Indications of Incoming Indicator Entertainments

[NABOB OF NOWHERE]

Thanks for that Michael. I had hoped for an Indicator release but if Studio
Canal do a job as assured as The Servant it will be a close second.

[knives]

Ha, I was just watching this and thinking the same thing. In the US it seems to be owned by something called British Home Entertainment which seems to mostly have theatrical productions.

[M Sanderson]

King & Country, you would hope to be on Studio Canal’s priority list. Not only for release but also restoration.

[rapta]

Just saw the newsletter clue with the "#5" in the corner. That's almost certainly The Harder They Fall, and we've had previous clues for Knock on Any Door and Tokyo Joe. Combine those with Dead Reckoning and Sirocco and I think we have ourselves a Columbia Noir #5 set incoming...

Admittedly that's only five compared to the usual six, but I think we could forgive them (unless they could throw in a non-noir too, like Sahara or The Caine Mutiny, or even Love Affair).

EDIT: just had a thought, they could try and get The Family Secret from Columbia for the set as it was produced by Santana Films (Bogart's production company), stars two of his co-stars from the other Columbia Noir films (Lee J. Cobb, John Derek) and, vitally, is actually a noir.

[MichaelB]

No idea what it could be.

I don't think anybody got this one, but I can now reveal that it's from Adventures of a Taxi Driver.

[MichaelB]

La Piscine?

...and this one was from One for the Road.

[NABOB OF NOWHERE]

I have to admit that as a pretty diehard Indicator completist I blanched at the thought of adding the Adventures of Box set to my sagging shelves.
Is some perverse revisionist theory at the heart of this release or has some market research unearthed a vast drooling underbelly of consumers chomping at the bit for ultra-soft porn and Benny Hill level humour?

[alacal2]

I'm afraid the answer is "yes" if you read the postings on Indicator's fan pages on Facebook!

[tenia]

Had a look at the IMDB scores, these looks like stuff even Vinegar Syndrome would hesitate to release (though I'm extremely open minded for discoveries).

[Finch]

They really do sound grim. No wonder anyone couldn't guess the tease as nobody was expecting them to release films that some people even prefer the Confessions series to.

[Drucker]

People on this forum hoped for years that one of the labels we loved would stop releasing the same old safe films (sometimes over and over!) and instead take some risks on some films outside the canon/usual fodder. Over the last year Indicator have clearly stepped up to the plate in this regard, and they really do deserve praise for the risks they're taking.

[What A Disgrace]

Think of it as having extra money.

[tenia]

People on this forum hoped for years that one of the labels we loved would stop releasing the same old safe films (sometimes over and over!) and instead take some risks on some films outside the canon/usual fodder. Over the last year Indicator have clearly stepped up to the plate in this regard, and they really do deserve praise for the risks they're taking.

Most Indicator releases are of nowadays-little-seen movies anayway, so the cannon isn't not really the question IMO. I'm quite happy for instance having discovered Hoffman, The Blockhouse or Girl Stroke Boy, quite outside-the-cannon movies I believe. I'm just anticipating the Adventures... to be just a tad lower-quality movies.
But I'll check that by myself, I might be pleasingly surprised !

[MichaelB]

I've been very pleased by the reception of Girl Stroke Boy in particular - going from the original ultra-dismissive capsule reviews that greeted its all too brief run in 1971, you'd have thought it was one of the worst films ever made, but in retrospect it's really quite startlingly pioneering. As Alex Davidson points out in one of the extras, just four years after homosexual activity between men was decriminalised in Britain and when filmmakers were still very hesitant to tackle LGBT themes upfront in any context other than shame or blackmail, here we have a British film that presents a completely non-judgemental portrait of a clearly loving LGBT relationship where one of the middle-aged parents concerned is really quite startlingly open-minded about it. The other one isn't, of course, but the film repeatedly makes it clear that she's the one who's wrong wrong wrongity wrong, something that must have been obvious even in 1971. Nobody would ever claim that it's an undiscovered masterpiece, but it was absolutely worth reviving.

[NABOB OF NOWHERE]

Michael B I can't help noticing that you pull up short of making similar claims for the 'Adventures of' series. If there is some serious argument that these are worthy of elevation into the Indicator catalogue (similar to that advanced by your self for Girl stroke Boy which I totally go along with) I would love to know the thinking behind it.

[MichaelB]

I pull up short of making similar claims for the overwhelming majority of the Indicator catalogue, including The Blockhouse and Hoffman. So absolutely nothing should be read into this - I just felt like commenting on the reception of Girl Stroke Boy because there was such a pleasing gulf between the 2022 and 1971 varieties.

But I'm very happy to confirm that I'm enjoying working on the Adventures box set as much as I've enjoyed working on any of the others - as with the Norman J. Warren box, it doubles as a comprehensive history of British exploitation cinema of the Sixties and Seventies, with the Stanley Long reminiscences being particularly valuable since he was involved either directly or peripherally with so much of it as director, producer, cinematographer, distributor, facilities house owner, you name it. (Including shooting about 20% of Repulsion after Gilbert Taylor was forced to leave for another job when Roman Polanski went over schedule.) And the shorts are hilarious - practically zero-budget, immensely affectionate homages to Long's films that have been beautifully written up here.

[NABOB OF NOWHERE]

Michael Yes that is admittedly an amusing and informative read and goes some way to offer a defence for investigating such "cinematic tripe" (The authors' categorising not mine) as a historical project but little else.
I just wonder whether given its prevalence on Channel 5 and other cheaper sources a box set will pull in more than the hardcore tripe consumers.

[Furstemberg]

Though I have a feeling that the US will get only those titles that are licensed outside of the existing major studio deals (such as the last announced slate).

I was half right. The US and the UK haven’t gotten anything from Universal or Sony since Indicator went dual-territory. Hopefully this changes soon.

[soundchaser]

Interesting that the Stanley Long set appears to be only spine 260, rather than 260-262 - unless the box art is temporary?

[MichaelB]

It's 260-262.

[soundchaser]

Glad to hear it.

[domino harvey]

Though I have a feeling that the US will get only those titles that are licensed outside of the existing major studio deals (such as the last announced slate).

I was half right. The US and the UK haven’t gotten anything from Universal or Sony since Indicator went dual-territory. Hopefully this changes soon.

Me too. Glad for those excited by the last couple months’ announcements, but this label is pivoting towards the subsection of their releases I care least about

[ryannichols7]

at the very least we know Columbia Noir #5 is happening. someone who knows better than me can explain whether it's likely or not we see a simultaneous release of it in both regions

[Finch]

Pre-orders for the Stanley Long set have exceeded Powerhouse's wildest expectations and they're upping the limited run to 69,000 copies worldwide.

[okcmaxk]

I understand if it can’t be discussed at the moment, but has there been any movement on California Split of recent? Feels like it’s been a minute since any new word on the rights situation.