106-107 Der Tiger von Eschnapur & Das indische Grabmal

[matrixschmatrix]

Per base.com, the full features set of the release:

• Beautiful, newly restored transfers of the films in their original 1.37:1 aspect ratio
• Two soundtracks: the native German-language track, and the English-language dubtrack made for overseas distribution
• Newly translated optional English subtitles
• New and exclusive feature-length audio commentaries, for both Der Tiger von Eschnapur and Das indische Grabmal, by film scholar David Kalat
• 20-minute documentary on the making of the Indian epic
• Three minutes of vintage 8mm footage shot on location by actress Sabine Bethmann
• The original French trailers for both Der Tiger von Eschnapur and Das indische Grabmal
• A lengthy booklet containing an essay on the films by Lang scholar Tom Gunning (The Films of Fritz Lang: Allegories of Vision and Modernity); excerpts from interviews with Fritz Lang about the film; and more!

[Yojimbo]

Great to hear about the Kalat commentarys, to bad I don´t like the movies, but, I will probably buy them anyway

I have a French-subbed version from a French Lang box-set (Mk5, I think)
The picture quality is quite good but the films themselves left me cold.
Which is why 'The 1,000 Eyes of Dr Mabuse' was such a wonderful surprise

I can't believe MoC has to gall to release two films by a talented, well-respected, and world-famous director. They just better not include any additional material to properly contextualize the films or provide any other analytical extras, or else!

EDIT: FUKK, THEY DID

Be careful what you wish for! :-$

[markhax]

Is a Die Nibelungen blu-ray still in the works?

Does anyone know what the release date for the resto is?

[HerrSchreck]

It seems Lubi has a ratcheting hatred for these films which I have a tough time comprehending-- the mere mention of these titles sends him apopleptic with rage. We should never lose sight of the fact that cinema is first and foremost-- and will always be-- a form of entertainment. It can nourish or numb one's external awareness, depending on one's goal prior to sitting down in front of the screen.

I have a deep love and huge soft spot for silly stories well executed. This can be Dreyer's Joan (a room full of Very Serious Men in Very Serious Costumes set a perfectly nice young woman on fire because she doesn't interpret their Very Special Ghost STory in exactly the same way they do) or Gordon's Attack of the Puppet People. All that's neccessary for a film to be successful is that it gives you pleasure. Ranting beyond a certain level of anger that a film that gives a lot of other people pleasure yet gives you none is hopeless.

The film bears no pretense, it's simply a comic book set to celluloid, and on this account I think it succeeds marvelously. It's no more or less thought-provoking than an episode of the old Flash Gordon serials. . . yet that Lang's film is well-executed, on the visual plane is beyond dispute. Angst's work (it was he, no?) is quite impressive, and Lang's mise en scene and use of color is quite lovely.

I can't imagine they actually went out and did another photochem restoration beyond what was done prior to the Fantoma discs! Those discs along with Arabian Nights and some of the P&P's were some of the finest Technicolor transfers I'd seen. Check out Tooze's caps here, I mean there's not even speckles to be MTI'd out, and the image is so sharp and crisp, with such soaring bitrates even the stills look completely 3D. Tooze sez:

I suggest to you that this is the best image of a film on DVD pre-1960 that I can recall in recent reviewing. It is flawlessly sharp with bursting colors (that tiger capture below looks like it might jump right off the screen!). Seamlessly branched after the initial credits to show the same film with optional original German or English dubbed audio. NOTE: the DUB and English subtitles do not match very well. We of course suggest the original (mostly) German audio. Extras include a digital photo gallery with behind-the-scenes shots and posters. I was so enamored with the film I was hoping for much more although the simplicity of the plot denies any commentary or advanced extra features. It should simply be enjoyed. out of

But he then sez:

NOTE: This Boxset is 'unavailable' in many Online locations. I wouldn't delay - it will fetch big bucks very soon.

So there you go-- and thus the sensibility of the MoC.

[TMDaines]

Indeed, you can only judge a film on its own merit and on what the film sets out to be. If it succeeds at that then you can really ask for no more.

[knives]

Transformers set out to be a movie that made Micheal Bay a lot of money and it succeeded.[/devil's advocate]

[Der Spieler]

Does anybody know if this set is region-locked?

[manicsounds]

DVDbeaver says Region Free NTSC and the picture quality looks identical to the old Fantoma discs.

[Der Spieler]

I really feel like buying this but the fact that it's coming out on Blu in a year or so makes it less tempting.

[Ozu Teapot]

My pre-ordered copy arrived today. I had a quick look at "Tiger" and the pictue quality looks fantastic! Really looking forward to sitting down and watching both on my day off!

[Tommaso]

Wonderful edition. I never had the Fantoma discs, only the old German releases, so the image quality was really mindblowing. These films really depend on the accuracy of the colours and on detail, and these transfers absolutely deliver on these points. About the best Technicolor rendering I've seen for a long while, as eyepopping as "The Thief of Baghdad". It really made me appreciate these films better than before.

And so did the extra materials. Tom Gunning's essay in the booklet is very insightful, though I can't agree fully to his laudable effort of going against a 'camp' reading of the films. Debra Paget's dances again made me burst into laughter, as much as I tried to take them seriously this time, and thanks to the clarity of the image I for the first time clearly saw the two cords that hold the head of that frightful cobra in position, which didn't help either... But still, he makes great points about the importance of this project for Lang and about some underlying 'deeper meaning' of the films. The short documentary and the 8mm-footage are nice, too. I only managed to listen to the first 40 minutes of David Kalat's commentary to "Das indische Grabmal", but again I have the impression that this is another masterful commentary. His knowledge and ability to make wider connections are astonishing even in this brief passage I listened to, and his style is both scholarly and passionate, in short: very entertaining.

Great package, and the extras are so good that perhaps even those who own the Fantoma discs should consider a double-dip.

[matrixschmatrix]

I'm just finishing up the Kalat commentaries, and they're great as usual- some really interesting connections to other work, most notably (to me) Contempt, and consistently engaging and convincing enough that after listening to the Tiger von Eschapur commentary I went back and watched the whole epic through before listening to the Indische Grabmal part. I appreciate that Kalat doesn't try to defend the movies by turning them into some sort of metaphorical, intellectualized thing, too.

[skeets kelly]

so, is this going to be a blu-ray release at some point? am i buying them for a third time, then?

kind of disappointed that the MoC transfer is the same as the fantoma, but i'm into the extras.

[swo17]

We're releasing these two Fritz Lang films on DVD-only in April 2011 and we're hoping for a stupendous new HD restoration to be completed in 2012 for subsequent Blu-ray release (if we're lucky) in late 2012.

The DVDs are among the nicest looking DVDs we've ever released. They look stunning, which is why we're not waiting! Thanks!

btw. Both films have full, new, exclusive commentary tracks by David Kalat.

[skeets kelly]

ah, didn't see that. well, late 2012 is practically a million years away, so it won't sting as badly.

[knives]

I'm about an hour into this myself and i really can't see the cause for the attacks (the complaints themselves of neglected greats is more understandable). This movie manages to more than accomplish what it sets out to do: Make a fun adventure serial that at the same time makes modern and a little legitimate those same sort of films. It's a low balled version of what Lang spent his entire career making.

[swo17]

Any plans for an Indian Epic BD?

We're reliant on a few things happening first. We have plans... but unless the other things happen, nothing will emerge I'm afraid.

[exidor]

Have there been any reports of problems playing these discs? My usually reliable Panasonic chokes on them after the Eureka/Masters of Cinema logos at the start - I get a brief blast of soundtrack and then nothing. I can still play them via other means so I can probably live with it if it's an authoring problem that hasn't been fixed - just wanted to check whether there's any point getting a replacement from Amazon.

[peerpee]

No reports other than yours, unfortunately. Have you got the latest firmware update on your player? What model is it?

[exidor]

Not sure why I typed Panasonic up there - it's a Pioneer DV-444 and it's generally pretty robust. If there are no other reports of problems, I'm happy to send the discs back and see if a replacement works better.

[peerpee]

If they play okay on other players, then new copies probably won't play any different on your Pioneer.

[Florinaldo]

I was planning to wait for the Blu-ray edition, but it now seems very uncertain whether there will be one soon.

Are there still definite plans to release this in BD in 2012 or are things pretty much up in cryogenics for good as one or two posts suggest?

[peerpee]

Not for 2012, but don't rule out 2013!

[Florinaldo]

Not for 2012, but don't rule out 2013!

Thanks for the quick reply. I am now torn between the options of on the one hand long-term hope and patience, and on the other hand of compensating for the fact that the unsatisfying absence of extras on the Fantoma set has left me wanting for much more for a few years now.

[matrixschmatrix]

Just buy it, the commentaries are sooooo good