Ignite’s Wonderful Weekend of New York Screenings
Restoration Supervisor Scott MacQueen delivers presentation "Invaders From Mars: A Nightmare of Restoration" ahead of special screening at MoMA.
Greetings Martians,
Earlier this year, the Ignite team, including founder Jan Willem Bosman Jansen and our star preservationist Scott MacQueen went to New York for a screening double header. First up was the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan where head curator Dave Kehr gave us a warm welcome before our screening of the restored print of William Cameron Menzies’ Invaders from Mars, which was presented during MoMA’s annual “To Save & Project” (TSaP) festival. First on the agenda was a stellar lecture from MacQueen about the lengthy special processes and sourcing required to preserve and restore Invaders (as MacQueen has noted on the special features of our pristine 4K and Blu-ray discs, 5 different prints of the movie were needed from different points in the film’s life as a theatrically distributed film).
After his introduction, Team Ignite got to tour the museum a little and took in the incredibly impressive display exploring the making of Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio, another very painstaking process, albeit of a different kind. Then it was showtime and in a packed house the restored feature had the audience in the palm of its hand. Laughter and a frisson of delirium filled the crowded movie house. It was proof positive that even a 70 year old movie can still provoke profound excitement from a modern audience.
After his introduction, Team Ignite got to tour the museum a little and took in the incredibly impressive display exploring the making of Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio, another very painstaking process, albeit of a different kind. Then it was showtime and in a packed house the restored feature had the audience in the palm of its hand. Laughter and a frisson of delirium filled the crowded movie house. It was proof positive that even a 70 year old movie can still provoke profound excitement from a modern audience.
The following day it was off to the Bedford Playhouse at the Clive Davis Arts Center in Bedford, NY in the heart of scenic Westchester county for another packed screening of Invaders from Mars and another informative opening from Scott MacQueen. Bob Harris and Hollywood Elsewhere’s Jeffrey Wells presented the screening and gave an introductory note of their own before our restoration once more wowed the audience. There’s no denying that seeing this restoration is like seeing a completely new movie. Even the members of the audience who had seen the film when it was newly released agreed that this was unlike that experience.
We hope to have more exciting screening news for you all soon, but in the meantime please make sure you get your copy of Invaders from Mars today and see what all the fuss is about for yourself.
We hope to have more exciting screening news for you all soon, but in the meantime please make sure you get your copy of Invaders from Mars today and see what all the fuss is about for yourself.
L-R: Scott MacQueen (Restoration Supervisor, Invaders From Mars) and Hollywood Elsewhere’s Jeffrey Wells. Q&A at Bedford Playhouse.
Restoration Supervisor Scott MacQueen at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City for Invaders From Mars presentation and screening.