# How do I find a hard-to-find movie? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 4, 2009, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-find-a-hard-to-find-movie/479809 "2009-01-04T13:33:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-find-a-hard-to-find-movie/479809/1 "2009-01-04T13:33:55Z")
_ **The Magician of Lublin** _…here’s the audio cassette synopsis: [Online Bookstore: Books, NOOK ebooks, Music, Movies & Toys | Barnes & Noble®](http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Magician-of-Lublin/Isaac-Bashevis-Singer/e/9781893079076) …Any of youze guys seen it? I saw this movie in an art house in Evanston in '79. It’s a fantastic movie (based on a story by Isaac Bashevis Singer…woohoo!) that seems to have disappeared from the face of the Earth after about a weekend on the big screen. How can I find a copy of this? Netflix and Blockbuster never heard of it (no surprise there). I’d like to get a couple copies on DVD, if possible. ---
**Author:** ![Todderbob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@Todderbob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Todderbob)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-find-a-hard-to-find-movie/479809/2 "2009-01-04T13:35:41Z")
[http://www.google.com/products?q=The+Magician+of+Lublin+movie&btnG=Search+Products&show=dd](http://www.google.com/products?q=The+Magician+of+Lublin+movie&btnG=Search+Products&show=dd) Does that bring positive results? ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-find-a-hard-to-find-movie/479809/3 "2009-01-04T13:49:52Z")
> [@Trocisp](#): > > [http://www.google.com/products?q=The+Magician+of+Lublin+movie&btnG=Search+Products&show=dd](http://www.google.com/products?q=The+Magician+of+Lublin+movie&btnG=Search+Products&show=dd) > > Does that bring positive results? Wow! Thank you! I see there is a copy on E-bay (VHS). I’m gonna grab it. Is there a company that can transfer that to DVD? ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-find-a-hard-to-find-movie/479809/4 "2009-01-04T14:33:22Z")
Just find somebody who has a VHS/DVD recorder. (I have one.) Or buy one. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-find-a-hard-to-find-movie/479809/5 "2009-01-04T14:48:58Z")
So you were the other person who saw it in the theater! We saw it in the theater when it was released because we’d heard in advance that there was a new Kate Bush song in it. Well, she didn’t write it, Maurice Jarre did, she just sang it. We bought the VHS when it came out and played that scene (when Alan Arkin’s Yasha, goes down to the street to see his old lover Zeftel, played by Valerie Perrine) over and over again. The song, “The Magician,” was cut off in the movie, but the [full song is available on YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wo7CAhlnEmk&feature=related). I wish it would be released on DVD, with extras, including a full good-quality version of the song. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-find-a-hard-to-find-movie/479809/6 "2009-01-04T14:54:05Z")
Oh! The [trailer is on YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ipm0AADH88w) too! ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-find-a-hard-to-find-movie/479809/7 "2009-01-04T15:57:05Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > So you were the other person who saw it in the theater! We saw it in the theater when it was released because we’d heard in advance that there was a new Kate Bush song in it. Well, she didn’t write it, Maurice Jarre did, she just sang it. We bought the VHS when it came out and played that scene (when Alan Arkin’s Yasha, goes down to the street to see his old lover Zeftel, played by Valerie Perrine) over and over again. The song, “The Magician,” was cut off in the movie, but the [full song is available on YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wo7CAhlnEmk&feature=related). > > I wish it would be released on DVD, with extras, including a full good-quality version of the song. I can’t believe you remembered a specific scene! The only thing I remember (aside from the fact that I loved it) is him gettin’ busy with the girl who used to do a maxi-pad commercial on roller skates (I’m pretty sure it’s Shelley Winters’ daughter). ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-find-a-hard-to-find-movie/479809/8 "2009-01-04T17:39:51Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > How can I find a copy of this? Netflix and Blockbuster never heard of it (no surprise there). I’d like to get a couple copies on DVD, if possible. For future reference, the place I always look for things like this is [Amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/Magician-Lublin-Alan-Arkin/dp/630120865X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=video&qid=1231090477&sr=8-1), because, even if they don’t sell it themselves, if any of their marketplace sellers is offering a used copy, it’ll show up on a search, as it does here. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-find-a-hard-to-find-movie/479809/9 "2009-01-04T18:34:39Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > For future reference, the place I always look for things like this is [Amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/Magician-Lublin-Alan-Arkin/dp/630120865X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=video&qid=1231090477&sr=8-1), because, even if they don’t sell it themselves, if any of their marketplace sellers is offering a used copy, it’ll show up on a search, as it does here. Thanks. I buy from them a lot, but for some reason, I didn’t think of them.