MGM Special Editions Wishlist
 

It seems that MGM has been releasing some nice Special Editions lately (Rocky, Midnight Cowboy, Some Like It Hot) and there's a few more on the way (The Graduate, Robocop, Sid & Nancy)

So, what MGM titles would like you to see get remastered and the SE treatment?

Here's my list:

The Killing
Killer's Kiss
Sweet Smell of Success
Fellini's Satyricon
Fellini's Roma
The Apartment
The Best Years of Our Lives
Mystery Train
Leaving Las Vegas
Manhattan
Annie Hall
Marty
Night of the Hunter
Paths of Glory
Prizzi's Honor
Undertow

Annie Hall desperately needs an upgrade. I haven't watched my copy of Manhattan yet but at least it's anamorphic.

Midnight Cowboy SE is total crap so I am not exactly sitting around clamoring for MGM SE's but Mystery Train sure sounds nice. No chance in hell of happening though.

Undertow has plenty of special features and is more than a disappointing film from Green (I am a huge Green supporter also, I type with a framed George Washington poster on the wall behind me.)

No chance of any Woody Allen films ever getting an SE.

Probably the most realistic are
The Night of the Hunter (a new print came out years ago, has tons of supporters)
Prizzi's Honor (meh)

I'd definitely grab Annie Hall, Manhattan, Leaving Las Vegas, The Killing, and Paths of Glory of the ones you listed. However, extras on the Woody Allen movies seems doubtful (I'll add Crimes and Misdemeanors, Bananas, and Sleeper to the mix as well), but at least an anamorphic version of Annie Hall.

Other than that, all I can really beg for are widescreen versions of the Death Wish 2-4 (with the uncut version of 2) and SEs of 12 Angry Men and Kiss Me Deadly. And even if we get a vanilla version, a DVD of Rolling Thunder needs to be coming soon.

Ghost World
Bandits
La Femme Nikita
Me and You And Everyone We Know
On The Beach
Kalifornia
Needful Things
The Cotton Club
Thunderbolt and Lightfoot

Yes, please. I'd like to finally replace my obviously questionable DVD-R boot.

Funny, I thought Undertow was his best film. I'd rank them as follows:

Undertow
George Washington
All the Real Girls

You mentioned Rocky already has a SE , how about a SE for Rocky 2-5.

WarGames. Hopefully MGM do a 25th Anniversary Edition next year.

MGM through Fox should just license Annie Hall to Criterion. I bet they could get Allen to do a sit-down interview, or, if all else fails, would have the means to score some vintage television interviews and perhaps whatever deleted scenes exist from the original version, Anhedonia. I'm not hoping for something packed, but Criterion could probably do it the most justice.

Night of the Hunter
The Party
La Femme Nikita (they had a decent SE out but it went OOP with no explanation)

I second that!

I'd doubt they could get Allen to do an interview.

I'd love for all of the Woody Allen movies through MGM to get SEs (especially Annie Hall & Manhattan), but unfortunately, he prefers the DVDs to his movies to be bare-bones, so I don't see those happening any time soon.

The Birdcage
Married to the Mob
Throw Momma from the Train (with Danny DeVito audio commentary!)

Misfits
Last Tango in Paris
No Way Out
Children's Hour
Hair
Defiant Ones
12 Angry Men
Big Country
Its A Mad Mad Mad Mad World (re-release the first edition with special features)

There was a thread around here a few weeks back asking if Actors and Directors should get a percentage of dvd sales, to which a shocking number of people on this forum replied "NO" (presumably to stick up for the little guy, which in this case would be huge international media conglomerates).

I have to say I'm with Woody on this one. Why should 20th Century Fox, who had nothing to do with the making of Manhattan or Annie Hall, or in fact any Woody Allen film, suddenly be the benefactor of tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars from SE dvd box sets?

What exactly is in this for Woody, who can't even get 20 million dollars to make a film in this country anymore?

I will have to be content with the brand new 35mm print of Manhattan that's playing at the Film Forum right now.

I'll second that but with a better transfer than the SE has.

My list...

12 Angry Men
Hang em' High
Killer's Kiss
The Killing
Kiss Me Deadly
Night of the Hunter
Odds Against Tomorrow
Paths of Glory
State of Grace
Sweet Smell of Success
Yellow Submarine

Pumpkinhead... although I've heard that a SE is in the works as we speak.

I'd love to see new SE's of Allen's films, even without special features. I just want them anamorphic.

Yentl. Which has had no DVD release of any kind.

Barbra Streisand said she recorded the commentary four or five years ago for a planned 20th anniversary edition that never surfaced. I guess we will have to wait for 2008 for the 25th anniversary now.

I agree with a couple others on here who think 12 Angry Men really ought to be on their short list for 2-disc SE's, especially now that it's in the AFI Top 100 Films of All-Time (the 2007 updated list).

I definitely second Wargames. That was such a fun, rewatchable movie.

Here is my picks:
Big Country (peck on the range)
and yes a BIG YES to 12 Angry Men

The Allen situation has nothing to do with money I'd imagine and just the fact that he doesn't have an interest in television or DVD's. If you've heard him speak at all or have seen Meetin' WA with Godard it is more than apparent that he believes strictly in films in the cinema which is fine. Also he will not revisit his films or discuss them really unless it is a special situation like Meetin' WA or an interview he chose to do with say Dick Cavett.

not sure if anyone cares but there's going to be a SE of Prick Up Your Ears on R2UK,not sure how "special" it's going to be..

http://www.play.com/DVD/DVD/4-/33633...n/Product.html

MGM owns the rights to this in the US so...

I believe that in Allen's case, he doesn't like to watch or revisit his films after he finishes them. So I understand why his movies aren't loaded with extras on the DVD (even though it would be warranted for some, IMO, such as Annie Hall and Manhattan).

As for other films that should get a SE, I think the following would be in order:

12 Angry Men
This Is Spinal Tap (I know that there's a pretty good SE out, but I'd like a new one (maybe a 2-disc set) which features both the features on the current SE and the Criterion release)
Straw Dogs
The Apartment
Leaving Las Vegas
Ghost World (I specifically am interested in seeing the original cut of the movie; the deleted and extended scenes on the current DVD only account for a fraction of what was cut)
It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World