Why hasn't SubUrbia (1996) been released on DVD/BD?

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by Dudley Morris, Aug 16, 2014.

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  1. Dudley Morris

    Dudley Morris Resident Thread Starter

    Does anyone here know why Richard Linklater's fourth proper movie SubUrbia has yet to be released to home video in a digital format? It got a release on VHS during that format's dying days, but since then nothing, and like the Decline of Western Civilization movies there's a lot of demand for it. As far as I'm aware there aren't any particular problems that would be preventing its release, but a quick Net search reveals no answers, just more conjecture. So, what's the deal?
     
  2. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    My guess is because the movie only made $656,000 in its initial release, Sony Pictures figures there isn't a market for it.
     
  3. minerwerks

    minerwerks Forum Resident

    Location:
    Atlanta, GA, USA
    I have a soft spot for this film and am also surprised it hasn't been available on DVD, even in the manufacture-on-demand format. The VHS came out through Warner Bros., but since Vidiot mentioned Sony, I wonder if it's not a title Warner could even put out under the Warner Archive banner.

    I suppose this is something that could be released by Criterion solo or packaged with another Linklater film someday, in much the same way that "It's Impossible to Learn to Plow by Reading Books" was bundled with "Slacker" and Steven Soderbergh's "The Underneath" was bundled with "King of the Hill."

    Two interesting things (at least to me) about this film.
    First, I saw a stage production of the Eric Bogosian play not long after Linklater's film came out. I knew someone involved with the play and we disagreed strongly about the portrayal of Pony, the now-celebrity musician returned to see his old friends. My preference was for the film, where the character was trying very much to be open and casual, remaining as unpretentious as he could considering how his life changed. In the specific production I saw, Pony was given a much broader rock star personality, inviting the audience to be as skeptical and disappointed in him as his former friends, which I thought was counter to what the story seemed to be going for.

    The other thing I find interesting was that Quentin Tarantino resurrected the fictional Circle A convenience store from this film for a scene in the Austin-set "Death Proof."
     
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  4. Dave Garrett

    Dave Garrett Senior Member

    Location:
    Houston, TX
    It was also released on laserdisc by Warner Home Video in 1997.
     
  5. Dudley Morris

    Dudley Morris Resident Thread Starter

    Could be, but most of Linklater's films have been pretty small beer in terms of box office, and a couple - like Tape - made even less, yet are readily available. SubUrbia is the only film of his that hasn't got a DVD release.
     
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