The Earthling (1980)

[The Great Owl]

The Earthling, starring William Holden and Ricky Schroder, was a favorite of mine during childhood when I used to see it on HBO. It was never released officially on DVD or Blu-ray. I have a bad, bad DVD-R taken from a VHS copy, but I would love to see this movie given some proper official treatment. A high definition release would cater well to the movie's Australian setting and beautiful wilderness scenery.

Ricky Schroder played a young boy who watches his parents die in a tragic vehicle accident while vacationing in Australia. After wandering around the wilderness for a long while on the verge of starvation, the boy encounters an old man, played by William Holden, who teaches him how to survive in the wild before the old man's true reasons for being in Australia are gradually unveiled.

The Earthling was sort of a childhood movie gone haywire, and it's the type of flick that most studios would not touch with a ten-foot pole this day and age. It's a rather bleak "This is what life is really like, kiddos!" tale that just assaults you over the head repeatedly with tragedy. Still, there's an uncanny warmth to the story.

If anyone has information as to why this movie has not seen the light of day on Blu-ray or DVD, I'd love to know.
If anyone even remembers this movie at all, in fact, please join in the thread.