Howard Hawks THE BIG SKY (1952) (1 Viewer)

[MarcoBiscotti]

Is this owned (under license/distribution rights) by Warner Bros?


I see that it was released as a Special Edition by a third party studio in R2/France, though according to Gary's screen caps at DVD Beaver, it's seriously lacking in the image dept.

2008 will finally give us The Gunfighter as well as underrated classics like The Law and Jake Wade and other great westerns that we've been patiently waiting. Does anyone have any further info regarding this more 'prominent' title?

 

[Eric Peterson]

Good question. This is one of the rare Hawks' films that I have never seen.

 

[dany]

One of my fav's with Dewey Martin. I think it was one of his first films. I belive Dewey is still alive but long gone from the business.

 

[Richard--W]

Whomever owns THE BIG SKY, release it to DVD. The film is conspicuous by its absence.

 

[Charles H]

WB owns THE BIG SKY by virtue of their ownership of the RKO library. For many years, it was listed as "forthcoming" on laserdisc but it never happened--possibly because 20 minutes were missing from the original running time. I forget if TCM shows the complete print now. It's not very good but MGM/UA is releasing THE WAY WEST in a couple of weeks with Kirk Douglas in another adaptation of A.B. Guthrie, jr.

 

[MarcoBiscotti]

TCM does show the complete print but I believe parts are sourced from inferior 16mm prints and it's quite obvious by the dropout in quality. Perhaps it's absence on home video could be the result of the condition of surviving elements?

 

[Rod J]

"The Big Sky" is available in France (R2) as "La Captive aux yeux clairs" -the print may not be perfect but it's quite watchable (running time 122 minutes (PAL)).

éditions montparnasse offers a lot of RKO titles that are apparently "unsuitable" for US release.

 

[Alan Tully]

A few years back in a Warner chat I'm sure I can remember them talking about a Howard Hawks Box Set with; "The Spirit Of St. Louis" "Land Of The Pharaohs" "The Big Sky" & a few others. It didn't quite work out like that, & it looks like "The Big Sky" is the only no show.

 

[Robert Crawford]

This is one of Hawk's best films and is really underrated by critics and movie fans alike, but unfortunately, I believe Warner has some serious issues with the film elements.





Crawdaddy

 

[Robin9]

"The Spirit Of St. Louis" is Billy Wilder, not Howard Hawks. Warners must have been planning to use a different movie.

 

[Alan Tully]

Oops....what was I thinking of, it was late at night.