25 Vampyr

[Finch]

Since the film was shot in France and also dubbed into French in post, do we know why only the German version has been restored? Is the French print fucked beyond repair or what?

[Orlac]

Since the film was shot in France and also dubbed into French in post, do we know why only the German version has been restored? Is the French print fucked beyond repair or what?

The original intention was to shoot a German, French and English take of each dialogue sequence, then dub them in post-production

From my memory of the previous restoration notes, only the German version was consistently the same language. There was at least one sequence, where the vampire tells the shadows to be quiet, where it remained German in the other versions in order to keep the music and dialogue synchronised.

I'm not sure how much of the French version exists, but it does have the footage removed from the German version by local censors (currently an extra on the Criterion release). Dreyer also removed more footage after the riot at the Berlin premiere, and did not retain that footage for the French version, as I'm given to understand.

Dreyer also prepared an English version, of which a little survives (it was used in the version distributed by Raymond Rohaur), and you can see (barely, it's a very blurry and noisy transfer) the American version, CASTLE OF DOOM, online - https://archive.org/details/TheCastleOfDoom1934. I don't think Dreyer's English dub was released intact anywhere.

[Orlac]

Here's the restoration notes - https://www.carlthdreyer.dk/carlthdreye ... ampyr-1932

And the specfic note on the language issues

here was a very primitive machine for mixing two optical tracks that somehow would marry music, words, and effects, but basically the editors would rather avoid using it. This explains the bizarre fact that the Vampyre stops the music in the dancing sequence with the German word "Ruhe!" (=Silence!) in all three versions of the film. Obviously this exclamation was composed by Wolfgang Zeller as an integral part of his music, and thus was recorded on the music track, of which only the German version made it into the final choice of takes to be used.

[pistolwink]

Is there evidence that Dreyer's English version was ever completed and released? Some version of the film was released in the US as Not Against the Flesh as a kind of exploitation item, but that could've been subtitled or dubbed/recut by an American distributor.

I would have sworn this film had some kind of art-house release in the US, but there's no record of it playing in New York in the Times, for example. There is a review from the paper's correspondent in Berlin which was extremely ambivalent. Here's an excerpt:



The rest is much more critical, even savage.

[Orlac]

More information on the NOT AGAINST THE FLESH version

https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/monster ... l#p1449992

The reviewer in Film Daily also seems singularly certain about NOT AGAINST FLESH being in English, as opposed to subtitled. I will admit that this rather stands out among General Foreign Sales Corp. product, which was almost entirely composed of German-language and occasional Spanish-language fare that usually received a swift New York opening. In the case of GFSC's German-language releases, these invariably opened at the 79th St. Theatre where they drew a steady audience from among the many German speakers in Yorkville, before then moving on to engagements at venues such as the Little German Theatre in Buffalo or the Stratford Theatre in Poughkeepsie. Titles released through GFSC in this manner during 1934 and early 1935 included: DIE - ODER KEINE; HOCHZEIT AM WOLFGANGSEE; KAISERWALZER; LÜGEN AUF RÜGEN; MARION, DAS GEHÖRT SICH NICHT; MUTTER UND KIND; DER SCHIMMELREITER; and TRENCK. And it's possible to find showings of all of these titles listed in the NYC press at the time, with the Daily News or New York Times reviewing just about all of them. Indeed, the only GFSC release of which I can find no trace of playdates in the New York press is... NOT AGAINST FLESH.

[FrauBlucher]

Beaver... some caps look better than CC but others can't tell

[Drucker]

Seems mostly that the restoration cleaned up a lot of the visible damage, but the underlying scan seems to be the same based on the caps.

[tenia]

Very weird since the technical blurb seems to state the DFI did new scans.

[hearthesilence]

The grain is better on the optical printer shot where we see him looking at his own head in the coffin - it looks like Criterion's de-grained it a touch. The long shot of the field seems to have better grain texture too but that could be due to improved contrast. Scratch repair aside, the general PQ on most shots is close enough to make the differences negligible IMHO. I'll probably skip this which is a shame because I watched the Criterion BD about a month ago and I remember wondering if a new scan could improve things as the master did look a bit dated. Given the work they detailed in the notes, it's possible better source material and other factors make a pristine looking copy unlikely.

[FrauBlucher]

I do want to see other caps. Beaver's caps always lack a little something

[ChunkyLover]

It looks like all was done was some cleanup to the existing HD master.

[FrauBlucher]

A new clip... Allan Gray's out-of-body experience

[Finch]

Cine Outsider

The improvements over the previous restoration are substantial. That detail definition has been improved is to be expected, but what really impresses is just how much of the former damage and dust has been eradicated, with even some scratches (including ones across faces, one of the hardest things to remove without compromising the image) successfully cleaned up. Indeed, we are informed by the booklet that 239,296 items and 616 scratches needed to be manually fixed, and due to the global pandemic, these fixes were performed by a single person, Claus Greffel, the Digital Restoration and Mastering Technician at DFI. Sir, I salute you. The brightness and contrast flickering has been substantially reduced, as has the previous instability of the image within the frame. Due to material in varying conditions having been drawn from a variety of sources, the contrast and black levels are still far more aggressive in some shots than others, but shadow detail in many has definitely been improved. Given what the restoration team (and particularly Mr. Greffel) had to work with, it’s a truly remarkable job.

[L.A.]

DVD Compare.

[ryannichols7]

finally got this edition today and saw that this very website is thanked in the booklet! any idea how that came about? or is this in every MOC booklet and I somehow missed it

I probably should have read the rest of the thread before asking this...

[FrauBlucher]

ryan, I'm curious as to your opinion on the PQ especially if you've seen the Criterion version

[ryannichols7]

ryan, I'm curious as to your opinion on the PQ especially if you've seen the Criterion version

definitely will post a good word on that when I work with the set, I'll probably get to it late night tonight. I have the Criterion too (easy double dip for me thanks to differing content + I'm a Dreyer completionist) and will side by side them in motion and give an update. I definitely know Dreyer intended the film to look a certain way, so we have a similar situation as McCabe and Mrs Miller, After Life, and say, the Brakhage films, so the 'intended' look may not look super clear or anything. let's see if the MOC stays true to it, revisiting the Criterion the disc felt pretty flat.

answering my own question after reading the whole thread: I believe Nick threw this forum a thanks after asking whether to release the 1999 restoration 'as is' or to wait for a newer restoration. almost 15 years later we finally have a new restoration from the DFI on Bluray from MOC...so I'm glad he didn't wait! but this is a gorgeous package, truly beautiful looking and worth the wait for the MOC disc. I treasure the Criterion for the book, but I think this will be the definitive - will find out for sure tonight

[Calvin]

This topped the DVDBeaver poll as Blu-Ray of the year

[RidgeShark]

Caps-a-holic

Interesting how the automated dirt removal did a little number on the waves in the first comparison. Probably unnoticeable in motion.

[ChunkyLover]

Caps-a-holic

Interesting how the automated dirt removal did a little number on the waves in the first comparison. Probably unnoticeable in motion.

I assume you mean in the upper left corner. I just played this back and it looks more like a film artefact, something like mold, most likely inherit to the source element, flashing than a wave on the river.