Almost ashamed to ask: any "Bolero" reviews? (1 Viewer)

[Peter McM]

I know nothing would salvage this film from an artistic standpoint, but I am curious as to how much care MGM gave the remastering. After all--where Bo Derek is concerned, the visual is the main thing, right?:b

 

[Jon Martin]

Ummm, embarassed to answer. But hey, I had never seen it, remembered when it was released and the unbelievably bad reviews it got (sort of the SHOWGIRLS of the 80's), and figured, for $10, might be sort of fun.

I just went through the DVD quickly but it seems MGM did a great job with it. Anamorphic widescreen, seemed to be a great print. Like I said, I had never seen it before, so I can't compare it to the theatrical or video versions. But for the price, you can't go wrong.

As for Bo, well, if you are a fan, it is a must see.

Also a must see for George Kennedy fans. How did John Derek get him and the other stars to be in his films? Did anyone see the infamous Bo / John epic GHOSTS CAN'T DO IT? Featuring Anthony Quinn and a pre-APPRENTICE Donald Trump as himself. Is Trump keeping it off DVD?

 

[Yumbo]

Rent it. Acting is bad enough to switch it off.

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

I don't think Sony sent out screeners for this or the other summer titles (Wild Orchid 2, Warm Summer Rain, Mata Hari with Sylvia Krystal), at least not wide distribution, or if they did, they are late. You know a film is bad when not even nudity can save it...

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

I remeber two things about this film's theatrical release:

1) I was working at the post office at the time, and had two video stores on my route. So I got (and leafed through :b ) the catalogs distributors sent them, and knew what upcoming releases were on the way when. Bolero was the only movie I had ever seen up until that time that had a VHS release date and was being booked by video stores a month before its theatrical release. The studio knew it had a turkey on its hands, and that the only hope it had of making its money back was getting it into the home video channel as quickly as possible.

2) Roger Ebert talking about the film on the show he did with Gene Siskel. (I forget what it was called that year. ) This is very close to an exact quote:

"Bo Derek is a beautiful woman. I'd pay five dollars to see her naked anytime. But why can't she just pose for Playboy so I can pay my five dollars and enjoy her being naked whenever I want? Why does she have to make movies so I have to pay five dollars and sit through two hours of boring plot and bad acting to see her naked?"

No reason not to buy it if you feel the same way. Pop th disc in your player and remember that your system has a "mute" button for a reason. Think of it as "naked Bo Derek" wallpaper. Put on a CD if you want music. Anything but Ravel...



Regards,

Joe

 

[Jon Martin]

Actually, the studio wasn't responsible for the VHS release. As I remember, Cannon released it to theatres and USA Home Video released it on video (I remember seeing the oversized video box on the shelves of my video store). MGM normally released Cannon films on VHS, but they didn't have the rights to this one (I think PIRATES had the same deal). But, now that USA (and LIVE which it later became) is long gone, MGM is releasing it.

 

[walter o]

it would be nice if MGM release a widescreen PIRATE on DVD one day.

I remember a old Merv Griffin show where George Kennedy came on, promoting the film, warning the viewers "ifn you want to see a beautiful BO with other beautiful girls naked, photographed beautifully by John (derek) then do go see the movie. If you are looking for a movie with merit, seek elsewhere" which had me in stitches.

 

[Jeff D Han]

Yeah, Walter, that had to be fun to watch- an actor
bash a film that he is in. At least he was honest.

Maybe one day I'll Netflix this one to see why it
won the Razzies. I wonder if it'll be as horrendous
as Freddy Got Fingered or Swept Away.

 

[Peter McM]

Hadn't Bo already done a Playboy spread by the time "Bolero" was made?

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

I seem to recall a few Playboy spreads, including one with scenes from Tarzan. I noticed these while reading up on football, of course...

 

[Jay Pennington]

I was 17 when this was in theaters. My friends and I, being 17 and all that implies, were eager to go see it. It was unrated, but the theater staff had had a meeting and had decided not to admit anyone under 18. Despite the fact that even if had been rated X, the law was no one under 17 admitted. And it sure wasn't as graphic as an X.

Righteous but still not admitted, what frustrated lads we were that evening.

We rented it when it came out on video and, well, what a stinker.

But, hey, it had boobies.

 

[Geremia P.]

How did Blue Underground miss out on this one?

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

I think Ebert's idea was that she should just do a new pictorial every time she got a yen to do a movie.

Regards,

Joe

 

[Gordon McMurphy]

www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=17745

Could someone post screenshot?

 

[JonZ]

"Wild Orchid 2"

I did pick this up from CC for $9. I was too curious and had to get it. Theres ALOT missing. Its the R cut and not the Unrated version.

 

[walter o]

seems odd MGM would release the unrated version of WILD ORCHID, THE LOVER, etc but release the R only of WILD ORCHID 2 and DREAMLOVER (glad I held onto my LD)

 

[JonZ]

"DREAMLOVER (glad I held onto my LD)"

Me too