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The Silent Partner (with Elliot Gould,Christopher Plummer) - who owns? any news? (1 Viewer)

Ric Easton

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With this thing just weeks away, I'm still sick about it. It's one of my favorite little movies. I first saw this on HBO back in the late seventies knowing nothing about it and it just captivated me. I was so excited when I first heard this was going to be released. I could finally replace my VHS that had been recorded in the LP speed. But, I own a widescreen TV and have no desire to own the pan and scan version of this or any other movie. Amazon still lists it as Pan & scan, so I ain't buyin'
 

Harry-N

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Good news. This picture of the back cover of THE SILENT PARTNER at DVD Empire shows that it IS anamorphic widescreen 1.85:1



Hooray!
htf_images_smilies_banana.gif
:)

I was going to comment that I hoped that the specs were wrong since there is ANOTHER title out there called SILENT PARTNER that is listed as full-screen 1.33:1. I hoped it was a case of someone entering the title into a database and having that wrong info pop up and the new info not entered. Looks like that may be the case as virtually every online retailer is listing this as a full-screen release.

Now where can I get this the fastest from?

Harry
 

Mark Edward Heuck

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If the anamorphic presentation is correct, that will mollify things. While I still think Lionsgate blew a great opportunity to get Hanson, Gould, and Plummer to be interviewed, I am glad they are at least, on paper, promising a new transfer. And they did fix the spelling of Susannah York's name, that means something.

The larger question is with Lionsgate releasing this and Sony promising a new MEATBALLS dvd, have HBO's home video rights to these '70's and '80's movies lapsed wholesale, and if so, where are all these movies going to go?
 

Harry-N

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Well, at least on this back cover pic. The front covers still displayed everywhere still have "Suzanne" York and "Elliot" Gould. Hopefully that mistake has been caught for the real covers. We'll know in a few days.

Harry
 

Harry-N

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By the way, just for the heck of it, I clicked on the "correct product info" link at Amazon's listing for THE SILENT PARTER, recommended that they change it to anamorphic widescreen and 1.85:1. They sent me a followup email stating that they'd check it out and update the listing in a "few days." It's now changed, so I guess we can assume that they verified the facts and they're now correct?

http://www.amazon.com/Silent-Partner.../dp/B000MMMTCS

Harry
 

Harry-N

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No, but just this minute I got a shipping confirmation from the place where I ordered the disc. Getting it tomorrow is unlikely. Perhaps Monday, certainly on Tuesday, release day.

Harry
 

SamSpade

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Harry (or anyone else): did you receive it yet in the mail? I will try to hit some stores tomorrow on the way home. Can't wait...
 

Gordon McMurphy

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Hey, folks. I received my copy today. Don't be alarmed by the grainy, almost 16mm-looking opening shot, as things soon pick up to a very high standard, with a fairly well-detailed image that is totally clean and the colours are vibrant.

Unusual, captivating, well-measured and paced film with excellent performances and darkly moody cinematography by future Gandhi Oscar winner Billy Williams (Women in Love, The Wind and the Lion, On Golden Pond), but the violence is bit OTT - almost like a Dario Argento film at one point! After years of waiting to see this one, I am pleased that it lived up to its reputation.
 

Harry-N

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While I don't know if mine has arrived yet (I'll check the mail when I get home), I happened to be in a Suncoast store at the lunch hour today and they had a copy of THE SILENT PARTNER.

The spelling is corrected on the front, both names, and it definitely said 16x9 enhanced for widescreen TVs.

Harry
 

Harry-N

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I received my copy in yesterday's mail and watched it through. Here's my review for THE SILENT PARTNER:



THE SILENT PARTNER (1978)
Lionsgate DVD (2007) 12236 21171 6
starring Elliott Gould, Christopher Plummer, Susannah York
Screenplay by Curtis Hanson
Music by Oscar Peterson
Producers Joel B. Michaels and Steven Young
Executive Producer Garth H. Drabinsky
Directed by Daryl Duke

Viewed on:
Sony Grand Wega KDF-55XS955
Pioneer DVL909

THE FILM:
This is one of those little cult-film thrillers that snuck up on everyone. I'd guess that the number of people who actually saw this in a theatre is pretty small as the film grew in popularity from showings on cable TV back when all-movie channels were becoming popular. I know that's how I found it, liked it, taped it, bought the only LaserDisc of it that ever came out, and am now thrilled to have it on DVD.

THE SILENT PARTNER stars Elliott Gould, Christopher Plummer and Susannah York and is about a Christmas-time bank robbery that goes differently than planned and the resulting aftermath of that crime. The twists and turns of the plot keeps the viewer on the edge of his seat throughout.

Released to TV and home video back in the '80s, the movie had never been released in a widescreen format until now.



THE PICTURE:
Though the pre-release specs on this DVD listed it as full-screen, rest assured that it's presented here in an anamorphic widescreen presentation at 1.85:1. Comparing it with the prior full-screen LaserDisc or VHS, one can easily see that this presentation opens up the sides of the picture as the director, Daryl Duke, originally intended. The first thing that the viewer will notice is that the opening appears somewhat grainy through the opening credits. Once the film gets going, the picture is cleaner-looking, with a natural film-like grain throughout. I did notice the occasional jump in the picture as one scene cut to another, but it's minor and not terribly distracting. I'm guessing that Lionsgate used whatever clean print they could find, and little or no restoration has been done. Colors appear natural, skin tones are rendered normally, and the brightly lit indoor signs of the shopping mall look to be the right colors to me. Occasionally, certain scenes appeared over-light or washed out, but that may have been intentional on the part of the filmmakers.

Picture score: 8 out of 10, as it's a thrill for me to see it in widescreen.

THE SOUND:
I expected a bit more from the soundtrack, but it's here that the original film elements may have failed. The Dolby Digital 2.0 mono soundtrack is quite a bit better than the old LaserDisc's analog track - but one wouldn't have to go very far to better that atrocity. The biggest detriment to watching the old LaserDisc from Vestron was the awful soundtrack. It was so disappointing that I often couldn't get through the movie. The DVD is better, but still not what I'd consider great. Perhaps this is as good as it gets on this low-budget film, I couldn't say, but there are times when the dialog is a bit garbled, and other times when the dialog is indeed drowned out by the music score. That's a clue that it was probably mixed rather poorly to begin with, hence why I suggest that this may be the best we'll ever get on this title.

Sound score: 5 out of 10, though I suspect that it's as good as it'll ever get.

THE PACKAGING:
Since this title first appeared with artwork, it's been criticized for being both bad and wrong. Bad, in that the picture of headless men in suits with guns and bags, walking across a giant US hundred dollar bill from 1996 is simply ludicrous. No such image is ever hinted at in the film - and all currency shown in the movie is of course Canadian! The best thing I can say about it is that at least they corrected the pre-release artwork's spelling of the stars' names. The back cover is correct in its choice of screen shots and text. The picture on the face of the DVD itself recreates the strange cover shot, and it's housed in a standard keepcase (mine arrived in the mail loose from its hub and rattling around - no damage though!).

Packaging score: 7 out of 10, at least it's a keepcase, though the incongruous picture is laughable.

THE MENUS:
The DVD's bizarre main menu is a recreation of the not-from-the-movie picture on the front cover of the DVD, and the music playing doesn't ring a bell to me as having been taken from the movie. The few submenus that there are do use some of Oscar Peterson's score, and at least have some images from the movie. The main menu has motion, with snow falling and the gun smoking. The chapter menus pictures are full motion from the movie itself.

Menu score: 7 out of 10, since someone went to the trouble of making them motion menus, even if the ever-present wrong artwork continues to haunt.

EXTRAS:
There are none. You get the movie with a Dolby Digital 2.0 mono soundtrack and either English or Spanish subtitles. That's it. No trailers, no previews, no extras of any kind. But then this is a budget release of a budget movie - what did you expect?

OVERALL:
I'm thrilled and delighted to own this long-neglected title on DVD. I wish that the sound had improved as much as the picture, but I guess it's not to be.

Overall score: 8 out of 10, just due to my joy of ownership of this great little film on DVD.
 

Ric Easton

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Thanks for the review! Great news that the pre-release aspect ratio specs were bugus. If anyone can find some hi-res art from this flick, I'll gladly make a custon cover.
 

Elizabeth S

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Thanks for the review, Harry!

I ordered mine yesterday -- fingers crossed they don't send me the Tara Reid movie. ;)
 

Paul_Scott

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Fans of the film should be very happy with the way LG ultimately treated this one. A major surprise- but a very pleasant one.
It's a kick to finally see this one again after almost 30 years.
And Christopher Plummer, with his outlandish false eyelashes, has to be one of the creepiest villans ever.
I'll never forget what a shock to the system it was when my little 12 year old ears heard Mr Von Trapp tell Elliott Gould to " hand the money over, F#&!-er!"

The Sound Of Music has never been the same since :)
 

Dion C

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I left a post earlier in this thread giving a scathing rebuke to Lions Gate for the (initial) reports of this title getting a full-frame, non-anamorphic release.

While I don't carry such a bloated sense of self-worth that I believe my post played any part in the release getting an anamorphic widescreen transfer, I nonetheless feel it's the right thing to do to commend the studio for putting this relatively obscure title out in a presentable fashion to its fans.

So, thanks, Lions Gate. It IS appreciated. And for what it's worth to you, the title went from a no-way non-purchase to an immediate buy upon learning it is indeed properly presented.

And I will (almost) refrain from mentioning my disappointment over the bizarrely anachronistic cover art. ;-)

Seriously, kudos, LG.
 

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