83 Joseph Kilián / The White Dove

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MichaelB
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83 Joseph Kilián / The White Dove

#1 Post by MichaelB » Tue Jun 25, 2013 7:21 am

Trailed as a future release in the latest Second Run newsletter:
Although author of the screenplays for Daisies, Ikarie XB1 and A Jester's Tale, Pavel Juráček remains one of the Czechoslovak New Wave's most neglected artists. He made only four films, and this surrealist masterpiece - inspired by two icons of Czech literature: the anti-militarist, anti-authoritarian Jaroslav Hašek and the grotesque nightmares of Franz Kafka - was "banned forever" after the Soviet invasion of 1969. With a beautiful minimalistic style, Juráček and Jan Schmidt create a concise and absurdly humorous, biting allegory of life under a totalitarian regime.

"Juráček and Schmidt scarcely put a foot wrong in evoking the incomprehensible mazes - simultaneously absurd and terrifying - of totalitarian bureaucracy" Time Out
Last edited by MichaelB on Sun Aug 04, 2013 4:55 am, edited 1 time in total.

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What A Disgrace
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Re: Joseph Kilián

#2 Post by What A Disgrace » Tue Jun 25, 2013 10:15 am

This is just a short film; surely it would come with at least his other short as a supplement? Or with a lower price point?

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Grand Wazoo
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Re: Joseph Kilián

#3 Post by Grand Wazoo » Tue Jun 25, 2013 11:16 am

Very exciting news. I've been wanting to see this one since reading about it extensively in Peter Hames Czech and Slovak Cinema book. I could never find an english friendly copy available, though I may not have been looking hard enough. Either way, hats off to Second Run once again.

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Bikey
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Re: Joseph Kilián

#4 Post by Bikey » Tue Jun 25, 2013 11:54 am

Thanks to both!
We are delighted to announce that we'll release Josef Kilián in a two-film set with another great Czech film from that period from a filmmaker who will be already familiar to those who know our catalogue...
Both films are being newly restored and with new English subtitles.

razumovsky
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Re: Joseph Kilián

#5 Post by razumovsky » Tue Jun 25, 2013 12:17 pm

When Joseph Kilián was screened at the BFI as part of its Pavel Juráček season (seven years ago now, I think) it was paired with The Key For Determining Dwarves http://www.kviff.com/en/about-festival/ ... -gulliver/, a kind of drama doc based on Juráček's diaries. I recall it being very illuminating. I also remember Joseph Kilián being great, and I'm very excited about this release. What a tremendous label Second Run is!

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jsteffe
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Re: Joseph Kilián

#6 Post by jsteffe » Tue Jun 25, 2013 1:03 pm

Bikey wrote: We are delighted to announce that we'll release Josef Kilián in a two-film set with another great Czech film from that period from a filmmaker who will be already familiar to those who know our catalogue...
Both films are being newly restored and with new English subtitles.
Thank you for your incredible dedication to Central & Eastern European cinema! This is truly exciting news.

petoluk
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Re: Joseph Kilián

#7 Post by petoluk » Tue Jun 25, 2013 4:31 pm

Excellent film! And restored?! Bring it on!! :D My DVD-R recorded off Slovak TV a couple of years ago sure could do with an upgrade.

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MichaelB
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Re: Joseph Kilián

#8 Post by MichaelB » Tue Jun 25, 2013 4:46 pm

Bikey wrote:Thanks to both!
We are delighted to announce that we'll release Josef Kilián in a two-film set with another great Czech film from that period from a filmmaker who will be already familiar to those who know our catalogue...
Well, that narrows it down to:

The White Dove and The Devil's Trap (František Vláčil)
The Cry (Jaromil Jireš)
Black Peter (Miloš Forman)
Something Different (Věra Chytilová)
...or something by Jiří Weiss or Karel Kachyňa, but they're less obviously 'New Wave'.

I'd be happy with any of those, but ecstatic if it was The White Dove, whose only other DVD release is an abomination. And of course that film's slightly shorter than the average feature, so arguably more in need of double-billing...

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What A Disgrace
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Re: Joseph Kilián

#9 Post by What A Disgrace » Tue Jun 25, 2013 5:57 pm

Pairing it with a another shortish film was my guess, too, and White Dove seems perfect.

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zedz
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Re: Joseph Kilián

#10 Post by zedz » Wed Jun 26, 2013 11:42 pm

MichaelB wrote:
Bikey wrote:Thanks to both!
We are delighted to announce that we'll release Josef Kilián in a two-film set with another great Czech film from that period from a filmmaker who will be already familiar to those who know our catalogue...
Well, that narrows it down to:

The White Dove and The Devil's Trap (František Vláčil)
The Cry (Jaromil Jireš)
Black Peter (Miloš Forman)
Something Different (Věra Chytilová)
...or something by Jiří Weiss or Karel Kachyňa, but they're less obviously 'New Wave'.

I'd be happy with any of those, but ecstatic if it was The White Dove, whose only other DVD release is an abomination. And of course that film's slightly shorter than the average feature, so arguably more in need of double-billing...
How about the Passer or Herz shorts that were excised from Pearls of the Deep? They'd also fit the bill, I'd expect.

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YnEoS
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Re: Joseph Kilián

#11 Post by YnEoS » Thu Jun 27, 2013 10:08 am

Wouldn't that be kind of weird, since Second Run hasn't released the main films from Pearls of the Deep? Kind of like "hey, here are a few films that weren't included on that Criterion set that everyone owns". I'd assume if Second Run was going to release those films, they'd probably just release all the Pearls of the Deep shorts together.

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MichaelB
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Re: Joseph Kilián

#12 Post by MichaelB » Thu Jun 27, 2013 10:17 am

I'd be surprised if it was the Pearls of the Deep shorts, for the simple reason that they're very short - a combo of, say, Joseph Kilián and Ivan Passer's A Boring Afternoon (wonderful though the latter is) only just scrapes 50 minutes.

It would also be rather more of a marketing challenge than, say, another major Vláčil - which in the wake of Marketa Lazarová's belated Criterionisation would obviously be of far more interest.

(But I must stop convincing myself that that's indeed what they're doing - that's a fatal mistake!)

admira
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Re: Joseph Kilián

#13 Post by admira » Thu Jun 27, 2013 2:25 pm

PYTEL BLECH (A BAGFUL OF FLEAS)


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knives
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Re: Joseph Kilián

#15 Post by knives » Sat Aug 03, 2013 7:45 pm

Be still my heart. A presumably restored release of The White Dove is exactly what I need to lift my mood.

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swo17
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Re: Joseph Kilián

#16 Post by swo17 » Sat Aug 03, 2013 9:08 pm

It wouldn't even have to be that well restored to improve upon the Facets!

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Grand Wazoo
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Re: Joseph Kilián

#17 Post by Grand Wazoo » Sun Aug 04, 2013 12:30 am

This is like a dream. Second Run, I love you.

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Cold Bishop
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Re: Joseph Kilián

#18 Post by Cold Bishop » Sun Aug 04, 2013 1:03 am

I don't know that the two films really fit together, but what the hell! Two great films than any self-respecting cinephile should see.

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MichaelB
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Re: Joseph Kilián

#19 Post by MichaelB » Sun Aug 04, 2013 4:57 am

swo17 wrote:It wouldn't even have to be that well restored to improve upon the Facets!
Indeed not. Of course, I hope (in fact, confidently expect) that the picture will be substantially better than Facets' poorly-encoded VHS-quality mess, but merely offering optional, properly synchronised subtitles will make a huge difference.

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antnield
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Re: Joseph Kilián/The White Dove

#20 Post by antnield » Tue Sep 17, 2013 9:57 am

Image

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MichaelB
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Re: Joseph Kilián/The White Dove

#21 Post by MichaelB » Tue Sep 17, 2013 11:47 am

I hope it's not too late to add the haček on Pavel Juráček's surname!

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Bikey
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Re: Joseph Kilián/The White Dove

#22 Post by Bikey » Tue Sep 17, 2013 1:59 pm

This isn't the final version - all will be correct on the final print version. Thanks!

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Bikey
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Re: Joseph Kilián/The White Dove

#23 Post by Bikey » Sat Sep 21, 2013 9:51 am

Correct sleeve
Image

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Bikey
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Re: Joseph Kilián/The White Dove

#24 Post by Bikey » Mon Oct 14, 2013 3:47 pm

Full details now up at our website

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MichaelB
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Re: Joseph Kilián/The White Dove

#25 Post by MichaelB » Wed Oct 16, 2013 8:50 am

Well, the good news is that Second Run's The White Dove does indeed wipe the floor with the Facets disc - merely being native PAL with optional subtitles makes a whopping difference. (The Facets was a PAL-to-NTSC conversion with ghosting galore, and the subtitles weren't just fixed but poorly synchronised).

That said, Second Run's source looks distinctly like analogue videotape to my eyes, and there's some very noticeable haloing - I'm sure this was the best master available, but those who've been spoilt by the Blu-rays of Marketa Lazarová should perhaps rein expectations in a tad. It's undoubtedly the best that The White Dove has ever looked on video, but there's still room for improvement.

By contrast, a quick spin through Josef Kilián suggests that it looks very nice indeed - I'm guessing it's a much more recent transfer. And in this case Second Run's edition is the only one available worldwide (to my knowledge), so it's not as if you had a choice to begin with.

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