Flicker Alley

[EddieLarkin]

The prices are not as bad as I expected, but they're a complete slap in the face to the people who paid nearly double for them when supporting the campaign! Why is it that Arrow are the only label who seem to realise you're supposed to reward people for putting their money up front, not rip them off?!

I have to admit to also being tempted by that Humphrey Jennings set. As superb as I'm sure the BFI's releases are, I'm never going to buy 3 blu-rays of the stuff, so one mid-priced release of his major work (including the longer FIRE cut) is... more up my alley.

Who knows what the image quality is like on these discs though? They surely can't be from materials as good as what the BFI used. In fact, my impression is that these discs are using the same old masters that David Shepard prepared for the Image DVDs. In the case of the Humphrey Jennings films, that makes them at least 13 years old. So there is a likelihood that these discs are going to look very outdated by today's standards. The BFIs, for the record, look invariably spectacular.

I've seen everything on the first two volumes so far and wouldn't say there's a single film not worth seeing. I also see no indication that the longer cut of Fire's Were Started is even included on the FA disc, so I'm not sure I understand your comment, but rest assured both cuts of the film are included in the BFI set (and Volume 2 includes The Silent Village, which by itself is worth the price of admission, whilst it does not appear on the FA disc). And whilst you'll obviously pay more for all three volumes from the BFI, they're so cheap now that you're hardly going to feel you've wasted your money!

[Drucker]

So these are where some of those Image discs are. I'll definitely get The Marriage Circle eventually, as I don't expect it to be available any better anywhere else.

[EddieLarkin]

I think that was the whole point of this endeavor, to essentially make many of those Image discs available again. Unfortunately that's opposed to actually remastering the films and presenting them in the sort of quality expected in 2015 (though I would love to be incorrect on this and find that David Shepard has carried out new transfers for all of these, but I'm not holding my breath!).

[Minkin]

It seems a bit absurd to prefer a shitty DVD-R of old transfers over a superb blu-ray. Even if you are only worried about price, you can usually pick up the BFI Humphrey Jennings volumes for around $10 each (that's about what I paid for my volumes) - so you could at least get two of the three sets for the price of the DVD-R (besides all the ethics of supporting BFI and their outstanding work over Flicker Alley and their over priced public domain DVD-Rs)

[kidc85]

Yes, scratch what I said - it's perfectly easy to buy two volumes of the BFI Jennings blu-rays for the same price as the FA MOD.

[What A Disgrace]

What an insulting development.

[Flicker Alley]

Hi Folks,

We are sorry to hear that some of you seem to be disappointed in our initial slate of MOD offerings and/or our Indiegogo campaign that allowed us to get there. That said, we want to address and clarify a few points that were brought up in this thread:

1. We initiated our Indiegogo Campaign in order to raise the minimum start-up costs necessary to build this Manufactured-on-Demand program, not as a replacement to our continuing slate of newly published restorations on Blu-ray and DVD, but as another option for classic film enthusiasts. Our goal was for $5,000, which we felt was a fair amount to help us transfer, design, QC, and market these 21 titles, which are otherwise unavailable for the prices at which we are offering. While it is true that some of the films - such as the Humphrey Jennings selections - have been restored to even greater quality, it is simply not the case for the vast majority of our MOD catalog.

2. Relatedly, we are, in fact, pursuing brand-new, up-to-date transfers of some (though not all) of these films. As you are aware, though, this is a slow and expensive process. While we work on these projects, we want to offer our customers access to these high-quality restorations, all unfortunately out-of-print and going for much higher prices elsewhere on the market.

3. Having been blown away by the immediate and enthusiastic response we got from our Indiegogo crowd-funding campaign, we went out of our way to make sure we rewarded those people who contributed to our program. While we did not intend to spend the entirety of the funds we raised on "perks" alone, our dedicated team worked very hard to provide our contributors with not only copies of the MOD titles, but also rare and out-of-print releases like THE GARDEN OF EDEN and A TRIP TO THE MOON (SteelBook Edition), as well as signed copies of UNDER FULL SAIL, newly printed stills from THIS IS CINERAMA, and much more. We do not think of these perks as transactional equivalents of what was given to us, but as tokens of our appreciation.

4. Eddie, you are for the most part correct that our MOD program aims to bring back into print - via the original Digibeta masters - many former Image titles from the Blackhawk Film Collection. In addition, though, we hope to utilize this platform to make available all sorts of films from all sort of sources that for one reason or other we can't justify the cost of new, high-def transfers.

5. We do appreciate your feedback, and we try hard to make sure our customers are satisfied, first and foremost. If you have any suggestions, questions, complaints, etc., please do get in touch with us via e-mail at info@flickeralley.com. We'll be happy to discuss and consider any issues you may have.

Thanks Very Much,

Flicker Alley Team

[captveg]

3-D Rarities is now up for pre-order at flickeralley.com for $29.95. Release date is 6/16/15. Details on included 3D films/bonus here. More info at3-D Film Archive.

[captveg]

I have the 2015 Flicker Alley promo calendar now, and here's the titles mentioned each month. I'm gonna list them all, though some will be redundant to announced/released titles.

Jan - "Images from select titles from Flicker Alley's Manufactured-On-Demand (MOD) DVD program, presented by Flicker Alley and the Blackhawk Films Collection"

Feb - "Images from The Most Dangerous Game, Nanook of the North and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, all and more available to stream soon from http://www.FlickerAlley.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;"

Mar - "Ivan Mosjoukine in the Albatross serial The House of Mystery, presetned by Flicker Alley and the Blackhawk Films Collection. (Coming soon to DVD)"

Apr - "Image from N.Y., N.Y. (1958) from Masterworks of American Avant-Garde Experimental Film 1920-1970, presented by Flicker Alley and the Blackhawk Films Collection. (Coming soon in a Blu-ray + DVD edition)"

May - "William Gillette in the previously thought lost 1916 edition of Sherlock Holmes, presented by Flicker Alley, Cinémathèque Française, and the San Francisco Silent Film Festival. (Coming soon in a Blu-ray + DVD edition)"

Jun - "Image from M.L. Gunzberg Presents Natural Vision Three-Dimension from 3-D Rarities, presented by Flicker Alley and the 3-D Film Archive. (Coming soon to Blu-ray)"

Jul - "Lillian Gish and Henry B. Walthall in The Birth of a Nation (1915), directed by D.W. Griffith, presented by Flicker Alley and the BFI, in association with Photoplay Productions. (Coming soon to Blu-ray)"

Aug - "Charlie Chaplin with Edna Purviance in 1915's By the Sea from Chaplin's Essanay Comedies, presented by Flicker Alley and the Blackhawk Films Collection. (Coming soon in a Blu-ray + DVD edition)"

Sep - "Image from The Lost World (1925), directed by Harry O. Hoyt with technical direction by Willis H. O'Brien, presented by Flicker Alley and the Blackhawk Films Collection, part of the Manufactured-On-Demand (MOD) DVD program (MD3005 - DVD-R), and coming soon in a brand-new Blu-ray edition.

Oct - "Images from the 1963 spectacle The Best of Cinerama, presented by Flicker Alley and Cinerama Inc. (Coming soon in a Blu-ray + DVD edition)"

Nov - "Mabel Normand, as featured in The Mack Sennett Collection, Volume One (FA0035), films from which are soon to be available in a DCP format for theatrical rentals."

Dec - "Images from French Masterworks: Russian Émigrés in Paris 1923-1929, presented by Flicker Alley and the Blackhawk Films Collection in association with the Cinémathèque Française. (FA0029 - DVD)"

----

To my recollection, this is the first confirmation of upcoming Blu-ray releases of:

- Sherlock Holmes (1916)

- The Birth of a Nation (1915) - presumably a 100th Anniversary edition w/ bonus unique from the 2011 Kino release

- Chaplin's Essanay Comedies

- The Lost World (1925)

- The Best of Cinerama (1963)

[EddieLarkin]

Let alone unique supplements, The Birth of a Nation will be a unique transfer; Photoplay have been working on it for years. Hopefully a BFI version will be forthcoming as well. I am very happy about The Lost World but really pity anyone who paid $35 for the MOD only a few months ago!

I didn't notice until now that FA had posted here in response to the MOD complaints. I don't have anything to say in response but would like to offer thanks for responding and outlining things.

[tenia]

I'm confused about Birth of a Nation. Does it mean it won't use the source used by MoC ?

[EddieLarkin]

It won't. This will use the Photoplay restoration, whilst I think the Kino/MoC version was from the Library of Congress. I understand the Photoplay is regarded as superior, both in picture quality and accompanying score (the John Lanchbery arrangement of the original 1915 J.C. Breil score).

It's basically the same situation behind the two Phantom of the Opera Blu-rays. The Image/Park Circus disc uses a lower quality image and less regarded score, whilst the BFI uses the Photoplay restoration and accompanying Carl Davis score.

[Calvin]

The Photoplay version also has additional footage.

[EddieLarkin]

And I think quite a bit more image area.

[tenia]

Thanks for the feedback. I didn't know there were different restorations existing.

[Ashirg]

DVD Beaver on The House of Mystery

[Ashirg]

June 2

Dziga Vertov: The Man with the Movie Camera and Other Newly-Restored Works
Deluxe Blu-ray Edition

"I am an eye. A mechanical eye. I am the machine that reveals the world to you as only the machine can see it.
- Dziga Vertov ("Kino-Eye")

These words, written in 1923 (only a year after Robert Flaherty s Nanook of the North was released) reflect the Soviet pioneer s developing approach to cinema as an art form that shuns traditional or Western narrative in favor of images from real life. They lay the foundation for what would become the crux of Vertov s revolutionary, anti-bourgeois aesthetic wherein the camera is an extension of the human eye, capturing the chaos of visual phenomena filling the universe. Over the next decade-and-a-half, Vertov would devote his life to the construction and organization of these raw images, his apotheosis being the landmark 1929 film The Man with the Movie Camera. In it, he comes closest to realizing his theory of Kino-Eye, creating a new, more ambitious and more significant picture than what the eye initially perceives.

Now thanks to the extraordinary restoration efforts of Lobster Films, Blackhawk Films® Collection, EYE Film Institute, Cinémathèque de Toulouse, and the Centre National de la Cinématographie Flicker Alley is able to present the four films featured on Dziga Vertov: The Man with the Movie Camera and Other Newly-Restored Works in a brand-new, Blu-ray edition.

The Man with the Movie Camera (1929) - Named the best documentary film of all time by Sight and Sound, it is presented here in its entirety for the first time since its original premiere. Discovered and restored at EYE Film Institute in Amsterdam - with extensive digital treatment by Lobster Films - the 35mm print from which this edition is, in part, sourced is the only known complete version of the film.
Kino Eye/The Life Unexpected (1924) A cinematographic poem in which Vertov lays the foundation of his Kino-Eye principles, the film shows the incredible force of his theories, but also the beauty and energy of a society fresh from revolution, ready to face the challenges of a difficult future.
Enthusiasm The Symphony of the Donbass (1931) One of the first Soviet sound films, it deals with the Five Year Plan of the late 1920s, and represents Vertov s radical attempt to link economic progress with the introduction of sound in cinema.
Three Songs About Lenin (1934) Arguably Vertov s most personal work, the triptych celebrates the Soviet leader 10 years after his death as seen through the eyes of the people.

The Man with the Movie Camera and Kino Eye feature musical accompaniments by Alloy Orchestra and Robert Israel respectively, while original soundtracks have been restored for Enthusiasm and Three Songs About Lenin.

Bonus features include Kino Pravda #21, a newsreel made in 1925 to mark the first anniversary of Lenin s death, as well as a booklet featuring information about Vertov s life and works.

Engish and French subtitles available with original Russian intertitles.

[SpiderBaby]

Fantastic news!

[Roger Ryan]

I caught a screening of THE MAN WITH THE MOVIE CAMERA with the Alloy Orchestra performing live and thought their score was excellent - very happy to hear that the score will be married to a restored Blu-ray presentation of the film.

[Drucker]

After the Image disc of Kino Eye/3 Songs About Lenin went out of print, I picked it up, but will happily upgrade since I haven't even watched it yet. It's still listed for $90+ used on Amazon.

[Calvin]

I haven't heard the Alloy Orchestra score and so can't pass any judgement on it, but I would have liked a few scores to choose from. I might hold out a few months to see if the BFI announce a release with multiple score options. From those I've seen/heard, the Cinematic Orchestra's interpretation has been my personal favourite.

[Max von Mayerling]

Fantastic. Well, this clearly demonstrates that they were serious when they said that the MOD campaign was not a replacement for newly published restorations on blu-ray (obviously including films available through their MOD program).

[swo17]

There are several great scores available for Man with the Movie Camera but I think Alloy Orchestra's is the one that best respects the rhythms of the film itself. I wouldn't be surprised if other labels put out editions with just one or two completely different scores, as that seems to have been the pattern on DVD.

[tenia]

And here is the (French) review I typed for Retro HD regarding the French Lobster set : http://retro-hd.com/tests/blu-ray/1912- ... amera.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Roger Ryan]

And here is the (French) review I typed for Retro HD regarding the French Lobster set : http://retro-hd.com/tests/blu-ray/1912- ... amera.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Hmm - seems like a mixed bag then. Sorry to hear that contrast and compression issues hindered TMWTMC. The frame grabs do look good, though.