Fans of Sean Connery, Sidney Lumet and great films please read about THE OFFENCE!

[McCrutchy]

OK, so I posted this in "Off Topic Discussion" before and not surprisingly, it got buried. Please everybody, there has got to be at least a few other people here who WANT to see this film. This is a slightly truncated version of my original post, and I hope since this is the "Movies and TV Discussion" thread, that it will get slightly more attention. It has since been moved to the wish list thread.

So far, thirty-one people have signed both on here, on High Def Digest, and on IMDb.

Again, If anybody has any advice on how to do this type of thing, more effectively, I'd appreciate that too.

Thanks,
McCrutchy

P.S. Sorry to be so annoying.

About two years ago I came across a film called The Offence, a 1972 Sidney Lumet film which marked his second pairing with Sean Connery. Connery plays Detective Sergeant Johnson, a veteran of the British police who is haunted by the atrocities he has seen in his career. When a suspect, Kenneth Baxter (Ian Bannen, in a BAFTA-Nominated role) is brought in for questioning concerning a series of child murders, Johnson takes the job and, over the course of the interview, grows increasingly irate over Baxter's demeanor and increasingly certain over Baxter's guilt. Finally Johnson's rage boils over and he snaps and beats Baxter to death. The question is: what Detective Sergeant Johnson to kill, and is his sanity beginning to slip? Vivien Merchant and the great Trevor Howard (of Brief Encounter fame) also star in the film.

From what little there is about the film, it seems that it was made as part of a deal that Connery made with United Artists, that contingent upon his return as James Bond in Diamonds Are Forever, UA would finance two projects of the actor's choosing, the first of which was The Offence. However, even with a low budget, the film failed to return a profit at the US box office and thus missed out on many large theatrical markets (such as France, where it premiered in 2007). Art house fans will know that simply because a film makes little money in the US doesn't mean that the film is not a worthy one, and indeed, it is a very dark, complex, psychological drama which deserves much appreciation.

Having said that, this film seems to have been lost to history right now. It never even saw a DVD release in the States despite being directed by one of America's most talented auteurs, and starring one of the most internationally well-known stars of the 20th Century. The UK has seen two separate DVD releases, one by MGM UK in 2004 (now OOP) and one by Optimum Home Entertainment 2008, both of which were barebones, without even a trailer.

I truly feel that the way this film has been treated is unfair, and that it should at the very least see a caring DVD release, if not Blu-ray. A few months back I created a petition online to help gather support for this film, and so far it has garnered ten signatures including myself.

IMDb link for The Offence

Amazon.co.uk link for the 2008 R2 DVD

Please sign my petition to get the film released on DVD and Blu-ray!

[mjbethancourt]

I will run this one by my acquaintances in the DVD distribution business and see what they know about it... they may even be in a position to pick it up.

[koontz1973]

This is a great film. Saw it on TV and in the cinema. Tried to sign but could not get link to work. Will try later.

[McCrutchy]

Originally Posted by mjbethancourt

I will run this one by my acquaintances in the DVD distribution business and see what they know about it... they may even be in a position to pick it up.

Thanks so much! I believe the US rights to pre-1986 MGM/UA films still lie with Warner Home Video, but I'm not sure. Whoever owns it doesn't seem to care about releasing it, so maybe they will license it to a specialty label.

[McCrutchy]

Updated the film's Wikipedia Entry with a link to the similar post about my petition I made upon joining HDD.

EDIT: This is becoming like my personal crusade, how sad.

[Secretagentnumber6]

Signed it for you. I really hope it gets released becuse you have made me very interested in it.

[cajmoyper]

I'm incredibly surprised a movie like this wouldn't be released even on DVD. Was it on VHS at all? Anyways, I signed it.

[McCrutchy]

Originally Posted by cajmoyper

I'm incredibly surprised a movie like this wouldn't be released even on DVD. Was it on VHS at all? Anyways, I signed it.

Yes, I was released on VHS in PAL AND NTSC countries. The US VHS (apparently last produced in 1998) was handled by MGM/UA.

The film has been released on barebones DVD in the UK twice, and at least once in Australia, and according to Amazon.com, was released in NTSC on DVD (in Full Screen) by MGM in Latin America (Region 4), but I don't know how much I trust that listing.

Thanks for your support!

[McCrutchy]

Originally Posted by mjbethancourt

I will run this one by my acquaintances in the DVD distribution business and see what they know about it... they may even be in a position to pick it up.

Did anything ever come of this? Just wondering.

EDIT: A Breakthrough! Someone has updated the film's Wikipedia entry to show that it is now available for rental and purchase from the US iTunes Store and Amazon Video on Demand!