Hell Just Froze Over.... (1 Viewer)

Apparently the release of VILLA RIDES is not pd: if it is, it's a widescreen pd. And the pd company is also releasing on 6/3: KING OF THE GYPSIES. THOSE DARING YOUNG MEN IN THEIR JAUNTY JALOPSIES, STUDENT BODIES, THE ONE AND ONLY, THE OPTOMISTS, THE POSSESSION OF JOEL DELANEY, THE WHOOPEE BOYS, ZPG, SOME KIND OF HERO, THE SKULL, JEKYLL AND HYDE TOGETHER AGAIN, and HOUDINI (George Pal/Tony Curtis). Paramount has risen from the grave. You might want to check out Movies Unlimited for further titles!

Wow, I'm shocked... though I still don't quite understand Paramount's thinking in selecting catalog titles.

Surely, they could've done better than the mostly unknown 80s movies here. I have to say that for the most part I'm not all that enthusiastic on the titles. I'll probably pick up The Skull for Peter Cushing's casting alone, though reviews are not all that hot. Being a big Sellers fan, I'll probably add The Optimists to my list as well, though again it looks like a second-rate feature. I've never seen The Possession Of Joel Delaney either but a 70s Paramount horror with Shirley MacLaine interests me. Imdb also doesn't give it much praise. The only title I'm really set on is George Marshall's Houdini with Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh. And Those Daring Young Men is a nostaslgic guilty pleasure for me which I'll also be picking up, though I might have to give some of these rentals first. Surely they could've come up with some better picks from their as of yet unreleased 1960's oputput... or at the very least, revisit some of the mistreated classics like Shane, Barefoot In The Park and so on who's current transfers are abysmal. Anyways, it's nice to know Paramount is in fact a home video company and are releasing movies!!

To be honest, I still won't believe any of this until I see these titles in stores!

Could someone please explain Paramount's holdings; is it just the post-1950 catalog titles that they now own and are licensed to distribute?


Would that mean that it's Universal Studios that now controls films like I WALK ALONE and THE BLUE DAHLIA, etc?

What about the Republic library?

Are they responsible for holding back films like JOHNNY GUITAR??

'The Optimists' is a good Sellers film and I'm stunned it's coming at last.

I'm surprised you think the 'Shane' transfer is abysmal Marco.

Paramount owns its back library of titles dating from 1948 onwards. Pre-1948 titles are owned by Universal Pictures. As I undertstand it, Paramount could have taken all the Republic back catalogue back from Lions Gate last year but chose not to do so, aside from cherry picking certain titles like 'It's a Wonderful Life'.

Perhaps abysmal was the wrong adjective, though I would easily say that for Barefoot In The Park. I think Shane needs to undergo a serious restoration as it is undoubtedly not presented adequately for a film of such caliber in it's current DVD edition. It could use a lot of work, I'll say that much.

I think it's a decent transfer, but there ya go...

Well with Paramount and Universal both feeling the sting of the High def market and what happened, maybe they do need to actually go into the catalogs. Could this mean that eventually we will see a release of The African Queen? Now concerning the transfer on Shane, I hold this western in truly high esteem, and it could almost be a two disc set, one full frame, but the film was released soft matted at 1:66 so a widescreen presentation is warranted, to keep OAR. Also Stevens was so particular that he would wait for the proper cloud formations, to get the right shot. Of course through the years the same thematic thing has played out, and good variations have come along, The Road Warrior comes to mind. Worst mistake in my mind is that Paramount has re-licensed most of its Republic Library back to Lionsgate, which means that it will continue to sit in a vault somewhere, unless it is a John Wayne title, and doesn’t get a new transfer, just repackaged. Such a shame that who is in control of most of these catalogs don’t know what they have, they are more interested on what is going to big at the box office in the next two months so the can get it on the shelf , and make more money out of it.

Now I know the fact that I bring up Shane sounds like I am ok with the other thing that irritates me, the double and triple dip trend. Why is Paramount re-releasing the Indiana Jones, just so in 7 months they can release it all again once the 4th movie is ready for disc with a new box set? Simple ….. Money!

The only title I will be getting from that bunch is HOUDINI, but nice to see that Paramount is actually doing something! Bizarre choices, but about time!!!

'Shane' is framed perfectly for Academy; by comparison, it looks God-awful cropped to 1.66:1, so, at least here, that wouldn't be a come on.

Dana, as John as correctly pointed out, Shane was shot Academy and never intended to shown in any wide screen format. From Pauline Kael:

"The cinematography by Loyal Griggs won the Academy Award; this must have struck him as a black joke, because Paramount, in order to take advantage of the new fashion for the wide screen, had mutilated the compositons by cutting off the top and bottom."

Pardon my ignorance but what is "pd"? I can usually figure out most abbreviations but this one escapes me.

a "public domain" property.

Ah! Thanks.

I'd definitely temper my enthusisam till reviews appear. Sounds a bit fishy to me.

Is it TeleVista again? They put out two Robert Youngson films (When Comedy Was King and The Golden Age of Comedy) a few weeks before the official RHI/Hallmark/Genius DVD. The joke was on them: the official remastered double feature cost half as much as just one of the two films.

Also, Paramount does still own their pre-1929 silents - anything that exists. They also hold video rights to the CBS feature films (like the many Cinema Center Films titles - Little Big Man and the first two Peanuts features).

Yes, the remaining Peanuts features are long overdue for a release!

It's too bad Warner Home Video couldn't have acquired these in the licensing agreement with the Schultz estate along with all the television specials.

As for Paramount releasing silents... unfortunately there's no chance in hell of that ever happening!

I know, sort of the same argument about Kubrick's work or Disney titles , its just that this format is no longer in its infancy, and while some studios are very good at going into there catalog titles, others are almost to the point of avoiding them. Case in point, a large chunk of the Paramount’s are owned by Universal, which while not great at it has on occasion released them, The Demille set, was a good solid release, sad to say, but some of the best releases of classic Paramount titles come from Universal, but the same holds true for MGM titles owned by WB, such as Gone with the Wind, ideally what Paramount still has, and what it is willing to release, are always going to be different. Are we ever going to see a mass of silent titles released by a major studio? I think not, the smaller distributors are going to handle that. Also the fact that they re-licensed the Republic Library back to Lionsgate is disheartening.

I know that they can do a great classic release with proper treatment, Sunset Blvd. is a shining example of it, but the fact that more time that often what they do is go to the same releases and redo it over again. Audrey Hepburn, Grease, Saturday Night Fever, they are getting good at going back and if the film had any merit in the last 20 or so years and putting out some catchy phrased named special edition.


Paramount Film Preservation

explains why I and everyone who loves classic films are wondering what is going on, take a look at the list of what has work going on, why do I still have the sort of washed out copy of High Noon, or Invasion of the Body Snatchers. . Because there hasn’t been a decent upgrade, not to say that I am ever happy with the double or triple dip, but if the film is vastly improved, and warrants the best presentation possible, and then I break down and buy it.
Last years John Wayne Centennial release by Paramount could have been larger, by the fact that they could have taken in account the Republic titles, instead of a repackaging of the old Artisan into two box sets. And I wont even go into the fact that the Animation that they still own is a goldmine, thankfully WB is releasing the Popeye’s, but realistically, when do you think that Paramount, will officially release a restored authorized Betty Boop set?

I don't think that restoration site hasn't been updated for some time. Paramount has finished the restoration of 'High Noon' and it is absolutely drop dead gorgeous (one of the best presentations of a black and white film I've ever seen); only problem is that it's only available from Paramount in Europe and Australia because in R1 Lions Gate still has the license.

Having said that, I read somewhere that the new restoration will be making its way to R1 at some point in the not too far future, alongside some new extras - you'll just have to keep those fingers crossed that Paramount see sense, takes back those Republic licenses, and does the right thing by a whole slew of movies that Lions Gate have half-heartedly pushed out onto the digital format.

Where on Movies Unlimited are these listed? I couldn't find them.

John you have no idea how much i pray for that day, when i can see the following


MOTION PICTURE COMEDIES:

Artists and Models
Boeing-Boeing
Bugsy Malone
Caddy, The
Catch-22
Clueless
Come Blow Your Horn
Crocodile Dundee
Delicate Delinquent, The
Disorderly Orderly, The
Don’t Give up the Ship
Eddie Murphy Raw
Election
Family Jewels, The
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Foul Play
First Wives Club, The
Geisha Boy, The
Good Burger
Harold and Maude
Hollywood or Bust
Houseboat
How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days
Italian Job, The
It’s Only Money
Joseph Andrews
Jumping Jacks
Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy
Ladies Man, The
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
Living it Up
Mean Girls
Money from Home
Mother
Miracle at Morgan’s Creek
My Friend Irma
My Friend Irma Goes West
Naked Gun, The
Naked Gun 2, The
Naked Gun 33 1/3, The
Night at the Roxbury, A
Nutty Professor, The
Odd Couple, The
Out-of-Towners, The
Paper Moon
Pardners
Paris - When it Sizzles
Planes, Trains & Automobiles
Pretty in Pink
Prince & Me, The
Rock-a-Bye Baby
Rugrat’s in Paris
Rustlers Rhapsody
Sad Sack, The
Sailor Beware
Scared Stiff
School Of Rock
Shirley Valentine
Some Kind of Wonderful
South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut
Stooge, The
Superstar
Teacher’s Pet
Team America: World Police
That Touch of Mink
That’s My Boy
Three Ring Circus
Tommy Boy
Top Secret!
Trading Places
Up in Smoke (Cheech and Chong’s)
Visit to a Small Planet
Wayne’s World
Wayne’s World 2
What Women Want
Without A Paddle
Who’s Minding the Store?
You’re Never Too Young
Zoolander




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MOTION PICTURE DRAMAS:

A Place in the Sun
Ace in the Hole (aka The Big Carnival)
Alfie
American Gigolo
An Officer and a Gentleman
Bells of St. Mary's, The
Beyond Borders
Black Rain
Breakfast at Tiffany's
Bridges at Toko-Ri, The
Chinatown
Collateral
Come Back, Little Sheba
Conversation, The
Country Girl, The
Danger: Diabolik
Day of the Locust, The
Days of Heaven
Days of Thunder
Dead Again
Death Wish
Detective Story
Downhill Racer
Elephant Man, The
Elephant Walk
Elizabethtown
Fatal Attraction
File on Thelma Jordan, The
Forrest Gump
Four Brothers
Get Rich Or Die Tryin'
Ghost
Godfather, The
Godfather Part II, The
Godfather Part III, The
Great Gatsby, The
Hours, The
Hud
Hunt for Red October, The
Indecent Proposal
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
It's a Wonderful Life
Joker is Wild, The
Lara Croft: Tombraider/Cradle of Life
Love Story
Love with the Proper Stranger
Manchurian Candidate,The
Marathon Man
Mission: Impossible
Mission: Impossible 2
Mommie Dearest
Nashville
No Man of Her Own
Ordinary People
Permanent Record
Quiet Man, The
Racing with the Moon
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Rainmaker, The
Roman Holiday
Romeo and Juliet (Zeffirelli)
Rose Tattoo, The
Sabrina
Sahara
Saturday Night Fever
Save the Last Dance
Search for Bridey Murphy, The
September Affair
Spy Who Came in From the Cold, The
St. Louis Blues
Stalag 17
Stayin' Alive
Sunset Blvd.
Talented Mr. Ripley, The
Targets
Terms of Endearment
This Property is Condemned
To Catch a Thief
Top Gun
Truman Show, The
Tucker: The Man and His Dream
Tupac: Resurrection
Two Jakes, The
Untouchables, The
Urban Cowboy
Vanilla Sky
Warriors, The
What's Eating Gilbert Grape
Witness
Wonder Boys
Zero Hour



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DREAMWORKS:

A.I.
ALMOST FAMOUS
AMERICAN BEAUTY
AMISTAD
AN EVERLASTING PEACE
ANCHORMAN
ANYTHING ELSE
ARKANSAS
BEAUTIFUL MIND
BIKER BOYZ
CAST AWAY
CAT IN THE HAT
CATCH ME IF YOU CAN
CHUMSCRUBBER
COLLATERAL
CONTENDER, THE
COWBOYS AND ALIENS
CURSE OF THE JADE SCORPION
DEEP IMPACT
ENVY
EUROTRIP
EVOLUTION
FORCES OF NATURE
GALAXY QUEST
GLADIATOR
HAUNTING, THE
HEAD OF STATE
HOLLYWOOD ENDING
HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG
IN DREAMS
ISLAND
JUST LIKE HEAVEN
LAST CASTLE, THE
LEGEND OF BAGGER VANCE
LEMONY SNICKET'S
LOVE LETTER, THE
MEET THE FOCKERS
MEET THE PARENTS
MEXICAN, THE
MINORITY REPORT
MOUSEHUNT
NEANDERTHAL
OLD SCHOOL
PAULIE
PAYCHECK
PEACEMAKER, THE
PRICE FOR PEACE - DOCUMENTARY
PRIZE WINNER OF DEFIANCE, OHIO
RASEN
RED EYE
RING 2
RING, THE
RINGU
RINGU 0
RINGU 2
ROAD TO PERDITION
ROAD TRIP
SAVING PRIVATE RYAN
SEABISCUIT
SMALL SOLDIERS
SMALL TIME CROOKS
STEPFORD WIVES
SURVIVING CHRISTMAS
TERMINAL
TIME MACHINE
TUXEDO, THE
WALK THE TALK
WAR OF THE WORLDS
WHAT LIES BENEATH
WIN A DATE WITH TAD HAMILTON
X-THE MAN WITH X-RAY EYES



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MOTION PICTURE EPICS:

Braveheart
Buccaneer, The
Greatest Show on Earth, The
King David
Once Upon a Time in the West
Samson and Delilah
Ten Commandments, The
War and Peace
Zulu


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MOTION PICTURE HORROR/SCIENCE FICTION:

Colossus of New York, The
Conquest of Space
Dead Zone, The
Don't Look Now
Friday the 13th, Parts I - VIII
I Married a Monster from Outer Space
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
Let's Scare Jessica to Death
Pet Sematary
Robinson Crusoe on Mars
Rosemary's Baby
Sky Captain And The World Of Tomorrow
Sleepy Hollow
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Star Trek Generations
Star Trek: First Contact
Star Trek: Insurrection
Star Trek Nemesis
Stepford Wives
War of the Worlds
When Worlds Collide


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MOTION PICTURE MUSICALS:

Bugsy Malone
Fighting Temptations, The
Flashdance
Footloose
Funny Face
Grease
Half a Sixpence
Lady Sings the Blues
Lil' Abner
On a Clear Day You Can See Forever
Paint Your Wagon
U2: Rattle + Hum
White Christmas


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MOTION PICTURE SPORTS:

Bad News Bears, The
Bad News Bears in Breaking Training, The
Bang the Drum Slowly
Coach Carter
Fear Strikes Out
Longest Yard, The
Major League
North Dallas Forty
Rhubarb
Varsity Blues


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MOTION PICTURE WAR DRAMAS:

Hell is for Heroes
In Harm's Way
Sands of Iwo Jima
Saving Private Ryan
We Were Soldiers
Zulu


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MOTION PICTURE WESTERNS:

El Dorado
Five Card Stud
Fort Utah
Goin’ South
Gunfight at the OK Corral
High Noon
Hostile Guns
Johnny Guitar
Last Train from Gun Hill
Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The
Nevada Smith
Once Upon a Time in the West
Rio Grande
Shane
Sons of Katie Elder, The
Tin Star, The

Will Penny




AUDREY HEPBURN:

Bloodline (Sidney Sheldon's Bloodline)
War and Peace

JOHN WAYNE:

Angel and the Badman
Bullfighter and the Lady
Dakota
Dark Command, The
Donovan's Reef
El Dorado
Fighting Kentuckian, The
Fighting Seebees, The
Flame of the Barbary Coast
Flying Tigers
Frontier Horizon
In Old California
King of the Pecos
Lady for a Night
Lady from Louisiana
Lady Takes A Chance, A
Lawless Nineties, The
Lawless Range
New Frontier, The
Night Riders, The
Overland Stage Riders, The
Pals of the Saddle
Quiet Man, The
Red River Range
Sands of Iwo Jima
Santa Fe Stampede
Three Faces West
Three Texas Steers
Wake of the Red Witch
War of the Wilcats
Westward Ho
Wheel of Fortune
Wyoming Outlaw




ANIMATION:

Betty Boop
Deputy Dawg
Heckle & Jeckle
Mighty Mouse
Spongebob Squarepants Movies, The
Terrytoons


all handled properly by paramount, odd that at one time this was one of the biggest and most influential studios, borrowed that list from there site and was going to clean it up, one of the problems is the international titles, like Zulu, which would make for a great SE, hell Paramount could do a Michael Caine, box set if the had the distribution rights, its just with this no longer being a studio era, and more so a group of conglomerates, how many in charge of the business end actually know anything about movies? What the other studios do, do well is box sets, and I have to say the TV division is dead on with its fine releases, of classic television, but the film division, other than a hand full of items, like Elvis, John Wayne, and Hepburn, rarely do, I know that we get the occasional Mel Gibson three pack or something like that, and the Martin and Lewis sets were a start.

Would a Billy Wilder set, of all his Paramount films been a good choice, A DeMille set, of all the DeMill titles they have would be another good choice. For a lot of this to work though deals have to be brokered. And sometimes the films themselves suffer, because of what has been moved from one library to another.

Further up Marco mentioned that one of the titles that someone had mentioned was in PD, but one of the other threads on here was in some debate as to when a title really is in PD. And what is needed to happen to change that, I harbor no ill will, (well maybe a lot) at the bargain houses that release what they think are titles in PD, so I walk into Best buy, see 35 different releases in little tin cans of the Stooges, and because of it struggle to find the officially licensed first two years, that came out last year, great set by the way. The studios themselves should be watching this, and know the state of there materials. With the different acquisitions along the way of the poverty row studios, by the major studios through the years. Why is it that only WB is looking to tackle something as large as the Bowery Boys set?