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A Few Words About A few words about...™ Bunny Lake is Missing -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

Robert Harris

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Otto Preminger's 1965 Bunny Lake is Missing is an odd film, and not a great one, by any means.

It does, however, have its moments -- and an incredible supporting cast to leads Carol Lynley and Keir Dullea. To me, it's all about the supporting players.

Laurence Olivier, Noel Coward and Martita Hunt.

Cinematographer, Denys Coop, had been Camera Operator on a great many important films. Here, his delicately toned black & white work has been beautifully rendered by the crew at Columbia / Sony.

For those on a limited budget, and only able to pick up a film or two from Twilight Times monthly offerings, I'd go for Bird Man of Alcatraz and/or Judgment at Nuremberg -- two wonderful films.

Image - 4.75

Audio - 5

Pass / Fail - Pass

RAH
 

Bob Cashill

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Preminger had a designated whipping boy on seemingly every film, and after Tom Tryon in two movies it was Dullea. I think he's uneven in a tricky role and some of the blame for that goes to Preminger--tyranny isn't the best motivator. (That said some of the director's rep was for show, as it made for good copy, and he was known to be quite generous. He later said he liked Dullea and his performance, which threw the aggrieved actor for a loop.)
 

John Maher_289910

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I am personally familiar with how Tom Tryon felt about Preminger. Also, I sat next to Keir Dullea at a fund-raising dinner, and asked him about 2 things I had heard over the years. One was the comment that Coward made about him, and the other was that he was offered the role of Tony is WEST SIDE STORY and lost it because he refused to cut his hair. He confirmed both, but only elaborated on WSS, saying he refused to cut his hair for no other reason than he was terrified to do the role.
 

Charles Smith

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Bunny Lake is such a gorgeous film -- but one that you SO wish were better than it actually is. It's too bad, because I can start watching it and immediately and vividly recall the thrill of anticipation upon seeing those beautiful black and white images on the big screen my first time, when it was new.

But...it is what it is, and I shall enjoy all that I've ever enjoyed from it, better than ever thanks to Sony and Twilight Time.
 

ahollis

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trajan said:
Speaking of black and white--I wish somebody would release ADVISE AND CONSENT.
Yes. I hope Warner's is listing. I just watched the HD on Warner Instant and it was fantastic.
 

shaxmatist

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Have you seen Dawn of the Planet of the Apes? I rarely go out to the theater. Okay .. let's make that never.

Yes, I am a very sad lonely gorilla. lol

Nevertheless, what are your best movie recommendations and advice?
 

Mike Boone

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Thought this would be best place to bring up something, that mysteriously, no one seems to be talking about. And that is a new Blu-ray transfer of Spartacus that Universal should be releasing by mid to late Spring of 2015..

More than a week ago on Turner Classic Movies it was announced that a new "restoration of Spartacus will have its premier" in March at the TCM Film Festival. (don't remember if that's the precise title of the festival, but definitely it was stated that a restoration of Spartacus was making its premier)

What also caught my attention during this on screen announcement, was seeing a printed statement that said the event will be co-sponsored by Universal Home Entertainment (or Universal Home Video if my recall is not exactly precise, it was one or the other)

Now elsewhere on the internet you can read that "a new print of Spartacus" will be presented by TCM in March 2015.

Anyway, folks, we all know that a new print of The Great Escape made its debut at a March TCM festival, followed by a Blu-ray, not very long afterwards, though disappointing, as that incarnation turned out to be. With Universal's Home Division being involved in sponsoring the unveiling of a new print of Spartacus, we can certainly count on a freshly minted Blu-ray to soon follow its March 2015 premier.

In view of all the previous discussion on HTF concerning Mr Harris's disappointment, and that of fellow HTF members, with the way Universal handled
the 1st Spartacus Blu-ray, I just can't figure out why our forum is displaying such an absence of excitement, or even any recognition for such a potentially exciting milestone for classic film fans.

Hope that Mr Harris, who I have the utmost respect for, will offer comment on this situation, along with the input of other members, as well.

I just don't understand all the silence on this matter, and actually I think it was about 10 days ago that TCM showed its ad for the film festival.

Maybe I'm missing something here. Sure would appreciate the comments of anyone who has some info to offer.
 

Robin9

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Mike Boone said:
Thought this would be best place to bring up something, that mysteriously, no one seems to be talking about. And that is a new Blu-ray transfer of Spartacus that Universal should be releasing by mid to late Spring of 2015..
Why do you believe that a thread about Bunny Lake Is Missing is the best place to raise questions about a new Blu-ray transfer of Spartacus? Are you really not aware that there are already threads about Spartacus in this forum?
 

Robert Crawford

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Mike Boone said:
Thought this would be best place to bring up something, that mysteriously, no one seems to be talking about. And that is a new Blu-ray transfer of Spartacus that Universal should be releasing by mid to late Spring of 2015..

More than a week ago on Turner Classic Movies it was announced that a new "restoration of Spartacus will have its premier" in March at the TCM Film Festival. (don't remember if that's the precise title of the festival, but definitely it was stated that a restoration of Spartacus was making its premier)

What also caught my attention during this on screen announcement, was seeing a printed statement that said the event will be co-sponsored by Universal Home Entertainment (or Universal Home Video if my recall is not exactly precise, it was one or the other)

Now elsewhere on the internet you can read that "a new print of Spartacus" will be presented by TCM in March 2015.

Anyway, folks, we all know that a new print of The Great Escape made its debut at a March TCM festival, followed by a Blu-ray, not very long afterwards, though disappointing, as that incarnation turned out to be. With Universal's Home Division being involved in sponsoring the unveiling of a new print of Spartacus, we can certainly count on a freshly minted Blu-ray to soon follow its March 2015 premier.

In view of all the previous discussion on HTF concerning Mr Harris's disappointment, and that of fellow HTF members, with the way Universal handled
the 1st Spartacus Blu-ray, I just can't figure out why our forum is displaying such an absence of excitement, or even any recognition for such a potentially exciting milestone for classic film fans.

Hope that Mr Harris, who I have the utmost respect for, will offer comment on this situation, along with the input of other members, as well.

I just don't understand all the silence on this matter, and actually I think it was about 10 days ago that TCM showed its ad for the film festival.

Maybe I'm missing something here. Sure would appreciate the comments of anyone who has some info to offer.
Mike,

I think the following threads are more appropriate thread to discuss your post and comments about Spartacus as we try to keep this thread focused on this latest BD of Bunny Lake is Missing.

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/topic/335974-spartacus-world-premiere-restoration-at-tcm-festival-2015/

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/topic/294422-a-few-words-about%E2%84%A2-spartacus-in-blu-ray/

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/topic/294968-htf-blu-ray-review-spartacus-50th-anniversary-edition/
 

Winston T. Boogie

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I really like this film because I saw it as a boy on late night television and it was my introduction to Noel Coward who stood out to such a degree that his performance in this film was burned into my memory. He was just so weird and electric in this film. I think Robert nailed it though in that this film belongs to the supporting performances and every time Olivier and Coward turn up the film is elevated to such a peak that you wish they had more screen time.

Olivier wanting to sample the junket while talking with Lynley about her missing little girl and Coward breaking out his whips during a visit from the police are such odd moments that stand out. Basically, every moment with Coward in the film is amazing and an entire film about his nutty BBC employee would have been great.

Stopped by the Coward when I was in London over the summer.

Coward Theatre.jpg
 

Virgoan

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I had no quibbles over what to buy in his batch: "Bunny Lake..." Was an easy choice. Have seen "Birdman..." and "...Nuremberg" and find "Bunny Lake..." easily the only one I can watch again. In addition to the cinematography, this film boasts one of the finest and most memorable film scores of its era. Paul Glass's work is melodic, moving and brilliant.
 

davidmatychuk

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I remember the Mad magazine parody "Bubby Lake Missed...By A Mile" better than I remember the movie. I'd still like to see it again, as an adult. In those days, it was practically a mark of quality for a film to be substantial enough for Mad to send up.
 

Matt Hough

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davidmatychuk said:
I remember the Mad magazine parody "Bubby Lake Missed...By A Mile" better than I remember the movie. I'd still like to see it again, as an adult. In those days, it was practically a mark of quality for a film to be substantial enough for Mad to send up.
Yes, I've remembered that parody all these years. Frankly, I don't think the movie missed by a mile, maybe a few inches. Until the 2/3 mark, it's a taut, tantalizing mystery-thriller, but once Preminger tips his hand around the 1 hour 18 minute mark (too soon for my taste) and reveals its twist, the movie has nowhere to go really and spins its wheels rather outrageously for the last half hour. Instead, the found doll could still point to the existence (then in doubt) of the child but we still wouldn't have known what happened, and we have a couple of tasty suspects (Coward, Hunt) who could have been painted even more suspicious to go along with their quirky personas which had already been established.

Still, it's a very enjoyable movie, and, as said earlier, the score is wonderful.
 

Rob_Ray

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How does one format a message for spoilers? Well, without spoilers I'll say that tipping one's hands relatively early is the old Hitchcock tradeoff of sacrificing mystery for suspense. Once the mystery of "whodunit" is resolved, we still have the nail-biting suspense of how Carol Lynley's character will resolve the dilemma she finds herself in. And, at times, it IS quite terrifying. I had no problem at all with the early hand-tipping. I just found what came afterward too far-fetched, unbelievable and downright silly given what had transpired earlier. I'd say more, but I can't without spoilers. I'll call it fascinatingly flawed.
 

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