29 The Round-Up

[What A Disgrace]

The Round Up (Szegénylegények)



A profound influence on filmmakers from Sergio Leone to Béla Tarr, The Round-Up is widely acknowledged as a masterpiece of world cinema.

Set in a detention camp in Hungary 1869, at a time of guerrilla campaigns against the ruling Austrians, Jancsó deliberately avoids conventional heroics to focus on the persecution and dehumanization manifest in a time of conflict. Filmed in Hungary’s desolate and burning landscape, Jancsó uses his formidable technique to create a remarkable and terrifying picture of war and the abuse of power that still speaks to audiences today.

Special Features

- Newly filmed interview with director Miklós Jancsó.
- Digital transfer with restored image and sound, approved by the Director.
- Anamorphic 16:9 enhanced for widescreen televisions.
- New and improved English subtitle translation.
- Optimal quality dual layer disc.
- Booklet featuring a comprehensive new Essay by author John Cunningham.

[Bikey]

Yes, we WILL be releasing The Round-Up very early in the new year. There will be lots of things happening around the release of the film, so watch this space.

[What A Disgrace]

Accoring to Amazon and Play, February 11!

[jbeall]

Moviemail's now listing a 3/17/08 release date.

[M]

Wow. Sounds really exciting. Is there no spine number as of yet? Is this common practice here, to create the thread and then add the spine number later if it's still forthcoming?

[jbeall]

Wow. Sounds really exciting. Is there no spine number as of yet? Is this common practice here, to create the thread and then add the spine number later if it's still forthcoming?

The three forthcoming films listed on Second Run's website have all been given a number. I couldn't tell you which film gets which number, but 25, 27, and 29 are the spots reserved for those three films. Marketa Lazarova was #17, and that spot stayed open for a long time, even after #30 (Partition) was released.

[M]

No, I meant there's no spine number associated with the film on this thread's heading. But now that you mention it, The Round Up hasn't been slotted into sequence on Second Run's website either. I'm sure it's safe to say it will be as all of their numbered titles will be, but I was only curious why the thread had been created here but the title of the thread was only the title of the film, without the number attached to it as is the case with the other titles in the collection. It gets added to the heading later then.

[jbeall]

My bad. I assume it'll be updated as soon as SR puts the spine # on their website.

[Bikey]

We will have more information very shortly, not only concerning the release of The Round Up, but also a series of events taking place around the release.

[Bikey]

MIKLÓS JANCSÓ and THE ROUND-UP

Second Run DVD are very proud to announce that Miklós Jancsó will be visiting the UK for a series of screenings and events to celebrate the DVD release of his masterpiece THE ROUND-UP (1965).

THE ROUND-UP (Szegénylegények)
DVD release date: 17th March 2008

“People need to see Jancsó’s really beautiful three or four first movies. The highest mountain is The Round-Up...” - Béla Tarr

We are delighted to tell you that the DVD also includes a newly filmed video interview with Miklós Jancsó. In addition, the booklet contains an insightful new essay by author and Hungarian cinema expert John Cunningham.
THE ROUND-UP is now available to pre-order

MIKLÓS JANCSÓ IN THE UK
At the age of 86, Miklós Jancsó has agreed to visit the UK for a series of screenings and to discuss his remarkable career.

Friday 14th March – 6.30pm (18:30)
Curzon Mayfair, London – THE ROUND-UP (1965) plus Q&A with Miklós Jancsó, hosted by Tony Rayns

Saturday 15th March – 2pm (14:00)
Curzon Soho, London – MY WAY HOME (1964)

Saturday 15th March – 6pm (18:00)
Curzon Soho, London – MIKLÓS JANCSÓ: AN ILLUSTRATED TALK by John Cunningham

Sunday 16th March – 12pm (12:00)
Curzon Soho, London – THE RED AND THE WHITE (1967)

Sunday 16th March – 2pm (14:00)
Curzon Soho, London – THE LORD’S LANTERN IN BUDAPEST (1999) plus Miklós Jancsó in discussion

There are also two screening events outside London:

Monday 17th March – Time tbc (evening)
Arts Picturehouse, Cambridge – THE ROUND-UP plus Q&A with Miklós Jancsó

Wednesday 19th March – Time tbc (evening)
Filmhouse, Edinburgh – THE ROUND-UP plus Q&A with Miklós Jancsó, hosted by Mark Cousins

It promises to be a very special week for us all and a fitting tribute to one of our favourite and most remarkable filmmakers.
We know how much you have been looking forward to the release of THE ROUND-UP and really hope that you will be able attend one (or many) of these events.

[What A Disgrace]

So we are not going to get another entry in Message of the Stones for this release?

Still...getting an interview by Jancso himself is a fantastic prospect. I can't wait for this release.

[MichaelB]

I can't confirm too much, as I've only seen an interim work-in-progress version and haven't had a chance to examine it closely (and even if I had, it wasn't the final encode - it was a hastily knocked-off single-layer DVD-R made primarily for BBFC classification purposes)...

...but I can at least reassure you that the DVD is in the correct 2.35:1 aspect ratio, and the picture seemed appreciably sharper than Second Run's The Red and the White (though I can't stress enough that I haven't done a side-by-side comparison).

Also, the source print seemed in surprisingly good nick for its age - and this is the kind of film where you'd really notice blemishes, given that most of it is set outdoors against pale backgrounds.

Second Run also tells me that the final version will have the subtitles deliberately placed in the black bar below the image, not over it, so that Jancsó's images can be appreciated without visual distractions (I'm assuming they'll be optional, which is par for the course with this label - in fact, I don't think they've ever released anything with forced subs).

Haven't seen the interview or the booklet, so can't comment.

Oh, and the film is truly gobsmacking - a clear first choice for Jancsó beginners wanting to see what all the fuss is about, and pretty damn impressive even for people like me who've already seen a handful. Along with Marketa Lazarová, this is arguably the strongest entry in Second Run's catalogue on purely artistic grounds.

[alfons416]

Wow that small Jancsó retrospective makes me considering a trip to london all the way from Sweden.

How are the cinemas; Curzon Mayfair and Soho? They're shown on film, not digital, right? new prints perhaps? what does this screenings cost to attend?

[MichaelB]

How are the cinemas; Curzon Mayfair and Soho?

State of the art - they're two of the best venues in London.

They're shown on film, not digital, right?

Depends on the film - of the last two Second Run Curzon screenings, Marketa Lazarová was shown on film, but Black Sun was shown off the DVD. That said, it looked surprisingly good.

new prints perhaps?

Highly unlikely, I'd say, unless there's a big Hungarian event coming up for which they were struck.

what does this screenings cost to attend?

I don't know - I suspect whatever their usual price is (high single figures, if I remember rightly).

[peerpee]

MoC wanted to put this marvelous film out back in 2005 but the stars didn't align. So pleased to see it's finally getting a proper release!

Cannot wait for the disc and the Jancso Q&As. MoC folk will be there in force.

[otis]

From what I've heard (and perhaps Bikey can confirm or deny?), The Round Up, My Way Home and The Red & the White will all be digital projections. This is a pity, as a perfectly good print of The Round Up was screened last year at the Brixton Ritzy. It would be great to see this on the Curzon Mayfair's big screen - Marketa Lazarová looked terrific - and I doubt that a digital projection will come close.

[Barmy]

There is a great 35mm print of Round Up in circulation. Even the dodgy Red/White 35mm print would be better than projecting a DVD. Obviously.

[rs98762001]

From what I've heard (and perhaps Bikey can confirm or deny?), The Round Up, My Way Home and The Red & the White will all be digital projections. This is a pity, as a perfectly good print of The Round Up was screened last year at the Brixton Ritzy. It would be great to see this on the Curzon Mayfair's big screen - Marketa Lazarová looked terrific - and I doubt that a digital projection will come close.

But if SR's screening of Marketa last year was in 35mm, I'd assume they'd go to similar lengths to secure a print for their Jansco screenings?

[foggy eyes]

Fantastic news - I'll definitely be making a pilgrimage to London for this. Although I'll be disappointed if the screenings of My Way Home and The Round Up aren't 35mm, it'll be worth it for the Jancsó Q&As and chance to see Lord's Lantern in Budapest on a big screen alone. Keep it up, Second Run - this is going way above and beyond what one would expect from a boutique DVD label!

[What A Disgrace]

Artwork.

[jbeall]

SR has moved it from the "forthcoming" page to the collection itself, with new cover art.

[PimpPanda]

This is a great film.

[MichaelB]

Well, I have in my hand a copy of the final production version...

...and it looks pretty damn terrific.

Probably not quite up to the standard of My Way Home in the final analysis, but certainly miles ahead of The Red and the White. It's anamorphic, the source print is surprisingly clean, and the framing looks fine.

Here are three random frame grabs:





As you'll see from the last grab, I was wrong about the subtitles not obscuring the image - apparently they tried this, but it affected readability. Still, you can always switch them off, and it's not a dialogue-heavy film.

[domino harvey]

Is it progressive?

LOVE the cover!

[MichaelB]

Is it progressive?

I've just switched deinterlacing off and step-framed through the sequence where the prisoners are throwing themselves off the stockade - and there's not a hint of interlacing.

So I'm guessing the answer is yes.