The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith & The Devil's Playground

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Perkins Cobb · #1 Post by **Perkins Cobb** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 11:29 pm

Has anyone actually seen the November 18 releases of these two Fred Schepisi films, from Industrial Entertainment? Netflix hasn't stocked them, and I can't find any reviews, which is surprising given how highly anticipated these were.

I'm wondering if all the extras from the R4 releases have been ported over, and also if the R1 DVDs may be PAL->NTSC conversions of those masters.

Person · #2 Post by **Person** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 7:30 am

I have a copy of The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith. Gorgeous transfer.

The R1 extras are

- Schepisi commentary.
- A retrospective documentary - Celluloid Gypsies: Making Jimmie Blacksmith (36 mins) - is included and features Schepisi, Ian Baker and the producer.
- 2008 interview with Tom Lewis (25 mins)

Great extras, I feel, but I would have preferred all of the below:

The R4 extras are:

- Interviews with key cast and crew including Fred Schepisi and Tommy Lewis
- Interview with Tommy Lewis
- Audio commentary with Fred Schepisi
- Q&A session with Fred Schepisi and Geoffrey Rush at the Melbourne Film Festival 2008
- Making Us Blacksmiths - documentary on the casting of Aboriginal lead actors Tommy Lewis and Freddy Reynolds
- Stills Gallery
- Theatrical Trailer

Great film, great transfer, great extras. Buy either DVD. Schepisi pronounces his name "Skep-say", I was surprised to hear.

Perkins Cobb · #3 Post by **Perkins Cobb** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 8:29 am

Yeah, rhymes with "Pepsi." First time I heard that was in the trailer for Six Degrees of Separation, and I'm thinking Fred who? Aussies, what're you gonna do.

Thanks for the report. Sounds like the extras make it a sale for the R4s, though, especially if Netflix doesn't acquire the R1s before Mad Dog Morgan comes out in January.

tojoed · #4 Post by **tojoed** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 9:29 am

Does anyone know if the Region 1 editions have English subtitles? I know the Region 4 ones don't. That would be helpful, thanks.

#5 Post by **Jeff** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 5:11 pm

Wow. How did I miss the announcement and release of these? I had heard a long time ago that they had been licensed to a "botique American distributor." I had hoped in vain that Becker & Turrell had landed them. I'm glad to hear that Jimmie got a good transfer. Should I have heard of Industrial Entertainment before?

Perkins Cobb · #6 Post by **Perkins Cobb** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 5:33 pm

As far as I know Industrial's only release so far is, um, the Pia Zadora-Orson Welles collaboration Butterfly.

#7 Post by **Jeff** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 5:43 pm

Perkins Cobb wrote:As far as I know Industrial's only release so far is, um, the Pia Zadora-Orson Welles collaboration Butterfly.

Well, if they're willing to create a documentary and a commentary for that, I guess it bodes well for their commitment to presenting their acquisitions in quality editions. I'll be giving the two Schepisi discs a shot. It looks like they have a website in the works. Best of luck to them.

tavernier · #8 Post by **tavernier** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 6:01 pm

They're an offshoot of Ryko Distribution....I got both discs yesterday (of course I had gotten the R4 discs because I didn't know these were coming), but I haven't had the chance to watch or compare them yet. It seems that most but not all of the R4 extras were ported over.

kaujot · #9 Post by **kaujot** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 6:14 pm

So, uh, what are these films, anyway?

tojoed · #10 Post by **tojoed** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 6:38 pm

tavernier wrote: ....I got both discs yesterday ....

Tavernier, could you say whether or not they have English subtitles? Thanks.

tavernier · #11 Post by **tavernier** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 8:50 pm

kaujot wrote:So, uh, what are these films, anyway?

Two of the best films of the 1970's.

tavernier · #12 Post by **tavernier** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 8:50 pm

tojoed wrote:
tavernier wrote: ....I got both discs yesterday ....

Tavernier, could you say whether or not they have English subtitles? Thanks.

No subs of any kind.

Narshty · #13 Post by **Narshty** » Fri Nov 28, 2008 10:53 pm

The Devil's Playground at DVD Times.

They sound so good I've gone with the Australian versions. I've only seen a shitty pan-and-scan VHS of Jimmie Blacksmith, but it was harrowingly intense nonetheless.

Perkins Cobb · #14 Post by **Perkins Cobb** » Sun Dec 14, 2008 2:14 am

The invaluable Michael includes a brief comparison in his review of the R4 Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith disc. He also states that the aspect ratio of the R1 DVD is "reported to be 1.66" (!?).

fdm · #15 Post by **fdm** » Mon Dec 15, 2008 11:43 pm

Perkins Cobb wrote:The invaluable Michael includes a brief comparison in his review of the R4 Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith disc. He also states that the aspect ratio of the R1 DVD is "reported to be 1.66" (!?).

Kinda had the sneaking suspicion the R1's might be lacking... Anyone confirm?

tavernier · #16 Post by **tavernier** » Tue Dec 16, 2008 2:51 am

A quick comparison of the R1 & R4 -- it's obviously the same transfer (2.35:1), and the R1 looks more than comparable to these eyes. (Of course, the R4 has better extras.)

thirtyframesasecond · Fri May 22, 2009 7:04 pm

Just a comment on the film itself rather than the DVD format; I watched an old VHS, but it's an incredibly good film. Still a taboo subject at the time of production, it's an astonishingly frank look at the shame of Australian history, in contrast to the myth-making of many of the Australian films of the era.

Perkins Cobb · #18 Post by **Perkins Cobb** » Tue May 26, 2009 4:38 pm

Unfortunately, the R4 of The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith has some issues -- namely, a weird sort of moire effect along the horizontal lines in the image. I've seen similar flaws on other DVDs but nothing exactly like this. I wouldn't call it a deal-breaker, but it was a consistent minor distraction throughout the film.

I didn't notice the same problem on the R4 DVDs of The Devil's Playground or Mad Dog Morgan, which look great.

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