September Storm

I finally received my discs today and watched the film on my OLED. The film looks far better than it did when I saw it at the Aero theater. It's not perfect, but considering that it was coming from a printing negative that was going vinegar, it looks very good. Excellent depth throughout the picture. The underwater 3-D cinematography is easily the visual highlight of the film along with Joanne Dru showing off her bathing suit on the beach. The 3-D depth is stronger than the 3-D on The Bubble and that's no easy feat. Combined with 2.39:1 AR widescreen, it packs quite a visual punch.The storyline is a bit mediocre, which isn't surprising. The only portions that are even remotely interesting are Robert Strauss' character's descent into madness. However production values are very good despite the substandard storyline. Shot on location in Majorca, Spain, with scenes featuring Spanish dancers, a storm sequence with stormwater rocking the ship back and forth, and beautiful shots under the sea searching for sunken treasure, the producers did the best the could to make the film look like an A picture. Thankfully, the film is a short 90 minutes, so it doesn't overstay it's welcome.The British 3-D short, Harmony Lane was also a visual treat. It's basically a vignette featuring different Vaudeville style acts. Singers, dancers, jugglers, and comedy shot in a stagy style in 3-D. I especially like the way they dressed the set with cardboard hangers and props set in various stages of depth. The film elements for Harmony Lane were in obviously better condition than September Storm and it shows.Asher Dann gave a very interesting interview about the production of the film. Apparently folks in old Hollywood loved to gamble quite a bit.Overall, I enjoyed watching both films and I'm very glad to have been able to donate to a very worthy cause. Big props to Eric Kurland, Bob, Greg, and the 3-D Film Archive for a job well done.

I received the blu-ray of September Storm in 3D as a backer of the restoration. The screenplay is definitely a snapshot of it's time which is why one reviewer described it as "corny". Yes, movies were different then. This film might just as well have starred John Wayne in which case it would be considered a classic. The plot isn't complicated - Joanne Dru alone on a yacht with three men searching for sunken treasure. You can pretty much imagine the rest. It features exotic locations, underwater action (including one very entertaining shark), and of course, the titular storm - which might be the storm that brews between the shipmates even more so than the weather. I found it entertaining from start to finish.Also included are 3D restorations of the animated "Adventures of Sam Space" (which, I believe, played theatrically with September Storm under a different title) and Harmony Lane, a nearly 30 minute British-made musical short with a variety of acts. The cartoon is a claymation type and is cute. The musical is very entertaining. There are interviews and trailers in 2D rounding out the supplemental materials.The main attraction, of course, is the masterfully restored September Storm. The work of 3-D Film Archive is always impressive and never more so than in this case. Every frame has been meticulously cleaned, color corrected and aligned. It's safe to say September Storm hasn't looked this good since it's initial release and perhaps not even then. If you are a fan of the golden era 3D classics this definitely belongs in your collection. Kudos to 3-D Space, Kino, all the backers and most importantly 3-D Film Archive for bringing this nearly lost gem back to life.

.... pleasant & innofensive..... nice 3D underwater scenes & locations....well made if inconsequential B movie.Zero eyestrain.

Classic 1960s movie. Brought me back to my teen years... I bought this because it was an old movie in 3D, and it is. The 3D is quite effective at times, like when I moved my head "to look around" something on the right side of the screen image. Under water, stuff floats around and toward you at times. The woman never wears a white bikini swimsuit. ;-)Check the Extras. 2016 interview with the lead guy, and Harmony Lane is kinda cool (and has a dog).

You see it with glasses!Able Gance's Polyvision system was the first to permit a wide image. (I'm ignoring Fox's 70mm Grandeur system.) It unintentionally anticipated Cinerama's three slightly overlapping panels. When sitting near a big, deeply curved Cinerama screen, a sense of depth is created by the parts of the image near one's visual periphery. (This is particularly noticeable in the "Smilebox" transfer of the opening of "How the West Was Won". The intent of CinemaScope was to get that same effect with a large, deeply curved screen. Hence, "You see it without glasses" became the CinemaScope slogan.I haven't yet watched the film on my Sony 930-series 3D set, and I'm sure it's every bit as silly as it appears to be, but the cover got me laughing. Sharks do not have stereoscopic vision. But this one's eyes are turned inward, as if he's trying to converge on Joanne Dru! Considering his excess of teeth, his bite doesn't need to be accurately placed.It'll be a few days before I get back. In the meantime, just keep chanting Stan Freberg: "Widescreen mama, don't you "Cinerama" me. Oh, Widescreen mama, don't you "Cinerama" me", etc, etc.

Gave as a gift.

Great Seller - Wonder item - would highly recommend.

This is a very typical early 1960's adventure movie. It's fun to see Majorca & the underwater action. Mark Stevens is miscast as an adventurer & the plot is pedestrian, dragging quite a bit. In spite of these faults I still enjoyed the movie & can recommend it to those whose taste does not run to spaceships & superheros.

This film does beg the question: What did Mark Stevens do to end up in this drivel? Come to think of it the same might be said of Joanne Dru.In the 1940's and early 1950's, Stevens with his intense demeanor and clipped diction was a reliable lead in "B" films such as "The Dark Corner" and "Cry Vengeance" as well as solid support in prestige pictures like "The Snake Pit." But in "September Storm" he is quite simply wasted. And so is Joanne Dru, she of some exceptionally fine work in some memorable John Wayne westerns."September Storm" tells a very dreary tale of three men (including Stevens) and a model (Dru) aboard a sailing vessel, a junket taken in search of buried treasure. They find the treasure, they fight about it, and they ultimately lose it. Not that any of it matters since within minutes of the opening credits the viewer yearns for those most desirable of words: "The End."Predictably, there is an encounter with a shark, but even this creature acts rather bored with the meaningless point to this film. Perhaps, in 3-D this picture might be more palatable, but I doubt it.