Looking for Mr. Goodbar Tonight at Midnight on Turner Classic Movies

[dhwm]

Fyi

[Batmon77]

I own a DVD version.

Tuesday Weld does a good job in her limited role.

I walk by the original bar sometimes.

[BluCollector13]

Originally Posted by dhwm

Fyi

One of these days, Paramount will finally release it. Hopefully.

[dhwm]

I was surprised to see it on TCM. I saved it in my DVR section. Not letting go of this one.

[dkelly26666]

It's all due to a song montage over the opening credits, where several hit songs from the time play for a literal few seconds each.

Some artists involved wanted massive royalties for a few seconds of song; others have since found religion and don't want their songs in that particular film, at all.

Some songs CAN'T be cleared, apparently, and others would make a physical release too expensive for what it would sell. (I presume broadcast rights for TV must have been cleared long ago).

These music rights issues are apparently what have held the film up in the DVD/blu ray era. That, and now, it would need a whole new master (even more expense).

Fans never tolerate the music being changed from how they remember it. They always get angry when the film's original soundtrack is substituted.

As more years go on, Paramount sees the film as having very limited interest.


So many issues.

This is why we've never seen a DVD or BD of such a high profile film.

[Batmon77]

I think the subject matter is super shakey in these sensitive times.

One of things that gets me w/ this film is there times when it feels/looks like a cheap ass late night tv movie of the week.

But like Crusin' its a window to a the other side of the free sex & Disco era.

[Markgway]

Saw this on TV in the UK a couple of years ago but can't remember what channel.

[kong73]

This is a Great film but for me, it is not an easy watch. The first time is saw it, i was stunned at the end!!! So shocking and devastating. Then I watch it again last year when it air on TCM. Still as shocking as my first watch. I love and want to own it but I don't think I can ever go on that journey again. It stays with me too long after Ive watched it. Those are some really great performances

[ShortRound]

Originally Posted by Batmon77

One of things that gets me w/ this film is there times when it feels/looks like a cheap ass late night tv movie of the week.

Foul statement. Director Richard Brooks and cinematographer William A. Fraker were seemingly incapable of "cheap"-looking filmmaking. Not sure which TV movies you've been looking at, but every frame of Looking for Mr. Goodbar is aesthetically impressive... and that's more fact than opinion, at least to those who know about photography and shot composition.

[Batmon77]

Originally Posted by ShortRound

Foul statement. Director Richard Brooks and cinematographer William A. Fraker were seemingly incapable of "cheap"-looking filmmaking. Not sure which TV movies you've been looking at, but every frame of Looking for Mr. Goodbar is aesthetically impressive... and that's more fact than opinion, at least to those who know about photography and shot composition.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1mm8prcJmY&feature=emb_imp_woyt

Ok.

Its looks very studio set in many street scenes and doesnt feel like dirty NYC.

[etimh]

Originally Posted by Batmon77

One of things that gets me w/ this film is there times when it feels/looks like a cheap ass late night tv movie of the week.

Originally Posted by ShortRound

Foul statement. Director Richard Brooks and cinematographer William A. Fraker were seemingly incapable of "cheap"-looking filmmaking. Not sure which TV movies you've been looking at, but every frame of Looking for Mr. Goodbar is aesthetically impressive...

I love this film and have seen it several times, both in the theater and on the small screen, and would really appreciate having it on a nice disc. But while Brooks, and especially Fraker, do a terrific job with the film, in general, there are a number of sequences that do have a curious "flatness" to them. This might be what @Batmon77 is referring to.

Over the years I have read these unique scenes (particularly those inside Theresa's apartment) as having a kind of coldness and sterility that reflects Theresa's own emptiness and unhappiness. Which only adds to the argument that Brooks and Fraker may have known exactly what they were doing cinematographically with these particular scenes.

[ShortRound]

Originally Posted by etimh

But while Brooks, and especially Fraker, do a terrific job with the film, in general, there are a number of sequences that do have a curious "flatness" to them. This might be what @Batmon77 is referring to.

Over the years I have read these unique scenes (particularly those inside Theresa's apartment) as having a kind of coldness and sterility that reflects Theresa's own emptiness and unhappiness. Which only adds to the argument that Brooks and Fraker may have known exactly what they were doing cinematographically with these particular scenes.

There is a drabness to the apartment scenes, but I also assumed they were intentional, so that the viewer would feel Theresa/Keaton's desire to either get out of there and partake in nightlife, or spice the place up with the company of strange men. Every frame seems calculated to me, and looks/feels like the work of a master director and his top notch visual team, rather than "a cheap ass late night tv movie of the week".

[obscurelabel]

I've watched this just once, the low-res version that's on YouTube right now. (I'm assuming that this version has the original music, there were many recognizable disco hits). I knew about the reported problems with the music clearances and paid attention to whether it seemed that there were any hit songs that seemed to be critical to the story line, mood, character development, etc. that, if missing, would cause serious damage to the film. Just my opinion, but nothing like that struck me at all. IMO, all of the music could be replaced with other affordable disco hits or even generic library disco tunes and not miss a thing. Is it possible that I think that disco has a pretty narrow range of characteristics and heavy emphasis on the beat that makes much of it sound very similar? Or that the filmmakers used the hits as background only, without any meaningful direct connection between them and the action? Possibly yes to both.

No challenges to anyone who thinks differently, just my own opinion.

[filmbuffTX]

Originally Posted by kong73

This is a Great film but for me, it is not an easy watch. The first time is saw it, i was stunned at the end!!! So shocking and devastating. Then I watch it again last year when it air on TCM. Still as shocking as my first watch. I love and want to own it but I don't think I can ever go on that journey again. It stays with me too long after Ive watched it. Those are some really great performances

Too bad the TCM host spoiled the ending of the movie before my first watch.

[ShortRound]

Originally Posted by obscurelabel

IMO, all of the music could be replaced with other affordable disco hits or even generic library disco tunes and not miss a thing.

The major issue I have with the replacement songs is toward the end of the film, when a bunch of bar patrons start clapping along to the song playing... and their clapping doesn't come close to matching the beat of the replacement song. It's jarring and looks/sounds awful. If the only way to get the movie in HD is to clear the rights for the original songs, but that proves too expensive, Paramount should at least cough up the money for the song being clapped along with.

[8traxrule]

How were they able to clear the movie for showing on cable if it's so hard to clear for disc? I saw this just a few years ago on the defunct "Escape" network, the end scene ruined by their stupid logo onscreen.

[Batmon77]

Originally Posted by obscurelabel

I've watched this just once, the low-res version that's on YouTube right now. (I'm assuming that this version has the original music, there were many recognizable disco hits). I knew about the reported problems with the music clearances and paid attention to whether it seemed that there were any hit songs that seemed to be critical to the story line, mood, character development, etc. that, if missing, would cause serious damage to the film. Just my opinion, but nothing like that struck me at all. IMO, all of the music could be replaced with other affordable disco hits or even generic library disco tunes and not miss a thing.
Is it possible that I think that disco has a pretty narrow range of characteristics and heavy emphasis on the beat that makes much of it sound very similar? Or that the filmmakers used the hits as background only, without any meaningful direct connection between them and the action? Possibly yes to both.

No challenges to anyone who thinks differently, just my own opinion.

I hear you.

I wouldnt want to hear others songs replacing the opening montage.
Dont Leave Me This Way by Thelma Houston is a seminal Disco smash.
It marks the era perfectly. It does contribute to the mood.
The score is filled w/ Disco and Disco era classics.

[hasslein]

Maybe there will be a region free import from a country where music clearance restrictions aren't the same. I don't understand why this doesn't happen more often.

[knyc1]

Originally Posted by 8traxrule

How were they able to clear the movie for showing on cable if it's so hard to clear for disc? I saw this just a few years ago on the defunct "Escape" network, the end scene ruined by their stupid logo onscreen.

In general, when the contracts were written pre-80s in regards to music rights, it would state specifically for theatrical and tv/cable use only. At the time, no one knew there would be a home video market i.e. vhs, laserdisc and now blu ray weren't a thought. The contracts would have to be re-written to include that and now of course the music rights holder wants more compensation.

[gabe.logan]

Is the Australian DVD any good?