Olive Films February 2017 Releases (1 Viewer)

[Ronald Epstein]

COMING IN FEBRUARY 2017
ON DVD & BLU-RAY

Olive Films is proud to announce the following February 2017 releases:

• King Solomon’s Mines (1985) - DVD/BD
• Panther Girl Of The Kongo (1955) - DVD/BD
• Evelyn (2002) - DVD/BD
• The Klansman (1974) - DVD/BD
• The Last Best Year (1990) - DVD
• Police (1985) - BD

FIRST TIME ON
BLU-RAY!

US+CANADA
PREBOOK: 1/17/17
STREET: 2/21/17

KING SOLOMON’S MINES
DVD
CAT: OF1317
UPC: 887090131711
SRP: $19.95

KING SOLOMON’S MINES
BD
CAT: OF1318
UPC: 887090131810
SRP: $29.95
KING SOLOMON’S MINES
RICHARD CHAMBERLAIN
(The Towering Inferno, Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold, Julius Caesar)
SHARON STONE
(Basic Instinct, Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold)
HERBERT LOM
(A Shot in the Dark, Night and the City, Villa Rides!)
JOHN RHYS-DAVIES
(Raiders of the Lost Ark, Lord of the Rings, Firewalker)

Directed by
J. LEE THOMPSON
(Cape Fear, Messenger of Death, Kinjite: Forbidden Subjects)


The first of two film adaptations based on the H. Rider Haggard adventures starring Richard Chamberlain and Academy Award nominee Sharon Stone (Best Actress, Casino – 1996), King Solomon’s Mines also features the arch villainy of Herbert Lom (Night and the City) and John Rhys-Davies (Firewalker).


YEAR: 1985
GENRE: ADVENTURE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH (with optional English subtitles)
LABEL: OLIVE FILMS
TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 100 mins
RATING: PG-13
VIDEO: 2.35:1 Aspect Ratio; COLOR
AUDIO: STEREO


Director J. Lee Thompson’s (Cape Fear) action-packed adventure film (based on the H. Rider Haggard novel of the same name) stars Richard Chamberlain (Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold) as intrepid explorer Allan Quatermain and Sharon Stone (Basic Instinct) as his adventurous paramour, Jesse Huston. Hired by Jesse to find her father who she believes disappeared in an attempt to find the fabled mines of King Solomon, Quatermain will run afoul of the evil Colonel Bockner (Herbert Lom, Villa Rides), a German explorer also on a quest to locate the mythic treasures. And neither Bockner nor his partner in crime, the merciless Turkish slave-trader, Dogati (John Rhys-Davies, Raiders of the Lost Ark), like the competition.

Adapted for the screen by Gene Quintano (Sudden Death) and James R. Silke (Revenge of the Ninja), King Solomon’s Mines features supporting performances by Ken Gampu (American Ninja 4: The Annihilation) and Sam Williams (King Solomon’s Treasure), with a score by Academy Award-winning composer Jerry Goldsmith (Best Original Score, The Omen – 1977).

FIRST TIME ON
BLU-RAY!

US+CANADA
PREBOOK: 1/17/17
STREET: 2/21/17

PANTHER GIRL OF THE KONGO DVD
CAT: OF1319
UPC: 887090131919
SRP: $19.95

PANTHER GIRL OF THE KONGO BD
CAT: OF1320
UPC: 887090132015
SRP: $29.95
PANTHER GIRL OF THE KONGO

PHYLLIS COATES (Perils of the Jungle; Marshal of Cedar Rock; Invasion, U.S.A.)
MYRON HEALEY (The Unearthly, Escape from Red Rock, The Hard Man)
ARTHUR SPACE (The Red House, The Spirit of St. Louis, 20 Million Miles to Earth)
JOHN DAY (Champion, The Man from the Alamo, Going Ape)
MIKE RAGAN (Jesse James Rides Again, Three Guns for Texas, Frontier Gun)
MORRIS BUCHANAN (Coffy, The Man in the Glass Booth, Good Times)
ROY GLENN (Carmen Jones, Written on the Wind, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner)

Directed by
FRANKLIN ADREON
(Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe, No Man’s Woman)

Franklin Adreon, the prolific director and producer of many of the Republic Pictures serials, including Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe, would take the helm as director of the twelve-episode Panther Girl of the Kongo.


YEAR: 1955
GENRE: ADVENTURE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH (with optional English subtitles)
LABEL: OLIVE FILMS
TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 166 mins
RATING: N/R
VIDEO: 1.37:1 Aspect Ratio; B&W
AUDIO: MONO


The jaw-dropping, eye-popping, edge-of-your-seat exploits of the fearless Panther Girl are brought vividly to life in the Republic Pictures serial Panther Girl of the Kongo starring Phyllis Coates (Perils of the Jungle) as Jean Evans, the Panther Girl of the title; Myron Healey (The Unearthly) as big game hunter Larry Sanders; and Arthur Space (The Red House) as the maddest of the mad scientists, Dr. Morgan.

All twelve action-packed jungle adventures (including The Claw Monster, The Killer Beast, Crater of Flame and the thrilling final chapter of the serial, House of Doom), directed by Franklin Adreon (Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe) are now available for your home viewing pleasure in one exciting package.

FIRST TIME ON
BLU-RAY!

US+CANADA
PREBOOK: 1/17/17
STREET: 2/21/17

EVELYN DVD
CAT: OF1321
UPC: 887090132114
SRP: $19.95

EVELYN BD
CAT: OF1322
UPC: 887090132213
SRP: $29.95
EVELYN

PIERCE BROSNAN (GoldenEye, Die Another Day, TV’s Remington Steele)
JULIANNA MARGULIES (Ghost Ship, TV’s The Good Wife, TV’s ER)
ALAN BATES (Women in Love, An Unmarried Woman, Nijinsky)
STEPHEN REA (The Crying Game, Interview with the Vampire, V for Vendetta)
AIDAN QUINN (Legends of the Fall, The Mission, TV’s Elementary)
SOPHIE VAVASSEUR (Becoming Jane. Resident Evil: Apocalypse, Poison Pen)

Directed by
BRUCE BERESFORD (Tender Mercies, Breaker Morant, Driving Miss Daisy)

Two-time Academy Award nominee Bruce Beresford (Best Adapted Screenplay, Breaker Morant – 1981; Best Director, Tender Mercies – 1984) brings the true-life inspired Evelyn to the screen which features supporting turns by fellow nominees Alan Bates (Best Actor, The Fixer - 1969) and Stephen Rea (Best Actor, The Crying Game - 1993).

YEAR: 2002
GENRE: DRAMA
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH (with optional English subtitles)
LABEL: OLIVE FILMS
TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 95 mins
RATING: PG
VIDEO: 2.35:1 Aspect Ratio; COLOR
AUDIO: 5.1 Surround


Inspired by a custody case brought before the Irish courts in 1955, Evelyn stars Pierce Brosnan (GoldenEye) as Desmond Doyle, a father fighting for the custody of his three children after abandonment by their mother. Due to the Irish law of the time, children could not be raised by one parent in what the courts considered “a broken home,” thus allowing the Doyle children to be placed in church-run orphanages, where neglect and cruelty were not out of the ordinary. Desmond, with the help of the kindly chemist and love interest (Julianna Margulies, TV’s The Good Wife), a local solicitor (Stephen Rea, The Crying Game), and two tough-as-nails lawyers (Alan Bates, Nijinsky; Aidan Quinn,Legends of the Fall), will take his fight to the highest courts to win their freedom. Rounding out the cast of talented actors is Sophie Vavasseur (Becoming Jane) as Evelyn, the little girl who won the hearts of a nation.

Evelyn is directed by Bruce Beresford (Driving Miss Daisy) from a screenplay written by Paul Pender (The Bogie Man).

FIRST TIME ON
BLU-RAY!

US+CANADA
PREBOOK: 1/17/17
STREET: 2/21/17

THE KLANSMAN DVD
CAT: OF1323
UPC: 887090132312
SRP: $14.95

THE KLANSMAN BD
CAT: OF1324
UPC: 887090132411
SRP: $29.95

THE KLANSMAN

LEE MARVIN (The Dirty Dozen, Cat Ballou, Shack Out on 101)
RICHARD BURTON (Where Eagles Dare, Becket, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?)
CAMERON MITCHELL (Deadly Prey, Carousel, Slaughter)
LOLA FALANA (The Liberation of L.B. Jones, Black Tigress, Lady Cocoa)
LUCIANA PALUZZI (A Black Veil for Lisa, Muscle Beach Party, Thunderball)
DAVID HUDDLESTON (The Big Lebowski, The Hudsucker Proxy, Blazing Saddles)
LINDA EVANS (TV’s Dynasty, Tom Horn, Beach Blanket Bingo)
O.J. SIMPSON (The Towering Inferno, Capricorn One, The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!)

Directed by
TERENCE YOUNG (Thunderball, Wait Until Dark, From Russia with Love)

Academy Award winner Lee Marvin (Best Actor, Cat Ballou - 1966) and seven-time Academy Award nominee Richard Burton (Equus) star in director Terence Young’s (Bloodline) controversial The Klansman.


YEAR: 1974
GENRE: DRAMA
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH (with optional English subtitles)
LABEL: OLIVE FILMS
TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 112 mins
RATING: R
VIDEO: 1.78:1 Aspect Ratio; COLOR
AUDIO: MONO


A powder keg of racial tensions is ignited in a small Alabama town when a black man is accused of raping a white woman. The lurid tale is played out against the backdrop of the civil rights movement and features lead performances by Lee Marvin (Cat Ballou) as the town sheriff taxed with keeping the peace, and Richard Burton (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?) as the liberal-minded landowner who finds himself caught in the middle of a heated war involving the town and the Ku Klux Klan.

The Klansman, directed by Terence Young (Thunderball) from a screenplay written by Millard Kaufman and Samuel Fuller based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by William Bradford Huie, features supporting performances by Luciana Paluzzi (A Black Veil for Lisa), Linda Evans (TV’s Dynasty), Lola Falana (The Liberation of L.B. Jones), Cameron Mitchell (Deadly Prey) and O.J. Simpson (The Towering Inferno).

FIRST TIME ON
DVD!

US+CANADA
PREBOOK: 1/17/17
STREET: 2/21/17

THE LAST BEST YEAR DVD
CAT: OF1325
UPC: 887090132510
SRP: $19.95



THE LAST BEST YEAR

MARY TYLER MOORE (Ordinary People, TV’s The Mary Tyler Moore Show)
BERNADETTE PETERS (The Jerk, It Runs in the Family, Impromptu)
BRIAN BEDFORD (Nixon, Grand Prix, Robin Hood)
KATE REID (Atlantic City, The Andromeda Strain, Equus)

Directed by
JOHN ERMAN (An Early Frost, Stella, Victoria & Albert)


Academy Award nominee (Best Actress, Ordinary People – 1981) and multi-Emmy winner Mary Tyler Moore is featured in the dramatic television film, The Last Best Year.


YEAR: 1990
GENRE: DRAMA
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH (with optional English subtitles)
LABEL: OLIVE FILMS
TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 96 mins
RATING: N/R
VIDEO: 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio; COLOR
AUDIO: MONO


After falling ill during a business trip, Jane Murray (Bernadette Peters, Impromptu) must confront her own mortality when she’s diagnosed with a terminal illness. Through her physician, Dr. Castle (Brian Bedford, Nixon), Jane is introduced to Wendy Haller (Mary Tyler Moore, Ordinary People), a psychologist who’ll help Jane face the emotional fall-out of her diagnosis. What begins as a professional relationship between doctor and patient, soon blossoms into a close friendship. And as their bond deepens, Wendy is able to see her own vulnerability and longing reflected in Jane.

The Last Best Year, directed by John Erman (An Early Frost) from a screenplay by David W. Rintels (Not Without My Daughter), features performances by Kate Reid (Atlantic City), Kenneth Welsh (The Day After Tomorrow) and Erika Alexander (TV’s Living Single).

FIRST TIME ON
BLU-RAY!

US+CANADA
PREBOOK: 1/17/17
STREET: 2/21/17

POLICE BD
CAT: OF1326
UPC: 887090132619
SRP: $29.95
POLICE

GERARD DEPARDIEU (1900, Cyrano de Bergerac, Green Card)
SOPHIE MARCEAU (Beyond the Clouds, Anna Karenina, The World Is Not Enough)
SANDRINE BONNAIRE (Vagabond, Monsieur Hire, À nos Amours)

Directed by
MAURICE PIALAT (Van Gogh, À nos amours, Under the Sun of Satan)

Police would be one of several collaborations between director Maurice Pialat and actor Gerard Depardieu (Academy Award nominee, Best Actor – Cyrano de Bergerac – 1991) that include such diverse films as Loulou, Under the Sun of Satanand Le garçu.




YEAR: 1985
GENRE: DRAMA
LANGUAGE: FRENCH with English subtitles
LABEL: OLIVE FILMS
TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 114 mins
RATING: N/R
ASPECT RATIO: 1.66:1 Aspect Ratio; COLOR
AUDIO: STEREO

SYNOPSIS:
Gerard Depardieu (1900) is cast as a tough French detective in Maurice Pialat’s romantic drama Police. Depardieu, praised by Sight and Sound in what they called “one of his strongest performances,” portrays Louis Mangin, a policier known for his hard-nosed interrogation tactics. His code of honor will be tested when he finds himself attracted to a drug dealer’s girlfriend (Sophie Marceau, Beyond the Clouds) who is also a suspect in a drug smuggling syndicate.

Police, directed by Maurice Pialat (À nos amours) from a screenplay by Pialat, Catherine Breillat, Sylvie Danton and Jacques Fieschi, features supporting performances by Sandrine Bonnaire (À nos Amours), Richard Anconina (A Stone in the Mouth) and Pascale Rocard (Rabbit Fever).

 

[Todd J Moore]

On the one hand, I'm pleased as punch that more Republic serials are coming out on Blu Ray. Especially since outside of the Artisan release of Captain Marvel, the only legit Republic serials to get on DVD were PD. All the others including the ones from the Serial Squadron--despite their claims of hating bootleg DVDs--were pirated. So to get these finally legitimately and in HD no less is terrific.

On the other hand, why is Olive releasing such God Awful ones before the really good ones? Is it the fact that they're shorter than most of the classics? I mean if they want to release a hot jungle girl serial, how about The Tiger Woman or Nyoka and the Tiger Men? Or Haunted Harbor even?

Oh, well. I'll get Panther Girl just to support it and hope more come out. I also hope Kino keeps them coming since they at least have two good ones.

Then again, if Kino does the good serials and Olive the bad, that wouldn't be too bad, either.

 

[Randy Korstick]

On the one hand, I'm pleased as punch that more Republic serials are coming out on Blu Ray. Especially since outside of the Artisan release of Captain Marvel, the only legit Republic serials to get on DVD were PD. All the others including the ones from the Serial Squadron--despite their claims of hating bootleg DVDs--were pirated. So to get these finally legitimately and in HD no less is terrific.

On the other hand, why is Olive releasing such God Awful ones before the really good ones? Is it the fact that they're shorter than most of the classics? I mean if they want to release a hot jungle girl serial, how about The Tiger Woman or Nyoka and the Tiger Men? Or Haunted Harbor even?

Oh, well. I'll get Panther Girl just to support it and hope more come out. I also hope Kino keeps them coming since they at least have two good ones.

Then again, if Kino does the good serials and Olive the bad, that wouldn't be too bad, either.

I'm very happy to see any of the republic serials coming they have had a drought on Home video since Laserdisc. I think they are releasing a lot of the later ones because they are in better shape and require less work to do an HD master. But if they sell they will keep digging deeper into the catalog.

 

[Paul Penna]

Earlier on the then-Olive rep said they weren't going to issue any Republic serials that had been bootlegged a lot.

 

[skylark68]

Definitely picking up King Solomon's Mines. Just a cash grab riding on the heels of Indiana Jones (i realize the actual book is much, much older), but it has its charms.

Can anyone tell me about the Klansman? Never heard of that one. Sounds interesting though with Lee Marvin and Richard Burton.

 

[Bob Cashill]

The Klansman is an absolute disaster, a project for Samuel Fuller that wound up with Terence Young, who later told Fuller he only took it on to pay for his girlfriend's lavish tastes. (Fuller's script was completely rewritten into tastelessness.) The highlight is the drunken, bleary-eyed Burton's "martial arts." This is the first official release of the film, after many bootlegs.

 

[skylark68]

Interesting. Thanks for the feedback. Maybe I'll pick it up if it gets cheap enough. I like Burton, even when he was hitting a low point due to excessive drinking.

 

[Todd J Moore]

Basically, all 66 Republic serials have been bootlegged over the past forty years. One company I will not name released DVD-Rs of almost all 52 VHS releases. There are a few that are PD like Radar Men From the Moon and the first three Zorro serials. But yeah, they've been out there for decades now.

That said, what Olive may or may not appreciate is that serial fans are such people as will consistently upgrade their copies. So putting these things out in HD is the best thing they can do. On the other hand, serial fans are slowly dying off--quite a few of the old Serial Squadron members have passed since I shot my first serial in 2001(King of the Park Rangers). So if these things don't come out fast enough, the market will dry up. Artisan made a serious mistake blowing off serial fans 15 years ago when companies like VCI and Alpha were putting out what they could. Hopefully Olive and Kino don't make the same mistake.