Olive Films

[Mathew2468]

There are so many unbearably pretentious scenes of rebellion in Loneliness etc. The horrible laughing-at-the-TV scene. Probably the only movie I really hate. ](*,)

[AfterTheRain]

Stephen King's Thinner has just been listed for pre-order on Amazon. Release date is August 21st.

[The Narrator Returns]

Who demanded this? Beyond this scene (highlighted by ZODIAC MOTHERFUCKER as a Great Moment in Ownage), it's boring as hell, and one of the worst King adaptations (which is saying a lot).

[mfunk9786]

A ZODIAC MOTHERFUCKER reference on here? I love you guys.

[matrixschmatrix]

Haha, why am I not shocked that you're a fan?

[mfunk9786]

I support any and all philosophers on the important subject of ownage.

[cdnchris]

Well, they're obviously not letting any of the Republic titles go to waste, which I guess is a good sign. But I'm surprised this one would get a quick release over something like, say, Night Falls on Manhattan.

[knives]

Never under estimate the saleability of King.

[Frankinho007]

Can anyone confirm that the 1900 Blu-ray is region free? Several pages (Blu-ray.com, DVDBeaver) are saying it is A-locked, but MovieTyme is saying, it is region free and none of my Olive Blu-rays of Paramount titles are locked so far!

[knives]

It's region free at least on the packaging.

[Graham]

Yes, it's region free. Just tested it on my Sony region B player.

[ShellOilJunior]

Raoul Walsh's Pursued coming in August

[HJackson]

It's an 'angry young man film', but there are no sides, no 'us' and 'them'. Me and everything else. Love how right from the beginning Bresson lets you know it's not about shallow politics when Charles leaves the political rally. I hated The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner because the 'victory' was that the boy, who knows nothing of his own beliefs and ain't an individual, took the 'proper side'. TDP is the real deal.

I know this is off topic, but I don't think I've ever heard such a good summary of what rubbed me the wrong way about Loneliness (and a large number of other kitchen sink) before. I don't think I even knew what words to phrase it in, but that's perfect.

I'm not sure you'll ever get much pleasure from British kitchen sink dramas if you choose to view them as incorrect interpretations of 'how to be a punk' or works of art that fail to embrace your own valued notions of individualism, rather than products of a very specific historical context. The confrontational nature of those films - us versus them - doesn't make them shallow in the slightest. Rather they're the full expression of a society that was, and still is, class-bound and, more specifically, a certain segment of which that was increasingly frustrated with the complacency of middle-class Conservative affluence.

[What A Disgrace]

I'm so stoked for Pursued. My 2nd favorite Walsh film, behind Strawberry Blonde.

[Mathew2468]

HJackson, yes I have a hard time meeting these films halfway. I didn't like If... either. But Loneliness really bothered me because I found it incredibly predictable and thought the boy was just a blind sheep. If it takes so little for him to change it'll take just as little for him to change back. I can't watch those films.

And I think class issues are very shallow and uninteresting in films.

[Frankinho007]

Will be released in August, too:

[Cash Flagg]

I never imagined we'd see My Son John on Blu-ray. Olive is running fast and furious now - that's eight titles announced for August already!

[Oedipax]

The Devil, Probably isn't DVD-only is it? That would be a real shame.

[Gregory]

Fans of "cool jazz" shouldn't fail to see Private Hell 36, which features playing from Shorty Rogers, Jimmy Giuffre, Shelly Manne, Lennie Niehaus etc.

As for My Son John... if I didn't feel such a strong personal affinity for McCarey, I could probably enjoy this as camp (and if it were about 45 minutes shorter). Who's going to buy this now, aside from all the people still bravely fighting against communist conspiracies?

[domino harvey]

I never imagined we'd see My Son John on Blu-ray.

If you had told me this was ever going to happen I'd have laughed and laughed. Hey other stupid studios, look what Olive does. If these guys can do it, why are you still boning us with $20 DVD-Rs?

[knives]

I remember this site had a few My Son John supporters, correct?

[domino harvey]

Sorta

[mteller]

Fans of "cool jazz" shouldn't fail to see Private Hell 36, which features playing from Shorty Rogers, Jimmy Giuffre, Shelly Manne, Lennie Niehaus etc.

Lupino is really great in it, too. I have mixed feelings about the film as a whole, though. It's enjoyable, but far from top-tier noir.

Still, I might buy it anyway. It's really nice to see so much noir coming out on Blu, and not just the most obvious titles.

[warren oates]

Private Hell 36 (can we pause here to admire the hardboiled beauty of its title, please!?) is very underrated. A terrific little dirty cop noir. Anyone who has Netflix can stream it now and try before they buy.

[Gregory]

What a new release list! THe McCarey is absolutely major, germane MCCarey - Tag and the late Robin Wood consider it a major McCarey and a film that signals the dissolution of the family in McCarey's universe.

Did McCarey ever show a positive and wholesome view of the conventional family unit? Anyway, not sure I'd agree that it was a major McCarey for Wood, though he did stick up for it as underappreciated. He made a convincing case for reevaluating it but he (correctly) called the last 45 minutes a "crude and insufferable anti-Communist tract," which is exactly the reputation of the entire film. That final stretch is exactly what I don't want to endure again. The whole thing is well worth seeing once, but for my purposes there are just too many better melodramas to revisit -- and we still don't have a single Sirk film on blu-ray anywhere, unless I've somehow missed it, in addition to nearly all the greatest Hollywood melodramas by other directors still MIA on blu and in some cases not even in print on DVD, though none of that is any reason specifically for Olive not to release My Son John.