Home | Movies By Year | Movies from 1984


Nothing Lasts Forever (film)

Buy Nothing Lasts Forever (film) now from Amazon

First, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the movie. And once you've experienced the movie, tell everyone what you thought about it.

Wikipedia article




'Nothing Lasts Forever' is a 1984 American science fiction comedy-drama film written and directed by Tom Schiller. Shortly before its intended release date of September 1984, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer postponed it. The film has never been officially released theatrically or for home media in the United States.[https://filmthreat.com/features/the-bootleg-files-nothing-lasts-forever/ The Bootleg Files: Nothing Lasts Forever|Film Threat] The film was uploaded by a fan onto the Internet video website YouTube, but was taken down at the insistence of Turner Entertainment, the current copyright owner.

It was eventually broadcast on Warner's cable TV network Turner Classic Movies.

It stars Zach Galligan and Lauren Tom in the lead roles, with a supporting cast including Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sam Jaffe and Mort Sahl. John Belushi was to appear in the film, but he died six weeks before production began.

The making of the film, through interviews with Tom Schiller, Lorne Michaels, Zach Galligan, Lauren Tom, Bill Murray and others involved with the film, is chronicled in the book 'Nothing Lost Forever: The Films of Tom Schiller' by Michael Streeter (BearManor Media, 2005).

Plot



The film opens to Adam Beckett (Zach Galligan) reluctantly performing as a purported pianist to an audience in New York City. When Beckett gives away that he is using a player piano, the outraged crowd storms the stage and wraps Beckett with the piano rolls. After he awakes and realizes it was a nightmare, Adam is accosted on a train by a Swedish architect, to whom he explains his stymied dreams of becoming an artist. After encouragement from the architect, Adam resolves to return to America. Upon returning, he discovers that the Port Authority has taken control of New York and is restricting entry into the city.

Upon failing a drawing test at the Port Authority, Adam is forced to work in a menial job under a trigger-happy boss (Dan Aykroyd).

His kindness to a tramp leads him to be taken into an underground network where he discovers that the city's tramps are controlling the destiny of all the cities in the world. They instruct him to travel to the moon on a missionvia a city bus and its conductor (Bill Murray) to spread peace and find his true love (Lauren Tom).

Release



Shortly before the scheduled release date, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer announced 'Nothing Lasts Forever' was being postponed. MGM never released the film theatrically, nor has it ever been available on home video in any format in the United States. However, the film has been broadcast on TV networks, on BBC2 in the UK in 1994 as part of the Moviedrome strand, in Italy under the title "Nente dura per sempre", in Germany under the title "Alles ist vergnglich" and on Dutch television network RTL5 in November 1993. Warner Bros., which now owns the rights to the pre-1986 MGM film library stated in 2003 and again in February 2006, that the film cannot be released on DVD due to unspecified "legal difficulties".[http://thedigitalbits.com/articles/042303htfchat.html] [http://thedigitalbits.com/articles/022106htfchat.html] Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd have both agreed to take part in DVD special features, should the film finally be released.

In 2011 the film was leaked onto YouTube.

The film made its American television debut on the cable network Turner Classic Movies on January 4, 2015 as part of their "TCM Underground" programming block.

Screenings



Murray and Schiller held a screening of the film on April 13, 2004 at the BAM Cinematek in Brooklyn, New York.

[https://web.archive.org/web/20070313015332/http://www.indiewire.com/biz/biz_040416buzz.html Bill Murray Charms Brooklyn; Tim Kirkman Plans New Film; Gen Art Opens & More], by Wendy Mitchell, at Indiewire (via archive.org); published April 16, 2004; retrieved June 21, 2014
On September 6, 2005, Murray, Schiller and Zach Galligan attended another screening, this time at Lincoln Center's Walter Reade Theater.[https://www.filmlinc.org/wrt/programs/schiller.htm] The screening was followed by a Q&A session and a book signing of 'Nothing Lost Forever: The Films of Tom Schiller'. The film was next screened on November 12, 2005 at the St. Louis International Film Festival.Seabuagh, Julie. [https://www.riverfronttimes.com/stlouis/films-without-borders/Content?oid=2456919 "Films Without Borders"]. 'The Riverfront Times'. November 9, 2005.. Retrieved 2013-08-01. On January 28, 2006, Schiller introduced a screening at the Eastman House's Dryden Theatre in Rochester, New York.[https://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20060127/NEWS01/601270398/News-briefs "News Briefs: Dryden Hosts Comedy Writer"]. 'The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle'. January 27, 2006. Retrieved 2013-08-01. Schiller was again present for an August 22, 2007 screening at the Cinema Arts Center of Huntington, New York.[https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/19/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/19listingsLI.html?pagewanted=print&_r=0 "Long Island Calendar of Events"]. 'The New York Times'. August 19, 2007. Retrieved 2013-08-01. The film was shown on November 6, 2009 at Olympia's Capitol Theater as part of the opening night of the Olympia Film Festival.Gilmore, Molly. [https://www.theolympian.com/2009/11/05/1025911/quirky-favorite-sets-tone-of-cinema.html "Quirky favorite sets tone of cinema celebration"]. 'The Olympian'. November 5, 2009. Retrieved 2013-08-01. On April 1, 2010, it screened in Los Angeles, California at Grauman's Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood as part of the American Cinematheque's acknowledgment of "criminally unknown" films, with Schiller attending and answering questions.King, Susan. [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-apr-01-la-et-screening1-2010apr01-story.html "'Solaris,' Bugs Bunny and more"]. 'The Los Angeles Times'. April 1, 2010. Retrieved 2013-08-01. On September 27, 2014 Schiller attended a screening of the film, followed by a Q&A at Sunray Cinema in Jacksonville, Florida.[http://sunraycinema.com/events/nothing-lasts-forever-w-director-tom-schiller/ Sun-Ray Cinema]

References




Buy Nothing Lasts Forever (film) now from Amazon

<-- Return to movies from 1984



This work is released under CC-BY-SA. Some or all of this content attributed to http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1107971263.