Robert Harmon's THE HITCHER...

[IntelliVolume]

Does anyone have any idea whether this creepy little classic thriller will ever make it to Blu-ray? I just took out the horrendous-looking DVD last night to watch, and it's a truly painful transfer as prepared by HBO -- some sequences have nasty "screen door"-like print damages that render the scenes almost unwatchable, and the overall look of the film is atrocious.

Are there any plans by any studio to bring this to the U.S. Blu-ray market?

[thecalm_7]

my source says no North American release of any old films on the foreseeable future. Maybe a different distributor in Europe or Asia. HBO had some great movies back before the TV series boom.

[IntelliVolume]

Originally Posted by thecalm_7

my source says no North American release of any old films on the foreseeable future. Maybe a different distributor in Europe or Asia. HBO had some great movies back before the TV series boom.

Hey Calm,

Thanks so much for the info -- I totally agree about HBO. I have been desperately trying to find some of their feature films from years past, like Tyson, The Taking of Flight 847 and the films about the Korean Air Lines jet that was shot down and Pan Am Flight 800...

Tyson was never made available on DVD, nor were the others, but I do own Gotti, Against The Wall and The Infiltrator...

When you say "no North American release of any old films..." are you referring to old HBO films?

[cakefactory]

I would highly suggest buying the UK special edition DVD while you still can at a reasonable cost. It's starting to look like it will never be on Blu-Ray, and even if it is, that release has some good extras which might not be carried over and thus wouldn't make it a waste of money.

[IntelliVolume]

Originally Posted by cakefactory

I would highly suggest buying the UK special edition DVD while you still can at a reasonable cost. It's starting to look like it will never be on Blu-Ray, and even if it is, that release has some good extras which might not be carried over and thus wouldn't make it a waste of money.

I don't know if my Oppo Blu-ray player can handle UK-released discs; I wanted to get the Amityville II Collector's Edition from the UK because of its extras and packaging, but was under the assumption that my BD player couldn't play it...

How is the transfer on that disc? If it's anything like the U.S. HBO release, I wouldn't be interested...

[thecalm_7]

Originally Posted by IntelliVolume

Hey Calm,

Thanks so much for the info -- I totally agree about HBO. I have been desperately trying to find some of their feature films from years past, like Tyson, The Taking of Flight 847 and the films about the Korean Air Lines jet that was shot down and Pan Am Flight 800...

Tyson was never made available on DVD, nor were the others, but I do own Gotti, Against The Wall and The Infiltrator...

When you say "no North American release of any old films..." are you referring to old HBO films?

I was told no future HBO made movies/HBO made for TV. They weren't profitable. I asked about the following specifically
-split second
-deadly game
-gulag
-when trumpets fade
-hitcher
-Mandela
-sword of Gideon
-ricochet
-stepfather 3
-daybreak
-Truman
-gotti
-breast men
-rat pack
-rko281
Also no Blu release for "you Don't Know Jack"

[PipesDonatello]

Great. That probably means no American Splendor either.

[IntelliVolume]

Originally Posted by thecalm_7

I was told no future HBO made movies/HBO made for TV. They weren't profitable. I asked about the following specifically
-split second
-deadly game
-gulag
-when trumpets fade
-hitcher
-Mandela
-sword of Gideon
-ricochet
-stepfather 3
-daybreak
-Truman
-gotti
-breast men
-rat pack
-rko281
Also no Blu release for "you Don't Know Jack"

That's too bad; I have Gotti on DVD, which looks and sounds fine for what it is, but I'd love to, personally, get:

The Taking of Flight 847: The Uli Derickson Story
Tyson
The Story of Flight 800 (the Pan Am bombing)
The Story of the Downed Korean Air Lines Jet

[L.J.]

Is a good film, HBO has several they should put on blu. Taking Chance on top of my list.

[IntelliVolume]

Originally Posted by L.J.

Is a good film, HBO has several they should put on blu. Taking Chance on top of my list.

I agree, LJ; I'd love to see The Hitcher come out on Blu, because the North American DVD as presented by HBO and Tri-Star looks atrocious...it really does. It borders on unwatchable, and I don't say that about many discs...

A studio like Scream Factory should pick up the license to The Hitcher and re-release it with a remastered 1080p encode.

[elk3605]

Originally Posted by IntelliVolume

I agree, LJ; I'd love to see The Hitcher come out on Blu, because the North American DVD as presented by HBO and Tri-Star looks atrocious...it really does. It borders on unwatchable, and I don't say that about many discs...

A studio like Scream Factory should pick up the license to The Hitcher and re-release it with a remastered 1080p encode.

I agree. I watched my DVD the other day since that is all I have to watch the film and it must have been from different sources. So many scenes, particularly outdoors have horrible artifacting.

[Fluid]

Are you referring to this?

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-H...lu-ray/233488/