The state of JOHN BOORMAN films on DVD (2 Viewers)

[Jeff Ulmer]

We currently have a good number of John Boorman films on DVD, so I thought we could look at what we have so far, and see what's missing, and who is holding out on us.
Having a Wild Weekend (Catch Us If You Can): MIA
Point Blank: Warner MIA
Leo The Last: MIA
Hell in the Pacific: Anchor Bay, nonanamorphic transfer. Looks okay, though nothing spectacular.
Deliverance: Warner, anamorphic. Looks pretty good, has a documentary, though sadly no commentary.
Zardoz: Fox, anamorphic. Includes commentary, stills radio spots, original trailer. Better than I had hoped, though I wish I knew/had more of the available supplements for this prior to production.
Exorcist II: the Heretic: MIA
Excalibur: Warner, anamorphic. Looks good, but not great. I question some of the framing. Commentary is good.
The Emerald Forest: MGM, anamorphic. Great looking transfer, completely devoid of features. Boorman wrote a whole book on this one, commentary would have been nice.
Hope And Glory: MGM, nonanamorphic transfer. Looks decent, though again bare bones. Commentary would have been nice, considering this is semiautobiographical.
Where The Heart Is: MIA
Beyond Rangoon: Warner? MIA
Two Nudes Bathing: MIA
I Dreamt I Woke Up: MIA
Lumiere and Company: Fox Lorber/Winstar
The General: Columbia, anamorphic. Dual versions. Reasonable transfer.
The Tailor of Panama: Columbia, anamorphic.
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[Edited last by Jeff Ulmer on September 01, 2001 at 10:30 PM]

 

[Peter Avellino]

I'm a skeptic, so I can't help but think that what we've already got from Boorman on DVD is what we're going to get. Putting out Emerald Forest and Hope and Glory with no commentaries, nothing, is a darn shame. Still, I would never have thought that Zardoz would have come out containing what it did, so anything is possible.
Point Blank: Hey, if it was up to me, there'd be a Special Edition of this packed to the gills: Boorman commentary, retrospective documentary featuring anyone who might still be around--I don't know about crew memebers off hand, but there's Angie Dickinson and John Vernon for starters. Hey, I'd go and shoot the doc in locations they used in the film, see much L.A. has changed in 35 years. The cult for this film seems to have grown lately, what with Payback and even The Limey, so I can always dream.
Exorcist II-The Heretic: Last year I saw Mission To Mars on Hollywood Blvd. on opening night and I swear, the response from the crowd is probably the closest I'll ever get to experiencing the response The Heretic had when it first opened. I have a weird fascination with this film(nothing to do with how much I like The Exorcist) and considering the long, complicated history it would make a great disc. The disco-riffic trailer is included on the Special Edition DVD of The Exorcist. And the Morriconne score was released on CD in Europe this year. Like I said, if Zardoz can get released, you never know.

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

Well, I wouldn't put Exorcist II at the top of my wish list, exactly, but Point Blank and Beyond Rangoon have no reason for not being out.
There are a number of great documentaries done by the BBC which I only recently found out about which would make excellent supplements, including The Making of Zardoz. Have a Wild Weekend is still available on VHS.
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[Bill McA]

Lumiere and Company: Image?

Jeff, this is a Fox Lorber/Winstar DVD. I have this disc, but I'm not sure if it's still in print.
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[Jeff Ulmer]

Thanks Bill, I've updated the list.
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[Mark Cappelletty]

Jeff,
I think Beyond Rangoon was a Castle Rock film and now is in the hands of Warner Bros., not Paramount.

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

You are correct Mark. According to IMDB this was a Castle Rock/Columbia venture. I sure hope Warner doesn't have it.
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[Mark Cappelletty]

Sorry, Jeff-- Warner has 'em all from when Castle Rock had their deal with Columbia. Shawshank, Waiting for Guffman, etc.
MIA Castle Rock films include:
Hamlet (Branagh)
Suburbia
Beyond Rangoon

 

[soop.spoon]

Anchor Bay has recently started going back and revisiting the titles it licensed from ABC (now owned by Buena Vista?). Examples: Sleuth, Heartbreak Kid, Stepford Wives, etc.
Thus, it's quite possible that they'd revisit Hell In The Pacific in anamorphic widescreen with a commentary. The previous disc came out just about a month before Anchor Bay kicked into high gear and started release one excellent disc after another.
Still, the current version is actually quite nice, considering. The alternate ending is a definite plus.

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

I agree that the alternate ending was nice on HITP, and I do hope AB will get John Boorman in for commentary if (when) they revisit this. I also hope they will look into whether any documentaries exist, it's quite possible the BBC has something in their vaults.
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