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The Lost World - 1925
Page 1 - Contents Gallery of Art and Stills Interview With David Shepard Resources
Credits Interview with David Shepard - 3 The cover of the Programme from the premiere of The Lost World, 1925 at the Astor Theatre, New York City, New York, United States.
Dinosaurs
- Allosaurus
- Apatosaurus
- Brachiosaurus
- Brontosaurus (Apatosaurus)
- Hadrosaurs
- Pteranodon
- Triceratops
D.I.G. How many people are actually involved in a restoration like this?DS: Well, that is a question of definitions. First of course there is Jacques Poitrat, our angel at La Sept ARTE, who made it all possible. Six key people contributed footage. There were two telecine facilities -- one in Paris, France, and one in Atlanta, Georgia, with their respective technicians. Serge and I gathered the footage, supervised the telecine, made the creative decisions regarding continuity, titling and tinting; Mathieu was an unbelievably dedicated AVID editor and chose the best available take of each shot. The Alloy Orchestra composes and performs as a collective of three persons, and of course there was a recording engineer and a music editor for their score. Robert Israel compiled and conducted the second score and there were about fifteen musicians, a recording engineer and a music editor for his score. My assistant Ben Baker and I spent four days in Michigan recording
interview material with Roy Pilot, and another skilled editor, Bret Hampton,
spent five days bringing my rough assembly to the necessary degree of polish. And we must remember He Whom I Will Not Name at George Eastman House whose intransigence got us started in the first place.D.I.G. What made you decide to do two scores?
DS: We felt this film would have wide appeal and that some persons would be
enthusiastic about a modern score whereas other would prefer a traditional score. Normally the economics of presenting a silent film on video would not permit two tracks, but I thought this would be an exception. It is actually the fourth time I have offered two scores and the first three were appreciated in the marketplace.D.I.G Who composed the original 1925 score?
DS: James Bradford
D.I.G Is it made of stock pieces or does it have original themes?
DS: Both. It's almost all stock but there is an original love theme; the first page of the music is printed in the souvenir program reproduction that comes with the DVD
D.I.G. Can you talk briefly about the amazing "discovery" of movie score material that you made?
DS: My cousin Carol Stone used to lead an orchestra in New Orleans which performed music of the early twentieth century in original arrangements. Together, about 1972, we purchased the music library of an old movie/vaudeville theater in Washington, DC; she kept the pop music and I kept the film music. There were two copies of THE LOST WORLD music cues in that collection.
D.I.G. Are you pleased with the results?
DS: Normally when I finish a project I see only the mistakes and the might-have-beens. It takes years before I can sit back and enjoy it as a mere spectator. But I think that with some distance I am going to like this one quite a lot.
D.I.G. Is there any amusing or amazing anecdote that you'd like to add?
DS: I am going to give a copy of the DVD to Eastman House. I wish I could be a fly on the wall when they watch it.
D.I.G. What will your next project be?
DS: No dinosaurs, I'm afraid. It will be DR. MABUSE, Parts 1 and 2 in one four-hour DVD, with new full orchestra score. It's a very famous German film with one of the greatest villains of all time!
April 2001
RESOURCES
A Conversation with David Shepard David Shepard on The Indian Tomb
Other films restored by David Shepard
Nosferatu - Special Edition (1922)
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1921)
Destiny (1921) aka Der müde Tod
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