criterionforum.org

Paramount's Charlotte Barker is seeking suggestions for future film restorations through her Instagram:
https://www.hometheaterforum.com/commun ... or.389617/

I don’t have Instagram, but can someone please suggest Deep End? I know there’s a BFI release, but the US needs one. Also, what’s going on with that restoration of Deadhead Miles?

The Elegant Dandy Fop wrote: Thu Aug 06, 2026 4:59 pm I don’t have Instagram, but can someone please suggest Deep End? I know there’s a BFI release, but the US needs one. Also, what’s going on with that restoration of Deadhead Miles?

I think Criterion is working on a release so expect it out sometime in the next 15 years

American Hot Wax is a no-brainer

She should do To Catch a Thief again again, maybe the 3rd time will be the right one !

beamish14 wrote: Thu Aug 06, 2026 5:26 pm American Hot Wax is a no-brainer

Those first three Floyd Mutrux films are really some of my favorite American films of the 70s. American Hot Wax should be considered one of the great hang out films, but sadly, the music keeps it out of circulation. Why did Mutrux's career never take off the way it should've?

The Elegant Dandy Fop wrote: Thu Aug 06, 2026 7:38 pm

beamish14 wrote: Thu Aug 06, 2026 5:26 pm American Hot Wax is a no-brainer

Those first three Floyd Mutrux films are really some of my favorite American films of the 70s. American Hot Wax should be considered one of the great hang out films, but sadly, the music keeps it out of circulation. Why did Mutrux's career never take off the way it should've?

I adore him as well. Dusty and Sweets McGee is just astonishing.

He made his fortune as a script doctor and writer of films that never got produced. He even did work on Scarecrow (1973). Just never had a hit film as a director, but I’m glad Blood In, Blood Out and American Me are regarded as classics in some circles.

Citizen’s Band, The Escape Artist, Darker than Amber, The Out-of-Towners, Gunn, Rattle & Hum—the two that’ve never been available properly are the big ones.

Hot Wax is a must, if they can wrangle Goodbar and Little Darlings, it can be cleared. They’ve knocked out a lot of unavailable titles in the past few years.

okcmaxk wrote: Thu Aug 06, 2026 8:22 pm Citizen’s Band, The Escape Artist, Darker than Amber, The Out-of-Towners, Gunn, Rattle & Hum—the two that’ve never been available properly are the big ones. Hot Wax is a must, if they can wrangle Goodbar and Little Darlings, it can be cleared.

It is very odd that Rattle and Hum hasn’t had a 4K. So entertaining, and I’m not a U2 fan

Maybe their catalog changed hands? That’s why The Wall is stuck in limbo, WB has the elements from MGM, but now Sony owns it outright post-sale. Rattle & Hum was a launch title for Paramount 20 years ago, someone needs to get it out there!

Phil Joanou posted this on Threads just a few weeks back:

4k coming soon… both FULL concerts in color and black and white. The original film AND a huge documentary… all mixed and finished. Just waiting on the band to say go!

A 4K copy of the complete December 19th concert in Tempe surfaced online last year, to Joanou's chagrin—apparently he'd uploaded it to Vimeo and neglected to make it private.

A digital restoration of Gunn recently premiered at a film noir festival in Florida. The Escape Artist is with Lionsgate via Zoetrope.

Fraternity Row (1977) really needs to be discovered. It came and went with barely a whimper back in 1977 and I don't think even received a VHS release.

The Fanciful Norwegian wrote: Thu Aug 06, 2026 11:28 pm Phil Joanou posted this on Threads just a few weeks back:

4k coming soon… both FULL concerts in color and black and white. The original film AND a huge documentary… all mixed and finished. Just waiting on the band to say go!

A 4K copy of the complete December 19th concert in Tempe surfaced online last year, to Joanou's chagrin—apparently he'd uploaded it to Vimeo and neglected to make it private.

A digital restoration of Gunn recently premiered at a film noir festival in Florida.

I think over 7 hours of cut material from Rattle has been circulating for many years and was popping up at places like comic book conventions. I hope the new documentary he mentioned will include at least some of that.

He’s a great guy. I love seeing his USC shorts (in beautiful shape) on his website

Unfortunately it looks like Li’l Abner is not getting a restoration from Paramount because, per Charlotte Baker:

Sadly, Paramount lost rights to this one. Not sure who owns it now.

Oh damngoddit

beamish14 wrote: Thu Aug 06, 2026 11:51 pm

The Fanciful Norwegian wrote: Thu Aug 06, 2026 11:28 pm Phil Joanou posted this on Threads just a few weeks back:

4k coming soon… both FULL concerts in color and black and white. The original film AND a huge documentary… all mixed and finished. Just waiting on the band to say go!

A 4K copy of the complete December 19th concert in Tempe surfaced online last year, to Joanou's chagrin—apparently he'd uploaded it to Vimeo and neglected to make it private.

A digital restoration of Gunn recently premiered at a film noir festival in Florida.

I think over 7 hours of cut material from Rattle has been circulating for many years and was popping up at places like comic book conventions. I hope the new documentary he mentioned will include at least some of that.

He’s a great guy. I love seeing his USC shorts (in beautiful shape) on his website

I am a pretty huge U2 fan (though of course, have many, many mixed feelings about their career from 1998 onward), and a full Rattle and Hum 4K with the full Denver and Tempe concerts, plus all the other unused footage, would be top level stuff. obviously a very confused era for U2 (largely inspired by Paris, Texas!) but one that produced some of the greatest performances and original songwriting of their career. hope to see movement on this, the band have been pretty...less than spectacular about releasing archival stuff over the last few years

U2's hit-or-miss for me. I can think of few bands that have so much that I really like and so much that I find awful placed side-by-side on the same album or even within the same track.

I've never seen the movie, but I find the album incredibly uneven for that very reason. Ample proof of how great they were as a live band in the '80s, but with so many eye-rolling moments woven into every number. On the studio recordings, the four singles are the keepers, all enjoyable, but I still have strong reservations with at least two of them. "Angel of Harlem" is perhaps the most engaging of all four, thanks to a great tune and the Memphis Horns, but it also marries the music to the wrong lyrics, leaving the impression that U2 merely name-drops Billie Holiday and John Coltrane without a goddamn clue what their music's actually like.

TechnicolorAcid wrote: Fri Aug 07, 2026 5:11 am Unfortunately it looks like Li’l Abner is not getting a restoration from Paramount because, per Charlotte Baker:

Sadly, Paramount lost rights to this one. Not sure who owns it now.

If it's any consolation, she had to address Li'l Abner because so many people were requesting it

While it's unclear if they retain any rights still - Deville's The Bear and the Doll

The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek

TechnicolorAcid wrote: Fri Aug 07, 2026 5:11 am Unfortunately it looks like Li’l Abner is not getting a restoration from Paramount because, per Charlotte Baker:

Sadly, Paramount lost rights to this one. Not sure who owns it now.

Probably Capp Enterprises, who actually has an email address just for licensing inquiries:
http://lil-abner.com/licensing-images/

Feego wrote: Fri Aug 07, 2026 9:50 am The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek

It's one of the films in the pre 1948 library owned by Universal.

HardNight'sDay wrote: Fri Aug 07, 2026 11:20 am

Feego wrote: Fri Aug 07, 2026 9:50 am The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek

It's one of the films in the pre 1948 library owned by Universal.

Famously, it isn't—it wasn't included in the sale of pre-1948 titles because it was deemed so outrageous as to be unbroadcastable, and the primary motivation for the sale was to build up an exploitable library for TV screenings.

The film's Wikipedia entry covers this—that link takes you directly to the "Box Office" section, whose third paragraph is the salient bit.

Which is why you'll find it on Paramount's own website to this day—and of course it's why it hasn't been included in otherwise pretty comprehensive Preston Sturges DVD box sets.

And it's an excellent suggestion, which I completely endorse.

MichaelB wrote: Fri Aug 07, 2026 11:52 am

HardNight'sDay wrote: Fri Aug 07, 2026 11:20 am

Feego wrote: Fri Aug 07, 2026 9:50 am The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek

It's one of the films in the pre 1948 library owned by Universal.

Famously, it isn't—it wasn't included in the sale of pre-1948 titles because it was deemed so outrageous as to be unbroadcastable, and the primary motivation for the sale was to build up an exploitable library for TV screenings.

The film's Wikipedia entry covers this—that link takes you directly to the "Box Office" section, whose third paragraph is the salient bit.

Which is why you'll find it on Paramount's own website to this day—and of course it's why it hasn't been included in otherwise pretty comprehensive Preston Sturges DVD box sets.

And it's an excellent suggestion, which I completely endorse.

Oh wow, I didn't know until now! Are any more pre 1948 titles that Paramount owns outright? Because if so, Barker should look into that for possible restorations.

HardNight'sDay wrote: Fri Aug 07, 2026 12:16 pm Oh wow, I didn't know until now! Are any more pre 1948 titles that Paramount owns outright? Because if so, Barker should look into that for possible restorations.

Paramount didn't sell their silents to Universal, so they still own them.

Another pre-1948 Paramount film which isn't owned by Universal now is The Story of Temple Drake (1933). That's not because of its notoriety (often credited as one of the films which brought about the enforcement of the Production Code the following year) but because 20th Century Fox bought it to facilitate its version of the source novel, Sanctuary (1961). So Temple Drake and Sanctuary would now be owned by Disney, unless someone knows otherwise.