Films that you fear may NEVER be released on DVD. (1 Viewer)

[Richard--W]

Actually, CHINA 9 LIBERTY 37 is the censored version, full screen pan & scanned, and in poor quality on the Mill Creek sets. When someone releases it widescreen anamorphic and uncut I will consider it properly released. This version aired on Australian TV some years ago and some collectors have copies in varying degrees of quality. You'd be surprised how much better the widescreen uncut version is.

COMIN' AT YA and AMITYVILLE 3 have been released in the anaglyph system that requires red and blue glasses, a pseudo 3-D system that does more harm than good to stereoscopic films. When the films are released in the authentic field-sequential system requiring polarized glasses I will consider them properly released. Meanwhile the flat prints will have to suffice.

 

[RichieMagoo]

The Incident. 1967, B&W starring Tony Musante, Beau Bridges(his debut role), Ed McMahon, Ruby Dee and a host of other greats.

It's an AWESOME movie about two drunken creeps who terrorize a subway car full of decent people in the Bronx.

Amazingly, they never renewed the copyright on this great movie- so it is now in the public domain- and occassionally available on Ebay on homemade discs.

I can't believe that the studios would ignore this movie- it is in my top 5 movies of all time.

 

[walter o]

INCIDENT is not in the public dormain, it was renewed, the renewal number is RE0000707598 . So hopefully fox can bring this out soon, a great film.

 

[JimKr]

I'd like to see "Pay or Die!" with Ernest Borgnine but I fear it has been lost forever. I recall seeing it on the late late show 40 years ago and have never seen or heard of it since.

 

[Susan Nunes]

One of the most entertaining bad movies of all time: The Oscar (1966). I have it on VHS.

So bad it's great. I'd take one of those to 10 Citizen Kanes.

 

[MatthewA]

I'm glad you mentioned this. I also was impressed by Julie Andrews' performance in this film. This should be released, but since it is nearly forgotten it is unlikely.

 

[Richard--W]

Still waiting for SHOWBOAT (1929 and 1936 and I suppose 1951) with accompanying soundtrack CD's and all the supplements this milestone musical deserves, both music-oriented and cinema-oriented.

I would like to see both versions of DOCTOR X with Lionel Atwill released. Yes, I know the 2-strip Technicolor experiment is out, and it's a joy to watch, but it merits a stand-alone special edition paired with the monochrome alternate. Yes, Michael Curtiz shot the film twice. The black and white alternate is the same script with the same cast, but it has different camera set-ups with different focal lengths, different lighting, and different takes. The film demands at least one commentary talking about the history of the film and its antecedents. A supplement could highlight the differences between the two versions.

I would like to see KING OF JAZZ, an early color musical, which I remember renting in the early days of vhs. It looked to be in really good shape, too.

 

[Dan1]

Pay or Die (1960) is listed on IMDB as being an Allied Artists production with an Allied Artists VHS release in 1978, back in the early days of home video. Unless it's slipped into the Public Domain it can be released on DVD by whoever controls the Allied Artists catalog today.

I remember seeing it as a kid back in the 1960s in NYC on WOR, channel 9.

What makes you say the film has been lost forever?

 

[Dan1]

Casanova '70 (1965) is an offbeat Italian comedy directed by Mario Monicelli. Marcello Mastroianni plays a spy who can only make love if he's in danger. I used to see this movie on the late Sunday night "Foreign Film Festival" in the 1960s and 70s. It's available on DVD in R2, and was on NTSC VHS in the late 1970s.

Italian films are a niche market in the US. I was surprised when Criterion released crisp prints of Pietro Germi's "Divorce Italian Style' and "Seduced and Abandoned" on DVD. Excellent prints of Monicelli's "Bocaccio '70" and Germi's "The Railroad Man" were released on DVD by No Shame Video which may not even be in business anymore. Casanova '70 is that kind of movie, unless Criterion or some other "art house" video company releases it, we will never see it on DVD in R1.

 

[rbrooks10]

Inferno with Robert Ryan. Rarely screened on TV, but a heck of an entertaining film for the survivalist in all of us.

 

[Ockeghem]

The Power (1968).

 

[Bob Cashill]

PAY OR DIE! is available via the Warner Archive, in a good print.

 

[WadeM]

Originally Posted by rbrooks10 /forum/thread/121107/films-that-you-fear-may-never-be-released-on-dvd/510#post_3650386

Agreed!

 

[Timothy E]

GUNN (1967) Theatrical version of Peter Gunn starring Craig Stevens, Sherri Jackson, and Ed Asner, written by Blake Edwards and William Petter Blatty (The Exorcist) and directed by Edwards. There was even a separate international cut with additional nudity and violence. Great film that has never been released on VHS, laserdisc, or DVD.

 

[Robin9]

Twilight's Last Gleaming and Raintree County have not yet been issued on DVD but I remain confident that eventually, like The African Queen, they will make an appearance. The movies I fear have slipped under the radar of the appropriate companies and will not ever get the DVD release they deserve are:

The Woman In White - Warners might dump this as a DVD-R into their Archive Collection but that's not the real thing.

The Mask Of Dimitrios - Ditto.
I Walk Alone - '40s crime movies have done well on DVD so where is this one?

The Buster Keaton Story - anything with Donald O'Connor is worth releasing on DVD
Never Steal Anything Small - James Cagney plus Shirley Jones: what more could you want?

The Hanging Tree - Gary Cooper and George C. Scott in a really good Western

The Big Fisherman - cinematographer Lee Garmes said this movie contained his best work

The Sweet Ride - early Jacqueline Bisset: 'nuff said

The First Time - early Jacqueline Bisset: 'nuff said

The Last Run - George C. Scott "in the manner of Hemingway and Bogart".

Don't Make Waves - Tony Curtis, Claudia Cardinale and Sharon Tate. . . and it's not out on DVD!

Will somebody - everybody! - in the DVD business wake up and make an effort! Get on with it! We've waited far too long!

 

[Jim_K]

At this point forward I'll be presently surprised with any (as yet) unreleased catalog title that get's a pressed DVD release.

For a time, years ago I did think we'd be a bit deeper into catalogs (than we are now) before they pulled the plug.

 

[rbrooks10]

Another huge fave that has yet to see DVD is The Pleasure of His Company with Fred Astair and Debbie Reynolds. A really delightful film with top-notch performances by all the cast.

 

[Mark B]

Originally Posted by rbrooks10

The Pleasure of His Company with Fred Astaire and Debbie Reynolds

An excellent film that will surely never see the light of day on REAL DVD. What a shame.

 

[Holer]

Inferno sounds like a great name for a Robert Ryan movie. I hve only just discovered many of his films because of DVD and he has become probably my favorite Noir actor of all time.

Personally, I'm concerned that a big chunk of Paramount and other libraries will never get released even on DV-R because they seem to have side-stepped that and gone straight to download. I guess I will have to learn how to burn my own DV-R's if I ever want to find a copy of Hannie Calder and other films of that period.

I'm also curious if they will ever get around to releasing a US version of 'Chimes at Midnight'. They've been talking about it for years but nothing ever comes of it. I would think even Criterion would be interested in thatone.

 

[rbrooks10]

Let's not give up hope. I waited for years for The Yellow Rolls Royce to come to DVD and it finally made it and made my year! It is a very good transfer and well worth the price, if for nothing but the soundtrack. A guilty pleasure? Absolutely, I confess. Looks great in my theater.