I know it's TV but I am really intrigued by the pilot that was made few years back for a series inspired by the Strutgatsky's "Roadside Picnic" - also the basis for Tarkovsky's "Stalker". The trailer looked interesting, but it never got pciked up and seems impossible to see.
Definitely never completed, but IIRC what was shot could be released a decade after Lewis’s death, or something like that.
I've seen a handful of scenes(I think Vidiot's seen what exists) and....be careful what you wish for. Dan
The Thief and The Cobbler. I remember seeing. A trailer for this animated movie and being astounded at how it looked. Never got finished and was eventually taken out of the director’s hands and some of the footage used to make a couple of poorly received films. Fan recreations exist from various elements. The Thief and the Cobbler - Wikipedia
Roger Corman's 1994 film of The Fantastic Four was never officially released, although it's easy enough to track down. Available on YouTube I think.
Considering all the factors that go into creating a feature film, it's a tragedy that any finished film remains unreleased. It is fascinating, though, that some leak out in whole or in part and allow us the opportunity of a taste of that which we were not meant to have to known. I'd much rather a film be unreleased than lost, however. At least sitting safely in a vault there remains a possibility that we may someday get the chance to see it.
The podcast Imaginary Worlds ran a great episode on this film. If I remember correctly, one person who worked on the film, interviewed by the host, suggested that the movie was both Richard Williams' dream project, and a movie he never really wanted to finish. Fascinating story. Episode 21: The Greatest Cartoon Almost Made — Imaginary Worlds
W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings (1975) starring Burt Reynolds and Jerry Reed. The first "grown up" movie I remember seeing. No release so far? Island of the Blue Dolphins (1964) Based on the book. I remember seeing this movie a couple of times in school on movie days. I think it was released on VHS for a short time, but nothing since then. Classic book and as I remember, a very good movie. Sorry, I misunderstood the thread.
There was a film called “A Woman of the Sea” directed by Josef Von Sternberg and starring Edna Purviance. It was produced by Charlie Chaplin to help establish both (as a director in the US and as a star, respectively). Chaplin purposely withheld it, unhappy with the story (or lack thereof) and Edna’s subpar performance. I guess it got shown at a premiere but that was it. It ended up in the Chaplin vault and was destroyed for tax purposes several years later. It’s not clear if all copies were destroyed (some say the last copy was destroyed by Oona Chaplin after Charlie’s death, but I can’t imagine that’s true). There is a trove of still shots, the script and shooting schedule that exist from the film. It would be one hell of a discovery if it turned out a copy was tucked away all these years.
And I'd argue that some of the examples being thrown around in here don't fit that criteria: I mean there's films that are being mentioned that don't have a physical release, but have been aired on TV-I'd call that a released film. Or a film that was in theater very briefly, then buried as a tax write off, but then released on VHS and eventually Blu-Ray, how is that an unreleased film?
Rock 'N' Roll Hotel from the early 80s with Rachel Sweet and Judd Nelson. Technically, it was shown twice at industry events and for a couple of days in NYC and then a different version with newer footage was screened from a VHS copy more recently. Interesting history of it: Yes, Virginia, There is a "Rock 'n' Roll Hotel"
Black Water Transit directed by Tony Kaye is in legal limbo, and remains unreleased, same with the movie starring Bruce Campbell Highly Functional, which was pretty much completely filmed but has not been released.
I remember seeing this way back when, and remember it being absolutely bizarre. Saw this on YouTube a few years ago. It's quite good. Black Water Transit and Highly Functional are two Holy Grails.
Since the thread has expanded to films that were briefly released but are otherwise MIA, I'm a bit fascinated by the story of the 1983 film Silent Death. The movie played the Paramount Theater in Newark for about one week. It would have been completely forgotten, likely, except Rick Sullivan, publisher of the cult movie fanzine Gore Gazette, saw the film and wrote a very funny, memorable review in one issue. The film was apparently an amateurish, unwatchable mess, and Sullivan seemed to have loved it: Lost Slashers A few years ago, a journalist picked up the story and discovered that the director, Vaughn Cristion, still directs movies, which he self-distributes for streaming services. It turns out that he worked at the Paramount as a teenager, and when he learned that the theater would run any movie made on 35mm, Cristion made one himself. That was Silent Death. Unfortunately, the movie is lost, probably forever, and the director no longer has a print. The writer's search for Silent Death (it's an entertaining story): In Search of Newark’s Great Lost Grindhouse Auteur: The Vaughn Christion Story, from Silent Death (1983) to Key of Brown (2013) . . . and Beyond!
I think TV movies should be released. Yes, I've seen some released but there are a lot that need to be. "The Promise Of Love" (Valerie Bertinelli), "Eric" (John Savage), "Something For Joey" (Marc Singer) are three that comes to mind.
MC5: A True Testimonial Documentary about the legendary Detroit band the MC5, shown in festivals for a couple years trying to get a distribution deal. Then Wayne Kramer (MC5 guitarist featured prominantly in the film) sued the filmmakers over a promised producer credit. Ultimately he lost that case, but the film is still unreleased due to them needing funding for the music rights. It was floating around on YT for a while, but still officially unreleased to the public.
So that's what happened! I remember hearing that Rick and Tom from Cheap Trick were interviewed for this movie