Zeitgeist Films

[Telstar]

So what exactly was lost on the new Quay Bros HD set and what was gained? And can anyone who's seen this comment on how significantly the image quality improves over the previous UK and/or US sets? I'm very happy with the BFI collection I own, but could definitely be enticed into picking this up.

[MichaelB]

Given the Quays' extreme antipathy towards Nocturna Artificialia, I suspect its omission was at their request. Because the BFI owned it outright, they couldn't prevent its inclusion on the BFI set, but I agreed that I'd stick it amongst the extras and not censor anything negative that they said about it in the interview.

[billfitzgerald]

Here's a comparison of the blu-ray and DVD: The blu-ray has the twelve films from disc 1 of the DVD set, and adds three new Quay Bros. films - "Maska", "Through the Weeping Glass" and "Unmistaken Hands" - plus Christopher Nolan's short documentary. The blu-ray is missing the content from disc 2 of the DVD set, though the films "Rehearsals for Extinct Anatomies" and "In Absentia" are presented in scope (the 16:9 versions are not on the blu-ray). The commentaries from the DVD are also on the blu-ray. On the blu-ray "The Phantom Museum" is shown with different music. Gary Tarn's score is replaced with Zdeněk Liška's music (excerpts taken from the film "The Legend of the Silver Fir") which seems to be what "The Phantom Museum" was originally cut to. The english subtitles on "Maska" and "Unmistaken Hands" are not removable (the subs on "Maska" use a new, less calligraphic lettering). The booklet has an updated version of Michael Brooke's Quay Brother's Dictionary.

The first twelve films on the blu-ray seem to originate from the same transfers used on the DVDs. I'm no picture-quality scientist but it all looks really good on blu-ray to me. Maybe the presentation could be improved if the films were spread out over two discs on blu-ray.

[MichaelB]

The Zdeněk Liška score on The Phantom Museum is indeed the original - having used Liška's music in The Cabinet of Jan Švankmajer, they possibly naïvely thought that clearing the relevant rights would be a mere formality, and they weren't (or at least not back in 2003). But it's always been their preferred version.

The subtitles on Maska have been burned into the print on every version that I'm aware of, including screenings in Poland - I suspect the Quays consider this to be part of the overall visual design.

This is actually the third version of my Quay Brothers Dictionary, but the second was published exclusively in Polish as a chapter in the book Trzynasty miesiąc. Kino braci Quay. Although it's not quite as straightforward a situation as each successive version becoming longer as I believe the Zeitgeist version removed entries relating specifically to the two features - although they also commissioned five new entries.

[Telstar]

Thanks for all the information and feedback on the Quay sets. Despite the considerable overlap, sounds like this is yet another case where both sets are necessary. (Improvements in picture quality are likely what will nudge me into getting the new collection sooner rather than later, however, so I'm still curious to hear from others regarding that.)

[WmS]

What I've watched so far looks lovely (120" projector screen)-- I was impressed with the fine line detail of the printed backgrounds "The Cabinet of Jan Svankmajer." I'm about to sit down to "Street of Crocodiles," and I think the blu-ray is essential.

But I was at the Wexner premiere of "Unmistakable Hands," and I don't recall its image looking so... digital. Skimming that film today I saw blocky dissolves and macroblocking in the blacks, like the footage was heavily compressed. I remember them projecting from a just-finished .mov file at the premiere, and the sound mix was brutally loud, so maybe I saw it then and rationalized it away. I'd hate to think this was in the master.

Can anyone else confirm what I'm seeing?

[zeitgeistfilms]

First of all, a big thank you and a virtual hug to the Zeitgeist team for the new Quay Blu-ray.

Thanks! It was certainly a lot of work and we're pretty thrilled with how it came out. We truly appreciate everyone picking it up and all the kind words.

That said, I'd be lying if I didn't express a little disappointment at the dropped extras. I sold my copy of Phantom Museums, and while I can pick up another, it's a shame that at least Nocturna Artificiala and The Calligrapher weren't carried over. Was this due to rights issues, availability of materials, limitations of disk space, or the Quays' request?

The primary reason was that we didn't have High Definition masters for those titles. Additionally, we were starting to run low on disk space, and as you mentioned the Quay Brother's aren't exactly fond of those titles.

The blu-ray is missing the content from disc 2 of the DVD set, though the films "Rehearsals for Extinct Anatomies" and "In Absentia" are presented in scope (the 16:9 versions are not on the blu-ray).
...
I'm no picture-quality scientist but it all looks really good on blu-ray to me. Maybe the presentation could be improved if the films were spread out over two discs on blu-ray.

Thanks for helping out with that breakdown of the differences between the DVD set and the new Blu-ray set! Just to confirm, Rehearsals for Extinct Anatomies and In Absentia were conceived and produced in scope. Thus, the decision was made to omit the 1.85 versions. We don't believe spreading the films over two discs would have had a noticeable impact on picture quality.

The Zdeněk Liška score on The Phantom Museum is indeed the original - having used Liška's music in The Cabinet of Jan Švankmajer, they possibly naïvely thought that clearing the relevant rights would be a mere formality, and they weren't (or at least not back in 2003). But it's always been their preferred version.

Thanks for the information and all of your help, Michael!

(Improvements in picture quality are likely what will nudge me into getting the new collection sooner rather than later, however, so I'm still curious to hear from others regarding that.)

The blu-ray.com review has some comments about the image quality that might be informative.

Thanks, everyone!

[MichaelB]

For those who are Region B-locked, the Quays' regular producer Keith Griffiths has just confirmed that there'll be a BFI edition at some point in 2016. No surprise at all, of course - most of the contents of the Zeitgeist disc came from them - but it's good to know for sure.

[What A Disgrace]

I'm going to wait for the BFI set, myself, but I'm glad that I have something to recommend to my region locked friends.

[perkizitore]

For those who are Region B-locked, the Quays' regular producer Keith Griffiths has just confirmed that there'll be a BFI edition at some point in 2016. No surprise at all, of course - most of the contents of the Zeitgeist disc came from them - but it's good to know for sure.

I wish I knew that sooner because my order is already on the way, UK labels usually outperform their US counterparts. At least, there isn't the great price discrepancy between Flicker Alley and BFI releases, so I will probably keep the set unless the BFI is significantly better.

[Telstar]

(Improvements in picture quality are likely what will nudge me into getting the new collection sooner rather than later, however, so I'm still curious to hear from others regarding that.)

The blu-ray.com review has some comments about the image quality that might be informative.

[/quote]

Thanks for the link, but that particular reviewer makes no attempt to compare the new image quality with the previous SD sets, and in fact has never even seen the previous collections (I contacted him and asked).

[dda1996a]

To Zeitgeist:
Why is the Quay blu ray unavailable to buy from amazon.com? I was all ready to order from them but it says no copies available with no future date and it does not say "more copies on the way" do you know when they will re stock?

To anyone else:
I live in europe so should I just wait then for the BFI release? I was going to order two NTSC only releases from amazon.com but now that one of them is unavailable should I just wait for the BFI release? Does anyone know if it will lose or add anything to the release?

[zeitgeistfilms]

To Zeitgeist:
Why is the Quay blu ray unavailable to buy from amazon.com? I was all ready to order from them but it says no copies available with no future date and it does not say "more copies on the way" do you know when they will re stock?

They sold out of their initial shipment, they should have more on Thursday.

[hearthesilence]

Just posted on FB:

20 years ago Olivier Assayas's IRMA VEP premiered in Un Certain Regard at Cannes. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of IRMA VEP our DVD is only $9.99 for a limited time on our webstore. The DVD contains a 20-page booklet with essays on Maggie Cheung and Les Vampires director Louis Feuillade by Assayas, and an appreciation by critic Kent Jones, as well as an audio commentary, 30-minutes of on-set footage, and “Man Yuk: A Portrait of Maggie Cheung,” a short film by Assayas.

http://zeitgeistfilms.com/product/details/id/143" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Bumstead]

Is the ELENA blu now OOP? Amazon and BN are listing used copies (and only a few left).

*Update: My post seems to have triggered a shopping spree! To those of you who snapped up the last remaining copies: well done. All gone now!

[hearthesilence]

All seven feature films directed by Yvonne Rainer between 1972 and 1996 have all been restored in 4K by the Museum of Modern Art and the Celeste Bartos Fund for Film Preservation, and Zeitgeist Films (in association with Kino Lorber) will be the sole worldwide distributor of these films.

At the moment, there's no announcement of a physical release, but Metrograph has been screening these restorations this weekend and will continue to do so this upcoming week. Then beginning March 1st, Metrograph members will be able to stream titles through their website (though presumably for a limited time).

[therewillbeblus]

All seven feature films directed by Yvonne Rainer between 1972 and 1996 have all been restored in 4K by the Museum of Modern Art and the Celeste Bartos Fund for Film Preservation, and Zeitgeist Films (in association with Kino Lorber) will be the sole worldwide distributor of these films.

At the moment, there's no announcement of a physical release, but Metrograph has been screening these restorations this weekend and will continue to do so this upcoming week. Then beginning March 1st, Metrograph members will be able to stream titles through their website (though presumably for a limited time).

Amazing news (and a reminder that we actually have a dedicated thread for her)! No surprise KL is distributing these as they've been distributing her films as educational resources for a while, which have been basically the only legal way to see them

[hearthesilence]

All seven feature films directed by Yvonne Rainer between 1972 and 1996 have all been restored in 4K by the Museum of Modern Art and the Celeste Bartos Fund for Film Preservation, and Zeitgeist Films (in association with Kino Lorber) will be the sole worldwide distributor of these films.

At the moment, there's no announcement of a physical release, but Metrograph has been screening these restorations this weekend and will continue to do so this upcoming week. Then beginning March 1st, Metrograph members will be able to stream titles through their website (though presumably for a limited time).

Amazing news (and a reminder that we actually have a dedicated thread for her)! No surprise KL is distributing these as they've been distributing her films as educational resources for a while, which have been basically the only legal way to see them

I've only seen Privilege but the restoration looks really good - the film segments look amazingly good, almost like 35mm footage, especially next to the videotape interviews.

[senseabove]

At the moment, there's no announcement of a physical release, but Metrograph has been screening these restorations this weekend and will continue to do so this upcoming week. Then beginning March 1st, Metrograph members will be able to stream titles through their website (though presumably for a limited time).

FWIW, I asked on the other place if the Rainer restorations would be getting a physical release and got no response... which is better than the "lol, no" you might expect.

[therewillbeblus]

I hope you get a lot out of the films, hearthesilence, and contribute to the thread if you have thoughts!