Looking for Mr. Goodbar

[cupboy]

Looks like Vudu is in the process of listing this. I can find it but not view it. HDX is listed and standard def. The trailer is there.

[cupboy1]

Anyone seen that scumbag on that auction site who has sold Over 1400 of DVD-R of this title? Comments mention it was made from VHS tape. Universal should chase him down.

[Aunt Peg]

Originally Posted by cupboy1

Anyone seen that scumbag on that auction site who has sold Over 1400 of DVD-R of this title? Comments mention it was made from VHS tape. Universal should chase him down.

You mean Paramount should chase him down.

[AnamorphicWidescreen]

Originally Posted by cupboy1

Anyone seen that scumbag on that auction site who has sold Over 1400 of DVD-R of this title? Comments mention it was made from VHS tape. Universal should chase him down.

Yes, scammers that do things like this make me sick. Everyone out there should be aware that LFMG has NEVER been made available on Region 1 DVD/Blu, either as a DVD-R or a regular DVD/Blu release. Anyone trying to sell this to you is ripping you off.

I'm a big fan of the film, and did stream this (widescreen) years ago - but, the print wasn't that great.

Unfortunately, we're still waiting for a decent DVD/Blu Region 1 release of this movie. The film featured quite a bit of rock/pop music from the era, so it seems obvious that's holding up this release.

[Aunt Peg]

Originally Posted by AnamorphicWidescreen

Yes, scammers that do things like this make me sick. Everyone out there should be aware that LFMG has NEVER been made available on Region 1 DVD/Blu, either as a DVD-R or a regular DVD/Blu release. Anyone trying to sell this to you is ripping you off.

I'm a big fan of the film, and did stream this (widescreen) years ago - but, the print wasn't that great.

Unfortunately, we're still waiting for a decent DVD/Blu Region 1 release of this movie. The film featured quite a bit of rock/pop music from the era, so it seems obvious that's holding up this release.

I'd just like to add that LFMG hasn't been released anywhere in the world on DVD or Blu Ray.

[danny24]

Does an HD master exist? it was talked to be shown on cable before so I would assume yes. If this is not out because of music rights can't they just remove some of the music. I see it had a VHS release but no DVD or Blu-ray release. No digital release anywhere, Vudu has a listing for it.

It's to bad this film has never seen a legit digital release either physically or digitally because the music in it is holding it up.

[AnamorphicWidescreen]

Replacing any of the pop/rock songs in LFMG would be a mistake & would alter the film to a great extent; the music of the era was critical for establishing the mood/feel/vibe of the movie. I would rather the film never gets released on DVD/Blu vs. releasing this with music replacements.

Originally Posted by Aunt Peg

I'd just like to add that LFMG hasn't been released anywhere in the world on DVD or Blu Ray.

Thanks for the clarification.

[Nicage22]

Originally Posted by Aclea

Goodbar apparently also has the problem that one of the artists hates their song being associated with the film and reportedly won't cut a deal at any price.

I wonder which song and artist that is. Talk about being a spoilsport. What kind of square weirdo don't want to be associated with a film of this quality?

I know this sounds naive, but all the artists/labels involved should give their music for free and let this film be released. They don't need to make it public.

[AnamorphicWidescreen]

Originally Posted by Nicage22

I wonder which song and artist that is. Talk about being a spoilsport. What kind of square weirdo don't want to be associated with a film of this quality?

I know this sounds naive, but all the artists/labels involved should give their music for free and let this film be released. They don't need to make it public.

I agree that this would be great, but it'll never happen. I would also like to see LFMGB released with all of the original music intact, but given that greedy artists don't want to give movie companies the permission to re-use their music (even though the music was initially used when the movie was released) movies like this will either stay in limbo forever, or be released with different/edited music.

Again, I would rather not see this come out at all, than released with any of the original music modified/edited/replaced. Sure, the streams out there are of crappy quality - but, at least you can see the film unedited.

[cupboy]

And of course there is the crappy laserdisc. It's way worse than any other laserdisc ever made. I wonder what went wrong there. I should have snagged the Beta Hi-Fi version when I had a chance. It was on good TDK tape. Rented it then the store offered the Betas for sale later.

[disco1979]

Originally Posted by Nicage22

I wonder which song and artist that is. Talk about being a spoilsport. What kind of square weirdo don't want to be associated with a film of this quality?

I know this sounds naive, but all the artists/labels involved should give their music for free and let this film be released. They don't need to make it public.

I am going to go out on a limb and suggest that it could be Donna Summer's estate holding up the rights. A few years after Goodbar came out, Summer became a Born Again Christian and for a long time wouldn't sing her hit song Love to Love You Baby. She moved away from the sexy disco queen persona that made her famous. Apparently she was asked to do a song for the film 54 (presumably Love On and On which she recorded but ended up being a B-side for another Summer tune) but Summer didn't like the film's content. When her '80s albums were reissued by Demon Music Group a few years ago, DMG made a subsidiary label called Driven by the Music, so that the word "Demon" wouldn't appear on the reissues, out of respect for Summer's religious beliefs.

I wonder if Summer's estate, abiding by Summer's wishes, no longer want to be associated with the film because of its sexual content and graphic violence.

It's definitely not Marlena Shaw since she still sings the theme song (or did some years back as she included it on a live album).

[AnamorphicWidescreen]

You could be partially correct about DS's estate holding up the rights due to the music. However, I suspect the problem is more far reaching than that - and also involves much/most of the other music in the film. I.e., Goodbar featured a lot of rock/pop music of the era - not just the DS song(s). So, given that we know copyrights to rock/pop music have held up film/TV releases in the past, I believe that it's probably more than 1 of the artists who are holding up this release.

Without confirmation from "the powers that be", however- this is sheer speculation on my part.

[badrose]

I watched it on YOUTUBE not too long ago.

[eiga_bot]

Originally Posted by AnamorphicWidescreen

To me, the book & film is really about the sexual revolution of the 1960's/1970's. The main character (Diane Keaton) didn't want to fall into the "traditional" role of getting married, settling down, and being a housewife - probably because that's what her parents wanted her to do. Her behavior was an act of rebellion to a large extent

I saw LFMG in the theater in Dec. 1977, and your analysis is spot on. The key moment is when Keaton's character says, in response to her mom's concern that her single life is making her lonely: "I'm not lonely, I'm alone!"

Anyway, a great movie and count me among those who would love to see it released on blu-ray.

[deepseababy]

Originally Posted by AnamorphicWidescreen

You could be partially correct about DS's estate holding up the rights due to the music. However, I suspect the problem is more far reaching than that - and also involves much/most of the other music in the film. I.e., Goodbar featured a lot of rock/pop music of the era - not just the DS song(s). So, given that we know copyrights to rock/pop music have held up film/TV releases in the past, I believe that it's probably more than 1 of the artists who are holding up this release.

Without confirmation from "the powers that be", however- this is sheer speculation on my part.

How unfair of her. Just because her current religious whim necessitates a certain kind of distance from the transgressive themes of Goodbar doesn't mean it should be censored or off limits to legions of fans and potential fans who want to discover the film as a kind of time capsule of a crucial era of history (the demise of the disco scene, the rapidly growing women's liberation movement, Richard Gere in a jockstrap). In all seriousness, though, this kind of protectionism and power held by companies/estates/artists over something that should basically be freely available to the public drives me mad.

That is if this the case, though, and it's not just a relatively simple matter of an too-expensive soundtrack.

Ugh, I hope a resolution can be reached, cause I had to suffer the awful quality of the YouTube upload...I was desperate to watch the film, and it was everything I thought it would be, but that's a whole other matter.

[danny24]

Originally Posted by AnamorphicWidescreen

You could be partially correct about DS's estate holding up the rights due to the music. However, I suspect the problem is more far reaching than that - and also involves much/most of the other music in the film. I.e., Goodbar featured a lot of rock/pop music of the era - not just the DS song(s). So, given that we know copyrights to rock/pop music have held up film/TV releases in the past, I believe that it's probably more than 1 of the artists who are holding up this release.

Without confirmation from "the powers that be", however- this is sheer speculation on my part.

This is so odd they released a soundtrack for the film and it had a Vinyl version and the VHS was released. I think there could be something going on with music rights issues around DVD, BD and Digital. All of those were settled for VHS, Vinyl, LD, CD, and tape but not newer formats. This is likely something for an experienced attorney that deals with these rights issues and settles them. Whatever it is with this movie not seeing DVD, BD or Digital it's got to be complicated to have gone on this long. I hope they resolve it and it gets a release.

[AnamorphicWidescreen]

Your guess is as good as mine re: exactly why LFMG hasn't gotten a modern home video release yet - though, it's obvious that the copyright issues have a lot to do with this. This was a critically acclaimed film & I suspect even younger film fans who haven't seen this have at least heard of the movie & have an idea of the storyline; plus, the novel is out there and I know some have read this (I read the novel long before seeing the film). So, there's no reason LFMG wouldn't have at least gotten a DVD release at some point in the past 23 years (since the inception of DVD) - unless something significant was holding this up.

Just because the film was released to VHS & LD with all of the original music intact (which is what I think happened, but can't confirm because I don't have either release) & just because a movie soundtrack album was also released - that doesn't mean that a modern home video (DVD/Blu) can be released without an issue. Without knowing much about these things, I strongly suspect that back in the day home video releases occurred without a lot of concern over copyrights re: music/songs, etc. However, once DVD releases of older TV shows/movies started getting popular in the 200X's, for some reason the music that was initially used was looked at more carefully & these greedy copyright holders correctly felt they could get some money out of the deal. So, to the detriment of fans like us who want these releases completely intact (with all of the original music, etc.), these releases are being held up...or, even worse - they're being released with the music changed/modified.

What's interesting about all this is that the movies/TV shows that included this music back in the '70's/'80's/and even '90's to some extent (when these were initially released) obviously got copyright permission for the songs at that time, and/or paid whatever fees they needed to secure the copyright. And, I suspect these fees weren't astronomical at the time - or it wouldn't have been worth it to the producers/distributors of the TV shows/films to use said music.

[danny24]

Originally Posted by AnamorphicWidescreen

However, once DVD releases of older TV shows/movies started getting popular in the 200X's, for some reason the music that was initially used was looked at more carefully & these greedy copyright holders correctly felt they could get some money out of the deal. So, to the detriment of fans like us who want these releases completely intact (with all of the original music, etc.), these releases are being held up...or, even worse - they're being released with the music changed/modified.

I would be ok with the some of the music being changed/modified if it means getting a Blu-ray/Digital release. So we have the opening credits, some bar scenes, and bedroom scenes, etc that all use music in the film. As long as it doesn't take to much away from the movie I would be fine with it. Of course this is all pure speculation on what is holding up a modern home video release. It could be something else entirely we have no idea of or it could be simply that Paramount has no interest in releasing it and there are no ties or hold up just Paramount being Paramount.

[dkelly26666]

Originally Posted by cupboy

Looks like Vudu is in the process of listing this. I can find it but not view it. HDX is listed and standard def. The trailer is there.

Maybe Criterion or someone will finally get this out someday.

There was a 25 year hold up on Nicolas Roeg's "Bad Timing" ever seeing a home video release of any kind. Finally, Criterion released it in 2005. On that disc, Nicolas Roeg confirms that it was simply a music track used in one sequence, combined with his own stubborn refusal to alter the soundtrack, combined with the film's lack of commercial popularity, that kept it off the market. No label saw the film as being worth trying to sort that music dispute out. Finally, somehow, with the passing of time, Criterion was finally able to get everyone on the same page, and they finally released the film to DVD.

[danny24]

Originally Posted by dkelly26666

Maybe Criterion or someone will finally get this out someday.

There was a 25 year hold up on Nicolas Roeg's "Bad Timing" ever seeing a home video release of any kind. Finally, Criterion released it in 2005. On that disc, Nicolas Roeg confirms that it was simply a music track used in one sequence, combined with his own stubborn refusal to alter the soundtrack, combined with the film's lack of commercial popularity, that kept it off the market. No label saw the film as being worth trying to sort that music dispute out. Finally, somehow, with the passing of time, Criterion was finally able to get everyone on the same page, and they finally released the film to DVD.

This film would be perfect for Criterion.