Phonographs in Movies...

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drh
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Re: Phonographs in Movies...

Post by drh »

m_nakamura wrote: Mon Oct 06, 2025 1:50 pm In Kino no Tabi, (Kino's Journey —the Beautiful World), there is futuristic things but also stuff from the past, some of the androids in the anime & manga have 30's~ portable phonographs attached to them.
Missed this posting earlier. Which version do you mean, the early one or the fairly recent remake? I've seen both, and I agree with what I gather is the general consensus that the earlier one is preferable, not that the later one isn't good taken on its own terms. Definitely a unique series, thought-provoking and more than occasionally touching, and well worth watching in either version. A point in favor of the earlier incarnation is the art style, which is deliberately and distinctively retro. I don't remember any phonographs, although it's been long enough that my memories are fairly general.

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Re: Phonographs in Movies...

Post by epigramophone »

drh wrote: Thu Mar 12, 2026 12:32 pm I don't remember any phonographs, although it's been long enough that my memories are fairly general.
Please see my post on the previous page. There was an Operaphone in the 1974 film.

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drh
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Re: Phonographs in Movies...

Post by drh »

epigramophone wrote: Thu Mar 12, 2026 2:32 pm
drh wrote: Thu Mar 12, 2026 12:32 pm I don't remember any phonographs, although it's been long enough that my memories are fairly general.
Please see my post on the previous page. There was an Operaphone in the 1974 film.
Er, not talking about "The Great Gatsby." Talking about the anime series Kino no Tabi, (Kino's Journey —the Beautiful World).

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Re: Phonographs in Movies...

Post by OrthoFan »

epigramophone wrote: Thu Mar 12, 2026 9:11 am Which version did you watch? The 1974 (Robert Redford) or the 2013 (Leonardo DiCaprio)?
Towards the end of the 1974 film, Gatsby is relaxing by his pool and listening to one of those grand piano shaped "Operaphones".
I seem to remember that it was in Chinoiserie finish, but most surviving examples are in Mahogany.
Here's a screenshot from the 1974 movie --
Screenshot 2026-03-12 151349.jpg

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Re: Phonographs in Movies...

Post by ajhuth1877 »

Not sure if some of these have been written on here already, but I know that there is a crapophone in "A series of unfortunate events"

Also, there's a Portable in Bing Crosby's "White Christmas"

And when Pollyanna is in her bedroom in "Pollyanna" there's a phonograph in the background.

I know a version of "The Great Gatsby" has a scene where a lady puts a record on, but the record is about 15 newer than the scene is supposed to take place in and it spins at 45 RPM!

And in the newest Ghost Busters movie there is the Cylinder recording of the demon. When it is played, there are so many issues.
They are called wax cylinders, but if they truly were wax, and I suspect they were because they were home recordings, then the four-minute reproducer would tear up the record. Also when they go to play the record the needle never touches it. When they start the phonograph, they just touch a part of it like there is a button instead of a switch. The crank spins backwards as the record is being played. And finally, when the record breaks, it doesn't break like wax, it breaks in an obviously fake way. I'm not putting down the movie, in fact is was a very good movie, but I just notice scenes like this the most.

I don't know if this counts, but in an episode of Pawn Stars, a guy brings in a phonograph and it plays waaaayyy too fast. And he slams the needle down onto it. The phonograph came with extra parts, but these "Extra Parts" are just a Columbia Q or Eagle. :lol:

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