A review at DVD Drive-In of Columbia's upcoming HBTM DVD reveals that the studio has for some reason tampered with the original score by Bo Harwood and Lance Rubin (Rubin was hired by Columbia in 1981 to "beef up" Harwood's cues). A post on the old Mobius board revealed Columbia's horrendous cover art, which makes a mockery not only of the film, but of all professional graphic artists. I really like Harwood and Rubin's score, and to have it replaced by ridiculous disco cues certainly makes no sense from an artistic point of view, nor would it help make this nearly-25-year-old thriller more palatable to a contemporary audience.

The new music cues, combined with a high retail price, the ugly cover and the lack of extras, makes this DVD a rental at best. That's a disappointment, considering HBTM is my favorite '80s slasher, a slick, smoothly directed and photographed thriller with a good pace, a high body count and one of horror's most memorable endings, a bizarre, audacious affair that likely inspired SCREAM a little bit.

The current FANGORIA has a piece looking back on HBTM. I rarely buy FANGO, but I happened to glance at it in the store, and was of course intrigued to read more about my favorite slasher flick. A few tidbits:

The twist ending was improvised during shooting by producer John Dunning and director J. Lee Thompson. The credited screenwriters had nothing to do with it, and one of them, Peter Jobin, actively hates it.

The Quebec-born Glenn Ford was hired mainly to fulfill a Canadian quota to land those big tax breaks that were popular among Canadian filmmakers at the time. He was also a major pain in the ass on the set, pitching tantrums, drinking a lot and even punching out an assistant director. Costar Lawrence Dane (who likes the movie) refused to even talk about Ford.

It was made for $2.25 million and sold to Columbia for $3.5 million. The producers had the right to “consult” with Columbia’s marketing department. They vetoed the classic “shish-kebab” poster, but Columbia ran with it anyway.

The gross brain-surgery sequence was performed by a real brain surgeon, who sliced open a fake prop brain built in Los Angeles.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME at DVD Drive-In

Just think, these are the people who will have their hands on the MGM library by the middle of next year....

LATE NIGHT/EARLY MORNING EDIT:
Wow, it's actually got a prominent spot in the Sunday Best Buy flyer (next to DOTD 2004) for $15.99

The placement is somewhat surprising for an obscure (relatively speaking) catalog title...

"Just think, these are the people who will have their hands on the MGM library by the middle of next year...."

Does that mean no more ten dollar DVDs? Oh well. It was fun while it lasted.

Anyways....

Here is something you may not know about Bo Harwood. He keeps a battery operated farting device on his sound cart. I rekon he plays with it while rolling sound for "Six Feet Under".

I'v worked with Harwood but I never actually meet the guy face to face. I'll see if I can try to get an interview with him. Perhapes he can relay some info about this HAPPY BIRTHDAY incedent. If anyone has any questions abouth that movie either post them here or drop me an e-mail at jjonathanbarnett@comcast.net. I'm not promising anything. When he calls, its to talk to my boss about renting sound gear not horror films.

Well, we'll see how it goes once the Sony sale is completed and the changeover occurs.

However, considering how Columbia/TriStar usually prices and packages their catalog releases (including a large number of non-OAR releases), in the next couple of months, you may want to consider picking up those MGM cult releases/Midnite Movies you've been holding off on :)

On the other hand, maybe we'll get some Superbit releases of MGM titles.

You know the world has been holding its breath for a Superbit version of THE APPLE.....