More Columbia catalog releases - 2/3/09 (1 Viewer)

[Jay E]

DVD Empire has the following up for pre-order for 2/3/09 release ($19.94 retail):

Five
Getting Straight
Gumshoe
Our Man in Havana
Vibes

 

[Jay E]

I already own the region 2 DVD of Our Man in Havana, so I will be picking up Five, Getting Straight and Gumshoe as all 3 have been on my wishlist for ages.

I have no idea why I am answering my own post...I was trying to edit but I must have hit the wrong button...it's too early in the morning

 

[Simon Howson]

If it makes you feel better I thought it was a good reply, I give it 7/10.

I have Our Man in Havana too, which is a great film. I think it is extremely funny. I don't think I'll get any of these though. 2009 will be the year of blu-ray for me, so I think I'll save my money for things like North by Northwest on blu-ray.

 

[JeffT.]

Being a devout SF fan Arch Oboler's FIVE (1951) is naturally of considerable interest to me.

Most of those 1950s post nuclear holocast SF-premised films (ie. WORLD WITHOUT END, DAY THE WORLD ENDED, TEENAGE CAVEMAN, THE WORLD THE FLESH AND THE DEVIL) are usually very interesting and make for great thought-provoking entertainment.

It good to see that there are some truly worthwhile DVD releases currently in the works!

Thank you for the advanced word.

Jeff T.

 

[Bryan^H]

Good to hear about Vibes.
Wish they would release Housekeeping though.

 

[CineKarine]

According to ClassicFlix, this is the second wave of "Martini Movies"

 

[Robert13]

Happy to see "Vibes" come through. They should include "The Legend Of Billie Jean" under this label. It's long overdue for a dvd release.

 

[kingfish]

I am hoping for All the Young Men and Paratrooper both of which starred Alan Ladd.

 

[rich_d]

Jo Morrow is so pretty. I'm in for Our Man in Havana.

 

[walter o]

Was hoping for HUSBANDS as that was announced as coming soon from this line. Hopefully, maybe on the next wave.

 

[Xenia Stathakopoulou]

I cant believe Billy Jean isnt on this list.The dvd format is over 10 years old, and the movie hasnt been released yet. If something like twilight zone the movie, can get through all the legal stuff, then there is absolutely 0 excuses, for this to not be on dvd!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Simon Howson]

Region 1 cover art

Region 2 cover art

Original Poster Art

 

[Robin9]

Why are we still waiting for the remaining Kim Novak movies? Pushover, Five Against The House and Middle Of The Night are all good, enjoyable movies.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I recorded "Pushover" onto DVD-R the other day from a TCM broadcast.





Crawdaddy

 

[Richard--W]

Getting Straight is interesting as a time capsule of the late 1960s / early 1970s, when Elliott Gould was a huge counter-culture star. Take note of the slang in this film. The slang of that period is a curiosity now, like the slang of the 1930s and 1940s in gangster movies.

I've been wanting to see Arch Oboler's seminal Five in good quality for a long time. Oboler was a great Ideas man who knew how to accomplish high quality on miniscule budgets. This film is most welcome on DVD.

I've been enjoying the region 2 edition of Our Man In Havana for a couple of years, a refined espionage comedy-drama told with a dry wit that the English used to do so well. In case you're wondering, this is the film that defined the word "sublime." The cast is a pleasure to watch. Alec Guinness delivers another clinic in behavorial acting as a vacuum cleaner salesman who becomes a spy because everyone assumes he must be one anyway. Ernie Kovacs is a panic as a Cuban police inspector. A region 1 edition is most welcome and will be the first DVD of the series I pick up.

This "Martini Movies" idea is on the dumb side of promotional hooks, but if it gets the titles out, I'm all for it.

 

[Simon Howson]

The R1 version is going to be SO much better than the R2 version. It is going to have two green people and one blue person in it!

 

[Richard--W]

The region 1 cover art is no improvement, that's for sure, and will do nothing to sell the DVD. You have to get a degree in commercial art and work for years at a studio to learn how to design a cover like that.

Although the cover art on the region 2 is very fine and appropriate, I don't see how it would help sell the DVD off the shelves, either. On the other hand, it may be argued that Our Man In Havana is not the type of DVD most retailers stock, so Columbia might as well stick with better region 2 cover which so effectively evokes the genre's poster / dust jacket art of the late 1950s. Compare it to the poster art of Dr. No (1962).

The important thing is that film buffs in the USA will now have the chance to rediscover a British classic and one of the defining films of the period. It is directed by Carol Reed, the brilliant English director who was responsible for Night Train to Munich (1940), Odd Man Out (1947) with James Mason, The Third Man (1968) with Orson Welles, and the musical Oliver! (1968) with Oliver Reed. So you can expect a great film.

 

[Charles H]

Who controls NIGHT TRAIN TO MUNICH (1940)? I know that Kino brought out a VHS of it? It compares favorably to Hitchcock's THE LADY VANISHS, and even reprises Wayne and Radford.

 

[Simon Howson]

A Kid for Two Farthings and Trapeze are both under-rated IMO.

 

[John Hodson]

As is The Man Between. Reed has been under-appreciated in some quarters, good to see some love for him here.