DVD - What’s Left?
October 5th, 2007 -- by Augie De Blieck Jr.
What movie would you like to have in your DVD library that hasn’t been released in the format yet? What’s the lone holdout movie you desperately cling to a VHS copy of, hoping against hope that the movie studios open their eyes long enough to see past doing yet another “Special Edition” of the latest hot movie in lieu of your old catalog favorite title?
Is there anything left?
October 5th, 2007 at 9:06 am
Howard the Duck
October 5th, 2007 at 9:09 am
The African Queen
October 5th, 2007 at 9:42 am
Lonelyhearts.
The Lusty Men.
October 5th, 2007 at 10:26 am
If You Could See What I Hear — Marc Singer in the role of blind pianist Tom Sullivan. Probably not the greatest movie, but I have childhood nostalgia giving me rose-colored glasses to look through.
October 5th, 2007 at 10:51 am
A real version of The Trouble With Angels, which only has a crappy pan-and-scan version out.
(Good call on The African Queen, btw.)
October 5th, 2007 at 10:51 am
John Cassavettes “Husbands”-even the crappy Hollywood version–something. Anything. Also a region 1 of “Love Streams.”
Michael Mann’s “The Keep”-again, even if it’s the terrible 90 minute one.
A widescreen version of Lynch’s “Lost Highway” on a Region 1.
Cronenbergs version of “M. Butterfly”
Soderbergh’s “Kafka” and “King of the Hill”
Why guys like this don’t have their whole catalog available is absurd–there aren’t even foreign versions of most of these.
October 5th, 2007 at 11:52 am
Peter’s Friends
Watch It
Condor Man
From Television
Showtime 30-Minute Movies
Fallen Angels
Gideon’s Crossing
October 5th, 2007 at 1:21 pm
Orson Welles’s “The Magnificent Ambersons”. Even though the studio butchered it beyond recognition from Welles’s original cut, it’s still an AMAZING picture. Heaven knows, if they could ever reconstruct his original vision and release that edit on DVD, I might have to pass out for a week.
October 5th, 2007 at 1:22 pm
Oh, and “The Day The Clown Cried” too. =)
October 5th, 2007 at 1:40 pm
I understand that “The Magnificent Ambersons” is a film that has been worked on for a while now as regards a DVD release, and may still be a few years off yet. Understandly they want to make sure they have the best elements available, so they’re still searching for better quality masters and missing bits.
It’s highly unlikely that it will ever be seen as Welles conceived it, though. Chances are high that the studio simply destroyed the footage they hacked out when butchering his original cut down to a length more palatable for them.
October 5th, 2007 at 1:59 pm
The Batman TV series with Adam West. It makes me sad that this isn’t out yet…
October 5th, 2007 at 1:59 pm
I should add that I know WHY it’s not out, but still…
October 5th, 2007 at 4:45 pm
Electric Dreams.
Anyone ever heard of it? It was a so-so 80’s comedy about a guy’s computer trying to kill him over a woman. I don’t know why but I always liked it, and would like to see it again.
October 5th, 2007 at 7:09 pm
I would love to see a DVD set featuring episodes of “Late Night with David Letterman” … even the Anniversary clip shows … and especially “David Letterman’s 2nd Annual Holiday Film Festival”.
The live action “Shazam!” Saturday morning series … we got one episode of “Shazam!” in the “Wonder Woman” season three box set, so the original material must still exist … they came out with “The Secrets of Isis,” so why not “Shazam!”
And I second that notion for “Electric Dreams” … fantastic movie, and it was the very first movie that I rented on VHS.
October 5th, 2007 at 7:14 pm
But my number one hope for a DVD release is “Antarctica” — the original Japanese version (a.k.a. “Nankyoku Monogatari”). This is the movie that inspired “Eight Below” … the original was released in the U.S. in the mid-80s albeit severely edited and does exist on VHS. Oh, how I hoped and prayed that they would release this one on DVD when “Eight Below” came out (as they did when “Shall We Dance?” was released), but it was not to be.
October 5th, 2007 at 7:18 pm
She’s Gotta Have It - I can’t believe this isn’t out on DVD yet. I keep waiting, but year after year, it never shows up.
October 5th, 2007 at 7:52 pm
China Beach. One of the best TV shows to try to show people away from a war front ‘coping’ that isn’t a comedy. Reran all the time and then stopped. I believe music rights are what’s killing it and it’s killing me.
October 5th, 2007 at 8:16 pm
Man, I rented “Electric Dreams” on BETA. I wish this movie was on DVD.
October 5th, 2007 at 10:56 pm
Seeing GIDEON’S CROSSING, I had to pipe up for ORLEANS, the sex-episode wonder from the creator of CHINA BEACH. and VR.5 Starred Larry Hagman. I have it on VHS somewhere, I think. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118416/
October 6th, 2007 at 12:03 am
The last couple of Abbott & Costello movies (Rio Rita and Meet Captain Kidd).
October 6th, 2007 at 8:42 am
Oh, and from the TV world - BIRDS OF PREY and MR. AND MRS. SMITH (the Scott Bakula/Maria Bello series from 1996).
October 6th, 2007 at 8:42 am
And Augie — the “sex-episode wonder”? :)
October 6th, 2007 at 11:22 am
Ollie Hopnoodle’s Haven of Bliss (the first sequel to “A Christmas Story,” starring Jerry O’Connell)
The Electric Grandmother
Muppet Family Christmas (unedited)
October 6th, 2007 at 12:49 pm
Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse. Coppola apparently has been blocking its release for years because it makes him look like an asshole, which of course only proves that he is an asshole.
The “original” original Star Wars trilogy in a new anamorphic transfer.
Peter David’s Oblivion movies would be awesome. I’m still hanging on to my laserdisc of that one.
Galaxy of Terror, which may never be released due to rights issues.
Wild Thing, written by John Sayles. Don’t know of anyone else who’s even seen it.
Frog Dreaming with that kid from E.T. Again, don’t know anyone else who has ever seen it, but I remember it being great from when I was a kid.
It would be nice if someone put out a non-Brazilian DVD of Orson Welles’ Chimes at Midnight.
Or a Region 1 of Chuck Russell’s The Devils.
Or a version of The Kid with the Golden Arm that doesn’t look like it was taped off of pan-and-scan television, watched a million times, then copied a dozen times, and badly dubbed to boot.
Vincent Price in The Conqueror Worm, although that may have come out already…
A lot of stuff is finally coming out on DVD, making my once mighty laserdisc collection rapidly gather dust. It seems like only yesterday that I was the only person in town with a widescreen version of Forbidden Planet, Fistful of Dynamite, Harper, or the Gene Kelly Three Musketeers…
October 6th, 2007 at 1:22 pm
Phil - While it was, indeed, a simple typo, there was a storyline in that series about a brother’s love for his sister. Or half sister. Or something.
So, yeah, I’ll say I MEANT to do that. ;-)
There’s no running away from it now. =(
October 9th, 2007 at 7:56 am
Bob Newhart’s OTHER eponymous TV shows.
Chris Elliot’s “Get a Life.”
HBO’s comedy specials.
The State’s MTV show.
Galactica ‘80 — kidding, kidding.
October 9th, 2007 at 6:20 pm
Rick - Ooh, “Bob” is a good choice, especially for the comic book references and the guest appearances of Marc Silvestri and Jim Lee!
And I think Galactica 80 is on the way now, too.
October 13th, 2007 at 11:33 pm
Latest on Galactica 80: http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=8252
October 18th, 2007 at 6:33 pm
[…] When I asked last week about what DVDs haven’t been released yet that you’d like to see, I was thinking about movies. Many of you had TV shows, though, and those are just as valid. Here, then, are some highlights: […]
October 30th, 2007 at 12:03 am
off the top of my head…
Howard The Duck
Angus
Tapeheads
December 22nd, 2007 at 9:48 am
The thirteen episodes of Mr and Mrs. Smith starring Scott Bakula and Maria Bello. This series had everthing from humor and excitement to romance. The last four episodes weren’t even shown in the US. What a pity this series was cancelled!!! These two actors were terrific.