Legend Films Discussion Thread

[Drewza89]

I did a search and couldn't find anything, so I guess this will be the official thread for blu-rays released by Legend Films.

Their first blu-ray releases will be March of the Wooden Soldiers and Mandingo. Both films will be released on September 14, 2010.

March of the Wooden Soldiers (a.k.a. Babes in Toyland) was originally released in 1934 by MGM. Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy star in this film based on the operetta Babes in Toyland.

Mandingo was originally released in 1975 by Paramount. Based novel of the same name, this film was directed by Richard Fleischer (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea) and featured James Mason, Susan George, Perry King, Lillian Hayman, ex-boxer Ken Norton, and ex-wrestler Earl Maynard. In an older quote, Quentin Tarantino cited Mandingo as one of only two instances "in the last twenty years [that] a major studio made a full-on, gigantic, big-budget exploitation movie", comparing it to Showgirls.

Future blu-ray releases from Legend Films could include the 1981 horror-spoof Student Bodies and the 1953 biopic Houdini starring Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh. [source]

[PowellPressburger]

I still have the DVD copy of Mandingo that I have never watched. I think I will toss it and buy Mandingo on blu.

I hope Legend Films will release some more of their Paramount acquired titles to blu soon.

[bondfooll]

Does this mean we might get a RiffTrax Blu-ray one day? Maybe Plan 9?

[PowellPressburger]

DVD Beaver Review is posted.

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film3/blu-r...go_blu-ray.htm

About what I expected also. Never seen the film I heard it is pretty bad judging from some of the screen caps I think this could be a campy midnite movie.

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by Drewza89

Future blu-ray releases from Legend Films could include the 1981 horror-spoof Student Bodies and the 1953 biopic Houdini starring Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh. [source]

VCI learned to clean itself up, put its PD-Vulture past behind it, and start releasing rare/restoration titles with all their '51-Scrooge money.

Maybe Legend has hope of becoming a "real" company after all, but they'd have to distance themselves from RiffTrax, big time.

[nycomet]

I purchased Mandingo around Christmas time so I could watch it during Black History Month. I opened the BD on Sunday (yesterday), popped it into my PS3 and the disc would not mount. I even updated the Firmware. Nothing. I also tried to play it in a different PS3 and another BD player. The disc is unreadable.

I emailed Amazon customer service and they have already shipped a replacement to me. Amazon also gave me prepaid shipping label to return the defective Mandingo back to them.

Once the new BD arrives I'll watch Mandingo. I am also curious if this is the uncut version or not. In all honestly, this is not a great film. I am amazed there was even a sequel made.

[Show spoiler] But since Ken Norton, the lead actor who plays a slave, got boiled alive at the end off the first movie for having sex with his master's wife, he is not in the sequel.

[kinoeye]

Originally Posted by nycomet

I purchased Mandingo around Christmas time so I could watch it during Black History Month. I opened the BD on Sunday (yesterday), popped it into my PS3 and the disc would not mount. I even updated the Firmware. Nothing. I also tried to play it in a different PS3 and another BD player. The disc is unreadable.

I emailed Amazon customer service and they have already shipped a replacement to me. Amazon also gave me prepaid shipping label to return the defective Mandingo back to them.

Once the new BD arrives I'll watch Mandingo. I am also curious if this is the uncut version or not. In all honestly, this is not a great film. I am amazed there was even a sequel made.

[Show spoiler] But since Ken Norton, the lead actor who plays a slave, got boiled alive at the end off the first movie for having sex with his master's wife, he is not in the sequel.

I had a similar experience. Purchased from amazon, didn't work on player. Updated firmware, which caused a good chunk of my BDs to become unplayable (Samsung). Installed a different firmware, fixed the problem but Mandingo still didn't work. Sent it back to amazon, got a replacement that works fine.

Strange!

[DMRI2006]

Bumping up this old thread because all of Legend's Paramount BDs & DVDs go on moratorium today (5/1).

Might want to track down any titles of interest while they're still easily obtainable (and cheap!

[redrunner97]

Which would those be? I believe I own a huge majority of them.

[The Valeyard]

Originally Posted by DMRI2006

Bumping up this old thread because all of Legend's Paramount BDs & DVDs go on moratorium today (5/1).

Might want to track down any titles of interest while they're still easily obtainable (and cheap!

Thanks for that. I just picked up:

Mandingo
Houdini/Those Daring Young Men in Their Jaunty Jalopies
Student Bodies/Jekyll & Hyde: Together Again

Been meaning to do that for awhile but now I had a good excuse.

[MTRodaba2468]

Just ordered the two-pack with Student Bodies...

[Majin Blu]

Originally Posted by DMRI2006

Bumping up this old thread because all of Legend's Paramount BDs & DVDs go on moratorium today (5/1).

Might want to track down any titles of interest while they're still easily obtainable (and cheap!

Appreciate the head's up. I picked up Mandingo the other day without even knowing this. Went ahead with getting the Student Bodies/Jekyll and Hyde Together Again double feature before it disappears.

[Ellis Hugh]

Originally Posted by DMRI2006

Bumping up this old thread because all of Legend's Paramount BDs & DVDs go on moratorium today (5/1).

Might want to track down any titles of interest while they're still easily obtainable (and cheap!

I also grabbed Student Bodies/Jekyll and Hyde. Thanks for the info!

[NoirFan]

Don't forget The Skull/Man Who Could Cheat Death.

[DMRI2006]

Originally Posted by redrunner97

Which would those be? I believe I own a huge majority of them.

For Blu-Ray there's just those 4 that have been mentioned.

On the DVD end there are quite a few...the press release Legend sent out has them listed but it's too long to type them all. Many, though, are still quite cheap.

It's too bad Legend didn't produce more Blu-Rays but they didn't sell well enough, unfortunately. I was in contact with their PR people at that time and they were hoping to do more BD's from the Paramount catalog but obviously they never materialized.

Hopefully Olive might pick this group up and release a few

[Mateo Sanboval]

Watching Student Bodies for the first time on Amazon Prime to see if I want to purchase the blu-ray and I noticed that one of the producers is Alan Smithee. So who took their name off of this and why?

EDIT: The why portion of my query may have just been answered at the three minute mark where a dog who meows like a cat just lifted its leg and ripped a huge fart. I didn't know Mamet did a treatment on this.

[zbinks]

Originally Posted by Mateo Sanboval

Watching Student Bodies for the first time on Amazon Prime to see if I want to purchase the blu-ray and I noticed that one of the producers is Alan Smithee. So who took their name off of this and why?

Michael Ritchie

Producer and director Michael Ritchie had his named removed from the film's credits so as not to run into trouble from the striking writer's guild. Instead, screenwriter Mickey Rose was given on-screen director's credit.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083133/...item=tr0684924

[Mateo Sanboval]

Cheers, zbinks. Thanks for that.

[DMRI2006]

I thought Ritchie was just embarrassed by the film. So he had actually taken over as director on the movie also? Wow!

[iamnoone]

Looks like STUDENT BODIES/JEKYLL & HYDE is now only available from second-hand sellers on Amazon. Still a few cheap ones there, but probably not for long.