Lisandro Alonso on DVD

[Numéro 2]

Having recently enjoyed Lisando Alonso's poetic Los Muertos and it's both elegant and hilarious companion piece Fantasma at the film festivals in Vienna and Rotterdam, I'm dying to see these films again.

Have any of Alonso's films been released on DVD (or vhs or any other format for that matter)? so far I've only been able to track down an unsubtitled DVD from Argentina of Los Muertos. I'm especially dying to see his debut feature La libertad in any way possible.

[Oedipax]

I can't report anything new to this thread other than that I just finished watching said (unsubtitled) DVD of Los Muertos and am now desperately seeking anything else of his!

For potential buyers, I think you can get by with Los Muertos just fine by watching the film cold and reading some synopses afterwards - there's not much dialogue. Of course there is one pretty big plot point that I didn't learn of until afterwards, but you can sense these things all the same.

In some ways the film feels like a companion piece to L'Intrus, or the work of Carlos Reygadas. Right up my alley.

[foggy eyes]

I've just noticed that Facets released Los Muertos in January - has anybody seen the disc? Pleasant surprise or archetypal disaster?

Also, does anybody have any information on this - films, English subs, quality of transfers, where to order?

[Numéro 2]

I actually just placed an order, so I'll tell you as soon as they arrive.

[miless]

any word on the quality of the Facets disc?

[foggy eyes]

Yes, good question! If nobody's picked up a copy yet though, I'm going to try and order one through my library - hopefully will be able to report on quality soon.

[miless]

My local video store (I do live in Portland) had a copy of Los Muertos from Facets. It looks okay, certainly not unwatchable. It is non-anamorphic 1.66, and it's interlaced (and slightly yellow/orange/brown). But it has sufficient detail, especially given that it was shot in tropical sun.

the film was quite good, sort of the middle ground between Japón and In The City of Sylvia (or a Pedro Costa film). I really loved the lack of dialogue and the slow pace and the pervading sense of nature. The song during the credits, too, is amazing.

[Perkins Cobb]

I found the Facets Los Muertos disc literally unwatchable - a bad PAL -> NTSC conversion with the speedup effect in abundance. I sent it back to Netflix & opted to wait for another theatrical screening, someday, or a native PAL release.

[foggy eyes]

Thanks for the reports - sounds like typical Facets, but of course it's better than nothing.

Numéro 2, any word on the boxset?

[KeystoneCop]

Yeah, it's really something that Facets has managed to stay so awful so late into the DVD era. Los Muertos is amazing, but the transfer on the Facets disc is one of the worst I've ever seen. These guys call themselves film fans? How can they allow the films they care about to be available to new viewers in such reprehensible quality?

[miless]

because they don't do their own film transfers. Most likely they took the old BetaSP used for booking/distribution/film fest purposes and called it finished (the same thing that companies like Strand and occasionally N'Yer do all the time). And given the budget/distribution interest in this film, their budget to make a transfer was obviously very low (especially when it's merely meant for screening purposes).

I doubt Facets has the money required to actually produce a good transfer on a film like this. They're taking a huge risk with their upcoming Sátántangó release. If they produced high quality transfers each time for titles with little to no appeal to American audiences, they'll go bankrupt in no time.

[TheDoman]

Hi all, Los Muertos is one of my favourite films and I have been trying to find a good DVD version of it. I initially only watched a subtitled XVID I downloaded, but I have been trying to buy a DVD for a while.

I have seen that there is a Pal version (for download; so I can't find any info on source/distributor etc), but that has no subtitles and ideally I would like a version with English subs, even though the dialogue is virtually non existant. So, it brings me to the version you are discussing here, could someone possibly share a screen cap of the DVD? If its going to be the only DVD version avaliable with English subs, I guess I might consider it. Would be appreciated, as I think this film is a masterpiece.

[foggy eyes]

Screen caps of the Facets disc here. As miless noted, it's non-anamorphic, interlaced and has burnt-in subs, but far from abominable. The film is excellent, so I'd tentatively recommend it.

[Oedipax]

The March 4th update on www.mastersofcinema.org confirms that there are English subtitles on all three Lisandro Alonso films in the MALBA box set.

Now... does anyone have any idea on how I actually go about ordering? This should be a phenomenal set!

[foggy eyes]

Now... does anyone have any idea on how I actually go about ordering? This should be a phenomenal set!

I actually looked into it, but couldn't find a single Argentinian e-tailer who had it or would ship over to the UK. As you've probably noticed, there's a guy who has uploaded a couple of the films onto KG, and he told me that the only way to get the set would be to pick up a copy in-store in Buenos Aires! That puts it way out of my price range, so I guess we've just got to hope that somebody ports it (not likely). The same goes for Paraguayan Hammock, which Malba also released and I'm dying to see.

[BrunoForestier]

Now... does anyone have any idea on how I actually go about ordering? This should be a phenomenal set!

I actually looked into it, but couldn't find a single Argentinian e-tailer who had it or would ship over to the UK. As you've probably noticed, there's a guy who has uploaded a couple of the films onto KG, and he told me that the only way to get the set would be to pick up a copy in-store in Buenos Aires! That puts it way out of my price range, so I guess we've just got to hope that somebody ports it (not likely). The same goes for Paraguayan Hammock, which Malba also released and I'm dying to see.

I purchased it at MALBA in Buenos Aires, though I did see it a few other DVD retailers in the city, like Solocine. I have been in contact with some folks from MALBA in the past, and though they said they'd like to be able to sell the set online, they aren't equipped to do so at this time.

It's also very difficult to order DVDs from Argentina if you're in the US or Europe, as payment via Western Union is almost always required. Your best bet is to have a friend who is visiting pick the set up for you, or take a trip yourself.

Also, while the set is handsomely packaged and comes with a great booklet (in Spanish), the DVDs aren't really up to the standards of those who frequent this forum. They are non-anamorphic DVD5s that have fairly heavy interlacing. According to the producer of Los Muertos, the Facets is a port of the MALBA master. That said, I own more than 100 DVDs from Argentina, and not one is anamorphic. I am glad to have them as I love Argentine cinema, but quality demands/standards are just different there (much of which has to do with the fact that all technical equipment required to produce DVDs is imported and incredibly expensive due to the value of the peso).

[Oedipax]

Thanks very much for the information, foggy eyes and BrunoForestier. If the set is particularly difficult to get hold of, it's a little consolation hearing that the transfers themselves aren't all that.

[foggy eyes]

Yes, thanks. I wondered whether the Facets was a port, and seeing as it is I guess it's the best we're going to get. The interlacing is pretty bad, but I found it perfectly watchable on a tube.

[TheDoman]

Thanks for the screencaps, and the discussion is rather helpful. I think I will order this DVD soon, was planning on buying it last night. I hadn't seen the thread though until today, so I used all my money up

Has anyone seen La Libertad? I downloaded it, but I wasn't a big fan like I was for LM. I see he has a new film out called Liverpool, and also a film from 2006 that I haven't seen: Fantasma. Would like to get hold of Liverpool, and Fantasma, any ideas where I might find them?

Thanks

[TheDoman]

I ended up buying the Facets DVD a while back and got around to watching it. Fantastic film, and the quality is a little better than I expected from the screenshots. Too bad no extras were included, would have been nice to have an interview with Lisandro. But still definately worth it for a film that can be enjoyed many times more.

I'm wondering if someone could reccomend any films similar in nature?

I guess films like Into the Silence, Old Joy, Five (Abbas Kiarostami) may have some similarities.

[foggy eyes]

I'm wondering if someone could reccomend any films similar in nature?

I guess films like Into the Silence, Old Joy, Five (Abbas Kiarostami) may have some similarities.

Yes to all of those - fortunately they are readily available on DVD here in the UK. Also, do check out Albert Serra's sublime Honour of the Knights, Jia's Still Life, everything by Apichatpong Weerasethakul, etc. Alonso's Liverpool is going to play at LFF, so I'd suggest making an effort to see it there (I certainly will be).

[TheDoman]

do check out Albert Serra's sublime Honour of the Knights, Jia's Still Life, everything by Apichatpong Weerasethakul, etc. Alonso's Liverpool is going to play at LFF, so I'd suggest making an effort to see it there (I certainly will be).

I have already got hold of all those three from Lovefilm.com, but as yet, haven't watched them.

But I haven't heard of the three you reccomend, so will take a look into those. Cheers

PS how would I go about finding information and buying tickets to see Liverpool? I have never been to a film festival before.

[foggy eyes]

PS how would I go about finding information and buying tickets to see Liverpool? I have never been to a film festival before.

More info here. Also (potentially) on the 'minimalist' or 'contemplative' side of narrative cinema are Wendy & Lucy, Un Lac, Birdsong, Delta, The Sky, the Earth and the Rain and Wonderful Town.

[TheDoman]

PS how would I go about finding information and buying tickets to see Liverpool? I have never been to a film festival before.

More info here. Also (potentially) on the 'minimalist' or 'contemplative' side of narrative cinema are Wendy & Lucy, Un Lac, Birdsong, Delta, The Sky, the Earth and the Rain and Wonderful Town.

Nice, I really want to see that film. Sounds very interesting.

I managed to add a few of the titles you mentioned before to my rental list, and I thank you for the others listed above.

Generally, what kind of price am I looking at for a showing?

[foggy eyes]

Generally, what kind of price am I looking at for a showing?

Here.