Fun City Editions

[gimmeshelter]

The blu-ray.com review of JEREMY is yet another glowing recommendation, although I found this line in the review a little off: "and the introduction of a physical relationship for the pair breaking the honeyed mood of the feature, finding Barron suddenly focused on nudity with an ill-advised tonal detour that borders on softcore nonsense."

Did he see a different cut of the movie than I did? When I think of 'softcore' I think of, I dunno, Harry Novak? Maybe his definition is different than mine.

[jah13]

Yes, I was a bit confused by that bit in the review as well. Chalk it up, I guess, to "we'll agree to disagree."

I think there are some contemporary viewers (and, reviewers, too, I suppose) whose hackles will go up at the very whisper or hint of onscreen teenage sexuality. Neither the love scene or the ending ever struck me as forced or shoehorned into the screenplay and the love scene always seemed sensitively-handled to me and PG-rated, befitting its actual PG rating.

Originally Posted by gimmeshelter

The blu-ray.com review of JEREMY is yet another glowing recommendation, although I found this line in the review a little off: "and the introduction of a physical relationship for the pair breaking the honeyed mood of the feature, finding Barron suddenly focused on nudity with an ill-advised tonal detour that borders on softcore nonsense."

Did he see a different cut of the movie than I did? When I think of 'softcore' I think of, I dunno, Harry Novak? Maybe his definition is different than mine.

[JupiterMission]

Question for Jah: Will "Smile" be available for pre-order during the Vinegar Syndrome Halfway to Black Friday sale, or will it still not be available until April 1st?

[indravayu]

Watched ALPHABET CITY for the first time last night - what a cool, stylish gangster flick! Almost like a junior, Italian CARLITO'S WAY. I loved the cinematography and music!

[jah13]

Fingers crossed, yes, April 1.

Originally Posted by JupiterMission

Question for Jah: Will "Smile" be available for pre-order during the Vinegar Syndrome Halfway to Black Friday sale, or will it still not be available until April 1st?

[jah13]

Nice! Sure, a CARLITO'S WAY comp can't hurt.

I think the music and cinematography, in addition to production design, are probably AC's strongest assets.

Originally Posted by indravayu

Watched ALPHABET CITY for the first time last night - what a cool, stylish gangster flick! Almost like a junior, Italian CARLITO'S WAY. I loved the cinematography and music!

[iamnoone]

I'm thrilled "Jeremy" is doing well for you. It's a true gem, and it's great to see it being discovered, or rediscovered by so many.

May I suggest another coming-of-age film, also from MGM, that is highly overlooked. I don't think it's quite as good as "Jeremy", but it's still a very solid realistic drama of teenage youth that deserves a bigger audience. And it may not be that difficult price-wise to secure rights from MGM considering it's somewhat forgotten.

"OUR WINNING SEASON" (1978) starring Scott Jacoby ('Bad Ronald') and Dennis Quaid (a year before he hit it big with "Breaking Away"), Deborah Benson, and a supporting role by P.J. Soles. It's a coming-of-age drama of high school senior friends, the main character a struggling high school track athlete, and how they grow up and move apart as high school nears its end, and even touches on the Vietnam War. A solid little drama.

Directed by Joseph Ruben (Joyride '77, The Stepfather).

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078047/reference

[Jobla]

I also recall Jan Smithers (who was Bailey Quarters on WKRP CINCINNATI) being in OUR WINNING SEASON.

[jah13]

Thanks, iamnoone. Good cast and a good director.

Originally Posted by iamnoone

I'm thrilled "Jeremy" is doing well for you. It's a true gem, and it's great to see it being discovered, or rediscovered by so many.

May I suggest another coming-of-age film, also from MGM, that is highly overlooked. I don't think it's quite as good as "Jeremy", but it's still a very solid realistic drama of teenage youth that deserves a bigger audience. And it may not be that difficult price-wise to secure rights from MGM considering it's somewhat forgotten.

"OUR WINNING SEASON" (1978) starring Scott Jacoby ('Bad Ronald') and Dennis Quaid (a year before he hit it big with "Breaking Away"), Deborah Benson, and a supporting role by P.J. Soles. It's a coming-of-age drama of high school senior friends, the main character a struggling high school track athlete, and how they grow up and move apart as high school nears its end, and even touches on the Vietnam War. A solid little drama.

Directed by Joseph Ruben (Joyride '77, The Stepfather).

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078047/reference

[defile959]

So just based on the little bit that I know about the film, on the surface level Jeremy doesn't seem like it would be my bag. But given how much praise it's getting and how much I've enjoyed Alphabet City and I Start Counting, I think I'm going to have to add it to my next VS shipment.

On a tangentially related note, there is a documentary premiering at SXSW this week that briefly discusses and shares a clip from I Start Counting. I suspect more folks may be seeking that one out soon too!

[jah13]

We certainly appreciate your taking a chance on it...hopefully it surprises you in the right ways.

Yes, the documentary is Kier-La Janisse's WOODLANDS DARK AND DAYS BEWITCHED, very much looking forward to seeing it. Kier-La is a friend of Fun City.

Originally Posted by defile959

So just based on the little bit that I know about the film, on the surface level Jeremy doesn't seem like it would be my bag. But given how much praise it's getting and how much I've enjoyed Alphabet City and I Start Counting, I think I'm going to have to add it to my next VS shipment.

On a tangentially related note, there is a documentary premiering at SXSW this week that briefly discusses and shares a clip from I Start Counting. I suspect more folks may be seeking that one out soon too!

[SpaceBlackKnight]

JAH13, would Fun City be willing to take on the remaining Woody Allen titles MGM has available? I heard MGM had licenced Manhattan, Annie Hall, Hannah and Her Sisters, and Sleeper to someone a while back; the former two with 4k masters completed by MGM, while the other label were working on 4k scans for the the latter two. Not sure if whoever had them are still planning to release them, given Woody Allen's recent controversies.

I also heard MGM were offering up the remaining WA titles that were previously licenced to Twilight Time, but no one is willing to go near them due to what is said to be "obvious reasons" (also heard Allen won't allow new extras to be produced for some reason).

[Yami]

Originally Posted by gimmeshelter

The blu-ray.com review of JEREMY is yet another glowing recommendation, although I found this line in the review a little off: "and the introduction of a physical relationship for the pair breaking the honeyed mood of the feature, finding Barron suddenly focused on nudity with an ill-advised tonal detour that borders on softcore nonsense."

Did he see a different cut of the movie than I did? When I think of 'softcore' I think of, I dunno, Harry Novak? Maybe his definition is different than mine.

Well, there's certainly nonsense somewhere... There's what, maybe 10-seconds of 'nudity' that's choreographed so you don't really see anything? And then it doesn't happen again. Is that really a 'focus'?!

I went through the FCE Blu-Ray last night and thought that it was really terrific. It's a low-key film that thrives because of the chemistry between its leads, which gives it an authenticity that I've only really found comparable in Roy Andersson's A Swedish Love Story and another Scandinavian coming-of-age drama - Nils Malmros' later Tree of Knowledge (which has shockingly never been released here, so if FCE are looking for any world cinema...).

Jeremy is a pretty perfect film on its own terms. I think the fact that it does what it says on the tin, without any artiface or manufactured conflict, has led it to being somewhat forgotten today as it has been drowned out by the noise. Hopefully the FCE release will help rectify that - the restoration is excellent, the encoding is flawless and the extras are all worthwhile. Especially the interview with Benson and O'Connor, who clearly still have a lot of affection for the film and its production. It would have been nice to get them together as well - over Zoom if not in person - to see where the conversation led, but I suppose its possible that they didn't want to do that.

[defile959]

Originally Posted by jah13

We certainly appreciate your taking a chance on it...hopefully it surprises you in the right ways.

Yes, the documentary is Kier-La Janisse's WOODLANDS DARK AND DAYS BEWITCHED, very much looking forward to seeing it. Kier-La is a friend of Fun City.

Order placed! And yes, that was the documentary I was (admittedly obliquely) referring to. I've been excited about it for a while, and it definitely delivers.

[jah13]

Well said, Yami and thanks. I've read a comparison to A SWEDISH LOVE STORY somewhere else in recent days (perhaps it was you). I've seen other Roy Anderrsson, but not that one, nor the Malmros film. Appreciate the insight and the tips.

We were lucky to get Glynnis and Robby on camera just before the world shut down and they gave us over 3 hours altogether...don't think I could ask them for an additional Zoom session. Was tough to cut down all that footage and then respond to myriad edits from the studio. All told, though, I'm very pleased with how the final interview turned out. It seems like it's elevated some people's experience of the film overall. We've posted outtakes on our YouTube channel.

Originally Posted by Yami

Well, there's certainly nonsense somewhere... There's what, maybe 10-seconds of 'nudity' that's choreographed so you don't really see anything? And then it doesn't happen again. Is that really a 'focus'?!

I went through the FCE Blu-Ray last night and thought that it was really terrific. It's a low-key film that thrives because of the chemistry between its leads, which gives it an authenticity that I've only really found comparable in Roy Andersson's A Swedish Love Story and another Scandinavian coming-of-age drama - Nils Malmros' later Tree of Knowledge (which has shockingly never been released here, so if FCE are looking for any world cinema...).

Jeremy is a pretty perfect film on its own terms. I think the fact that it does what it says on the tin, without any artiface or manufactured conflict, has led it to being somewhat forgotten today as it has been drowned out by the noise. Hopefully the FCE release will help rectify that - the restoration is excellent, the encoding is flawless and the extras are all worthwhile. Especially the interview with Benson and O'Connor, who clearly still have a lot of affection for the film and its production. It would have been nice to get them together as well - over Zoom if not in person - to see where the conversation led, but I suppose its possible that they didn't want to do that.

[jah13]

I've been more focused on things that haven't come out yet, at least on Blu, so the Allen titles--even without the recent bad press--were not immediately on my radar. I'm guessing it might be a little while before anyone goes all in on Woody or just releases a couple or three of the prime titles.

Originally Posted by SpaceBlackKnight

JAH13, would Fun City be willing to take on the remaining Woody Allen titles MGM has available? I heard MGM had licenced Manhattan, Annie Hall, Hannah and Her Sisters, and Sleeper to someone a while back; the former two with 4k masters completed by MGM, while the other label were working on 4k scans for the the latter two. Not sure if whoever had them are still planning to release them, given Woody Allen's recent controversies.

I also heard MGM were offering up the remaining WA titles that were previously licenced to Twilight Time, but no one is willing to go near them due to what is said to be "obvious reasons" (also heard Allen won't allow new extras to be produced for some reason).

[gimmeshelter]

Originally Posted by jah13

It seems like it's elevated some people's experience of the film overall.

Absolutely, for me. I liked JEREMY but not as much as the 1st 2 FCE releases, but this interview (plus the commentary track) really deepened my appreciation of the film proper. Literally one of the best special features I've watched on any release in recent memory.

[Gacivory]

Originally Posted by SpaceBlackKnight

JAH13, would Fun City be willing to take on the remaining Woody Allen titles MGM has available? I heard MGM had licenced Manhattan, Annie Hall, Hannah and Her Sisters, and Sleeper to someone a while back; the former two with 4k masters completed by MGM, while the other label were working on 4k scans for the the latter two. Not sure if whoever had them are still planning to release them, given Woody Allen's recent controversies.

I also heard MGM were offering up the remaining WA titles that were previously licenced to Twilight Time, but no one is willing to go near them due to what is said to be "obvious reasons" (also heard Allen won't allow new extras to be produced for some reason).

Allen has never really allowed extras. He doesn’t like them.

[bergman864]

I'm glad you're still focusing on never on Blu-ray titles. I don't mind if a company wants to release a better version of a previously released title every once a while. I just don't want a company to do nothing but re-release previous hits, especially in versions that are only slightly better.

I know at the moment you guys only release once a month. It'd be a shame if that one title was something that's already been released multiple times.

[locomotive]

Say fun city what about

Beyond the law /chasing the shadow 1992

Killer soundtrack

Saigon kick - bodybags
Asphalt ballet - hells kitchen my soul survives
Chris rea - road to hell working on it

And don't forget a real good movie


And masters of menace 1990

Good cast fun comedy