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I'm very curious about this new series of releases, which The Devil's Needle is the first of. I wonder if its limited to silent films only? A similar release dedicated to, say, World War I could be a good opportunity for films like Thomas Ince's Civilization and Griffith's Isn't Life Wonderful? to make it to disc.

MichaelB wrote:I'd have thought an Artificial Eye Blu-ray was a definite possibility, though of course it may well be the same transfer.

Right, that does seem like a possibility. I was thinking, since the film was produced through the Swedish Film Institute, that it probably wouldn't receive a Ruscico Blu-ray release like some of the earlier Tarkovsky films. Ruscico's product seems to be pretty good whereas Artificial Eye (in terms of their Tarkovsky releases) have not been as impressive.

Shelley Stamp (at least I think it was her) talks about The Inside of the White Slave Traffic a lot during her commentary on Traffic in Souls - it sounds incredible, although I didn't realise only 28 minutes survived...

They Made Me a Fugitive is a fantastic, brutal Britnoir.

FUGITIVE is indeed totally fucking incredible, one heavy ballbuster of a film... I've been ranting about it for the past 6 years almost without let up. . . easily in my top 5 for the 1940's-- fact if you dig out the old list projects for that decade you'll find me creaming in my dry goods without letup. . . Also see the Filmmaker thread created for good ol' Cal. Those who admire FUGITIVE are most emphatically urged to check out one of the most unique world war 2 english titles, WENT THE DAY WELL?

The film is indeed incredible and Kino's DVD of it looked pretty atrocious, so assuming this is up to their usual Blu-ray standard, it should be quite the upgrade.

Fugitive is the second release from the Film Noir box set to get blu'd in a couple of months- I wonder if we'll see Contraband or The Hitch Hiker any time soon?

Those would be glorious indeed! CONTRABAND is a real hidden gem of early Powell... These collaborations with Veidt (SPY IN BLACK as well) flow as smoothly as silk across powdered glass. Since we're thumbing through their Noir catalog, a complete, fully restored ( I m sure that the damage resident on the original negative can be dealt with far more satisfactorily than in the past) HANGMEN ALSO DIE would be fantastic. One of my.very favorite Langs, and much underdiscussed I think. SCARLET STREET of course. So many titles in that incredible catalog to dream about in fully restored HD... APPLAUSE, the Leni's, the Elem Klimov's.

The Edison set... Dare I dream? Stroheim... Dwain uh Esper?

I wonder what the rights situation is for Renoir's LA CHIENNE, and Ophuls' LIEBELEI.. they had both of these in the VHS days. But never on disc.

I would kill for a proper Hangmen Also Die release, and I've been putting off paying through the nose for the e-m-s in hopes there will be one. The restoration, complete with scene missing from the extant Kino, is out there and just waiting to be distributed.

matrixschmatrix wrote:I would kill for a proper Hangmen Also Die release, and I've been putting off paying through the nose for the e-m-s in hopes there will be one. The restoration, complete with scene missing from the extant Kino, is out there and just waiting to be distributed.

I second that. I almost bought the e-m-s version, then saw the shipping costs...urgh.

HerrSchreck wrote:Stroheim

Any von Stroheim on Blu (I almost want The Merry Widow to go PD for this possibility) would probably kill my from the rush of adrenaline. How such gorgeous film makers like him and von Sternberg go ignored in this HD era is beyond my comprehension. If they ever do do Hangmen Also Die I hope they can also wrangle the uncut version. That would automatically be in contention for release of the year any year.

jwd5275 wrote:

matrixschmatrix wrote:I would kill for a proper Hangmen Also Die release, and I've been putting off paying through the nose for the e-m-s in hopes there will be one. The restoration, complete with scene missing from the extant Kino, is out there and just waiting to be distributed.

I second that. I almost bought the e-m-s version, then saw the shipping costs...urgh.

Grooves Inc? Shipping is free there. There's now this one:Click

Thanks!
Do you know if that is the uncut version like the e-m-s?

Wonderful to see all these Kino releases. I bought almost all of their Keaton BRs and loved them. I am very pleased to see that the presumed success of the BR line in general leads them to go on with more great releases. I almost bought recently the "old" Douglas Fairbanks Collection but declined since I saw that the Black Pirate, which was part of this DVD collection, came out on BR in a great new edition. Given the intensive BR output we see, I believe (and hope!) Robin Hood and The Thief of Baghdad will come out from Kino at some point soon as BRs.

Blu-ray.com has the artwork for Devil's Needle.

Badass.

So awesome

Given the apparent relationship between Kino and the Library of Congress, does anyone know if there's a chance that they might be able to release the LoC print of The Old Dark House at some point?

Anyone even know the backround of that Library of Congress print? I know that Universal still holds the original negative and lavender protection print that were discovered in the Uni vaults at the end of Curtis Harrington's awesome, almost mythical search for the source elements, and were used in combo by Eastman House to create the restoration that resulted in the prints that went to MoMA, EH, and AFI and was the source for the present Kino. LoC I dont know the source, if not from an original nitrate filing.

I dont think there'd be any hurdles with LoC, or the rights from Uni (and Columbia if still necessary), but the larger question would be financing a new HD telecine, since nothing seems to exist on either set of elements.

EDIT: nevermind, found my answer.

I got Kino's new Blu-Ray of Ganja & Hess in the mail today, sent out early by Diabolik DVD (arriving in London nearly two weeks early - great service!!!). I'm only halfway through the film, but can confidently assert that this is a big upgrade to All Day's last DVD edition (released in 2006).

Colours are often a little duller than before (though the DVD was likely colour-boosted), but there's plenty of grain and much more detail than seen previously, helped immensely by a very robust bitrate (averaging between 35 and 40 mbps). In particular it's worth comparing the restored "To The Black Male Children" deleted scene (originally transferred from a separate 16mm print) in both releases - it looks like utter shit on the DVD, but is a revelation in comparison on the Blu-Ray, fitting in well with the film as a whole. The 1.66:1 aspect ratio fits the film much better than the overly cramped 1.85:1 on the DVD.

This is a film that will never look pristine due to its complex history - this is mastered from a new 35mm negative put together from the few surviving archival prints of Bill Gunn's director's cut, but is still replete with hairs and scratches. (The film was originally shot in Super 16 and subsequently blown up to 35mm.) So modified expectations are a must, but given the materials currently available * Kino have done a bang-up job. Highly recommended.


* The original camera negative was used to create the shorter version of the film, usually known as Double Possession or Blood Couple, the rights to which are currently owned by MGM/Sony. Let's hope they have the negative and restore that at some point!

DVDBeaver on Ganja & Hess BD

From here:

Three of horror and exploitation cinema's greatest exponents are about to have some of their best works remastered into HD and released on Blu-Ray. Virgin Among the Living Dead, Les Avaleuses aka Female Vampire aka The Bare Breasted Countess (fully uncut), Exorcism, Black Sunday aka The Mask of Satan, Lisa and the Devil, Frightmare and Die Screaming Marianne are just some of the films by these fabulous directors currently being remastered and prepared for release and there are many, many more to follow.... More details soon.

If they got Black Sunday and Lisa and the Devil, then I assume they got all the Bava films in the two Anchor Bay box sets. Can't wait for Bava on Blu-ray.

Come on Blood and Black Lace. Not Anchor Bay, but hoping.

Just thinking of the colours in Lisa fully restored brings a big stupid grin to my face. Even on the less than great Anchor Bay releases it is absolutely deadly in its aesthetic.