According to Amazon, there is a new DVD coming out for the USA.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000O772CS/102-0198842-7749764
I am unfamiliar with this movie. Can someone tell me if it is a romance, or a drama, or what?
Please E-Mail me, or leave a Personal Message, with the answer.
Thanks! ~Cindy! :)
Actually, there is no scheduled US release date for this film. Amazon frequently allows their customers to sign up for notification via email for certain films in the event that they ever get issued on DVD. Some distributors (most notably Warner) will check with Amazon to gauge if there is sufficient demand for one of their back catalog films to make it worth their while to put it out on DVD.
As for the movie itself, it is a drama told primarily in flashback about how an illicit romance across class boundaries in early 20th Century England affects a young boy for the remainder of his life. The title refers to the role the boy plays in delivering messages between the lovers.
Should this film make it to DVD in the US, make sure it's a widescreen version before you buy it. There is a cropped version that is out in the UK which is of poor quality. I have not seen the film in a theater in years, but I do recall the cinematography was very impressive.
The UK DVD is brilliant quality, albeit full screen. The film is a masterpiece. There is a heck of a lot going on in terms of symbolism, time/memory and intertwining levels of narration (1st and 3rd person). It is a film that DOES go deep.
shareThe Optimum Releasing UK DVD that I got when I ordered it from Amazon's UK site was struck from a print that had a lot of scratches and lines throughout in addition to being a full frame instead of widescreen print.
If that doesn't bother some people, so be it, but with the superior job that a lot of other companies have done with their releases, I would hard pressed to suggest to a US buyer to spend the money to import an inferior one given the current rate of exchange between the pound sterling and the US dollar.
I agree with Neil...it's a pretty crappy copy...but it's still worth watching...I got it as part of a disappointing Julie Christie collection.
share"Should this film make it to DVD in the US, make sure it's a widescreen version before you buy it. There is a cropped version that is out in the UK which is of poor quality."
For what it's worth, the Optimum DVD from the UK is not cropped. The film was shot open-matte, with the intension of projecting it at 1.66:1 in British cinemas. So actually we're seeing slightly more information at the top and bottom of the screen and not less information on the right and left sides. It's still a mistake on Optimum's part, of course, but it's much less annoying than pan-and-scanning a 2.35:1 movie.
There are other problems with the Optimum disc, as others have pointed out. But if you can grab it for less than 5 pounds on Amazon.uk, it's well worth your while. This movie deserves to be seen in any condition.
Like a lot of DVD's distributed through Optimum releasing, the DVD provides a solid and highly watchable transfer. Nothing stellar, but I've seen much worse transfers.
As suggested, it is unfortunately "open matte," but as also noted above this means you lose none of the picture information.
You scan see some screen grabs here:
http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/DVDReviews32/the_go-between.htm
The film is powerful and haunting, and one of Losey's best. And, for the bargain price you can buy it at Amazon UK, I think most film fans will find it a worthwhile purchase.
I had some doubts about this open matte business but I've just made myself a WS version by cropping the 4:3 DVD to 1.66:1 using VirtualDub. Sure enough the composition of shots still looks OK. But it's nice to see it in Widescreen!
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I dont know if it will be out on DVD. This is sad . I love this film. It is all the above. Romance, Drama, It is fabulous. It is time for a remake aor DVD release. A remake in todays film idustry. It would probably be way over done with a lot of nudity. Even the Estate in the original film is still exactly as in the film.
shareWhereabouts was it filmed? I have just seen it again for the first time in years, and it is brilliant. I feel so sad for the boy whose emotional development was presumably cut off at the age of thirteen by a lot of manipulative adults.
shareIt was filmed here, at Melton Constable, which remains unoccupied and unrestored 40 years after the film was made:
http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=52.846462,1.0148142&z=17&t=h&hl=en
Some of the outbuildings have been sold off for flats etc. but essentially, as the image shows, the estate is unchanged.
What a pity that such a beautiful building remains unrestored when some quite hideous looking houses - the ones with gothic turrets and tarted up by different owners into goodness knows what continue to prosper. Thanks for the information Mike.
shareIt really is time for this brilliant film to come out on dvd. Julie Christie and Alan Bates are so exquisite together and Margaret Leighton, Edward Fox, Dominic Guard and Michael Redgrave are all simply superb. I thought when Harold Pinter received the Nobel Prize for Literature it might lead to something, but still waiting here. Does anyone know what is the hold-up for releasing this?
shareNot sure what the hold-up here - I think the rights reside with Sony at this point - Maybe TCM will come to the rescue and broadcast it letterboxed, though a letterboxed DVD is still on my wish-list. Sony just trotted out a bunch of old black-and-white Capra re-releases, so surely they can find it in their hearts to issue a 1970 film that's in color???
"Somewhere along the line the world has lost all of its standards and all of its taste."