“Oblivion”

Posted By: Peter DavidPosted On:

When I first saw “Cowboys and Aliens” being advertised, I thought, “Been there, done that.” Specifically in “Oblivion” and its sequel for Full Moon.

Apparently Shout!Factory agreed; they re-released the original on DVD with a redesigned cover. I knew nothing about it until Kath pointed it out to me in the latest copy of “Entertainment Weekly.”

And no, I don’t make any money off it. And no, I didn’t write the lousy “Star Trek” puns; that was all George Takei.

Actually, the sidebar in EW specifically mentions George being in the film, which amuses me, because casting him in the role was my idea. It resulted during a conversation with director Sam Irvin, when we thought we had John Astin for it and then he backed out at the last moment. I suggested George and Sam said, “You know him? You think you could get him?” So I called George and at first he was hesitant about the prospect of three months in Romania. What got him was when I asked, “When was the last time you played a role that wasn’t specifically written for an Asian?” He said, “1963.” I said, “Well, ‘Doc Valentine’ is just this crazy inventor and town doctor. Wouldn’t it be a nice change of pace to play a role that doesn’t call for an Asian actor?” He said, “Send me the script.” A week later he’d signed on.

PAD

20 comments on ““Oblivion””

  1. “Jimmy, beam me up!”

    Now I’ll have to hunt it down since I’ve had trouble locating it on DVD! Thanks!

  4. .
    Nah, they’re not trying to look like Cowboys and Aliens. Why would anybody think that?
    .
    http://www.cduniverse.com/images.asp?pid=8493247&style=movie&image=front&title=Oblivion+DVD
    ,
    Still, it’s a better fit for cash in cover art than the cover that made me do a massive double take a couple of years back when they re-released the very violent and bloody vampire film Near Dark. Awesome film with some nasty, gritty bloodshed.
    ,
    They made the cover look like it was a Twilight film.

    1. They’ve done the same with a re-release of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie, and even repackaged some of the Buffy tv series tie-in novels, giving them Twilight-esque trade dress.
      .
      –Daryl

      1. .
        Buffy I could see going along those lines. Buffy, especially the TV series, was not as dissimilar in tone, style and content from Twilight. But Near Dark? That’s like marketing a Hëll’s Angels documentary so that it looks like it goes nicely with an afternoon of watching Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch.

      2. The tv series DVD covers already had a similar-ish design scheme. The movie, though, is a whole different beast (just as the tv series was a whole different beast from the movie).
        .
        Here’s a comparison of the covers side-by-side (with Twilight thrown in for good measure):
        .
        http://bobcanada92.blogspot.com/2010/06/twilight-virus-strikes-again.html
        .
        And, having seen it many times, I agree, Near Dark doesn’t remotely fit the Twilight vibe. They’d be better served, if they felt the need to redesign the cover to capitalize on a current hit, to go for a True Blood vibe.
        .
        –Daryl

  5. And no, I didn’t write the lousy “Star Trek” puns; that was all George Takei.

    But you have no one but yourself to blame for the lousy “Man-Thing” pun.

  6. Pingback: The Original Cowboys & Aliens: Oblivion (1994) - Snark, Critic and Pop!

  7. I’ll have to make it a point to pick this up when I see it. It’s not as blatant a cash-grab as, say, that “Almighty Thor” DVD I’ve been seeing on store shelves lately… or at the very least, it’s a movie I like and wouldn’t mind owning despite a marked lack of Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig. Carel Struycken is seven feet of awesome and Mister Gaunt was one of his best roles ever, IMHO (“Hey, it’s Mr. Homn! And he’s funny!”).

    I have to agree with Jerry, though, that the only thing better than a re-release would be to see it followed up with a new release of “Backlash” at a price-point that would be less than those obnoxiously high out-of-print Amazon prices.

  8. Oblivion was indeed the first thing I thought of when I started seeing ads for C&A. Especially considering the movie’s tagline!

  9. I still have the original releases of both DVDs on my shelf. One day I’m going to make my friends watch them so they’ll finally understand my automatic reaction to the name “Sweeney”.

    1. Not….Sweeney?

      (who actually debuted in a Star Trek comic that PAD wrote.)

  10. In Germany they released the sequel to Oblivion on DVD. Dor some strange reason they didn’t bother with the first movie.

  12. In France, they just released the TV movie “High Plains Invaders”. Of course, it’s to take advantage of the release of Cow Boys & Aliens, but on the other hand, it features James Marsters, so…

  14. In a similar vein, Marvel just announced that the new Ultimate Spider-Man is a half-Hispanic, half-black teenager…

    J.

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