| Official Site | Blu-ray.com Database | ||||||
| Altered Innocence (https://www.alteredinnocence.net/) | Blu-ray.com (https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=2043&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| AGFA (https://www.americangenrefilm.com/) | Blu-ray.com (http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=2067&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Arbelos Films (http://www.arbelosfilms.com/) | Blu-ray.com (http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=2126&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Arrow Films USA (https://arrowfilms.com/) | Blu-ray.com (http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=323&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Blue Underground (http://www.blue-underground.com/) | Blu-ray.com (http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=68&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Breaking Glass (https://www.bgpics.com/) | Blu-ray.com (https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=1023&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Cauldron Films (https://www.cauldron-films.com/) | Blu-ray.com (https://www.cauldron-films.com/) | ||||||
| Carlotta Films U.S. (http://carlottafilms-us.com/) | Blu-ray.com (http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=1731&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Cinelicious Pics (http://www.cineliciouspics.com/) | Blu-ray.com (http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=1801&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Cinema Guild (http://www.cinemaguild.com/) | Blu-ray.com (http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=706&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| ClassicFlix (https://www.classicflix.com) | Blu-ray.com (http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=2070&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Code Red (http://www.codereddvd.com/) | Blu-ray.com (http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=884&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Cohen Media Group (http://cohenmedia.net/) | Blu-ray.com (http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=1474&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Criterion (https://www.criterion.com/) | Blu-ray.com (https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=70&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Cult Epics (http://www.cultepics.com/) | Blu-ray.com (http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=568&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| DistribPix/FilmCentrix (http://distribpix.com/) | Blu-ray.com (http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=1653&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Dorado Films (http://doradofilms.com/) | Blu-ray.com (http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=796&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Drafthouse Films (http://drafthousefilms.com/) | Blu-ray.com (http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=525&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Etiquette Pictures (http://etiquettepictures.com/) | Blu-ray.com (http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=1897&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Flicker Alley (http://www.flickeralley.com/) | Blu-ray.com (http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=719&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| The Film Detective (https://www.thefilmdetective.com/) | Blu-ray.com (https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=1765&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Film Media (https://www.filmmedia.org/) | Blu-ray.com (http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=2001&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Film Movement (https://www.filmmovement.com/) | Blu-ray.com (http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=867&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Fun City Editions (https://funcityeditions.com/) | Blu-ray.com (https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=3199) | ||||||
| Garagehouse Pictures (https://www.garagehousepictures.com/) | Blu-ray.com (https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=1966&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Grasshopper Film (http://grasshopperfilm.com/) | Blu-ray.com (http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=2050&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Grindhouse Releasing (http://grindhousereleasing.com/) | Blu-ray.com (http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=1004&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Hen's Tooth Video (http://henstoothvideo.com/) | Blu-ray.com (https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=629&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| IFC Films (http://www.ifcfilms.com/) | Blu-ray.com (http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=450&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Kimstim (https://www.kimstim.com/) | Blu-ray.com (https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=2191&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Kino (https://www.kinolorber.com/) | Blu-ray.com (http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=280&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Kit Parker Films (http://www.kitparker.com/) | Blu-ray.com (https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=2171&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Magnolia Pictures (http://www.magpictures.com/) | Blu-ray.com (http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=15&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Massacre Video (http://massacrevideo.com/) | Blu-ray.com (https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=1948&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Milestone (https://www.milestonefilms.com/) | Blu-ray.com (http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=966&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Mondo Macabro (https://mondomacabro.bigcartel.com/) | Blu-ray.com (http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=828&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Mondo Vision (http://www.mondo-vision.com/) | Blu-ray.com (http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=829&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Music Box Films (https://www.musicboxfilms.com/) | Blu-ray.com (https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=504&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| MVD Rewind (http://mvdvisual.com/) | Blu-ray.com (https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=95&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Olive Films (https://olivefilms.com/) | Blu-ray.com (http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=752&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Oscilloscope (http://www.oscilloscope.net/) | Blu-ray.com (http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=203&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Raro Video (https://www.rarovideousa.com/) | Blu-ray.com (http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=775&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Scorpion Releasing (http://www.scorpionreleasing.com/) | Blu-ray.com (http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=976&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Severin (https://severin-films.com/catalogue/) | Blu-ray.com (http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=282&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Shout! Factory (https://www.shoutfactory.com/) | Blu-ray.com (http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=100&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Strand Releasing (https://strandreleasing.com/) | Blu-ray.com (http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=753&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Synapse (https://synapse-films.com/) | Blu-ray.com (http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=608&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| TCM Vault Collection (https://shop.tcm.com/) | N/A | ||||||
| Twilight Time (https://www.twilighttimemovies.com/) | Blu-ray.com (http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=762&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Vinegar Syndrome (https://vinegarsyndrome.com/) | Blu-ray.com (http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=1365&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Warner Archive (https://www.wbshop.com/collections/warner-archive-blu-ray?sort_by=created-descending) | Blu-ray.com (http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=9&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Zeitgeist Films (https://zeitgeistfilms.com/) | Blu-ray.com (http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=830&sortby=releasetimestamp) |
| Official Site | Blu-ray.com Database | ||||||
| Anti-Worlds (https://anti-worldsreleasing.co.uk/) | Blu-ray.com (https://anti-worldsreleasing.co.uk/collections/limited-editions) | ||||||
| Arrow Films UK (https://www.arrowfilms.com/) | Blu-ray.com (https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=323&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Artificial Eye (https://www.curzonartificialeye.com/blu-ray/) | Blu-ray.com (https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=116&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| BFI Video (https://shop.bfi.org.uk/dvd-blu-ray.html) | Blu-ray.com (https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=120&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Eureka Entertainment (https://eurekavideo.co.uk/) | Blu-ray.com (https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=136&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Fractured Visions (https://www.fracvis.co.uk/) | Blu-ray.com (https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=3580&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Indicator (https://www.powerhousefilms.co.uk/) | Blu-ray.com (https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=2037&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Masters of Cinema (https://eurekavideo.co.uk/masters-of-cinema/#page-1) | Blu-ray.com (https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=136&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Network (https://networkonair.com/) | Blu-ray.com (https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=327&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Panamint Cinema (https://www.panamint.co.uk/) | Blu-ray.com (https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=651&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Plan B Entertainment (https://en-gb.facebook.com/PlanBentuk/) | Blu-ray.com (https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=2158&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Second Run (https://www.secondrundvd.com/) | Blu-ray.com (https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=1113&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Second Sight (http://www.secondsightfilms.co.uk/) | Blu-ray.com (https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=106&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Signal One (https://signaloneentertainment.com/) | Blu-ray.com (https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=1878&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| StudioCanal UK (http://www.studiocanal.co.uk/Classics) | Blu-ray.com (https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=109&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Third Window Films (http://thirdwindowfilms.com/) | Blu-ray.com (https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=410&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Thunderbird Releasing (http://www.thunderbirdreleasing.com/) (formerly Soda Pictures) | Blu-ray.com (https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=636&sortby=releasetimestamp) |
| Official Site | Blu-ray.com Database | ||||||
| Imprint (https://viavision.com.au/imprint-films/) | Blu-ray.com (https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=3095&sortby=releasetimestamp) |
| Official Site | Blu-ray.com Database | ||||||
| Carlotta Films (https://carlottafilms.com/) | Blu-ray.com (https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=231&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Le chat qui fume (https://www.lechatquifume.com/) | Blu-ray.com (https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=1814&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Gaumont (https://www.gaumont.fr/fr/resultats.html) | Blu-ray.com (https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=270&sortby=releasetimestamp) |
| Official Site | Blu-ray.com Database | ||||||
| Bildstörung (https://www.bildstoerung.tv/blog/) | Blu-ray.com (https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=1353&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Subkultur Entertainment (https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=1756&sortby=releasetimestamp) | Blu-ray.com (https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=1756&sortby=releasetimestamp) |
| AGFA (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCr2Dm_wInUo-_wT6p6GPHZg/videos) | (https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=1353&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Anti-Worlds (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCne30c8YiyB-oy4jpY4krCw/videos) | (https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=1353&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Arbelos (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDdCMMkU-cMWF7Gg_X5twJw/videos) | (https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=1353&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Arrow (https://www.youtube.com/user/ArrowVideoUK/videos) | (https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=1353&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Bildstörung (https://www.youtube.com/c/bildst%C3%B6rung/videos) | (https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=1353&sortby=releasetimestamp) |
| Cauldron Films (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeIDxi7nEvPmEZf1SUPc8dw/videos) | (https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=1353&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Le chat qui fume (https://vimeo.com/lechatquifume) | (https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=1353&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Fun City Editions (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdsqt9gTpHRyW3c31zOUODw/videos) | (https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=1756&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Grindhouse Releasing (https://www.youtube.com/user/GrindhouseReleasing/videos) | (https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=1756&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Mondo Macabro (https://vimeo.com/mondomacabro) | (https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=1756&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Severin (https://www.youtube.com/c/SeverinFilmsOfficial/videos) | (https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=1756&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Subkultur Entertainment (https://vimeo.com/subkulturentertainment) | (https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=1756&sortby=releasetimestamp) | ||||||
| Vinegar Syndrome (https://www.youtube.com/user/vinegarsyndromefilms/videos) | (https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=1756&sortby=releasetimestamp) |
starring Theresa Russell (Whore)
Gary Oldman (Romeo Is Bleeding), Christopher Lloyd (Bialy smok)
these bluray announcements are indeed random.
blurays are still overpriced in Australia and too expensive to acquire from overseas unless absolutely essential, but it's nice to know there's a big selection out there somewhere.
probably one of my favourite active threads.
More Important French Films Will Be Digitally Restored
via blu-ray.com
Thanks to a new initiative from state film organization CNC, more classic and important French films will be digitally restored. Some of the films already approved for restoration are Jacques Tati's Jour de Fete, Mon Oncle and Playtime.
They weren't restored when Criterion released them?
We're happy to report that we're finally able to move forward on our box set, SOKUROV: EARLY MASTERWORKS. As originally planned, the set will include WHISPERING PAGES, STONE and SAVE AND PROTECT.
(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Flag86.jpg&hash=0dc1d205652bc5ccde221b25dd335d5f98a3a1bd)
What a sexy bastard.
wilderesque you wanna watch ruthless
I canceled Netflix a while ago --
available as a free PDF download at that link
She's So Lovely (1997) on blu-ray from Miramax/Echo Bridge. Directed by Nick Cassavetes. Made from an original script by John Cassavetes.available now and for $5 at best buy
(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FzO1OUYZ.jpg&hash=509ef0855afc25b645fc7fc74aa53bd6c94d2bba)
September 17, 2013
Jean-Pierre Melville's Two Men in Manhattan (1959) on blu-ray from Cohen Film
(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FUJFPSUU.jpg&hash=78fa4f75c5918474a865b2c9dabc3a16b43503c3)
Jennifer Lange is catastrophically hot in that movie.
Much of Argo was shot on grainy film, which presents a serious challenge to compression algorithms. Film grain is easily mistaken for noise and also consumes bandwidth in the same way digital noise does. In this frame, Vudu HDX loses the most contrast and detail as a result of compression, all of film grain is treated as noise and eliminated. The iTunes 720p and 1080p versions look nearly identical, preserving more detail and texture than Vudu HD was able to. Unfortunately, iTunes also tends to treat the film grain as noise, just like Vudu. Of the three non Blu-ray formats, iTunes 720p had the fewest problems dealing with film grain.
[...]
The camera does not move in this shot, giving the iTunes 1080p and Vudu HDX versions time to fill in the details. When compression algorithms can draw from past and future frames, they do much better at preserving details. The Vudu version looks the sharpest, but it is also the least authentic reproduction of the original. Treating the film grain as noise makes the iTunes 1080p and Vudu HDX versions look cleaner than Blu-ray and makes fine details easy to see. The iTunes 720p version has less detail than the 1080p version but preserves some of the original film grain. The Blu-ray version renders the most accurate colors and also properly preserves the film grain.
[...]
This scene was shot handheld, likely on 16mm film stock, it is very grainy and blurry on purpose. Vudu HDX and iTunes 1080p try to process the grain, the result is ugly artifacts in the skin tones that look like smooth patches, as if it was airbrushed. Vudu HDX exhibited significant macro blocking in the shadow regions. The iTunes 720p version reduces the film grain but does so in a smooth, natural looking manner. Blu-ray preserves the character of the original film, although it also exhibits some very minor compression artifacts.
[...]
In this close-up we see the destructive effects of Vudu's algorithms in full effect, the film grain is wiped out. iTunes 1080p manages to preserve a lot of the details, but there are unnatural-looking smooth patches on the woman's face. The iTunes 720p version loses some fine details but manages to preserve enough of the film grain to look authentic, and it is free of artifacts. Blu-ray renders the scene perfectly preserving all of the film grain, as is appropriate.
[...]
In this dark action scene, both the iTunes 1080p and Vudu HDX version convert the out-of-focus background - an effect is known as "bokeh" - into colored blobs. The iTunes 1080p version suffers from the most noise-reduction artifacts while the iTunes 720p remains more faithful to the original, preserving some film grain and introducing no artifacts. When it comes to reproducing actual film, especially gritty grainy film, Blu-ray is superior by a significant margin.
July 23, 2013
Walter Hill's The Driver (1978) from Twilight Time - Limited Edition of 3,000 copies
(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FPOQVkJO.jpg&hash=760a257fcf5588598eb0c0d81b62c23b02aa0830)
The Driver (1978) - Screen Archives (http://www.screenarchives.com/title_detail.cfm/ID/25385/THE-DRIVER-1978/)
And an enterprising company named Twilight Time buys the rights to publish 3,000 copies of unavailable titles ("When they're gone, they're gone!"). Many studios just aren't interested in those kinds of DVD sales
September 17, 2013
Jean-Pierre Melville's Two Men in Manhattan (1959) on blu-ray from Cohen Film
(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FUJFPSUU.jpg&hash=78fa4f75c5918474a865b2c9dabc3a16b43503c3)
No anecdote for that one?
The Visitor (1979) - January 2014 TBD
To celebrate Drafthouse Films’ release of our all-time favorite cinematic slab of insanity, it’s a weekend’s worth of the movie 1979 couldn’t handle! The holiest of all Holyfuckingshits, The Visitor has the highest JDPM (Jaw Drops Per Minute) ratio of any film of its era, Italian ripoff or not. It’s a wonderful mishmash of The Omen and Close Encounters, but that barely hints at the whacked fervor with which director Giulio Paradisi hurls his hastily assembled “all-star” cast (John Huston, Glenn Ford, Shelley Winters, and, yes, Lance Henriksen) into the cinematic void, showering them with what the Alamo Drafthouse has called “a blackhearted blowout of interplanetary possession, telekinetic avian assault, exploding basketballs and ecclesiastical laserstorms.” Just when you think you’ve nailed down which direction the film is heading in, it completely shatters your notion of the time-space continuum with enough force to rival a thousand screenings of Zabriskie Point. If you miss out on this one, then you have as much regard for cinema as you do for a discarded toenail clipping.
Dir. Giulio Paradisi, 1979, 35mm, 108 min.
The Visitor (1979) - January 2014 TBD
coming to la in november (http://www.cinefamily.org/films/special-events-november-2013/)
Eric Rohmer was more than one of the directors who formed the French New Wave. He also wrote a lot of surveys and articles about cinema, especially about his favorite director, F.W. Murnau, out who he wrote his dissertation. His first article that got published in the year 1948 was titled (directly translated:) "Film, art of space." In the year 1962 Eric Rohmer published his academic survey called: "The construction of space in Murnau's Faust." While reading about his surveys and articles, it's no surprise that space in Rohmer's films seems to be as important as the plot.
While trying to figure out the space of My Girlfriend's Boyfriend, I can't miss the futuristic city the characters live in. I got the feeling that Eric Rohmer isn't trying to tell a story of four specific people who live in France. To me he's telling about all the people living in these suburbs of Paris. The space of a futuristic city, the city full of postmodern architecture without any past. This theme of the milieu leads to rootlessness. The people of this city have no past, each of them like to analyze and talk about themselves. But none of them really know who they are.
that's a strong component of peter bogdanovich, wes anderson, hong sangsoo, and others who also interact social mechanics with cinematic mechanics. the spaces of places characters inhabit offer vital substances to the connections and distances of the characters involved.
von sternberg
"is brittany part of britan?" - everyone in my state
May 2014 TBD
Michelangelo Antonioni's The Vanquished (1953) on blu-ray from Raro Video
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Challenging linear narrative by weaving multiple story lines and exploring a directorial style way ahead of his time, director Michelangelo Antonioni's unique triptych film features three murders, one taking place in Paris, another in Rome, and another in London. All of the perpetrators are affluent youths, each killing for dubious motives. In the France segment, a group of adolescents kill for money, even though they don't need it; in the London segment, a poet uncovers a woman's body and tries to profit from the discovery; and in the Italian segment, a student becomes caught up in a smuggling ring, with deadly results. With elements that serve as a precursor to Blowup, Antonioni explores how modern society can produce nihilistic tendencies in the least likely characters.
-Curtis Harrington's Night Tide (1961) (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/Night-Tide-Blu-ray/ref=%26%2574%2561g%3d%2562l%2575r%2561y%252d010%252d20?SubscriptionId=AKIAIY4YSQJMFDJATNBA&tag=bluray-010-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B007IHH3QW&ASIN=B007IHH3QW&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER) starring Dennis Hopper, which sort of has the feel of a Val Lewton movie
-Frank Perry's The Swimmer (1968) (http://www.amazon.com/The-Swimmer-Blu-ray-DVD-Combo/dp/B00HRISNPM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396125985&sr=8-1&keywords=the+swimmer), a dark, devastating dream set against the sun-soaked valley
July 21, 2014
Jacques Tati Blu-ray Collection from Studiocanal
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Includes:
-Trafic
-Parade
-Playtime
-Mon Oncle
-Les Vacances De M. Hulot
-Jour de Fete
Jacques Tati Blu-ray Collection - Amazon UK (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00GDEZNTK/dvdbeaver-21/ref=nosim)
LOVED A FACE IN THE CROWD!! Need to see more KAZAN!!
edit: Trafic is awesome!!
...the Criterion Blu Ray of Jules et Jim, THE EXTRAS!! There is la terrific interview featuring Jeanne Moreau, Truffaut and Jean Renoir.
Glad you enjoyed them. A Face in the Crowd has to be my favorite movie of the 1950s alongside Night of the Hunter.
BFI is also releasing a Herzog set with slightly different content (titles not on Shout Factory set bolded)
http://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/announcements/bfi-dvdblu-rays-announced-summer-2014
The Werner Herzog Collection – mammoth Blu-ray and DVD box sets compiling 18 of the legendary German director’s films from late 1960s to the early 1980s, including:
The Unprecedented Defence of the Fortress Deutschkreuz (1967)
Last Words (1968)
Precautions Against Fanatics (1969)
Fata Morgana (1971)
Handicapped Future (1971)
Aguirre, Wrath of God (1972)
Land Of Silence and Darkness (1971)
Heart of Glass (1976)
Stroszek (1977)
The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (1974)
The Great Ecstasy of Woodcarver Steiner (1974)
How Much Wood Would a Woodchuck Chuck (1978)
Woyzeck (1979)
Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979)
Fitzcarraldo (1982)
Huie’s Sermon (1983)
God’s Angry Man (1983)
Cobre Verde (1987)
Extras include Jack Bond’s long-unseen South Bank Show on Herzog from 1982. (July)
wilder i keep watching night tide while i fall asleep. that's my new nighttime movie.
rebels of the neon god
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did you see great american actor mark wahlberg's latest movie? now, pain and gain got some hoopla, good for it, and transformers 4 will do whatever those movies do, great, but goddamnit, usa's greatest living actor played a soldier, a hero, a somethingsomething i forget, and did anyone even seen the movie???
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it's like this: through its ingredients, it's impossible for me to not appreciate the robocop remake. i haven't seen it and i'll probably redbox it, but what i appreciate is how an "outsider," a brazilian filmmaker, was brought into hollywood to make a big budget movie. of course i agree that everything the studio did to change how he was making the film was a bad move on the studio's part. hollywood you often make yourself worse while you try make yourself better. anyway i want to see this, these are the same ingredients which brought us the original. into this
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how have you seen and appreciated boogie nights but you've never seen something like "In 1973, Lloyd Kaufman wrote and produced an erotic thriller set in the porn industry, that starred the exceedingly fun Mary Woronov and some of Andy Warhol’s troop" mary woronov is the name that sells me. plus i've been meaning to watch an entire troma movie at some point
death bed and sugar cookies are amazing, jenkins. definitely worth your time.
Puts you in that foggy half-asleep state even when you're awakeagreed. and this is textured against california beaches, the sideshow, dennis hopper as an emotionally elastic young navy person, mystical fantasy, and these slow moods that drift by musically and through environment, through dennis hopper's curious eyes, through this dreamy whisper into my thoughts, for my dreams to be like movies and for my next day to become the dream, which well recently has been a strange american tale laced with the ponderable uncertainties of existence, and i like when i sense the strangeness to my life through the magic of movies
movie just requires total submission to its hazy dream logic
i like when i sense the strangeness to my life through the magic of movies
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the sidestory is masters of cinema was started by like three friends, as a way to release their personal favorite movies, and the company has grown and they no longer control the company
but one of the founders regularly sends my friend masters of cinema releases
you of all people should know that including samsong's name ruins a pitch. btw. makes me think of someone punching my face
as i've said, it's both adorable and creepy
an often overlooked masterpiece by lang.it is a straight up must watch.
Release details
Due to the declining home video market for older and little-known films, most major film studios have opted to stop releasing those titles via conventional retail methods. Instead, studios like Warner Bros., Universal Studios, Sony Pictures, and MGM have gone the manufacture-on-demand (MOD) route, releasing these titles on DVD-R, often without any kind of restoration or remastering, or any kind of extras.
Unlike MOD, all Twilight Time titles are fully pressed DVDs and/or Blu-rays from a restored transfer.[7] All titles are limited editions with only 3000 units of each format created, and will not be repressed once they are sold out. As these releases are geared toward the music aficionado, all releases will feature an isolated music score. As well, all releases will include an 8-page booklet on the movie featuring original essays, movie stills, and poster art.[1] Other extras will be made available whenever possible.
Product pricing
Due to the self imposed limited edition status of all their releases, all Twilight Time titles see a normal-than-higher price range for their products. All DVDs are priced at $19.95, while all Blu-rays are priced between 10 and 20 dollars more than their DVD counterpart.
Yeah it's my favorite Pialat, and one of my very favorite movies.
Rare is the film in movie-history that can announce the entire movement of its 'plot' with its title alone. But Pialat's second feature, Nous ne vieillirons pas ensemble [We Won't Grow Old Together] does exactly that, encapsulating all the turmoil, and the final end-point, of a couple who among themselves once made a commitment -- and in living together will come to make another one yet.
Jean (Jean Yanne, of Godard's Weekend) and Catherine (Marlène Jobert, of Godard's Masculin Féminin) are the couple whose every move charts an advancement deeper into an emotional warzone. Theirs is the classic and the tragic case of an emotional abuse centred around a perplexing, but powerful, interdependency. At last the point arrives that determines the relationship, with all its weekend holidays, its apologies and submissions, can go no further -- and, in a final shot of genius, Pialat discloses all the ways in which the future might be at once liberated, and enslaved, by the past. Based on a novel by Pialat himself, and on the trauma of his own personal life in the years leading up to the film, Nous ne vieillirons pas ensemble was a smash-hit at the time of its release -- and yet is arguably one of the most upsetting films ever made.
August 25, 2014
Fritz Lang's Woman in the Moon (1929) on blu-ray from Masters of Cinema
Have been meaning to watch this one for months now. Definitely making a trip to the campus to watch this ASAP. too bad they only have it on DVD from Kino :(
Yeah it's my favorite Pialat, and one of my very favorite movies.
Rare is the film in movie-history that can announce the entire movement of its 'plot' with its title alone. But Pialat's second feature, Nous ne vieillirons pas ensemble [We Won't Grow Old Together] does exactly that, encapsulating all the turmoil, and the final end-point, of a couple who among themselves once made a commitment -- and in living together will come to make another one yet.
Jean (Jean Yanne, of Godard's Weekend) and Catherine (Marlène Jobert, of Godard's Masculin Féminin) are the couple whose every move charts an advancement deeper into an emotional warzone. Theirs is the classic and the tragic case of an emotional abuse centred around a perplexing, but powerful, interdependency. At last the point arrives that determines the relationship, with all its weekend holidays, its apologies and submissions, can go no further -- and, in a final shot of genius, Pialat discloses all the ways in which the future might be at once liberated, and enslaved, by the past. Based on a novel by Pialat himself, and on the trauma of his own personal life in the years leading up to the film, Nous ne vieillirons pas ensemble was a smash-hit at the time of its release -- and yet is arguably one of the most upsetting films ever made.
Sounds good. Will definitely check it out. Have been meaning to watch L'enfance Nue for months now.
edit: Where can I find this???
There's the Masters of Cinema DVD (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Vieillirons-Ensemble-Together-Masters-Cinema/dp/B002E9DB4W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1403072605&sr=8-1&keywords=we+won%27t+grow+old+together) in the UK, the French blu-ray (http://www.amazon.fr/Nous-vieillirons-pas-ensemble-Blu-ray/dp/B00ABIPJFM/ref=sr_1_2?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1403072652&sr=1-2&keywords=nous+ne+vieillirons+pas+ensemble) from Gaumont, which has English subtitles, and the forthcoming Kino release (http://www.amazon.com/Wont-Grow-Old-Together-Blu-ray/dp/B00KUCR3BM/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1403072687&sr=1-1&keywords=we+won%27t+grow+old+together) in the US. And I'll be damned, it's also available to rent in SD on Amazon Instant (http://www.amazon.com/Wont-Grow-Together-vieillirons-ensemble/dp/B00KC7HLD0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1403072678&sr=8-2&keywords=we+won%27t+grow+old+together) for $2.99. If none of these are what you meant, well, it's "there". Keep looking.
Edward G. Ulmer's Ruthless (1948) from Olive Films
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Director Edward G. Ulmer’s complex psycho-melodrama Ruthless (1948) is undoubtedly worthy of rediscovery. A flashback-structured tale of a sociopath’s remorseless drive for station and wealth, Ruthless (often referred to as Ulmer’s Citizen Kane) employs a relentless undercurrent of emotional violence. As relayed in an interview with Peter Bogdanovich, Ulmer envisioned his feature as “a Jesuitic morality play… a very bad indictment against 100 percent Americanism—as Upton Sinclair saw it.” The film’s chilling, malevolent tone is personified in a starkly muted performance by lead—and frequent screen cad—Zachary Scott.
life is portrayed in a high-pitch of human imperfections and aspirations
the camera moves in a fashion that illustrates his emotions changing shape and size. i can feel horace's emotions through the camera
"i hate you from your insides"
helpful chart:
kino = region a
arrow = region b
helpful if your player is unlocked or came region free or whatevs
That UK Tati set is a conundrum. I haven't seen the two you mentioned. Criterion will be releasing their own Tati blu-ray titles down the line, but they lost the rights to Trafic, and given that the other Studiocanal titles Criterion has lost the rights to haven't been re-licensed (La Grand Illusion, The Third Man) and Playtime is already a standalone...blah. Do I trust Studiocanal to issue Trafic as its own disc release in the US? I don't know. Don't know which way is up.
I have been reading seemingly constant complaints on line regarding Warner Bros. and presumed non-activity or lack of interest in bringing important catalog titles to the home video market.
Wrong.
Several weeks ago, I had a meal with friends from WB, and while I cannot report titles, I can report that things are alive and well at both Warner Home Video, as well as the Warner Archive Collection.
2015 portends to be their biggest year since the start of the format.
A quick overview.
Three-strip Technicolor. Minnelli. Bogart. Flynn. Davis. Astaire. Garbo. Sinatra.
Hammer Horror is a high priority.
The immense amount of work (and expense) that must go into each film to make it right for Blu-ray can sometimes hold things up, but what's coming represents some of the finest productions from the Golden Age of Hollywood.
I would start saving up now. For those who love classic cinema, it's going to be an expensive year.
RAH
Independent U.S. distributors Scorpion Releasing have confirmed that they will release on Blu-ray Oliver Stone's directorial debut Seizure (1974), starring Jonathan Frid, Martine Beswick, Joseph Sirola, Troy Donahue, Mary Woronov, and Richard Cox. The release is scheduled to arrive on the U.S. market on September 9th.
The release, which will be distributed by Kino Lorber, will feature a brand new HD transfer from the original U.S elements, as well as brand new interviews with stars Mary Woronov and Richard Cox.
Yeah the September 9, 2014 blu-ray release is legit, coming from Scorpion Releasing.
via blu-ray.com (http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=14267):QuoteIndependent U.S. distributors Scorpion Releasing have confirmed that they will release on Blu-ray Oliver Stone's directorial debut Seizure (1974), starring Jonathan Frid, Martine Beswick, Joseph Sirola, Troy Donahue, Mary Woronov, and Richard Cox. The release is scheduled to arrive on the U.S. market on September 9th.
The release, which will be distributed by Kino Lorber, will feature a brand new HD transfer from the original U.S elements, as well as brand new interviews with stars Mary Woronov and Richard Cox.
Charleston Parade (Sur un Air de Charleston) (silent; 20 min. - 1927): A strange sci-fi short adapted by Lestringuez from a story by Andre Cerf. In 2028, Paris is an apocalyptic wasteland. The Eiffel Tower even has a bend in it.
Chris Marker's Level Five made for a particularly eerie cinematic experience by the fact that it was released 17 years after its making. The temporal gap gives it a cryogenic quality that only enhances the film's prophetic aura. The melancholy that afflicts the director's surrogate, Laura (Catherine Belkhodja), who addresses the camera as though she were Skyping her dead lover, is like a message in a bottle whose tragedy remained muffled for too long not to metastasize the very ocean through which it traveled. Here the essay film's most basic element, the lyrical way in which it renders public the private machinations of thinking, imbricates itself with an intimate tale of grief ensconced by technology and the communal horror of the Battle of Okinawa, itself shielded by nothing. The timbre of Marker's narration suggests an author too weathered by the human experience to be affected by his own poetry—a somberness akin to the blunt exposition of a deadly prognosis. Belkhodja's face is perennially swollen, as if sucker-punched by sudden loss, and by the realization that loss is all there is. Marker weaves his cinematic thread by contaminating world events with a mourning as inaudible to the world as it is symbiotically connected to it.
The Spider is a very Freudian psychosexual drama following a young beauty Vita, modelling for a painting of Virgin Mary. At her first visit to the studio of the shady artist Albert, Vita is caught in the net of his sinister universe.
In a visually stunning sequence personages of Albert’s paintings come to life and attack Vita. The girl breaks away only to realise she’s now in the toils of some dark forces.
The Spider combines elements of exploitation and arthouse cinema and constantly balances between sleaze and macabre eminence. The film is clearly influenced by European cinema movements, mostly Polish New Wave, as well as is close to Jean Cocteau’s poetic vision of Beauty and the Beast fairy tale. At the same time, the film acted as a mirror for the unstable state of collective consciousness after the collapse of the USSR.
The film was released in the year Latvia restored independence, which places it in the historically curious context of both the Soviet Union’s death convulsions and the birth of the new Latvian Republic.
March 10, 2015
Eckhart Schmidt's The Fan (1982) from Mondo Macabro
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NSFW
Hi guys, I work for Mondo Macabro and can answer questions if you have any.
Wanted to give a rundown on how we are releasing Eckhart Schmidt's THE FAN.
We are doing it in two versions.
In February we'll put out a BD-only version in a red case, limited to only 500 copies, numbered, and sold exclusively through the MM website, $25.
The following month will see a widely distributed BD/DVD combo, which will itself be limited to either 1500 or 2000 copies, SRP $29.99.
The content of the two editions will be exactly the same, the only difference being the packaging.
If you are interested in this release and want to see more MM blu rays, I urge you to buy the direct-sale limited version. We will be doing this for all our BD releases, trying to offset the huge costs involved. Thanks! The pre-order for the LE will be Jan. 26th.
Oh, and yes, we will ship international.
Foxes (1980)
jenk - I picked up Violent Saturday
...TT releases are hard to recommend unless a title has no alternative availability. Like you, I'm a fan of Wild at Heart and The Driver, but they're both available in cheaper editions internationally, now. Same with The Big Heat. Remains of the Day is a great movie but it's also the case. Save RotD I bought the TT editions of these movies and now I feel like an asshole.
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Jun 29, 2015
Playback Region B (A, C untested)
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Jun 29, 2015
Playback Region B (A, C untested)
590959910688583680[/tweet]]Coming from Criterion[/url][/b]
August 18, 2015
Gerald Kargl's Angst aka Schizophrenia (1983) on blu-ray from Cult Epics (US)
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Angst (1983) - Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Angst-Blu-ray/dp/B00ZBC5C6Y?SubscriptionId=AKIAIY4YSQJMFDJATNBA&tag=bluray-012-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B00ZBC5C6Y&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER)
Q4 2015 TBD
John Cassavetes' A Child Is Waiting (1963) on blu-ray from Kino
Restoration trailers for Maurice Pialat's Random Kissing (1978) and Random Kissing 2 (1980), coming to blu-ray from Cohen Media Group in Q4 2015
August 18, 2015
Gerald Kargl's Angst aka Schizophrenia (1983) on blu-ray from Cult Epics (US)
Gerald Kargl’s Angst Heading Back to U.S. Cinemas
via blu-ray.com
6/15/2015 - Cinefamily, LA
6/16/2015 - Cinefamily, LA
6/17/2015 - Cinefamily, LA
6/12/2015 - Grand Illusion Cinema, Seattle
6/13/2015 - Grand Illusion Cinema, Seattle
6/20/2015 - Grand Illusion Cinema, Seattle
6/17/2015 - Alamo Drafthouse Vintage Park, Houston
6/19/2015 - Coolidge Corner Theatre, Boston
6/20/2015 - Coolidge Corner Theatre, Boston
7/10/2015 - Film Bar, Phoenix
7/10/2015 - Hi-Pointe Theatre, St. Louis
7/11/2015 - Hi-Pointe Theatre, St. Louis
7/10/2015 - Nitehawk Cinema, NYC
7/11/2015 - Nitehawk Cinema, NYC
7/10/2015 - Gateway Film Center, Columbus, OH
7/11/2015 - Gateway Film Center, Columbus, OH
7/12/2015 - Gateway Film Center, Columbus, OH
7/13/2015 - Gateway Film Center, Columbus, OH
7/14/2015 - Gateway Film Center, Columbus, OH
7/15/2015 - Gateway Film Center, Columbus, OH
7/16/2015 - Gateway Film Center, Columbus, OH
7/16/2015 - The Royal Theatre – Rue Morgue Cinemacabre, Toronto
7/17/2015 - Doc Films, Chicago
7/18/2015 - Capital Theatre, Cleveland, OH
8/3/2015 - Alamo Drafthouse, Yonkers, NY
Synopsis: Lensed by acclaimed Polish cinematographer Zbigniew Rybczynski (Tango) and boasting a music score by Klaus Schulze (Manhunter), Schizophrenia tells the story of a psychopath recently released from prison.
June 30, 2015
Penelope Spheeris' The Decline of Western Civilization (1981-1988) on blu-ray from Shout Factory
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The Decline of Western Civilization - Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Decline-Western-Civilization-Collection-Blu-ray/dp/B00V02H58W?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1426937527&sr=1-20&tag=blurayforum-20)
October 20, 2015
G.W. Pabst's Diary of a Lost Girl (1929) on blu-ray from Kino
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Thymiane Henning, an innocent young girl, is raped by the clerk of her father's pharmacy. She becomes pregnant, is rejected by her family, and must fend for herself in a harsh, cruel world.
That's front page news.
Beginning approximately with It, starring Clara Bow in '27, there's a terrific streak of female-lead Hollywood movies, in which women are empowered and impassioned and smart and fighting back against a world that could try to bring them down. I say it all the time -- women have been strong since the beginning of cinema. To put some greats next to some greats, Greta Gerwig does Clara on her Tuesdays. Amy Schumer is doing Mae West on a Friday morning. This streak ends with the introduction of the Hays Code, which code for me exemplifies the need to allow movies to be as honest and open as they can be.
Diary of a Lost Girl is a centerpiece for the melodramatic dimensions of this style. Sirk comes later you know, after the code, and certainly within the movies of Stirk there's art and fiery passions. But what's gone is the grit. Maybe someone thinks "Pabst in the 20s, oh who cares that's old," but I don't think you get again the grit of the pre-code until the 60s. Louise Brooks gets right down to portraits of dark girls, working again with Pabst for Pandora's Box, and as long as movies exist she'll be remembered.
Haven't worked into the conversation Marlene Dietrich, Barbara Stanwyck, Joan Blondell, Mary Pickford, Bebe Daniels. So I mentioned my problem with the Hays Code, what about how bad it got after, with Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Katharine Hepburn. Oh, awful. I think Diary of a Lost Girl is a good movie for seeing the power of female-lead movies.
Sadly, these will be the only discs from Arrow's legendary Borowczyk box to get a US release, at least from Arrow - the US rights for the other three features and all the shorts are with another label.
Because of this, the two supporting shorts that were included on the UK discs (http://www.blu-ray.com/Walerian-Borowczyk/104710/#Bluray) of Immoral Tales and The Beast had to be dropped - but in their place we've added all the non-film-specific extras from the other three UK discs, including the hour-long Borowczyk portrait Obscure Pleasures.
VinegarSyndrome.tv is fully funded (http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/vinegarsyndrome-tv-instant-digital-exploitation/) and happening
We owe a BIG thank you to all of our Indiegogo supporters for helping us bring the largest collection of high-def Exploitation films online.
We can't wait to open the doors to over 250 feature films,consisting of our entire home video catalog, a few other partner labels and over 80 previously unreleased films.
We're launching August 20th on the web and Roku (iOS and Android apps to follow later this year).
August 18, 2015
Gerald Kargl's Angst aka Schizophrenia (1983) on blu-ray from Cult Epics (US)
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BAD NEWS, EVERYBODY
As of now our proposed blu ray release of ALUCARDA is on indefinite hiatus. All usable elements for this film seem to have been lost. While we will never entirely give up the chase on this one – and if you know of any pristine film prints please get in contact here or at our webstore – we are currently at a complete loss. Many apologies to all the fans who have been so anxious for this release. Believe it, we are just as bummed as you. frown emoticon
This film is a favorite of Martin Scorsese's...
It's [...] something like Antonioni making a Western—there's something in the landscapes, the staging, and the long takes that puts me in mind of Story of a Love Affair or L'Avventura.
It has been screened in Brooklyn at Nitehawk Cinema, and upstate NY at Proctor’s Theater and is headed out west in November for its LA premiere at Cinefamily.
Carlotta Films Enters the U.S. Market
via blu-ray.com
Paris-based Carlotta Films has announced that it is launching a U.S. distribution company, which will be known as Carlotta Films U.S. The new company, which will be run by Calantha Mansfield, will focus on bringing classic and little seen independent films to the American market.
The first films Carlotta Films U.S. will distribute theatrically are restored prints of Leos Carax's Boy Meets Girl (1984), starring Denis Lavant, Mireille Perrier, and Carroll Brooks, and Mauvais sang a.k.a The Night is Young (1986), starring Michel Piccoli, Juliette Binoche, and Denis Lavant, as well as Charles Lane's Sidewalk Stories (1989), starring Charles Lane, Nicole Alysia, and Tom Alpern.
Preliminary release dates for upcoming Blu-ray and DVD releases have not yet been revealed.
THE QUIET EARTH (Geoff Murphy, 1985, New Zealand, English, 91 min) - In this sci-fi cult classic, Zac Hobson, a mid-level scientist working on a global energy project, wakes up to a nightmare. After his project malfunctions, Zac discovers that he may be the last man on Earth. As he searches empty cities for other survivors, Zac's mental state begins to deteriorate - culminating in the film's iconic and hotly debated ending.
A drunken newspaperman is rescued from his alcoholic haze by an heiress whose love sobers him up and encourages him to write a play, but he lapses back into dipsomania.
Fuller was offered the opportunity to direct an episode of the popular German crime drama by film critic (and later writer/director) Hans-Christoph Blumenberg, in appreciation for the director's help in securing interviews with filmmakers Howard Hawks and John Ford for a documentary project. Upon meeting with the program's producers and feeling initial doubts about being able to conform to the show's standard template, he suggested a storyline inspired by the then-recent Profumo affair (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Profumo_affair) in England, which the producers approved to Fuller's surprise.
Fuller's screenplay took liberties with the established style of the show by eliminating a primary series protagonist early in the episode in order to introduce a one-time American character to helm the investigation, by conducting the majority of the program in English rather than German (though subtitles were provided in the German broadcast), and by ultimately treating the story with a satirical and often broadly comic tone.
The supplemental features that will be included on the release have not yet been detailed, but the label has confirmed that director Mann is directly involved with the release.
In this somber horror gem, Helen (Angela Pleasance, daughter of Donald) brings Anne (Lora Heilbron, star of Freddie Francis’ THE CREEPING FLESH, 1973) to her family’s creepy, rarely used forest estate where they can unwind from the stress of city life and focus on their writing. The woods may be lovely, dark, and deep, but the promises they keep lead to sex, murder, and insanity!
From Jose Ramon Larraz, the director of the vampire cult classic VAMPRYRES (1974), comes SYMPTOMS (1974), part-Lewis Carroll forest fantasia, part-erotic thriller, part-Bergman-esque chamber of trauma, and 100% mental mindfuck. SYMPTOMS fits into a loose series of films by Larraz made in the early 1970s that includes the aforementioned VAMPYRES, as well as WHIRLPOOL (1970), DEVIATION (1971), and THE HOUSE THAT VANISHED (1974), all of which revolve around a small core cast of characters who venture into the woods and find themselves in a surreal, sexual, and psychotic nightmare.
Striking sustained notes of quiet unease that crescendo into madness, SYMPTOMS epitomizes the minimalist narrative, pastoral beauty, ethereal ermines, and genre revisionism that characterized Larraz’s work in this period.
For years only viewable as a blurry bootleg derived from an early 80s British TV broadcast, this haunting thriller can now be seen as it was intended with a brand new HD transfer of the recently discovered negatives. It's taken us more than 15 years of searching and negotiating to get here, but with the indispensable assistance of the BFI Mondo Macabro can finally bring this film to the world on Blu-ray and DVD.
Symptoms is an intense and claustrophobic study of a woman's descent into madness and murder. Made in the same years as Larraz's better known Vampyres with much of the same crew and a similar vibe, Symptoms is more atmospheric and ambiguous, and less exploitative. But it casts a powerful spell and is perhaps the most potent example of director Jose Larraz's unique style.
Starring Angela Pleasance (From Beyond the Grave) in what is probably her best ever role, Symptoms is a film whose time has finally come. After premiering at the 1974 Cannes Film Festival as the official UK entry and a brief theatrical run, the film sank into almost complete obscurity until being rescued from oblivion by books like Tohill and Tombs' Immoral Tales and the ever-diligent video underground. With this stunning new Blu ray release Symptoms can now be seen as the masterpiece of 70s horror that it truly is.
Special Features:
-The 2011 documentary on Jose Larraz, ON VAMPYRES AND OTHER SYMPTOMS
-FROM BARCELONA to TUNBRIDGE WELLS, a 1999 TV documentary on Larraz, part of the EUROTIKA! series
-New interviews with stars Angela Pleasence and Lorna Heilbron and editor Brian Smedley-Aston
The retail version of this release will be preceded by a limited, numbered version (500 copies only) with exclusive extras, only available through MondoMacabro.BigCartel.com
the ever-diligent video underground.
It's very common for boutique titles to go out of stock between pressings; in the absence of any announcement from Alamo Drafthouse I assume more will be pressed (so NOT out of print). I'm thinking the same about Miami Connection. Granted anything is possible but I wouldn't break the bank on obtaining these titles just yet.
I think Alamo was changing their distributor, and their older titles were supposed to have switched over to their new distrib, but that never seemed to happen for who knows why. But the titles were still avail on Alamo's site. If they are out-of-stock there right now, maybe they are just in-between print runs so no need to rush and pay exorbitant ebay prices. Maybe an e-mail inquiry to Alamo will get an answer about this?
Harmony Korine has cited Alan Clarke as a major influence.
From an interview Korine did with Mike Kelley in 1997 (https://filmmakermagazine.com/40404-from-the-archives-mike-kelley-interviews-harmony-korine/)
"Korine: You know who I love and who no one really knows about? Alan Clarke, the British director. He’s a real influence. He did Scum, Made in Britain, and this film Christine about a girl growing up in council flats with size 14 feet. She walks around with a cookie tin under her arm and hooks her friends up with dope. She’ll go into houses and kids will be there with a box of Ritz crackers on the television. You’d have these really long tracking shots of her walking. The film was just sort of about what her days were like. And he used real people or people who seemed right. He did this other film I like, Elephant, which is just 16 separate executions, one after the other. There are all these steadicam shots. You see a hit man walking through a gymnasium, walking up stairs and corridors –
Kelley: Are these first-person POV shots?
Korine: Exactly. And then [the hit man] would shoot the janitor, and he’d fall on a pile of jockstraps. But the intention wasn’t comedy. After he died in 1988 of cancer, there was a retrospective of Clarke’s work at MOMA. There were only about ten people in the audience. I was watching Elephant, and in the beginning it was a little disturbing. And then I started to find humor in the repetition – watching some Indian carwasher get his hand blown out on a squeegee. I start cracking up, and this British bastard in front of me turns and says, “Don’t you know what this represents? This is the IRA, you son of a bitch!” He wanted to kill me. I liked that idea. He thought it was about the IRA, and I thought it was about Ritz crackers."
From Dazed & Confused, 1998 (http://harmony-korine.com/text/int/hk/?p=82)
Dazed: How did you come across Alan Clarke, because he’s quite obscure in America?
Korine: If someone said to me who is the greatest director or my favorite, I would say Alan Clarke without hesitation. His stories, without ever being derivative, and without ever having a simple ABC narrative are totally organic, precious and amazing. It was nothing but him. In a strange way I don’t even like talking about him in the press or to people because he is the last filmmaker or artist that is really sacred. But especially in America no one knows who he is, even in England there is very little attention.
From Sight & Sound Magazine, April 1998 (Posted on Nick Wringly's site (https://medium.com/alan-clarke/harmony-korine-on-alan-clarke-16e9309e700c#.p7his1xt2))
By the way, Nick, I'm looking forward to exploring your work about Alan Clarke on that site. I just saw Contact the other night and now consider it one of my favorite films. I love how he boiled everything down. The lack of music is powerful. Thanks for this great resource on an amazing director.
I really liked this film, and its depiction of how people can use their "artistic soul" as an excuse to be just as self-serving as they want to be... The existential crisis as an excuse to be selfish is so spot on.
Losing Ground (1982) is one of the few independent films made in the 1980's by a Black woman director. Kathleen Collins was a brilliant, highly talented professor of film. Unfortunately, she directed only this one commercial film, and tragically, she died when she was just 46 years old.
The movie itself was largely ignored, and would have been truly lost except for a fortunate event. Collins' daughter found the negatives, and Milestone has remastered the film for theatrical release.
April 12, 2016
Too Late for Tears (1949) on blu-ray from Flicker Alley
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Through a fluke circumstance a ruthless woman stumbles across a suitcase filled with $60,000, and she is determined to hold onto it even it if means murder.
Too Late for Tears (1949) - Flicker Alley (http://www.flickeralley.com/film-noir/?utm_source=film-noir-pre-order-announcement&utm_medium=email&utm_content=header-image&utm_campaign=Film-Noir)
Woman on the Run (1950) on blu-ray from Flicker Alley
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Frank Johnson flees police after becoming an eyewitness to murder. He is pursued around scenic San Francisco by his wife, a reporter, the police, and... the real murderer.
Woman on the Run (1950) - Flicker Alley (http://www.flickeralley.com/film-noir/?utm_source=film-noir-pre-order-announcement&utm_medium=email&utm_content=header-image&utm_campaign=Film-Noir)
P.S. pretty much everything put out by Eddie Muller on noir is worth reading/watching/listening to. He's a very laid back, casually conversational guy - easy to learn from and entertaining. Lots of interviews and film introductions by him are up on youtube (https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=eddie+muller). Most recently he recorded a short video essay on Gilda for the Criterion edition, and he's recorded many commentary tracks (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Muller#DVD_Commentaries) for other films.
P.P.S. The Film Noir Foundation also puts out an in-depth quarterly magazine / e-mag called Noir City (http://www.filmnoirfoundation.org/home.html) - extremely worth reading (the last issue was 112 pages and featured an editorial on Dorothy B. Hughes, author of the novels Ride the Pink Horse and In A Lonely Place were based on) - which can be subscribed to via a $20 donation to the foundation by Paypal.
December 2015 TBD
Louis Malle's Atlantic City (1980) from Gaumont (France)
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The label has also confirmed that the upcoming release will be the first in a planned series that will comprise the largest collection of Joseph Sarno films under one label. Contributing to the series are Tim Lucas, noted film critic and editor of Video Watchdog, who will provide liner notes; and Joe's widow Peggy Steffans Sarno, who will provide context and invaluable insight into Joe's process.
ABOUT THE JOSEPH W. SARNO FILM LIBRARY
The Joseph W. Sarno Film Library – the Film Media Archive currently includes the largest collection of films by erotic auteur Joseph W. Sarno. Restoration of the library to high definition media is scheduled to begin Spring of 2016, and will be managed by Michael Raso with assistance from Joe's widow, Peggy Sarno.
About Joseph W. Sarno (d. 2010) – an American film director and screenwriter, Joe Sarno emerged from the New York sexploitation film scene of the 1950s and 1960s and wrote / directed approximately 75 feature films including the internationally renowned Sin in the Suburbs and Inga. Often referred to as "the Ingmar Bergman of 42nd street", the last 12 years of Joe's life heralded a new appreciation for his body of nuanced and highly stylized erotic dramas, culminating in a series of screenings and awards at the Lake Placid Film Festival, the British Film Institute, the Turin Film Festival and the Warhol Museum among others. It was during this time that Joe Sarno and Michael Raso forged the close working relationship that would result in the location, purchase, and restoration of many of his existing films, and the production of Joe's final feature film in 2004.
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The story is based on the famous Mayerling incident where Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria was found dead beside his 17 year old lover in an apparent joint suicide. However as with his earlier productions, the director only used history as a jumping off point. The film is pure Jancso. The long tracking shots are there, the horses are there, the naked bodies are there, as are the snatches of folk music and group singing.
The main difference between this film and his more acclaimed earlier works is that it features a host of increasingly bizarre sexual incidents. When it screened as an official entry in the 1976 Cannes Festival and viewers caught on to some of the shocking things that it contained ... well, let's just say that it caused a scandal and in some ways Jancso's reputation never recovered. Like Borowczyk before him, he was almost written off as a one time great film maker who had strayed too far into porn and lost his artistic mojo.
In fact PRIVATE VICES PUBLIC VIRTUES now plays like an overlooked masterpiece. There really is nothing like it in world cinema. The controversy long behind us, we can see that this is one of those rare erotic productions where the point of the film lies in its excess. There's nothing gratuitous about it. Known in Germany as THE BIG ORGY (Die Grosse Orgie), this amazing piece of subversive 70s cinema has never been well treated on home video - pirated, cut and generally not given the respect it deserves. This new release from Mondo Macabro, a world Blu-ray exclusive taken from the original negative, will bring this forgotten classic of world cinema back into the spotlight. It's a film that once seen cannot be forgotten, and it deserves a place in the home of all adventurous film lovers.
July 4, 2016
Jeff Lieberman's Blue Sunshine (1977) on blu-ray from FilmCentrix in a 3-disc limited edition
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A bizarre series of murders begins in Los Angeles, where people start going bald and then become homicidal maniacs. But could the blame rest on a particularly dangerous form of LSD called Blue Sunshine the murderers took ten years before?
May 23, 2016
Dissent & Disruption: The Complete Alan Clarke at the BBC on blu-ray from BFI (13 discs)
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Includes all surviving BBC TV productions directed by Alan Clarke (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Clarke), extensive extra features, a comprehensive book with new essays and full credits, and an exclusive bonus DVD containing the seven surviving Half Hour Story episodes directed by Clarke: Shelter (1967), The Gentleman Caller (1967, previously considered lost), George's Room (1967, previously considered partially lost); Goodnight Albert (1968), Stella (1968), The Fifty Seventh Saturday (1968) and Thief (1968, previously considered lost).
Dissent & Disruption: The Complete Alan Clarke at the BBC - Amazon UK (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B01BGX1BK2/dvdbeaver-21/ref=nosim)
Read more about Clarke's work in this thread (http://criterionforum.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=14110&sid=0d9b8973510ae054e8ace8a8fc731450&start=100) at Criterion ForumHarmony Korine on Alan Clarke, posted by Criterion Forum (http://criterionforum.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=14110&start=125#p535796) member AntarcticaQuoteHarmony Korine has cited Alan Clarke as a major influence.
From an interview Korine did with Mike Kelley in 1997 (https://filmmakermagazine.com/40404-from-the-archives-mike-kelley-interviews-harmony-korine/)
"Korine: You know who I love and who no one really knows about? Alan Clarke, the British director. He’s a real influence. He did Scum, Made in Britain, and this film Christine about a girl growing up in council flats with size 14 feet. She walks around with a cookie tin under her arm and hooks her friends up with dope. She’ll go into houses and kids will be there with a box of Ritz crackers on the television. You’d have these really long tracking shots of her walking. The film was just sort of about what her days were like. And he used real people or people who seemed right. He did this other film I like, Elephant, which is just 16 separate executions, one after the other. There are all these steadicam shots. You see a hit man walking through a gymnasium, walking up stairs and corridors –
Kelley: Are these first-person POV shots?
Korine: Exactly. And then [the hit man] would shoot the janitor, and he’d fall on a pile of jockstraps. But the intention wasn’t comedy. After he died in 1988 of cancer, there was a retrospective of Clarke’s work at MOMA. There were only about ten people in the audience. I was watching Elephant, and in the beginning it was a little disturbing. And then I started to find humor in the repetition – watching some Indian carwasher get his hand blown out on a squeegee. I start cracking up, and this British bastard in front of me turns and says, “Don’t you know what this represents? This is the IRA, you son of a bitch!” He wanted to kill me. I liked that idea. He thought it was about the IRA, and I thought it was about Ritz crackers."
From Dazed & Confused, 1998 (http://harmony-korine.com/text/int/hk/?p=82)
Dazed: How did you come across Alan Clarke, because he’s quite obscure in America?
Korine: If someone said to me who is the greatest director or my favorite, I would say Alan Clarke without hesitation. His stories, without ever being derivative, and without ever having a simple ABC narrative are totally organic, precious and amazing. It was nothing but him. In a strange way I don’t even like talking about him in the press or to people because he is the last filmmaker or artist that is really sacred. But especially in America no one knows who he is, even in England there is very little attention.
From Sight & Sound Magazine, April 1998 (Posted on Nick Wringly's site (https://medium.com/alan-clarke/harmony-korine-on-alan-clarke-16e9309e700c#.p7his1xt2))
By the way, Nick, I'm looking forward to exploring your work about Alan Clarke on that site. I just saw Contact the other night and now consider it one of my favorite films. I love how he boiled everything down. The lack of music is powerful. Thanks for this great resource on an amazing director.
Roughly from 1964 to 1990, the BBC’s drama department poured out a wealth of studio-recorded dramas and, increasingly, 16mm films that challenged the sociopolitical status quo.
[…]
One of the fruits of this initiative was the visceral, anti-establishment filmmaking of Alan Clarke (1935-1990), who arrived at the corporation when he was 33 and directed 29 dramas there.
[…]
Loach, Clarke, and colleagues like Mike Leigh, Stephen Frears, Roland Joffé, Michael Apted, and Richard Eyre were not passive interpreters of other people’s scripts—Leigh, in any case, wrote his own domestic tragicomedies. Loach shaped works he developed with such writers as Nell Dunn, Jeremy Sandford, and Jim Allen into a singularly humanistic socialist realist vision. Attentive to class divisions, manners, and behavioral nuances, Frears’s films of plays by Peter Prince, David Cook, David Hare, Stephen Poliakoff, and especially Alan Bennett were characterized by a visual economy and drollness, though Frears regards himself an auteur or stylist no more than do his champions.
What about Clarke? Sympathetic to social misfits and family casualties (as is Loach), youths especially, and antagonistic to patriarchal institutions (the Church, governments, the courts, prisons, schools, hospitals, multinationals), he was the telly auteur as roving anarchist—not an ideologue, however, but a director who approached the cinematic space representing Britain as a hectic ontological battleground.
Like fellow late-phase noir auteur Paul Wendkos, writer-director-producer Leslie Stevens was an acolyte of Orson Welles — and no career path could be more dangerously vertiginous than one that emulated film’s most notorious outcast. Both men would eventually succumb to the studio system that they so flamboyantly spurned in their early, impetuous days, but before they were torn from their Wellesian womb they each produced a singular film with sinuous overtones of overripe, forbidden fruit.
Of the two, however, Stevens was the more extreme — pushing beyond the Oedipal indirections that Wendkos explored in The Burglar (1957, filmed in 1955), an incendiary, overheated caper film starring Dan Duryea and Jayne Mansfield, based on the David Goodis novel of the same name. More extreme, in that Stevens plunged head-on into the hidden injuries of gender relations in postwar America, at a time when paternalism was reaching its giddy peak — and more original, in that Stevens aspired to the same level of control over his production that Welles had always sought.
Stevens’ contribution to the noir nether regions that began to sprout like unwelcome weeds in the late ’50s — when films were still constrained from even a rudimentary display of sexual explicitness — has long been considered a lost film. Its recent discovery, languishing in plain sight at a well-known university film archive, is a deliciously wanton metaphor for the type of secrets and taboos that were on the cusp of being exploded out into the open as the twentieth century’s most tumultuous decade — the sixties — was being birthed.
This black and white horror movie, filmed in California but with dialogue in Esperanto, is unlike anything you've ever seen. Incubus inverts the usual moral battle of a good person tempted by evil. When a headstrong, blond, young succubus named Kia (Allyson Ames) becomes bored with luring the corrupt and sinful to their ultimate demise, she decides she's going to tackle a truly good man (in the form of a very young William Shatner, of all people). An older, wiser succubus warns Kia that the good have an uncanny power called love, but Kia recklessly dives in, confident in her seductive powers--until she finds herself spiritually defiled by goodness and must summon an incubus (Milos Milos) to enact revenge. The pacing is slow but eerily effective, as are the stark cinematography and low-budget effects. Shatner's intonations are just as distinctive in Esperanto as in English, but that only adds to the movie's overall stylization. Incubus shares a kinship with Carnival of Souls, another low-budget black and white horror film that has more going on than buckets of gore. Though Incubus would seem to be heavily influenced by Ingmar Bergman, director Leslie Stevens has said he was more affected by Japanese samurai films. A strikingly unique and beautifully creepy film.
October 25, 2016
Joe Sarno's Sin You Sinners (1963) and Vampire Ecstasy (1973) on blu-ray from Film Movement
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Vampire Ecstasy (1973) / Sin You Sinners (1963) - Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/Vampire-Ecstasy-and-Sin-You-Sinners-Blu-ray/dp/B01KN0GZLE?SubscriptionId=AKIAIY4YSQJMFDJATNBA&tag=bluraynews-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B01KN0GZLE&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER)
Venus Peter is a 1989 British drama film directed by Ian Sellar and produced by Christopher Young for Young films. The film is an adaptation of the novel A Twelvemonth and a Day by Christopher Rush. It was screened in the Un Certain Regardsection at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival.
In 1999 Richard Mowe, curator of film at the National Museum of Scotland, chose the film as one of his top twenty Scottish films of the century.
December 12, 2016
Donnie Darko (2001) limited edition blu-ray from Arrow (UK), with 4K restorations of both the Theatrical Cut and Director's Cut from the original camera negatives
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Donnie Darko (2001) - Limited Edition - Amazon UK (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Donnie-Darko-Limited-Format-Blu-ray/dp/B01LW6R5H7/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473634087&sr=8-1&keywords=donnie+darko+limited)
December 12, 2016
Donnie Darko (2001) limited edition blu-ray from Arrow (UK), with 4K restorations of both the Theatrical Cut and Director's Cut from the original camera negatives
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Donnie Darko (2001) - Limited Edition - Amazon UK (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Donnie-Darko-Limited-Format-Blu-ray/dp/B01LW6R5H7/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473634087&sr=8-1&keywords=donnie+darko+limited)
Screencap comparisons (http://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?go=1&a=0&d1=9554&d2=9555&s1=92533&s2=92547&i=9&l=0) at caps-a-holic (scroll up for more / click 'Fullscreen Comparison' in the upper-right of each image). Non-limited edition coming from Arrow UK on January 9, 2017 (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Donnie-Darko-Blu-ray/dp/B01MXCSRTR?SubscriptionId=AKIAIY4YSQJMFDJATNBA&tag=bluraycom-21&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B01MXCSRTR&m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE)
-Betty (1992)
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Alone and drunk, Betty, is led to a Paris restaurant by a stranger. Here, she meets an older woman, Laure, with whom she strikes up an instant rapport. The two women seem to have suffered the same lot in their lives. Laure takes Betty back to her hotel and helps to cure the young woman of her depression and alcoholism. Little by little, Betty pieces together her recent history and realizes that perhaps her life is not worth living. The she meets Mario, Laure's lover... Starring Stephane Audran, Jean-Francoise Garreaud and Marie Trintignant. 2K RESTORATION.
-L'Enfer (1994)
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Paul (François Cluzet) has just bought a charming waterfront hotel in the heart of France. In debt for the next ten years, he sets to work with his beautiful new wife, Nelly (Emmanuelle Béart). The life of the young couple resembles a dream come true until Paul's suspicions and jealousy get the best of him. His increasing obsession turns into madness that ends in a tragedy. Starring Emmanuelle Béart and Francois Cluzet. 2K RESTORATION.
-The Swindle (1997)
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Betty and Victor tour quietly around France in their motor home living safely on part-time swindles…until they become involved in a scam with high stakes and international implications. Chabrol's 50th film is a deft and entertaining thriller. Starring François Cluzet, Isabelle Huppert and Michel Serrault. 2K RESTORATION.
The UHD disc of Goodfellas is based on the same 4K scan of the original camera negative that was used to generate the 25th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray (http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/GoodFellas-Blu-ray/122386/#Review). This new version is something of a landmark for Warner Brothers, because Goodfellas is its first "deep catalog" release in what remains a fledgling format. All of Warner's previous 4K discs to date are 21st Century films completed on digital intermediates, but Goodfellas is entirely a product of the analog era, which constitutes the bulk of cinema history. This makes it an informative preview (along with such Sony titles as Ghostbusters (http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Ghostbusters-4K-Blu-ray/151359/) and Ghostbusters II) (http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Ghostbusters-II-4K-Blu-ray/151358/) of how older titles originated on film and completed photochemically may fare in the brave new world of 4K and High Dynamic Range.
Before turning to the UHD of Goodfellas, let me take a short detour to discuss calibration. The gold standard of calibration has been set by the Imaging Science Foundation (or "ISF"), which was created in 1994 to establish standardization in electronic imaging. Calibrators trained and certified by the ISF are routinely retained to adjust and confirm the accuracy of the displays used in post houses and DI suites, and they are also hired by home theater installers and enthusiasts to provide the same services for consumer equipment. ISF calibration requires several key components. These include a colorimeter for measuring a display's light output, color values and wavelengths; and a signal generator to feed the display standardized test patterns that can be measured by the colorimeter. Top quality colorimeters are expensive devices that cost more than the average home theater, and their proper use depends on an intimate understanding of the underlying technology—which is why accurate calibration requires the hiring of a properly trained and equipped professional.
The challenge of 4K and HDR at the moment is that no signal generator currently on the market is capable of supplying the requisite test patterns. Most importantly for present purposes, these test signals would include an HDR-graded PLUGE pattern, which is an essential tool for setting black levels. In the absence of any standardization, calibration for 4K and HDR has remained a moving target, and this limitation affects the entire UHD chain, from creation to playback.
A small group of technicians has coordinated with industry representatives to develop a 4K/HDR test disc that can be used for ISF calibration. Although the disc is not yet widely available, I am fortunate enough to work with one of its creators, Kevin Miller, who is both a charter member of the ISF and its officially designated Technical Consultant. Recently, Mr. Miller used this disc to re-calibrate my system for HDR color and black levels. All of my UHD reviews written since that procedure bear the paragraph in italics below, specifying the calibration equipment and methodology.
Even before the latest calibration, it was obvious that the 2160p, HEVC/H.265-encoded UHD of Goodfellas suffered from black-level issues. Since the procedure, I have rewatched the disc several times. In comparison to the Blu-ray, the UHD reveals a slight (a very slight) increase in visible detail and grain, but the improvement continues to be overshadowed (literally) by improper black levels that cast a haze of overbrightening across the entire frame. The effect is most pronounced in scenes set in darkened interiors such as clubs and bars—and there are many such scenes in Goodfellas. A good example is the bar scene (chapter 33) in which Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) narrates the planning for the Lufthansa heist, while the camera picks up each member of the crew being assembled by Jimmy Conway (Robert De Niro). The last to enter is "Stacks" Edwards (Samuel L. Jackson), and as he walks away from the camera into the back of the bar, the outline of his figure softens and the details fade. The same phenomenon can be observed after the heist, when Jimmy is celebrating at the same bar, but his jubilation turns to fury when he discovers that members of the crew have disobeyed his orders not to attract attention with luxury purchases. In scenes such as these, the UHD's image is routinely less distinct and detailed than the Blu-ray's, because the blacks are too bright. The UHD's colors appear to have been slightly intensified compare to the Blu-ray, with reds and blues the chief beneficiary, but here again the overbrightening tends to undercut any improvements by dampening color intensity.
Is the UHD unwatchable? Not at all. As with many video phenomena, the eye quickly adjusts to the presentation, and the elevated black levels become routine. But having watched Goodfellas repeatedly on both UHD and the 25th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray, I find the Blu-ray to be a better viewing experience. (And yes, my setup is also ISF-calibrated for 1080p.)
Like other studios, Warner touts HDR as a major enhancement, but the UHD presentation of Goodfellas demonstrates that the HDR sticker prominently affixed to every 4K title does not necessarily guarantee a superior image. While the 4K image could no doubt be re-graded with accurate black levels, it is uncertain whether and how much the corrected image would offer any meaningful improvement over the Blu-ray. Regardless, Goodfellas stands as a demonstration of why HDR is not automatically a benefit. As UHD progresses, it may turn out that some—possibly many—older films should be left in SDR, without any attempt to "enhance" their blacks, contrast or colors.
[Viewed on a system calibrated using a Klein K10-A Colorimeter with a custom profile created with a Colorimetry Research CR250 Spectraradiometer, powered by SpectracCal CalMAN 2016 5.7, using the Samsung Reference 2016 UHD HDR Blu-ray test disc authored by Florian Friedrich from AV Top in Munich, Germany. Calibration performed by Kevin Miller of ISFTV.]
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This is one of those Rosetta Stone films you see and it suddenly explains a lot of things and puts them in their proper context. Particularly, in this case, John Waters. Hilarious, bizarre, and impeccably shot by Haskell Wexler (this looks like "Last Year at Marienbad," and he clearly nicked some shots from Godard's "Contempt")
October 21, 2014
Bruno Dumont's entire filmography up through Camille Claudel on blu-ray from Blaq Out
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Bruno Dumont : 1997 - 2014 - Amazon France (http://www.amazon.fr/Bruno-Dumont-1997-Coffret-Blu-ray/dp/B00M262LCU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413182458&sr=8-1&keywords=bruno+dumont)
2017 TBD
Vasili Mass' Spider (1991) on blu-ay from Mondo Macabro
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A young model's life spins out of control after she visits the studio of an eccentric artist and poses for a painting of Virgin Mary.