The Bootleg Files: 3rd Ave. El

Posted on March 15, 2024 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 857: “3rd Ave. El” (1955 Oscar-nominated short).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube and Internet Archive.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: It was reportedly on video, but I can’t confirm that.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: This fell through the cracks.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Maybe as a special feature.

New York City residents of a certain age will remember the IRT Third Avenue Line, an elevated railway that operated between Manhattan and the Bronx. The Manhattan portion of the line – which was informally known as the 3rd Avenue El – ended in 1955, while the Bronx portion of the line had service until 1973.
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A Time Out of War (1954)

Posted on February 27, 2024 by Phil Hall

Academy Award trivia buffs will know the 1954 production “A Time Out of War” was the first student film to win the Oscar – in the Short Subject (Two-Reel) category, beating out competition from the Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox and Disney studios. And when you experience the film, you’ll understand how a small no-budget student project could one-up the major Hollywood players.
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The Bolero (1973)

Posted on January 22, 2023 by Phil Hall

The winner of the 1973 Academy Award for Best Short Subject (Live Action), Bill Fertik’s film essay offers a consideration of Maurice Ravel’s masterwork via a performance of the piece by the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

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The Bootleg Files: Chagall

Posted on June 17, 2022 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 805: “Chagall” (1963 Oscar-winning documentary short narrated by Vincent Price).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: It fell through the cracks.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Probably not.

If you’re the type of a movie fan who feels the need to see every film that won an Academy Award, you probably experienced a frustrated pursuit of “Chagall,” which won the 1963 Best Documentary Short Subject. For many years, the film was very difficult to locate – there has never been a home entertainment release and it was absent from YouTube until last August when an unauthorized posting based on a McGraw-Hill Films educational market video popped up.
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Oscar-Nominated Documentary is Auctioned as Non-Fungible Token (NFT)

Posted on March 15, 2021 by Phil Hall

There is a new entertainment platform for filmmakers: non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
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The Bootleg Files: The Crunch Bird

Posted on February 26, 2021 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 758: “The Crunch Bird” (1971 Academy Award-winning animated short).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: It was part of a Goodtimes Home Video VHS release at one point.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: It seems to have fallen through the proverbial cracks.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Only in an anthology of Oscar-winning shorts.

Here is a great question for Oscar trivia buffs: which Academy Award-winning production had the shortest running time? If you are reading this column, the answer is a bit obvious: it is “The Crunch Bird,” the 1971 winner of the Best Animated Short Subject Oscar, which only ran a mere two minutes.
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The Bootleg Files: To Die in Madrid

Posted on October 30, 2020 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 745: “To Die in Madrid” (1963 Oscar-nominated documentary by Frédéric Rossif).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube, albeit without English subtitles.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: Most likely due to a problem with rights clearance.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Unlikely at this time.

In March 1962, the Spanish government of Generalissimo Francisco Franco received a request from French producer Nicole Stephane for permission to shoot a travelogue-style documentary called “Eternal Spain.” Stephane identified French director Frédéric Rossif as the creative talent behind the camera.
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