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criterionsnob wrote:From Cinemascope:

Subscriptions with FREE DVDs

Beginning with the Summer 2008 issue, Cinema Scope subscribers will receive FREE DVDs courtesy of Filmswelike. The first DVD in this special Cinema Scope Presents series, featuring extra features developed in partnership with Cinema Scope, will be Pedro Costa’s COLOSSAL YOUTH .

So did anyone actually take out a subscription to Cinema Scope, and, more importantly, did they get a free DVD of Colossal Youth? If so, could they report on its quality, etc.

Balthazar493 wrote:So did anyone actually take out a subscription to Cinema Scope, and, more importantly, did they get a free DVD of Colossal Youth? If so, could they report on its quality, etc.

Plenty of us got a subscription, but the DVD did not make it to the Summer issue - it was delayed until the fall. Hopefully it won't slip again.

unapenumbra wrote: Me thinks the deal has unfortunately turned dour.

So, they're going to ring up every subscriber personally and say discouraging things in a Scottish accent?

If indeed true, they owe new subscribers an apology. The magazine's great and all, but all the waiting and now this?

another explanation is that the sold as many subscriptions as is in their means to produce the DVD's. maybe the deal just isn't available to new subscribers (you had to get in on the deal while it lasted).

I would not have subscribed if it weren't for the promise of the DVDs, the magazine is okay but nothing I couldn't have read in 45 minutes at the library for free.

The offer is still being mentioned here and here, so I don't think there's anything to worry about.

A member of the .com forum posted that he learned from one of his sources that Criterion will be doing a 3 film Costa set that will include Colossal Youth, No Quarto De Vanda and Ossos. Apparently it is due early next year.

I don't know anything about Costa...probable Eclipse set?

As for the magazine maybe there is rights issues with shipping the free dvd to the states, since Criterion is putting their own region one version of the film out shortly.

Don't know if you all have heard the news, but it looks like the Costa DVD is indefinitely delayed. This fall, we'll all be getting Jia Zhangke's The World instead. Not a bad film by any stretch, but I already own it, and I want my damn Colossal Youth DVD.

Oedipax wrote:Don't know if you all have heard the news, but it looks like the Costa DVD is indefinitely delayed. This fall, we'll all be getting Jia Zhangke's The World instead. Not a bad film by any stretch, but I already own it, and I want my damn Colossal Youth DVD.

Ditto. I'm tempted to cancel my subscription.

I doubt there are many Cinema Scope subscribers who wouldn't already own a copy of The World in the first place - it seems a little pointless to go to the effort of giving them away. MoC are releasing Colossal Youth next year anyway (with Tarrafal and a hefty booklet, no doubt), so the only thing at stake is patience. The magazine itself is excellent, so I'll be keeping my subscription no matter what.

Wow ... that backfired, huh? What a shame that a good film mag ends up needlessly cheesing off people with a failed subscription gimmick.

For all of you currently wondering where your Fall issue is, they are currently staring me in the face while I wait for our partnering company to deliver the DVDs of THE WORLD to me - they were delayed by 2 weeks, so my apologies to all.

And in regards to the substitution of THE WORLD for COLOSSAL YOUTH in our DVD offer, please see below the letter that our editor has written to accompany this issue.

Andrew Tracy
Managing Editor
CINEMA SCOPE

Dear Subscriber:

A few months back, we at Cinema Scope announced the plan to include, in cooperation with Filmswelike, a DVD of Pedro Costa’s film Colossal Youth with the magazine as a subscriber-only offer. In the months since that announcement—which was made with the best of intentions and after checking and double-checking that such a DVD was indeed pending from Filmswelike—we have encountered a number of hurdles which have made it impossible at this time to acquire said DVD. At this point, I can’t confirm whether or not a DVD of Colossal Youth will ever be released by Filmswelike, as despite having a contract to release the DVD, the delivery of the materials for the production of the DVD has not yet occurred—despite all noble efforts from Filmswelike.

Why this has not happened is not something that I can be one hundred percent sure of. Perhaps it is due to talk about a DVD of Colossal Youth being released by the Criterion Collection some time in the future, a rumour that I can neither confirm nor deny—though even if this turns out to be true, this does not mean that a DVD from Filmswelike cannot or will not be released, as Criterion would not have the Canadian rights to the film, which Filmswelike does have contractually. So, rather than continue to wait for something to happen, we have decided to include another DVD with this issue, Jia Zhangke’s The World (at a cost to Cinema Scope that was not previously budgeted). I hope this in some way makes up for your disappointment, even if The World, as some of you may notice, is not as long as Colossal Youth.

But, seriously, I know that many of you were expecting a DVD of Colossal Youth with this issue, and I deeply apologize that it could not be arranged at this time. I hope that you don’t take this unfortunate situation as some kind of reneging on a promise on our part, or that the original offer was a dishonest appeal designed to increase our subscription base; trust me, I’d never do such a thing. Furthermore, we are still committed to, as announced, including other DVDs in collaboration with Filmswelike in future issues and we will continue to provide you with the best magazine possible within our limited means.


Yours truly,

Mark Peranson
Editor and Publisher
Cinema Scope

Andrew, thanks for chipping in here and informing us about the delay of the new issue (I was beginning to wonder where it was). How about giving away copies of this with the magazine at some point in the future?

Got my issue/apology/the World DVD in the mail today

Oh my God, the DVD is presented in YouTube-quality: fucking non-anamorphic interlaced and digital noised shit. Yes, now I ask for my subscription refund, as I wouldn't at this point trust their distributor with Colossal Youth anyhow

I just played "The World" DVD which came with my CinemaScope issue. As DH said, it is non-anamorphic, but the resolution is far from horrible. A disappointment, sure, but I truly enjoy reading this magazine; as long as the content doesn't degrade, I'm OK with this marketing debacle.

What's surprising is that it is a DVD9, even though it probably wouldn't have mattered much if the bitrate were reduced to fit it on a DVD5. It could be a matter again of what materials Filmswelike was supplied, though, to make the DVD. I just kind of assumed it would be a port of the Zeitgeist release, guess not.

Films We Like seems to be in the business of screwing Canadians out of good DVD releases

On the plus side, Rosenbaum links to a thread on this board in his column this issue

I like the articles in the magazine - wasn't subscribing for teh DVD anyway, so no matter.

Additionally, the face of the Films We LIke disc has a printed running time of 133 minutes. I clocked it at that too: 2:12:50. I don't have the Zeitgeist disc to compare but DVD Beaver clocks it at 2:19:34. So the Canadian would seem to be from a PAL master (?)

In case anyone's interested and was unaware of it this guy has posted both Tarrafal and The Rabbit Hunters. It's a real pleasure and a rare treat to see this stuff as I have no idea when or how these will turn up otherwise.

Any comments on the 'In Vanda's Room' dvd which was issued on the Capricci label? And does anyone have any news on the (supposedly) upcoming Costa set from Criterion?