Blu-only Releases?

[RossyG]

But who on earth is going to collect the BFI's entire output on a systematic basis?

Well, as near as dammit, anyway.

[Peacock]

[Finch]

Nick, since one of the arguments for the move to Blu exclusives on some titles was that you'd be able to release more titles, I wanted to ask if it is now more likely that you could get to The Mission (To) eventually (say 2011)? I have no idea if acquiring the rights would be difficult but I genuinely believe you'd have a strong seller on your hands with this title, especially given that there doesn't seem to be a decent release of it available anywhere.

[Nothing]

Even if you are - through no fault of your own - DVD-locked for the next several years, the backlog of essential titles available to view on that format (and new ones being released, by MoC and others) could keep you busy ten times as long, and City Girl will still be around when you ultimately make the change.

Indeed. I've yet to make the transition to Blu-Ray, because I refuse to buy a region-locked player, and region-free players (eg. importing an Oppo from the US) are beyond what I can afford at present. Yet I support MoC's decision to release City Girl on Blu-ray only. The more quality material made available in 1080P the better, even if I'm personally unable to access it right now. In the meantime, I'm quite happy to content myself with the MoC DVD of There's Always Tomorrow, at this very moment sitting expectantly beside my DVD player...

Is The Killing Fields out on Blu yet? 1080p would be a fitting way of detailing the genocide Chomsky spent a shameful amount of time attempting to diminish and deny.

And who instigated that genocide, by means of a much larger genocide? The majority of Khmer Rouge victims died as result of poorly implemented agrarian reform, perhaps 100,000 were physically murdered. A heinous figure, certainly, but this must be compared to the 3-4m South-East Asian civilians murdered by the Americans and their fascist allies in the decade prior. And whilst Ieng Sary is under house arrest, Kissinger attends Wimbledon.

[NABOB OF NOWHERE]

Indeed. I've yet to make the transition to Blu-Ray, because I refuse to buy a region-locked player, and region-free players (eg. importing an Oppo from the US) are beyond what I can afford at present.

I for one am very happy with my region free Limit (Momitsu clone) which was on sale at hmv for £50 and last time I looked mail order for £80.

[jamie_atp]

Also got a limit and it does a great job plus has bd-live, good upconverting etc. They're fairly hard to find right now though, but you can score one on ebay for around £70.

[TMDaines]

I don't think I've ever spent a better £50 than the fifty spent on my Limit player. Absurdly great value. On the forum where updated firmware has been made available for them they've admitted that HMV were selling them as loss leaders and were shocked to see at how little they were sold for.

[bamwc2]

Phew. I hadn't checked the thread in a few days, and I missed something that I can actually speak on with some first person authority. I'm a collector and yes, I really do have OCD. Every case of OCD is different, but I do have a lot of classic symptoms: obsessive and intrusive thoughts, the compulsive need to double and triple check just about everything, severe depression, germophobia, hypochondria, and an obsession with collecting, counting, and categorizing. Years of therapy and medication have helped a lot, but it's still a very painful and debilitating disorder. Unfortunately, since I began buying DVDs back in 1998, I found that sequential numbering on DVD spines has ruined my life and my finances. Over the years, I've bought every release from Criterion aside from a few releases from the last couple of months that I haven't picked up yet. Heck, a few forums back when the members discovered a unreleased Beastie Boys Anthology Sampler for sale, I tried my hardest to get that too. Making the switch to a region free player has only made things worse (i.e MoC, AE, and Second Run). Fortunately, I can be satisfied with owning a disc on only one format so long as they have the same spine number. Since MoC has separate spines, I still feel the need to buy both formats. Remember, this is an anxiety disorder and at least for me (as it is with many others that suffer from the disorder), incomplete numeric sequences cause anxiety. It's a hard life, and I'm just grateful that my wife can put up with most of it.

[Nothing]

I for one am very happy with my region free Limit (Momitsu clone) which was on sale at hmv for £50 and last time I looked mail order for £80.

Other than second-hand sharks on Ebay, these seem to have completely disappeared... I believe the word is Arse.

[onedimension]

Anyone remember the final segment of The Decalogue, about the stamp collection?

I have some (therapeuted, medicated) OCD, and I'm torn on whether my library-building impulse is pure Neurotic or part Noble..

[tojoed]

I for one am very happy with my region free Limit (Momitsu clone) which was on sale at hmv for £50 and last time I looked mail order for £80.

Other than second-hand sharks on Ebay, these seem to have completely disappeared... I believe the word is Arse.

You can get a Tevion, region free, for about £80 from Aldi, if you are near one. It's also a Momitsu clone.

[perkizitore]

The Limit is an updated and lighter Tevion, therefore a better deal.

[Cinetwist]

I for one am very happy with my region free Limit (Momitsu clone) which was on sale at hmv for £50 and last time I looked mail order for £80.

Other than second-hand sharks on Ebay, these seem to have completely disappeared... I believe the word is Arse.

You can get a Tevion, region free, for about £80 from Aldi, if you are near one. It's also a Momitsu clone.

£80!? Goddammit, I paid £120 for mine and thought it was the bargain of the century. It's unbelievable how quickly region free blu players have become available on the market. Far quicker than it happened with dvd players and far cheaper too.

[tojoed]

Yep, I bought one for my brother for Xmas. I was expecting £120, but they weren't on display. The salesgirl said they had one left in stock and it was only £80. Lovely little machine.

[Nothing]

No sign of anything on the shelves at Aldi anymore. But:

Here we go.

The Limit under another name, I'm told. Still a bargain.

So... What I think we want to know is: How are the sales shaping up on City Girl?

[perkizitore]

You know what would be perfect for a Blu-only release? Abel Gance's NAPOLEON.

That's the most awaited release ever for me! Limite follows closely.

[MichaelB]

It's a very safe bet that if anyone does Napoléon in the UK at all, it'll be the BFI.

After all, they're the ones sitting on the necessary materials, and if there's any chance of them getting the green light to distribute it in the UK, it's vanishingly unlikely that they'd hand them over to anyone else.

[Opdef]

Why is it so difficult to get hold of Napoleon anywhere? From what I can see it's never had a DVD release, let alone a Blu-ray release? And is there any realistic prospect of this changing? It seems bad enough that there are so many lost films I'd love to see and can't, it's plain frustrating to have one that isn't lost but may as well be considering how hard it is to see.

[MichaelB]

Why is it so difficult to get hold of Napoleon anywhere?

Incredibly convoluted rights complications dating back three decades, particularly with regard to the full Kevin Brownlow restoration and the Carl Davis score. This has been performed live several times and broadcast twice on British television (in 1983 and 1989), but never released commercially.

But there seems to have been some movement in recent years: the fact that the Brownlow/Davis version is getting its US premiere next year must be seen as a major breakthrough, and certainly grounds for optimism - though I think Brownlow himself scotched rumours of a Blu-ray release.

[zedz]

Check out the Gance thread for the whole sad story. Essentially, the more complete restoration was blocked by Francis Ford Coppola, who is sentimentally attached to his 80s version and has threatened litigation over any other release. There may have been some movement on this in recent years, but still no sign of a definitive release.

The Coppola version was released on DVD, however. I've got an Australian edition (that I believe is now OOP).

[MichaelB]

The Coppola version was released on DVD, however. I've got an Australian edition (that I believe is now OOP).

The Coppola version nearly came out in the UK, courtesy of Optimum - in fact, it got as far as the checkdisc stage before being withdrawn, presumably for legal reasons.

It's no bad thing that it didn't get released, though, as it was a pretty terrible edition - the entire film crammed onto a single disc, run at the wrong speed (24fps versus Brownlow's preferred 20fps - in fact, since it was PAL, it may even have been 25fps!), and the whole thing presented anamorphically even though most of it is in 1.33:1, in other words losing a significant amount of resolution for the sake of the triptychs at the end.

[Tommaso]

Is there any other way if you want the image to get bigger once the triptychs come in? Cramming the triptychs into a 4:3 frame would certainly run contrary to the effect that Gance had in mind. So does DVD or Blu allow for an aspect ratio switch 'on the fly', so to speak, while the film is running?

[MichaelB]

Is there any other way if you want the image to get bigger once the triptychs come in? Cramming the triptychs into a 4:3 frame would certainly run contrary to the effect that Gance had in mind. So does DVD or Blu allow for an aspect ratio switch 'on the fly', so to speak, while the film is running?

I'd have encoded the bulk of the film as non-anamorphic 4:3 (spreading it over two discs in the process), and then switched to 16:9 anamorphic for the triptychs. On some systems there might be a momentary glitch during the switchover, but that seems a very small price to pay given that the alternative is a marked loss of resolution throughout most of the film. It's also worth noting that live screenings tend to have a rather longer break while the triptychs are set up - I think the only genuinely seamless one I can recall was the one at the Royal Festival Hall in 2000 (and, presumably, 2004).

Of course, this situation doesn't arise with Blu-ray, as it only comes in a 16:9 aspect ratio.