Posted by Ron Epstein over at HTF:

I'm delighted to hear that Payday will be released after all--and with commentary from late director Daryl Duke.

I am most excited, however, to hear that Personal Best has been announced. This has long been one of my most-wanted titles and, slowly, but surely, WB is crossing these off my list. I hope that there will be some some sort of commentary from writer/director Robert Towne (either in the form of a commentary track or featurette). The film was nearly shelved due to an actors strike and, later, Towne was locked out of the editing room by producer David Geffen. Despite all this turmoil, it is a fine film with great performances from stars Mariel Hemingway, Scott Glenn, and real-life Olympic athlete Patrice Donnelly. Hemingway is marvelous here in her first role following Manhattan.

I hope that THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER will have some supplements. I'd love to hear a Sondra Locke audio commentary track, but I don't think that Locke and Warner are "on the same page."

By the same token, it would be interesting to hear Arkin comment on his silent performance.

Where'd WB get this little nugget from?

So far as I know this one sprang wholly from the mind of Mr. Towne and the Olympic athletes he was hanging out with in the mid-70s.

Peter Biskind's Easy Riders, Raging Bulls featured a rather revealing photo of Towne and said athletes lounging on a beach that I don't think did his marriage much good. This was the one to actress Julie Payne (daughter of actors John Payne & Anne Shirley) that produced actress daughter Katharine Towne.

I wonder why WHV couldn't, or wouldn't, use Payday's original key art. Since this was not originally WB's (it was released theatrically by Cinerama), I'm guessing this has something to do with this. Marc H. can verify, but I believe WB has Payday through it's relationship with Saul Zaentz/Fantasy Films. I believe this is also where Tell Me a Riddle comes from:


Looks like there was tweaking done for The Heart is a Lonely Hunter:


It's certainly no dealbreaker, but I would have preferred a closer approximation of the original poster:

Jonathan is correct; practically everything Saul Zaentz has produced up to the late '80's is being handled by WB for DVD. I don't know if this includes AT PLAY IN THE FIELDS OF THE LORD, which Universal released in theatres, on tape and laserdisc, but has not popped up on DVD yet. (Of course, this could have less to do with Zaentz and more with its lackluster performance upon release.)

I'm not sure why WB chose not to use the original theatrical art for PAYDAY. My guess is perhaps they felt it made the movie look too much like a comedy, a good-ol-boy country music romp, instead of the heavy character drama that it is. Granted, the current DVD art (which they also used for their VHS release years ago) is not much more illuminating, but it does seem to suggest this may be a dark tale.

One would think Daryl Hannah's revealing performance would be all the justification needed for a DVD. :D Other than that, though, I recall this one being quite a chore. Not too mention the fact that Ms. Hannah's appearance is countered by an equally revealing one by Kathy Bates. :o

I agree that Payday's original artwork might be a bit too tawdry in that 70s mass paperback kind of way, but the recycled VHS artwork is a rather underwhelming sell from the usually reliable WHV.

The discs are out and so far I've only picked up my favorite of the bunch: Personal Best. The transfer is very impressive and the film comes with a previously unannounced commentary with writer/director Robert Towne, actor Scott Glenn, and actor/technical consultant Kenny Moore. It's wonderful to hear these men in the same room reminiscing about the making of this very unique film, but the absence of either of the film's female stars, Mariel Hemingway and Patrice Donnelly, from any DVD extra content is a big disappointment, as the film cries out for a female voice to alternately challenge or supplement the male perspective. The only other feature is a trailer that does a pretty good job of selling the film, even if it does emphasize the competition aspect while avoiding the romantic relationship between Hemingway and Donnelly. In the commentary, Towne mentions a crucial scene between Hemingway and Donnelly that had to be cut, but unfortunately we do not get to see it as an extra feature.

On a final note, WHV has done a very commendable job with this lesser known catalog title, as usual, however I wish the jacket copy editor had been a little more on the ball. Former Olympian and co-star Kenny Moore is billed as "Kevin Moore" on the credits list on the back cover. <_<