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According to IMDB there has been a new restoration. Hopefully this means a DVD is on the way. Does anyone have any info?

Wow, who is responsible for that restoration? And, yes, when will this show up on DVD? Wonder where the rights would fall.

As I recall, Kinugasa himself pretty much owned this film outright. But it may be in the public domain in Japan now. In any event, as with the Lloyd films, the only really good print source belonged to Kinugasa.

I thought the found-in-his-shed print was the only source, good or bad. For a long time this was a lost film. In cases like that, I guess 'public domain' is irrelevant.

zedz wrote:I thought the found-in-his-shed print was the only source, good or bad. For a long time this was a lost film. In cases like that, I guess 'public domain' is irrelevant.

No, I think there were really poor quality (and incomplete) prints floating about prior to rediscovery of the pristine print (or was it negative) -- at the bottom of the Kinugasa family's farm's rice barrel.

When I saw a screened print of this, I don't remember it looking bad at all. But I've never been able to find a VHS or DVD copy that wasn't nearly unwatchable.

montgomery wrote:When I saw a screened print of this, I don't remember it looking bad at all. But I've never been able to find a VHS or DVD copy that wasn't nearly unwatchable.

I don't think there has ever been a home video release based on Kinugasa's own copy....

Ah... that ever elusive crazy page...

Aaron Gerow, assistant professor at Yale, says a DVD is coming in 2009 - link.

The beat-to-hell VHS-to-DVD transfer I have looks as if the print itself was in decent shape. Obviously smaller dirt and scratches wouldn't be as apparent with all the magnetic distortion and flutter, but it looked as if all the material was clear, and ready to be cleaned up if need be.

I saw Kinugasa's Jujiro last month at the SFFF, and the print they had looked great as well (and Stephen Horne's accompaniment was breathtaking).

I wouldn't be surprised if this was an extra in Criterion's Gate of Hell DVD.

Cinephrenic wrote:I wouldn't be surprised if this was an extra in Criterion's Gate of Hell DVD.

Well, that would make up for the excruciating pain of having to buy a Criterion Gate of Hell DVD.

Gate of Hell is a beautiful film.

Cinephrenic wrote:I wouldn't be surprised if this was an extra in Criterion's Gate of Hell DVD.

Is CC releasing "Gate of Hell" pure speculation on your part, or was this film hinted at by them?

Page of Madness has a substantial enough reputation that I'd bet it will get its own standalone release, whoever ends up putting it out.

It's in their Janus catalog, so eventually it will come out sometime.

The film will be screened with a new presentation and score at International House Philadelphia on Friday, October 22nd, 2010 at 8:00pm, and again the next night (Saturday, October 23rd, 2010 at 7:30pm) at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

I'm sad that I will miss it...

McCrutchy wrote:The film will be screened with a new presentation and score at International House Philadelphia on Friday, October 22nd, 2010 at 8:00pm, and again the next night (Saturday, October 23rd, 2010 at 7:30pm) at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

I'm sad that I will miss it...

Do you know what print that is? International House played it a few years back (2006, around Halloween - basically, the only time I've seen it), but it was a pretty bad print.

If this is the new print, then - I'm there.

Well, it is being presented as part of MoMA's 8th International Festival of Film Preservation program, so I don't think they'd be showing a bad print . . . .

Ah ~ did not click through to see this is part of To Save and Project (which I've missed the past couple of years).

This just might be the start of the long-awaited DVD release... One can dream, anyway.

Hmmm... your's truly may just slither in there for a peek. My DVD-R from the back alleys of the trader world is maddeningly fuzzy and weak... and yet the film still roars through with all it's great power.

Jack Phillips wrote:Well, it is being presented as part of MoMA's 8th International Festival of Film Preservation program, so I don't think they'd be showing a bad print . . . .

I think MoMA is screening the Eastman House print. I think it looks pretty good. The print is 7-8 years old with only 3-5 screenings over that time. I could be wrong. I'll check when I get into work tomorrow.

Am able to confirm that both the Philly and MoMA screening will be the Eastman House print. For whatever that is worth to you all.

Mysterypez wrote:I think it looks pretty good.

And you, sir, would be very, very right about that. And it was more than worth it, E train every few minutes and all.

Plus the Eastman House rep (sorry, don't remember her name) was pointed out in the pre-movie discussion bits.

Things I couldn't see last time: the movie reminded me of a darker I'm A Cyborg, But That's Okay (and bits of Antichrist) the way it portrayed mental states / madness.
Okay, these two didn't exist when I saw the Bad, Bad print five years ago, but still.

delete

Mysterypez wrote:I think MoMA is screening the Eastman House print. I think it looks pretty good. The print is 7-8 years old with only 3-5 screenings over that time. I could be wrong. I'll check when I get into work tomorrow.

This must be what we saw 6 or 7 years ago (must be why it looked almost as good as brand-new). ;~}