Paramount-Release LOOKING FOR MR GOODBAR on dvd. (2 Viewers)

[larry bender]

Paramount needs to release this powerful film directed by Richard Brooks and starring Diane Keaton and Richard Gere.

 

[Jeff_HR]

This is another "I can't believe it is not out yet" title! Keaton should have won the Oscar for this film instead of "Annie Hall". This needs a release & with a commentary.

 

[Jay E]

Near the top of my most wanted list.

Please Paramount, release this on DVD!

 

[JPCinema]

Yes please release this powerful flm on DVD!

 

[Bradley-E]

There may be music rights issues holding this up.

 

[chandlj]

Looking For Mr. Goodbar in 1977 was a contorversial film. It deserves a proper transfer and a home video release. With six degrees of seperation somebody out there should have a contact for someone at Paramount who knows the status. It's Paramount's 100th anniversary this year along with the 35th anniversary of the film. Paramount should work out the music rights and release this as a special edition on DVD and Blu-Ray. The music rights for Saturday Night Fever had a similar problem. The contracts at the time both movies came out mention videotape and videodisc. Current contracts now mention current video formats and any future formats, thus avoiding any future movies being held hostage for money negotiatons over music rights. Every movie Paramount releases for home viewing makes it more glaringly obvious that this powerful film has been overlooked. While I love Forrest Gump, Star Trek, Grease, Saturday Night Fever and Friday The 13th, I don't need a new version every five years. Hey Paramount, I want to give you money. Here is a movie I will buy the day it's released. How about a happy 100th for everyone and a happy 35th for a great film.

 

[ahollis]

Originally Posted by chandlj

Looking For Mr. Goodbar in 1977 was a contorversial film. It deserves a proper transfer and a home video release. With six degrees of seperation somebody out there should have a contact for someone at Paramount who knows the status. It's Paramount's 100th anniversary this year along with the 35th anniversary of the film. Paramount should work out the music rights and release this as a special edition on DVD and Blu-Ray. The music rights for Saturday Night Fever had a similar problem. The contracts at the time both movies came out mention videotape and videodisc. Current contracts now mention current video formats and any future formats, thus avoiding any future movies being held hostage for money negotiatons over music rights. Every movie Paramount releases for home viewing makes it more glaringly obvious that this powerful film has been overlooked. While I love Forrest Gump, Star Trek, Grease, Saturday Night Fever and Friday The 13th, I don't need a new version every five years. Hey Paramount, I want to give you money. Here is a movie I will buy the day it's released. How about a happy 100th for everyone and a happy 35th for a great film.

Paramount has licensed the film out to a third party.

 

[Louis Letizia]

Paramount has been very aggressive lately getting out their library. I'm glad it wasnt in Legends wave of Paramount releases. While I'm happy with Olive's releases-especially Blu-they have been pretty barebones (besides, I do not believe Paramount would give up such an im portant film). That leaves Paramount proper (thru Lionsgate ala THE CONVERSATION-which I like very much)-which has been doing great work or, ideally Criterion. Moneywise -I'd like to see Paramount handle it-BREAKFAST AT TIFFANYS was great-but I believe there could so many extras -coommentaries by cast , etc that a deluxe C riterion Blu would be amazing. Just in time for its 35th anniversary. There are so many 60s/70s titles that Paramount needs to get out -THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR , MARATHON MAN and 60s curios like THE PENTHOUSE as well as a definitive blu of THE ODD COUPLE and many others. Maybe Columbia can revive their old line of 60s/70s films and Paramount can do the same thru a 3rd party -combined we'd have a great Martini and Olive lineup of 60s/70s movies!

 

[JoHud]

THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR was already released on Blu-ray by Paramount, but they must have done a relatively low print number because it is already OOP. Like the DVD, it only had the trailer as a special feature.

 

[Jon Hertzberg]

Paramount has been very aggressive lately getting out their library. I'm glad it wasnt in Legends wave of Paramount releases. While I'm happy with Olive's releases-especially Blu-they have been pretty barebones (besides, I do not believe Paramount would give up such an im portant film). That leaves Paramount proper (thru Lionsgate ala THE CONVERSATION-which I like very much)-which has been doing great work or, ideally Criterion. Moneywise -I'd like to see Paramount handle it-BREAKFAST AT TIFFANYS was great-but I believe there could so many extras -coommentaries by cast , etc that a deluxe C riterion Blu would be amazing. Just in time for its 35th anniversary. There are so many 60s/70s titles that Paramount needs to get out -THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR , MARATHON MAN and 60s curios like THE PENTHOUSE as well as a definitive blu of THE ODD COUPLE and many others. Maybe Columbia can revive their old line of 60s/70s films and Paramount can do the same thru a 3rd party -combined we'd have a great Martini and Olive lineup of 60s/70s movies!

I'm a fan of LOOKING FOR MR. GOODBAR and really hope the encouraging mentions of it being licensed to a 3rd party come to fruition, whether it's Criterion or Olive, I don't really care. Extras are nice, but, in the end, the movie's the thing. Everything else is gravy. Is it such an "important film"? To people outside of cinephiles, I'm not so sure. It is a difficult film, that's for sure, and is braver and more upsetting than most anything produced today, particularly by a major studio and it needs to be out in a superior home video format with its vital pop music soundtrack completely intact. THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR is and has been available on Blu-ray and DVD by Paramount for some time. MARATHON MAN made it to DVD via Paramount. THE CONVERSATION and APOCALYPSE NOW, and other Zoetrope titles, coming to Blu-ray via Lionsgate happened through a deal between Coppola's American Zoetrope and Lionsgate. I'm not sure what rights, if any, Paramount retains over the Zoetrope titles it had involvement with in the past. EDIT: I see that Joe responded about CONDOR. Didn't realize it was out of print already. Darn.

 

[Louis Letizia]

If I'm not correct I believe THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR was released only in Blu in the U'.K.-but I may be wrong. Kims Video still has that one for sale. I also was unaware of the Zoetrope/Lionsgate deal. I was thinking mOre of the Paramount rereleases thru LG such as THE RELIC and THE PHANTOM. Would this mean that Abel Gance's NAPOLEON would go out thru Lionsgate? 1977 itself was an important year for womens roles in films. The 5 Oscar nominees for Best Actress still did not include such great performances as Shelley Duvall in THREE WOMEN ; Geraldine Chaplin in CRIA! ; Julie Christie in DEMON SEED ; Lily Tomlin in THE LATE SHOW ; Kathleen Quinlan in I NEVER PROMISED YOU A ROSE GARDEN(she should have taken Marsha Masons slot ) ; Jill Clayburgh in SEMI TOUGH , Barbara Harris in FREAKY FRIDAY ; Jodie Foster in THE LITTLE GIRL WHO LIVES DOWN THE LANE or Marie France Pisier in THE OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT . The best performance by an actress that year was won by the Best Actress -but in the wrong film. Diane Keaton should have won for GOODBAR . i believe voters honored her ANNIE HALL role because of their love for GOODBAR. Besides the womens angle, LOOKING FOR MR. GOODBAR , imho , was important for its controversial storyline. 3 to 4 years before the slasher films were being attacked for their underlying motif of sexually active , unwed women being murdered for their sins , GOODBAR stated the same thing but with a much more scary monster -real men. In fact LOOKING is very much a horror film in its setup and denouement. The Oscar nominated cinematography grabbed you and brought you into a world as seedy as the cabin in TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE with a tension just as heartracing. While many may disagree-or be angered by what GOODBAR portrayed-it is still brilliantly done. People forget that this tale of a woman who was murdered for her promiscuity was indeed written by a woman. She demasculated all the men in the movie -the father was distant and unloving ; the William Atherton character was gay ; the Richard Gere character was on the road to nowhere, her professor was an adulterer and the killer was impotent. Nice to know men havent changed! The only GoodMan is Levar Burtons character-giving the film an even deeper level of class structure I cannot wait till this finally arrives on dvd/blu. There is much to reccommend . I want to discuss this movie in length with people who have never experienced it- its argument inducing. I would love to hear a Diane Keaton commentary and Richard Gere who humorously once commented that his butt looked too fat in the jockstrap(men are the sexual figures here -the only nudity being Gere). I think their commentary together would be outstanding and fun. I wish they would do a movie together again - their chemistry here was playful and erotically charged. The film was a triumph that catapulted new stars (Gere and Berenger) ; reinvented older ones (a brilliant Tuesday Weld- a wasted actress who should have won the Oscar for this and been nominated for THIEF and ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA) and proved that its star would be around for a long time being as adept at drama as she was at comedy. Its important in its use of contemporary music , its directing choices and its reflection of a time that is truly timecapsule worthy. It should have been nominated forPicture , Director, Adapted Screenplay , Film Editing and Sound.THE GOODBYE GIRL would hsave been the casualty . I wont spoil it for anyone who has yet to see it -but its got one of the most powerfully disturbing endings in movie history. Like the candy bar -MR. GOODBAR has some nuts , is tightly wrapped and bittersweet-but s delicious entertainment. Yes-it truly boils down to the movie itself-but one so socially important as LOOKING FOR MR GOODBAR deserves a nice treatment adfter 35 years. My only caveat with it is that it wasnt actually filmed in Manhattan -and it almost -just barely-blows the movie for new yorkers. And for a seemingly very serious movie it has sly touches at humor -Keaton bringing a paperback of The Godfather to read at the bar is hilarious! Yet -it is also a clever touch as Teresa like Michael Corleone had good intentions but thru family betrayal they turned. As for extras a trailer is truly necessary -it was a mini movie in itself.I wouldnt mess with cover art thast should be the movie poster verbatim . Its stark , smoke filmed image of Diane Keaton side profile in a bar says so much with so little As for the rest - a cast ciommentary would be fun and possibly insightful but why need that on a film that in itself is a commentary -on life

 

[Matt Hough]

I completely agree that Keaton should have been nominated for Goodbar rather than Annie Hall, but I fully believe when voters chose who they wanted honored, they had BOTH films in mind when they voted for her. Oscars work that way fairly frequently.

 

[Jon Hertzberg]

If I'm not correct I believe THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR was released only in Blu in the U'.K.-but I may be wrong. Kims Video still has that one for sale. I also was unaware of the Zoetrope/Lionsgate deal. I was thinking mOre of the Paramount rereleases thru LG such as THE RELIC and THE PHANTOM. Would this mean that Abel Gance's NAPOLEON would go out thru Lionsgate? 1977 itself was an important year for womens roles in films. The 5 Oscar nominees for Best Actress still did not include such great performances as Shelley Duvall in THREE WOMEN ; Geraldine Chaplin in CRIA! ; Julie Christie in DEMON SEED ; Lily Tomlin in THE LATE SHOW ; Kathleen Quinlan in I NEVER PROMISED YOU A ROSE GARDEN(she should have taken Marsha Masons slot ) ; Jill Clayburgh in SEMI TOUGH , Barbara Harris in FREAKY FRIDAY ; Jodie Foster in THE LITTLE GIRL WHO LIVES DOWN THE LANE or Marie France Pisier in THE OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT . The best performance by an actress that year was won by the Best Actress -but in the wrong film. Diane Keaton should have won for GOODBAR . i believe voters honored her ANNIE HALL role because of their love for GOODBAR. Besides the womens angle, LOOKING FOR MR. GOODBAR , imho , was important for its controversial storyline. 3 to 4 years before the slasher films were being attacked for their underlying motif of sexually active , unwed women being murdered for their sins , GOODBAR stated the same thing but with a much more scary monster -real men. In fact LOOKING is very much a horror film in its setup and denouement. The Oscar nominated cinematography grabbed you and brought you into a world as seedy as the cabin in TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE with a tension just as heartracing. While many may disagree-or be angered by what GOODBAR portrayed-it is still brilliantly done. People forget that this tale of a woman who was murdered for her promiscuity was indeed written by a woman. She demasculated all the men in the movie -the father was distant and unloving ; the William Atherton character was gay ; the Richard Gere character was on the road to nowhere, her professor was an adulterer and the killer was impotent. Nice to know men havent changed! The only GoodMan is Levar Burtons character-giving the film an even deeper level of class structure I cannot wait till this finally arrives on dvd/blu. There is much to reccommend . I want to discuss this movie in length with people who have never experienced it- its argument inducing. I would love to hear a Diane Keaton commentary and Richard Gere who humorously once commented that his butt looked too fat in the jockstrap(men are the sexual figures here -the only nudity being Gere). I think their commentary together would be outstanding and fun. I wish they would do a movie together again - their chemistry here was playful and erotically charged. The film was a triumph that catapulted new stars (Gere and Berenger) ; reinvented older ones (a brilliant Tuesday Weld- a wasted actress who should have won the Oscar for this and been nominated for THIEF and ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA) and proved that its star would be around for a long time being as adept at drama as she was at comedy. Its important in its use of contemporary music , its directing choices and its reflection of a time that is truly timecapsule worthy. It should have been nominated forPicture , Director, Adapted Screenplay , Film Editing and Sound.THE GOODBYE GIRL would hsave been the casualty . I wont spoil it for anyone who has yet to see it -but its got one of the most powerfully disturbing endings in movie history. Like the candy bar -MR. GOODBAR has some nuts , is tightly wrapped and bittersweet-but s delicious entertainment. Yes-it truly boils down to the movie itself-but one so socially important as LOOKING FOR MR GOODBAR deserves a nice treatment adfter 35 years. My only caveat with it is that it wasnt actually filmed in Manhattan -and it almost -just barely-blows the movie for new yorkers. And for a seemingly very serious movie it has sly touches at humor -Keaton bringing a paperback of The Godfather to read at the bar is hilarious! Yet -it is also a clever touch as Teresa like Michael Corleone had good intentions but thru family betrayal they turned. As for extras a trailer is truly necessary -it was a mini movie in itself.I wouldnt mess with cover art thast should be the movie poster verbatim . Its stark , smoke filmed image of Diane Keaton side profile in a bar says so much with so little As for the rest - a cast ciommentary would be fun and possibly insightful but why need that on a film that in itself is a commentary -on life

3 DAYS OF THE CONDOR was domestically released on Blu-ray in the States by Paramount. It's now apparently OOP. In fact, Diane Keaton also performs several nude scenes in the film, the only of her career, IIRC. LOOKING FOR MR. GOODBAR has much in it that I gravitate to, as well, and it was very much a conversation piece in its time, for good reason. The ending is indeed a showstopper and a heart-stopper...not for the faint of heart in any way. The movie doesn't completely work in my eyes, but it's a helluva lot more interesting and insightful, unafraid to incite, and shows more chutzpah than just about anything Hollywood produces "for adults" nowadays. These days, as I said earlier, I don't see it as being so well remembered outside of cinephiles...this is due, in some part at least, to its complete absence on home video during the DVD era. I'm a little surprised that it would go Criterion, but I'll be more than happy if that actually does happen. GOODBAR, TAXI DRIVER, and CRUISING are the subjects of a classic essay by the late Robin Wood, entitled "The Incoherent Text," re-printed in his essential HOLLYWOOD FROM VIETNAM TO REAGAN. Wood was one of the first critics to take up the cause of CRUISING after the initial furor surrounding that film. Richard Brooks chose to film GOODBAR in Chicago, an inspired choice, I always thought, because, in his mind, the expected or easy choice would be to film in NY because this was where the real events of Rossner's novel took place and it was also where most productions of this type chose to situate their films at that time. There were so many gritty urban studies of NY coming out of Hollywood and independents at that time and very few coming out of a city such as Chicago (this was, in part, due to the clampdown on productions in Chicago by Daley Sr. after the likes of MEDIUM COOL). It was Mayor Jane Byrne who would welcome Hollywood back into the Windy City with THE BLUES BROTHERS and so many other Chicago-set films in the '80s. Check this old Ebert article about the making of GOODBAR out.

 

[Louis Letizia]

Thank you-as always for your insights , corrections and especially the links. The lack of exposure in the video market for GOODBAR was I'm sure due to poor sales as well as the legendary music rights . But I am more surprised that it doesnt get play on the myriad of cable channels on. Now that Fox Movie Channel is a mere sliver of what it used to be , the Sony Movie Channel is doing a great job with catalog titles. I enjoyed THE HAPPENING yesterday. I had never seen that curio and was pleasently surprised. Getting off the track -as usual. Anyway, I noticed that Sony Channel is beginning to show Paramount library titles. Interesting how that came to be. But, we may soon see some Paramount titles like GOODBAR on there. I'll be waiting , watching and looking for GOODBAR to appear on DVD -as long as its in its original aspect ratio-something I havent seen since its theatrical run.