MoC Forthcoming, Wishlist, and Random Speculation

[swo17]

It's been pretty well established by now that if MoC releases something DVD-only at this point, it's down to the quality of the available materials. I'm sure these Pasolinis will look about as good as they can, though it remains to be seen how much (if any) improvement there will be over the Tartans.

[heredity4me]

I agree too that Visage deserves a release.

I never understood the critical reception of this film. When I looked at the reviews before seeing it I was disappointed, but I loved it. It was just like a Tsai Ming-liang film so I thought the critics' reception was strange. Now I wonder when I'll ever get to see it again. His profile has certainly seemed to slip since then.

[TMDaines]

It's been pretty well established by now that if MoC releases something DVD-only at this point, it's down to the quality of the available materials. I'm sure these Pasolinis will look about as good as they can, though it remains to be seen how much (if any) improvement there will be over the Tartans.

Well, they're both from "a new HD master" as their product pages proudly boast.

[colinr0380]

Great news about Rumble Fish - this flurry of Francis Ford Coppola Blu-ray releases is making me hope that perhaps Tucker: The Man and His Dream also might get the same treatment one day.

Who cares if the Moroder Metropolis is DVD-only, if you want it in HD you can import the Kino.

I did just that, ending up spending last Christmas dancing around my room to the strains of Adam Ant and Bonnie Tyler! (I sincerely believe that it is what Fritz Lang would have wanted 8-[ )

[eerik]

re: THE GENERAL. We've been trying to pull it together for a year, but can't get the right mix of materials that we want to make the best edition there is, due to the Carl Davis score already being licenced to a company in the UK (who aren't a DVD label) and who believe they own the rights to the film as well.

Is it still on the table or should I just go with the Kino BD?

[TMDaines]

So we're getting to the stage where early silent films can be re-released as part of their 100th anniversary, and I wonder whether or not MoC have any plans to release any films because of these occassions? Next year, in 2013, I'd love to see Der Student von Prag - perhaps along with it's remakes - and Der Andere come out somewhere: two important, notable German films that have never had a proper release anywhere. Needless to say, films like this will never get a release if they aren't in fit state to be released, but it's almost impossible to guess the state of film archives, especially the German ones.

I kind of get the sense that for many films from this period, it'll be a case of now or never for their restorations and re-emergance into circulation.

[Jonathan S]

The Arte TV channel seem to be picking up the centenary idea and have in fact scheduled the 1913 Der Student von Prag for a "Stummfilm live" broadcast in July 2013. Presumably this will be an improvement on the previous German TV print. They have also scheduled Fantomas and Richard Wagner for next year - in the latter case no doubt due as much to the composer's bi-centenary as the film's single one!

[TMDaines]

That's great news, thanks for sharing. It's such a pity that these restorations for TV screenings only rather inconsistantly make their way to DVD. At least it means there will likely be restored prints available for certain films though.

[Tommaso]

Not the right thread, but just for info: arte TV this year will show Feyder's "Les nouveaux messieurs" (1929), Zelnik's "Die Weber" (1927), and most importantly, Jutzi's "Mutter Krausens Fahrt ins Glück" (1929). Pretty spectacular schedule, if you ask me.

[Pipi]

Talking about silent releases, I would greatly appreciate some kind of follow-up to "Coeur fidele". Any other of Jean Epstein's films, but especially "Finis terrae" (which I've seen restored on Arte and really loved) would be very nice. Von Gerlach's "Vanina", which, as far as I know, was recently restored, would also be nice.

And as far as other films are concerned, I wonder if there is any chance that after films by Teshigahara, Shinoda and Imamura MoC could release any of Susumu Hani's movies. Maybe "He and She" or "A Full Life" would be fantastic, even if they were to come in a couple of years.

[Perkins Cobb]

Big question: Will there be a "new" peerpee, like there was a "new" Bikey?

Sorry to see Nick depart, like everyone else.

Worth it to move the Nick discussion to a separate thread...? I might've caught on sooner had that been done.

[knives]

I see no reason for Nick to stop posting here since he was posting here long before MOC.

[zedz]

And there are other forum members who continue to work for MoC who I'm sure will chime in if they need to address any official business.

[rwaits]

This is the first I've heard about Nick leaving. Where's he going?

[perkizitore]

Shangri-La

[zedz]

He'll put on his slippers and sit by the fire. He's reached his top and he just can't get any higher.

[FilmFanSea]

This is the first I've heard about Nick leaving. Where's he going?

From the Moc Facebook & Twitter thread, posted April 16, here is Nick's announcement:

Last month I decided to step down from my role at MoC so I can pursue personal projects. I'm 'on tap' until 31 May, then a clear horizon. The MoC Series will be continuing as normal. The last 2 on my watch will be the 2 Wilders in June. Thanks to Eureka for helping me realise the MoC Series over the last 8.5 years. And thanks to everyone who bought an MoC edition, and everyone who wrote saying how much they love us. You know who you are. Much love! If you really love someone's work, write to them and let them know. It keeps them going. I'm going to do a bit of that now I've got time -NW

[colinr0380]

Shangri-La

I was presuming it was Xanadu, though I do not know whether Nick's personal Xanadu would involve resurrecting Gene Kelly and re-opening a rollerskating rink with his MoC monies :-k

[Bürgermeister]

Cecil B. DeMille's The Godless Girl would be a fine addition to MoC. [-o<

[zedz]

Cecil B. DeMille's The Godless Girl would be a fine addition to MoC. [-o<

You are aware that this is already available, in a beautiful restoration, with a commentary and, like, twenty hours of (not exactly directly relevant, I'll concede) extras?

[Bürgermeister]

Cecil B. DeMille's The Godless Girl would be a fine addition to MoC. [-o<

You are aware that this is already available, in a beautiful restoration, with a commentary and, like, twenty hours of (not exactly directly relevant, I'll concede) extras?

Yep I'm aware of it, but living in England and thanks to our wonderful government it'd cost a small fortune to import it, and as I'm only interested in The Godless Girl it's not really worth the price I'd end up paying.

If it was a stand alone release I'd snap it up in an instant, it's a shame it's not, it'd be pretty successful I think.

[Sloper]

Yeah I pretty much had to sell a kidney to get those Treasures sets. And walk several miles to the post office so I could pay their 'handling charge'. 'You can't put a handling charge on art,' I told them, obscurely.

It would be nice to see some of that material made more accessible in R2 land. I thought The Godless Girl was pretty laughable apart from the climax, but I realise lots of people love it, and it's certainly better than Cleopatra...

[Jonathan S]

If anyone were to release another edition of The Godless Girl, it would be nice to have it with Carl Davis' orchestral score (as broadcast several times on Film 4), though that would of course add to the cost of licensing. I'm not even sure who owns the film itself, as it seems to be an independent DeMille production, so it wouldn't be licensed from Universal, with whom MoC have a current relationship.

Incidentally, the UK Royal Mail "handling fee" and its associated inconveniences can be avoided now with Amazon's VAT pre-payment scheme (choose Expidited Delivery). Best of all, they refund the VAT if the package isn't caught! This probably wasn't available when the earlier Treasures sets came out, but I used it for the last one, and did in fact receive all the VAT back from Amazon.

[swo17]

Treasures III is worth any price for Lois Weber's bizarre but incredibly moving abortion melodrama Where Are My Children?

[bearcuborg]

Anthony Slide's long out of print - Lois Weber: The Director Who Lost Her Way in History - is a treasure. She was as popular as Demille, and more innovative than Griffith - still, as the book suggests - she's all but forgotten.