Does anybody know why PARADISE LOST (the West Memphis 3 documentary) is not in video?

Cafe Society
1

For those who haven’t seen Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills, it concerns the West Memphis Three (if you’ve never heard of the case before, go here) and had it been released theatrically instead of on HBO I’ve no doubt it would have won an Oscar. I am far from a kneejerk liberal but that case is one of the most heinous and attrocious miscarriages of justice the U.S. has ever seen. (The official statement of the authorities involved in the case is that the documentary was biased against them so, to be fair, I researched the case on my own [trial transcripts, interviews with people who knew some of the participants, etc.] I came away even more convinced of the innocence of the WM3 than I was before.) The case is also featured in Mara Leveritt’s excellently researched and copiously documented book Devil’s Knot, the inspiration for several benefit CDs and concerts, and is the basis of two upcoming movies (this being the only one currently in production).

So here’s what’s strange: in an age when even B movies from the 30s (forgotten about even by the actors who appeared in them) are being digitized and the 20 disk collector series Mama’s Family DVD library is probably already being developed, Paradise Lost is not only not-available on DVD- it’s even out of print in VHS. (Used copies are selling in the $70-$100 range on Amazon.)
In what appears to me, a film industry outsider, as a stupid dichotomy, the documentary’s follow-up, Paradise Lost 2: Revelations (which is also excellent) is available on DVD and VHS- inexpensively and ubiquitously- but not the documentary that inspired it. At a time when the case needs publicity most (Damien Echols is on death-row and running out of appeal options), you’d think that this would be available (and that the producers would want to make money from it when there’s a ready made audience).

I’ve written e-mails to HBO and other sources asking when/if it’s to be released but haven’t received a response. Does anybody here know why it’s not available or who I can write to?

Thanks

2

It is (thought out of print now). You may be able to buy a used copy. I found 4 listings on Ebay just now.

3

Whoops, sorry. Noticed part of your post covers that (though the Ebay listings aren’t nearly as high as the Amazon quotes you provide).

4

While I agree that the trial lawyers for the boys were not as competent as they could have been, I don’t agree that the case was “…one of the most heinous and attrocious miscarriages of justice the U.S. has ever seen.”

I’d be curious to know if you have any arguments about the trial process that haven’t already been discussed and possibly debunked here.

  • Rick
5

I wonder if this is due to the fact that PL1 sort of points to a bloody trucker in the Bojangles as the guilty party/suspect while PL2 barely mentions that guy?

6

I notice that the DVD for PL2 is ranked #9321 on Amazon. By comparison:

Roger & Me: #1177
Waco: The Rules of Engagement: #2159
Hearts & Minds: #2308
Fast, Cheap, & Out of Control: #5508
When We Were Kings: #5620
Salesman: #6349

I suspect the powers-that-be (producers, rights holders, HBO distribution arm, etc.) might be reluctant to go through the expensive process of releasing the first film on DVD if they didn’t expect much of a return…

7

Oh hellacool- thanks for the link. I wasn’t aware there were any WM3 threads that had run more than about 5 postings. I’ll answer the question after I read it.

8

Actually, 9,321 is fairly impressive considering that it’s a sequel and that without part 1 it’s almost meaningless.