I'm surprised there hasn't been a thread on this, but I have a list of movies I want to see, but can't because they have never been released on DVD or pop up on cable.

I received my "Film Comment" Magazine last night and was delighted to learn that BORDER RADIO, a film on my personal "want to see" list will finally pop up on DVD. BR was directed by Alison Anderson and Kurt Voss, who directed the underrated and overlooked SUGAR TOWN, which focuses on the lives of journeyman rock 'n rollers.

When I first got a DVD player I gave all 400 VHS movies I owned to my brother thinking that they'll all soon be on DVD. After a month, I realized I'd made a HUGE mistake. Not even half of them had come to DVD & I couldn't get my VHS tapes back because my brother had pawned everyone of them! So, I would go to the store periodically & see if any of my old favorites had come out yet. I found it a little strange how I would find all sorts of terrible, crappy movies released on DVD that were from the 70's & 80's, yet, newer movies from the 90's had not seen the light of day. It makes me wonder who decides what gets released on DVD & what doesn't. Now, nearly 7 years later, I've replaced only about 200 of my VHS movies & I own OVER 700 DVD's! Hard to believe that I own that many DVD's & I haven't even replaced ALL of my VHS's but, it's true. My wishlist is far too long to list here but, I figure over time, they'll all be out. After all, I had been waiting for "The Chase" with Charlie Sheen & Kristy Swanson to come to DVD & it took 6 years but, it's finally here. If ya wait long enough, they'll show up! However, I really wish they would release "The Maxx" & "X-Men" cartoons to DVD right, quick & in a hurry!

My vhs copy of The List of Adrian Messenger is getting worn down, so that film tops the list of video replacements. I'd also like to have Mister Moses, Night of the Comet, Night of Dark Shadows (the full, uncut version), What's So Bad About Feeling Good?, a slew of Danny Kaye films and much more movies on dvd that I can't recall right now. I do enjoy cheesey horror films and there are plenty that haven't made it to dvd yet. Too many films make it dvd and then go out of print too soon, like Hitchcock's Rebecca.

Also, I wish they'd issue an edition of Picnic At Hanging Rock with the deleted scenes as well as commentaries and extra features. Took me forever to find a copy of the novel with the missing chapter, now I want the movie with the missing scenes. What's with this "Picnic" editing conspiracy?

I'm happy that three of my favorite films recently have been released to DVD: the gorgeous horror classic, The Innocents, Ernst Lubitsch's best romantic comedy, Heaven Can Wait (1943), and the rip-roaring adventure Gunga Din.

However, that still leaves a few, and I'll start by mentioning these:

A Matter of Life and Death, my fave Michael Powell film, maybe the most romantic film ever made, with wit and innovation which continue to put recent films to shame.
Hobson's Choice, which, believe it or not, is my fave David Lean film, and it's a comedy yet! Charles Laughton was never better than the drunken bootshop owner Hobson, and Brenda De Banzie and John Mills shine as his "friendly" adversaries.
Sitting Pretty, with Clifton Webb's hilarious introduction of Mr. Belvedere.
The Two of Us, a beautiful French film, full of humor, about how an old anti-Semite (the legendary Michel Simon) looks after a young Jewish boy during WWII. The kicker is that the old man doesn't know the kid is Jewish.
He Who Must Die, a highly-personal film by Jules Dassin, which depicts a Passion Play in 1920s Greece, while it was under the occupation of Turkey. This is a powerful examination of how life and art imitate each other. Along with Jesus of Montreal, my fave "Jesus flick".

Hey crazed, my wife asked me to put The List of Adrian Messenger at the top of our queue, but I had to tell her it's still unavailable, so I hear you on that one. I'm also pissed that John Huston's Freud, from the year before isn't out yet. Well, I do have them both taped off cable.

The top Danny Kaye film I want on dvd is The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. It has been on dvd before but since deleted.

Two '80s films I want: Tag: The Assassination Game, a 1982 Linda Hamilton movie about a college game gone awry. I taped this off network tv long ago (and plan to watch it tonight). I wish the soundtrack were available as well as I love the music in this film. There's another subject- soundtracks that still need to be released.

The other '80s movie is Electric Dreams which I don't have on video. I know Virginia Madsen is in this but I forget who the male lead is. Last time I saw the film was on HBO in the early '90s.

Wasn't an actor named Lenny Von Dohlen the male lead in ELECTRIC DREAMS? I vaguely remember when that film had its theatrical run, but I didn't see it.

One film long on my "want to see" list is ADALEN '31, a Swedish film named Best Foreign Film in 1969. It was directed by Bo Widerberg, still best known for ELVIRA MADIGAN made way back in the 1960s. ADALEN is about some sort of labor dispute I think. As far as I know it never made it to tape or DVD.

quote:

Originally posted by ChrisFromAstoria:
Wasn't an actor named Lenny Von Dohlen the male lead in ELECTRIC DREAMS? I vaguely remember when that film had its theatrical run, but I didn't see it.

That's who it is, thanks!

There are quite a few music related films that still are available on dvd. Let It Be tops the want list for me. I found an import copy of some Fania All-Stars films from the early '70s. The discs are PAL on one side and NTSC on the other side. They could have done a better restoration job I suppose but at least I have them all now.

I always got a kick out of Made in Heaven, the 1987 movie with Timothy Hutton and Kelly McGillis. It's still on video only.

AFRICAN LION. Things were slow at work one day(s) and I went through the "Maltin Film Guide" and wrote down the names of all the films that received 3.5 or four stars that I haven't seen and have made an effort to knock them off.

AFRICAN LION is one of those films, but as far as I know it never made it to tape and hasn't been released on DVD. I don't know much about it, but it is a Disney documentary released in 1955. Maltin gave it 3.5 stars so that is why I want to see it.

Another one of my goals is to see all the films that received Oscar noms for Best Picture. The Academy actually used to nominate 10 films up until the early-to-mid 1940s.

One of the films that received a Best Picture nom was ALIBI, which was released in '28 and received a nom in '29. It must be a silent film and remains obscure. Roland West directed, but I'm not all the familiar with him. I don't even know if this film still exists; 80% of the silents have been lost and for all I know this might be one of them.

AN ACT OF THE HEART. I don't know much about this one, other than Noel Coward had some sort of involvement. I'm not sure if he wrote it or acted in it, but it played at the Museum of Modern Art and at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and I missed all screenings.

AND THEN AS YOU DIE. I don't know much about this one, but then "New York Times" film critic mentioned this direct-to-video (or made for cable) film in an article back in '00. It was made in '87 and was directed by Francis Mankiewicz, whose name doesn't ring any bells. It was released on tape, but so far hasn't popped up on DVD to my knowledge.

ANOTHER LIFE. I don't know much about this British film other than the fact that it received a strong review in "Variety" back in 2001. It is a gangster yarn directed by Philip Goodhew, who I have never heard of. It never received a commercial release in the U.S. , but did appear on DVD, albeit in Region 2, which is not compatible with the U.S. format.

THE APARTMENT. I don't know much about this one, other than it is a French film from 1996 that was directed by Gilles Mimouni, who I have never heard of. As far as I know, this one didn't get a commercial theatrical run in the U.S. and I only know about because a friend of mine recommended it.

ATTACK OF THE FIFTY FOOT WOMAN. I don't know much about this one, but I added it to my "want to see" list after it appeared on a calendar someone gave me for Christmas a couple of years ago. The calendar had a recommended movie for each day and this one appeared on there.

ATTENTION BANDITS. I don't know much about this one, but it is a 1951 Italian film directed by Carlo Lizzani, who I have never heard of. I heard about the film when critic Dave Kehr mentioned it in his review of some Lena Wertmuller DVDs.

BAMBI. I don't know if I've ever seen this Disney classic. If I did it was when I was a kid. In any event, I want to see because Maltin gave it 4 stars. I don't care for animation, but I'll make an exception here.

Did Disney already retire Bambi? I bought the DVD last year when they said it was going to go back in the vault. I also have the VHS. I like Bambi a lot, but I like Pinocchio and Dumbo even more.

Don't really have much to add to the whole movies I would like to see on DVD, but on the Disney subject I also like Dumbo a lot. My favorite Disney film of all time is easily Finding Nemo. But I also love and have loved for a long time, Fantasia.

quote:

Originally posted by mark f:
Did Disney already retire Bambi? I bought the DVD last year when they said it was going to go back in the vault. I also have the VHS. I like Bambi a lot, but I like Pinocchio and Dumbo even more.

I like Bambi a lot too...

Love to all who love old cartoons. True, I may love The Incredibles slightly more than Alice in Wonderland (the two greatest cartoons ever made), BUT I only get one opinion and vote.

(That's called a Bookmark. Yowza!)