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On Golden Pond BD on 01-20-15 See Post #31 (1 Viewer)

Mike Frezon

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Likely? Not likely?

This film is important to me and my family and I would love to think a Blu might be coming sometime sooner rather than later (or not at all).

Would anyone have any insights? Or, a good guess?
 

Matt Hough

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I have no insights at all, but I'd love to have it myself. The film was a big, big box-office hit, but I'm guesssing the powers that be might think its appeal skews too old. On the other hand, the similar Driving Miss Daisy is coming out next year, so if it's a success, that might spur Universal to give On Golden Pond similar treatment.
 

Erik_H

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Another vote for "On Golden Pond." This was indeed a major hit back in the day, grossing over $100M in North America (in early 1982, when the $100M benchmark was achieved a lot less frequently compared to today).
I happened to be visiting Squam Lake when the film was being shot there in the summer of 1980, and observed from a distance the filming of Jane Fonda's backflip scene. Note the gap between production and release; more than a year between the completion of filming and the premiere in December 1981. I assume the release was delayed to better position the film for award consideration (if so, smart move).
"On Golden Pond" was in rotation on Showtime during the past year; the HD transfer looked wonderful.
Domestic home video rights for "On Golden Pond" have changed multiple times over the years (Universal had domestic theatrical distribution rights only); not sure which distributor has the rights now. The special edition DVD released in 2003 was from Artisan and the original videotape release in the early 1980s was via CBS/Fox Home Video.
 

JohnMor

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Absolutely adore this film and would love a blu ray release of it. I have no specific info, but I have a feeling we'll see one sooner rather than later. At least I hope so.
 

NY2LA

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I agree this is a lovely classy film that deserves special handling, cast reunion interviews, etc... Depends on who owns the rights, I suppose. Jane Fonda is one of the producers so hopefully she might have a say in pushing to see it gets the treatment it deserves, but if it's a studio like Lionsgage that has it abandon all hope. Ultimate would be to include the CBS Television City live remake as an extra. Most I remember of that is it was done on the Carol Burnett stage and allowed Mary Poppins to swear on live TV.
 

Cinescott

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Bringing this to the front again, in case any industry insiders are reading or have any news. OGP needs a Blu-ray release asap! Loved this movie in the early 80s and still do. Have a 720p HDTV transfer, but just not good enough. The print I've seen looks pretty clean and ready for 1080p, so it shouldn't involve too much work. Maybe a bit of dirt removal. That's it.

I would think there'd be a pretty good market for this title.
 

Mike Frezon

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Scott:

Thanks for the thread bump.

My wife and I watched Driving Miss Daisy recently and were left with a feeling of how great films can be when all the parts come together: story, writing, cast, acting, etc. You don't need a lot of fancy gimmicks to have a film which can grab your heart. The blu presentation of DMD was first-class. It sure would be nice to see OGP get the same treatment.
 

Lord Dalek

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ITV is the outright owner of the film (it was made by ITC) so its possible they could relicence On Golden Pond to another company like Criterion once Lionsgate's deal expires (if it hasn't already; that was a holdover from the Artisan days IIRC).
 

Mark Edward Heuck

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Shout Factory has been announcing a significant number of '70's ITC productions for BD/DVD release that were previously under the Lionsgate deal, so I think it might be quite possible that they will consider giving this a release very soon!
 

lukejosephchung

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Mike Frezon said:
This just got a mention in the Sophie's Choice thread...so I figured to bump this thread in case anyone (who can affect change) is watching. :biggrin:
Did you miss Ron's thread a few months back, Mike??? The ITV catalog, which contains "On Golden Pond", is now under the distribution network of Shout Factory, which plans to release the blu-ray later this year... :thumbsup:
 

Mike Frezon

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lukejosephchung said:
Did you miss Ron's thread a few months back, Mike??? The ITV catalog, which contains "On Golden Pond", is now under the distribution network of Shout Factory, which plans to release the blu-ray later this year... :thumbsup:
Yup. Sure did. Thanks for clueing me in.

THAT is great news. For personal reasons, I wish it was a few months earlier...but those things happen.
 

lukejosephchung

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Cinescott said:
Has anyone seen a confirmation that this will be among Shout's titles this year?
Shout Factory's joint press release with ITV mentioned "On Golden Pond" along with "Sophie's Choice" which is being released April 29th, as among their planned earliest releases under the new distribution agreement...
 

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