Tag Archives: unfinished film

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The Bootleg Files: Strawberry Fields

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BOOTLEG FILES 902: “Strawberry Fields” (unfinished animated feature from the 1980s).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube and Internet Archive.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: Unfinished production with music rights clearance issues.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.

During the 1960s, producer Al Brodax experienced back-to-back career peaks thanks to the decade’s most influential band – he was the driving force behind the animated television series “The Beatles” and the 1968 animated feature “Yellow Submarine.” In the mid-1980s, Brodax tried to score yet another Beatles-fueled triumph with an animated feature film called “Strawberry Fields.” Unfortunately, the project fell apart well ahead of its completion and the surviving footage went unseen until last year when the unauthorized upload of a work-in-progress reel appeared on the Internet.
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The Bootleg Files: Wolfman vs. Godzilla

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BOOTLEG FILES 854: “Wolfman vs. Godzilla” (unfinished fan film).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube and Internet Archive.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: A right clearance issue.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.

From a creative artist’s perspective, I could never understand the appeal of making fan films. I appreciate when teens and pre-teens create these cinematic tributes – there’s something very charming when the James Bond or Star Wars orbits are reimagined by an alternative universe of the under-18 crowd. But when adults spend a great deal of time and money in creating fan films, it usually leaves me cold.
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The Bootleg Files: Orson Welles’ Moby Dick

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BOOTLEG FILES 714: “Moby Dick” (Orson Welles’ unfinished 1971 project).

LAST SEEN: Three brief clips are on YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: Sometimes, the only way to enjoy Welles’ work is via bootleg video.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.

Orson Welles had a lifelong fascination with Herman Melville’s “Moby-Dick” and pursued adaptations of this epic novel interpretation throughout his career. He produced radio versions of the tale in 1938 and 1946, taking on the role of Captain Ahab. John Huston wanted Welles to play Ahab in his 1956 film version, but Warner Bros. insisted on a star with a bigger box office draw, so Gregory Peck was recruited to play Ahab while Welles had a showy supporting part as Father Mapple.
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