PARAMOUNT: Will You Ever Release These Titles on Blu-ray... (1 Viewer)

[Josh Steinberg]

The one I want more than any others from Paramount is a wonderful, pretty recent gem from the year 2000 called "Wonder Boys".

Directed by Curtis Hanson from a screenplay by Steve Kloves (adapting Michael Chabon's novel), starring Michael Douglas, Tobey Maguire, Robert Downey Jr., Francis McDormand, Katie Holmes, and with an Academy Award winning title song by Bob Dylan. It's in my top five movies of all time. Wonderful characters brought to life by a brilliant cast and great writing, with really top-notch work by everyone both in front and behind the camera.

Paramount first released it in February 2000 and it flopped hard (this has been attributed near universally to a dismal advertising campaign that completely misrepresented the movie), but they took the rare step of giving it a theatrical re-release later in the year, I believe October 2000, and they still botched the marketing campaign and it flopped twice in the same year. It's available in standard definition on DVD but that's about it -- you can't even get it in SD, much less HD, on the various online services like Vudu, iTunes, Amazon Instant, etc.

With Robert Downey Jr and Tobey Maguire huge stars now thanks to turns in Marvel-themed movies, and Michael Douglas about to join them on that list, there's probably a way to market the movie to an audience that loves those actors but has never heard of this movie. The writer Steve Kloves went on to write the screenplays for all of the Harry Potter movies (except for the fifth film), though "from the screenwriter of Harry Potter" might be a little unwieldy to print on a box cover.

I don't expect to ever get this film in HD, but it's got to be at the top of the list for me. I'd buy it in a heartbeat - and probably buy a bunch of copies to give to friends and family.

 

[bujaki]

It's a good film (not in my top list of anything), but it definitely holds up to repeated viewings. I recently read the novel and it is also a very good read. Both film and novel are highly recommended.

 

[Dick]

Heaven Can Wait, Day of the Locust, Lifeguard, Black Sunday, Lipstick, The Brady Bunch Movie, The First Wives Club, Sabrina (1995), What Lies Beneath, Chicken Run, Testament, The Big Bus, Bug, Desperate Characters, War of the Worlds, Ordinary People, First Monday in October, I'm Dancing as fast as I Can, The Dead Zone, The Elephant Man, Looking for Mr. Goodbar, Little Darlings, Atlantic City, Urban Cowboy, Serial, Starting Over, The Longest Yard (1975), Don't Look Now, Mommie Dearest, The Fan (1981), Explorers, Some Kind of Wonderful, Pretty in Pink, Children of a Lesser God, The Accused, Murder on the Orient Express, The Out-of-Towners....The list is endless!!!! Some of these are major classics.....Why why why aren't some of these available?I can't wait forever...been purchasing HD films from amazon to TIVO.I'll be dead by the time they get around to releasing their classics.

Paramount's back catalog has for many years been the most elusive of any studio. Considering the number of "A" titles that remain unavailable to us (your list covers many of them, but leaves off PAPER MOON, DRAGONSLAYER, PARALLAX VIEW, ROMEO AND JULIET (1968) and many others), it seems to me it ought be illegal for Paramount/Warner Bros. to keep these titles in prison when no Miranda rights were read.

 

[Kyrsten Brad]

Heaven Can Wait, Day of the Locust, Lifeguard, Black Sunday, Lipstick, The Brady Bunch Movie, The First Wives Club, Sabrina (1995), What Lies Beneath, Chicken Run, Testament, The Big Bus, Bug, Desperate Characters, War of the Worlds, Ordinary People, First Monday in October, I'm Dancing as fast as I Can, The Dead Zone, The Elephant Man, Looking for Mr. Goodbar, Little Darlings, Atlantic City, Urban Cowboy, Serial, Starting Over, The Longest Yard (1975), Don't Look Now, Mommie Dearest, The Fan (1981), Explorers, Some Kind of Wonderful, Pretty in Pink, Children of a Lesser God, The Accused, Murder on the Orient Express, The Out-of-Towners....

The list is endless!!!! Some of these are major classics.....Why why why aren't some of these available?

I can't wait forever...been purchasing HD films from amazon to TIVO.

I'll be dead by the time they get around to releasing their classics.

Seconded on:

Mommie Dearest (1982)

Pretty In Pink (1985): Should be released as part of the "Best of the 80s" collection like another Molly Ringwald film, Sixteen Candles (1984).

 

[Ethan Riley]

Fancy Pants!

 

[mikeyhitchfan]

The Red Tent 1969 with Sean Connery and Peter Finch!

 

[atfree]

A guilty pleasure to be sure, but I think it would LOOK great on BD:

 

[ahollis]

A guilty pleasure to be sure, but I think it would LOOK great on BD:

Olivia deHaviland topless in Blu-ray. Wow. It is also a guilty pleasure of mine also. So second vote.

 

[cinerama10]

The ones I want most are THE PARALLAX VIEW, BLACK SUNDAY, THE DAY OF THE LOCUST and THE KEEP. It's beyond my comprehension why we haven't gotten the NAKED GUN sequels or TOP SECRET in Blu. Hell, I'll even take RAT RACE!

Which RAT RACE? There have been several films with that title? Most of the films listed in this forum, would have a very limited appeal. There are some classics but many were flops and tedious affairs.

 

[cinerama10]

Dear Paramount,

How about these on BD?

The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)
Donovan's Reef (1963)
In Harms Way (1965)
Wake Island (1942)
Five Graves to Cairo (1943)
The Greatest Show On Earth (1952)
Roman Holiday (1953)
Nevada Smith (1966)
Is Paris Burning? (1966)
Darling Lili (1970)
Black Sunday (1977)
Foul Play (1978)

To many forgettable films in your list. Both IN HARM'S WAY and DARLING LILY were flops when released in 70mm. THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH may have won an Oscar but it was a very tedious affair. A very , very tedious and overlong affair. Cecil B. De Milles's worst film .ROMAN HOLIDAY and NEVADA SMITH are worthy titles.

 

[cinerama10]

Seconded on:

Mommie Dearest (1982)

Pretty In Pink (1985): Should be released as part of the "Best of the 80s" collection like another Molly Ringwald film, Sixteen Candles (1984).

MOMMIE DEAREST was a huge flop at the box office and received very negative reviews. Truly one of the worst films of the year at the time of it's original release. Pure garbage and disrespectable to one of the all time legends of cinema.

 

[atfree]

To many forgettable films in your list. Both IN HARM'S WAY and DARLING LILY were flops when released in 70mm. THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH may have won an Oscar but it was a very tedious affair. A very , very tedious and overlong affair. Cecil B. De Milles's worst film .ROMAN HOLIDAY and NEVADA SMITH are worthy titles.

In the eye of the beholder. I'm sure if you posted a list, I wouldn't care for many of them myself. All a matter of taste.

 

[trajan]

Warner--If you have these Paramount titles, please release them-- ORDINARY PEOPLE---RAGTIME--CHILDREN OF A LESSER GOD---ANGELAS ASHES--PLAY IT AGAIN SAM--DAY OF THE LOCUST--WITNESS.

 

[Osato]

The Saint 1997

 

[Vic Pardo]

Olivia deHaviland topless in Blu-ray. Wow. It is also a guilty pleasure of mine also. So second vote.

More than one actress was topless in THE ADVENTURERS, but I don't remember Melanie Wilkes being one of them.
At least not in the 1970 theatrical release. Was there a later "restored" version with such a scene or are you just having fun with us?

 

[atfree]

More than one actress was topless in THE ADVENTURERS, but I don't remember Melanie Wilkes being one of them.
At least not in the 1970 theatrical release. Was there a later "restored" version with such a scene or are you just having fun with us?

Maybe he was thinking about Ernest Borgnine

 

[ahollis]

More than one actress was topless in THE ADVENTURERS, but I don't remember Melanie Wilkes being one of them. At least not in the 1970 theatrical release. Was there a later "restored" version with such a scene or are you just having fun with us?

She was on the DVD. But the DVD even had and am intermission so maybe it was the International version.

 

[bronson]

I´m waiting for:

1) The Longest Yard (Burt Reynolds)
2) Staying Alive (John Travolta)
3) Another 48 Hours (Eddie Murphy)

 

[LeoA]

Olivia de Havilland lowered herself to doing that after the Hays Code era ended?

Too bad...

 

[ahollis]

Olivia de Havilland lowered herself to doing that after the Hays Code era ended?Too bad...

In that period a lot of older stars were going the bare breast route to try to compete with the younger ones. As I remember it was a quick shot but very nice or maybe I was just shocked.