Four years later, here's an update of the original list. Much has changed. The Manufactured On Demand lines have contributed a lot to making these available, and some Blu-rays have appeared as well.
MOD titles are relatively expensive, but if from before 1970 you can usually rent them from
http://www.classicflix.com/.
Again, this is just my want list. It's not meant to be of importance to anyone else.
It's wrong of me to call a title "not available" when it is in print in PAL or as a Blu-ray import. We have the technology to cope and in the future I'll treat it as a world market. I've been importing a lot: it's easy and often economical.
I ignore streaming versions.
Now available on DVD
Agatha (1979)Admirable Crichton, The (1957) [My review].
Age of Consent (1969) Michael Powell, James Mason, Helen Mirren.
Arabesque (1966) Gregory Peck, Sophia Loren.
Bluebeard's Eighth Wife (1938) Screwball comedy.
Bribe, The (1949) [My review].
Divorce of Lady X, The (1938) Romantic comedy with Merle Oberon, Laurence Olivier and Ralph Richardson.
Easy Living (1937) Screwball comedy.
Enchanted April (1992)Ex-Mrs Bradford, The (1936) [My review].
Footsteps in the Dark (1941) [My review].
Footsteps in the Fog (1955) [My review].
Four's a Crowd (1938) Errol Flynn comedy.
It's a Wonderful World (1939) Screwball comedy.
It's Love I'm After (1937) [My review].
Jimmy the Gent (1934) Screwball comedy.
Mad Miss Manton, The (1938) [My review].
Major and the Minor, The (1942) Screwball comedy.
Major Barbara (1941) Wendy Hiller and Rex Harrison do Shaw. Criterion.
Midnight (1939) Screwball comedy.
Midwinter's Tale (1995) Aka
In the Bleak Midwinter. Directed by Branagh.
Mr Lucky (1943) Cary Grant.
Pirates of Penzance, The (1983) The 1980 TV version with Kline and Rondstadt had been available before, but not their 1983 theatrical release.
Privilege (1967) Pop music fable.
Ruggles of Red Gap (1935) [My review].
Scarecrow of Romney Marsh, The (1963) A Disney made for TV miniseries with Patrick McGoohan. Aka
Dr Syn, Alias the Scarecrow.
Small Back Room, The (1949) Powell/Pressburger. Criterion.
That Forsyte Woman (1949) [My review].
Theodora Goes Wild (1936) Screwball comedy.
World, The Flesh and The Devil, The (1959) [My review].
Newly restored versions
Night Train to Munich (1940) Criterion.
[My review].
Stairway to Heaven (1946)
Available on Blu-ray (these were on DVD but needed anamorphic upgrades)
Armageddon (1998)Cutthroat Island (1995)Walkabout (1971) Criterion.
[My review].
Withnail and I (1987) [My review].
These are still missing on region 1 (and often, elsewhere)
Beware, My Lovely (1952) Robert Ryan and Ida Lupino. What more do you want? Vote at
TCM.
Chimes at Midnight, The (1965) Orson Welles as Falstaff. Amazon and Amazon UK show a couple of editions of this but they look "unofficial". Vote at
TCM.
Conflict (1945) Bogart and Greenstreet. Vote at
TCM.
Fourth Protocol, The (1987) Hard to believe there is no region 1 disc. Available in PAL and Amazon has a region-free Korean NTSC import.
[My review]. Vote at
TCM.
High Road to China (1983) Available in 4:3 PAL, said to be poor. Vote at
TCM.
Hotel du Nord (1938) On PAL and Amazon has a region-free Korean NTSC import. Vote at
TCM.
Inferno (1953) Robert Ryan! Available on PAL. Twilight Time is supposed to do this but there's no date set as yet. Vote at
TCM.
International Gorillay (1990) Made in Pakistan: kill Salman Rushdie! Said to be hilarious.
Light That Failed, The (1939) Ronald Colman and Ida Lupino. I'm told the Kipling novel has both happy and sad ending versions; I honestly don't know which I read. It's difficult to judge. Vote at
TCM.
Moon's Our Home, The (1936) Screwball comedy. Vote at
TCM.
Our Hearts Were Young and Gay (1944) Gail Russell. Vote at
TCM.
Perfect Specimen, The (1937) Errol Flynn comedy. Vote at
TCM.
Pimpernel Smith (1941) Leslie Howard. Wasn't this announced at one time? Available on PAL and for $20 from
http://www.reelclassicdvd.com/ (a tape bootleg?)
Private War of Major Benson, The (1955) Charlton Heston comedy (!) Vote at
TCM.
Siege of Firebase Gloria, The (1989) Wings Hauser and R. Lee. Ermey in Vietnam. I must see it again. Vote at
TCM.
Tawny Pipit, The (1944) British home front birdwatching romance. I saw part of this during PBS fundraising and want to finish it. Available on PAL.
Tchao pantin (1983) Claude Berri. Available on PAL. Vote at
TCM.
Tenth Level, The (1975) For the William Shatner film festival. Stanley Milgram and the obedience to authority experiments. Made for TV.
Waterloo (1970) Available on PAL and as region-free NTSC imports at Amazon. Vote at
TCM.
Year of the Comet, The (1992) Out of print in 4:3 PAL. Needs a widescreen update. Vote at
TCM.
These need anamorphic DVD or Blu-ray upgrades
1941 (1979) Theatrical cut, not director's, please. Anamorphic PAL available.
[My review].
Day of the Triffids (1962) Available in 4:3 pan & scanned NTSC and 4:3 letterboxed PAL editions, all very poor.
Emma (1996) Gwynneth Paltrow. Anamorphic PAL and region free Blu-ray import available.
Extreme Prejudice (1987) Walter Hill, pan-and-scan. Anamorphic PAL available.
[My review].
Firelight (1997) Sophie Marceau; Jane Eyre hotted up a bit. The region 1 disc is 4:3; a widescreen PAL is available.
Hard Times (1975) Walter Hill. The 1999 edition was a flipper with anamorphic widescreen on one side. The 2005 rerelease was pan-and-scan only. Anamorphic PAL available.
[My review].
Hell in the Pacific (1968)Hope and Glory (1987) [My review].
Horseman on the Roof, The (1995) The US version is both 4:3 letterboxed and edited. Available on full-length anamorphic PAL.
Impromptu (1991) The OAR is 1.66, so 4:3 letterboxed may not be that bad.
Ladyhawke (1985) Available in anamorphic PAL and two Blu-ray imports.
[My review].
Prospero's Books (1991) There is a poor 4:3 region 1 disc. The only good edition is a Dutch PAL disc available only as part of a 5-disc collection.
Queen Margot (1994) Anamorphic PAL available.
Sorcerer (1977) William Friedkin's remake of
Wages of Fear. Some tremendous scenes. Pan & scan only.
While You Were Sleeping (1995) Anamorphic PAL available.
Still needing restoration
Scarlet Pimpernel (1934) Some poor region 1 discs are available.
New additions
Altered States (1980) The ancient DVD is just vile.
Forever Amber (1947) On PAL.
Funeral in Berlin (1966) Out of print on NTSC, available on PAL.
Ipcress File, The (1965) Out of print on NTSC, available on PAL and as Blu-ray import.
Johnny Nobody (1961) Nigel Patrick as a priest investigating why an American stranger in an Irish village (Aldo Ray) murdered Irish atheist William Bendix for no discernable reason. (recommended by Jim Beaver)
Lonelyhearts (1958) On PAL.
Looking for Mr Goodbar (1977)Medusa Touch, The (1978) Out of print on NTSC, available on PAL.
Ms. 45 (1981) Long out of print.
Quiet Man, The (1952) Bad DVD.
[My review].
Thirty Nine Steps, The (1978)Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974) Out of print on NTSC, available on PAL.
-Bill
