Paramount: PRESIDENT'S ANALYST please (1 Viewer)

[Rob Gardiner]

Dear Martin Blythe and the fine folks at Paramount:
Thank you for a year of excellent discs. Your colleagues at Fox have done a fine job on both In Like Flint and Our Man Flint. I would love to see a DVD release of THE PRESIDENT'S ANALYST as this is the most interesting and uniqoe of James Coburn's 60's comedies. My roommate and I have been champing at the bit for this one. Many thanks in advance.
(edited to correct a very silly mistake)

 

[Peter M Fitzgerald]

Rob,
I really want THE PRESIDENT'S ANALYST (1967) on DVD, too, but I'm afraid you're barking up the wrong tree. The rights belong to Paramount (the studio that originally distributed the film). You should be asking Martin Blythe about this vastly underappreciated comedy gem, rather than Peter Staddon.
Also, be aware that THE PRESIDENT'S ANALYST has some music rights problems that have plagued Paramount's previous VHS and laserdisc editions of the film. When Barry "Eve of Destruction" McGuire and the band Clear Light perform in the scenes taking place in the meadow and later at the hippie nightclub (where Coburn & company meet up with "The Pudlians"), the tape and LD versions substitute the original music with lame, faux-1960s filler music, as well as editing out some film footage of McGuire and the band (to fool the audience into thinking the band is playing this new, ersatz music). When the movie is broadcast on TV (on AMC, Encore, etc) the original music and film footage is intact. So the altered "home video" edition of THE PRESIDENT'S ANALYST ends up being a couple of minutes shorter than the film's proper 104-minute running time.
An ideal single-disc "Collector's Edition" DVD of the film would look like this, IMHO:
* The 104-minute cut of the film, with all the original music intact, 16x9 enhanced (2.35:1 Panavision ratio)
[note: "SE" or not, any DVD edition of this film that doesn't meet the above criteria would be a travesty, and not worth the effort]
* Audio commentary and/or interview segment with writer-director Theodore J. Flicker (if he can be tracked down and wants to do one, of course; I've seen some evidence on the web that he's still alive & well)
* Deleted scene of Dr. Schaeffer (James Coburn) and his girlfriend Nan (Joan Delaney) encountering a trio of foreign spies at a mod theater (that is, if the scene still exists)
* Interview segment(s) with surviving cast members William Daniels and Pat Harrington, Jr.
* Archival interview footage (if any could be secured by Paramount/Viacom) of the late, great James Coburn reminiscing about making the film.
* The original theatrical trailer
A proper edition (widescreen, un-cut, all the original music intact) of THE PRESIDENT'S ANALYST is easily my most-wanted DVD, bar none. Hopefully, some day, it might happen. Any encouraging news on the horizon, Martin?

 

[Rob Gardiner]

My apologies.

Could a mod please retitle this thread:

"Paramount: PRESIDENT'S ANALYST w/ complete music please"

I assumed that this was a Fox title and we all know what happens when you ASSUME.

 

[Rain]

I'd buy a copy.

 

[Mark Zimmer]

I'd buy one too. Uncut, of course. And a documentary--or even a lengthy text piece--about the issues surrounding this film would be most welcome.

 

[Rain]

Uncut, of course.

Yup, that goes without saying.