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A Time to Love and a Time to Die



Douglas Sirk — the master of the Hollywood melodrama — turns back to his native Germany at the time of the Second World War for the film that would stand as his penultimate American feature: A Time to Love and a Time to Die. A CinemaScope production staged on a grand scale, Sirk's picture nevertheless pulsates with an intimacy that has known longing for too long, and seethes with the repression of emotions poised to explode like bombs.

John Gavin plays Ernst Gräber, a soldier on the Russian-German Front in 1944 venturing home to Hamburg on a rare furlough. Upon arrival, he discovers a city that bears little resemblance to the one he left behind — and so, through the rubble of the air-raids, he searches desperately for fragments of his family's shattered lives. But amid the shards, he falls in love with Elisabeth (Liselotte Pulver), the charming daughter of a doctor who in years prior tended to the Gräber family. Ernst thus activates a magnetism that compels both individuals toward one another in love… even as it hurtles them headlong into epochal death.

Adapted from the novel by Erich Maria Remarque (the author of All Quiet on the Western Front, who also makes a cameo appearance in Sirk's picture), A Time to Love and a Time to Die takes its literary source and sculpts it anew out of matter made from colour, decor, and performance — and arguably bests the novel on all aesthetic levels. Yet perhaps nothing can better summarise the power of Sirk's film — or of his entire body of work — than these words from the movie's trailer: "Their pounding hearts drowned out the sound of chaos thundering around them." — The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present Douglas Sirk's 1958 masterpiece for the first time on home video in the UK.

SPECIAL FEATURES

• Gorgeous presentation of the film in its original 2:35:1 CinemaScope aspect ratio, in 1080p on the Blu-ray.
• New optional English subtitles (SDH) for the hearing impaired
• Optional isolated music & effects track on the Blu-ray
• Original theatrical trailer, from when the film was called A Time to Love
• Of Tears and Speed: According to Jean-Luc Godard [12:00] A visually annotated recitation of Jean-Luc Godard’s seminal essay on Sirk’s film.
• Out There in the Dark: Wesley Strick Speaks About Douglas Sirk's Secret [19:00] Video interview with Wesley Strick, screenwriter of Scorsese's Cape Fear and author of the novel Out There in the Dark, a roman-à-clef based upon Sirk's life in Hollywood and his relationship with the estranged son who took a starring role in Hitler Youth propaganda.
• Imitation of Life: A Portrait of Douglas Sirk [49:00] A film portrait from 1984, directed by Daniel Schmid and photographed by Renato Berta, of Douglas Sirk and his wife Hilda in conversation, and reflecting, from their apartment in Germany, back upon their lives in Hollywood.
• Original 1958 dialogue and continuity script (pdf) [DVD only]
• 36-page booklet containing: the complete text of Jean-Luc Godard's essay on the film; writings from critic Tag Gallagher; excerpts from Sirk's reflections; a new translation of Goethe's poem Blissful Longing, beloved by Sirk

My favorite Sirk. Bravo MoC. =D>

Didn't see this one coming, but #65 - what happened to Phantom?

A nice surprise and strong artwork =D>

Is this scheduled for October or November, Nick? I believe that currently only Mad Detective is officially confirmed for October (have yet to see L'Argent or The Devil and Daniel Webster on play or amazon).

Eureka's website says March 2009.

It'd surprise me if it isn't due till March 09. Didn't Nick say in another thread they'd now announce new titles two months prior to release? (On that note, I saw Eureka's website had a Feb 09 date for The Devil and Daniel Webster, and Mad Detective as well as L'Argent out in November).

Whatever the case, it's nice to see MoC branching off into new territories this year. First, modern cinema with Life of Jesus and Mad Detective and now 1950s Hollywood. Perhaps some Anthony Mann would be too much to wish for?

This was originally planned as a 1-disc Eureka edition, but it's now been moved to a 2-disc MoC edition, and thus delayed by a few months. That play.com listing will probably be removed.

Douglas Sirk recognised in a collection alongside Mizoguchi, Dreyer and Kurosawa? Oh yes. =D>

I've never seen this one, but I can't wait, the plot sounds heartbreaking enough without Sirk's touch. Is it as good as his Rock Hudson melodramas?

kidc85 wrote:Douglas Sirk recognised in a collection alongside Mizoguchi, Dreyer and Kurosawa? Oh yes.

I've never seen this one, but I can't wait, the plot sounds heartbreaking enough without Sirk's touch. Is it as good as his Rock Hudson melodramas?

Not to take any props from MoC, who kick motherfucking ass... but Sirk's been recognized alongside the above 3 in the CC for years, and has been in the Kino collection alongside Murnau, Lang, Dreyer, Eisenstein et al for good on a decade.

Sirk's been a recognized master for the longest time.

The film is a great choice though.

Yes, but would it not be fair to say that MoC are far more selective than CC and Kino, making his inclusion more of a big deal? And even if it's not that a big deal, then I'm happy about his continued inclusion in serious cinema collections...

Newer, and thus smaller, more likely. Dunno about "more selective".. especially since there are so many overlaps-- at least between Moc & CC which are obviously kindred spirits.

A world without any one of the three would majorly suck, since each plugs some gap the other hasnt gotten around to.

Yeah, I really don't mind the multiple overlaps these companies have...the fact that MoC always trounces Kino helps; I really wouldn't mind if MoC started cranking out a Morris Engel collection, any Griffiths, Sjostroms, Stillers, or Langs that Kino has put out, or a collection of French avant garde films of the 20s and 30s. The presentations would doubtlessly be superior to Kino's; in pretty much every conceivable aspect. And MoC has topped Criterion in a few situations; Onibaba in particular, and Kwaidan.

The best thing about MoC, or any company, is getting stuff like this, and L'Argent, and the Pialats, though. Nothing makes my day like finding out that a film I've been dying to see is getting a two disc special edition from such a fantastic company prone to stuffing their DVDs with delightfully meaty booklets and gorgeous packaging. To say nothing of the stuff that's already come to pass and fully lived up to my expectations; Naruse and Keaton, Rocco and His Brothers,

I'm finished sucking up now, man. Can we get any word on what's on disc 2?

So much for the spirit of appreciation for all!

Gentlemen, dvd labels are not football teams!

See justeleblanc in the zeitgeist thread.

peerpee wrote:This was originally planned as a 1-disc Eureka edition, but it's now been moved to a 2-disc MoC edition, and thus delayed by a few months.

Most excellent work peerpee...

Pro-B

HerrSchreck wrote:So much for the spirit of appreciation for all!

Gentlemen, dvd labels are not football teams!

Amen! I've noticed this mentality around these boards a lot, and don't see the need for it.

I didn't mean my comment to be taken in that way. The more Sirk the merrier, under any label.

And to keep the discussion on-topic, just randomly browsing sites for information I see Klaus Kinski has a cameo in the film and that this movie was a particular favourite of Jean-Luc Godard. Sounds more and more intriguing with every little snippet I hear...

peerpee wrote:This was originally planned as a 1-disc Eureka edition, but it's now been moved to a 2-disc MoC edition, and thus delayed by a few months. That play.com listing will probably be removed.

So can we assume that Eureka's announcement of their November line-up posted by DVDTimes yesterday is out of date with regards to Sirk?

"Eureka Entertainment have announced the UK DVD release of Henry Hathaway’s Souls at Sea, Douglas Sirk’s A Time to Love and a Time to Die and Rudolph Mate’s The Black Shield of Falworth on 10th November 2008. Priced at £15.99 each, there are no announced extras… "

Oh my GOODNESS! Masters of Cinema should be given a Knighthood for services to cinema! I love how eclectic their releases are.

Via DVDTimes:

Eureka Entertainment have announced the UK DVD release of Douglas Sirk’s A Time To Love and A Time To Die as part of their Masters of Cinema Series on 30th March 2009 priced at £19.99 RRP. Douglas Sirk – the master of the Hollywood melodrama – turns back to his native Germany at the time of the Second World War for the film that would stand as his penultimate American feature.

Adapted from the novel by Erich Maria Remarque, The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present Douglas Sirk’s 1958 film for the first time on home video in the UK. A Special Two-Disc Edition, features include:

* Gorgeous new anamorphic transfer of the film in its original 2.35:1 CinemaScope aspect ratio
* English SDH subtitles for the hearing impaired
* Of Tears and Speed: According to Jean-Luc Godard – a 12-minute, visually annotated recitation of Jean-Luc Godard’s seminal essay on Sirk’s film
* 19-minute video interview with Wesley Strick, screenwriter of Scorsese’s Cape Fear and author of the novel Out There in the Dark, a roman-à-clef based upon Sirk’s life in Hollywood and his relationship with the estranged son who took a starring role in Hitler Youth propaganda
* Imitation of Life (Mirage of Life): A Portrait of Douglas Sirk – a 49-minute film portrait from 1984, directed by Daniel Schmid and photographed by Renato Berta, of Douglas Sirk and his wife Hilda in conversation, and reflecting, from their apartment in Germany, back upon their lives in Hollywood
* The original trailer for the film, from the time it retained the provisional title of simply “A Time To Love”
* 36-page booklet containing the complete text of Jean-Luc Godard’s essay on the film, writings from critic Tag Gallagher on the film and Sirk’s career in general, and an assemblage of notes that includes excerpts from Sirk’s reflections upon the film, remarks upon visual motifs inside the movie, the CinemaScope process used to photograph the picture, and more.

Has anybody read the book? In the case of a filmed adaption of a novel I try to read the novel before watching the film (which is why I haven't seen Great Expectations yet, despite owning it >_>).

arsonfilms wrote:Via DVDTimes:

Eureka Entertainment have announced the UK DVD release of Douglas Sirk’s A Time To Love and A Time To Die as part of their Masters of Cinema Series on 30th March 2009 priced at £19.99 RRP. Douglas Sirk – the master of the Hollywood melodrama – turns back to his native Germany at the time of the Second World War for the film that would stand as his penultimate American feature.

Adapted from the novel by Erich Maria Remarque, The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present Douglas Sirk’s 1958 film for the first time on home video in the UK. A Special Two-Disc Edition, features include:

* Gorgeous new anamorphic transfer of the film in its original 2.35:1 CinemaScope aspect ratio
* English SDH subtitles for the hearing impaired
* Of Tears and Speed: According to Jean-Luc Godard – a 12-minute, visually annotated recitation of Jean-Luc Godard’s seminal essay on Sirk’s film
* 19-minute video interview with Wesley Strick, screenwriter of Scorsese’s Cape Fear and author of the novel Out There in the Dark, a roman-à-clef based upon Sirk’s life in Hollywood and his relationship with the estranged son who took a starring role in Hitler Youth propaganda
* Imitation of Life (Mirage of Life): A Portrait of Douglas Sirk – a 49-minute film portrait from 1984, directed by Daniel Schmid and photographed by Renato Berta, of Douglas Sirk and his wife Hilda in conversation, and reflecting, from their apartment in Germany, back upon their lives in Hollywood
* The original trailer for the film, from the time it retained the provisional title of simply “A Time To Love”
* 36-page booklet containing the complete text of Jean-Luc Godard’s essay on the film, writings from critic Tag Gallagher on the film and Sirk’s career in general, and an assemblage of notes that includes excerpts from Sirk’s reflections upon the film, remarks upon visual motifs inside the movie, the CinemaScope process used to photograph the picture, and more.

And MOC does it again =D>

I was kind of working into a lather about this already, but the Godard angle has me in a tizzy.

This has release of the year written all over it, and I'm thrilled MoC has brought Gallagher into the fold. The more I read by him, the more I'm convinced he's our greatest English-language film writer.

GringoTex wrote:This has release of the year written all over it

I almost said something to this effect, but I'm trying to cut down on my hyperbole. But what the hell, it really does! =D>