Re: Martin Scorsese Presents Masterpieces of Polish Cinema
Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2017 2:21 am
The power of Amy!jsteffe wrote:That's good to hear. I finally received my copy--from Milestone, two days after I placed the order with them.
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The power of Amy!jsteffe wrote:That's good to hear. I finally received my copy--from Milestone, two days after I placed the order with them.
Glad to have you back!lady wakasa wrote:Dennis - box came today. Thanks very very much.
I have been a bit MIA on the movie front the past few years, but am making my way back slowly put surely. This is the start.
I finally got to this and while I was wowed I'm not sure if I understood anything specific to Poland's situation or the Soviet Union unless Assyria is supposed to be read as a Russia standin.jsteffe wrote: Wed Sep 28, 2016 1:15 pm The first time I viewed Man of Marble in college, I didn't have that context, but was still able to pick up on some of what Wajda was doing. To be sure, at that time the Solidarity party was in the papers. Regardless, I still found it a gripping experience, and it really sparked my interest in Eastern European cinema.
Not to denigrate Cleopatra (which I like), but Pharaoh has a lot more going for it thematically as a dissection of power. I can imagine that it resonated with Polish viewers at the time. It is FAR from being a big but empty spectacle. And it has more stylistic focus and expressiveness than Cleopatra. Many scenes are really beautifully staged. Arguably some elements (like some of the casting and dialogue) seem dated today, but I've found the film to reward repeat viewings.
The Scorsese sets are so annoying as I only need three films from each boxset that have never been released elsewhere. They work out quite pricey at around £10 per film, completely barebones.karmajuice wrote: Sun Jan 28, 2024 5:37 pm I haven't posted in ages, but I've got news that may interest some people here.
I intended to buy this set several years back. It had already sold out stateside, but there was a Polish site selling them. I had it bookmarked and I was saving up cash. But I checked one day and the site was down. I haven't seen the sets anywhere since, except for astronomical prices at resale outlets.
More recently, I'd bookmarked some Wajda discs at dvdmax, and when I checked the other day, lo and behold, all 3 sets were on sale - and for 399 złoty each (~$100 USD, cheaper than I'd ever seen them before). I jumped right on it, and I received the package pretty promptly. They appear to be legit - the boxes look great, pristine condition.
Unfortunately, I can't actually test the discs. I'm living abroad for several months and I don't have a Blu-ray player here, so I'll have to wait to watch them. But they look 100% legit to me. It's just hard to believe I found them in the wild so long after they went OOP.
Here's the page I bookmarked, with the 3 sets (and other assorted Wajda): https://www.dvdmax.pl/dvd/szukaj/2/294?filters[cat]=59
(As you can see on that page, they also seem to be selling the discs individually.)
Some caveats:
1. I'm not sure if dvdmax ships to the US. I tried to calculate shipping to the US using my old address (hoping to ship them to a friend or relative so I wouldn't have to haul them back in my luggage), and it said no shipping options available. But I didn't test it thoroughly, and I'm not familiar with dvdmax's policies, so I don't know if that's a fluke or standard for them. I got mine shipped to Spain, where I'm currently living (shipping cost ~$25). If they don't ship stateside, it may be worth checking out a forwarding service if anyone is really interested in nabbing these.
2. The discs are region B, according to the site (I can't find any region coding listed on the boxes). But they have English subtitles and all the written materials inside seems to be in English.
3. I don't know if they had surplus that they're finally distributing, or if a Polish company brought them back into print, so I have no idea what their stock is like. But I just checked, and Empik is also selling them (for a bit more than dvdmax): https://www.empik.com/kolekcja-martin-s ... 937,film-p
All three boxes are in mint condition. They packaged them each in individual boxes (clearly designed to hold the sets - they fit very snugly), and those were all in a larger package full of bubble wrap. (I ordered a few other Wajda discs, and they're also in perfect shape.)TMDaines wrote: Sun Jan 28, 2024 11:08 pmThe Scorsese sets are so annoying as I only need three films from each boxset that have never been released elsewhere. They work out quite pricey at around £10 per film, completely barebones.karmajuice wrote: Sun Jan 28, 2024 5:37 pm I haven't posted in ages, but I've got news that may interest some people here.
I intended to buy this set several years back. It had already sold out stateside, but there was a Polish site selling them. I had it bookmarked and I was saving up cash. But I checked one day and the site was down. I haven't seen the sets anywhere since, except for astronomical prices at resale outlets.
More recently, I'd bookmarked some Wajda discs at dvdmax, and when I checked the other day, lo and behold, all 3 sets were on sale - and for 399 złoty each (~$100 USD, cheaper than I'd ever seen them before). I jumped right on it, and I received the package pretty promptly. They appear to be legit - the boxes look great, pristine condition.
Unfortunately, I can't actually test the discs. I'm living abroad for several months and I don't have a Blu-ray player here, so I'll have to wait to watch them. But they look 100% legit to me. It's just hard to believe I found them in the wild so long after they went OOP.
Here's the page I bookmarked, with the 3 sets (and other assorted Wajda): https://www.dvdmax.pl/dvd/szukaj/2/294?filters[cat]=59
(As you can see on that page, they also seem to be selling the discs individually.)
Some caveats:
1. I'm not sure if dvdmax ships to the US. I tried to calculate shipping to the US using my old address (hoping to ship them to a friend or relative so I wouldn't have to haul them back in my luggage), and it said no shipping options available. But I didn't test it thoroughly, and I'm not familiar with dvdmax's policies, so I don't know if that's a fluke or standard for them. I got mine shipped to Spain, where I'm currently living (shipping cost ~$25). If they don't ship stateside, it may be worth checking out a forwarding service if anyone is really interested in nabbing these.
2. The discs are region B, according to the site (I can't find any region coding listed on the boxes). But they have English subtitles and all the written materials inside seems to be in English.
3. I don't know if they had surplus that they're finally distributing, or if a Polish company brought them back into print, so I have no idea what their stock is like. But I just checked, and Empik is also selling them (for a bit more than dvdmax): https://www.empik.com/kolekcja-martin-s ... 937,film-p
How did DVDMax package them? Did they mint or banged up? I might be tempted at some point to buy them and flip my existing Blu-rays.
Sorry I didn't understand who the email was referring to, di-factory or dvdmax? If it is di-factory then "Do you have any questions or want to place an order? Write to us: [email protected]".MichaelB wrote: Mon Jan 29, 2024 7:54 am I did email them, and they blanked me. Has anyone had any more luck there?
We were referring to di-factory, but they seem to have separate email addresses for their different releases. The one you posted is for the Martin Scorsese Presents sets. For the Has set, which Michael and I emailed them about, the email they posted on social media is [email protected].djvaso wrote: Mon Jan 29, 2024 10:07 pmSorry I didn't understand who the email was referring to, di-factory or dvdmax? If it is di-factory then "Do you have any questions or want to place an order? Write to us: [email protected]".MichaelB wrote: Mon Jan 29, 2024 7:54 am I did email them, and they blanked me. Has anyone had any more luck there?
I can't justify spending that much at the moment, unfortunately. I'm on a tight budget while I'm living abroad, and the Scorsese sets were already something of an indulgence. I may opt to get it later or see if it winds up at retailers like the Scorsese sets did.Thank you for your e-mail.
Anthology "HAS" is still available it costs 330 USD incl. tax.
We can ship it to the US by Fedex. It is around 35 USD.
We prefare the payment is by wire transfer, you receive proforma invoice from us with all details.
The album with 16 Blu-Rays (you will find there 14 feature films and 11 short forms) is in: Polish- English- French. So you have subtitles with all these languages. And the book that is the extra part of an album is bilingual: Polish - English.
If you have any questions - please just let us know.
Thank you for your kind interest in Polish Classics. It's great to have such international audience for our unique projects!
To expand on what I wrote back then, when putting my Radiance commentary together I did a lot of digging into multiple Sobociński interviews (he seems to have been only too happy to discuss his illustrious career at great length, and had plenty of time in which to do it, as he lived till 89), and it seems that the original intention was to release the film in 70mm at an aspect ratio of 2.2:1.MichaelB wrote: Wed Jan 06, 2016 7:35 pm Since I wrote that, I've actually interviewed The Hourglass Sanatorium's cinematographer Witold Sobocinski, who confirmed that 1.85:1 is absolutely the correct aspect ratio. It was shot in an experimental precursor to Super 35 whose negative aspect ratio was 1.85:1 - in other words, the 2.35:1 theatrical version was cropped at the top and bottom. Which is why the BD doesn't look cropped at the sides in a way that reframings from 2.35:1 almost invariably do.
So the BD is absolutely fine.