Announcement

**Ed Gordon** · September 08, 2020, 10:40 AM

I still have the LP, plus a DVD, however I do hope that one day the film and soundtrack will be given the good treatment for a blu-ray release, now that would be nice.

Graham, your wish is scheduled to be fulfilled next month! See: https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Jonat...lu-ray/273711/
Also see the discussion at: https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=330857

**Graham Ritchie** · September 08, 2020, 12:50 PM

Thanks Ed

Its Region B.. that's just the thing.

That's an interesting write up also about the films history.

Thanks again.

**Adam Zanzie** · December 05, 2020, 05:45 PM

Hello, Graham and Ed... I found this post while browsing around the Internet to see if the Imprint Blu-Ray release of Jonathan Livingston Seagull is gaining any traction anywhere.

The Blu-Ray is now available on Amazon and I would be very interested to hear what everyone thinks both of the film and of my commentary track on the Blu-Ray, which goes into extensive detail about the making of the film.

To answer one of Graham's questions posed in his first message: I have, indeed, read the book, and I also happen to know the book's author, Richard Bach. Both he and Neil Diamond ended up battling the director in court over the final cut of the film.

It took me several years to research the making of this film, and I managed to speak with much of the surviving cast/crew, so I'd be happy to answer any questions.

I'm so proud to be a part of this brand new Blu-Ray release of the film, and I want it to find an audience.

**Osi Osgood** · December 05, 2020, 06:56 PM

I never saw the film, or heard the soundtrack (well, I was just 7 years old and my attention span was about as long as it took to eat a bowl of Captain Crunch), but I do remember the book being all over the place.

**Graham Ritchie** · December 05, 2020, 07:51 PM

Hi Adam

I have not bought the blu-ray as yet, I did check with the Imprint web site as to what they might have done to improving the original soundtrack by Neil Diamond. There is nothing I can see as yet, from "Imprint", to say that they have given the soundtrack the once over, from what the previous dvd release had, which was not that great. I have yet to read about picture quality as well. There does seem, that there is very little information regarding the specs of the blu-ray so far. I do hope to still get a copy, but the soundtrack has to be better than the DVD to make that move.

I came across this excellent you-tube that you have put up, and hope, that in the near future to be able to listen to it.

**Adam Zanzie** · December 05, 2020, 09:08 PM

Hi Adam

I have not bought the blu-ray as yet, I did check with the Imprint web site as to what they might have done to improving the original soundtrack by Neil Diamond. There is nothing I can see as yet, from "Imprint", to say that they have given the soundtrack the once over, from what the previous dvd release had, which was not that great. I have yet to read about picture quality as well. There does seem, that there is very little information regarding the specs of the blu-ray so far. I do hope to still get a copy, but the soundtrack has to be better than the DVD to make that move.

Visually, the film looks nice in 1080p on Blu-Ray. The audio on the Blu-Ray is adequate.

Unfortunately, there are no plans for this film to get an absolutely pristine restoration in the near-future. There are two reasons for that. One is that Paramount most likely wouldn't want to invest in such a venture because of the film's small, limited audience. Another reason is because the music remains the subject of an extremely sensitive issue regarding the film's rights; I'll explain that later on in this post.

I've looked at my copy of Imprint's Blu-Ray many times, and I will say that Imprint's visual/audio transfer is about the same as the one on the 2007 Paramount DVD... but I don't see that as a reason *not* to buy the Blu-Ray.

The old DVD contained absolutely no special features. Just the movie and some subtitle options.

Imprint's new Blu-Ray is superior because it includes two special features: A brief photo gallery, and my commentary track.

On my commentary, I explain how the film got bogged down in a copyright nightmare which persists to this day.

The book had been a major best-seller in 1971, placing author Richard Bach on the front cover of Time Magazine and making him a celebrity on The Tonight Show.

The director, Hall Bartlett, was a wealthy independent filmmaker who had connections both in Hollywood and even in the White House. When he read Richard's book, he saw his chance to make a film which would connect in a profound way with the public. He persuaded Richard to sell him the film rights by promising him both a big percentage of the box office grosses, *and* final cut over the film -- something which writers never get.

He then convinced Neil Diamond to do the music for the film, at a time when Diamond was going through a midlife crisis and experimenting with all kinds of spiritual woo-woo. Nobody thought Diamond would take the bait, but Bartlett was a maverick who beat to the sound of his own drum, and he got Diamond to commit by having it placed in their contract that the first one million sales of the soundtrack would be Diamond's to keep, and then after that, he and Bartlett would split the profits 50/50.

Bartlett also schemed to get two other wealthy investors to help him fund the film, even though he was already funding it with hundreds of thousands of dollars of his own money.

He then assembled a first-rate crew to shoot the film for several weary months on the beaches of Carmel, California and the sand dunes of Death Valley, to get real seagulls to do things which no audience had ever seen birds do in a film before. The seagulls were corralled inside the room of a Holiday Inn when they weren't working. Bartlett allied himself with an agency which provided him with wonderful voice actors.

Finally, after millions of independent dollars spent on the lengthy production, Paramount became the film's distributor. It seemed like Bartlett was set for a major blockbuster, a film he was born to make.

And then, he showed the finished film to Richard Bach and Neil Diamond... and all hell broke loose.

A series of damaging public lawsuits followed. Richard Bach and Neil Diamond both sued Hall Bartlett, for cross-purposes. Bach was aghast that the film no longer resembled his screenplay. Diamond was upset that his music had been shuffled around, and that a young composer named Lee Holdridge who'd written about 70% of the film's separate music suddenly wanted to share credit with Diamond, something which Bartlett agreed with, yet Diamond refused to accept.

The fallout experienced from all of this was unfortunate and sad. Friendships were destroyed. Deals had to be altered. A judge appointed the film's Associate Producer to be the mediator between Richard Bach and Hall Bartlett so that they could attempt to compromise on changes in the edit without trying to kill each other.

In the end, the box office and the reviews did it no favors, but the film received two well-deserved Academy Award nominations.

Neil Diamond's soundtrack continues to be a best-seller, and it makes money every year, but the soundtrack's royalties are split up amongst several different copyright owners (whom I'm not going to reveal here, for legal reasons). It is because of this that Lee Holdridge's original "Other World" music has never gotten an official soundtrack release. You can find samples of it floating on YouTube here and there.

Largely because of such legal issues, precious few who were involved in the film's production have been willing to talk about it because of the fear of litigation if too much is said about what went on during the making of it.

Until now.

I came across this excellent you-tube that you have put up, and hope, that in the near future to be able to listen to it.

If you'd like a quick glimpse into the research that I conducted, check out my 15-minute video essay defense of the film, which is what convinced Imprint to reach out to me about recording the commentary:

**Bill Phelps** · December 06, 2020, 06:26 AM

I am intrigued by this series of posts....I think I will get a copy of this to check out. I do remember the book from way back when I was in school and I may have seen the film before but just don't remember if I have. It seems to me they showed it at school back when they used to rent films for us to see, but I'm not 100% sure about that. I do enjoy film commentaries and learning about the behind the scenes stuff.

**Osi Osgood** · December 06, 2020, 07:56 AM

Great post, Adam!

**Graham Ritchie** · December 06, 2020, 01:23 PM

Thanks Adam for that link.

Its a pity there was so much legal dispute, what does stand out with this film is the photography and the Neil Diamond soundtrack. Looking at the number of old LPs of it in second hand stores these days, does say the music must have been popular at the time. I did see it at the cinema when it was first released, and still remember, being only one of a handful that watched it. The films release here was a box office flop, only Neil Diamond name and music created any real interest.

**Adam Zanzie** · December 06, 2020, 08:11 PM

Originally posted by Graham Ritchie View Post

what does stand out with this film is the photography and the Neil Diamond soundtrack.

At least four of the surviving members of the cast/crew gave me some rich insight into both of those aspects of the film.

The cinematographer, Jack Couffer, is now in his late 90's as of this post. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his work shooting all of the scenes which were filmed on land. His specialty is making animals look great on camera (He directed Ring of Bright Water and he worked on The Incredible Journey, Never Cry Wolf and Out of Africa). I drove out to meet Jack and his wife, retired actress Jean Allison, at their beautiful home by the ocean. Jack autographed a copy of his memoir for me, and his memoir contains useful info about the equipment he used, his lighting methods, and the small amount of technicians which he used on his crew. I quote from his memoir on the commentary.

The film's aerial sequences were shot by the late Jim Freeman, who was tragically killed in a helicopter crash a few years after production. Freeman's business partner, Greg MacGillivray, explained to me how their company became hired to shoot the aerial sequences for the film (on the basis of the attention which they'd gotten shooting surfing films), and how Freeman managed to achieve those jaw-dropping aerial shots which are practically made for an IMAX theater. This, too, is explained on the commentary.

The film's Associate Producer, Leslie Parrish, revealed to me that she's the one who recommended Jack Couffer and Jim Freeman's services to Hall Bartlett. She would sit in a screening room at Paramount and look at the reels of nature cinematographers to see who might be qualified.

All of my information about the film's music was gleaned from composer Lee Holdridge, and from an out-of-print unauthorized biography of Neil Diamond which I had to go on a wild goose chase in order to track down. Unsurprisingly, Neil Diamond's publicist declined my interview requests... but Holdridge was very helpful in explaining to me how the songs and the score were composed, and how Diamond's subsequent refusal to share credit only served to complicate the lawsuits which followed.

Aside from that, I also managed to speak to some of the voice actors, casting associates and bird trainers who worked on the film.

And, of course, Richard Bach, who I still consider to be a friend. Even though he and I have not always agreed on things.

**Graham Ritchie** · December 10, 2020, 11:42 AM

Hi Adam

Just ordered the blu-ray yesterday, look forward to your audio commentary

**Graham Ritchie** · December 10, 2020, 06:33 PM

Well that was quick

this sealed blu-ray arrived this morning from the North Island. It was cheaper than amazon, I guess, most likely due to direct import to NZ from imprint in Aussie.

Will view it on the Epson VP over this coming weekend

**Adam Zanzie** · December 11, 2020, 05:23 PM

Enjoy!

**Graham Ritchie** · December 11, 2020, 05:46 PM

Well Adam if you are reading this, I watched the blu-ray using a Epson VP last night and I must say I was impressed with both the picture quality and sound, much much better than my old DVD that is for sure

The screen image detail was impressive to watch, so much to see with the 1080p transfer. I am glad that I took your advice, and put my reservation aside and bought the blu-ray it was certainly well worth it.

"Imprint" have done a really good job, not only what I have described above, but also how they have presented it, in a nice blue slip box.

Adam I have not had the time hear your Audio Commentary as yet, but I am looking forward to do another screening, with your added feature in the next couple of days.

One last thing I must say to anyone thinking of buying it, is to order a copy soon, don't put if off, just in case "Imprint" don't have the numbers for another run. I hope I am wrong, but you never know, so order a copy while you can.

Here are a couple of screen shots from last night.