Olive Films : Six more films to come on June 26th

[Akijama]

Two Godard's :

Ici et ailleurs (1976) (DVD only)

Numéro deux (1975) (DVD only)


Two comedy/horrors :

Tales That Witness Madness (1973)



Tales That Witness Madness Blu-ray


The Spirit Is Willing (1967)



The Spirit Is Willing Blu-ray


Two westerns :

The Night of the Grizzly (1966)



The Night of the Grizzly Blu-ray


The Hangman (1959)



The Hangman Blu-ray

[octagon]

Heh, I think we can safely say the Paramount vault is officially open.

And to be fair, they've gone from completely dragging their feet on catalog releases to digging as deep as anybody (if not deeper) in the space of a few months.

[Dex Robinson]

Definitely in for THE SPIRIT IS WILLING. I haven't seen that in at least 20 years.

Probably in for TALES THAT WITNESS MADNESS. Honestly, it's not ringing a bell with me but I gravitate to old, obscure horror.

[toddly6666]

Is there anything in Paramount's vault that is not a B-movie?

[octagon]

Heh, yes. They lost of their classics when they sold their pre-1950 library to Universal but they still have still some top-shelf properties they haven't released.

Rosemary's Baby, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, An Officer and a Gentleman, The Odd Couple, Sabrina...those are just some of the things I'd like to see soon.

And Chinatown should be showing up in the mail any day now.

[neo_reloaded]

I wish the Godard's were Blu-ray.

[Hawkguy]

Originally Posted by Dex Robinson

Probably in for TALES THAT WITNESS MADNESS. Honestly, it's not ringing a bell with me but I gravitate to old, obscure horror.

If anyone is curious enough, you can watch it on netflix. I did a few months ago. It's ok. Very forgettable, definitely not something I was expecting on Blu-ray.

[Brad1963]

http://www.imdb.com/company/co0128842/

I found this on IMDB for Olive films. It lists the titles they have licensed through Paramount and what looks like Republic Pictures. Looks like a reliable list. Amongs the other Paramount titles they list are Shanks, Man on a Swign, The Sterile Cuckoo, The Slender Thead, A New Leaf, Pony Express, First Born.

[Arkadin]

well I don't think it takes a rocket scientist toddly to figure out that Paramount isn't licensing out their top shelf titles to Olive. I mean, duh.
but that doesn't mean some of these more minor classics don't have value. Many of them have major stars in them in roles few of us have seen, while I'm sure many older members are going to recognize films they perhaps saw at the theater in their youth.
You just have to pick and choose the ones that most interest you--if any even do.
Hannie Caulder was released by Olive, and that is a truly classic western.
so it's not like every bd they release is necessarily a b movie, but I understand some members frustration.
bottom line remains this--Paramount is mining its back catalog better than any other studio at the present time.
btw: what's fascinating about that list on imdb is how many titles have "blu-ray" already filled in. I mean is that really supposed to reflect confirmed information or just speculation?
if all the films that say blu-ray actually get one that will be pretty incredible.

[KyotoKid]

I noticed The Court Martial Of Billy Mitchell on the list, and A New Leaf was an above average comedy with Walter Matthau - looking at the IMDB ratings quite a few are well received.

[HuggyBear73]

I might blind buy the two horror flicks.

[Dex Robinson]

It's the very fact that these are mostly minor "B" titles that makes them appeal to me as a fan and collector.

I don't worry about titles that have any degree of presence in the experience of most movie viewers. If it's a significant title, chances are that it will be available for viewing in one form or another for years to come. I've never bought Star Wars, Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings because I know that, 20 years from now, I'll still be able to see them (well, I turn 54 in a few months so I might be dead in 20 years....but you get my drift). Even those titles that haven't been released on Blu yet (and I know there are MANY) are still available to be seen somehow. I'd love to see Paramount's VistaVision STRATEGIC AIR COMMAND on Blu-ray...but even if it doesn't show up on disc anytime soon, it still shows up on TCM every year.

That's why I appreciate and BUY what Olive releases. Where I live, I don't think COLOSSUS OF NEW YORK has ever played on TV. Things like THE SPIRIT IS WILLING have maybe played 3 times on TV in my life. I've ordered most of the Jerry Lewis movies from Olive (WHO'S MINDING THE STORE shipped today) and most of those haven't been available in my market for 30 years.

So, sure, there are much bigger and much more important films out there. However, big, important films will eventually find there way onto the screen somehow. But when I see some of these great Olive releases, I think this will likely be our last and only time to have them in our collections.

[Brad1963]

Pretty much almost all of the Olive Paramount releases have never been on DVD, Laserdisc or VHS. Yes, this is our first and last opportunity to own these and many titles on any physical media. Count me in for The Spirit is Willing.

[James Luckard]

Olive has, through Paramount, the only Polanski film that has never been released on video - the French omnibus film "Les plus belles escroqueries du monde", for which Polanski co-wrote and directed the segment "La rivière de diamants".

I found it online sourced from French TV, but with no subtitles. I hope Olive either releases this or licenses it to Criterion to include on their eventual BD of KNIFE IN THE WATER, along with Polanski's film school shorts.

[csdot]

might be in for Tales that Witness Madness, wish it were the superior Freddie Francis anthology Tales From the Crypt though.

[Akijama]

Originally Posted by Brad1963

http://www.imdb.com/company/co0128842/

I found this on IMDB for Olive films. It lists the titles they have licensed through Paramount and what looks like Republic Pictures. Looks like a reliable list. Amongs the other Paramount titles they list are Shanks, Man on a Swign, The Sterile Cuckoo, The Slender Thead, A New Leaf, Pony Express, First Born.

Pony Express will be released this month - DVD only.
On some other forum,someone asked whether or not,Olive has plans to release following titles on Blu/DVD : Captain Carey, USA, Macaroni, My Son John, A New Leaf, The Proud and the Profane, The Slender Thread, The Sterile Cuckoo, and The Turning Point.Respond from Scott Peck (Olive Film representative) was - quote:
"All of these most likely, will be this summer and fall".

Looking forward to most of them

[ROclockCK]

Originally Posted by Arkadin

bottom line remains this--Paramount is mining its back catalog better than any other studio at the present time.

I'd like to see more panning and sifting for nuggets than quarry shovelling Arkadin. With Paramount/Olive it's never clear what you're going to get in your hopper.

Once again, there are some interesting titles in this batch that I would definitely consider buying, but to date there's been such inconsistency in the quality of Olive's Blu-ray output, I'm waiting for reviews and screen caps before jumping. The good news is Assault on a Queen looks terrific so I hope that's a sign Paramount/Olive are getting serious about the quality issue. I mean, it's the year 2012. I'm not going to pay for legacy DVD masters simply ported to Blu-ray with minimal to no restoration workflow.

Still rooting for this label though...just watching those reviews to see what goes into my cart and stays there all the way through checkout.

[RodneyOz]

Very happy to get a release date for the two Godards. Not so much to see that they're only DVD Olive frustrates me.

[captveg]

Originally Posted by octagon

Heh, yes. They lost of their classics when they sold their pre-1950 library to Universal but they still have still some top-shelf properties they haven't released.

Rosemary's Baby, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, An Officer and a Gentleman, The Odd Couple, Sabrina...those are just some of the things I'd like to see soon.

And Chinatown should be showing up in the mail any day now.

Too true. Paramount is not going to license their 'A' titles to Olive, especially in their 100th Anniversary year. I'm somewhat amazed that they gave Olive the 'A' list titles out of the Republic catalog, but I guess that group of films is an all-or-nothing proposition. In any case, it's really cool to get these non-'A' list catalog titles on Blu.

I'm hopeful that some great Paramount 'A' list films like the ones you mentioned will make it out by the end of the year (we only know the key anniversary titles through 'Clue' in August at this point). I'm personally hoping for at least 1-2 from among Sunset Boulevard, Paper Moon, Serpico, Stalag 17 and Roman Holiday.

[Seymour]

It would be nice if Paramount put out a few more titles themselves during this anniversery year. Olive is putting out more in one month than Paramount is putting out in three months. One title a month is just pathetic. But, if Sunset Boulevard and Rosemary's Baby are among the last four titles released before the year is up--then I'll be more than happy. I wonder if Marathon Man would be too much to ask?