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Re: BD 73-75 World Cinema Foundation: Volume One
Posted: Thu Aug 22, 2013 9:51 pm
by EddieLarkin
They said this:
Just in time for Christmas, our second box set in as many months, NARUSE: VOLUME ONE (containing Repast (1951), Sound of the Mountain (1954), and Flowing (1956)) is out now. It features lovely new progressive transfers, commentaries by Kent Jones and Phillip Lopate, and a meaty 184-page book with the writing of Audie Bock, Phillip Lopate, and Catherine Russell.
This box set represents the first DVD release of any films by Mikio Naruse in the English-speaking world and prefigures more Naruse releases by the British Film Institute (UK) and the Criterion Collection (USA) throughout 2007. We hope to return to Naruse soon for our NARUSE: VOLUME 2 box set towards the end of 2007. This is our last release before Christmas, so warm season’s greetings to everyone reading this, and may your unwatched pile shrink over the holiday!
Re: BD 73-75 World Cinema Foundation: Volume One
Posted: Thu Aug 22, 2013 9:56 pm
by Matt
Some wounds never heal.
Re: BD 73-75 World Cinema Foundation: Volume One
Posted: Thu Aug 22, 2013 11:55 pm
by Michael Kerpan
Lowry_Sam wrote:I would love to see Ann Hui's Boat People (1982) included in one of the future sets. * * * it hasn't had a proper home video release outside of Southeast Asia.
The only release I saw was pretty mediocre, not quite good enough to qualify as "proper" (but miles better than the horrifyingly bad versions of Story of Woo Viet).
Re: BD 73-75 World Cinema Foundation: Volume One
Posted: Thu Aug 22, 2013 11:57 pm
by Michael Kerpan
EddieLarkin wrote:We hope to return to Naruse soon for our NARUSE: VOLUME 2 box set towards the end of 2007.
[/quote]It was only a hope -- and not an actual promise -- if I ever SAW this, my mind has repressed the memory.
Re: BD 73-75 World Cinema Foundation: Volume One
Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2013 12:17 am
by artfilmfan
I stare at the MoC's Naruse boxset Volume 1 almost everyday and wonder what might have been. It helps that I place the BFI Naruse boxset next to it. And on either side of these two cherished boxsets are the un-subbed Japanese Naruse boxsets.
Re: BD 73-75 World Cinema Foundation: Volume One
Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2013 12:17 am
by knives
Just realized this means sooner or later (probably sooner) that Zinnemann will have a spine here (and two for Crit).
Re: BD 73-75 World Cinema Foundation: Volume One
Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2013 12:37 am
by What A Disgrace
Not to mention the double whammy of Andre de Toth and Hungarian cinema being introduced to both lines with one film.
Re: BD 73-75 World Cinema Foundation: Volume One
Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2013 1:06 am
by Lowry_Sam
Michael Kerpan wrote:Lowry_Sam wrote:I would love to see Ann Hui's Boat People (1982) included in one of the future sets. * * * it hasn't had a proper home video release outside of Southeast Asia.
The only release I saw was pretty mediocre, not quite good enough to qualify as "proper" (but miles better than the horrifyingly bad versions of Story of Woo Viet).
I've seen dvd's with 2 different covers, but both looked like they could be bootlegs, so I never bothered (the p/q of the image on the cover looked like a still from a vhs tape). I had also contemplated picking up her 18 Springs, which I saw at a film festival & liked quite a bit, but that release's cover was a bit better, but no info on English subs. At least she finally has a release in the US (
A Simple Life) & on blu-ray (haven't watched it yet though). It's a shame that Chinese/Hong Kong cinema doesn't get much attention any more, which is a surprise given its breakthrough in the 90s.
Re: BD 73-75 World Cinema Foundation: Volume One
Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2013 2:46 am
by repeat
MichaelB wrote:Calvin wrote:Can anyone comment on the animal cruelty that I've heard is present in Dry Summer? Will it get past the BBFC uncut?
This is an interesting one - I haven't seen the film myself, but I understand that the cruelty involves
a chicken being decapitated, with it continuing to run round afterwards.
Under most circumstances, that would constitute a clean kill, and so the BBFC would be fine with it, because it doesn't technically involve "the cruel infliction of pain or terror on any animal or the cruel goading of any animal to fury", which are the only things specifically proscribed by the law. But the fact that death doesn't appear to be instant might be an issue here.
In fact I don't even remember the spoilered bit, but the other instance that was mentioned, while indeed rather shocking in its bluntness (not to mention totally unnecessary from a modern point of view), doesn't involve any cruelty of the abovementioned sort if I recall correctly. (I'd imagine it might even be presumed to fulfil the "would have died otherwise" requirement, considering the general circumstances regarding said wild animals in Turkey all the way until recent years.)
Re: BD 73-75 World Cinema Foundation: Volume One
Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2013 3:51 am
by The Fanciful Norwegian
We know chickens running around with their heads cut off are a-OK, since Caché was uncut in the UK and there was no fakery involved. Dunno about the purported dog scene since I haven't seen the movie.
Re: BD 73-75 World Cinema Foundation: Volume One
Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2013 3:40 pm
by eerik
RRP £44.99
Special features:
- Glorious new restorations of three neglected masterworks of world cinema, all presented in 1080p HD
- Exclusive video introductions to each film by Martin Scorsese
- 80-page book featuring writing by Kent Jones on Revenge, Bilge Ebiri on Trances, archival documentation and imagery, and more to be announced
- Optional English subtitles on each film
- More features to be announced closer to release date
Re: BD 73-75 World Cinema Foundation: Volume One
Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2013 4:35 pm
by colinr0380
The BBFC does not seem to have the MoC set classified yet, but the film itself
was apparently cut on original theatrical release in the UK in November 1970 under the title "I Had My Brother's Wife"! (repeat, does that title better fit the film than the cover does?
). At that time it ran at 84 minutes, though there are no further classification details.
Re: BD 73-75 World Cinema Foundation: Volume One
Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2013 6:26 pm
by swo17
eerik wrote:Special features:
• 80-page book featuring writing by Kent Jones on Revenge, Bilge Ebiri on Trances, archival documentation and imagery, and more to be announced
So with only one book to cover all three films, these sets don't look like they're going to be very separable for those that might like to sell off the films that they don't like as much and/or organize films on their shelves by director. (Granted, the latter doesn't really matter much with this first set, but when they finally get to
A Brighter Summer Day, I'm going to want to place it next to
Yi Yi, by gum.[/firstworldproblems]) Your move, Criterion!
Re: BD 73-75 World Cinema Foundation: Volume One
Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2013 7:55 pm
by repeat
It fits the subject matter, but if you ask me they should've called it
I Milk My Brother's Cow and put
this on the cover
- that would be no exaggeration of the film's general tone! There's certainly a smattering of early 50's Buñuel in it in that respect. The evil brother has to be one of the most lovable villains in cinema, it is just a pitch perfect performance.
84 minutes though, that's a whopping six minutes off - even if there were chickens, they can't have been on the screen for more than a few seconds, and the dog scene is two or three seconds at the most. There's plenty of content that might've raised the age limit, but I can't think of anything that would have merited actual cuts in 1970...
Re: BD 73-75 World Cinema Foundation: Volume One
Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2013 8:11 pm
by MichaelB
The X certificate in 1970 was broadly equivalent to a 15 today (literally, it was a 16) - they didn't raise the age limit to 18 until mid-1971. So even if the film had been submitted a year later it might have got off more lightly.
Re: BD 73-75 World Cinema Foundation: Volume One
Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2013 9:43 pm
by tenia
I just realised that only 2 of the 4 movies from the Carlotta French DVD WCF boxset are in the MoC forthcoming boxset (Trances and Revenge). The other 2 present in the Carlotta are Touki Bouki and Redes with Redes not in a state as good as the other 3.
I'm also quite interested to see about the 80p book : the French booklet is 36p and also has Scorsese and Jones writings (I don't know if MoC's ones will be identical though).
Re: BD 73-75 World Cinema Foundation: Volume One
Posted: Sat Aug 24, 2013 12:20 am
by andyli
Criterion will have to beat them both with 1080p.
Re: BD 73-75 World Cinema Foundation: Volume One
Posted: Sat Aug 24, 2013 1:55 am
by knives
These are in 1080p.
Re: BD 73-75 World Cinema Foundation: Volume One
Posted: Sat Aug 24, 2013 2:00 am
by swo17
knives wrote:These are in 1080p.
Assuming you're talking about the posts in this thread, no, so far they're only in 2p.
Re: BD 73-75 World Cinema Foundation: Volume One
Posted: Sat Aug 24, 2013 2:09 am
by knives
I didn't get the joke. I though the p meant progressive.
Re: BD 73-75 World Cinema Foundation: Volume One
Posted: Sat Aug 24, 2013 3:51 am
by repeat
MichaelB wrote:The X certificate in 1970 was broadly equivalent to a 15 today (literally, it was a 16) - they didn't raise the age limit to 18 until mid-1971. So even if the film had been submitted a year later it might have got off more lightly.
I just read the brief historical overview on the BBFC site, and indeed it seems that cuts to sexual content (even mere references) were not unusual in the 1960's - that probably explains the missing six minutes; the censors would certainly have had no difficulty finding that amount of strong sexual suggestions (in fact it must've been quite a feat to pull out six minutes of them and keep the plot and character motivations understandable). I'm pretty sure that it'll be passed uncut now, even in regard to the Animals Act.
Re: BD 73-75 World Cinema Foundation: Volume One
Posted: Sat Aug 24, 2013 10:42 am
by colinr0380
swo17 wrote:(Granted, the latter doesn't really matter much with this first set, but when they finally get to A Brighter Summer Day, I'm going to want to place it next to Yi Yi, by gum.[/firstworldproblems]) Your move, Criterion!
I'm keeping my fingers crossed that when MoC or Criterion get to it A Brighter Summer Day gets an entire set to itself, especially if a decision is made to include both the 4 hour and 3 hour versions.
Re: BD 73-75 World Cinema Foundation: Volume One
Posted: Mon Aug 26, 2013 6:58 pm
by swo17
This is already common knowledge, but
here are all the films that have been restored by the World Cinema Foundation so far. Two others from this year are Lester James Peries's
The Treasure and Weerasethakul's
Mysterious Object at Noon. So 21 in total so far, with an average of three each year. If MoC puts out six films each year (they've promised at least this much) and WCF continues at its present rate, that's a good seven years before they all come out, assuming no rights issues or any other hiccups.
Re: BD 73-75 World Cinema Foundation: Volume One
Posted: Mon Aug 26, 2013 8:10 pm
by Cinosyrc
I really hope The Night of Counting the Years comes out on the next volume, I've been wanting to see this film for years. That and A Brighter Summer Day on the same release would be release of the year all years.
Re: BD 73-75 World Cinema Foundation: Volume One
Posted: Mon Aug 26, 2013 8:13 pm
by zedz
Nit-pickery: That count of 21 includes a couple of Stig Bjorkman DVD extras for Bergman films (no slight against them, they're probably very good, but they're not restorations) and at least one short. The Eloquent Peasant will presumably be slipped onto whatever disc The Night of Counting the Years ends up on. So six years, maybe?
EDIT: OH, I just figured that you weren't counting the Bjorkmans, but the latest couple that aren't on the website yet.
