Hello Geeks…
While the studios seem intent on double and triple-dipping the same DVD titles over and over again and giving them lame-ass nicknames like the “Oh Yeah, That’s It, Now You’ve Really Ripped Me Off Edition”, so many great films are still languishing unreleased in their vaults.
It’s enough to drive you crazy.
I know the argument the suits always give in response: they’re in business first and foremost, this is not some public service they’re performing. I understand. But isn’t their business also giving the customer what they want? Isn’t there a certain responsibility to transfer their full catalogue of films, bring them into the digital age for posterity’s sake, and not just re-release the same five titles to see if they can squeeze every cent from obsessive fanboys?
Evidently not.
“Greed is good,” says Gordon Gekko in the new improved ultimate collector’s anniversary super-duper edition of “Wall Street”, available in stores now.
Don’t get me wrong – I’m weak. I too want the best possible versions of my favorite films, with the best audio and video, multiple commentaries and loads of special features. I’m as susceptible as anyone and I have the pitiful bank account to prove it. It’s just that the whole thing is starting to feel so brazenly manipulative and almost cannibalistic – especially when, as I say, they have a treasure trove of films that people are clamoring for and have yet to even see the light of day.
If you want to be amazed by how many excellent films are Missing In Action, haven’t made it to DVD even ten years on, this is the best list I’ve found online: http://dvdjournal.com/extra/mia.html
(DVDjournal is now defunct, unfortunately, which is a loss because they were focused on FILM, not on the HD/Blu-Ray war, etc.)
Below is my own personal Wish List…
A plea to the suits.
These are ten films I miss the most. The majority are from the 70’s, and of course, I realize that’s my own personal bias and childhood talking, but it did also happen to be a particularly rich time for movies.
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1. LOOKING FOR MR. GOODBAR (1977)
I have to start with the most egregious omission of them all. How is this possible?
This dark drama about the sexual mores of the 70’s starring Diane Keaton is a must-see and a must-own. Keaton may have won the same year for the lighthearted “Annie Hall”, but this was the film that the Academy had in the back of their minds when they voted. The contrast between the two movies could not be a more impressive showcase of her talent. A provocative film at the time, it hasn’t lost any of its bite thirty years later. The film leads its promiscuous heroine through a minefield of unstable and aggressive men (played by William Atherton, Richard Gere, Tom Berenger), and since it’s based on a famous murder we know one of them is going to kill her in the end. The unnerving tension and great mystery is WHO. The point is really that it could be any of them and never has a film put in such visceral terms the danger women live with on a daily basis just being the “weaker” sex. Some people still think, mistakenly, that this is some kind of anti-women’s lib movie, a morality tale about a “slut”; when in reality it’s just the opposite, forcing every man watching it to face up to how scary male sexual aggression can be. And it all leads to probably one of the most stunning, gruesome, disturbing endings in all film history.
This is a seminal film from that gritty era. There’s no excuse for it to be unavailable.
2. SOMETIMES A GREAT NOTION (1971)
A vastly underrated film.
Paul Newman directed this adaptation of the Ken Kesey novel about a family of lumberjacks who refuse to go along with a union strike and pay a high price for their obstinance. The family motto is “Never Give An Inch” – hence the title about it sometimes being a great notion. Besides Newman in the lead role, it also stars Henry Fonda, Lee Remick, Michael Sarrazin, and Richard Jaeckel, who was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. Talk to anyone who knows and loves this film and the first thing that will come up will be the scene where Jaeckel finds himself pinned by a fallen tree in rising water. The next will be how Fonda’s arm is utilized at the end of the film. Both classic moments you have to see for yourself. This is just solid filmmaking all around that deserves to finally be recognized and exposed to a wider audience.
It would make a nice retirement present for Mr. Newman, don’t you think?
3. LUCKY LADY (1975)
This movie wasn’t just underrated, it was a notorious box-office bomb when it was released in ’75. Why? Beats the hell out of me. A fluffy 1920’s “Sting”-like romp about a love triangle of rum runners on the open seas played by Burt Reynolds, Liza Minnelli and Gene Hackman, I guess there were production troubles and a changed ending and the press pretty much decided it was a debacle before it even opened. The only problem is…it’s a really fun piece of popcorn entertainment. The stars are charismatic, the feel-good factor high, and the Saturday matinee climax kind of exhilarating. Stanley Donen should be ashamed of “Blame It On Rio”, but not of this one. It would be so nice to have a commentary track from him before it’s too late, and/or one with the actors. Once again, DVD could really vindicate its unfair reputation. Widescreen, guys, or don’t do it at all.
(TRIVIA: Spielberg was set to direct this one until he switched over to another ocean-based little film you may have heard of called “Jaws”)
4. THE MAN WHO LOVED CAT DANCING (1973)
Call it a Watergate Western. In the style of the times, this is a downbeat and somber gun opera about a train robber haunted by a guilty conscience over the death of one woman – his Indian wife, Cat Dancing – and forced to protect another, a female hostage, from his outlaw partners. Of course, a romance develops. It’s Burt Reynolds again, not long after “Deliverance” and in one of his last straight-faced performances. He acts with world-weary restraint here and shows what his career might have been if he had actually stayed an actor instead of just being a mustache. British actress Sarah Miles plays the love interest. The movie eventually succumbs to an unlikely happy ending, but that’s only a small drawback and easy to forgive.
This was on a list of films Warner Bros put up for an online vote a couple years ago and it follows that we would have seen it by now. But once again quality seems to be a minor consideration.
Listen, if they can release all those awful Hal Needham films Burt Reynolds pissed his career away on, then I think they can release this baby.
5. CANNERY ROW (1982)
This is a blatantly sentimental choice on my part. Be warned: David S. Ward’s film adaptation of John Steinbeck starring Nick Nolte and Debra Winger is not for the cynical. It’s an unabashedly nostalgic and sweet period piece, and by today’s standards, some people might even call it saccharine. Still, it’s sloppy charms get to me every time. It’s a celebration of life’s losers, shiftless bums, and hookers with a heart of gold and people escaping their past, and there’s an emotional sucker punch in the third act that deepens it to another level – if it doesn’t choke you up just a little, well, you’re a better man than me, Gunga Din. Winger is at the absolute peak of her beauty and spunky appeal and Nolte is nicely just north of leading man.
It’s narrated in the distinctive gravel tones of the late great John Huston and shot on an obviously artificial backlot (sort of “One From The Heart” with actual heart). The old studio feel is consistent with a story that’s not trying for reality, but charm.
6. MEN DON’T LEAVE (1990)
Is it a coincidence that a lot of the still missing films might be lazily labeled as Chick Flicks? Stories with strong female leads? Hmmm. I’m sure it’s a total fluke…
But, at the risk of losing my dude cred, good movies are good movies. Period.
Here Jessica Lange plays a new widow struggling through her grief and a paralyzing nervous breakdown while trying to support her two boys. Oh yeah, and it’s funny. Lange does a great job of finding that delicate balance, and believe it or not, so does a young Chris O’Donnell in his first and best performance. Charlie Korsmo is pure gold as the klepto little brother, and Joan Cusack her usual hysterical self as O’Donnell’s very plain but sweet seductress. The smart screenplay by director Paul Brickman and Barbara Benedek has all the ungainly black humor of real life. It never falls into the trap of becoming maudlin, but honestly earns the powerful catharsis it builds to at the end.
Brickman fought badly with Lange and studio execs and had enough grief of his own to disappear from the business after this film, and it’s a loss, because he shows such tremendous growth from his more superficial hit, “Risky Business”. Even the title is a thing of beauty – ironic, hopeful, cruel. Coupled with that enigmatic poster image of a small boy (ostensibly Charlie Korsmo) running away from us at full clip down a cold snowy street, it actually forces you to think. What is the filmmaker trying to say? You would never see that now: a thematic poster as opposed to a literal one. Even our posters have been dumbed down these days.
I’m not alone on this one, guys…
Ask around. This movie is loved.
7. LITTLE DARLINGS (1980)
Just a little teen comedy about losing your virginity – so what’s the big deal?
Well, evidently it scares Paramount enough not to release it on DVD. Why? To be fair, there have been music rights issues with the VHS version, so maybe that’s the reason. But you have to wonder about two other possibilities – that a story about two GIRLS (not randy teen boys, which is a whole genre of its own) in a contest to see who loses their cherry first is even more of a hot potato subject 30 years later, AND/OR the movie’s PG rating poses a problem for release on home video. If young teen or tween girls rented this film, would their parents freak out? Probably. Even though there is no graphic sex at all or even much raunchy language, the subject matter is just not politically correct. As a society, America has become strangely more prudish and moralistic regarding teenage sex since the late 70’s/early 80’s, and you simply would never get away with making this film today. Here’s one film that is safe from a crappy remake.
So…instead of dealing with any such awkwardness, the studio has just ignored it. And it’s too bad because it’s actually a good film. Not a classic, but a solid little comedy that gives an honest female point-of-view of what, like I say, has been covered from the male side a million times.
It also has two very appealing lead actresses in Tatum O’Neal (effectively the last good movie she ever did) and Kristy McNichol (also soon to be MIA). McNichol, particularly, is fantastic here: tough, funny and truly moving in her final scenes – it makes you wish she had continued acting.
It’s a shame this one languishes for such a silly reason.
8. MAN ON A SWING (1976)
This flawed little thriller is all about atmosphere. Atmosphere is what we had before special effects came along. There are some wonderfully eerie moments in this film that give you goosebumps without any help from gotcha shocks. Instead, it comes from the juxtaposition of the pedestrian almost documentary-like filmmaking and a wonderfully unhinged performance by Joel Grey.
When a girl is found dead in a VW bug in the middle of a shopping center parking lot in broad daylight, the police have absolutely no leads. Cliff Robertson is in charge of the investigation and Joel Grey is a strange little man who claims to be psychic and wants to help them find the killer. OR…since he knows all the details, maybe he’s the killer himself. That question is what makes this film so fascinating and Grey does an amazing job of keeping us unsure, swinging between impish warmth and skin-crawling menace without ever losing his believability. It becomes more of a story about him driving Robertson insane than about the murder. And there is no definitive resolution to either question, which no doubt would have modern audiences asking for their money back – but it’s the ambiguous ending that ultimately makes it stay with you.
Completely forgotten now and by no means a perfect film, it’s less-is-more approach to a murder mystery is still more authentic and genuinely unsettling than 99% of today’s thrillers.
9. THE BRINK’S JOB (1978)
William Friedkin directed this quirky little caper film that’s not quite a comedy and not quite a drama, but something in the middle. If you can wrap your mind around that – many critics couldn’t – you’ll enjoy yourself. A great cast of character actors led by Peter Falk at his wiliest makes it a pleasure to watch. It’s a sly lark, but it doesn’t stay a lark. Here also, the melancholy third act may be a tad anti-climactic, but it has the advantage of being true to the events it’s based on. Again, all attributes of that loose 70’s style. I just don’t think anyone was expecting Friedkin to direct a movie like this and it was much too easy to write if off as a mismatch of director and material; but he gets the period feel just right, as well as the desperation of lowlifes trying to make a big score and change their fortunes. Warren Oates, Peter Boyle, Paul Sorvino and Allen Garfield fill out the gang – need I say more?
Released on DVD in France only. With intrusive subtitles.
10. ONE ON ONE (1977)
Lastly, a true guilty pleasure… After “Rocky” came a swarm of athletic underdogs in all imaginable sports, but this college basketball story stands out as a keeper. Reason number one is a young and beautiful Annette O’Toole. She’s so good that when she falls in love with Robby Benson, we actually believe it. Yes, Benson was to go on to one annoying film performance after another, leaving only movie wreckage in his path, but here he is natural and likable in a part he and his father wrote for him. He’s a freshman player who gets into a contest of wills with a controlling coach and it’s a predictable thrill when he manages to prove the coach wrong. GD Spradlin is the coach, and just as in “North Dallas Forty”, plays the perfect Southern fried bible-thumping egomaniac. There is a fantastic soundtrack of original songs by Seals & Crofts. And…did I mention Annette O’Toole? I did? You sure? Okay.
A modest Cinderella story, but a crowd pleaser.
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So there you go, guys. What are you waiting for?
Oh… And while I’m at it, I’d also like to suggest a few B-movies close to my heart: like the original rat story, “Willard”, the circus serial killer film called “Berserk”, and the Robert Mitchum priest-with-a-machine-gun action film, “The Wrath Of God”.
Yeah, and I’d like new WIDESCREEN VERSIONS of “Sounder”, “The Great Waldo Pepper”, “Charley Varrick”, “Shamus”, and “Popi”.
And put back that classic “F”-bomb joke you censored (butchered) out of the George Segal-Barbra Streisand comedy, “The Owl And The Pussycat”!
Hey, a geek can dream, can’t he?
Your turn. Give me YOUR wish list…
–RR
UPDATE: As of March 2009, most of these titles are still unavailable on DVD other than as bootleg copies, but a couple have made the transition. “Cannery Row” is out at last and both “One On One” and “The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing” are available as custom-made DVDs (but studio-made in the original aspect ratio) on the Warner Brothers website. This is a promising new way of releasing titles that will definitely bring more obscure catalogue films to fans and will hopefully catch on, with other companies following WB’s lead. The rest are still MIA, but “Sounder” is finally out in widescreen. Unfortunately, of course, Paul Newman died in ’08, and still no sign of “Sometimes A Great Notion”. One of these days…
SECOND UPDATE: April 2009 – “Sometimes A Great Notion” (Widescreen) is now available from Amazon UK as a Region 2 disc, so if you have an all-region player, go for it. If not, it’s a pretty good bet that there will be an American release in the not too distant future. I hope to update again (and again) as this list whittles down…
THIRD UPDATE: November 2009 – I’m happy to say another MIA has bitten the dust. “Men Don’t Leave” is now available from the WB Archives page. No extras of course, but the print looks good and it makes all the difference to see it in it’s original theatrical aspect ratio after all these years. Five of the films are still missing (half the list), but hopefully, it’s a matter of time.
FOURTH UPDATE: January 2011 – And the beat goes on… Tick off another two films rescued from obscurity. “Lucky Lady” finally comes out on DVD at the beginning of February, in Widescreen thankfully. Also “The Great Waldo Pepper” is finally out in Widescreen. One music cue at the beginning had to be changed because of a rights issue, but otherwise, it’s all intact and looks great. If you want “Charley Varrick” in Widescreen, order the British disc. What is truly amazing is that “Looking For Mr. Goodbar” is STILL not out. It too has music rights issues, but it’s just crazy that such a quality and well-remembered film is still languishing on the studio shelf.
FIFTH UPDATE: August 2012 – Well, this may be my last update on this subject. I can report that “Man On A Swing” is being released on both DVD and Blu-ray next month, presumably in it’s original aspect ratio. And “The Brinks Job” has evidently been available on the Universal Vault DVD-R series (also Widescreen) for a while now without me knowing it. That leaves just two lonely and stubborn hold-outs: “Little Darlings” and “Looking For Mr. Goodbar”, or the Girls Just Wanna’ Get Laid Double Feature. My guess is they will end up being released as part of an archive DVD-R collection for Paramount – or, even more likely, just skip straight to BD. Either option is fine with me, as long as they get released. Let’s hope they get those music rights resolved on Goodbar at last.