criterionforum.org

It looks like you can once again place an order for the 5-film Jan Svankmajer BD collection (now $170 + shipping), until the campaign closes on February 19th. It also looks like the set's release has been moved up from December to September.

Nobody who knows me even vaguely will be surprised to hear that I signed up to this Indiegogo campaign within minutes of it going live.

Rather scarily, I've been a friend and occasional colleague of the author for nearly 29 years, so I've known for ages that she was writing what should be the definitive history of London's legendary Scala cinema (which she programmed from 1988-91), and I would have bought the book on day one even if it had consisted purely of text. But provided they hit their target they're attempting something far more ambitious that includes full reproductions of every single one of the cinema's legendary programmes, the vast majority of which I'd have seen at the time, so for me the nostalgia factor is off the scale.

I dread to think how big and heavy the end result will be (the last FAB Press crowdfunder I contributed to was for Stephen Thrower's Beyond Terror: The Films of Lucio Fulci, which is one of the largest books I own), but it should be more than justified by the content. And anyone who invested in that project will know that it was an absolutely textbook example of how to do this sort of thing properly, with regular, detailed updates that never once became overbearing or just full of empty filler, and an end product that more than justified the investment.

MichaelB wrote: Rather scarily, I've been a friend and occasional colleague of the author for nearly 29 years, so I've known for ages that she was writing what should be the definitive history of London's legendary Scala cinema (which she programmed from 1988-91), and I would have bought the book on day one even if it had consisted purely of text. But provided they hit their target they're attempting something far more ambitious that includes full reproductions of every single one of the cinema's legendary programmes, the vast majority of which I'd have seen at the time, so for me the nostalgia factor is off the scale.
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The Scala looms big in my ancient history too. I started Film School in Riding House street in 1981 and the Scala then in nearby Tottenham street was my second home before it re-located to Kings X. I may also have the dubious distinction of having played with my band 'The Big Combo' in both venues.
I will be available for signing sessions after publication

...and to nobody’s surprise, the Scala book is happening - but the crowdfunder is still open for another 25 days or so.

Title designer Dan Perri is crowdfunding a book about his work on Indiegogo.

Alejandro Jodorowsky is crowdfunding towards his latest film* 'Psychomagic - An Art That Heals'. It's currently 61% towards completion, with 39 days to go (ends April 22).

*'With the film Psychomagic, an art that heals, Alejandro wants to go further than ever before, transcending fiction by filming reality, but a heightened reality, magical and healing. There will not be any actors, only real people that have expressed their suffering and their will to heal from it.'

This is a rather silly question, but do 32 pages written in longand translate into a much longer typed book?

dda1996a wrote:This is a rather silly question, but do 32 pages written in longand translate into a much longer typed book?

I would say the opposite; unless the text is significantly oversized, a type-set page will usually be more compact than the same material written out in longhand. From the description for the crowd-funding campaign, it sounds like the book will be expanded with additional analysis, illustrations and photos.

That's what I assumed but it said his autobiography included a lot of material that seems way to large to fit into 32 pages. Anyway I might get this, sounds interesting.

I was not a backer of Kino's First Women Filmmakers project, but they posted an update on 3/7. Is anyone on the forum who is a backer able to pass along any relevant info in that update?

Gregory wrote:I was not a backer of Kino's First Women Filmmakers project, but they posted an update on 3/7. Is anyone on the forum who is a backer able to pass along any relevant info in that update?

It says that most of the films have been scanned and are now in the process of dirt and scratch removal. The films are also currently being scored (exclusively by women composers). Apparently some of the films are now more complete than they were before the project started. Some of the films will be screening in New York in July and the bluray set is looking at a possible September/October release date, but nothing is confirmed. The set has gone from being a 5 disc set to a 6 disc set due to the amount of money raised and how much material they had in the archives.

Hal Hartley is releasing THE LONG ISLAND TRILOGY (UNBELIEVABLE TRUTH, TRUST and SIMPLE MEN) through Kickstarter. Region-free blu-ray box set will set you back $70.

Again? I would love to support him but he's asking far too much for these trilogies...

kidc wrote:Hal Hartley is releasing THE LONG ISLAND TRILOGY (UNBELIEVABLE TRUTH, TRUST and SIMPLE MEN) through Kickstarter. Region-free blu-ray box set will set you back $70.

These three are all on Blu-ray already

You could seriously buy all three of these new for about $30 total too, what a crock

domino harvey wrote:You could seriously buy all three of these new for about $30 total too, what a crock

I agree he's asking too much, but don't all 3 have bare bones Olive releases (not sure if the quality is even good on those)

Simple Men is only out via Artificial Eye

The latest Kickstarter by Edward Lorusso is for Dinty, from 1920, which features an early uncredited role for Anna May Wong.

Kier-La Janisse's upcoming book on Monty Hellman's Cockfighter

In her third book as an author, Kier-La Janisse (HOUSE OF PSYCHOTIC WOMEN) explores the intersection of Southern Gothic, ritual masculinity and second wave feminism in Monte Hellman's 1974 film COCKFIGHTER with a combination of cultural criticism and production history, while also examining in detail the Charles Willeford novel and the controversial bloodsport that inspired it.

Perks include copies of the book autographed by Hellman and Roger Corman, plus belt buckles and a Warren Oates tote!

ClassicFlix wants to bring the 1957 TV series Blondie to Blu-ray in a special edition with bonus features.

This was already posted in the thread about pre-2000 TV on Blu-ray, but I'm going to cross-post it here just to make sure as many people see it as possible. Apparently, when ClassicFlix went to release this on DVD, they found the current SD masters unacceptable, and so commissioned a 2K test scan of the original 35mm elements.

The results can be previewed in this YouTube video here, and obviously, the image looks fantastic.

I'm a huge fan of 35mm television, and I would really like to see this happen. Unfortunately, it is US-only, but copies are just $30 each, with other perks if you pay more.

Used to watch reruns of it when I was a kid. Admire the fact that someone wants to take on something so niche, but I don't remember enjoying it very much at the time, so I can't imagine it'd hold up very well now.

The "Bathtime in Clerkenwell" was an absolute nuthouse of fun and frenetic avian madness, telling the story of the great revolution of cuckoos, leaving their weight-driven wall clocks and taking over London. Film won numerous international awards. And now its creator, the fantastic Alex Budovsky is crowdfunding a sequel, “Bathwell in Clerkentime”. Don't miss!

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/bath ... nimation#/

If you are not familiar with his films, all of Alex's work to date is on Vimeo:

https://vimeo.com/user11354572/collections

Regarding the Kickstarter campaign for the Blondie (1957) TV series. There has now been a second update with new unrestored footage from ClassicFlix:

Hi All,

Thanks to all who've pledged and spread the word thus far!

With 9 days to go, we have over $3,500 raised, but we'll need your help if we're going to hit the $20K goal to bring Blondie to Blu. Share it on social media, forums, via text, email, whatever you can do do make this release a reality!

Below you'll find a fresh scan of the seventh episode "Husband Once Removed". You'll notice a commercial for "Pamper" shampoo which doesn't currently have sound. Locating and syncing the sound, and adding it as bonus material is one of the goals of this campaign-- aside from having this wonderful, almost unseen series in crisp, sparkling high definition.

So share our campaign today, and Bring Blondie to Blu!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iD9YbHZF_hM

The Pamper shampoo ad looks really great.

I mean, I'm amazed $3500 was raised for something almost no one wants