741 My Winnipeg

[MichaelB]

Most of the British reviews have been positive but brief - but Jonathan Romney led on it in today's Independent on Sunday.

[TheGodfather]

The dvd is to be released in the UK on September 29th.

[Michael]

Having been floored by Brand Upon the Brain!, I can't wait to see My Winnipeg. All that snow will snap me out of Florida and sled me back to where I grew up. How are the dialogues/sounds used in the film? Are the diagolues spoken? Or is it silent like Cowards and Brand?

[Matt]

There is a smattering of dialogue, but it's mostly voice-over narration.

[AWA]

I saw this tonight and was absolutely amazed by it. It played at the local Windsor International Film Festival with Mr. Maddin in attendence. I've only seen a few of his films previous to this, most of them his short films, but this was exceptional and blew me away. The dream like state of the narrative is just transfixing, and, as a Canadian (albeit it in Canada's deep American-ized south), this reminded me so much of my own city (Windsor, obviously) it is possible it influenced my appreciation for it, but his effortless shifting between topics of discussion, blending myth, fact and outright fiction and the overall gritty cinematography made for one enticing feature.

Afterwards, there was a discussion with Guy Maddin hosted by some moderator woman in crazy stockings and revealing top with no bra who seemed more interested in getting laid by the star of the evening than anything else and a psycho-analyst who asked most of the questions based on his interpretations of the film. Maddin was very funny and gave great answers to all the questions, and addressed some of the criticisms mentioned on this board. He's a very nice guy, very humble. He talked about his editing process - whereby he has his developed film delivered directly to his editor's house who just drops of DVD samples in Guy's doorway for him when he has something for him... Guy says that at best he'll usually call and leave a message about what he'd like changed, but usually he can rely on his editor to know what he is after.

I'm very tired right now and could type more, but I just wanted to share my thoughts on how impressive I thought this was.

[Giles]

I saw this tonight and was absolutely amazed by it. It played at the local Windsor International Film Festival with Mr. Maddin in attendence. I've only seen a few of his films previous to this, most of them his short films, but this was exceptional and blew me away. The dream like state of the narrative is just transfixing, and, as a Canadian (albeit it in Canada's deep American-ized south), this reminded me so much of my own city (Windsor, obviously) it is possible it influenced my appreciation for it, but his effortless shifting between topics of discussion, blending myth, fact and outright fiction and the overall gritty cinematography made for one enticing feature.

Afterwards, there was a discussion with Guy Maddin hosted by some moderator woman in crazy stockings and revealing top with no bra who seemed more interested in getting laid by the star of the evening than anything else and a psycho-analyst who asked most of the questions based on his interpretations of the film. Maddin was very funny and gave great answers to all the questions, and addressed some of the criticisms mentioned on this board. He's a very nice guy, very humble. He talked about his editing process - whereby he has his developed film delivered directly to his editor's house who just drops of DVD samples in Guy's doorway for him when he has something for him... Guy says that at best he'll usually call and leave a message about what he'd like changed, but usually he can rely on his editor to know what he is after.

I'm very tired right now and could type more, but I just wanted to share my thoughts on how impressive I thought this was.

I agree, I really enjoy Maddin's narration/voice. Will need to now rewatch 'Brand Upon the Brain!' with his narration.

question: does the Best Buy/IFC disc have any extras?

[Telstar]

Just stopped by my local blockbuster store for the first time in well over a year, and was amazed to find a "blockbuster exclusive" rental dvd on the shelves for, you guessed it, My Winnipeg. I had no idea this was available.

[hot_locket]

Oh shit, looks like I'm going to Blockbuster for the first time in years.

Had to watch a poorly-transferred DVD projected when I saw this at my local art-house theatre (morons), so I'll jump at the chance to see it in the correct AR (not stretched, at least) and with decent black levels.

[Antoine Doinel]

Guy Maddin has released a companion book.

[MoonlitKnight]

But when's it gonna be released on DVD here in the States???? That's the real question.

[justeleblanc]

But when's it gonna be released on DVD here in the States???? That's the real question.

After IFC renegotiates their contract with either Genius or possibly even another company.

[domino harvey]

Coming in January, details in first post

[swo17]

Which just a moment ago read:

I saw this earlier today, and loved pretty much every minute - in fact, I think it may be my favourite Guy Maddin film to date, and I've seen all the features and a fair number of the shorts.

[domino harvey]

Praise from me for Maddin should have been your first hint that something else was afoot, or I'm being held against my will

[mfunk9786]

*rereads thread* I really hated this movie. It entirely scares me off of seeing it again, despite the fact that I could likely be much more articulate about explaining why these days if I wanted to be. Not exceedingly so, but some measure more, for sure.

[christopher_NOBODY]

The Hall Runner (2014), and Louis Riel for Dinner (2014) shorts were added to the supplements. Giving us five shorts in total, though the new additions do not have introductions.

[Minkin]

DVD Beaver

[Minkin]

Blu-Ray.com

This turned out to be a great release, sporting quite a lot of bonus short films (although it looks like Maddin has made hundreds of short films). I'm looking forward to revisiting the film / seeing the Robert Enright conversation.

Is The Saddest Music in the World the only other IFC Maddin film? I wonder if Zeitgeist will ever upgrade the films they have.

[swo17]

What a fantastic slate of extras on this release! The cine-essays are really four short films that come across like really good impersonations of middle school educational shorts that were made by aliens. Criterion credits them to both Maddin and Evan Johnson (who also co-directed Maddin's upcoming feature), though Maddin's introductory comments seem to suggest that Johnson made them alone. Either way, they're weird and wonderful. I'm going to call Elms the highlight, which happens to be the one that Criterion has also put up on YouTube.

Of the Maddin shorts, two of the more personal entries here are absolutely superb. Spanky: To the Pier and Back was apparently on the original R1 DVD, though it's new to me. It's a dashed-off homage to Fischinger's Walking from Munich to Berlin featuring Maddin's dog Spanky (who also appears in My Winnipeg) in what would end up being their last walk together. Only Dream Things (also a collaboration with Johnson) feels a little more like Bill Morrison than Maddin, but it's a very mature and personal look at Maddin's memories of his older brother's suicide at the age of 16 (which is also briefly touched upon in the main feature, so I'd actually recommend watching these shorts first for added context). Really evocative, heartbreaking stuff.

[Jakamarak]

Thanks for posting this. I didn't get through the extras on this disc (which is very atypical for me). Now I'm excited to pull this release back out and check them out!

[giovannii84]

When this was first announced I think I remember seeing a Deleted Scene was being included. Does anyone know what happened to this? Has it been reinserted into the film?

[R0lf]

From memory at least one of the short films is a deleted scene (extension of the mother with the hall runner).

[49CHOMPS]

I'll begin with saying that this title isn't included in the title index thread.

I bought this year's ago because I think I wanted to watch Brand Upon the Brain and My Winnipeg was the only Blu-ray of the director available. And the cover is very striking and mysterious.

What a wonderful film. Wasn't until the end of last night that I got to watch it, when I was beginning to struggle staying awake like the Guy in the train/car/taxi?
But this just added the immersion I experienced. Had to keep focused and see it through the end.