Movies You Want On DVD But Aren't?

[David Meek]

One that comes immediately to mind for me is:

Go Tell The Spartans - a gritty, no-nonsense look at the early part of the American involvement in Vietnam. It stars Burt Lancaster, Craig Wasson, Marc Singer, Evan Kim. A small outpost in the boonies is in danger of being overrun. It's something of a guilty pleasure, but what the heck.

[David Meek]

Oh, let's not start one of those "original version of Star Wars" whine-fests, okay? :

[H.T.C]

A redone,cleaned print "in its original or close to it anyways 2:75.1 aspect ratio " of warners, battle of the bulge, in a complete uncut version not the tape or less uncut LD one they but out years ago.

Oh,in dd or dts surround.

Umm,and from a 65mm transfer.

[George Bellefontaine]

Oh, yeah, I'd like to see Go Tell The Spartans, too on dvd. I am also hoping they will one day release an early Gregory Peck Western YELLOW SKY.

[Burke Strickland]

Do I detect a "Spartan" theme here? :&gt

Oh, let's not start one of those "original version of Star Wars" whine-fests, okay?

Dictionary definitin of "whine": 1: to utter a high-pitched plaintive or distressed cry; 2 : to complain with or as if with a whine

Don't worry. The Star Wars franchise lost its appeal a long time ago. But if I were interested enough in it to complain about Lucas' high-handed decision, it would be with a low-pitched growl, not a whine. :>)

As for the topic at hand, being films we wish were on DVD but are not:

1) Number one on my list is the 1980 film Resurrection, directed by Daniel Petrie and starring Ellen Burstyn. It was never on laser disc either. Burstyn gives the performance of her life in a moving story about a near-death experience that deeply affects her, and her reaction to it that divides her town. I had an off-the-air tape of it, but that is long since gone. It is deserving of a DVD to bring it to a wider audience.

2) Second on my list is a movie from 1970, Zigzag, directed by Richard A Colla and starring George Kennedy. The story is about a dying man who frames himself for the kidnapping and murder of an industrialist so his wife and daughter can benefit from the reward money. It turns into a mystery thriller as he attempts to discover who really did it.

3) Third would be 1967's Games directed by Curtis Harrington. It is a first-rate mystery thriller about a young couple (played by James Caan and Katharine Ross) who are into kinky "mind games". They get more than they bargained for when a mysterious woman (played by Simone Signoret) comes into their lives. It is enthralling and frightening at the same time.

4) Another one from the late 1960s would be Ronald Neame's Gambit, starring Michael Caine and Shirley MacLaine, a comedy about a heist gone terribly wrong. The advertising tagline was: "Go ahead - tell the ending - it's too hilarious to keep secret - but please don't tell the beginning!" Indeed, the way they set things up and then tear them down makes the whole enterprise richly comic.

Dishonorable mention for DVD-neglect would go to Bernardo Bertolucci's The Last Emperor from 1987. Yeah, yeah, so it has been released on DVD, but geez, Louise, what a gosh awful mess they made of it. Even though it is the "Director's Cut (at 218 minutes instead of the theatrical release's 163 minutes) it is non-anamorphic 2.35:1 letterbox with edge enhancement dialed up so high, anything with lines shimmers like it was in a psychedelic nightmare. An epic film of that stature deserves far better treatment.

Speaking of heist movies, 1964's Topkapi, directed by Jules Dasson and starring Melina Mercouri, Peter Ustinov, Maximilian Schell and Robert Morley, richly deserves to be on a better DVD than it is now, as well. Kind of the granddaddy of suspenseful break-in flicks, its style and set pieces have been copied in later productions (for instance, the scene with Tom Cruise dangling precariously in the "clean room" at CIA headquarters in "Mission Impossible"). "Topkapi" is also worth seeing for its offbeat celebration of diversity (the collection of characters who participate in the caper is mind boggling) in addition to being the prototype for a genre.

In fact, the previous entry brings a heartfelt rant about too many of MGM's "budget" releases, including this week's long-overdue Smile. It is unacceptable in 2004 to release any widescreen movie on a NON-anamorphic DVD. A less-than-$10 price tag is not justification for producing a DVD with a stale-looking picture, blurred by flat letterboxing. We might expect this kind of crap from a third rate outfit like Madacy, but not from an industry leader with one of the richest movie catalogs.

Burke

[David Meek]

Oooh, Topkapi is a good one that I'd forgotten. :T

Once again, I've got to agree with you about putting out sub-standard DVDs, Burke. There are no excuses anymore - DVD isn't a niche market and it doesn't take much more effort to put out a good quality disc than it does to put out a sub-standard one.

[Bam!]

Oooh, Topkapi is a good one that I'd forgotten. :T

Once again, I've got to agree with you about putting out sub-standard DVDs, Burke. There are no excuses anymore - DVD isn't a niche market and it doesn't take much more effort to put out a good quality disc than it does to put out a sub-standard one.

:agree:

The overall average though has gotten better....just a couple of years ago....a few movies sounded great and had a nice pic....now most movies are O.K.

You do evry so often get the crappy one....which IMO should not be released!

Plain and simple.

[David Meek]

Oh, another guilty pleasure I'd like on DVD is The Keep.

[Shane Martin]

Cloak and Dagger - Mid 80's Disney movie I grew up on.
Original Star Wars - Duh
Song of the South - Doubtful it is ever coming.
Gumball Rally

These are just to name a few..

[George Bellefontaine]

Here is a real honey of a scifi thriller: DAMNATION ALLEY with George Peppard and Jan Michael Vincent. I've only ever had this on crummy vhs tape and would love to see it in all its widescreen glory on dvd.

[David Meek]

Damnation Alley and Gumball Rally are both goodies that I'd like to have! :yesnod: Actually Damnation Alley, while possibly a bit cheesy, is a fairly close (and enjoyable) adaptation of Roger Zelazny's short story of the same name. Gumball Rally is THE movie about the illegal cross-USA car race. Those Burt Reynolds rip-offs aren't worth the celluloid they are printed on - IMO, of course.

[Shane Martin]

/shrug I liked Cannonball Run. Gumball Rally is good though.

[Preacherman]

Hmmmmmm......

The original Horatio Hornblower; 1951, Gregory Peck


TAG.; The Assasination Game. An 80's guilty pleasure.


The Song of the South; Disney's 1946 Classic


More info

[David Meek]

Shane, I guess I did come across a little harsh, eh? :blink: Sorry 'bout that, must've been on a caffeine shortage. . . .

[David Meek]

Another one I thought of is The Wild Geese. It's a tale of a band of aging mercenaries that are hired out to free an imprisoned leader of a small African nation. Stars Richard Burton, Richard Harris, Roger Moore, Hardy Kruger, Stewart Granger, Jack Watson, etc.

[Shane Martin]

Not to sound smug, but its reasons like this why I own and still use my Laserdisc player.

[David Meek]

Okay 'fess up. You have these on LD? :drool:

[dave]

This is a response to Georges wish for Yellow Sky with Gregory Peck
the DVD has been released, I had it in my hands a short while back!!!
If you can't find it anywhere George I will gladly go and see if the Title is still
there and ship it to you.

As for me my wish is to see the old Frank Capra title "You Can't Take It With
You" featuring James Stewert, Lionel Barrymore and Jean Arther released.

We are huge Classic movie fans around here 30s 40s & 50s

[BradF]

Dave, happy to report that You Can't Take It With You is indeed available on DVD. Unfortunately, it's not cheap, and it's not a very good transfer either, though still highly watchable. I'm a big Jean Arthur fan, so I snapped it up as soon as it came out. She was fun to watch in this one. So was Ann Miller. Poor Jimmy didn't have much to do, but stand around. Btw, another good Capra picture, Broadway Bill, has just been released. It kinda snuck under the radar.

I'd like to have a boxed set of all the Thin Man pictures. Also, the films that Gable and Harlow did together.

[dave]

I just picked up Riding High yesterday!
I haven't ever seen this one before so I went off my wifes recomendation.
I can't remember seeing Bing in such a funny role. It was sad when the horse
went head over heals towards the end but all was made up for when Charles
Bickford says "Hey Wait for Me!!!" and leaves the lazy family to fend for themselves.
Are we talking about the same movie??? because riding high was a remake
of Capras 1934 film Broadway Bill and I would enjoy seeing that as well!!!
Im doing a search for You Can't take it With You today. Thanks for letting me know about this :T

[BradF]

Yep, Riding High is a re-make of Broadway Bill. Capra re-made his own picture. How many directors have done that before? I think the guy was desperate for a hit at that point. Both movies have their charms. The original has the young Myrna Loy going for it, and she's always a treat to watch.

[Burke Strickland]

Capra re-made his own picture. How many directors have done that before?

Not too many, that's for sure. But in 1956, Alfred Hitchcock not only remade one of his own pictures, but used the same title as he had in 1934 (with almost, but not exactly, the same plot): "The Man Who Knew Too Much".

Burke

[BradF]

Burke, another example that springs to mind is DeMille, with The Ten Commandments. So that makes Capra, Hitchcock and DeMille, so far. Some powerful clout there.

[George Bellefontaine]

Dave , re: Yellow Sky

Wow, good to hear it's on dvd. I'll start looking the next time I go to the big city. Thanks for the kind offer to ship one to me but I'm sure I can come up with a copy. You are very kind, Dave.

[David Meek]

Thought of another one. . .

The Keep, an early (1983) Michael Mann effort. Had quite a list of actors for its day

Scott Glenn
Jurgen Prochnow
Robert Prosky
Gabriel Byrne
Ian McKellen

but didn't generate any activity at the box office - too bad. It's a horror/thriller set in Romania as a German column rolls in to occupy a town. They uncover something they should have left alone in an old keep that they use as their HQ.

[Shane Martin]

Okay 'fess up. You have these on LD?

I have a few of them on LD. I'll never get rid of my player thanks to Mr Lucas

[David Meek]

Yeah, George Lucas has done more for the life of the LD industry than anyone else ever could have.

[SpOoNmAn]

Silver Streak with Richard pryor and my favorite funny man, Gene Wilder :T

Oh my! lookie!

Availability: This item will be released on December 14, 2004. You may order it now and we will ship it to you when it arrives.

finally!!!

[Burke Strickland]

Two more classics for our viewing enjoyment

For fans of Silver Streak who don't already have the nice letterboxed laser disc, that December release will be welcome, indeed. OTOH, since my laser disc collection doesn't include Spider Man 2, Shrek 2 and Lord of the Rings: Return of the King: Extended Edition, :>) which are all being released on DVD in November, and will pretty well tap out my end-of-year DVD purchases, I expect I'll have to continue to get my "Silver Streak" laughs from the LD for a while longer.

But here are two cinematic gems I DON'T have on laser disc that I'd love to get on DVD (and if you like situational comedy, as opposed to slap stick, gross-out or one-liners, with character development made memorable via stellar acting performances, you'll enjoy them too):

The Reivers directed by Mark Rydell

Official studio blurb: "Boon is a reiver (that's a cheat, a liar, a brawler and womanizer) and he had just four days to teach young Lucius the facts of life (like cheating, lying, brawling and womanizing)."

While that may sound like a ne'er-do-well steering a young fellow the wrong way (unless he plans to be an elected public official) :>) the characters are likable and the story is actually very insightful and warm hearted -- things aren't always what they seem to be on the surface.

Cast includes:

Steve McQueen as Boon
Michael Constantine
Clifton James
Will Geer
Mitch Vogel as young Lucius (mostly TV credits other than this movie)
Diane Ladd
Ellen Geer
Dub Taylor
Rupert Crosse

The Flim-Flam Man directed by Irvin Kershner

Official studio blurb: “Meet Mordecai Jones; Master of Back-Stabbing, Cork-Screwing and Dirty-Dealing-Dealing!”

A young man, Curley, meets the legendary "flim flam man" and begins a Huck Finn-like trip through the Deep South with him learning how to run the small con (playing on peoples' greed and gullibility, of course) as he develops a friendship with the older man, who may be a con artist, but still has a heart of gold. As the police close in, he has to decide where he will take the rest of his life. (The preceding description is adapted from IMDB's write up).

The cast includes:

George C. Scott as Mordecai Jones (in an extraordinary performance as the flim-flam man)
Sue Lyon -- Bonnie Lee Packard (what a hottie she was back then!!!)
Harry Morgan -- Sheriff Slade (a very funny send up of a small town sheriff trying to balance local demands and higher level priorities)
Jack Albertson -- Mr. Packard
Alice Ghostley -- Mrs. Packard
Slim Pickens -- Jarvis Bates
Michael Sarrazin -- Curley
Strother Martin -- Storekeeper Lovick (what we have here is failure to communicate :>) -- only the tables are turned.)

BTW, "Cool Hand Luke" was released to commercial theaters the same year (1967) as "The Flim Flam Man". Everyone seems to remember Paul Newman's stellar performance in that one, which by the way was first releeased to DVD in 1997. If asked to name George C Scott's memorable movie roles, most folks would probably name "Patton" and Gen. 'Buck' Turgidson in "Dr. Strangelove" and maybe Dr. Herbert 'Herb' Bock in "The Hospital" or Jake VanDorn in "Hardcore" but I'm guessing few would cite his equally skillful portrayal as Mordecai Jones in "The Flim Flam Man", since over the years, by comparison, very few have gotten a chance to enjoy "The Flim-Flam Man". It really deserves wider accessibility to a potentially appreciative audience via DVD.

Burke

[SpOoNmAn]

For fans of Silver Streak who don't already have the nice letterboxed laser disc, that December release will be welcome, indeed. OTOH, since my laser disc collection doesn't include Spider Man 2, Shrek 2 and Lord of the Rings: Return of the King: Extended Edition, :>) which are all being released on DVD in November, and will pretty well tap out my end-of-year DVD purchases, I expect I'll have to continue to get my "Silver Streak" laughs from the LD for a while longer.

But here are two cinematic gems I DON'T have on laser disc that I'd love to get on DVD (and if you like situational comedy, as opposed to slap stick, gross-out or one-liners, with character development made memorable via stellar acting performances, you'll enjoy them too):

The Reivers directed by Mark Rydell

Official studio blurb: "Boon is a reiver (that's a cheat, a liar, a brawler and womanizer) and he had just four days to teach young Lucius the facts of life (like cheating, lying, brawling and womanizing)."

While that may sound like a ne'er-do-well steering a young fellow the wrong way (unless he plans to be an elected public official) :>) the characters are likable and the story is actually very insightful and warm hearted -- things aren't always what they seem to be on the surface.

Cast includes:

Steve McQueen as Boon
Michael Constantine
Clifton James
Will Geer
Mitch Vogel as young Lucius (mostly TV credits other than this movie)
Diane Ladd
Ellen Geer
Dub Taylor
Rupert Crosse

The Flim-Flam Man directed by Irvin Kershner

Official studio blurb: “Meet Mordecai Jones; Master of Back-Stabbing, Cork-Screwing and Dirty-Dealing-Dealing!”

A young man, Curley, meets the legendary "flim flam man" and begins a Huck Finn-like trip through the Deep South with him learning how to run the small con (playing on peoples' greed and gullibility, of course) as he develops a friendship with the older man, who may be a con artist, but still has a heart of gold. As the police close in, he has to decide where he will take the rest of his life. (The preceding description is adapted from IMDB's write up).

The cast includes:

George C. Scott as Mordecai Jones (in an extraordinary performance as the flim-flam man)
Sue Lyon -- Bonnie Lee Packard (what a hottie she was back then!!!)
Harry Morgan -- Sheriff Slade (a very funny send up of a small town sheriff trying to balance local demands and higher level priorities)
Jack Albertson -- Mr. Packard
Alice Ghostley -- Mrs. Packard
Slim Pickens -- Jarvis Bates
Michael Sarrazin -- Curley
Strother Martin -- Storekeeper Lovick (what we have here is failure to communicate :>) -- only the tables are turned.)

BTW, "Cool Hand Luke" was released to commercial theaters the same year (1967) as "The Flim Flam Man". Everyone seems to remember Paul Newman's stellar performance in that one, which by the way was first releeased to DVD in 1997. If asked to name George C Scott's memorable movie roles, most folks would probably name "Patton" and Gen. 'Buck' Turgidson in "Dr. Strangelove" and maybe Dr. Herbert 'Herb' Bock in "The Hospital" or Jake VanDorn in "Hardcore" but I'm guessing few would cite his equally skillful portrayal as Mordecai Jones in "The Flim Flam Man", since over the years, by comparison, very few have gotten a chance to enjoy "The Flim-Flam Man". It really deserves wider accessibility via DVD.

Burke

Flim Flam Man, sounds very familiar.

[JOY DIVISION]

How about "Final Option"

[David Meek]

Oh yeah! That's the one about the SAS, right? The SAS officer gets booted and winds up with some radical right-wing terrorist group? I'd forgotten about this one Fred. IIRC, there's one early scene where the SAS takes a house held by terrorists - it was pretty impressive for its day. :T

[JOY DIVISION]

It has two titles for some reason one was "Who Dares Win" or it was just a motto for the British SAS.

[dave]

Regarding Yellow Sky,,, George if you still can't find it let me Know!!!
Check www.silverplatters.com

[glangston@socal]

Lonely are the Brave

with Kirk Douglas, Walter Matthau, Gena Rowlands

A good modern western about the difficulty of being an individual. Dalton Trumbo wrote the screenplay and Jerry Goldsmith got this movie as his first soundtrack.

Only available on VHS or Turner classic movies (which is where I recently saw it).

Also Man Without a Star with Kirk

[Kit]

My Neighbour Totoro in Region 1. From Yayao Miyazaki of "Princess Mononoke" and "Spirited Away" fame. Sigh. And a better mastered Wings of Honneamise. Sorry, my anime tendencies showing through here.