The Boys In The Band Coming To SD?

I've read on a couple of places that The Boys in the Band is finally coming out on SE DVD to commemorate it's 35th anniversary, or something. I believe I had read that CBS Home Video has the rights. Anyone able to confirm?

Thanks.

Re: The Boys In The Band Coming To SD?

Paramount is releasing the film on DVD in June. CBS/FOX issued the VHS and Laserdisc back in the day, but it was an independent company that made the film, and at some point the rights went to Paramount.

Re: The Boys In The Band Coming To SD?

I thought that this film was made by Cinema Center Films, the short-lived CBS theatrical film division that made the first two Peanuts films, among others.

As for commemorating its 35th anniversary, that ship sailed in 2005.

Re: The Boys In The Band Coming To SD?

Paramount is releasing the DVD.

Re: The Boys In The Band Coming To SD?

Center Cinema Films, which produced Boys In The Band, Scrooge, A Man Called Horse, Little Big Man and Big Jake, just to name a few of the 28 films they made was produced by CBS. This brief try at the film industry started around 1968 with the Doris Day’s last feature film, With Six You Get Eggroll, and ended in 1972 with Snoopy Come Home. The films made between those dates ranged from the classic, A Man Called Horse to the rarely seen, Something For Everyone. Today some of the films are considered minor classics like The Reivers, Prime Cut, Rio Lobo, Monte Walsh and Boys In The Band.

Center Cinema Films used a logo that resembled a film projector with the title of the company coming out of the top line that forms the F. The logo was kind of neat.

Center Cinema Films released their product through National General Pictures which was a film distributor and production company from 1967 to its sale to Warner Brothers in 1973. WB owns the NGP films such as The Cheyenne Social Club, Executive Action, and Up The Sandbox.

The Center Cinema Films continued to be owned by CBS and many of the films were released on Video and Laserdisc by 20th Century Fox/CBS. A partnership that lasted until Viacom purchased CBS and intergraded it into the Paramount domain.

On a side note, NGP also owned a theatre circuit (NGT - National General Theatres) that was made up of the old Fox West Coast Theatres and new builds. Most theatres were sold in 1973 to Mann Theatres, including the Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, and NGP got out of the entertainment business all together.

All that being said, here’s to Paramount for releasing another title from their vault. With their agreement with Legend Films, I thought it might go through them. So now we have Paramount and Legend releasing Paramount catalog titles. Didn't think I would ever see the day.

Re: The Boys In The Band Coming To SD?

For the sake of completeness, CBS/Fox also released BITB on CED.

Re: The Boys In The Band Coming To SD?

Mart Crowley's play has been re-issued in paperback this year for its 40th anniversary, so maybe the DVD is meant to tie into the play's anniversary.

Has anybody been able to confirm if the DVD will have extras?

Re: The Boys In The Band Coming To SD?

I'm pretty sure that Friedkin recorded a commentary for it. Don't know about anything else.

Re: The Boys In The Band Coming To SD?

For goodness sake, this is Paramount we are talking about, if there are any extras, it will be a cause to celebrate. I would even have a drink or two if they included the trailer. Hope the commentary note is correct. It would be an interesting listen.

Re: The Boys In The Band Coming To SD?

A quick internet search yields this from TLA Releasing:
"The director, William Friedkin, has taken an active interest in the DVD re-release. They now expect the DVD to be announced in the fall with a December street date. Friedkin has unearthed rare, deleted scenes and they are working on audio commentary and all kinds of special treats. This DVD should be worth the wait!"

Re: The Boys In The Band Coming To SD?

Color me shocked. I never thought we'd see this one on disc of any kind. Now maybe I can delete the TCM version sitting on the TiVO from last summer...

Re: The Boys In The Band Coming To SD?

Aren't all the cast members deceased, leaving Friedkin the only participant left?

Re: The Boys In The Band Coming To SD?

Nope. Peter White and Laurence Luckinbill are still alive.

Re: The Boys In The Band Coming To SD?

For the sake of further completeness, CBS returned to the theatrical film game in the 1980s producing a few films under the moniker CBS Theatrical Films, including John Frankenheimer's The Challenge, Table for Five, and American Dreamer. If I'm not mistaken, these are all now also controlled by Paramount/Viacom.

If you're curious as to who controls theatrical rights, as I was when I was trying to program some of these films, here's the scoop:
Hollywood Classics

Some of these are still not on DVD, but a surprising number have been released by one DVD outfit or another, if not Paramount themselves. Unfortunately, there is no extant print of The Challenge hence its absence from the list.

Re: The Boys In The Band Coming To SD?

Jon you are absolutely right. Ten years after their exit from Center Cinema Films, CBS was talked into a joint venture with Columbia Pictures and HBO called Tri-Star Pictures. CBS dropped out in 1984. During that time they invested in or produced films for the company. The four films (besides the three you mention they also made Windy City) they wholly produced under the name of CBS Theatrical Films are controlled by Paramount/Viacom while the others belong to Sony.

Re: The Boys In The Band Coming To SD?

Another produced under the CBS theatrical films banner (and distributed theatrically by Warner) was Better Off Dead, which is now on DVD from Paramount.

Re: The Boys In The Band Coming To SD?

Actually Better Off Dead was produced by A & M Films which produced films from 1971 (Mad Dogs & Englishmen) to 1996 (Mrs. Winterbourne). This company also produced The Breakfast Club, One Crazy Summer, The Mighty Quinn, and Blaze, just to name a few of their 18 films. They did not have a deal with one studio to release their films so the films were released through several companies which most control the auxiliary rights, but some did change hands as in the case of Better Off Dead. A & M Films was a division of A & M Records and both companies were sold in 1989 to PolyGram. A & M Films was continued until it was deactivated in 1996. PolyGram also had a film unit that lasted from 1979 until 1999 when it was absorbed by Universal when the company was sold to Seagrams. In a weird turn of events, MGM owns most of the pre-1996 films while Universal owns the films from 1996 on.

Re: The Boys In The Band Coming To SD?

This is up for pre-order at DVD Empire for 11/11/08 release at a retail price of $26.99.

At that price, I am hoping there will be extras.

Re: The Boys In The Band Coming To SD?

From the Mobius Home Video Forum (via Digital Bits): "There will be interviews with Friedkin, playwright Mart Crowley, surviving cast members Lawrence Luckinbill and Peter White, and other behind-the-scenes personnel. The supplements will focus on the film and the play."

Re: The Boys In The Band Coming To SD?

The article from Playbill on Line below was posted to a listserv. I looked for the original link, but I can't find it.

>From PBOL:

"Boys in the Band" Will Arrive on DVD in November with Bonus Features

by Andrew Gans

CBS Home Entertainment and Paramount Home Entertainment will release the DVD
of the 1970 cult-classic film "The Boys in the Band," the screen adaptation
of Mart Crowley's landmark play of the same name.

The film, which was directed by Academy Award winner William Friedkin, will
arrive on DVD for the first time Nov. 11. The cast includes Kenneth Nelson,
Peter White, Laurence Luckinbill, Leonard Frey and Cliff Gorman, who all
originated their roles in the 1968 Off-Broadway run.

The film was restored under the direction of Friedkin, who said in a
statement, "This is the best this picture has ever looked or sounded."

"The Boys in the Band," according to press notes, "follows a group of gay
male friends as they come together in a New York City apartment for a
birthday party. When an unexpected guest arrives and the truth begins to
flow as freely as the cocktails, it leads to a sometimes vulgar but
ultimately open and honest dissection of their lives and relationships."

Bonus features include documentaries about the creation of the play, the
making of the controversial film and the enduring power of both versions.
Also included are interviews with director Friedkin, playwright/screenwriter
Crowley, executive producer Dominick Dunne, Pulitzer Prize-winning
playwright Tony Kushner and cast members White and Luckinbill. The DVD also
includes a commentary track by Friedkin.

The breakdown of "The Boys in the Band" DVD [bonus features] follows:

a.. "The Boys in the Band": The Play (The genesis of the controversial play
by Mart Crowley)

a.. "The Boys in the Band": The Movie (William Friedkin and the making of
the film)

a.. "The Boys in the Band": Today (On the 40th anniversary of the play,
those who made and lived it discuss how the stage and film versions became
cult classics)
The single disc, which is rated R, will retail for $26.99.

Re: The Boys In The Band Coming To SD?

This finally means I can delete the TCM version saved on the DVR!

Re: The Boys In The Band Coming To SD?

My only quibble is the absence of the trailer, likely due to the abundant use of "Anything Goes." However, the trailer can be found on the Strand DVD HOMO PROMO, a collection of gay-themed movie trailers compiled by filmmaker/archivist Jenni Olsen.