101 / BD 8 City Girl

[peerpee]

[HerrSchreck]

Good god, man.

I guess this is an appropriate a time as any to reveal I got an all-region BD player for Xmas... and a to-be-ordered HD TV of my choice for my just passed B'day. So prepare for-- if BD's like this keep coming out-- my impending quiet alliance with aox......

[tajmahal]

Jesus, that is some sales presentation, Nick. Any chance you might be planning to give Caligari the same treatment, print condition permitting?

[Matt]

Poor Jack Pennick. Was there ever an uglier man? And HD certainly does him no favors.

[triodelover]

Poor Jack Pennick. Was there ever an uglier man? And HD certainly does him no favors.

He's not an actor, but let's not forget Don Mossi.

[wllm995]

Wow!

ANOTHER wonderful release by MOC - terrific transfer; great commentary by David Kalat; a keeper!!

[triodelover]

Well you know what they say about guys with big noses.

No, David, what do they say? 8-[ Are the ears an "enhancement"?

[bollibasher]

Any chance you might be planning to give Caligari the same treatment, print condition permitting?

Is there a print of Caligari good enough for HD?

My understanding is that the clearest print is the russian-derived one with frame line printed in (released in a Shepard edition by Image with cropped/zoomed-in scenes), and the alternative is the colour-tinted restoration by Bundesarchiv-Filmarchiv (released by Kino with anglicised intertitles), in which some of the earlier scenes look quite appalling due to using 2nd/3rd/?-generation bleached out 16mm sources to eliminate the frame-line issue.

Presumably unless some major restoration effort is embarked upon to use the russian print and digitally magic away the frame-line (not simple due to the upper half of the picture being slightly mis-aligned with the lower), we're unlikely to see a beautiful picture for Caligari.

If there has been some progress on this front and I have missed it please forgive me!

Chris

[RossyG]

Well you know what they say about guys with big noses.

They use big tissues.

Those pics look amazing. Can't wait to get my copy.

[tajmahal]

Any chance you might be planning to give Caligari the same treatment, print condition permitting?

Is there a print of Caligari good enough for HD?

My understanding is that the clearest print is the russian-derived one with frame line printed in (released in a Shepard edition by Image with cropped/zoomed-in scenes), and the alternative is the colour-tinted restoration by Bundesarchiv-Filmarchiv (released by Kino with anglicised intertitles), in which some of the earlier scenes look quite appalling due to using 2nd/3rd/?-generation bleached out 16mm sources to eliminate the frame-line issue.

Presumably unless some major restoration effort is embarked upon to use the russian print and digitally magic away the frame-line (not simple due to the upper half of the picture being slightly mis-aligned with the lower), we're unlikely to see a beautiful picture for Caligari.

If there has been some progress on this front and I have missed it please forgive me!

Chris

Thanks for the update. I watched the eureka edition recently, and wondered aloud how wonderful it would be to see those sets in hi-def. As it is a bona-fide classic, perhaps interested parties might pool resources and attempt a restoration.

[Forrest Taft]

Received this marvelous blu-ray today, and spent the evening watching the film twice, the second viewing with the commentary track. I hadn´t seen the film before, and after the first viewing I was so taken with the film I was ready to declare it my favourite Murnau. After hearing David Kalat ridiculing certain aspects of the ending, I´m not so sure. I agree with much of what he´s saying, but still thought it an emotionally satisfying ending. Maybe I´m just more sentimental than him; I also love the ending of The Magnificent Ambersons. Anyway, this is certainly no minor Murnau, and I really enjoyed all the performances, Mary Duncan in particular.

Although I didn't expect it to happen, it would have been a treat if there had been a different score. I always found the hillbilly-tones of the Caliendo - which is also on the Fox disc- slightly inappropriate.

Also, I loved the score, and find it hard to imagine the film without it. Though I´m still pretty much a newbie when it comes to silents, I can´t recall being this impressed by silent score since watching Jeanne d´Arc with the Richard Einhorn score.

The disc itself is obviously terrific, with a truly gorgeous transfer. After hearing, and enjoying, the John Bailey track on Sunrise, I was hoping he´d contribute to this release. After all, he worked on Days of Heaven, and hearing his thoughts on how City Girl influenced the Malick flick could have been interesting. Hardly worth complaining about though, as the track by David Kalat is one of the best I´ve heard. Very well researched and informative. My favourite bit of trivia: Elliott Lester, author of the play in which the film is based, was the father of Richard Lester.

Halfway through the film, I paused it, went to amazon and ordered Tartuffe and Phantom/Die Finanzen Des Großherzogs, as well as reserving the Lotte Eisner book at the library. Good work, MoC.
By the way, has anyone here seen the sound version?

[Cinetwist]

Gotta love those people still sitting on the fence (or worse) regarding Blu.

Truly beautiful screenshots. Can't wait to see it in motion, where it'll be even more impressive.

[TMDaines]

The more Blus I watch the more I'm glad I bought a region-free Blu player (and this is depite only viewing them on a 37" screen capable of 720p). As great as upscaled DVDs can look, Blu-ray just takes it up another level. I've not watched any "old films" on Blu yet but I can't wait to watch the Czech version of Sunshine, M and City Girl on Blu this week.

[TheGodfather]

Received it this week and watched it right away. And my great God, did it look awesome! excellent demo material on how old films can look on BD.
Having never seen the film before, I loved every second of it. Looking forward to the Kalat commentary.
Tremendous release, thanks so much! =D> =D>

[zedz]

Throw another bouquet on the fire, Nick. Watched it last night and the image was simply ravishing. Exquisite texture to every shot and it looked like you could count every hair on Farrell's head! (Did anybody else find the "666" spelt out on Mary Duncan's forehead in her early scenes particularly unnerving in HD?) Film's not too shabby either.

[souvenir]

The booklet contents seem to have been changed from what is listed at the MoC site. There's the Adrian Danks essay (which can also be read at the Senses of Cinema site) but nothing else aside from photos. It's also 28 pages rather than 40.

(Updated now)

[antnield]

DVD Times

[Will Barks]

Watched CITY GIRL recently and was amazed about the quality. It looks like it has been shot yesterday. Marvelous! =D>
I'm a bit disappointed with the booklet, though. I'd have welcomed more information about this wonderful film.
Still a great release!

[cdnchris]

Agree with David. Just got mine in the mail from Amazon (really fast this time, only took a couple days, sadly quicker than when its sent from a local warehouse) and it looks outstanding. Far beyond what I was expecting.

[Cash Flagg]

Blu-ray.com

[cdnchris]

Blu-ray review

[triodelover]

Came today from Amazon UK. Just finished watching. I'm at a loss for words. I have the Fox box version that came out in 2008 and I though it looked outstanding. This is just jaw-dropping. I'll probably be pilloried as a heretic for this and I adore Sunrise, but I actually think City Girl is a better, more complex film. Mary Duncan's Kate (who is a dish) and Charles Farrell's Lem are more multi-dimensional than Gaynor and, in particular, O'Brien in Sunrise. True, Lem spends most of the film trying to figure out where he misplaced his backbone but, unlike the Democratic leadership in the Senate, he finally locates it in the end. Kate is a firebrand. Great film experience. (BTW, has anyone noticed how much the young Guinn Williams unfortunately resembles a certain ex-President from Crawford, Texas?)

[markhax]

I'll probably be pilloried as a heretic for this and I adore Sunrise, but I actually think City Girl is a better, more complex film. Mary Duncan's Kate (who is a dish) and Charles Farrell's Lem are more multi-dimensional than Gaynor and, in particular, O'Brien in Sunrise.

I had the same reaction to City Girl. Sunrise is arguably more visually compelling, but I think overall City Girl works better as a film.

[peerpee]

BTW, has anyone noticed how much the young Guinn Williams unfortunately resembles a certain ex-President from Crawford, Texas?

Noticed it right away -- it's shocking isn't it?

[triodelover]

BTW, has anyone noticed how much the young Guinn Williams unfortunately resembles a certain ex-President from Crawford, Texas?

Noticed it right away -- it's shocking isn't it?

Seems unfair to brand him since he can't defend himself, although he is from Texas and his father (also named Guinn) was a Democratic Congressman from Texas back in the '20s. Those were the days when the Democratic Party in the South was home to the Klan.

All I can do after City Girl (and it will be M tonight) is to quote Oliver, "Please, sir, I want some more." [-o< O:)