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The Bootleg Files: Laurence Olivier Polaroid Commercials

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BOOTLEG FILES 767: “Laurence Olivier Polaroid Commercials” (1973-74 television commercial campaign).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: No commercial reissue value.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Maybe in an anthology of vintage commercials, but that’s unlikely.

Have you tried sitting through television commercials lately? Really, who creates this crap? Either they are dismally unfunny (particularly for the insurance companies) or they are hard-sell to the point of discomfort or they are so vague and hazy (especially for medical products) that you wonder what exactly is being sold.
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Five Good (and Five Terrible) Movies Heavily Influenced by “Home Alone”

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“Dial Code Santa Claus (aka 3615 code Père Noël),” now available for collectors, is generally accepted as the original “Home Alone.” Also with the reboot now in the works over at Disney+, I thought it’d be fun to harp on Chris Columbus Christmas classic. Originally a huge hit when it arrived in theaters (my brother and I saw it in theaters with my dad three times!), the film inspired a huge slew of rip offs, and copycats from competing studios looking for their own piece of the pie.

I thought it’d be fun to look at four films heavily “inspired” by the classic that were Terrible and five that were actually quite good. There’s a good chance I’m missing a few, so feel free to let me know in the comments what I should have included.

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The Woman in the Window (2021)

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Joe Wright’s “The Woman in the Window” wears much of its influence and inspiration on its sleeve. Before we meet the character Anna, the camera pans past a still shot of Jimmy Stewart from “Rear Window.” This sets the stage for a movie clearly influenced by Hitchcock’s masterpiece that completely misses the mark on every level. Wright’s film is a long troubled production that could have managed more editing here and there, as it’s a sloppy, droning, and genre confused mess.

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Sound of Violence (2021)

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Following the murder of her family, Alexis seemingly miraculously recovered her hearing. As she studies music, an interesting phenomenon happens and she can feel and see music in a different manner than most. This leads her to experimentations that are anything but ethical to get to her goal of knowing and feeling more of the music. As she creates music, a dark secret comes to light. 

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The Retreat (2021)

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A couple finds their way to the countryside after being invited to a retreat by a couple of friends. As these LGBTQ+ couples leave the safety of the large city, they soon find out that the countryside, this one in particular, is not very friendly to people who do not fit the locals’ ideas of what should be acceptable. 

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Man Push Cart (2005): Criterion Collection [Blu-Ray]

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Ramin Bahrani’s stellar and often brilliant drama is very much a post 9/11 film about the immigrant experience, the “America Dream,” and the promise of perpetual poverty. In a country that doesn’t even grant its born citizens a chance at higher quality of life, what hopes do immigrants have? Ramin Bahrani’s indie hit “Man Push Cart” focuses primarily on Ahmad, a young man who is working toward a big goal that always seems so painfully out of his grasp. Like everyone in America, he works until he can barely stand, and he does it every single day without complaining.

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King Kong (1976): Collector’s Edition [2 Blu-Ray]

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Now seems around the perfect time and climate to remind movie geeks that in 1976 there was a large scale remake of “King Kong.” And it’s definitely a remake. That is the best thing I can say about it at the end of the day. It’s not great like the original, but it’s not bloated like the 2005 remake, so the mileage varies with director John Guillermin’s treatment of the 1933 classic. After many years without much of a release for the fans, Scream Factory finally offers up a pretty stellar Blu-Ray bound to compliment any fan’s collection, and might even serve as a great chaser for “Godzilla vs. Kong.”

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