The Phantom Carriage (Sjöström, 1921)

[NABOB OF NOWHERE]

New entry at Moviemail

[tryavna]

You could also try this place.

Here's the specific link for the boxset.

Not a bad price....

[Petty Bourgeoisie]

You could also try this place.

Here's the specific link for the boxset.

Not a bad price....

So anybody spring for this boxset? It's been out for 10 days now and I was wondering if anybody took the plunge.

[alfons416]

So anybody spring for this boxset? It's been out for 10 days now and I was wondering if anybody took the plunge.

it's discussed here

[Petty Bourgeoisie]

Much thanks. Just what I was looking for.

[TIVOLI]

Does anyone have any idea if/when Criterion is going to release The Phantom Carriage? Wondering whether I should pull the trigger on the upcoming UK release.

[ptmd]

I don't think anybody knows when, but Criterion is definitely going to be releasing The Phantom Carriage. A restored print played as part of the Janus 50 years retrospective two years ago and every other film except two in that series has been released. Several of them, like Death of a Cyclist, have been announced recently so I would predict that the Criterion Phantom Carriage DVD will be out within 6 months at most. I'm definitely waiting on the UK disc for now.

[Tommaso]

I have just ordered the UK disc, and am very curious about the image quality. But it seems that Tartan put some effort into it, considering the delay of the release, so I think it would be hard for CC to beat the Tartan unless they also include the Bergman film (which, however, isn't so unlikely given their Bergman track record).

[manicsounds]

dvdtimes.co.uk has reviews up for both single and double discs.
I really don't see why Tartan had to release 2 separate versions

[Rsdio]

Yeah, it's irritating for those of us who'd like the KTL score but don't want to feel like we're missing out on The Image Makers. The review of the KTL version says the audio is uncompressed but even so I would've thought it'd be possible to get them both on the one disc, especially when you see Pandora's Box with its four soundtracks and a commentary. If they were intent keeping the scores separate they could at least have included the second disc with both.

[Tommaso]

For easy reference: here's the dvdtimes link for the "Image Makers" version.

And I really liked to read this bit from there: "the transfer of this early silent classic almost rivals the work done on the Masters of Cinema’s recent Nosferatu, which hails from the same period." And the caps look great indead.

Now I can't wait to receive this....

[markhax]

Has anyone seen the Tartan release yet? I am anxious to hear about the transfer.

[MichaelB]

Has anyone seen the Tartan release yet? I am anxious to hear about the transfer.

A review.

And another one.

Plus two more.

[Tommaso]

I have now received my copy of the double-disc and watched "The Phantom Carriage" yesterday. And indeed it is a fantastic resto! As has been pointed out, image quality and tinting is generally excellent, and there's surprisingly little damage all around. Perhaps I find the whole image a tiny little bit too bright, but first it's probably just personal taste, and secondly it can easily be helped in this case via your TV controls. The compression is very minimally visible in some places, so I'd say it's not exactly as good as MoC's "Nosferatu", but still comes pretty close to it.
I'm completely happy with the Matti Bye soundtrack, which sounds idiomatic for most of the time and is 'experimental' enough for the more scary bits, so I don't think I need the KTL version on top of it. Bye manages to get some nice bits of true lyricism in it, for instance the scene when David arrives at the welfare home and Edit begins to fall in love wth him. Wonderful.

And the film itself blew me away, unsurprisingly. I had formerly seen only excerpts from it (guess which bits...), so I was initially surprised that it is far less a 'horror' story than a sort of social drama, but I found it absolutely striking how Sjöström managed to get these conflicting elements together, forming a real unity between them (quite unlike, say, Pabst's "Der Schatz", where a similar mixture never coalesces into such unity). Also a quite daring narrative structure for the time, but even this never seems forced at all. Sjöström walked on a very thin edge, as the film might have easily collapsed into melodramatic unbelievability, but he somehow managed to hold all this together. Perhaps because the acting is so good, especially by Sjöström himself as the main character: he can so easily change from aggressive drunkard to loving husband without ever appearing to force anything in his performance.

I'd say, this is a must have for anyone mildly interested in silent film, and it seems this is already a candidate for a lot of votes in the Non-CC-End of the Year-Poll (though what would I give for an audio commentary or an MoC style book). And I haven't even seen "The Image Makers"....

BTW: My copy has the labels of the discs mixed up ("Phantom Carriage" having the "Image Makers" label and vice versa). Not a big deal, but just don't panic as I did when you put the disc in the player and the wrong film shows up.

[Knappen]

That does it for me! I just placed an order at Play (15£).

[Tommaso]

That does it for me! I just placed an order at Play (15£).

Best way to spend these 15 Pounds

BTW: David Thompson in the two-page 'booklet' makes an interesting point about one scene where an axe-wielding Sjöström tries to come through the door to get at his wife and children, saying it might have been an influence on Kubrick's "Shining". And indeed, I find it looks incredibly similar (and it is REALLY scary). Does anyone know more about this? Did Kubrick know "The Phantom Carriage"?

[MichaelB]

Does anyone know more about this? Did Kubrick know "The Phantom Carriage"?

Given that Kubrick reputedly prepared for The Shining by watching virtually every important horror film ever made, it's entirely possible.