Asking Again

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As long as WB is putting out '80s movies that tanked or suffered critical slings and arrows, why aren't they releasing a DVD of the original "flashback" cut of the late James Bridges' Mike's Murder, which was a rock-solid film to begin with? Jack Larson, Bridges' longtime partner, has made it clear that all the materials exist to make that possible.

HE reader Marc Edward Heuck suggests that a Take Five edition of this series could feature Mike's Murder alongside Claude Lelouch's Les Miserables, James Toback's Love and Money, Bill Gunn's Stop, and Richard Rush's Freebie and the Bean. Hey, why not?

Two Lovers Redux<< previous | next >>Fresh Look at '80s Duds

Posted by Jeffrey Wells on February 12, 2009 at 8:05 AM

comment #1

Sabina E says ...

I'm tired of these constant remake plans of 80s movies. The 80s is dead and long over-- we're nearing the 2010s, folks!

Posted by Sabina E at February 12, 2009 8:11 AM

comment #2

MindlessObamaton says ...

Did I miss somehting? IS Lelouche's take on LES MES considered to be crap? I always loved it and it was one of the first French films i saw on release. I liked how at least tried to change the tired story up and Belmondo was GREAT in it. I'd love to hear if it was considered a POS upon its release because I don't recall that at all.

Posted by MindlessObamaton at February 12, 2009 8:51 AM

comment #3

Rich S. says ...

Still hard to believe that Jimmy Olson is all growed up - and just turned 81!

Posted by Rich S. at February 12, 2009 8:51 AM

comment #4

raygo says ...

You have to wonder what Debra Winger's career would be like if Mike's Murder had been a success. I recall that being a critical point in her career, right after Terms of Endearment.

Posted by raygo at February 12, 2009 9:03 AM

comment #5

Nick Rogers says ...

Sorry to go off topic here, but the final image in these "Milk" ads looks awful. A Photoshop tool has attacked the left side of Sean Penn's head, and his pose / face screams "I Am Sam."

Posted by Nick Rogers at February 12, 2009 9:37 AM

comment #6

lipranzer says ...

I couldn't stand MIKE'S MURDER when I saw it, but admittedly, that was 20 years ago, and in its cut form.

And add another yeah vote to Lelouch's LES MIS movie. The best adaptation of that book I've ever seen. Gene Siskel put it on his top 10 list for that year, if memory serves.

I wish I liked FREEBIE AND THE BEAN, given the two leads and the director, but it feels very dated.

Posted by lipranzer at February 12, 2009 11:36 AM

comment #7

TVMCCA says ...

Regarding MIKE'S MURDER, the DVD should include both the "flashback" cut and the theatrical version.

Posted by TVMCCA at February 12, 2009 1:17 PM

comment #8

George Prager says ...

What about UFORIA? SWING SHIFT? Toback's EXPOSED (if only for the scene when Toback, wearing one of those long down coats that only old ladies wear tries to grab Nastassja Kinski on the street and Rudolf Nureyev knocks him on his ass).

Posted by George Prager at February 12, 2009 2:02 PM

comment #9

The Hoyk says ...

UFORIA and EXPOSED are owned by other studios that aren't really interested in exploiting the nuggets from their back catalog; WB and Fox seem to be the only majors that are actively pulling stuff out of the vaults.
SWING SHIFT would be nice, but reportedly Demme tried to get a "director's cut" done during his SILENCE OF THE LAMBS momentum, and apparently WB junked all the unused footage. Double shame in that it's yet another screenplay by the underrated Nancy Dowd that got bent into something unrecognizable in the finished film. I'm FURIOUS that Universal is bent on remaking SLAP SHOT after already trashing the franchise with two DTV sequels - and from all accounts not paying her a dime for use of the characters.

Posted by The Hoyk at February 12, 2009 5:55 PM

comment #10

TVMCCA says ...

The Hoyk wrote:
WB and Fox seem to be the only majors that are actively pulling stuff out of the vaults.

Don't forget Sony, though they have that inane "Martini Movies" packaging for their library titles (now including GUMSHOE, GETTING STRAIGHT and OUR MAN IN HAVANA).

Posted by TVMCCA at February 13, 2009 12:25 AM

comment #11