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One of the most amazing masterpieces of the Polish cinema „The Hourglass Sanatorium” is getting a new restoration at FIXAFILM! Phantasmagoric and visually stunning work of art by Wojciech J. Has will be presented in the REVIVALS section of the 58th New York Film Festival in autumn. The new 4K restoration from the original camera negative is produced by Łukasz Ceranka and Andrzej Łucjanek, supervised by Łukasz Ceranka, and curated by Daniel Bird.

Two great Polish cinematographers Piotr Sobociński Jr and Michał Sobociński, grandsons of Witold Sobociński who lensed original picture, provide artistic supervision over the project.

“The Hourglass Sanatorium” will be presented alongside the new restorations of films by Mohammad Reza Aslani, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Béla Tarr, Jean Vigo, and Wong Kar Wai.

htdm wrote: Fri Aug 21, 2020 8:07 pm Hey Vaso -- is there any update on the status of Halka (1930)?

htdm wrote: Sat Aug 22, 2020 1:52 am Hmm -- how does it look (and how did you manage to order it)?

Given the film’s rarity and the consequent dearth of usable source materials, the image quality is for the most part remarkably good, with a rock-steady picture and damage mostly kept to a level no more than is expected for a 103-year-old film. Exceptions occur during the first theatre sequence between roughly 19 and 20 minutes, and later for a longer stretch between 42 and 44 minutes, where there is significant chemical deterioration down the middle of the frame, although in both cases not enough to seriously obscure what’s onscreen. There are also occasional brief sections when the image has noticeably higher contrast, presumably dictated by the condition of available materials. The absence of any reliable record of the film’s original tinting and toning schema means that the entire film is presented in black and white. [...] The multi-instrumental part-electronic score by jazz composer Włodek Pawlik was commissioned to accompany this restoration, and is mostly very effective indeed, although opinion will be divided over the occasional use of spoken-word sound samples.

L.A. wrote: Sat Aug 22, 2020 12:53 pm It’s gorgeous, believe me . Haven’t watched it yet but fully English-friendly and definitely better and (possibly) a longer version than the one in the Iconic Collection. Emailed the Filmoteka back in March and got it.

MichaelB wrote: Sat Aug 22, 2020 1:26 pm The relevant paragraph from my review of Bestia in the last Journal of Film Preservation:

Given the film’s rarity and the consequent dearth of usable source materials, the image quality is for the most part remarkably good, with a rock-steady picture and damage mostly kept to a level no more than is expected for a 103-year-old film. Exceptions occur during the first theatre sequence between roughly 19 and 20 minutes, and later for a longer stretch between 42 and 44 minutes, where there is significant chemical deterioration down the middle of the frame, although in both cases not enough to seriously obscure what’s onscreen. There are also occasional brief sections when the image has noticeably higher contrast, presumably dictated by the condition of available materials. The absence of any reliable record of the film’s original tinting and toning schema means that the entire film is presented in black and white. [...] The multi-instrumental part-electronic score by jazz composer Włodek Pawlik was commissioned to accompany this restoration, and is mostly very effective indeed, although opinion will be divided over the occasional use of spoken-word sound samples.

I can also confirm that the entire package is fully bilingual in Polish and English, including the excellent 55-page book. There are also French and German subtitle and menu options.

djvaso wrote: Fri Aug 21, 2020 8:57 pm

htdm wrote: Fri Aug 21, 2020 8:07 pm Hey Vaso -- is there any update on the status of Halka (1930)?

Unfortunately no. I sent an e-mail to Michał Banasiak about it in May but I haven't got any replay.

htdm wrote: Sat Aug 22, 2020 4:41 pm Any Polish members wish to help a fellow out in ordering this one?

MichaelB wrote: Sat Aug 22, 2020 1:26 pm The relevant paragraph from my review of Bestia in the last Journal of Film Preservation:

Given the film’s rarity and the consequent dearth of usable source materials, the image quality is for the most part remarkably good, with a rock-steady picture and damage mostly kept to a level no more than is expected for a 103-year-old film. Exceptions occur during the first theatre sequence between roughly 19 and 20 minutes, and later for a longer stretch between 42 and 44 minutes, where there is significant chemical deterioration down the middle of the frame, although in both cases not enough to seriously obscure what’s onscreen. There are also occasional brief sections when the image has noticeably higher contrast, presumably dictated by the condition of available materials. The absence of any reliable record of the film’s original tinting and toning schema means that the entire film is presented in black and white. [...] The multi-instrumental part-electronic score by jazz composer Włodek Pawlik was commissioned to accompany this restoration, and is mostly very effective indeed, although opinion will be divided over the occasional use of spoken-word sound samples.

I can also confirm that the entire package is fully bilingual in Polish and English, including the excellent 55-page book. There are also French and German subtitle and menu options.

Yes I'd read your article which was what motivated me to pursue this disc.
Pity that this title is so difficult to procure as the film should have a much wider audience.

Hello,
We do not provide the data of our suppliers.
Kind regards

Pozdrawiam,
Katarzyna Kręc

DVDmax.pl Sp. z o. o.
ul. Spółdzielców 18A
62-510 Konin

L.A. wrote: Wed Nov 27, 2019 4:12 pmHalka (1929) forthcoming apparently.

BE WARNED! This Polish website may be infected.
I don't challenge its authenticity. But there may be malware or spyware in it. I clicked on the link given above, viewed the page, and exited. Not two minutes later, my file directory was locked against me, and I haven't been able to access it since.
If you proceed, proceed with caution.
Jim