Martini Movies from Sony

[Ashirg]

Info from DVD Talk moderator and DVD Savant:

Weird collection name, but some awesome titles coming....September 23!
$ (Dollars)
The Anderson Tapes
The Garment Jungle
The New Centurions
Nickelodeon (finally!)

Future Wave titles coming soon:

Affair in Trinidad
Getting Straight
Our Man In Havana
The Heat's On
Husbands
I Never Sang for My Father
Five
Vibes
The Comic / Enter Laughing
Nightwing
Gumshoe

[starmanof51]

I give up. I can't come up with any kind of unifying, holding theme for these as a "collection", much less one that has anything to do with martinis. There's about 4 or 5 decades covered here and a fistful of genres. Still, something for everyone I should think - you've got a Cassavetes, a Frears, a Reed. For me it's Getting Straight, useful to have around for when you really need to get in touch with your Elliot Gouldness.

[cdnchris]

What is it with The Anderson Tapes? I remember my dad going batshit back in the day trying to find it on VHS. And it seriously was a mission for him. Took him years until he found a place that could order it, right around when DVD first came about. And then, of course, he wants it on DVD. I figured since it had Connery and Walken in it it would have come out sooner. But obviously it wasn't a top priority. My dad will be happy at least. Can't wait to see how they fuck up the cover art, especially since its in a collection called "Martini Movies".

I'm also at a lost for the collection name. Doesn't make any sense.

[sevenarts]

I don't really care what they call the line or what crap they cram onto the cover, as long as they really do release (the uncut) Husbands. Great news!

[Cinephrenic]

Great, can't wait for the Gin & Tonic and Daquiri sets!

[King Prendergast]

What is it with The Anderson Tapes? I remember my dad going batshit back in the day trying to find it on VHS. And it seriously was a mission for him. Took him years until he found a place that could order it, right around when DVD first came about. And then, of course, he wants it on DVD. I figured since it had Connery and Walken in it it would have come out sooner. But obviously it wasn't a top priority. My dad will be happy at least. Can't wait to see how they fuck up the cover art, especially since its in a collection called "Martini Movies".

I've got the region 2 Anderson Tapes DVD. I give the film a mild recommendation. One of those rather humorless 70s Lumets that's interesting to compare to his much better recent film Before the Devil...

[cdnchris]

What is it with The Anderson Tapes? I remember my dad going batshit back in the day trying to find it on VHS. And it seriously was a mission for him. Took him years until he found a place that could order it, right around when DVD first came about. And then, of course, he wants it on DVD. I figured since it had Connery and Walken in it it would have come out sooner. But obviously it wasn't a top priority. My dad will be happy at least. Can't wait to see how they fuck up the cover art, especially since its in a collection called "Martini Movies".

I've got the region 2 Anderson Tapes DVD. I give the film a mild recommendation. One of those rather humorless 70s Lumets that's interesting to compare to his much better recent film Before the Devil...

I remember liking it (I had to see what my father spent all that time and effort on.) But I remember especially liking the ending. The journey there was decent but the ending made it worthwhile (I get a kick out of sarcastic/ironic endings.) I guess I'm just surprised by Sony's lack of interest in the title because it is pretty good, even if it's one of Lumet's weaker films.

[Person]

Great, can't wait for the Gin & Tonic and Daquiri sets!

Do Sony own any films that could fall under the banner, "Beer and grits" ? I wouldn't want to see the yokels in Tennessee deprived at the expense of north-eastern sophisticates.

"The only American invention as perfect as the sonnet."
- H. L. Mencken on the Martini cocktail

He died long before HBO, of course.

[fdm]

For me it's Getting Straight, useful to have around for when you really need to get in touch with your Elliot Gouldness.

Thanks for bolding that, my awakeness made me gloss right over it. Excellent news, been wanting it on DVD for a long long time. Don't forget Candice...

[Harold Gervais]

Connery & Lumet produced some interesting films together with the best, The Offence still only available as a bare bones R2 release. The Anderson Tapes is probably the weakest of their films but it is still worth watching. Getting Straight and Nickelodeon are the ones I am most looking forward to.

[Jeff]

Here's Sony's press release. Looks like Nickelodeon is no longer part of the first wave.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Launches

Martini Movies

New Label of Hip and Iconic Films for the Cool Film Lover

First Slate includes The New Centurions, The Anderson Tapes, The Garment Jungle, Affair in Trinidad and $ (Dollars)

For the First Time on DVD in the U.S. on September 23, 2008


Culver City, CA (July 14, 2008) – No matter the decade, there’s a place where icons, idols and the infamous flock for bottomless drinks and over-the-top trysts. Now Sony Pictures Home Entertainment invites you back to that place with an intriguing selection of MARTINI MOVIES. Making their U. S. DVD debut in this collection are such cutting-edge films as The New Centurions, The Anderson Tapes, The Garment Jungle, Affair in Trinidad and $(Dollars). The titles in the MARTINI MOVIES collection will be available individually for an SRP of $19.94 each.

Straight men and con artists, radicals and revolutionaries, flacks and scabs: they’re all here, shooting the breeze, working the room , cursing the past and toasting the future. These MARTINI MOVIES feature the work of some of the finest actors and directors of the past fifty years and take us from the dawn of Hollywood to 1970’s Las Vegas con-games.

The New Centurions, based on the debut novel by best-selling author Joseph Wambaugh, is directed by Academy Award® winner Richard Fleischer (1947 Best Feature Documentary, Design for Death; Soylent Green) and stars Academy Award® winner George C. Scott (1971 Best Actor, Patton; Dr. Strangelove) and Academy Award® nominee Jane Alexander (Best Actress in a Leading Role 1984 Testament, 1974 The Great White Hope; Best Actress in a Supporting Role 1980 Kramer vs. Kramer, 1977 All the President’s Men). The Anderson Tapes, based on a novel by award-winning mystery novelist Lawrence Sanders, is directed by Academy Award® nominee Sidney Lument (Best Director, 1983 The Verdict, 1977 Network, 1976 Dog Day Afternoon, 1958 Twelve Angry Men) and stars Academy Award® winner Sean Connery (1988 Best Supporting Actor, The Untouchables; Dr. No, Goldfinger) and Academy Award® nominee Dyan Cannon (Best Actress in a Supporting Role 1970 Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, 1980 Heaven Can Wait). The Garment Jungle, a behind the scenes look at the famed New York City garment district, directed by Vincent Sherman (Mr. Skeffington, Old Acquaintance), stars Academy Award® nominees Lee J. Cobb (Best Actor in a Supporting Role 1955 On the Waterfront, 1959 The Brothers Karamazov) and Robert Loggia (1986 Best Actor in a Supporting Role Jagged Edge). Affair in Trinidad, a steamy film nor set in the Carribean, also directed by Vincent Sherman, stars Rita Hayworth (Gilda, Pal Joey) and Glenn Ford (Gilda, Superman). $ (Dollars), a quirky heist comedy, was directed Academy Award® winner Richard Brooks (1961 Best Adapted Screenplay Elmer Gantry; In Cold Blood) and stars Academy Award® winners Warren Beatty (1982 Best Director Reds; Bonnie and Clyde) and Goldie Hawn (1970 Best Actress in a Supporting Role Cactus Flower; Private Benjamin).

Synopses
THE NEW CENTURIONS (1972)
Rookie cop Roy Fehler (Stacy Keach) and seasoned veteran Andy Kilvinski (George C. Scott) patrol the worst ghettos of Los Angeles. Cruising the hood, they bravely face off with hookers, gangsters, druggies and bank robbers. However, when his partner and best friend retires, Fehler discovers how good cops can sometimes turn bad.

THE ANDERSON TAPES (1971)
When Duke Anderson (Sean Connery) gets out of the cooler, he discovers the mother lode in his rich girlfriend’s (Dyan Cannon) ritzy apartment building. With help from a safecracker (Christopher Walken), a decorator and a thug, Duke might be able to pull off the greatest heist yet. What he doesn’t know if that someone is watching his every move and beating him at his own game.

THE GARMENT JUNGLE (1957)
On the mean streets of the garment district in New York City, Alan Mitchell (Kerwin Matthews) discovers that the dress business owned by his father (Lee J. Cobb) is being controlled by the mob. Alan must join forces with rebellious labor union leaders in order to save his family’s company from thugs.

AFFAIR IN TRINIDAD (1952)
Rita Hayworth portrays a dancer who, at the cost of damaging her relationship with leading man Glenn Ford, secretly agrees to work in cahoots with the police in an attempt to extract information from a gang of international spies.

$ (DOLLARS) (1971)
The stakes are high when a high-class hooker, Dawn Divine (Goldie Hawn) and a handsome con man, Joe Collins (Warren Beatty), team up for a Hamburg bank heist. They set their targets on the secret stashes of a shady army sergeant, a German drug dealer and a Vegas mobster. But when the crooks realize they’ve been double-crossed, Dawn and Joe must run for their lives in order to keep the loot.

MARTINI MOVIES DVDS INCLUDE “MARTINI MINUTES”
How to Hold Your Liquor
How to Pull Off a Heist
How to Play the Leading Lady
How to Play the Leading Man

The New Centurions is directed by Richard Fleischer and written by Sterling Silliphant, based on a novel by Joseph Wambaugh. With George C. Scott, Stacy Keach and Jane Alexander.

The Anderson Tapes is directed by Sidney Lumet and written by Frank Pierson, based on a novel by Lawrence Sanders. With Sean Connery, Dyan Cannon, Martin Balsam and Christopher Walken.

The Garment Jungle is directed by Vincent Sherman and written by Harry Kleiner, based on articles by Lester Velie. With Lee J. Cobb, Kerwin Mathews, Gia Scala, Richard Boone and Robert Loggia.

Affair in Trinidad is directed by Vincent Sherman and written by James Gunn, Oscar Saul, Berne Giler and Virginia Van Upp. With Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford.

$(Dollars) is directed and written by Richard Brooks. With Warren Beatty and Goldie Hawn.

"Academy Award®" and "Oscar®" are the registered trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

THE NEW CENTURIONS
DVD Catalog #:
26805
DVD UPC Code:
043396-26805-0
DVD Order Date:
8/21/08
DVD SLP:
$19.94
Running Time
103 minutes
Rating
R

THE ANDERSON TAPES
DVD Catalog #:
26807
DVD UPC Code:
043396-26807-4
DVD Order Date:
8/21/08
DVD SLP:
$19.94
Running Time
98 minutes
Rating
PG

THE GARMENT JUNGLE
DVD Catalog #:
26809
DVD UPC Code:
043396-26809-8
DVD Order Date:
8/21/08
DVD SLP:
$19.94
Running Time
88 minutes
Rating
NR

AFFAIR IN TRINIDAD
DVD Catalog #:
28203
DVD UPC Code:
043396-28203-2
DVD Order Date:
8/21/08
DVD SLP:
$19.94
Running Time
98 minutes
Rating
NR

$ (DOLLARS)
DVD Catalog #:
26880
DVD UPC Code:
043396-26880-7
DVD Order Date:
8/21/08
DVD SLP:
$19.94
Running Time
121 minutes
Rating
R

[King Prendergast]

any idea on when we'll see Husbands?

[starmanof51]

This Interview with Michael Schlesinger of Sony was referenced in the Budd Boetticher thread but could probably use more exposure. It talks up their plans for the Boetticher box, Hammer horror, a Peter Lorre box, These Are the Damned, Mothra, and perhaps most attention-grabbing (to me) an indication that Sony will do Noir sets. Human Desire is referenced as a likely candidate. I fired off an email to him inquiring about Mann's The Black Book (which Schreck and ViaChicago and others here have talked up), and is only available in atrocious PD prints. He replied with this:

Dear Darrell,

Thanks for the kind words. Yes, BLACK BOOK is a strong contender for the Film Noir set coming out next year, and if it fails to make the cut, there's always Vol. 2!

Best,
Mike

So, that's some fairly tangible hope right there. Really, all the stuff Sony is starting to talk up is interesting, even the long-rumored A Matter of Life and Death sounds like its finally happening.

[Binker]

That. Press. Release.

Ho. Ly. Fuck.

Yeah, man, these movies are totally cool and hip! And if I buy them, I can be cool and hip too!

[Jeff]

Maybe Nickelodeon was just inadvertently left off the press release. DVD Empire has it for preorder.

[Ashirg]

Maybe it got replaced by AFFAIR IN TRINIDAD at the last minute. Maybe Bogdanovich wants to do another commentary, so it got delayed...

[Ashirg]

Classic flix posted covers for 2 of the titles. Note the editorial explanation of calling the series "Martini Movies"...

[otis]

Something about this cover reminds me of the dream sequence in The Big Lebowski. Is that Julianne Moore on the right?

[Matt]

Affair in Trinidad, starring Glenn Ford as the Golem, Spencer Tracy as Weegee, and Rita Hayworth as She-Hulk!

[justeleblanc]

Rita farts lightbeams, does she?

[King Prendergast]

if this is going to be the cover art template for the whole series they best class it up considerably when they get to Husbands

[Cold Bishop]

Well, personally, I've been dying to see a neon pink Peter Falk.

[Cinephrenic]

Well, personally, I've been dying to see a neon pink Peter Falk.

whooffff!

[domino harvey]

Looks like someone in the design department got lured away from Rhino Records by Sony, probably with the promise of a new bucket chair

[mikeohhh]

I like how the paparazzo is checking to see if Ms. Hayworth is wearing panties.