Distribution Denied! 25 Films You Can’t Get on DVD

100 years is too long.

 

Burt wrote concerning my comments on copyright:

That might be too long, but the reason I mentioned 100 years is that to me it's a "no excuses" time limit for the holder of the copyright (and their heirs) when it comes to profiting from the work. One hundred years full years should be plenty of time to be able to profit from a work, while also providing a clear date when the copyright will lapse. It also makes it easy to calculate when the copyright will expire.

It also gets rid of the fuzziness of current system where different works released in the same year fall into the public domain in different years (could be more that 50 years apart) since it is based on the life of the original author. It also deals with the issue of orphan works, where you can't determine if a work is in the public domain because the status of the author can't be determined. With a date-of-original-release-based copyright all you need to do is determine when the work was originally released, allowing for no confusion on the status of a work.

P.S. I noticed I made a mistake in my original post. The expiration date for an item released this year should have been "1 Jan 2116."

 

I wonder if it is related to the animated movie "Heavy Metal." Although it was shown on cable TV, my understanding is that some issue with the music used in the movie stopped it from being released on video for years (confirmed via check of Wikipedia).

 

For some reason in Australia we have never had The War of the Roses on DVD . It has been on free to air TV and Cabel and at the time available to hire on VHS .

 

That could be because some of the other trailers were in the public domain and it would make sense because they were even having rights issues to get HM to DVD (it didn't come out domestically until 2008). With a movie like ait aCome a from Hollywood where the possible audience is so small, it probably isn't economically feasible for them to clear it.

 

Probably get laughed at by I want Belushi's Neighbors
and Let's Get Harry - always believed it was real coke Glenn Frey was snorting!

 

Unfortunately for them, that's exactly where "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" comes from.

I think if released with "educational" extras, in context, and just come out with explaining the era and how things changed, it could be a GOOD thing. Semi-"burying" this in the internet age is just dumb at this point unless they intend to never publicly discuss it and just give it up to the internet s they have thus far.

Also, it's got great bits in the film and wonderful animation (and music). I'm against "burying" this. Disney PR should know how to handle this by now!

I more understand the thinking about not releasing The Beatles' Let it Be as I agree - it shows the band at their worst, at odds with each other... and bad for global branding. And those who are WAY into The Beatles already know about the period and get it via gray means... I wouldn't put the film out if I were Apple either. Nothing to be gained. Does not add to The Beatles legacy at all and since they've forgone the 1964 copyright release, obviously they know lesser quality songs and boots are out there for the hardcore fans to find, and not for "public" Walmart-style buyers. The Beatles are in Legacy mode and that's a huge factor in anything "new" they do. Let it Be helps no one except us hardcore fans who would like to see (and hear) a relative disaster in The Beatle world in 5.1, HD, what have you. And they won't give it just like they didn't give us the song "One and One is Two" or whatever...

Jeff

 

"Let It Be" won an Oscar for Best Original Song Score while "Magical Mystery Tour" was drubbed by the critics. Go figure...

Derek

 

"A gay"? Are you so different?

 

Nothing to be lost, either. Everyone who knows anything about The Beatles knows about the band's conflicts with each other, and how nasty it got through books and their own anthology, so why not just issue the damn film?

 

One 80s film I doubt we'll ever see on digital video is Martin Mull's "The History Of White People In America". It's probably deemed too offensive now, even if it was a comedy by a White guy with an almost all-white cast.

 

What's your opinion about the Confederate flag? There are people who are very sensitive to this stuff, and I understand why a corporation has to be very careful and really toe the line to avoid antagonizing anybody offended by racial stereotypes. It doesn't bother me at all because I get that it's a relic of an age, just as Gone with the Wind was, and I don't think it reflects pro or con anything racial. But there are many others who understandably will disagree, and I sympathize with them.

 

I cannot believe Last Summer has never come out on DVD. Catherine Burns got a freakin' Academy Award nomination for it (her first motion picture role)!

Apparently all 35mm copies of the film are now lost.

I caught this in the early '80s on late night TV - the uncensored R-rated version, no less. Only saw it once, still remember whole scenes. Might be one of the best films I've ever seen - certainly one of the best about teenagers. It's a crime this film is essentially unavailable.

 

It seems like the moderators took the night off. Do you really want to lure them back with this line of discussion? I have a LOT to say about it. Almost got into an argument with a supervisor over it a couple of days ago. Damn them Black folks! If they would just shut up and let people fly a symbol of rape, murder, and oppression, right?

 

I think that Paul is afraid no one will buy it, since it is so easily available already. I am reasonable sure you can order it from Amazon possibly even in blu-ray.

 

One of my all time favourite films is DELUSION, a great little indepedant film from the early '90's set in the Nevada Desert and starring Jennifer Rubin and Jim Meltzer. I've had a VHS copy for about 22 years or so, but I've never been able to find a DVD copy, in Australia or anywhere.

Other films that I love that haven't been released on DVD include:

The Magnificent Cuckold
The Naked Tango
Sweetheart (Toutes Peines Confondues)
I Want You
Crash And Burn
Becoming Colette
Blindfold
A Fine Pair
Blonde In Black Leather

 

I don't think McCartney has anything to do with delays regarding "Let It Be" at this stage. He was the only person seemingly pushing the project along back in 2003. Keep in mind, what was supposed to happen was that the film was going to finally be reissued on DVD, and then they made the "Let It Be....Naked" CD as a companion to that. Ultimately, the DVD never happened and the little afterthought "companion" CD product ended up being the main and only product.

I also don't think he or anyone is afraid "no one will buy it." I couldn't say precisely how it would sell, but any Beatles project, especially a long-sought-after out of print film that has been out of print since CED discs and Betamax tapes were still in their infancy, will sell quite well.

Seriously, I guarantee that the "average", casual fan would find it far easier to sit through "Let It Be" than "Magical Mystery Tour."

While obviously even the "blu-ray" boots of the film out there are sub-DVD quality, I do think Apple's likely knowledge that LIB is probably the most pirated music-related video of all time may contribute not so much to not putting it out officially, but to a lack of tremendous drive to do so. McCartney on occasion has mentioned things like losing interest in his "Cold Cuts" project because it was booted, mentioning that he considered the boots of that a de facto release of the album.

 

With members of The Band on the soundtrack (although not credited for contractual reasons).

 

The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man in the Moon Marigolds

 

The last I read on this forum for the reason it hasn't been released is that now Apple Corps is concerned about the band's image and legacy, and they don.t think the film helps that.

 

One Trick Pony is available through Warner Archive.

 

WB have reported (in 2013) that they have the camera negative for this title. Here's the link (see Dylan's post for Thu Aug 15, 2013 2:18 pm):

http://www.criterionforum.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=4325&start=25

 

I remember a very cool TV program called Search in the 70's where it featured a bank of computer whizzes who monitored a spy/detective type in his adventures. It featured so many thing sthat no one thought could ever exist, that are now commonplace. Burgess Meredith was the lead computer guy, with High O'Brien and Tony Franciosa as the leads, I think there was one more. It kind of had a 'Name of the Game' feel. The pilot/TV movie is available on youtube, but I heard the whole series was put together with multiple off shore funding sources, and they have it tied up forever.

 

Plenty of Beatles product which has already sold in the millions has been reissued in recent years, with no fear that it won't sell. The Let it Be film has not been commercially available for decades, so there is a large market of people who would buy it, even if they already have a pirated copy. Presumably any reissue would be beautifully remastered, so even fans who have seen this film many times would have incentive to see it again.

I would personally love to see the original film reissued, along with a new "directors cut" that incorporates the best of the footage that never made it into the original film. At a minimum, making the full rooftop concert a bonus feature of the Let it Be DVD/BR would be a no-brainer. The old Apple would never consider it. But I'm hopeful that the new Apple (with Jeff Jones in charge) would consider it. (The track listing for the 1+ video collection still amazes me...the old Apple would have never released anything so comprehensive.)

 

That's really good news. Deserves a Blu-ray release and availability on the various streaming services.