Powerhouse Films

[Michael Brooke]

Originally Posted by Paul@TheOverlook

I've known one of the guys who started Powerhouse for 15 years or more and I can tell you that his passion for film is a big part of what they release and I imagine that a fair few of those titles are gambles simply because he loves them - he's one of a very tiny handful of people I've known that's universally positive about most films and without ever seeming to be disingenuous.

While this is certainly true (and how!), I honestly don't think that the Boetticher box belongs amongst those "fair few titles". Not least because the Ranown westerns were regularly requested from multiple labels, especially Twilight Time (who were always seen as the label most likely to take them on, thanks to a Sony connection that no UK label had prior to 2016).

Put it like this: in terms of international name recognition and likelihood of generating hefty discussion threads on the larger US-based forums, they're vastly more famous than, say, 90˚ in the Shade, The Triple Echo or Immaculate Conception, which really were risky projects, and expensive risks at that because they all involved original restorations.

In fact, it's quite revealing popping over to the Home Theater Forum and seeing which Indicator titles catch their attention - you probably won't be surprised to hear that the upcoming Sweet Charity has generated the biggest recent solo thread, while the British stuff generally gets blanked completely aside from a token nod at the time of the initial announcement.

[The Reaper Man@Cult Labs]

Did you never own the Region 1 betamax set with COD Stephen?

[Rob4]

Originally Posted by Michael Brooke

In fact, it's quite revealing popping over to the Home Theater Forum and seeing which Indicator titles catch their attention - you probably won't be surprised to hear that the upcoming Sweet Charity has generated the biggest recent solo thread, while the British stuff generally gets blanked completely aside from a token nod at the time of the initial announcement.

That's really intersting... there was a lot of buzz online for Val Lewton releases and then Kino began releasing them but apparently Kino have reported they were disappointing sellers and have discontinued the range.

Michael, do online discussions actually influence releases or is it a case of you follow your gut instinct and take your chances?

[Stephen@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by The Reaper Man@Cult Labs

Did you never own the Region 1 betamax set with COD Stephen?

Afraid not. Hadn't seen it before Indicator put it out.

[Stephen@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Michael Brooke

In fact, it's quite revealing popping over to the Home Theater Forum and seeing which Indicator titles catch their attention - you probably won't be surprised to hear that the upcoming Sweet Charity has generated the biggest recent solo thread, while the British stuff generally gets blanked completely aside from a token nod at the time of the initial announcement.

I must admit that I am really looking forward to Sweet Charity as well.

[Michael Brooke]

Originally Posted by Stephen@Cult Labs

Afraid not. Hadn't seen it before Indicator put it out.

I first saw it on the big screen in early 2009, and when Peter Cushing said that "banking is one of the few respectable professions left in this country", it triggered one of the biggest collective belly laughs I've ever heard in a cinema. Fortunately it was very early on, so we could enjoy the rest of the film without unintentional distractions.

[Michael Brooke]

Originally Posted by Rob4

Michael, do online discussions actually influence releases or is it a case of you follow your gut instinct and take your chances?

That's a really good question, and it basically depends on the individual film and the nature of the discussion. I think it's probably safe to say that if the UK rights had been available, Unman, Wittering and Zigo would have been picked up ages ago, as that particular title comes up time and again, and with multiple people suggesting it - and that's an obvious Indicator (or BFI Flipside) title anyway, being obscure, British and pretty good.

That said, I can't immediately think of a title that was acquired specifically because of an online discussion - what's more likely to happen is that Titles A and B will already be under consideration, and someone on the team will recall that Title B generated a more lively discussion when it last came up and put that forward as a reason for favouring it. But then again, people on the team might be fonder of Title A and decide that it needs a fairer crack of the whip than it's had so far, so there's no hard and fast rule.

[Rob4]

Originally Posted by Michael Brooke

Unman, Wittering and Zigo would have been picked up ages ago, as that particular title comes up time and again, and with multiple people suggesting it - and that's an obvious Indicator (or BFI Flipside) title anyway, being obscure, British and pretty good.

i'd love that as a release. i've only seen the back end of it once, years ago, on a late night showing. i think i was tired or drunk or both. woke up and thought i'd dreamed it. it's lingered in my memory for a long, long time.

[Michael Brooke]

Originally Posted by Rob4

i'd love that as a release. i've only seen the back end of it once, years ago, on a late night showing. i think i was tired or drunk or both. woke up and thought i'd dreamed it. it's lingered in my memory for a long, long time.

Plenty of people had exactly the same experience, including me! And it's a pretty safe bet that if Columbia had made it instead of Paramount, it would already have had the Indicator treatment - same with something like Jack Clayton's Our Mother's House, which is with Warner Bros.

But the Columbia catalogue was considered off limits to British boutique labels as recently as 2016, so never say never. Sometimes things can effectively be vaulted for years (or decades) and then suddenly become available thanks to a change of policy. Although of course that process can work in reverse: I'm not aware of anyone who's managed to license any Fox titles since Disney took over the catalogue.

[Rob4]

Originally Posted by Michael Brooke

I'm not aware of anyone who's managed to license any Fox titles since Disney took over the catalogue.

its a sad development. time to stock up with Fox titles already in the market place before they start to disappear methinks...