"Spenser"

[Skybird]

Does anyone know whether there are legal issues why this great series from the 80s is not released on DVD? Every piece of instant-braindeath gets published on DVD these days, every daily soap and every sitcom, but this series not?

I have most of the peisodes of all three seasons on VHS, in longplay, so the cvisual quality is not stunning,l but it is better than nothing. But I would like to have all three seasons with the original dubbing on DVD. Currently reading the Parker novels occaisonally, did not know that the author and the books were that much a cult, and that good and funny. "Spenser" was one of my most favurite TV series ever, and beside "The Professionals" the best in the crime categoy. I love it.

I know there are four movies available ("Spenser-For Hire") that were not part of the series, and a separate mini-series named "Hawk", focussing on the iconic Avery Brookes for a change. These are not what I am after. I mean the regular TV series.

Spenser also is one of the series that receioved extraordinary well-done German dubbing. The voices match the characters fantastically. That'S why I am really after the German version, not just the American original. I'm also simply used to these voices, and not to some others.

[Sailor Steve]

Don't know what to tell you. There may be TV stations somewhere that carry it, even somewhere in Germany. It's just not available on DVD right now. I have several complaints about great shows, mostly miniseries, that have never been made available.

[Torplexed]

Weird that those four Spenser movies are out on DVD, but the series itself is still MIA. :hmmm: Seems like anything from the 1980s would be a no-brainer to release just for the nostalgia factor.

[vienna]

I only watched a few episodes when it first aired. Did they use songs or other music that was contemporary as part of the soundtrack? Quite offten, that is the reason a lot of shows don't make it to DVD. While the visual right may be owned (in this case, I believe it is owned by a Warner Bros. division), the song rights are an entirely different matter. I once worked at a production company that produced TV movies and miniseries. The executive producer was very adamant about securing song/music rights "in perpetuity and in all formats existing and to be developed", as part of the contract read. Most producers, prior to the advent of VHS, just secued right for TV only, possibly for "new formats" and, quite often, for a set period of time. When DVDs came along, those older shows had to deal with songwriters, publishing companies, and, sometimes, musicians who saw the opportunity to boost their incomes by negotiating higher roayties for the use of their music. Most of the fees are very large in amount and DVD producers, not wanting to either reduce their take or raise prices that would discourage buyers, have balked at paying for the usage. The most classic case is "WKRP in Cincinatti" who used popular songs all through each of the shows in the series. The cost of licensing the music was so prohibitive, when the DVD of the first season was released a few years ago, almost all the music was generic compositions. The original sons were such a part of the show and its storylines, fans avoided the DVD in droves and compalined mightily...

So, if "Spenser" used a popular song in the titles or as part of the show, the lack of DVD issue may be due to licensing...

[Sailor Steve]

Thanks, Vienna, I didn't think of that. That happened to one of my favorite shows. Wiseguy. It came out on DVD with several song changes for that very reason, and has recieved a lot of complaints. They might be wishing they had never released it.

[vienna]

I know the feeling Sailor Steve...

One show I really looked forward to seeing on DVD was "The Equalizer". There apparently was no way to get the rights to the music from the composer, Stewart Copland (of the band "The Police"), so they threw in some quasi-Copeland music that sometimes didn't match the mood of the scenes. Itwasrather annoying in some places. AFAIK, there has only been a release of Season One with no further releases in sight...

[Platapus]

I am a big fan of the "Ellery Queen" series of the 70's. I waited years and years for it come out on DvD. Every time I looked at the DvD section of a store or looked at a catalog, I was amazed at the dreck that was being released on DvD but no EQ. :nope:

It finally came out and I got it, but I agree it seemed like every vapid show was released first.

But then, logically, for every series I can't stand, there are people waiting for it. To each his or her own I guess. :)

But why did it take so long for MY "each" to be released! :wah:

[vienna]

It reminds me of when DVDs first came out in the stores. I got a good laugh out of the video store clerk when I pointed out I could get "Dumb and Dumber", "Police Academy", and other such films, but "Lawrence of Arabia" was nowhere in sight... :DL

[frau kaleun]

but "Lawrence of Arabia" was nowhere in sight... :DL

And I was, at long last, *this* close to ordering the DVD when I got a Blu-ray player. Now I'm waiting for it on Blu-ray. :wah:

[vienna]

And I was, at long last, *this* close to ordering the DVD when I got a Blu-ray player. Now I'm waiting for it on Blu-ray. :wah:


That is really surprising. I would have thought "Lawrence" would have been a natural for a Blu-ray release given the newer HD very large screen TV/monitoer on the market today...

However, rejoice: "Dumber and Dumber" is available on Blu-ray...

(Let us pause now to note the futher decline of civilization...)

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i15/implantinfonet/emoticons-pray.gif

[frau kaleun]

That is really surprising. I would have thought "Lawrence" would have been a natural for a Blu-ray release given the newer HD very large screen TV/monitoer on the market today...

You and me both, brother. The sense... it makes none.

On the other hand maybe the delay is so they can put together some totally awesome special edition with documentaries and interviews and whatnot. One can only hope.

And I mean... never having seen it on the big screen... I can just imagine how awesome it would be on a nice-sized WS telly. Gives me the shivers, it does.

[stoppro]

I saw it with my father way back when. It was in ciemascope, big big screen .It was pretty intense. never forgot it. you sweat in the seat just watching everyone running around in the desert blowing up trains. it was an excellent movie. lawrence was .the bigger than life type.

[vienna]

The first time I saw "Lawrence" was in 1962, when it was first released. A fellow classmate's father was a projectionist in one of the finer theaters in San Francisco. He invited the both of us boys to come down to the theater to view the movie from the projection room. It was an awsome experience; not only did we see the film twice, we also got to observe the projectionists at work. I say projectionists plural because the print they had was in 70mm and the reels were enormous. It took two men to mount and dismount the reels from the projectors. The heat from the projectors, even though they had external venting, was quite high. But, when you're 11 years old, the adventure is worth it...

I also remember the film, its subject matter, and very long running time made it the butt of jokes. Bob Hope referred to "Lawrence" as "Four hours in a sand trap". At the theater I first viewed the film, the management set up a temporary soft drink station in the upstairs foyer of the balcony levels. Apparently, watching so much desert sand and heat worked up a considerable thirst in the patrons. At intermission time, there was such a crush of customers at the main refreshment stand, the theater had to improvise in order to meet the demand...

[frau kaleun]

The first time I saw "Lawrence" was in 1962, when it was first released. A fellow classmate's father was a projectionist in one of the finer theaters in San Francisco. He invited the both of us boys to come down to the theater to view the movie from the projection room. It was an awsome experience; not only did we see the film twice, we also got to observe the projectionists at work. I say projectionists plural because the print they had was in 70mm and the reels were enormous. It took two men to mount and dismount the reels from the projectors. The heat from the projectors, even though they had external venting, was quite high. But, when you're 11 years old, the adventure is worth it...

I also remember the film, its subject matter, and very long running time made it the butt of jokes. Bob Hope referred to "Lawrence" as "Four hours in a sand trap". At the theater I first viewed the film, the management set up a temporary soft drink station in the upstairs foyer of the balcony levels. Apparently, watching so much desert sand and heat worked up a considerable thirst in the patrons. At intermission time, there was such a crush of customers at the main refreshment stand, the theater had to improvise in order to meet the demand...

Now they have movies that seem almost that long but with no intermission... which I really hate. I remember finally having to get up and go to... er... powder my nose somewhere near the end of Return of the Kings, it was during the final battle stuff and Frodo getting to Mt. Doom so you know I was trying to make it through because I didn't want to miss any good stuff. I just couldn't wait any longer.

I don't know why they don't have intermissions any more for movies that are so long, are they worried that people will walk out at the intermission and not come back? Like it matters, once they've already sold the ticket. :hmmm:




Edit: you have also both now joined Sailor Steve on my Must Hate List. He saw the Beatles live, you guys saw LoA on the big screen.

If Steve comes in and says he also saw LoA on the big screen I'll have to make a whole new Must Hate Extra Hard list just for him. :haha:

[Skybird]

I do not like the Lawrence movie, I think it is both a boring and a misled movie.

Now what kind of list do you have to put me on? :D

[vienna]

I do not like the Lawrence movie, I think it is both a boring and a misled movie.

Now what kind of list do you have to put me on? :D


I suspect Frau has a special list for the like of you... :DL

[flatsixes]

Make room on your must hate list. I saw "Lawrence" on the big screen at The Fabulous Fox (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fox_Theatre_(Atlanta,_Georgia)) theater in Atlanta back in the mid-eighties. It'd been my favorite since I was a kid, and finally seeing it the way it was meant to be viewed was just mind-blowing. I remember that I went by myself, too. I didn't want to have to murder anyone for talking or eating or just breathing too loud, any one I liked, that is.

Back in the mid-90's I took my wife to see "Dr. Zhivago" on the big screen. It was good, but... well... it couldn't hold a candle to "Lawrence."

I cannot understand why these fabulous old films aren't shown in theaters more often. I mean, does the multiplex really need three of its screens for "Drunken Idiot Fart Jokes III?"

[frau kaleun]

I do not like the Lawrence movie, I think it is both a boring and a misled movie.

Now what kind of list do you have to put me on? :D

I suspect Frau has a special list for the like of you... :DL


Before I answer, I vill haf to zee hiz papers, bitte. :O:

[vienna]

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_S21ezYgaLw4/R4fKU1V3v_I/AAAAAAAAAGA/cVxMsVHFpbA/s400/CasablancaStrasserVictor.jpg

"Your papers please, Herr Laszlo..."



I cannot understand why these fabulous old films aren't shown in theaters more often. I mean, does the multiplex really need three of its screens for "Drunken Idiot Fart Jokes III?"


Unfortunately, today's target audiences theater owners covet are not likely to want to see an "old movie" (partiularly in B&W). After all, there is no annoying hip-hop remake of a classic song on the soundtrack (most likely it's the original "corny" song the "creative" rappers have ripped off), the latets disposable "movie star" is not featured, and watching the film would get in the way of texting. If you live in a larger city, there are sometimes opportunities to see the classics in the manner they were meant to be seen. I live in Los Angeles, the Hollywod area, actually, and there are a few film festivals and special events where the classics are shown. Oddly, not as many showings are available as one would think, this being "the movie capital of the world". Movies are absolutely a business here and not much effort is made if the amount of money to be made is substantial. There are, however, a few stalwarts who try to keep the flame alive. An annual event in Los Angeles is the "Last Remaing Seats" festival where some very good classic films are screened in some of the few remaining "Palace" style theaters in down town Los Angeles. The combination of the beauty of the theaters and the quality of the films is an experience that takes me back to the days when movie-going in this manner was the norm and not just a special event (btw, most of those theaters are closed the remainder of the year, a true pity)...

One bright lights has been The New Beverly Cinema:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Beverly_Cinema

http://www.newbevcinema.com/index.cfm

This old revival theater, specializing in showing classic and cult films, was moving towards closure when the owner passed away suddenly and his family could not afford to keep running it. Quentin Tarrantio, who was a very frequent patron of the theater, stepped up and bought the building and allowed the family to continue operations. If only there were more people who, having made their fortunes making films, would step up to preserve and share the legacies of those in the past who made it possible for them in the present...

[stoppro]

I don't think the screens are big enough from what I saw last time I went to movie.But that was a while ago[sponge bob squarepants movie] I am sure they didn't make the screens bigger since then.

[Skybird]

Once there was a cinema in Berlin, named Royal Palast, located in the Europa-Center, that is near the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtnis-Kirche at the Kurfürstendamm, Breitscheidt-Platz. It was one of the two biggest cinemas in old West-Berlin, and the screen had been the largest screen in the world for long time, specially made and formatted for the old Cinemascope movies that were so popular in the 50s and 60s. The entrée was long stairways with mirrors left and right, and a huge foyer up there, the major movie hall was coloured in emerald green, and when you were sitting in front of the screen it was so incredibly high and wide, it was like staring into an abyss when the movie started. WE arrived in Berlin in autumn 79, and I watched my third run of Star Wars IV there. It was a completely new experience! I was literally flying through the film.

Mind you, that was the 80s and 90s.

They tore it down, or better, replaced it with an electronics-chain flagship shop. :nope:

In the 80s, there roughly were two dozen movie halls located on the Kurfüstendamm, some of them under the roof of the same cinema. Today, there are two halls left, I think. :nope: :nope: :nope:

The second largets cinema was Zoo Palast, with the major hall in ruby-red, also a fantatsic cinema. The Berlin film festival was held there for long time. I loved that cinema so much. But it is closed for renovation now, I read. Let'S see what they make of it. I hope they keep the scheme of the seating lines, and the general spirit, and that magical, hypnotizing ruby-red curtain. When the lights went down, the curtain shone so red that even he devil in hell turned pale in envy.

But there is if not hope, then at least a hidden irony. The founder of the Cineplexxes here in Germany, has abandoned them, and returned to the old-fashioned concept of "Lichtspielhäuser". He renovated an old cinema on the Kurfürstendamm, installed more comfortable seats, allowed more space in each row, and diner service at each seat. Never was there, I haven't been to Berlin since a longer while now, but it sounds good.

Good old-fashioned cinemas really have gone extinct, almost. I think it's a shame. And so much good tradition lost with most of these houses. Only few suriviors, or the huge Cineplex movie spaceships (which I absolutely hate). DVDs and home screens really killed it.

[Sailor Steve]

I don't know why they don't have intermissions any more for movies that are so long, are they worried that people will walk out at the intermission and not come back? Like it matters, once they've already sold the ticket. :hmmm:
I was exactly the same. After Fellowship Of The Ring I said to a friend "I have two words for Mr. Jackson - 'Inter', and 'Mission'."

Edit: you have also both now joined Sailor Steve on my Must Hate List. He saw the Beatles live, you guys saw LoA on the big screen.

If Steve comes in and says he also saw LoA on the big screen I'll have to make a whole new Must Hate Extra Hard list just for him. :haha:
There goes my last chance at peace. I saw Larry in a revival sometime in the mid-'70s and I also saw the restored version in the '90s. The problem is I'm a David Lean fan, so movies like Lawrence, Dr. Zhivago and Ryan's Daughter are among my favorites. Of course I can't believe how many of his films I haven't seen.

[frau kaleun]

I was exactly the same. After Fellowship Of The Ring I said to a friend "I have two words for Mr. Jackson - 'Inter', and 'Mission'."

I made it through the first two okay because I was alone, and when I go to a movie alone I go to watch the movie, not eat and socialize. The last one, I was on a date so food and drinks had been consumed. By the finale I was like "THROW IT IN THE FIRE ALREADY I GOTTA PEEEEEEE!!!" :haha:


There goes my last chance at peace. I saw Larry in a revival sometime in the mid-'70s and I also saw the restored version in the '90s.

http://nooooooooooooooo.com/vader.jpg

[Skybird]

In Germany, LOTR was shown in cinemas with intermissions in all three parts.

[frau kaleun]

In Germany, LOTR was shown in cinemas with intermissions in all three parts.

:stare:

:hmmm:

Congratulations, you made the list! :O:

[vienna]

Re: Intermissions --

The reason for the lack thereof is "turnover". They want you out as soon as posiible to bring in the next group of paying customers...

Once there was a cinema in Berlin, named Royal Palast, located in the Europa-Center, that is near the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtnis-Kirche at the Kurfürstendamm, Breitscheidt-Platz. It was one of the two biggest cinemas in old West-Berlin, and the screen had been the largest screen in the world for long time, specially made and formatted for the old Cinemascope movies that were so popular in the 50s and 60s. The entrée was long stairways with mirrors left and right, and a huge foyer up there, the major movie hall was coloured in emerald green, and when you were sitting in front of the screen it was so incredibly high and wide, it was like staring into an abyss when the movie started. WE arrived in Berlin in autumn 79, and I watched my third run of Star Wars IV there. It was a completely new experience! I was literally flying through the film.

Mind you, that was the 80s and 90s.

They tore it down, or better, replaced it with an electronics-chain flagship shop. :nope:


As I mentioned before, I live in Hollywood, and as mentioned before, one would think the film community would be making big efforts to preserve the legacy of Old Hollywood. However, such is not the case. There is a project, initiated by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, that involves putting a circuit historical signposts allowing visitors to follow the signs from place to place in sequence and learn about the history of each spot. Unfortunately, a very large number of the signs start with the words "On this spot once stood.." because the historic building is long gone. The same fate has befallen a large number of theaters in Hollywood. There are none of the original Hollywood Blvd. theaters still functioning as a current movie theater except for Grauman's Chinese Theater.

One theater in Hollywood, but not on Hollywood Blvd., is the Cinerama Dome Theater:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinerama_Dome

The theater is on Sunset Blvd. which runs parallel to Hollywood Blvd. separate by about two blocks distance. The screen is currently listed as 86 ft wide by 34 ft. high; the screen is curved, not flat like most screens.
The Dome was originally created to accomodate the then "wave of the future" Cinerama process which invloved using 3 simultaneous cameras (left of scene, center of scene, right of scene) and projecting the resulting film via 3 projectors runiing in sync on a curved screen. This was supposed to give the audience the feeling of actually being in the action. The expense of filming, processing and the technological hurdles doomed the concept. after only a few years. I saw a couple of Cinerama films in San Francisco as a kid; the "joints" where one part of the scene joined an adjoining part were sometimes rather obvious...

At the risk of being consigned to an even deeper circle of Hades by Frau Kaleun, I have viewed "Lawrence" at least 3 times in the Cinerama Dome on that glorious huge screen and with a primo sound system. Several of the great widescreen classic films have in the past had revival or commemorative showings at the Dome ("Bridge on the River Kwai", "Sound of Music" [not my cuppa], "Wizard of Oz", for example). Now that the Dome is part of a multiplex/commercial complex built on what had been the site of the Dome's parking adjacent to the Dome, the current management does not often host such showings...


...

[Skybird]

The Berlin Royal Palast was opened 1965, and then it had the biggest curved sc reen in ther world. It kept that title for long time to come. It had 904 seats, and there was a second cinema under thew same roof. Later, in 1983, three more, smaller cinemas were added to the complex.

The screen was listed as 32x13 meter. It allowed full cinemascope format and other widescreen formats of later to be shown in full width an using the full screensize.

http://www.kinokompendium.de/foto/royalpalast_s0102.jpg

Originally I remembere the curtain to have been light-emerald, lighter than the seats. The pic is from 2000. I read that the seats were redone, too.

http://www.kinokompendium.de/foto/royalpalast_s0101.jpg


The Zoo Palast had even more seats (over 1000), but a smaller, more conservative screen. Here, the textiles had been redone, too, and the hall was renovated after I had left Berlin. Originally, it was not rosy, but red and ruby-red. There were two curtains, one in beige or white, and the red one behind.

http://www.kinokompendium.de/foto/ucizoopalast_s0101.jpg

http://www.kinokompendium.de/foto/ucizoopalast_s0102.jpg