AMERICAN HOT WAX & BREAKING GLASS-anytime soon Paramount? (1 Viewer)

[Jon Hertzberg]

A posting on a couple of cult classics with lots of music.

Just watched the fine AMERICAN HOT WAX on AMC last night. Unfortunately, the transfer shown on tv was awful. I know music copyright issues have kept this one from video up until now, but I wondered if Paramount had any thoughts of revisiting this cult favorite. Columbia recently released HOT WAX director Floyd Mutrux's follow-up THE HOLLYWOOD KNIGHTS to DVD & video for the first time (after music rights issues were cleared up). Please follow suit Paramount.

BREAKING GLASS was recently brought down to sell-thru prices on VHS. This is another fine music-laden effort and with interest in New Wave and everthing 80s recently rekindled, a DVD release of this midnite favorite would be ever so timely. If you've no plans on this one, how about licensing it off to an Anchor Bay who count titles like this one as their bread & butter.

 

[Mark Edward Heuck]

Thank you! I'm so relieved to know I'm not the only fan of these films!

There are, unfortunately, many Paramount titles that are held up due to music rights. A look at the respectable sales of library titles from other studios liberated from music entanglements (THE HOLLYWOOD KNIGHTS, TWO LANE BLACKTOP, AMERICAN POP) should demonstrate that it would be worth the money to license the material.

Think about it...BREAKING GLASS, AMERICAN HOT WAX, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN THE FABULOUS STAINS, LEADBELLY...all great music-themed Paramount films...link them up with familiar favorites like SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER, FLASHDANCE, U2 RATTLE AND HUM...I smell a big marketing opportunity!

 

[Mark Edward Heuck]

Has anyone had a chance to look at the Region 2 DVD of BREAKING GLASS that is currently available? If it's any good, Paramount should consider doing a port of it and making it available, much like Warner's did with the Blue Dolphin DVD of THE NINTH CONFIGURATION. It would save them a lot of trouble in the creative process, since the hard work would be done already.

 

[Phil E]

It would be heaven to have "American Hot Wax" on dvd. One outstanding flick, this title! Floyd Mutrux did a commentary for "The Hollywood Knights"---if asked, he may well do one for "American Hot Wax" as well. How about considering this title, Paramount?

 

[Mark Edward Heuck]

I was just listening to the CD soundtrack of BREAKING GLASS over vacation, and it still kicks. (It's probably what's holding the movie back as well, I surmise)

The UK DVD is now out of print. Amazon UK cancelled my order even. However, now Paramount can use that to their advantage, by putting out an even better DVD than that one, since it'll then be the only one commercially available.

 

[Mark Edward Heuck]

I finally obtained a copy of the now OOP R2 DVD of BREAKING GLASS, originally released by Metrodome. It is a very nice 16x9 transfer, presented in its OAR of 2.35:1 (looked a little closer to 2.20 actually, but definitely wider than the panscanned VHS tape). It has brief bios for the main cast, a very large photo gallery, and the UK trailer.

As such, it is a fine enough disc on its own that Paramount, if they chose, could merely port the entire contents of that disc and release it here domestically, much as they did with the rerelease of the Anchor Bay edition of the original THE STEPFORD WIVES. Granted, in a perfect world, it would be nice to have even more, like commentary from Hazel O'Connor and Jonathan Pryce, or a brief description of the changes made for the U.S. release. For those unaware, basically Paramount dropped the entire epilogue from the film, so that where the U.S. version ends with a concert performance of "Eighth Day," the original UK cut continues with O'Connor suffering a breakdown after the concert on the subway where she is first depicted at the start of the film, and then recovering in a sanitarium as her ex-boyfriend visits her. The credit music also differs: The original features a slow ballad, while the Paramount cut reprises "Eighth Day."


But my point is, once money is spent to clear the music for the U.S., very little else would need to be done to prep it for DVD.

Just something to consider.

 

[Carlos Garcia]

It would be heaven to have "American Hot Wax" on dvd. One outstanding flick, this title! Floyd Mutrux did a commentary for "The Hollywood Knights"---if asked, he may well do one for "American Hot Wax" as well. How about considering this title, Paramount?

I used to think the reason American Hot Wax wasn't released was because of all the great songs in the film that Paramount would need to secure the rights to. However, when you consider Hollywood Knights had as many great songs, and it was released, I have no idea why "Wax" hasn't come out yet. Jay Leno and Fran Dreschler are big names, as are Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis...This is probably my alltime favorite Rock and Roll movie, and yet it's nowhere to be found...Very sad indeed! :frowning: