Talk:The Bunker (1981 film)

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[edit] HBO

HBO only sells HBO films, not CBS films: [1]

First off you need to sign your edits. Second you are wrong about this please see IMDb's page for this film where CBS is listed and where it was first aired. In 1981 HBO did not even have a film making unit and was producing no films. HBO has purchased the rights many other companies productions over the years and it only takes a brief look at the link you provided to find many products that they did not produce including Mrs. Harris [2] and here is its IMDb page [3] where you won't find HBO listed. Also see Fortress [4] and its IMDB page [5] again it was not produced by HBO. Yet they are selling both of these film. If you have purchased this DVD please look at the box and you will see CBS and/of Time-Life listed as the original copyright holder to this film. Using a catalog as your main source has its pitfalls and this page needs to have the correct info on it. MarnetteD | Talk 02:17, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

As a followup if you go to wikipedias page for HBO and scroll down you will find that the first film that they produced was The Terry Fox Story in 1983. Two full years after The Bunker aired on CBS. MarnetteD | Talk 02:49, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

One more followup for when you get back to this page. I am glad that you started this article. This film is one of the hallmarks of Anthony Hopkin's early career. As others work on the page, that you have begun, be aware that they will be bringing knowledge that you may not have been privy to. In my case I watched this the night that it first aired on CBS which was Jan 27, 1981. I was interested in Hopkins as an actor and had studied Hitler and Nazi Germany in college. I was not disappointed as his portrayal was fascinating and detailed, especially in the gutteral way that he spoke. Happy editing and keep up the good work. MarnetteD | Talk 03:24, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

The movie "Fortress" being sold by HBO is NOT the one with Christopher Lambert. It was an HBO movie that aired in 1986 starring Rachel Ward. [6] And Mrs. Harris is indeed an HBO film. They may not have produced it but it did premiere on HBO and was advertised as an "HBO Original Film". In the first case, you should have used imdb and in the second case you shouldn't have. But since I did not see this film when it originally aired, I admit I can't say for certain that it premiered on HBO. But I do find it unusual for HBO to sell the DVD. I can understand licensing, but why license a TV movie from 1981? But CBS it is. MrBlondNYC 03:38, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Whoops you are right about the Fortress error that I made. I know that you are probably well aware of this, but, a film 'premiering' on HBO may only mean that they paid the rights to show it on cable it doesn't always mean that they made it (though nowadays with the huge corporation that they have become they probably invested some money in it) and even the "HBO Original Film" tag can sometimes be misleading as to who made the film. I suspect that the key to them having access to The Bunker may lay in Time-Life being a part of the original production. Time-Life had connections to both British progamming and HBO going back into the 70's. For instance a 26 part series that I enjoyed in the late 70's called The Pallisers aired here in the US on HBO first and the later on PBS and the T-L logo was a part of its credits both times. T-L eventually sold the rights to this progamming and I'll bet HBO acquired the distributing rights to some, or much, of it. Thanks for working through this and cheers. MarnetteD | Talk 04:30, 16 March 2007 (UTC)