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C'mon Universal....THE SEVEN PER CENT SOLUTION

post #1 of 29
6/23/06 at 6:22am
Thread Starter 
This thread is to hopefully get Universal to finally release Herbert Ross' amazing THE SEVEN PER CENT SOLUTION, starring Nicol Williamson, Alan Arkin, Robert Duvall and Vanessa Redgrave.

Image once upon a time had a lousy DVD of it not in widescreen.

This movie is good enough (and commercial enough) for Universal to hire Duvall and Williamson to do a commentary.

Please, Universal, how about it??
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post #2 of 29
6/23/06 at 7:27am

Re: C'mon Universal....THE SEVEN PER CENT SOLUTION

I saw this in the theatre and was sad to see its out of print, I'd love to see it released in widescreen with extras
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post #3 of 29
6/23/06 at 9:55am

Re: C'mon Universal....THE SEVEN PER CENT SOLUTION

I second the motion!

It seems rather elementary to me. A great movie deserves a first-class DVD.
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post #4 of 29
6/23/06 at 10:17am

Re: C'mon Universal....THE SEVEN PER CENT SOLUTION

The film is a personal favorite. Would love to see a 16:9 enhanced wide screen version.
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post #5 of 29
6/23/06 at 12:26pm

Re: C'mon Universal....THE SEVEN PER CENT SOLUTION

Add me to the list of those that would enjoy the release of this title in enhanced widescreen. i became familiar with it during my DiscoVision days (boy! was a "good" copy of the LD hard to get...) and the LD was pan and scan (as is the Image disc), and you certainly get the feeling that it has been "chopped" badly.
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post #6 of 29
6/23/06 at 2:18pm

Re: C'mon Universal....THE SEVEN PER CENT SOLUTION

Another vote to see this in a properly formatted DVD. I've had the laserdisc for years, and while it's better than nothing, I'd really like to see the movie given the respect it deserves on DVD.
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post #7 of 29
6/24/06 at 3:49am

Re: C'mon Universal....THE SEVEN PER CENT SOLUTION

Totally agree. We've got the MPI Rathbone Holmes' discs, MGM have good editions of the Cushing Hound and Wilder's Private Life (albeit with godawful artwork) and Anchor Bay have done a fine disc of Murder by Decree. C'mon Universal (and no floaty heads either)!!
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post #8 of 29
6/25/06 at 8:52am

Re: C'mon Universal....THE SEVEN PER CENT SOLUTION

They've been showing this a lot on TCM recently with a decent-looking widescreen print.
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post #9 of 29
6/25/06 at 3:57pm

Re: C'mon Universal....THE SEVEN PER CENT SOLUTION

I feel that the question is: C'mon, Universal, release a decent amount of your vintage gems this year! The pre-1948 Paramount titles are almost completely untouched.
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post #10 of 29
6/25/06 at 5:16pm

Re: C'mon Universal....THE SEVEN PER CENT SOLUTION

Another vote for this movie in a decent presentation.

I'm surprised nobody's yet mentioned this little phrase from the back of the Image DVD:

HOME VIDEO VERSION + SOME MUSIC RESCORED
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post #11 of 29
6/25/06 at 6:19pm

Re: C'mon Universal....THE SEVEN PER CENT SOLUTION

Was the song "I Never Do Anything Twice" cut?

A scene in which an elderly Watson reads of Holmes' death in the newspaper, which later turns out to be a report of the death of Sigmund Freud was apparently cut before release.

Cinematography in this film was by the great experimental master Oswald Morris (Huston's Moulin Rouge and Moby Dick; Fiddler on the Roof, etc) so I'd love to finally see it, as I greatly admire Ozzie, in addition to being devout fan of Holmes and Watson.
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post #12 of 29
6/26/06 at 9:22pm

Re: C'mon Universal....THE SEVEN PER CENT SOLUTION

Can't believe it's not out yet. But, hey, it's Universal. They're doing better than they did a few years ago, but their current catalog releases come in small spurts instead of the consistent waves Warner Bros. offers (and profits by).
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post #13 of 29
1/21/07 at 12:20am

Re: C'mon Universal....THE SEVEN PER CENT SOLUTION

I bought the Image disk when it first came out, and it is quite a sad transfer. Murky, lots of compression artifacts, and P/S. IIRC this was Universal's very very first DVD effort.
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post #14 of 29
2/19/08 at 10:43am

Re: C'mon Universal....THE SEVEN PER CENT SOLUTION

I've had a real craving to see this movie recently, and it's just sad that the easiest way for me to do it is to pay $15 for the out-of-print VHS (?!?) edition of this film. TCM aren't showing it any time in the near future, and that seems to be the only place a widescreen version is available. I don't understand Universal's reluctance to either release this fine film themselves, or license it to someone else to do it. I agree that a commentary with Nicol Williamson and Robert Duvall (or better yet, with writer Nicholas Meyer) would make an excellent addition.
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post #15 of 29
2/19/08 at 11:01am

Re: C'mon Universal....THE SEVEN PER CENT SOLUTION

Can we hope that Universal uses this as their Blu-Ray "test" disc? Or would they screw it up?
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post #16 of 29
2/19/08 at 11:53am

Re: C'mon Universal....THE SEVEN PER CENT SOLUTION

It would probably be the first 1:85:1 movie to be put out in HD...in pan-and-scan.
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post #17 of 29
2/19/08 at 11:33pm

Re: C'mon Universal....THE SEVEN PER CENT SOLUTION

I'd also like to see this on Blu-ray (would be nice) or a nice transfer on SD DVD. I like this film quite a bit.
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post #18 of 29
2/20/08 at 5:12am

Re: C'mon Universal....THE SEVEN PER CENT SOLUTION

It's been showing on Sky Movie Classics (in England) for a good few months now. 16:9 widescreen, looks very nice. I'd love a DVD, & a CD of John Addisons score.
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post #19 of 29
2/20/08 at 5:56am

Re: C'mon Universal....THE SEVEN PER CENT SOLUTION

I have a first edition of the novel, signed by Nicholas Meyer at the late lamented Brentano's bookstore in Hernando Courtwright's Beverly Wilshire Hotel. Oh, what days and nights of glamour they were!

Anyway, wasn't this Seven Percent Solution thing a rather thin rip-off of Wilder and Diamond's sublime Private Life of Sherlock Holmes?
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post #20 of 29
2/20/08 at 6:03am

Re: C'mon Universal....THE SEVEN PER CENT SOLUTION

Well, the book was a best seller for months and with good reason. It was a welcome return to the world of 221B Baker Street written in the style of the original stories. Wilder and Diamond's screenplay for their film was decidedly tongue-in-cheek.

The movie of SEVEN PERCENT was simply an adaptation of a popular novel of the day (very well done, I thought and wonderfully cast), and I found it much less unwieldy than Wilder's film (of course, Wilder's film in the final form was a compromise and not his original vision).
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post #21 of 29
2/20/08 at 6:19am

Re: C'mon Universal....THE SEVEN PER CENT SOLUTION

Quote:
Originally Posted by Billy Batson
It's been showing on Sky Movie Classics (in England) for a good few months now. 16:9 widescreen, looks very nice. I'd love a DVD, & a CD of John Addisons score.

That would indeed be a good thing. In the meantime, I just wish I knew someone in the UK with a DVD recorder...
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post #22 of 29
2/20/08 at 11:17am

Re: C'mon Universal....THE SEVEN PER CENT SOLUTION

Quote:
Originally Posted by AdrianTurner
Anyway, wasn't this Seven Percent Solution thing a rather thin rip-off of Wilder and Diamond's sublime Private Life of Sherlock Holmes?
As a fan of both, I'd say they have virtually nothing meaningful in common. An interest in deconstruction perhaps, but they go after deconstructing different things in tonally wholly different ways. They're both original Sherlock Holmes stories from the same decade interested more in why he deduces rather than what, but that's a pretty superficial similarity.
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post #23 of 29
2/20/08 at 11:56am

Re: C'mon Universal....THE SEVEN PER CENT SOLUTION

One other thing they don't have in common: currently, you can get The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes on DVD (and it's a pretty good DVD as well).
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post #24 of 29
2/20/08 at 6:04pm

Re: C'mon Universal....THE SEVEN PER CENT SOLUTION

I've always wondered why Nicholas Meyer's second Holmes novel, The West End Horror, was never adapted for the screen. It certainly wasn't as good a book as Seven Percent Solution, but considering the American (and probably British) appetite for all things Holmes, I'm just puzzled as to why this slipped through the cracks.
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post #25 of 29
3/6/08 at 7:09am

Re: C'mon Universal....THE SEVEN PER CENT SOLUTION

According to David Stuart Davies' excellent book Starring Sherlock Holmes, the reason was that The Seven-Per-Cent Solution was enough of a box office disappointment that it didn't justify a sequel.
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post #26 of 29
3/6/08 at 9:01am

Re: C'mon Universal....THE SEVEN PER CENT SOLUTION

Quote:
Originally Posted by Clay_E
That would indeed be a good thing. In the meantime, I just wish I knew someone in the UK with a DVD recorder...
Start looking -- quickly -- for someone with a DVD recorder in the US. It's airing on the Sundance Channel tonight.
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post #27 of 29
3/6/08 at 11:01am

Re: C'mon Universal....THE SEVEN PER CENT SOLUTION

ARGH! I own a DVD Recorder, but no longer have Sundance Channel on my cable. Have to find someone who does, and *fast*....thanks for the tip!
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post #28 of 29
3/6/08 at 2:03pm

Re: C'mon Universal....THE SEVEN PER CENT SOLUTION

I like THE WEST END HORROR, but I assume it was never filmed in part because MURDER BY DECREE (1979) tread similar ground.
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post #29 of 29
3/6/08 at 3:34pm

Re: C'mon Universal....THE SEVEN PER CENT SOLUTION

Quote:
Originally Posted by Clay_E
ARGH! I own a DVD Recorder, but no longer have Sundance Channel on my cable. Have to find someone who does, and *fast*....thanks for the tip!
You're welcome, and if you missed it tonight, don't despair -- Sundance Channel's website says it'll be airing again several times at the end of March:

Sundance Channel : Film : Seven-Per-Cent Solution

I think TCM has run it in the past year, so you might want to check their listings on occasion too.
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