The Heimat Saga (Edgar Reitz, 1984-2013)

[spencermfi]

More info here: http://stiftung.reitz-medien.de/
and here's a google translation of the main points:

"Edgar Reitz made film history with his film epic DIE ZWEITE HEIMAT – A Chronicle of a Youth . Already at the world premiere at the Venice Film Festival 30 years ago and the German premiere in Munich's Prinzregententheater, the critics' voices were overflowing with enthusiasm.

The digital redesign of DIE ZWEITE HEIMAT in the Director's Cut version required four full years of painstaking manual work. The original image and sound materials were used for a completely new mastering. Countless details of the staging and camera art, which used to be lost in the analogue system, now appear on the screen and reveal a hitherto unknown wealth of fascinating narrative moments.

The Edgar Reitz Filmstiftung is presenting the sensationally restored new version of this great work in September in Munich's ARRI cinema. On the opening weekend, September 17th and 18th, 2022, films 1-5 will be shown. The ARRI cinema will then show the other eight parts in the following weeks on Mondays and Fridays in its club cinema."

[Stefan Andersson]

Zweite Heimat Bluray release in Germany, Nov. 24 (StudioCanal):
https://www.heimat123.de/restaurierte-z ... f-blu-ray/

[therewillbeblus]

Great news. I still need to watch my Second Sight blu of the first series -which has been sitting on my shelf since it came out four+ years ago- but I've heard the second is the best so maybe this will motivate me!

[denti alligator]

Zweite Heimat Bluray release in Germany, Nov. 24 (StudioCanal):
https://www.heimat123.de/restaurierte-z ... f-blu-ray/

Wow, merry Christmas, I guess. Hope it includes English subs.

[therewillbeblus]

It appears that the German SC blu set did not contain English subs, and then SC released it in the U.K. 2.5 years later with English subs. Hopefully we get an English-friendly release earlier this time around

[pzadvance]

The Zweite Heimat blu-ray is out now in Germany and it sadly has no English subs as confirmed by this listing.

[Stefan Andersson]

Description, in German, of differences between the 1993 and 2022 Zweite Heimat:
https://heimat-fanpage.de/unterschiede- ... -und-2022/
(Description for first two episodes only; to be continued)

[Stefan Andersson]

Comparison of differences between Zweite Heimat 1993 and 2022, updated to include Episodes 1-11:
https://heimat-fanpage.de/unterschiede- ... -und-2022/

Edited this post on 05/13/2023 because the Heimat fanpage had been updated.

[Stefan Andersson]

News re: financing the restoration of the last three parts of Heimat 3:
https://www.ffa.de/pressemitteilungen-d ... ilmen.html

Financing for restoration of the first three parts was finalized in 2022:
https://www.heimat123.de/ffa-foerdert-d ... -heimat-3/

[Stefan Andersson]

Heimat 3 restored in 4K, Dec. 12, 2024, on blu in a complete 16-blu box from Arthaus/SC, almost certainly no English subs:
https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Edgar-Reitz- ... C97&sr=8-1
https://shop.plaion.com/shop/de_DE/prod ... id=1151482

Also from Potemkine, w/ French subs, without Heimat Fragmente:
https://store.potemkine.fr/dvd/35450200 ... gar-reitz/

Reitz´new film, Leibniz:
https://www.heimat123.de/dreharbeiten-von-leibniz/

[nicolas]

Heimat 3 restored in 4K, Dec. 12, 2024, on blu in a complete 16-blu box from Arthaus/SC, almost certainly no English subs:
https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Edgar-Reitz- ... C97&sr=8-1
https://shop.plaion.com/shop/de_DE/prod ... id=1151482

Also from Potemkine, w/ French subs, without Heimat Fragmente:
https://store.potemkine.fr/dvd/35450200 ... gar-reitz/

Reitz´new film, Leibniz:
https://www.heimat123.de/dreharbeiten-von-leibniz/

No English subtitles are included with the Heimat set, only German SDH subs: https://shop.plaionpictures.com/detail/ ... c640876ea8

[ryannichols7]

truly, is there any hope of seeing English friendly releases? I'm sure the Second Sight didn't sell amazingly but considering they reissued it as a standard edition, it hopefully sold at least enough? it just feels weird having only one part available with English subs

[MichaelB]

At least the inclusion of German SDH subs means that I can add English subs - conceivably extracted from my old DVDs - during playback on my Oppo 203.

This is a brilliant feature, but it doesn't work unless the video already has optional subtitles. But if it has, I'm laughing.

(Which reminds me - I must get round to ordering the Japanese 4K UHD of Kagemusha, which I suspect isn't going to be released outside Japan any time soon, what with it now being a Disney property. Again, no English subtitles, but it has Japanese SDH ones.)

[TMDaines]

truly, is there any hope of seeing English friendly releases? I'm sure the Second Sight didn't sell amazingly but considering they reissued it as a standard edition, it hopefully sold at least enough? it just feels weird having only one part available with English subs

It literally sold out its entire print run, with minimal reductions. Now, how many of the sets were ever watched, based on the fact that zero of my Letterboxd friends have rated it and it attracted no votes other than my own in The Lists Project, I do not know.

[ambrose1am]

I am new to the Heimat saga and just bought the Second Sight re-release. I'm about to start watching it but had a few questions after reading through this thread:

1. The Second Sight set runs only through 1982, but is the director continuing the story up through the present day? When was the last film made?
2. How many films has Reitz made in total through 2024?
3. How many video releases of these are available in Germany?
4. Is the Second Sight the only current release with English subs?
5. The Second Sight re-release contains a documentary "prologue" to the series. Should I start with this or jump right into the first film?
6. Is this the kind of series I can step away from for a bit, returning to it periodically, or should I watch it all straight through?

Thank you for any help!

[MichaelB]

Wikipedia has extensive background on the Heimat project.

[ambrose1am]

That helps, thanks!

I still would like to hear from anyone who has watched the first series and the documentary "prologue." Which should I watch first? The documentary is chronologically first but isn't part of the series, if I'm understanding this correctly.

[The Curious Sofa]

The documentary prequel is basically a DVD extra and ask yourself if you would watch an extra before you are going to watch the actual feature/series. I would always watch a series of films or in this case films and TV series in the order they have been shot and not in a chronological order. Prequels generally assume you have seen earlier installments and they supplement information you have of things to come. Heimat also has a prequel movie called Home from Home that chronologically deals with the earliest era in the saga and which so far is the last installment shot but is more resonant if you have already watched the other entries.

[MichaelB]

The prologue wasn't available to those of us who were watching back in the mid-1980s.

[TMDaines]

I am new to the Heimat saga and just bought the Second Sight re-release. I'm about to start watching it but had a few questions after reading through this thread:

1. The Second Sight set runs only through 1982, but is the director continuing the story up through the present day? When was the last film made?
2. How many films has Reitz made in total through 2024?
3. How many video releases of these are available in Germany?
4. Is the Second Sight the only current release with English subs?
5. The Second Sight re-release contains a documentary "prologue" to the series. Should I start with this or jump right into the first film?
6. Is this the kind of series I can step away from for a bit, returning to it periodically, or should I watch it all straight through?

Thank you for any help!

5. You could watch Geschichten aus den Hunsrückdörfern (the "prologue") anytime really. Don't think it will make much difference.
6. I've only watched Heimat and the episodes there could easily be watched as individual "films" weeks apart. They are fairly self-contained in their current form. I will watch Heimat 2 at some point, but don't feel in any hurry to despite enjoying the first series. I'm hoping Second Sight or Radiance or someone puts it out in the UK,

[MichaelB]

There was a gap of several years between Heimat and Die zweite Heimat, so Edgar Reitz clearly didn't expect people to watch them back to back!

[zedz]

Also, as I’ve pointed out many times, Die Zweite Heimat isn’t in any conventional sense a sequel to Heimat.

Spoiler

It covers, in vastly expanded form, a period that was already covered in the first film, and in a way that contradicts it. It’s kind of a parallel universe story that diverges from a shared starting point. And Heimat 3 performs the tricky task of reconciling these two universes.

[ambrose1am]

Thanks to all. I appreciate the various perspectives, especially the idea that the documentary wasn't available to viewers in the '80s and the comments about pacing. I'll start with episode 1 and watch the documentary later.

[criterionsnob]

My partner and I are halfway through the first Heimat series, and loving it. I emailed Second Sight to ask if they’d be releasing the other restored series, and I received this response right away:

I’m afraid we currently have no plans to release Heimat Series 2 or 3.

Is there any indication this might be coming elsewhere with English subtitles? If not, I’m eyeing the French set with French subtitles, which I think we could manage, if the only option.

[GaryC]

My partner and I are halfway through the first Heimat series, and loving it. I emailed Second Sight to ask if they’d be releasing the other restored series, and I received this response right away:

I’m afraid we currently have no plans to release Heimat Series 2 or 3.

Is there any indication this might be coming elsewhere with English subtitles? If not, I’m eyeing the French set with French subtitles, which I think we could manage, if the only option.

I might have to do the same. I've been wanting to rewatch 2 and 3 for some time now, but have been holding off with restored Blu-rays out there, if not in the UK. I do have the earlier DVD releases.