Why hasn't Jim Morrison's HWY ever been officially released?

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by The Doctor, Dec 22, 2017.

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  1. The Doctor

    The Doctor Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Philidelphia, PA
    We saw in that documentary that came out a few years ago that there exists an HD transfer of it - does anyone know why the whole film hasn't been given an official release? It might not be a "good" film per se but it would be a treasure to own.
     
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  2. Matthew Tate

    Matthew Tate Forum Resident

    Location:
    Richmond, Virginia
    i keep hearing it will be released eventually
     
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  3. Encuentro

    Encuentro Forum Resident

    There may not be a market for it. I suspect that if it is ever released, it will be tagged onto another release as a bonus. I've also read that all solo Morrison works are owned by the Morrison/Courson estate and that The Doors would not have anything to do with its release.
     
  4. The Doctor

    The Doctor Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Philidelphia, PA
    It should definitely be added as a bonus. Jim intended for it to be released, didn't he? I've read he was satisfied with the film, unfinished though it was. He showed it publicly during his lifetime.
     
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  5. Encuentro

    Encuentro Forum Resident

    Yes, he screened it at a number of film festivals. I believe he was very proud of it. If I remember correctly, he carried a copy of it, along with a copy of Feast of Friends, around Paris with him shortly before his passing hoping to get it screened there. However, in one of the last interviews ever given, he referred to the film as "more of an exercise."

    In the informal 1971 interview Morrison gave to Ben Fong Torres, Morrison states the film "...was more of an exercise for me and a warm-up for something bigger."
    HWY: An American Pastoral - Wikipedia
     
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  6. PaulKTF

    PaulKTF Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    Because it's probably terrible and not marketable. It's as simple as that.
     
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  7. The Doctor

    The Doctor Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Philidelphia, PA
    Could easily be added to a legacy release as a bonus. And given it's the only film Morrison produced in his lifetime I imagine there would be some interest. Also, it'd be paying respect to the man and his legacy to release it. He wanted it out there, and the negatives are just sitting there collecting dust.
     
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  8. rjp

    rjp Senior Member

    Location:
    Ohio
    if sales of the endless parade of doors reissues tell you anything at all, a morrison product of any kind would sell.

    doors fans buy anything, they buy albums on which every song they already have....twice, they'll buy this, in droves. it's the lizard king for goodness sakes.
     
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  9. Avenging Robot

    Avenging Robot Senior Member

    Some years ago I’m pretty sure I saw copies of this film for sale from a less than legitimate source. I’m sure somebody here has seen it.
     
  10. The Doctor

    The Doctor Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Philidelphia, PA
    Yes there are very low quality bootlegs, but look at how amazingly bits of it looked on that recent documentary. Doing a restoration of a 50 minute film can't be too hard or too costly. I know I'd buy it.
     
  11. Pats Radio

    Pats Radio A Doors Enthusiast

    Location:
    Boston, Ma
    It’s in the plans to be released. Along with several solo jim projects coming very soon.
     
  12. aoxomoxoa

    aoxomoxoa I'm an ear sitting in the sky

    Location:
    USA
     
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  13. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    When I used to ask why something wasn't released, a friend of mine in the restoration & archive business (whom @Bob Furmanek knew) used to tell me, "Marc, it's because nobody gives a ****!" And he was generally right.
     
  14. Encuentro

    Encuentro Forum Resident

    I’m hoping that enough people give a **** to give us a Star Wars theatrical release in the not-too-distant future. See what I did there? I turned this Jim Morrison thread into a Star Wars thread. But let’s face it; Jim Morrison in his prime would have made a pretty good Han Solo. :)
     
  15. Pats Radio

    Pats Radio A Doors Enthusiast

    Location:
    Boston, Ma
    Off topic. Disney killed Star Wars.
     
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  16. Daniel Plainview

    Daniel Plainview God's Lonely Man

    'YOU'RE ALL A BUNCH OF ****ING NERF HERDERS!! HOW MUCH LONGER ARE YOU GONNA LET THE EMPIRE PUSH YOU AROUND? YOU'RE ALL A BUNCH OF SLAVES! HOW ABOUT 50 OR 60 OF YOU JAWAS COME UP HERE AND LOVE MY ASS?"
     
  17. numer9

    numer9 Beatles Apologist

    Location:
    Philly Burbs
    That explains that.
     
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  18. ky658

    ky658 Senior Member

    Location:
    Ft Myers, Florida
    As cool as it is to see the entire film, I can understand why there would be no market for it, unless it was cleaned up and included as an "extra" on a future Doors DVD release.
     
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  19. Pats Radio

    Pats Radio A Doors Enthusiast

    Location:
    Boston, Ma
    Well market or not it’s coming.
     
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  20. Pats Radio

    Pats Radio A Doors Enthusiast

    Location:
    Boston, Ma
    I also say if you can find stuff with Jim on film such as this than put it out.
     
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  21. Encuentro

    Encuentro Forum Resident

    The footage is gorgeous in When You’re Strange!
     
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  22. Nightswimmer

    Nightswimmer Forum Resident

    Location:
    Germany
    Music or film? There is a big difference here, especially because of the fact that most movies cost a lot of money. There is no incentive not to release a movie at some point, except if some major trouble comes along like death, litigation. It may very well be that there is no interest in a re-release on whatever format is current at the time, but completed movies are normally released, if they are completed, right?

    Now with music the situation is totally different. Because music costs much less to release, there is not such great pressure on artists to release completed songs or albums. There are hundreds of cases of completed studio albums and tens of thousands of live shows that remain unreleased, although there are enough possible buyers to make such a project financially viable. Sometimes, artists do not want something to be released, sometimes there are legal issues and so on.

    And in fact tons of unreleased music have been released, in fact there have been studio and live series of unreleased music. Hell, whole tours have been released. There is a gigantic demand of unreleased music and while a lot of recordings by very famous musicians and bands have been released, there still is enough stuff to be released for decades.
     
    Last edited: Aug 11, 2018
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  23. quicksrt

    quicksrt Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Of course it's terrible. But highly marketable, built in audience. He is still hot!
     
  24. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    Mainly film & TV. But there's hundreds of thousands of albums that have never been reissued on CD or download and probably never will be, because a) nobody gives a ****, b) the labels aren't aware they exist, and c) the labels care more about what's come out in the last 20 years than anything before that time.
     
  25. Nightswimmer

    Nightswimmer Forum Resident

    Location:
    Germany
    But we were (at least I was not) talking about stuff that was never re-released. We were talking about stuff that was never released in the first place. If you meant to say that you were talking about reissues, you should have been more specific, because this thread is about a film that has never been officially released and only very rarely been shown to a very limited audience.

    But I am going to dispute what you wrote above as well. I think your statement c) in regards to reissues is 100% wrong regarding music. Now, with film it is totally different (and I think "labels" refers to music). It is hard to market classic TV series to a young audience, and even in the 1990s many people refused to watch black and white films. With the gigantic advances video/film has made since the 1910s, the audience is limited.

    However with music, everything released after the invention of recording tape and records is still listenable today for most people. And there is a huge audience for music from the 60s to the 90s, including people who lived that age, but also younger fans. Releases involving bands like The Beatles, The Who, The Rolling Stones, The Doors, King Crimson, The Grateful Dead and also Dylan, Neil Young will automatically appeal to a large audience. And this is not something that the record companies are unaware of. Quite the opposite. They have mined their back cataloge over and over again for films, commericals, cover and also reissues, because this is how they make money!
     
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