Well, what shall we talk about today? I know I have not been posting much recently with my very quick flight across country for my grandpa’s funeral and all that…
How about the movies I am waiting to be remastered into Blu-Ray???
My choices are not the most obvious but they all share the same fate when they got dumped onto early DVD format from VHS they were, shall we say, much abused and not given very good treatment. Since Blu-Ray requires at least some remastering we can only hope these few movies will get a little better treatment next time around if they get transferred at all. Things might look a little better since Moonstruck recently showed up looking better than ever because I swear each and every one of these is a hidden gem for one reason or another.
If you run across any you might be interested in seeing right this moment try streaming them on Netflix or rent them from Amazon or iTunes online for right now. Hey, maybe even grab a DVD copy from a techy friend. Their current DVD state leaves much to be desired picture quality wise so getting them second hand and very cheap is the best way to go for now in my opinion especially if you have HDTV.
Comes A Horseman (1978)
Now listen, there are simply not many movies I would use the terms timeless, romantic, western, with the name Jane Fonda in the same sentence but she honestly struck gold right here. If you have not seen it obtain this slow dance of a subtle yet sweet angsty pot boiler immediately and enjoy even if the sex is behind closed doors and the angst is only in the unspoken tension between characters not spelled out for idiots in the dialog *hint*.
Now if only someone would create the Gay Romance version which I can see working so easily since the Jane Fonda character is played so masculine.
Ladyhawke (1985)
Matthew Broderick in a non-annoying role outside of Torch Song Trilogy? You don’t say! Michelle Pfeiffer in a fantasy flick? Really!
This one gets overlooked because it is slow and most of the real action is at the end and the DVD picture they slapped together was so terribly dark and muddy but it is still worth watching Rutger Hauer be all sexy and chivalrous.
Working Girl (1988)
What can I say about this movie? OK! Here we go…
Melanie Griffith in a non-annoying lead role. Harrison Ford! Sigourney Weaver! Alec Baldwin is sexy? Why yes, and young and seminude even!
Sprinkle in bad 80′s hair and clothing for everyone and add a touch of Olympia Dukakis and Ricky Lake when she was fat and interesting and Joan Cusack running around with so much makeup on she looks like an Andy Warhol painting. Melt and serve on toast.
Steel Magnolias (1989)
OMG! Who can not LOVE this movie like a fat kid loves cake and ice cream? Shirley MacLaine and Olympia Dukakis do their very best southern fried Abbott and Costello routines while stomping on Julia Roberts grave and laughing hysterically. She’s dead you know! Sally Field runs around eating the scenery as usual and then she and Dolly Parton savagely beat Daryl Hannah’s ass and then forced her to look like a shut in through practically the entire movie just because they could.
You really need to support this movie in whatever format you might find it. Give it a big hug for me because it really is a precious moment we must never forget.
The American President (1995)
OK, admit we will always remember Michael Douglas for his ultimately evil Gordon Gekko in Wall Street (1987), which is now on Blu-Ray by the way, but we can at least say he looked pretty damn good in this romantic comedyish thingy. Looking all presidential like and official and it kinda sorta works. Sure Annette Bening mugs her way through the entire thing but she gets away with it because she is not alone Michael J. Fox is right there in the background mugging for the camera right along with her.
Anyway, there are my picks for obscure Blu-Ray movies I want to buy.
Tags: Movie
Gayle wrote,
If someone could please, please re-do the soundtrack for Ladyhawke, it would be wonderful. It’s one of my favorite movies, but oy! That awful soundtrack! Nearly ruins the whole thing.
Link | May 30th, 2011 at 3:05 pm
Mariana wrote,
My all time favorite movie is Ladyhawke… I can watch that forever. Oh, and The Professional with Natalie Portman and Jean Reno. Those vie for first place in best movie EVAH! :)
Link | May 30th, 2011 at 3:36 pm
Merrian wrote,
Totally agree with both Gayle and Mariana; loved Ladyhawke and Rutger Hauer – hate the sound track. While we are on this track how about Excalibur? Love The Professional as well
Link | May 31st, 2011 at 1:46 am
Merrian wrote,
Clicked before I had finished – I am sorry to hear about your Grandpa.
Link | May 31st, 2011 at 1:48 am
TeddyPig wrote,
how about Excalibur?
If it’s the movie I am thinking of three words… Too much chrome.
That movie has more unnecessary shiny bits than Richard Gere in American Gigolo.
I still like Camelot better despite the singing and the 1967 hair styles.
Link | May 31st, 2011 at 6:21 am
Gayle wrote,
Rutger Hauer made another medieval-set movie, Flesh and Blood, set in the 1500s, I believe. Strange but good. He’s really a fascinating actor — he was amazing in Bladerunner.
Link | May 31st, 2011 at 10:42 am
Angelia Sparrow wrote,
Gayle, Hauer was also fairly brilliant in Fatherland. He’s terrific in Smallville too.
I hated Steel Magnolias. I grew up around women like that and hated every minute of their fakeness. The movie was like a bad flashback, with extra saccharine. Your description is funnier than the movie.
I am not a Blue Ray devotee. My favorite stuff is already out or coming soon. Star Wars will be out in the fall and Robin Hood is already out.
High definition looks cheap to me. It’s too realistic, like watching someone’s home-movie. Movies have a certain look to them, by genre, by decade, and there is a difference between a movie and a TV show that I can’t really explain. High def takes that look away.
Link | May 31st, 2011 at 11:00 am
TeddyPig wrote,
Well the best thing about Blu-Ray is they have to revisit the film and decide if they remaster or just punt it into the format so reviews on Amazon will be loud and clear on if they remastered or simply repackaged.
Because one thing high def does is make the flaws even worse and people on Amazon will very quickly notice anyone trying to copy an old movie from an old DVD without doing anything else. So there is always a chance a movie that looked terrible on DVD will be fixed in the transfer to Blu-Ray to be at it’s best ever.
A good example is Logan’s Run which got remastered and looks even cheesier than ever but I love good cheese.
Link | May 31st, 2011 at 12:00 pm
Merrian wrote,
I remember Flesh & Blood. Mercenaries,sieges and the plague and even a couple of Australian actors – I think Tom Burlinson and Jack Thompson.
There was also a weird take on Beowulf from the late 80′s/early 90′s called ”the 13th warrior” that I would like to see again. Anthony Banderas as an Arab trader who is caught up in events. I remember a poisoned Beowulf leaning on his sword dying at the end. I think AB’s character was based on a 13th century Arab trader who wrote about his time with viking traders on the Russian rivers.
Link | May 31st, 2011 at 7:57 pm
The Great Santini | The Naughty Bits wrote,
[...] were talking about movies last week that I was waiting to see get remastered for Blu-Ray and I talked about Steel Magnolias. Well if we were to loosely associate movies then this would be [...]
Link | June 4th, 2011 at 2:22 pm