The Legend of Billie Jean (1985) - Helen Slater, Christian Slater (1 Viewer)

[Xenia Stathakopoulou]

This is even more disturbing than i thought ! You mean to tell me theres a great quality print of this movie at their disposal and they still wont release it ?

 

[ChrisRose]

Okay, all you HDNet-receiving people are making me soooo jealous! Quit it.

I have a battered old previously-viewed VHS tape I found at a thrift store. I want a WIDESCREEN DVD of this movie, and I want it NOW! 'Cause DVDs are more "invincible", don'tyaknow.

 

[Esten]

I can't believe there still hasn't been an announcement. :frowning:

 

[Ethan Riley]

If it's Sony, well, you know how they are about music rights...they probably don't want to cough up the big bucks to Pat Benatar and whoever else contributed music to this movie. I haven't seen it in about 20 years and I'd love to have it on dvd. I guess we just have to be patient...I love horrible 80s movies and this one tops the list! I've got it right up there (down there?) with Weird Science, Valley Girl and Tuff Turf. (And they're all on dvd...)

 

[Esten]

Benatar's "Invincible"(written FOR the movie) and Billy Idol's "Rebel Yell" would be the only ones that would be a little higher than the norm. The other songs are from unknowns/the composer's brother.

 

[Xenia Stathakopoulou]

You know there is something really wrong with sony / tri star, or whoever owns this if its only those couple songs that they are not willing to pay for.I mean comeon, we are seeing shows like miami vice on dvd that needed tons of songs to get rights to , and yet a movie with 2 freakin songs is holding up the dvd release? Unfreakinbelievable !!!

 

[Esten]

Here are the songs in the film:

# "Invincible"
Pat Benatar


# "Boys in Town"
by The Divinyls


# "Rebel Yell"
Performed by Billy Idol


# "Closing In"
Written by Craig Safan
Performed by Mark Safan


# "Heart Telegraph"
Performed by Divinyls


# "Time To Explain"
Performed by Bruce Witkin & The Kids


# "Tell Me What You Want"
Performed by Bruce Witkin & The Kids


# "Self Defense"
Performed by Chas Sanford


# "It's My Life"
Performed by Wendy O. Williams

Only other one that may give them trouble would be the Divinyls, but they haven't been in the public eye for quite a while.

 

[JeffMc]

Unfortunately, just because certain performers may not be as big a name as others doesn't preclude them from still asking for big money.

Columbia itself a couple of years back basically wiped the entire original score out of a film for its DVD release, replacing it with a completely new score, because the composer was playing hardball with compensation and rights issues.

 

[Ethan Riley]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the DiVinyls recorded the infamous "I Touch Myself," made more infamous by its raucous appearance in the first "Austin Powers" movie. Anyway, I didn't say for sure that music rights were holding up this release. Perhaps Sony just hasn't gotten around to it. I'd sure like to see it though--Keith Gordon would love it too--just so he could see his hair again. Personally, I think the movie is worth just so we can hear Yeardley "Lisa Simpson" Smith utter the deathless line, "Because he's a f**ker!"

 

[Ron68]

I'd love for this to be released on DVD too. This is one of my favourite movies from the 80's and the "Invincible" song fits this movie perfectly. I only have a copy of this on VHS that I taped off the TV many years ago, the picture looks terrible now and my VCR likes to chew up tapes.

 

[Phil_L]

Just heard Invincible on XM today and ran home to order the DVD........

I can't believe this isn't out yet! Sony obviously negotiated music rights for the VHS release, I wonder if those releases covered future home video releases, regardless of format??? Hmm....

 

[Ethan Riley]

Oh, I doubt that. They probably only negotiate music rights for the here and now. Plus, back in the 80s when the vhs came out, nobody gave a shit about trying to make $$$ on music rights, so there was less resistance.

Does anyone think that Billie Jean was the first real "girl power" movie?

 

[Xenia Stathakopoulou]

Please Sony/Tristar release this dvd already !!!!!!!!

 

[Chuck Pennington]

That film was HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME, and they mistakenly left the closing credit music intact - which is the same score and melody used throughout the film in the original! The rest is full of library music, including some cues added where there wasn't music before, some inappropriate added cues (the high school band suddenly sounds like a band rejected from exposure on "Solid Gold"), and scenes without any music where there once was accompaniment. I was able to edit back the original soundtrack from a Laserdisc and keep the anamorphic widescreen transfer as it was. For now, my creation is the best way to see the film. Too bad Sony wouldn't pay the 25 cents.

 

[Jesse Skeen]

I think they just used a weird master for "Happy Birthday To Me" by mistake, the music was probably put in as "temp music" before the actual music for the movie was finished. I have the original laserdisc, and Big Lots had the DVD for 2 bucks recently so I picked it up out of curiosity.

I've never seen "Legend of Billie Jean", I've got a TV commercial for it though and it briefly shows a scene in a stereo store with a big sign advertising Laserdiscs. Apparently the movie was never actually released on laserdisc though, so I'll have to break down and pick up an old VHS copy eventually.

 

[Xenia Stathakopoulou]

With , twilight zone the movie and monster squad coming later this year , this is the last of my most wanted on dvd movies from the 80s.

 

[John*P]

Me too, especially with Private School and Night of the Comet already on DVD, and Harry and the Hendersons coming soon...

 

[Xenia Stathakopoulou]

Wow, still no release date in site ! I am convinced that this movie will be in limbo forever ! At this point , I want the dvd so badly, that the only song I definitely want intact is invincible.

 

[Esten]

Golly, still nothing on this. Shame. :frowning:

 

[Chad R]

It's been all over HDNet Movies and Universal HD the past month. It must either be popular on the channels or cheap to be programmed so much.