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fred wrote:

souvenir wrote:According to their website, it's a 154 min. cut.

This sort of detail isn't their forte. I'd presume that they're wrong until proven otherwise by the actual screening.

Such as the Joan the Maid screenings.

I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up. IMDB lists 138 minutes as the original release time and 131 minutes as a "TV version: Sony Pictures Television print." What was shown at the Museum of the Moving Image was definitely closer to 131 than 138, so not even the original release time if IMDB is accurate, much less the 154 minutes they advertised.

I've just run across YouTube videos for Cassavetes, Falk, and Gazzara on the Dick Cavett Show. It also includes the original commercials and is divided into four parts. It's so chaotic I can hardly believe it actually aired. (Part 1, 2, 3, 4)

souvenir wrote:I've just run across YouTube videos for Cassavetes, Falk, and Gazzara on the Dick Cavett Show. It also includes the original commercials and is divided into four parts. It's so chaotic I can hardly believe it actually aired. (Part 1, 2, 3, 4)

This is incredible. Thanks a million for posting.

Steven H wrote:

souvenir wrote:I've just run across YouTube videos for Cassavetes, Falk, and Gazzara on the Dick Cavett Show ...

This is incredible. Thanks a million for posting.

thats been up for awhile. a legendary appearance discussed in every JC bio. when he turns serious and talks about being yourself in a world full of phonies is a great moment

So it appears this is getting a release by Sony Pictures. Any more info?

I hope it is the long/154min cut. Though it is region 1 it appears.

Any links to where I could buy the German/European DVD?

Special features include a commentary with Cassavetes biographer Marshall Fine, as well as interviews with Gazzara, producer Al Ruban (Faces) and cinematographer Victor Kemper (Dog Day Afternoon).

Running Time: 141 minutes

Ashirg wrote:Special features include a commentary with Cassavetes biographer Marshall Fine, as well as interviews with Gazzara, producer Al Ruban (Faces) and cinematographer Victor Kemper (Dog Day Afternoon).

Running Time: 141 minutes

Woah! That's awesome! I was expecting a lazy-ass bare bones. Good times!

Cash Flagg wrote:Specs and cover art from DVD Times

Gazzara looks a bit Irish (in the best possible sense) on the cover! Other than that, it's a fairly plain but thankfully innocuous design. The elusive 154-minute cut would have been cool, but I'm not disappointed about it not being presented here.

Looks very good. I'm so glad that this is finally in a good edition. Wonderful film.

Just saw this today for the first time. What an amazing movie! The transfer was beautiful and despite the fact I'm about half the age of the characters in this film, it still resonated with me. When you see this with the Dick Cavett interview, you doubt if the dialogue was even scripted. The way they talk, act, and love each other seems so real.

This has surpassed The Killing of a Chinese Bookie as my favorite Cassavetes film.

Now if only Love Streams can get a DVD release.

The Elegant Dandy Fop wrote:Now if only Love Streams can get a DVD release.

It got one.

Or do you mean R1?

It worked! It only took 5 years, but this must've had some effect on the DVD coming out, right?

Now the question is WHICH VERSION is it? It does claim to have restored footage but has anybody seen it yet? Is the puking/farting scene back in?

Yes, the puking/farting is indeed in there, as is the interminable singing around the table scene that precedes it.

Matango wrote:Yes, the puking/farting is indeed in there, as is the interminable singing around the table scene that precedes it.

You say interminable as if it were a bad thing?

That's great to know its restored, thanks.

der_Artur wrote:

The Elegant Dandy Fop wrote:Now if only Love Streams can get a DVD release.

It got one.

Or do you mean R1?

I don't think he'd bring it up if he didn't mean R1. 8-[

Just a heads-up for anyone else awaiting for their DVD to arrive or interested in buying the DVD:

Their is no booklet packaged inside. I emailed Sony's customer support and was told that the film was not issued with a booklet.

Failed opportunity by Sony there . . .

When was the last time Sony included a booklet in one of its releases?

tavernier wrote:When was the last time Sony included a booklet in one of its releases?

Ha! Honestly, I don't know, having not bought a Sony DVD in a very long time.

Just thought I'd point it out for anyone wondering.

You know, it's funny - I rushed out to buy this ON THE DAY OF ITS RELEASE. That night, I speed-searched through it and compared it with my bootleg: does it have all the puking and farting and horrible bodily sounds? Does it have "Buddy Can You Spare A Dime?" Why is it a few minutes LONGER than my bootleg, which I'd presumed complete?

I couldn't answer the last question, but it did seem to be all there. Phew.

But here's the funny part: I haven't actually watched it yet! I apparently raced out to get it on that day JUST SO I COULD SEE IF IT WAS THE RIGHT VERSION (and so I could start raising a stink if it wasn't). That was enough.

I saw it in March 2007. I don't need to look at it again so soon!

A.

I have just noticed that Wild Side are bringing this out in France http://www.dvdclassik.com/news/husbands ... -wild-side" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. The edition includes the full, 2h16m version, the edited cut, as well as the documentary Anything for John - has any one here seen this? How does it compare with A Constant Forge? Of course the definitive Husbands release would have to include the notorious Dick Cavett appearance and the BBC doc The Making of Husbands - but I imagine rights issues make this a non-starter.
Masters of Cinema have been showing an image from Husbands on their Twitter page ever since the passing of Ben Gazzara. Probably I'm being optimistic to the point of delusion, but could it be them who finally give the film its UK dvd release? And - why not - its Blu debut? It's a staggeringly great film, and it deserves it.

I loved the five Cassavetes films Criterion released without any reservations, so a viewing of Husbands last night that left me rather conflicted was a bit unfortunate.

I suppose you could say that watching a group of unlikeable, misogynistic, and infantile men laugh their way through a jolly good 'ol time of drinks, gambling, women, and so on for over two hours isn't exactly the most pleasant experience. Though this isn't the main issue, as I, for one, do not feel that a film's protagonists do not need to be likable, change over the duration of a film, or subside to any other hackneyed screenwriting rule.

The problem with Husbands is that the film feels like little more than an extended run of the aforementioned chicanery, complete with moments far too monotonous and overlong to be included in the final cut. Roger Ebert actually perfectly nails this flaw with the film in his review, describing how the seemingly improvisational dialogue yields so many moments of "anti-dialogue" -- characters struggling for what they should say, before ultimately bringing out a conversation that, frankly, isn't very interesting. It's like, did that awful singing competition really have to be that long? (The film does get better after this scene ends.)

And I do understand that focusing on these seemingly minor and insignificant moments is a trademark of Cassavetes. Few directors would allow a scene to play out as long as it does like the one in The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, where Mr. Sophistication complains to Cosmo about the praise the girls receive for their performances. But, at least a diversion like this one is both interesting to watch and adds to the dimensions of the central character.

There are some great moments in Husbands, but it is indeed a bit of a mixed bag.