1022 The Prince of Tides

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swo17
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1022 The Prince of Tides

#1 Post by swo17 » Thu May 30, 2019 2:29 pm

The Prince of Tides

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For her acclaimed second feature as a director, Barbra Streisand crafted a sumptuous, emotionally wrenching adaptation of Pat Conroy's best-selling novel—which she also produced and starred in. Summoned to New York after his sister attempts suicide, Tom Wingo (Nick Nolte) must serve as her memory, reckoning with the traumas of their southern childhood so that her psychiatrist, Dr. Susan Lowenstein (Streisand), can help her recover. But Tom's sessions with Lowenstein will plunge him into the depths of his own long-repressed pain—and reawaken the possibility of love within him. Nominated for seven Academy Awards, including best picture and best actor for Nolte's soulful performance, The Prince of Tides is a life-affirming tale of healing and renewal from a triple-threat filmmaker with a keen and humane insight into her characters' sorrows, joys, and yearnings.

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

• New 4K digital restoration, supervised by director Barbra Streisand, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray
• Audio commentary featuring Streisand, recorded in 1991 and updated in 2019
• Making-of featurette from 1991
• Excerpt from a 2018 interview with Streisand, conducted by filmmaker Robert Rodriguez on El Rey Network's The Director's Chair
• Audition and rehearsal footage
• Deleted scenes and alternate takes
• Costume and makeup tests
• Alternate end credits with vocal performance by Streisand
• Behind-the-scenes footage
• Gag reel
• Production-stills gallery and other archival materials
• Interview with author Pat Conroy from a 1992 episode of Cinema Showcase with Jim Whaley
• Interview with Streisand from a 1992 episode of the British television show Aspel & Company with Michael Aspel
• Trailers
• PLUS: An essay by film historian Bruce Eder

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movielocke
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Re: Forthcoming: Prince of Tides

#2 Post by movielocke » Thu May 30, 2019 2:32 pm

Was this a laserdisc?

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CSM126
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Re: Forthcoming: Prince of Tides

#3 Post by CSM126 » Thu May 30, 2019 2:34 pm

Yes it was. A notorious one, as la Babs gave them nothing but headaches “perfecting” it and tweaking things endlessly. And then they released it and she demanded a recall because of a lone typo on the jacket.

In other words, I’m stunned they’d want to deal with it ever again. Maybe they’re keeping Babs far, far away.

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soundchaser
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Re: Forthcoming: Prince of Tides

#4 Post by soundchaser » Thu May 30, 2019 2:36 pm

I read this novel as a senior in high school and loved it - my favorite of the Pat Conroy novels I've read. What's the forum consensus on the adaptation?

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Re: Forthcoming: Prince of Tides

#5 Post by cdnchris » Thu May 30, 2019 2:41 pm

I wondered if they were ever going to do this one. I remember seeing the movie but actually don't recall much about it.

Yeah, the LaserDisc is rather infamous. I found this on Home Theater Forum
Jon,

That person who sold the LD on eBay a couple years ago was me. I was an LD (and DVD) reviewer for nearly 20 years, and I received a copy of that real first printing of PRINCE OF TIDES directly from Criterion. Contrary to whatever Criterion's "official company line" might be, that first disc obviously existed, because several thousand copies were pressed. (I'll see if I can find my info on the exact pressing run.)

As far as I can remember, no actual copies had yet been distributed to stores. IF, and that's a big IF, any were, it would have been to a couple local LD stores, and they would have been easily recalled. But of those actual copies "released" outside of Criterion, they went directly to maybe 10 or so reviewers nationwide, myself included.

In what turned out to be a very costly problem for Criterion, Barbra Streisand had COMPLETE control of the LD, and had final approval. The entire project met with her approval every step of the way, and the disc was pressed. But when a copy was given to Streisand for the final sign off, she refused to give it — she was very unhappy with the way she sounded in her commentary track, and wanted to do it over. There were also a few minor items in the supplementary material she wished to revise. And since she had final approval and creative control over the LD, Criterion had no choice but to follow her instructions and start work on revising the LD.

Because of all that, Criterion "recalled" the LD, and all copies were ordered destroyed. Legally, none could be released and sold at retail. Of course, not all the copies were "recalled" and destroyed — we reviewer could keep our copies, and Criterion did hand one out to each employee that year as Christmas presents.

I can't remember the exact details of what was changed in the supplementary materials, but I'll check my files later today and see if I can find my notes.

As an LD fan, from a collector's point of view I sometimes regret selling the disc, since there are only maybe 50 copies at most in existence. However, life took precedence over collecting — I sold that and several other items because I desperately needed to take care of seriously mounting medical bills and other things (I got seriously nailed by a nasty genetic disease about 4-1/2 years back that has nearly killed me several times over... fun stuff... but at least I've mostly stable now. Not quite what my wife I and had planned out for our lives....) Anyway, I have to admit that I simply cannot stand watching PRINCE OF TIDES on many levels (my apologies), and I decided that rather than hold onto this solely because of its "rarity," I would instead part with it and hope that it went to someone who would truly appreciate having the disc. It turned out that I knew the fellow who won the auction — he used to be one of my magazine readers (yes, I used to publish my own monthly LD magazine) — and I can't imagine the LD going to a better home! And besides, I have over 6,000 LDs in my collection, so it's not like I don't have any titles to watch these days.

(Bragging Rights On: I have far more rare titles than PRINCE OF TIDES that I actually enjoy. I have several "one-of-a-kind" discs, where maybe 1-5 copies were ever pressed. These were either test pressings, or in a couple of cases final pressings with full covers. I even have alternate finished jackets for several discs that were never released (the artwork or designs had to be changed). Anyway, these titles/discs never made it to market for one reason or another — sudden legal issues, rights pulled/lost at the last minute, etc. I know of several cases at one studio/company where they legally obtained a title, or so they thought — they'd press a few test copies, or even the final disc, only to later discover that the "rights-holder" didn't actually legally hold the rights to the title(s) they were selling in the first place. Very messy... and costly. Okay, Bragging Rights Off.)

Well, I hope that answered some of your questions about the original, real first version of the PRINCE OF TIDES LD. As I said earlier, I'll check my files and see if I can find the specific again, but no promises. Aside from all this happening years ago, we bought a new home a few months ago, and most of my archives (not to mention about 50% of all our stuff) is still boxed up until we finish furnishing/completing both our office and our official "fun collection room."

Best wishes,
Jeff

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Re: Forthcoming: Prince of Tides

#6 Post by domino harvey » Thu May 30, 2019 2:42 pm

soundchaser wrote:
Thu May 30, 2019 2:36 pm
I read this novel as a senior in high school and loved it - my favorite of the Pat Conroy novels I've read. What's the forum consensus on the adaptation?
I really enjoyed it. Going in, I had no idea how dark the material was, as I thought given Streisand's involvement meant it was romantic fluff. Uh, incorrect. Had Anthony Hopkins gone supporting for Silence of the Lambs, Nick Nolte surely would have won Best Actor, and still should have...

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Re: Forthcoming: Prince of Tides

#7 Post by Roscoe » Thu May 30, 2019 3:24 pm

A tasteless obvious clue for a tasteless obvious movie. Was this part of some studio package deal or something?

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Re: Forthcoming: Prince of Tides

#8 Post by domino harvey » Thu May 30, 2019 3:27 pm

Not that I think you're asking seriously, but it's a Sony title, so literally any label could have gone after this. Criterion obviously wanted it and sought it out-- presumably, as already stated, to be another feather in their laserdisc reclamation cap

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Re: Forthcoming: Prince of Tides

#9 Post by knives » Thu May 30, 2019 3:29 pm

domino harvey wrote:
Thu May 30, 2019 2:42 pm
soundchaser wrote:
Thu May 30, 2019 2:36 pm
I read this novel as a senior in high school and loved it - my favorite of the Pat Conroy novels I've read. What's the forum consensus on the adaptation?
I really enjoyed it. Going in, I had no idea how dark the material was, as I thought given Streisand's involvement meant it was romantic fluff. Uh, incorrect. Had Anthony Hopkins gone supporting for Silence of the Lambs, Nick Nolte surely would have won Best Actor, and still should have...
I'm co-signing. A surprisingly mature and intelligent film especially in light of the mess that is Yentl.

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Re: Forthcoming: Prince of Tides

#10 Post by Costa » Thu May 30, 2019 3:34 pm

Great news about the film getting a release.
not so thrilled that it's Criterion with its usual poor compression.

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Re: Forthcoming: Prince of Tides

#11 Post by jedgeco » Thu May 30, 2019 3:35 pm

domino harvey wrote:
Thu May 30, 2019 3:27 pm
Not that I think you're asking seriously, but it's a Sony title, so literally any label could have gone after this. Criterion obviously wanted it and sought it out-- presumably, as already stated, to be another feather in their laserdisc reclamation cap
Laserdisc reclamation has now gone too far, IMO.... Although I think it would be funny if they used this opportunity to include whatever Streisand-offending material that proved to be such a hassle in the 90s.

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Re: Forthcoming: Prince of Tides

#12 Post by Orlac » Thu May 30, 2019 3:40 pm

Marge Simpson should be happy.

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domino harvey
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Re: Forthcoming: Prince of Tides

#13 Post by domino harvey » Thu May 30, 2019 3:48 pm

Orlac wrote:
Thu May 30, 2019 3:40 pm
Marge Simpson should be happy.
Having spent so many years of my life already enjoying the "Fear of Flying" episode, it was incredible to me watching it again afterwards how much of it is a straight parody of Prince of Tides

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Re: Forthcoming: Prince of Tides

#14 Post by bearcuborg » Thu May 30, 2019 4:39 pm

I haven’t seen it since it came out, but it has almost always been a movie I had to defend by saying, “No, trust me, it’s not bad!” I think Streisand’s reputation holds this movie back from newcomers. I don’t know how it holds up, but while Nolte had a pretty uneven 90’s, there was nobody better when he was on his game...

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Re: Forthcoming: Prince of Tides

#15 Post by davechicago » Sat Oct 26, 2019 1:03 am

The issue on the laser disc and my friend had a copy that he got before it was recalled. It involved the book store scene when tom Wingo was looking at the books and came across his sister's book of poems. That point is when the disc flipped over and cut out a few of the frames- that showed the book. Therefore it was crucial It had nothing to do with Barbra not liking the cover or a typo on the jacket or even the extras. That's a myth. it was the missing frames of that crucial scene.

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Re: Forthcoming: Prince of Tides

#16 Post by cmeola » Wed Oct 30, 2019 10:20 am

I am concerned that this will be in delay hell for years like Spinal Tap.

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Re: Forthcoming: Prince of Tides

#17 Post by guyetgenevieve » Wed Oct 30, 2019 3:21 pm

cmeola wrote:
Wed Oct 30, 2019 10:20 am
I am concerned that this will be in delay hell for years like Spinal Tap.
I wouldn't be too afraid considering that the Criterion Instagram posted a photo of Barbra with Eric Garcia just four days ago. Part of me wonders if this is gonna end up being a Barbra box of some sort. I'm not counting on that, but Yentl is in November's Channel line-up, and some of Barbra's leading films could use better Blu-ray releases.

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Re: Forthcoming: Prince of Tides

#18 Post by jedgeco » Thu Oct 31, 2019 2:07 pm

Was "Spinal Tap" ever confirmed or even suggested beyond the vaguely "Stonehenge" looking thing in the New Year's drawing a few years back?

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Re: Forthcoming: Prince of Tides

#19 Post by CSM126 » Thu Oct 31, 2019 3:05 pm

jedgeco wrote:
Thu Oct 31, 2019 2:07 pm
Was "Spinal Tap" ever confirmed or even suggested beyond the vaguely "Stonehenge" looking thing in the New Year's drawing a few years back?
No. And that doodle wasn’t Stonehenge anyway, it was a blueprint (signifying A Master Builder).

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Re: Forthcoming: Prince of Tides

#20 Post by hearthesilence » Thu Oct 31, 2019 4:51 pm

bearcuborg wrote:
Thu May 30, 2019 4:39 pm
I haven’t seen it since it came out, but it has almost always been a movie I had to defend by saying, “No, trust me, it’s not bad!” I think Streisand’s reputation holds this movie back from newcomers. I don’t know how it holds up, but while Nolte had a pretty uneven 90’s, there was nobody better when he was on his game...
Supposedly Nolte was the slight favorite for winning Best Actor for this film, only to be upset by Hopkins for The Silence of the Lambs.

From my recollection, he was good, easily the best thing about the film, and Streisand's acting and the others weren't bad either, but I also remember the film being grating and overcooked too. On Oscar night, host Billy Crystal and others kept hammering home the point that it was ridiculous she wasn't nominated when the movie itself was showered with nominations, but honestly there's no way I'd hold this up as one of the year's best.

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Re: Forthcoming: Prince of Tides

#21 Post by swo17 » Mon Dec 16, 2019 5:48 pm


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Re: 1022 The Prince of Tides

#22 Post by domino harvey » Mon Dec 16, 2019 6:58 pm

Robert Rodriguez interviewing Barbara Streisand sounds interesting! Very stacked release, I suspect most people here would like this film more than they think

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Re: 1022 The Prince of Tides

#23 Post by flyonthewall2983 » Mon Dec 16, 2019 8:21 pm

Had no idea she did that show. I've only seen a couple episodes, but they were really good.

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Re: 1022 The Prince of Tides

#24 Post by greggster59 » Mon Dec 16, 2019 8:22 pm

Like Buttah!

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Re: 1022 The Prince of Tides

#25 Post by Jack Kubrick » Mon Dec 16, 2019 8:57 pm

This film also marks George Carlin entry into the collection.

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