The Bootleg Files: Woody Allen Looks at 1967

Posted on January 1, 2021 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 753: “Woody Allen Looks at 1967” (1967 television special).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: Never released in a home entertainment format.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Unlikely.

It’s safe to say that no one will ever look back on 2020 with any great fondness, except perhaps Mr. and Mrs. Biden, but that now-closed 12-month span was hardly the first year-from-hell experience. Anyone who was around in 1967 will glumly recall the challenges and tragedies that marked the year’s political and social environments.
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The Bootleg Files: Hedda Hopper’s Hollywood

Posted on January 17, 2020 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 716: “Hedda Hopper’s Hollywood” (1960 all-star TV special).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: No perceived commercial reissue value.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.

By the time 1960 rolled about, the film industry was in a very strange place. The studio system had mostly crumbled and many of the major Hollywood productions were being shot overseas. The movie studios learned to grudgingly live with television and a few figured out how to profit from the small screen medium.
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The Bootleg Files: The Dangerous Christmas of Red Riding Hood

Posted on December 20, 2019 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 712: “The Dangerous Christmas of Red Riding Hood” (1965 television special starring Liza Minnelli).

LAST SEEN: On DailyMotion.com.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: On a highly dubious label.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: The absence of the original color production.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely at all.

During the 1960s, the Christmas season brought a glut of holiday-oriented productions to television. But for every “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” that became an instant classic, there were scores of efforts that never clicked with audiences and became quickly forgotten.
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