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domino harvey wrote: Mon Jul 02, 2018 10:26 pm I mean, I'm amazed $3500 was raised for something almost no one wants

Obviously, it's unlikely to happen, but I have a keen interest in television on Blu-ray, especially vintage TV series. Beggars can't be choosers in this genre, because certain series have elements missing, or others were finished on videotape (or worse, shot on tape in the first place), or are simply controlled by a studio that doesn't see the value in remastering. I was hopeful that such a cheap ($30), good-looking (elements-wise) complete series release could perk up some more interest in getting better-known series on Blu-ray, but clearly, this was optimistic at best.

It's actually really sad, because some of the best Blu-rays ever produced are of remastered TV series (e.g., CBS/Paramount for Shogun, Star Trek: The Next Generation and Twin Peaks, WB for Roots, Network for The Professionals), given that the jump from tape masters to HD masters is often massive. CBS is finishing MacGyver later this year, and I really hope it comes out somewhere, because it's great to see these shows come to new life in high definition.

Update from Jan Svankmajer:

Dear backers,

First, we have to apologize for the silence. The whole team had quite a lot of work with numerous exhibitions of Jan Švankmajer’s objects that took place mainly abroad.

We’ve sent a link to the film Insects to all backers who pledged for a perk containing the download of the film. If you can’t find it, please search all your email folders such as spam or the social folder. It has to be there.

Many of you wrote us wondering how it is going with the production of the artbook and the Blu-ray sets. The artbook took more time than we expected. Unfortunately, printing works has quite a full schedule until February, and we can’t deliver the data sooner than that. We will let you know an updated date of delivery at the beginning of the new year, but it will be on your table before the spring.

There is a very similar situation with the Blu-ray sets. Good news is that this late delivery allows us to make the set complete, so the box set will contain all seven Jan’s feature films.

We are very sorry for this inconvenience.

We wish you the best possible start to the new year.

Marek and the team

Long experience with crowdfunders meant that I mentally translated "late 2018" to "some time in 2019" when I made my pledge two and a half years ago, so I'm not fussed.

And I'm even less fussed about getting seven BDs instead of five.

MichaelB wrote: Fri Jan 04, 2019 8:20 pm Long experience with crowdfunders meant that I mentally translated "late 2018" to "some time in 2019" when I made my pledge two and a half years ago, so I'm not fussed.

And I'm even less fussed about getting seven BDs instead of five.

I really wish I had backed this project.

Ashirg wrote: Wed Jul 27, 2016 2:40 pmWas happy to see "Cult favorite Liquid Sky by Slava Tsukerman" on the list of stretch goals, although I doubt it's going to happen anytime soon.

I was just re-reading the 2016 posts about the Švankmajer fundraiser when I stumbled upon the above. I daresay it depends on how you define "anytime soon", but the gap between that post and the release of Vinegar Syndrome's superb restoration was less than two years.

Well that’s a far better result than the IndieCollect Kickstarter for Christine Vachon & Todd Haynes’ early shorts, who went radio silent 18 months ago (including social media) after raising over US$40,000, without, as far as I know, ever sending out any of the listed perks.

I wonder who on the forum holds the record for backing the longest-delayed successfully funded film project. I backed a feature documentary 4 1/2 years ago that, according to their infrequent posts, they've been working on editing for a few years now. I don't believe there's even so much as a teaser trailer yet.

I cannot remember if I previously posted the backer's image from Insects that I received:


I entirely agree with the above. It is always good to get an update about how things are progressing to allay any concerns if something is going to pass its original completion date (I'm in the same boat as Adam regarding that Christine Vachon & Todd Haynes set, and have sadly just written it off until I hear anything else, trying to be content with just having helped fund the restoration) but especially if it needs extra time to ensure a project gets focused on then pushing the date back a bit is always for the best, and it is wonderful to hear that it is going to contain all of the features now. I got that download link to Insects a while back but have been purposefully holding off on it for the Blu-ray set to be able to do a refresher of the previous films along with it, but I am not exactly at a loose end in terms of things to view in the meantime so I can certainly wait longer!

This just feels like a little more pointed version of some of the times that commercial boxsets have to be pushed back, and in almost every situation it usually ends up being for the best unless something gets unexpectedly cancelled altogether.

I always assume that the proposed delivery date is out by several months minimum, which has been the case with the overwhelming majority of the many crowdfunders that I’ve contributed to. One overshot its target by so much that they delivered early (!), a few others were only a few weeks late, but it’s almost always the case that the original schedule was overoptimistic.

Either that or, as you say, they tried to beef up the project over and above the original specs - which I myself did with the Borowczyk box (everything in HD bar a shot-on-SD interview, the “booklet” clocking in at nearly 350 pages), and consequently I don’t recall a single complaint about it being four months late.

But, as you also say, constant communication is essential - and Švankmajer’s people have been pretty good here. FAB Press has set the benchmark - for both the Lucio Fulci and Scala Cinema books, updates were regular, genuinely informative and for the most part completely accurate, and both projects were ultimately only a few weeks “late”.

Gregory wrote: Sat Jan 05, 2019 7:35 am I wonder who on the forum holds the record for backing the longest-delayed successfully funded film project. I backed a feature documentary 4 1/2 years ago that, according to their infrequent posts, they've been working on editing for a few years now. I don't believe there's even so much as a teaser trailer yet.

Are you talking about the Moondog Viking on 6th Avenue by any chance? They also have all my original negative and sound tapes from my interviews and performance that I filmed.
Holly the director has had two babies in the meantime which has slowed things down considerably but you're right that information has not been forthcoming. The crowdfunding was principally for post work as they have a plethora of material and contemporary interviews so hopefully things will materialise eventually They've missed the centenary though.
For those people who received the Insects download did anyone get subtitles on theirs?

Gregory wrote: Sat Jan 05, 2019 7:35 amI wonder who on the forum holds the record for backing the longest-delayed successfully funded film project. I backed a feature documentary 4 1/2 years ago that, according to their infrequent posts, they've been working on editing for a few years now. I don't believe there's even so much as a teaser trailer yet.

It was over 5 years before I got DAVID LYNCH: THE ART LIFE (originally titled LYNCH 3 when I backed the Kickstarter).

NABOB OF NOWHERE wrote:For those people who received the Insects download did anyone get subtitles on theirs?

The video file is unsubtitled, but the download page also includes a link to download subtitles in multiple languages (obviously including English).

NABOB OF NOWHERE wrote: Sat Jan 05, 2019 1:40 pm

Gregory wrote: Sat Jan 05, 2019 7:35 am I wonder who on the forum holds the record for backing the longest-delayed successfully funded film project. I backed a feature documentary 4 1/2 years ago that, according to their infrequent posts, they've been working on editing for a few years now. I don't believe there's even so much as a teaser trailer yet.

Are you talking about the Moondog Viking on 6th Avenue by any chance?

It was a documentary from some studio called InterFIlmArt Entertainment that promised to show the history of the Third Reich in a completely different way from past documentaries.
No, yeah it was the Moondog one.

Holly the director has had two babies in the meantime which has slowed things down considerably but you're right that information has not been forthcoming. The crowdfunding was principally for post work as they have a plethora of material and contemporary interviews so hopefully things will materialise eventually They've missed the centenary though.

That's totally understandable, then, but agreed that they should've added a few more updates giving backers some concrete sense of where things stand. Saying kind of the same thing just once a year on Hardin's birthday doesn't quite cut it, so they've got some disgruntled backers. I was not a high-level backer so I wasn't hard to be patient, though I have wondered about the progress of it.

MichaelB wrote: Sat Jan 05, 2019 2:38 pm

NABOB OF NOWHERE wrote:For those people who received the Insects download did anyone get subtitles on theirs?

The video file is unsubtitled, but the download page also includes a link to download subtitles in multiple languages (obviously including English).

OH YES. missed that first time round thanks for pointing it out

What A Disgrace wrote: Fri Jan 04, 2019 9:02 pm

MichaelB wrote: Fri Jan 04, 2019 8:20 pm Long experience with crowdfunders meant that I mentally translated "late 2018" to "some time in 2019" when I made my pledge two and a half years ago, so I'm not fussed.

And I'm even less fussed about getting seven BDs instead of five.

I really wish I had backed this project.

Same. I've only backed Don Hertzfeldt's Kickstarter which was remarkably well organized and responsive. I think it spoiled me on the experience.

I was able to purchase the Hertzfeldt Blu-ray later on, I sure hope its the same with the Svankmajer.

Edward LoRusso's latest Kickstarter project is for a DVD-R of the 1923 Marion Davies film Little Old New York. The project is already fully funded so will definitely happen but if you want a more polished release it apparently is also going to get a pressed version later on the year through Undercrank Productions.

rockysds wrote: Mon Jul 31, 2017 10:18 pm Factory 25 is kickstarting a restoration and release of Alex Rockwell's In the Soup.

A Blu-ray.com member sez the $100 Blu-ray from the project that raised ~$90,000 is unbelievably just a BD-R

There's going to be a crowdfunding campaign for the restoration of Dennis Hopper's Out of the Blue. Which I will almost certainly contribute to, but it's a shame that it couldn't be done conventionally seeing as The Last Movie just has. You'd think at least one of the labels would be interested.

Looks very ominous for pledgers
https://www.pledgemusic.com/blog/pledge ... -statement

Thank you for highlighting that Professor Wagstaff as it would have passed me by without your mention! This seems like a good way to get some of the less high profile titles of D'Amato and Fulci out on disc, by judging demand and getting people to pre-fund it. That £100,000 "mystery film in 2K" stretch goal seems so ambitious that it might be intended as a joke though!

Hal Hartley's Surviving Desire (& Company) project was launched today.

I literally went through his good, 35mm period a day ago, and I'll happily support him. Sad to see he went downhill after Henry Fool...

Meanwhile was good and his Fool sequels are worth the while.