Kino Lorber Studio Classics

[BarnDoor]

Ah so those Dr Who titles were with StudioCanal in the US after all. Presumably the remaining two 60s SC titles are Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. and Stiletto.

Originally Posted by DukeTogo84

Interesting that we are getting specs on July titles. We haven't even gotten the June titles specs yet right?

Unless something has changed, we're still waiting on the identity of 4 solo Universal titles to be released in June.

[cjamescook]

I make a lot of blind buys (90% are movies I have never seen) during Kino's sales. I'm grateful for the sales for this reason, and I hope Kino is happy that the product finds a good, receptive viewer, albeit at a less-than-wished-for profit. But better that than collecting dust or being consigned to the recycling bin.

[Jaymole]

I already have the UK Dr Who but I will double dip for the extra features as I always want to support KINO releases.

[El_Fez]

Attention Kino! If Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D is in the works (and how can it not be), please, please, PLEASE fix the cold opening and put it back where it's suppose to be. The movie is not suppose to go Credits -> Bank Robbery -> Rest of the movie, but Bank Robbery -> Opening Credits -> Rest of the movie.

Every single release on DVD (and, as far as I know Blu) has screwed this up - and you can totally tell that the flow of the movie isn't right.

[Aclea]

Originally Posted by Professor Echo

I watched FUZZ from 1972, which was not technically a blind buy as I had seen it first run when I was 13, but I didn’t remember much about it. Having watched the great 1960’s US television series 87th PRECINCT on DVD, it was nice to revisit with Ed McBain’s cop world again in FUZZ, but I can’t say the film added up to much in the end. There are some great scenes, some very funny moments and a nice sort of cosmos to the denouement, but on the whole it just didn’t gel for me.

One thing that maybe our resident behind the scenes film historian Aclea can elaborate on is why Burt Reynolds, despite being credited first, ultimately ended up with what amounted to be a supporting part and how Raquel Welch was relegated to practically doing nothing. She disappears for much of the film and her last scene comes out of nowhere, seemingly tacked on just to remind us she was in the movie. I’ve read that her and Reynolds did not get along, stemming from an incident of Burt saying something offensive while they both filmed 100 RIFLES years earlier. Supposedly she told everyone she would not even make eye contact with Reynolds should they have any scenes together in FUZZ, which they really don’t anyway. I remember from the time how incensed she was by the FUZZ ad campaign which portrayed her as being scantily clad in the movie. The ads also replicated Burt’s centerfold which had absolutely nothing to do with the movie, of course, but was the talk of the town back then. Anyway, hey Aclea, got any further dirt to dish on this one?

It was just one of those films that was a misfire from start to finish, crawling from development Hell to post-production Hell via occassionally uncomfortable shoot. Reynolds still hadn't made the leap to big star (the centrefold came out three months before the film opened, which was why the ad campaign was tailored to cash in on it and Reynolds' played up) and Welch was drafted in for a couple of weeks to add some star power (at a huge salary for the day, though still refused to do a cheesecake underwear scene) while Brynner was his usual cheerful, happy-go-lucky self: the intention seemed to be a M*A*S*H-like ensemble piece rather than a star vehicle, originally with Brian De Palma directing, but it ended up more M*E*S*S. My thoughts:

From the file marked ‘It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time,’ 1972’s Fuzz is a dreary and shambolically unfocused attempt to turn Ed McBain’s 87th Precinct novels into M*A*S*H with cops (it even casts one of Altman’s cast, Tom Skerritt). Despite McBain scripting it himself (as Evan Hunter), it’s even less successful than the other ill-fated attempts to transfer the series to the screen. There’s surprisingly little interaction between the various plot strands (Yul Brynner’s deaf extortionist killing city officials, Charlie Martin Smith setting tramps on fire, Raquel Welch acting as decoy for a rapist) or even the cast: indeed, such was Burt Reynolds and Raquel Welch’s mutual loathing that they’re rarely in the same shot or scene. Neither of them has much to do or makes any real impression, with only Jack Weston briefly rising above the material.

For most of the running time the closest it gets to a unifying element is an annoying pair of painters who get far too much screen time to act as wisecracking Greek chorus on the chaos in the squad room until the crimes end up accidentally converging and solving themselves in an underwhelming finale, an idea that Johnny To handled much better in PTU. Throughout, Richard Colla’s bland TV style direction keeps things loose and uninteresting. Still, if you’ve ever wanted to see Burt as a nun (complete with ‘tache), knock yourself out…

[Professor Echo]

^^^

I knew I could count on you, Aclea. Thanks for the background info and cogent review.

(Incidentally, if you ever want to see a damn good filmed adaptation of McBain’s universe, pick up the U.S. DVD of the 1961-62 television series, 87th PRECINCT. It’s very well done with some episodes based on the novels and some original teleplays by McBain himself. The cast is stellar. Sure, some changes were made from the source materials and unfortunately most of the series was shot on the backlot, but the writing and acting is so good, it transcends all the inherent limitations. The DVD transfers are not restored, but the episodes are uncut and very watchable. I highly recommend it!).

[gimmeshelter]

FYI Diabolik already has some of the late April Kinos in stock. I had pre-ordered CAPER OF THE GOLDEN BULLS from them and it's already shipped; I think the release date is 4/28. SECRET CEREMONY and SUPERNATURAL are already in stock as well.

[BarnDoor]

No real surprise, but Kim Newman has confirmed that he's also recorded a commentary for Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D, so presumably that will be announced very soon, probably tomorrow.

[captveg]

Originally Posted by DukeTogo84

Interesting that we are getting specs on July titles. We haven't even gotten the June titles specs yet right?

It's possible their release schedule is seeing some shifts due to the whole process of home video being disrupted and having to make adjustments.

[Zygmunt22]

Interesting news on the Wade Williams front...according to Dawn of the Discs, Film Detective will be releasing pressed blus of

Glen or Glenda
Jail Bait
Bride of the Monster
Night of the Ghouls
The Haunted World of Edward D. Wood, Jr.
Giant from the Unknown

Dawn also stated that a different, unidentified, label has licensed Plan Nine from Outer Space.

To refresh, awhile back Kino went to great lengths to secure a deal with Williams but were unable to see it come to pass. My guess is Kino is NOT the label that has Plan Nine, as I would assume they would have licensed all these films and not just one...BUT I wonder if this means KLSC will have another, more successful opportunity to pick up some of Williams's titles. I could be way off, but I can't see Film Detective having the pockets deep enough to license everything he owns.

[Westhille]

Originally Posted by Aclea

It was just one of those films that was a misfire from start to finish, crawling from development Hell to post-production Hell via occassionally uncomfortable shoot. Reynolds still hadn't made the leap to big star (the centrefold came out three months before the film opened, which was why the ad campaign was tailored to cash in on it and Reynolds' played up) and Welch was drafted in for a couple of weeks to add some star power (at a huge salary for the day, though still refused to do a cheesecake underwear scene) while Brynner was his usual cheerful, happy-go-lucky self: the intention seemed to be a M*A*S*H-like ensemble piece rather than a star vehicle, originally with Brian De Palma directing, but it ended up more M*E*S*S. My thoughts:

From the file marked ‘It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time,’ 1972’s Fuzz is a dreary and shambolically unfocused attempt to turn Ed McBain’s 87th Precinct novels into M*A*S*H with cops (it even casts one of Altman’s cast, Tom Skerritt). Despite McBain scripting it himself (as Evan Hunter), it’s even less successful than the other ill-fated attempts to transfer the series to the screen. There’s surprisingly little interaction between the various plot strands (Yul Brynner’s deaf extortionist killing city officials, Charlie Martin Smith setting tramps on fire, Raquel Welch acting as decoy for a rapist) or even the cast: indeed, such was Burt Reynolds and Raquel Welch’s mutual loathing that they’re rarely in the same shot or scene. Neither of them has much to do or makes any real impression, with only Jack Weston briefly rising above the material.

For most of the running time the closest it gets to a unifying element is an annoying pair of painters who get far too much screen time to act as wisecracking Greek chorus on the chaos in the squad room until the crimes end up accidentally converging and solving themselves in an underwhelming finale, an idea that Johnny To handled much better in PTU. Throughout, Richard Colla’s bland TV style direction keeps things loose and uninteresting. Still, if you’ve ever wanted to see Burt as a nun (complete with ‘tache), knock yourself out…

That's a spot-on review. I was excited to watch the Kino Blu when I picked it up last year since I had never seen the movie before and the cast is loaded with actors I love (the transfer is very good, BTW) but it's really disjointed with islands of scenes that are entertaining, but the film as a whole doesn't connect at all. As an aside, watch for an entertaining turn by Burt Remsen in a couple of scenes (Grandpa from TerrorVision) as the desk sergeant.

[sonicyogurt]

Originally Posted by noirjunkie

I'm not sure about this, so hopefully someone with more knowledge can clarify, but aren't the listed titles in the public domain? If so, the Film Detective wouldn't need to work with He Who Shall Not Be Named at all.

From a letter sent to Tom Weaver:

Dear Tom,
I own the following pictures of Ed Wood's, universally and in perpetuity:

1. GLEN OR GLENDA- I bought the rights from the estate of the producer George Weiss. The rights to the film were originally bought by Warren Beatty from Weiss in a release deal with Paramount Pictures. The rights reverted back to the producers estate when Paramount declined to re-license the picture. Weiss was deceased and his widow was brutally murdered in Florida while washing clothes . The estate was being sold by the trustee and I tracked down and bought the rights, universally and in perpetuity. Paramount forwarded the negative. The picture is not in the Public Domain, and the copyright was renewed. I own all rights including remake and stage. There is a 35MM negative vaulted.

2. BRIDE OF THE MONSTER- I acquired the rights from the heirs and estate of the late Sidney Barton attorney. He was an investor and silent partner with the producer and acquired the rights to the film from the producer in lieu of a substantial sum of money owed Barton by the producer. The film is not in the Public Domain and I own all rights including remake universally and in perpetuity.

3. JAIL BAIT- I bought the rights from HOWCO PICTURES, the owners in Charlotte, North Carolina, universally and in perpetuity along with BRAIN FROM PLANET AROUS and TEENAGE MONSTER.

4. PLAN NINE FROM OUTER SPACE- I bought the rights from several people that claimed ownership, namely Kathy Wood (she owned nothing), Norma McCarty's, Ed Wood's widow, John Ettlinger MEDALLION FILMS who acquired the copyright, but had no 35MM elements. The film elements were finally located in Tulsa where they were stored. PLAN NINE is not PUBLIC DOMAIN and never has been. I have the negative, Fine Grain, spanish tracks plus the 16MM pix and track and Copyright Renewal and various assignments.

5. NIGHT OF THE GHOULS aka REVENGE OF THE DEAD- The film negative was pledged to an LA Film Lab for work (developing the negative, making a work print, sountrack negative, titles and opticals and an answer print). The producer could not find a sale for the picture, and did not pay the lab bill so the lab retained ownership of it under the title REVENGE OF THE DEAD. I bought the rights from Norma McCarty, Ed's widow and the film lab. The picture had never been released so I was the primary copyright owner when I released the film. I changed the title from REVENGE OF THE DEAD to Ed's favorite title- NIGHT OF THE GHOULS. This film is not Public Domain. The film was never released prior to my ownership and I own the copyright.

Not saying there’s any merit to that, but that is (or at least was) his argument. There’s also the issue of elements, I suppose. Public domain can be pretty messy and convoluted too.

[noirjunkie]

Originally Posted by sonicyogurt

Not saying there’s any merit to that, but that is (or at least was) his argument.

There's not. He has stated elsewhere that he honestly believes that if he buys anything resembling the original elements, he then owns the copyright to the actual film. And if that sounds asinine and flat-out wrong to you, you're not wrong. It's one of the many, many reasons why no one takes him seriously. At the very least, Plan 9 is in the public domain, and to claim that he owns the rights to it means nothing. It's hilarious that he claims to have bought the rights to it from several parties, including someone who didn't actually own anything. It just shows how convoluted and nonsensical his "logic" is.

[JasonMichael]

Whether he owns the copyright doesn't matter in this context. If he has original elements in good shape, it would be nice to have well-done releases from those sources. I will certainly pick them up if they are.

[barsalou]

Oh hell yes !! Bring on the Ed Wood !!

[jayembee]

Quite frankly, I don't know what to think about Wade Williams. He's fiercely protective of what he considers his property, he goes on unrelenting rants about the whole concept of the Public Domain being "legal" theft of intellectual property by the US government, and he (allegedly) wants excessive amounts of money to license his films.

If you have some time to spare, the following HTF thread from 2016 makes for fascinating reading: https://www.hometheaterforum.com/com...lliams.348711/

One of the more interesting comments by WW himself in that thread is:

I wanted CRITERION to release DETOUR 1945 on a double disc last year with the remake which is copyrighted but they were not interested apparently. That will be the only way I will release the original again with the original trailer. and an extra added feature about the making of both films and the two Tom Neals.

Of course, last year's Criterion release of Detour has absolutely no mention of Wade Williams in connection with the film, at least in any of the printed matter (particularly in the "About the Restoration" note in the booklet). I haven't watched the extras on the disc yet, but then, the docs are focused on Ulmer rather than the film itself.

On the plus side, I have to say that of the handful of Image Entertainment/Corinth Films DVDs I have of films from "the Wade Williams Collection", all of them are of very good quality.

[Reddington]

https://twitter.com/KLStudioClassic/...53365658750977

[Kino Lorber Insider]

Originally Posted by DukeTogo84

Interesting that we are getting specs on July titles. We haven't even gotten the June titles specs yet right?

The two Dr. Who films were originally scheduled for June 2nd.

[LeeFanatic007]

Really excited to see the two Dr. Who films being released. I saw these years ago from a library. but the DVDs have been OOP in the US for some time. I'll be getting these day 1!

[DukeTogo84]

Originally Posted by Kino Lorber Insider

The two Dr. Who films were originally scheduled for June 2nd.

Thanks for that. Now, the big question is if all June titles are moving to July or do we still expect them in June? Lots of titles I'm interested in from the June slate.