If you’re a fan of John Wayne, you’re going to love this – and even if you aren’t a fan of the Duke, this might be of interest: Wayne’s daughter, Gretchen Wayne, is working to have one of her father’s pictures brought back to theaters. The picture in question is the classic Hondo, which was originally filmed in 3-D. Thanks to advances in technology, the movie is being restored back to its 3-D glory and now Batjac Productions, Wayne’s film company (founded by her father), is looking for a distributor.
Wayne told The Hollywood Reporter that Hondo was shown last year at Cannes after some minor clean-up and color correction. Now the studio has given the print more time and attention and have ”a much better product” that they’re shopping around.
The new print was shown earlier this week at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater as part of the Academy’s 3-D program. Leonard Maltin interviewed Gretchen Wayne as part of the program, which played to a full audience.
I don’t know about you, but the classics aren’t re-released to theaters often enough for my tastes. I’d love to see more done with classic pictures like this, especially taking advantage of modern technology to improve the original product to match the creator’s intent. I’m not saying lets convert films like Gone with the Wind to a 3-D format, but if the original plan was for a 3-D picture, let’s take advantage of technology to create that in a better way!
