Comments on: John Sutherland Productions

by: Robert

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 15:44:06 +0000

I must say IT’S EVERYBODY’S BUSINESS is quite mind blowing. Having read Cartoon Modern back to back, and generally researching any 50 animation i can find, the first of these four films is a masterclass in itself. Thanks so much for pointing me to the Archive site. I predict many hours lost to it in coming weeks…
Just a shame to find out about RHAPSODY OF STEEL as have been searching for that. Very sad indeed.
Those DVD’s mentioned are indeed a rip off and dreadfully constructed. But, the 1940’s collection gave me my first view of Sutherlands work, so cant be all bad.

by: Amid

Wed, 28 Dec 2005 18:19:01 +0000

Jim - RHAPSODY OF STEEL is unfortunately not available online or anywhere else for that matter. Watching a 35mm print of that film is amazing. Really beautiful artwork.

by: Jim

Wed, 28 Dec 2005 12:53:58 +0000

I stumbled on these films awhile ago as well and and tried to find info on John Sutherland Productions but no luck. Thank you Amid for posting this and I can’t wait fo the book. Is RHAPSODY OF STEEL avalable on line or dvd/vhs?

by: Amid

Sun, 18 Dec 2005 05:46:24 +0000

Dave - The studio existed until the 80s I think, but work had petered out long before then, and it was around mostly in name. John Sutherland passed away in 2001. Most of the studio’s films, I believe, are in the public domain, but the problem is finding people who have prints of them. It’s a shame that they’re so difficult to find, but the same can be said of the industrial films of other studios like Graphic Films, Elektra, Pelican, Transfilm, etc.

by: Dave Redl

Sat, 17 Dec 2005 09:16:34 +0000

I’ve fallen in love with these cartoons the moment I saw them. Although I’ve downloaded them, I’ve considered buying that DVD as well, but although I wish to own a “physical” copy of them, I don’t wish to own a bad “physical” copy of them. Amid, you say Sutherland produced a hundred of these cartoons? Who owns them now? I’ve done a search for some type of Sutherland Productions website, thinking perhaps there’d be more information on this studio, but I’ve found none. What was this studio’s demise? (I’m very excited about your book and plan to buy it. Now that I know you’ll have Sutherland stuff in it as well, I can’t wait!)

by: woodrow phoenix

Thu, 15 Dec 2005 06:41:07 +0000

I stumbled across IT’S EVERYBODY’S BUSINESS a couple of years ago and was astounded by how lovely it was. There are at least six other shorts in the archive that are as well designed as the ones you mention, but it’s been so long since I looked at them I’ve forgotten the names.
For anyone who hasn’t been there: It’s worth an hour of browsing through the archive to see what else you can discover.

by: Joan M. Mas

Thu, 15 Dec 2005 04:12:15 +0000

I love these cartoons, with their stylish backgrounds and characters. I can bear the scratchy film - the colours are still good, although I imagine they must have suffered the effects of time, too.

by: lloyd

Wed, 14 Dec 2005 17:00:02 +0000

you’re quite right amid, why pay when you can have them online..well if they remastered it or got rid of those awful scratches.

by: Thorsten Hasenkamm

Wed, 14 Dec 2005 09:35:25 +0000

Yeah, it’s a kind of high price for such a DVD (which has a very bad packaging, too)…personally I always like to have a somewhat “original” DVD instead of a disc that I burned myself for watching on my living-room-player…I was thinking that maybe there are other “freaks” like me here who like to have the same…but basically you’re right, it’s a ridiculous price (for something that has such a bad packaging & layout, too)…

by: Amid

Wed, 14 Dec 2005 09:16:07 +0000

Thorsten - It looks like that company is simply repackaging the material on Archive.org and putting a hefty price tag on it, which is an incredible rip. Especially because some of the prints on Archive.org are scratched up and spliced, especially the WORKING DOLLARS one. Why pay $20 for films that are free online.