Private parts (1972)

[Jobla]

This film has appeared on every single want-list that I've submitted in these parts, coupled with the fear that it would never actually be released. Finally, Scream Factory has announced a Blu-ray release for June of 2023.

So, keep wish-listing your favorite films! They might show up someday.

[OceanBlue]

Originally Posted by Jobla

This film has appeared on every single want-list that I've submitted in these parts, coupled with the fear that it would never actually be released. Finally, Scream Factory has announced a Blu-ray release for June of 2023.

So, keep wish-listing your favorite films! They might show up someday.

I like your optimism and enthusiasm Jobla. When I saw the announcement of Private Parts last week, and your post(s) following it, I did remember seeing title suggestion posts in some threads (the WAC Blu-ray thread for example) where you had included it. I could see you must be a fan of this film and/or like this film a lot.

No harm in mentioning a film or/and TV series you want to see on physical media more than once, and I hope that my enthusiasm for wanting to see some films and TV series released pays off in the end (the late-eighties Australian film/TV film Coda is at or towards the top of my most wanted films list, with the George Kennedy-starring series Sarge and The Blue Knight being among my most wanted TV series on physical media.

[Jobla]

I joined this site in March of 2013, so it has "only" taken ten years for somebody to release PRIVATE PARTS. Several labels have had opportunities to do so, such as Warner Archives, Scream Factory, and even Criterion (who did release Paul Bartel's EATING RAOUL from a different studio). Nobody released PRIVATE PARTS overseas, either.

I had just about given up hope, but continued to list PP on every possible want-list. Nice to see that good things still come to those who wait.

I first saw the film in 1972 in a downtown urban hardtop theater. In early 1975, I was a collegiate film programmer and showed it twice on campus. Its salty mix of kink horror and comedy played very well to the college audience.

Throughout most of the 1980s and 1990s, I owned an "all-cult" VHS video store in Seattle, and PRIVATE PARTS came out on VHS in 1991, so I promoted it as enthusiastically as I had done for the 1975 college screenings.

The year 2005 found me managing a specialty DVD store in Seattle, so I was once again afforded the opportunity of promoting PP, this time to the DVD audience.

I've since retired, but have long wanted PP to be remastered for Blu-ray. Now, in 2023, that will finally happen!

[Jobla]

One more note about PRIVATE PARTS:

There was a long gap between the film's early 1970s theatrical exhibition and its 1991 debut on VHS.

I filled that gap in the 1980s with a bootleg copy I got from somebody. The color was faded and the sound was uneven, but it was still very watchable for a private copy.

I was single in the 1980s and showed my private copy to women I was dating, generally on a second or third date. I used the film as a litmus test: if a woman didn't like the film, I decided that we probably weren't a good match. Fortunately, I recall that most my dates enjoyed the film, even the shy ones.

[OceanBlue]

I watched the trailer for Private Parts yesterday (I should say "a trailer", as there may be more than one version of the theatrical trailer), the one on the IMDb. Even if it did or didn't have any spoilers in it, it didn't bother me in this case (I read spoilers for some US TV shows that I'm a fan of, although I was strict with not reading too much about the Blumhouse Halloween trilogy (but did see the various teasers and trailers). The more I find out about this film, the more likely it is that I'll be getting Shout's upcoming Blu-ray release (more Shout titles adding to the list of Shout Blu-ray releases I want to get (), along with the other two titles which had updates yesterday (Wednesday) about the technical specifications and extras). I like the setting of this film, based on what I saw in the trailer (the corridors and staircase for example).

Even if I've already read about it somewhere, I thought I'd ask ths question anyway as a contribution to a discussion: which opening and closing logo(s) should there be on Shout's Blu-ray release of Private Parts?

[Jobla]

It should have the original MGM logo, as MGM released the film in 1972.

Much of the film was shot in the King Edward Hotel of downtown Los Angeles. A few other films had scenes shot on the main floor there, as well. I have read that the film's sleazy rooms were actually sound stages, but the main floor lobby and the corridors were filmed right in the King Edward.

The King Edward is still there, but I believe it has become housing for homeless and/or very low-income people. That's not terribly different from the odd characters who populate the film. The hotel was built around 1906, but soon enough was considered to be on the outskirts of LA's skid row.

[OceanBlue]

Originally Posted by Jobla

It should have the original MGM logo, as MGM released the film in 1972.

Much of the film was shot in the King Edward Hotel of downtown Los Angeles. A few other films had scenes shot on the main floor there, as well. I have read that the film's sleazy rooms were actually sound stages, but the main floor lobby and the corridors were filmed right in the King Edward.

The King Edward is still there, but I believe it has become housing for homeless and/or very low-income people. That's not terribly different from the odd characters who populate the film. The hotel was built around 1906, but soon enough was considered to be on the outskirts of LA's skid row.

Jobla, have any TV documentaries been made about the King Edward Hotel in Los Angeles? I ask partly because of what you say above, but also because I've seen another hotel in Los Angeles be the subject of two true crime documentary mini-series, the Hotel Cecil.

[Jobla]

I don't know of any documentary attention for the King Edward, but I would certainly like to see that happen. Now that the hotel has become a home for the homeless, the history of the place would make an interesting documentary. According to the IMDB, at least 20 films and TV shows used it as a location, including the film BLACULA and the TV episode "Hagsploitation" from the series FEUD (that episode cast John Waters as horror filmmaker William Castle).