Second Sight Films (UK)

[Yojimbo]

DVD Times review of Picnic at Hanging Rock: Deluxe Edition

I saw 'Picnic at Hanging Rock' upon its initial cinema release, and loved it, but since seeing 'L'Avventura' for the first time, some 10 years or more later, I just don't see the need to see 'Picnic' again.
I know there's more of an element of mystery, and even horror to the later film, but in its common aspects its so inferior to the Antonioni.
I think Weir's 'The Last Wave' is far more original and inventive and enduring.

[bigP]

Max Ophuls' Lola Montes (Restored Edition) is now up for pre-order on:-

Amazon for £14.69
HMV for £11.99
Moviemail for £14.99

Moviemail lists a Documentary on the Making of the Lola Montes and a Commentary by Susan White, author of 'The Cinema of Max Ophuls' as special features.

Oddly, each of the three online stores offer, not merely a different pre-order date for it's release, but an entirely different month; Amazon citing it's release as 23rd March; HMV stating it's 23rd February (which i'm praying it's not - there's already enough to bankrupt me coming out that day); and Moviemail claim it's April 6th. The Second Sight website still lists it as T.B.C.

[tojoed]

Wise Blood is now being released on 2nd March 2009. It includes : BONUS FEATURES: Interviews with actors Brad Dourif, Amy Wright,
screenplay writer and producer Michael Fitzgerald, screenplay writer Benedict
Fitzgerald (70m).

[John Hodson]

Wise Blood is now being released on 2nd March 2009. It includes : BONUS FEATURES: Interviews with actors Brad Dourif, Amy Wright,
screenplay writer and producer Michael Fitzgerald, screenplay writer Benedict
Fitzgerald (70m).

And the transfer (prefaced by the Janus logo) is an absolute peach.

[tojoed]

Thirded. A really wonderful transfer, as John and David have said. Not that it matters, but I also think the cover is far superior to the Criterion, Penguin paperback look-a-like.

[Person]

What a pity they didn't release a Blu as well. The print deserves it. I'd also forgotten what a spunk Brad Dourif is!!

He shoulda been out bird-doggin' chicks an' bangin' beaver!

[bigP]

BigP is it ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN That the Lola is the restored version? There seems to be some uncertainty at the Beaver. I frankly have no idea why or how SS would even bother with the old Braunberger version. I also thought this might be doubling on Bluray, but maybe that's only for Criterion. Now apparently MUCH later this year.

Hey David. At the moment I can't say anything for certain as Second Sight have yet to update their website. Moviemail is advertising it as The Restored Edition, and have been the first to include - what I assume to be - the DVD cover to accompany the page (though, I can't see "Restored Version" anywhere, though it is a very small image). Both Moviemail and Amazon.co.uk have also now reached a happy union on the release date, being May 25th. They both list the runtime as 110 minutes which matches the IMDB runtime, but, Filmlinc lists the restored New York Film Festival as 115 minutes. I'm really not quite sure what to make of this, would it be simply a case of conversion (I'm a layman when it comes to film and dvd technicalities).

I guess until they update their site, or respond to an email it's anyone's guess at the moment, but, I agree that it would be a pretty dumb move to release any other version.

[MichaelB]

They both list the runtime as 110 minutes which matches the IMDB runtime, but, Filmlinc lists the restored New York Film Festival as 115 minutes. I'm really not quite sure what to make of this, would it be simply a case of conversion (I'm a layman when it comes to film and dvd technicalities).

PAL speedup would account for that difference - if you round up the theatrical print to 115 mins and round down the PAL transfer to 110 mins, that's pretty much exactly what you'd expect.

Never, ever rely on the IMDB as a source for running times - they're horribly unreliable. (They're even worse for aspect ratios!)

[Person]

He coulda cornhole me with his ole thang any ole time!

(Could we possibly descend to any more vulgarity Gordo?)

Nah, nah - "you should be out bird-doggin' chicks an' bangin' beaver!" is Nicholson's line to Douriff in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, remember?

I'm a HUGE fan of Gerry Fisher's work as a cinematographer. One of the greats, I feel. He had a very unique style and wasn't afraid to an underexposure.

[tojoed]

Here's the cover of "Lola Montes" from Second Sight's (finally) updated website.



On their site it says it's the "Highly acclaimed restoration". The running time is confirmed as 110 minutes, AR 2.55:1.

Judging by "Wise Blood" and "My Dinner with Andre", it'll be coming from Criterion in about 6 months time.

[Tommaso]

Judging by "Wise Blood" and "My Dinner with Andre", it'll be coming from Criterion in about 6 months time.

Sure, but with a commentary plus the documentary being 70 mins. long I hardly see a reason to wait, provided the subs are removable this time (this is the only real shortcoming of their 'Plaisir' disc, as Ophuls' images are so beautiful that sometimes I simply wouldn't care whether I understand the dialogue or not). And I like that cover, too.

[tojoed]

I quite agree, Tommaso. If this is as good as their "Wise Blood" disc, then that will do for me.

[Tommaso]

Although both amazon and the Second Sight website still list "Lola" for May 25, according to dvd times release date is now July, 6.

[Tommaso]

Right then, I have just received the new "Lola Montes" disc and quickly popped it into the player. First impression after zapping through it: colours seem to be stunning, although like their "Plaisir" disc the image might be a little too bright for my taste. Extras include an audiocommentary and a 70-minute documentary, making for quite a full disc. I hope the (all in all) three hours running time will not have a negative effect concerning compression issues, but that quick glance didn't indicate any problems.
More about it in a few days, I hope to watch it on the weekend. But for now, I'm quite happy to finally have the darn thing...

[Yojimbo]

Right then, I have just received the new "Lola Montes" disc and quickly popped it into the player. First impression after zapping through it: colours seem to be stunning, although like their "Plaisir" disc the image might be a little too bright for my taste. Extras include an audiocommentary and a 70-minute documentary, making for quite a full disc. I hope the (all in all) three hours running time will not have a negative effect concerning compression issues, but that quick glance didn't indicate any problems.
More about it in a few days, I hope to watch it on the weekend. But for now, I'm quite happy to finally have the darn thing...

I just received mine yesterday: I was wondering what had happened as I must have ordered it about four months ago!

[GaryC]

A future Second Sight release is Michael Winterbottom's cinema debut Butterfly Kiss, just classified by the BBFC. No release date as yet.

[colinr0380]

I'm slightly nervous of seeing Amanda Plummer's nipple rings and chains combo in DVD clarity! (especially that amazing first reveal when she rips her top open to show them fully for the first time after a number of teases where the way she looms over the camera, and the person she is on top of at the time, causes her to seem partly like an S&M Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct and partly like a vampire about to drain her victim!) I do like Butterfly Kiss a lot, despite the difficult to empathise with, or even fully understand, main characters whose motivations are never really easy to pin down beyond compulsion and neediness. I find the idea of a tentative and strangely touching serial killer romance film set in interchangable and dreary locations of petrol station shops and motorway service stations (with the occasional ill-fated truck stop liaison) adds an interesting element too - the idea that these kinds of short term visit places could attract the lonely and the disturbed.

[Florinaldo]

Since Beaver reports subtitles are burned-in on Lola Montès, patience is now the order of the day and I will wait for Criterion to issue their version. I hope they keep the same supplements, and go one step further and issue it on Blu-Ray (a boy can dream).

Why does Second Sight keep spoiling their French Ophüls releases with that silly practice?

[Jonathan S]

Why does Second Sight keep spoiling their French Ophüls releases with that silly practice?

Their release of La Ronde (my disc anyway) has optional subs, so I'm surprised they've reverted to fixed ones.

[Tommaso]

I definitely COULD switch-off the subs on "Lola" using the remote control. I couldn't do it with the "Plaisir" disc, though. Perhaps it depends on the player?

EDIT: just checked it again. I'm wrong. You have a choice between subs on and off via the remote control, but nothing happens. I suppose I didn't catch that when I was zapping through the film yesterday. Sorry for the confusion; and yes, the practice is unforgiveable (even though thanks to the 2.55 ratio the subs don't seem to intrude into the image itself too much).

[tojoed]

Second Sight have done their bi-annual - well, it feels like it - update to their website

Coming Soon:TIME REGAINED

The highly-acclaimed adaptation of Proust's Remembrance of Things Past by Chilean director Raoul Ruiz features a cast headed by Catherine Deneuve and Emmanuelle Beart


BUTTERFLY KISS

Michael Winterbottom's explosive debut starring Amanda Plummer and Saskia Reeves in a fantastic new transfer

LA BELLE CAPTIVE

Alain Robbe-Grillet's surreal classic, newly restored and remastered and featuring an excellent commentary from Roch C. Smith, author of Understanding Alain Robbe-Grillet and Anthony N. Fragola who co-authored with Roch The Erotic Dream
Machine: Interviews With Alain Robbe-Grillet on His Films


BEYOND THE CLOUDS

Antonioni's final masterpiece with an incredible cast led by Sophie Marceau, Irene Jacob, Fanny Ardant, John Malkovich and Jean Reno. Features include the Enrica Antonioni documentary 'To Make a Film is To Be Alive', a look at the making of the film and an audio essay by Seymour Chatman, author of 'Antonioni: The Complete Films'.

[MichaelB]

Why does Second Sight keep spoiling their French Ophüls releases with that silly practice?

It may not be their choice - this sort of thing is often imposed by the rightsholder.

It seems to be particularly common with French-language releases, presumably to put French people off importing cheaper versions - and given the strength of the Euro, pretty much any non-French version will be cheaper at the moment!

[Tommaso]

Certainly true, but given that French discs are among the most expensive in the Euro zone, I can't quite understand why what you write is also often true for French discs of English language films. Greenaway's "Nightwatching" and Borzage's "Desire" come to my mind immediately; both French releases of these films have non-removable subs, though you can get rid of them via a re-burn. But I can't imagine that nobody in France speaks English; and so even the French customers have to live with the mandatory subs on their 'over-priced' discs.

For the record: the subs on "Lola" indeed seem to be burned in (they don't disappear in fast forward mode), and thus, a re-burn won't help.

[The Glue Man]

Excellent news on "Time Regained" - I meant to buy the AE DVDfor when I finished "A la Recherche..." but it appeared to go out of print between the time I started the first book and now! (about halfway through "Time Regained", the last book...!)

[tojoed]

According to their website they are releasing Derek Jarman's Edward the second, but no date is given.