The Player (1971) (YouTube, lost for 50 years)

[starmike]

I want to start this post with this blurb from IMDB, posted today:

"Extensive searches for a print of the film had been unsuccessful for many years. Sources had claimed that it was unreleased and/or uncompleted, despite it having a paper trail of promotional material. On April 1st, 2024, the YouTube channel FT Depot posted a fully scanned print of the film that had been discovered in a deteriorating state, making it available for the first time in 50 years."

This film, as far as I can tell, was never released on ANY video format. Not Beta, VHS, CED, CD-Video, LD, DVD, Blu, UHD.

Last night, the YouTube channel FT Depot posted the film which has been lost for over 50 years. In 4K

The colors look good, but there's a ton of damage to the print. It warbles horribly due to humidity, and the audio suffers in spots.

Please read the description, the story of how it was found is fascinating.

So, I think this is the first time a movie has been "released" in 4K without being released ever before on any video format.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JV6Biseuoc