The Rocketeer

[Ben]

Just the very idea of this book is enough to get me interested (more art like the "concept" sketch supplements at the back of the deluxe book? Yes please!), but the we're back to high prices and the troubles of ordering and shipping. Randall and I lucked out last time through a very kind offer, but with IDW probably not looking to send overseas, and the lame value of the pound against the dollar right now, I just can't justify this as a purchase after going for the deluxe book set.

But the look, design and format are absolutely spot on at saluting Stevens' art and characters. I just hope someone at Disney is picking up on this Rocketeer appreciation and remembers they own the movie and that it would make for a very nice Blu-ray Special Edition...

[Randall]

For $30, I'd snap the book up. I love seeing art presented that way. For $100, though I respect the price point, I'll have to pass.

[Randall]

Images of the new book:

http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryRoom.asp?GSub=99350

Man, that looks nice.

If I was going to Comic-Con this year, I'd probably pre-order a copy for pick-up, placing it under "vacation expense" in my ledger. I'm always more forgiving of vacation expenses. (I spent over $100/day at Comic-Con last time.)

[Ben]

"Vacation expense"...nice one!

The book looks jaw droppingly nice, and I love that cover drawing. I'd probably go the same route as Rand and pick up a Comic-Con copy if I was going as I spent an obscene amount of money and this could be lost in the overall figures. But I just went a bit wild on new BD purchases and taking advantage of some price drops here and there to pick up some wish list items, so adding this - even without the expense of a vacation! - would be too naughty right now (if I splashed out on this after the deluxe volume, Jen might actually make me eat the pages for dinner)!

But the native art/print size is an excellent selling point, though seeing that they still have copies left for pre-order (instead of being sold out) maybe means that many are happy with their deluxe sets, or maybe means that IDW haven't put a number on the print run yet, allowing them to fulfill demand. But that's a nice book.

[droosan]

Since I won't be attending SDCC this year (for the first time in over ten years), I pre-ordered a copy of the book by mail last month. I'm definitely looking forward to receiving it next month.

Fortunately, for myself (as a professional artist within the entertainment industry), all books I purchase can be deducted as 'reference material'.

[droosan]

Coming this June to the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California ..

The Rocketeer: 20th Anniversary Celebration!

.. here's hoping this leads to an 'improved' DVD and/or Blu-ray release, later this year!

[Ben]

Great!

I would imagine, at the very least, they may film the panel for inclusion in a BD (can't see them just releasing a DVD nowadays) release, maybe for Christmas?

Who knows? If the response is there we might have a "Rocketeer: Legacy" to look forward to?

[Randall]

That... would be awesome.

[EricJ]

SOUNDS like it's just a D23 event for the anniversary, but even recognizing the movie's existence is a major step nowadays--

I'd wondered what happened to most of the '85-'95 Touchstone/Silver Screen movies, especially since a flood of the B-titles like Big Business were just "orphaned" off to Mill Creek for Blu-ray last month...
We haven't heard a peep out of "A"-titles like Dick Tracy, Arachnophobia or even Roger Rabbit for a while now, so if there's been some negotiation that will open up public viewing of the Rocketeer again, I'm all for a disk.

(Then again, they could just be saying, "Hey, the anniversary nostalgia helped clean up Tron's reputation--Maybe it'll work for Dick Tracy, too!")

[Ben]

Whatever it takes for them to be recognized, I'd jump at BDs for Rocketeer, Dick Tracy, Roger Rabbit and Evita (a film that I often feel kind belongs in there with those harder-edged/"adult" period movies), but not so sure on Arachnophobia. Liked it when it came out, but it plays so much on TV here I've seen it to death.

I'd probably pick that us as one of Touchstone's bargain basement Mill Creek releases (Big Business and Shoot To Kill would be others I might be interested in) but the transfers on these releases so far sound horrible.

Dick Tracy was a poorly overlooked film: seeing it again around a year ago I was impressed with how much they did get right, and technically it's a real marvel. I think it was ahead of its time, while Rocketeer must have suffered mainly from the Terminator effect, since it had a really good marketing campaign.

[GeorgeC]

If you ever get a chance, pick up and read the Dick Tracy comic strip reprints IDW is publishing now, Ben.

A lot of the material in the first 10-14 years of the Dick Tracy comic strip was breezed over in the movie.

After reading a 2 or 3 volumes of the reprints (I've heard it's best to read the strips released from the late 1930s onward -- I read the books covering 1942-1944), there's no doubt in my mind that Beatty and his scriptwriters were fans of the comic strip. They really picked and covered some good characters and material there.

I haven't seen the Dick Tracy serials and don't intend to, either. From all I've read they're as "faithful" to the strips as UPA 1960s TV series... and I have seen the UPA series (finally!) after renting 2 of the releases from the local library. It was awful!!!

The only other Dick Tracy film worth seeing after the Beatty movie is Bob Clampett's, "The Great Piggybank Robbery."

Took a duck to do Dick right in animation...

[EricJ]

Dick Tracy was a poorly overlooked film: seeing it again around a year ago I was impressed with how much they did get right, and technically it's a real marvel. I think it was ahead of its time, while Rocketeer must have suffered mainly from the Terminator effect, since it had a really good marketing campaign.

Dick Tracy was a good effort, and Beatty's directorial heart was in the right place trying something visually new--It could have been better, though, if he hadn't suddenly tried to be atmospherically "quirky" about the story and characters, and downstaged all the comic-book action scenes into background montages while slow Madonna torch songs played on the soundtrack.

(And what's "the Terminator effect"? As I remember the Rocketeer being a bang-on atmosphere piece--and calling it "the real Raiders sequel that Last Crusade wasn't"--but the little kids running in and out of the theater, since the 7-yo's weren't interested in colorfully accurate 30's period homages.)

[Ben]

T2 stomping over everything else that summer, Rocketeer especially.

[Whippet Angel]

I REALLY need to see that movie again. I think the last time I saw it was in the theater, when I was around 8 years old.