407 Mala Noche

[denti alligator]

Got this for Xmas. How can I quickly check if I need to send mine in for a replacement?

Anyone? Is there a scene I can jump to to test it?

[Lemmy Caution]

Got this for Xmas. How can I quickly check if I need to send mine in for a replacement?

Anyone? Is there a scene I can jump to to test it?

Are you in too much of a panic to read through this thread? Check out the last few posts on Page 2 and the link at the top of this page to the Criterion announcement re the error.

From davidhare's post on Page 2:

At approx 21' 15" during the scene in which the boys have found a discarded movie camera and are fooling around with it, filming each other and a black labrador etc Gus includes three quick shots in color, which he doesn't return to until the final credits. The color shots are intact on the MK2 but are rendered in B&W on the Criterion.

Criterion blog says:

Mala Noche is mostly in black and white, but about twenty-three minutes in, there are three color shots that total ten seconds and twenty-two frames. In our version, they appear in black and white.

This seems like a really minor issue to me.
And not worth the trouble of correcting (for me, not for Criterion as a producer).
I can't imagine the quick hits of color really affecting much, or linking up with the end credits in any significant manner.
That being said, of course I would prefer to see it the way it was intended. Don't know why Criterion doesn't just load that scene on to their website or Youtube so folks could see the brief shots in color.
That would satisfy my curiosity/feeling of missing something.

[Rupert Pupkin]

Got this for Xmas. How can I quickly check if I need to send mine in for a replacement?

Anyone? Is there a scene I can jump to to test it?

Are you in too much of a panic to read through this thread? Check out the last few posts on Page 2 and the link at the top of this page to the Criterion announcement re the error.

From davidhare's post on Page 2:

At approx 21' 15" during the scene in which the boys have found a discarded movie camera and are fooling around with it, filming each other and a black labrador etc Gus includes three quick shots in color, which he doesn't return to until the final credits. The color shots are intact on the MK2 but are rendered in B&W on the Criterion.

Criterion blog says:

Mala Noche is mostly in black and white, but about twenty-three minutes in, there are three color shots that total ten seconds and twenty-two frames. In our version, they appear in black and white.

This seems like a really minor issue to me.
And not worth the trouble of correcting (for me, not for Criterion as a producer).
I can't imagine the quick hits of color really affecting much, or linking up with the end credits in any significant manner.
That being said, of course I would prefer to see it the way it was intended. Don't know why Criterion doesn't just load that scene on to their website or Youtube so folks could see the brief shots in color.
That would satisfy my curiosity/feeling of missing something.

I bought all mk2 releases of Gus Van Sant (Elephant 2 CD set (I was hoping that Criterion released it at that time; Last Days... I'm waiting for Paranoid Park now (btw, is there a DVD zone 1 already announced), but for Mala Noche, I wanted the Criterion version because it was approved by Gus Van Sant himself, include many extras (some of them not on the mk 2 release).

As a Director approved transfer, it can't be considered as a minor issue.
this is Gus Van Sant's movie, and I understand that I can keep my DVD until a replacement, but a replacement is required because the transfer is not okay, altough as you said the colour diapos are only just a few seconds.
But it's like if they had put on DVD Rumble Fish all in b&w without the very short color segments...

[Morbii]

As a Director approved transfer, it can't be considered as a minor issue.
this is Gus Van Sant's movie, and I understand that I can keep my DVD until a replacement, but a replacement is required because the transfer is not okay, altough as you said the colour diapos are only just a few seconds.
But it's like if they had put on DVD Rumble Fish all in b&w without the very short color segments...

Except that since it's director approved, it almost seems like he didn't care enough to actually watch it and make sure :O

[nick]

Out of curiosity: has anyone received a copy of the corrected disc yet? I'm still waiting on mine.

[Napier]

I was wondering the same thing.I've been holding off on buying this until it is corrected.

[jorencain]

As of a few days ago, they hadn't gotten the corrected discs in yet (according to an email I got). If I get any notification that it's on it's way, I'll post something.

[Morbii]

I think I'm going to keep my fucked up copy. Maybe it will be worth money one day!

[Lino]

Just had a chance to watch this one on the big screen last week (and for the first time ever, too) and loved every minute of it. What a breezy movie, full of good vibes and sincere feelings, it's no wonder Michael loves it.

The thing I love the most about it is how it so closely adheres to the short story format. It almost feels like you're watching a short feature and when you notice, almost an hour and a half has just flew by.

[LightBulbFilm]

I will be sending for my replacement tomorrow... Anyone receive their's back yet?

[mogwai]

I received an email from Tamara on Jan. 23rd saying they didn't have the replacement discs yet, but would send them out as soon as they arrived.

[Michael]

I just received an email from Tamara today. The CC just got the corrected discs in earlier this week. She mailed out all the replacements on Tuesday and Wednesday. The gift certificates will follow by email within a few days.

Hope that helps.

[LightBulbFilm]

I got my e-mail too. Pre-ordered The Fire Within with my $10 gift certificate... When it comes down to it, it's really kind of pointless, it made it the same price as Amazon.com will have it after shipping and everything... It be best to purchase from Criterion in bulk I guess. Oh well...

[Mr Pixies]

how does someone get a gift certificate?

[Michael]

Just FYI, I got my corrected disc today.

Mr. Pixies, didn't you read the previous posts regarding to gift certificates?

[Mr Pixies]

sorry, I missed that in their blog....going to send mine in soon.

[Triscuit]

Too bad the actor who played "Walt" never seemed to do anything later. It really was a charismatic, fearless performance.

[knives]

Just watched this and while I think Van Sant has greatly improved as a director since I don't think his material has managed to fit him so well. The way it plays out with Walt being a douche was kind of surprising. I thought this would be like a Capra romance Van Sanitized, but instead it almost feels like a cautionary tale. Maybe cautionary is the wrong word, but I can't think of the right one. Just the character of Johnny, or was it just Juan, was pretty interesting since for most of the movie he seemed to genuinely hate Walt, antagonizing him to all hell, yet trusting him in ways maybe he shouldn't have. I also found the empty happiness Walt achieved with Pepper as a real interesting aspect. He almost seemed blissful in that wax misery he built up. All in all this is definitely a film that should be the bar for this sort. Really a worthwhile experience.

[Michael]

Just watched this and while I think Van Sant has greatly improved as a director since I don't think his material has managed to fit him so well. The way it plays out with Walt being a douche was kind of surprising. I thought this would be like a Capra romance Van Sanitized, but instead it almost feels like a cautionary tale. Maybe cautionary is the wrong word, but I can't think of the right one. Just the character of Johnny, or was it just Juan, was pretty interesting since for most of the movie he seemed to genuinely hate Walt, antagonizing him to all hell, yet trusting him in ways maybe he shouldn't have. I also found the empty happiness Walt achieved with Pepper as a real interesting aspect. He almost seemed blissful in that wax misery he built up. All in all this is definitely a film that should be the bar for this sort. Really a worthwhile experience.

Not sure what you mean by Walt being a douche. He has no gay baggage, no coming-out struggles, no poor-me, he's completely comfortable in his own skin. And the film was made in 1985, in Reagan's America, in the middle of the AIDS paranoia. That makes Walt/Gus a hero and the film a total revelation for me.

Cautionary tale? What caution? Having seen Mala Noche many times, I never sensed Johnny's hatred for Walt. He genuinely loved him but not in the way Walt desired from him. In the finale Walt drifting away in his car, a shot of Johnny from the back of Walt's car, there is a very strong come-back-to-me pull coming from Johnny as he looks after the car, like a lost pup.

And I never saw the happiness Walt had with Pepper as empty even though Pepper wasn't Johnny, Walt's main crush.

[knives]

I definitely phrased things wrong. Walt being a douche was really more his anti-hero status with him being dumb racist and a jerk at times. He also had a not cluelessness, but blunt innocence with John. Like I said cautionary is the wrong word since it has certain stigma. I meant more of the lust vs. love is it worth screwing yourself or making an ass out of yourself themes, that were handled very well by the way, were done in a way you usually don't see in film. As for the Pepper thing I just see Walt as seeing their relationship how he wants a relationship. Maybe even being a tad site filled toward himself, but still happy in his own way.

The film has carried very well since last night though.

I still don't like how I phrased things, especially the Pepper stuff, but I hope you get the gist. Probably why I've never considered becoming a critic.

[Dadapass]

I just received my Mala Noche DVD from Amazon and it was a copy with the color shots in b/w. Does this mean that they have sold so few DVDs of this title that they haven't run out of the fucked up version?

[MoonlitKnight]

I think 20 minutes would've sufficed for that Plympton doc; it's rather one-note after a while. How much juvenile poetry do we need to hear?

[tanders1]

I have just finished watching Mala Noche and noticed one very unusual thing that no one else has noticed. In the end credits, they mention that Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was in the movie. I never heard it though. Oddly enough, when Pepper puts a record onto the player, it clearly has the Beatles Apple logo in the middle yet a classical piece is played instead. Am I just going crazy or can someone help explain this?

[Roger Ryan]

I have just finished watching Mala Noche and noticed one very unusual thing that no one else has noticed. In the end credits, they mention that Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was in the movie. I never heard it though. Oddly enough, when Pepper puts a record onto the player, it clearly has the Beatles Apple logo in the middle yet a classical piece is played instead. Am I just going crazy or can someone help explain this?

It appears that the music rights were pulled for the Beatles track so the filmmakers had to substitute a different piece of music for the scene. Given that the song is listed in the credits, it's possible that the Beatles song did appear in the film during it's initial theatrical release. However, DVD or home video releases fall under different rights clearance issues which require producers to pay additional royalties for use of a song or they may be denied its use altogether. A number of films and TV shows (FREAKS AND GEEKS comes to mind) had their DVD releases held up because of difficulty clearing music rights to the same tracks heard in the initial broadcast or release. Often, producers will not bother dealing with the issue at all and simply substitute a different song for the scene in question for the home video release. The TV show JOAN OF ARCADIA used popular songs in almost every episode when originally broadcast; the DVD release replaced these songs with generic stock music. I assume the same thing happened with MALA NOCHE.

[tanders1]

I think it is interesting that Criterion does not mention this anywhere. I wonder if this is the first Criterion release to have had to alter its music?