HOW ANATOMY (1963) WAS LOST TO TIME

Milo Williams, aspiring film director, died suddenly in a car accident on October 17th 1956. This crash would be the catalyst for his prolific directing career. Milo would become undead, and was quickly sent to the hospital for his injuries to be assessed. He was told that he would need all of his flesh and organs removed to prevent rotting pain, as was typical for the dead in the first half of the 20th century. He was also told that his wife, Cordelia, was permenantly deceased as a result of the crash, leaving him completely alone in the world. Days later, he would leave the hospital a dead man, full of sorrow, grief, and inspiration. This is the day Milo set out to direct his first feature film.

Dedicated to her.

Before he died, Milo was allegedly a very anti-social individual. He was mortified by the fact that he could have lost his life and never really known anyone. He began to put himself out there more and attempt to make friends and connections to help him make his art. Three people in particular he met were Fran Harper, Clark Bava, and Kurtis Matthews. Clark was a part of a production company known as Royal Garden Films, and through this connection, Milo would be given the time and resources to create his first short films, and eventually, the stars aligned for Anatomy to begin production.

With Milo directing, Fran starring as the protagonist Margret, Kurtis as our secondary lead Thomas and Clark producing, the film began to take shape. Many more would join the team, including local theater actor Alexander North, and Nora Elizabeth Russel. After a year of shooting and 2 of post production, Anatomy would release to mixed reviews and abysmal attendance.

Though it wasn't the Oscar winner he had hoped it would be, Milo was proud nonetheless. The film, however, would acquire the attention of Russel Aston, a representative from MGM. Before Milo knew it, he would be making his second film. And his third. And fourth, and finally, with 1979's "Wallace Visits a Cemetery", he would win Best Director at that year's Oscar awards. He had accomplished his dream, after all of the work he put in, Milo proposed he would take a 5 year filmmaking break.

Milo Williams has not made a film in 44 years. He was last seen in 2006.

In the time since his success in 1979, his feature debut has remained a coveted gem amongst cinema fans, majorly for the fact that it has not been seen in over 50 years. After its debut, a home release could give the film the new audience it deserves. Milo's career had yet to gain the prestige it now has today, so Anatomy's film reels would continue to gather dust. In around 1983 when the VHS was beginning to boom, a transfer of his entire 5 film filmography would be proposed by Royal Garden, as it still held the rights to most of Milo's works pre MGM. When attempting to find his early works, it was discovered that all known copies of Anatomy were severely damaged. Whether this be from poor preservation, floods, fires, or other factors, they were only able to find 2 usable copies, one in English and one dubbed in French. Unfortunately the biggest damage to the film and its legacy would come from those meant to preserve it.

Royal Garden was hitting rough financial times in the 80's thanks to some bad investments, they were willing to put aside preserving the integrity of their works for financial stability. In order to create a digestible, cheap and inexpensive collection of Milo's films, the VHS and soon DVD releases of Anatomy were re-cut, re edited and stripped of its ending to save time and money. This left the film in a disastrous state. Its previously praised visuals and performances are obscured by grain, and its story in shambles due to the senseless re-cuts. Expectedly the VHS sold extremely poorly, and the DVD release has been virtually lost due to rental practices leaving most copies completely broken. Anatomy is more lost now than ever before. And the number of people who even remember seeing the true version of the film became less and less over the years.

But with Los Deselatos Films, that all changes.

We are dedicated to the restoration of this obscure masterpiece. With patience, time, love, and care, we will restore it to its former glory. With each scene, another piece of the puzzle is revealed. With the full context of this original print, we may finally begin to understand Milo and Cordelia Williams.