movie from TheArchive , a sudden timely piece of nostalgia, Princess in Love , and anyone who loves multiple award-winning The Crown on Netflix, will undoubtedly get a kick out of this movie which aired on CBS 25 years ago.  It aired only one year before Princess Di’s untimely death. Recounting the true-life story of the rollercoaster love affair between Captain James Hewitt and Lady Diana Spencer, Princess in Love suggests that this relationship “destroyed a royal marriage and stunned the British monarchy.” Today we know that the Royals, still an obsessive figment of media attention and global fandom, and...