Kino: F.W. Murnau films

[HerrSchreck]

I scrolled thru a heft portion of frames and didn't see a single dupe or interlaced frame, and I toggled back & forth thru prog & interlaced to remove any upscaling frames (which had no effect on playback).

It could be one of those "alchemy"-style dealies Gary talks about... you get a CC disc that seems progressive and then alla sudden you get a heavily combed & interlaced section... might be enough to get your player to talk Interlaced back to you in sum...(?)

[Ashirg]

Last Laugh remaster is coming on September 30.

[HerrSchreck]

Now how about Faust?..

[justeleblanc]

Last Laugh remaster is coming on September 30.

Wow, are they doing all the Murnau's?

[Darth Lavender]

Now how about Faust?..

Absolutely seconded. Assuming they strike a new master.
(Old Kino would have taken MoC's NTSC>PAL abomination, and converted it to NTSC>PAL>NTSC. But Kino's been getting so much better lately, that I hope we might, finally, see Faust in the presentation it deserves (ideally blu-ray. But even a reasonably-priced NTSC will make me double-dip))

[HerrSchreck]

Why would anybody take anything from MoC on this, when MoC are getting their masters for this, like anyone else, from FWMS/Transit? There's more than one videotape in the world! Kino would simply get an NTSC master from FWMS/Tr (rarity of rarities!) and heave ho..

[peerpee]

Up until now, FWMS have done all their digibeta masters in PAL format, and then digitally restored that PAL SD master.

If you were to "simply get an NTSC master from FWMS/Transit" - in reality - that would entail FWMS doing a basic standards conversion of their PAL digibeta to NTSC digibeta and sending it to Kino. Kino would then do the best with what they had.

I'm not saying this is what happened -- I don't know. I'm saying this is probably what has happened.

If you wanted to get a proper NTSC master done, you'd have to do an expensive new telecine to NTSC, and then go through all the digital restoration again from scratch. That's why no-one really bothers -- its costs $50,000 and upwards to do that.

AFAIK, NOSFERATU was the first FWMS > Kino DVD that was not like this.

The best strategy these days, something we push for all the time with licensors now, and something Criterion have been doing since about 2000/1, is for an HD telecine to be carried out in 24fps. This is neither PAL nor NTSC -- so if the ensuing digital restoration is also carried out in HD to this 24fps master, a stunning PAL or NTSC downconversion can then be struck for DVDs of equal desirability --- *and* you've got a glorious HD master for HD televsion broadcast, Blu-ray encoding, and HD digital projection! Well worth it.

[colinr0380]

Sorry for the question - I'm not very technical and still trying to wrap my head around al the terms! Peerpee, is that a more expensive proposition than getting a specific NTSC or PAL mastering done or do they cost about the same? I suppose even if the HD telecine were more expensive it would be worth it in the long run for the future proofing that would provide! (And I guess that is what allows you to do a Mad Detective theatrical release and Blu-Ray and standard DVD?)

[drdoros]

Sorry for the question - I'm not very technical and still trying to wrap my head around al the terms! Peerpee, is that a more expensive proposition than getting a specific NTSC or PAL mastering done or do they cost about the same? I suppose even if the HD telecine were more expensive it would be worth it in the long run for the future proofing that would provide! (And I guess that is what allows you to do a Mad Detective theatrical release and Blu-Ray and standard DVD?)

The answer here in the States, is that it's not that much more to do an HD transfer and with us (Milestone), thanks to some incredibly nice labs, even cheaper. Unfortunately, most European producers don't want to hear about HD and as there's little being done there, it's much more expensive. They are very reluctant to provide them. So, Criterion, Milestone and some others have to pay for the HD masters themselves if they want them. There are some progressive European producers like the British Film Institute, the Danish Film Institute and Transit that are creating HD masters themselves.

-- Dennis, Milestone Film & Video

[HerrSchreck]

Up until now, FWMS have done all their digibeta masters in PAL format, and then digitally restored that PAL SD master.

If you were to "simply get an NTSC master from FWMS/Transit" - in reality - that would entail FWMS doing a basic standards conversion of their PAL digibeta to NTSC digibeta and sending it to Kino. Kino would then do the best with what they had.

I'm not saying this is what happened -- I don't know. I'm saying this is probably what has happened.

If you wanted to get a proper NTSC master done, you'd have to do an expensive new telecine to NTSC, and then go through all the digital restoration again from scratch. That's why no-one really bothers -- its costs $50,000 and upwards to do that.

AFAIK, NOSFERATU was the first FWMS > Kino DVD that was not like this.

The best strategy these days, something we push for all the time with licensors now, and something Criterion have been doing since about 2000/1, is for an HD telecine to be carried out in 24fps. This is neither PAL nor NTSC -- so if the ensuing digital restoration is also carried out in HD to this 24fps master, a stunning PAL or NTSC downconversion can then be struck for DVDs of equal desirability --- *and* you've got a glorious HD master for HD televsion broadcast, Blu-ray encoding, and HD digital projection! Well worth it.

Nick I was talking specifically about the Faust master from FWMS-- which if I remember correctLY, came to you guys from them in NTSC, which you then converted to correspond to a PAL encode. Darth was saying Kino would then take this and convert to NTSC. My comment was they would simply find themselves in a lucky position viz this title and do a straight NTSC encode from the NTSC master from FWMS... not that in the past their non HD masters have not en toto in NTSC. As far as I could gather the FAUST master was an anomaly, being NTSC to begin with.

[tavernier]

"Definitive Restoration" of The Last Laugh:

One of the crowning achievements of the German expressionist movement, Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau’s THE LAST LAUGH (1924) was painstakingly restored by Luciano Berriatúa and the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung (the Murnau Foundation). This new restoration premiered in Germany in 2003.

Now, Kino International is proud to announce the DVD release of this definitive version of Murnau’s silent masterwork, presented with never-before-seen visual clarity and a new orchestral recording of the original 1924 score.

This deluxe, 2-disc edition of Murnau’s THE LAST LAUGH collects in a single set the brand-new restored German version of the film and also, the previously available “export version,” with music composed and conducted by Timothy Brock. As special features, Kino’s deluxe THE LAST LAUGH also brings a 40-minute documentary on the making of the film, as well as the film’s original German title sequences.

Kino’s THE LAST LAUGH: THE DELUXE EDITION will prebook on September 2, with a SRP of $29.95. Its street date is September 30, 2008.

In the making of The Last Laugh, three different camera negatives were exposed and edited. One would be used for striking prints for the German release, another was made for general international distribution, and a third was intended for American release. The surviving (incomplete) German negative was reconstructed in 2001-2002, utilizing the following material: an original negative from the Bundesarchiv-Filmarchiv, Berlin; a print from the Museum of Modern Art, New York (manufactured in Germany in 1936); fragments of a copy of a lost German print archived at the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung; as well as portions of a print held by the Swiss Cinémathèque in Lausanne. The lab work was performed by L’Immagine Ritrovata, Bologna.

Kino International honors this one-of-a-kind restoration, which was the result of the collaborative work of all the institutions above, with a pristine DVD transfer bound to please even the most protective American fans of Murnau’s oeuvre.

SPECIAL FEATURES:
-- Two-DVD edition featuring the restored German version and the un-restored export version
-- New recording of the original score by Giuseppe Becce, available in 5.1 Stereo Surround or 2.0 Stereo
-- The Making of THE LAST LAUGH, a 40-minute documentary
-- Original German title sequences
-- Image Gallery

Extended European Version of Lady Chatterley:

Kino International is proud to present Lady Chatterley in a new, two-part, Extended European Edition featuring nearly an hour of additional material excluded from the film’s theatrical cut, including extra footage never seen in the US. With this 2-disc DVD release Kino is proud to present the US premiere of the 201-minute version, perhaps the film that Pascal Ferran would have wanted movie audiences to see.

This special 2-disc set includes interviews with director Pascale Ferran, and stars Marina Hands, Jean-Louis Coulloc’h and Hippolyte Girardot. Additional extras include individual scene Commentary by Cast and Crew and photo Gallery. Lady Chatterley is set to prebook on September 16, 2008, with a SRP of $39.95. The street date is October 14, 2008.

Disc 1:
• Lady Chatterley: Extended European Edition
Part I: 104 min. Part II: 97 min.
• In French with Optional English subtitles
• Enhanced for 16x9 TVs

Disc 2:
• Interviews with Pascale Ferran, Marina Hands,
Jean-Louis Coulloc’h and Hippolyte Girardot
• Individual Scene Commentary by Cast and Crew
• Photo Gallery

[Saturnome]

I hope some Definitive Restoration of Faust is planned, too? Are they redoing all of them? I'm not informed at all.

[videozor]

I hope some Definitive Restoration of Faust is planned, too? Are they redoing all of them? I'm not informed at all.

MoC's Faust is already done the way Kino is to present The Last Laugh - new restoration on a Disk 1 and the old (export?) version on a Disk 2 along with a documentary.

Kino will not do it better. Pick up the MoC disk, if DVD to be R1 is not crucially important for you

[HerrSchreck]

I heard the conversion of the ntsc tape to pal resulted in the jaggies everyone complained about on the MoC Faust.. so maybe a straight ntsc-ntsc encode will eliminate this.

I don't know if the MoC is from an HD transfer. I doubt Kino would reissue the title without an HD transfer, either. At least it seems to be the hallmark of these recent reissues.

[HerrSchreck]

I'm looking at an online version of Kino's new catalog, and apparently a second Murnau Box is coming soon. It reads:

"Kino and the Murnau Foundation will be introducing a series of all new restorations including:

FAUST (2 DISC SPECIAL ED)
THE HAUNTED CASTLE
THE FINANCES OF THE GRAND DUKE
AND AN ALL NEW MURNAU BOXED SET"

Hopefully there'll be at least one other title in there, hopefully two-- I'd like to see decent prints of GANG IN DIE NACHT and BRENNENDE ACKER (either of these two than the latter two films listed above, actually.)

But good news, of course. No surprise in a sense.

[tojoed]

Thanks for posting that, Herr Schreck. I held off buying the Alpha thing thanks to you and Tommaso. I agree with you about "Der Brennende" and "Gang", only currently available from unauthorised sources.

Good old Kino.

[Tommaso]

Good to see that these are coming out now in an English-friendly edition. But I somehow doubt that the "all new Murnau box set" will contain anything apart from these three films/four discs. If they had "Acker" and "Gang" in the making, they would probably have waited with the announcement of the box set. Though I'm wondering what is keeping companies the world around from releasing those two films and release "Vogelöd" and "Großherzog" instead.

[justeleblanc]

This sounds amazing!

[zone_resident]

DVD Savant on The Last Laugh (Restored Deluxe Edition)

[Jonathan S]

But I somehow doubt that the "all new Murnau box set" will contain anything apart from these three films/four discs.

I suspect they might license PHANTOM from Flicker Alley for the second Murnau box, as they apparently did with TABU (from Milestone) for the first box.

[HerrSchreck]

I dunno.. they've provided clips of Gang before. So if they include it that would essentially tap the sum of films they've provided "lengthy excepts" from in their Nosferatu release. The beta is obviously sitting out there and usable, and they've already used it.

Three films sounds a bit skimpy, Tom, for a box (i know one of them is a 2-disc set, but still). I don't think they've ever released a 3-film box before (at least for non-trilogy films). My guess is there's still another unnamed flick going to be in there.

I have my doubts whether or not they'd join forces with FA for Phantom... though it's not impossible of course. I find it unlikely since Shepard is there, who just recently broke with Kino (Kino's release of Leni's The Cat and the Canary was a real slap in the face to Shepard's just-previous release of the same title which was a fine release which needed no upgrading whatsoever... particularly one with PAL-NTSC issues that Shepard's edition-- a purely domestic digibeta vs the Brownlow resto that Kino used-- didn't have).

[Tommaso]

You make strong points for a larger than three-films-set; hope you're right of course, and in this case one can only pray that they will continue with their policy of making them all available individually. I can't imagine that FA will license "Phantom" to them, not just because of the Shepard situation; it's one of FA's strongest releases apparently and I assume it sold better than most of their other discs, apart from the Gances.

But might that new Murnau set not simply include "Nosferatu", the new edition, I mean? I'd be surprised if the old one (which is in the first Murnau set) would remain in print for much longer. Ditto for the old "Faust" and "Last Laugh", of course. I would assume that the first Murnau box will go OOP very soon. A new box might collect all the new special editions plus the existing releases ("Tartuffe", "Tabu") and the two new ones. Which would make a very huge box set, then.

[HerrSchreck]

Ah, that's true. I didn't think about superceded editions of Letze & Nos.

Well, we'll see I guess.

[Cash Flagg]

Classicflix has the specs and artwork for the Murnau set up. Castles and Duke are the only new titles included.

[tojoed]

Just to illustrate why we all need Kino


The box contains Nosferatu, Faust, Last Laugh, Tartuffe, Haunted Castle, Finances of the Grand Duke. Haunted Castle and Finances are being released separately, all on March 17 2009.