The Outlaw - Howard Hughes (1 Viewer)

[Eric Peterson]

I'm interested in acquiring this movie and noticed that it is available on at least four different labels (Madacy, Ventura, Troma, & Master Tone). Has anybody seen any of these? I usually stay away from Madacy, but I'm not sure about the quality of the other three labels. I wasn't aware that Troma released catalog titles. I have never seen this movie, and I am interested in it primarily because I enjoy watching movies that caused a commotion upon their original release, but are quite tame by today's standards.
Any information or links would be quite helpful.

 

[Patrick McCart]

WB has the rights to this film (through RKO Pictures)
I presume that all 4 of those DVD's are downright CRAP, so I'd wait for an official DVD by WB.
A long wait may happen since the RKO library is in poor condition. When WB puts out their disc, I'm sure it'll be as good as their other B&W DVD's.
[Edited last by PatrickMcCart on November 14, 2001 at 05:24 PM]

 

[Mark Zimmer]

The Troma one is actually the one put out by the Roan Group (Troma bought up their catalog) so the transfer on that should be pretty good (surprisingly enough for a Troma product). If I were going to get one, that would definitely be the one to get. Waiting for Warner to put it out will result in a very, very, very long wait.
If you're interested in this sort of thing, Troma also carries the 2 volumes of Pre-Code Hollywood that Roan put out on DVD.
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"This movie has warped my fragile little mind."
[Edited last by Mark Zimmer on November 14, 2001 at 02:22 PM]

 

[ReggieW]

Eric,
I have been a fan of many of Hughes' productions, my favorite being Hell's Angels and Scarface. I believe both are owned by Universal, which means that they can be licensed out to Criterion. I always thought "The Outlaw" was public domain, but I guess Warner is the owner now since they have the RKO catalog. The definitive version is the Roan version which has the full 118 minute cut of the film. The others are around 94-110 minutes. If you can pick up the Roan edition for less than $15.00, I would say go for it. I hear the picture quality (though not spectacular) is much better than the others as well.
Reg

 

[Eric Peterson]

Thanks for the help guys. I know the Roan Group does quality work, so I may pick up the Troma version.

 

[Thomas T]

I'm not so so sure Warners has the rights to The Outlaw.
The Outlaw, produced by Howard Hughes, was first publicly released in 1943, briefly, by RKO. It was pulled because of controversy and released again in 1946, this time by United Artists. Most reference books list it as a Howard Hughes production or a United Artists release. Hughes did not acquire RKO studios until 1948, five years after RKO released the film and two years after United Artists re-released it.
I own the Roan release and it's the best incarnation I've yet seen of The Outlaw. The DVD boasts that it is the full 117 minute version from 35mm archival materials.