23 The Third Part of the Night

Discuss releases by Second Run and the films on them.
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MichaelB
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#26 Post by MichaelB » Mon May 14, 2007 5:30 am

Sadly, childcare commitments prevented me from going to the London screening, but I've heard two glowing reports from colleagues who were there - and apparently it was sold out!

They both agreed that it was one of the best Q&As they'd ever attended, with Żuławski on fine combative form.

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thirtyframesasecond
Joined: Mon Apr 02, 2007 1:48 pm

#27 Post by thirtyframesasecond » Mon May 14, 2007 5:41 am

I was there yesterday. Really enjoyed the film and the Q&A. There were a few people whose questions totally baffled Andrezj though, but he's a warm and humurous guy, and even when he rejected their readings of the film, he said "I hope we can still be friends".

I kicked myself a bit afterwards for not asking about Possession, which had been the only film of his I'd seen before. The death on the staircase and the whole doubles of man and wife scenarios all recur in Possession. I could have asked him something about that.

Picked up Interrogation too, which I've been meaning to see for ages.

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Bikey
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#28 Post by Bikey » Mon May 14, 2007 7:45 am

It was good to meet some of you yesterday and I agree, I thought the event was a great success.

I had a coffee with Andrzej before the Q&A and we discussed the state of cinema generally. We felt that more events like yesterday, which did sell out, can only show there is a demand for screening films other than the brain fodder that seems to play at too many cinemas.

There was no negative feedback from the audience members who came to the Second Run table after the event, just a general regret that such films don't screen more often.

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dadaistnun
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#29 Post by dadaistnun » Tue May 15, 2007 8:50 am


solent

#30 Post by solent » Thu May 17, 2007 9:54 pm

I got my copy yesterday. The film has stunning camerawork with an unusual narrative but subsequent viewings should reveal more. The actors are drained emotionally here and there and certain scenes pay off very well. I particularly liked the early scene where the protagonist is being chased and his physical acting as he stops and convulses upon the stairwell is quite affective.

As to the visuals; on my LCD TV light colours and bright whites tend to bleed into surrounding dark tones. This is more obvious in darker scenes but it is not a big problem. Overall the print is more than adequate and since I have no knowledge as to the original source material or the print used here I can't really criticise.

Why is the film presented in 4:3/1.66:1 rather than anamorphic (like other 1.66:1 SR releases)? Is this dependent upon the quality of the print?

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Ashirg
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#31 Post by Ashirg » Tue May 22, 2007 2:13 pm


rs98762001
Joined: Mon Jul 25, 2005 6:04 pm

#32 Post by rs98762001 » Thu Jun 21, 2007 12:10 pm

Finally got round to watching this last night. What an intense experience. Managed to pull off the trick of conveying a theme as hackneyed as "the brutality of war" in a unique and different way. This, together with POSSESSION, gives a good indication of what an interesting filmmaker Zulawski is, and has made me want to further investigate him.

Kudos once more to Second Run - their last few releases have just been fantastic, and it seems the quality issues with Passenger and Knights...were just temporary issues.

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MichaelB
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#33 Post by MichaelB » Thu Jun 21, 2007 12:58 pm

solent wrote:Why is the film presented in 4:3/1.66:1 rather than anamorphic (like other 1.66:1 SR releases)? Is this dependent upon the quality of the print?
I can't answer for Second Run, but often with Eastern European material you get what you're given - which in most cases is a pre-existing telecine that was created in Warsaw, Prague or wherever that may well not match up to the technical standards that you'd ideally like.

For instance, on the BFI's Svankmajer project, the relevant rightsholder of his shorts was only able to supply non-anamorphic masters of the two CinemaScope titles, J.S.Bach Fantasy in G minor and Johanes doktor Faust. In both cases I asked for, and would have been happy to pay for, new anamorphic transfers - but I was told in no uncertain terms that that was the best they could do.

Luckily, I was able to track down a good 35mm print of J.S.Bach that had been picked up for UK distribution many years earlier, and was able to get a decent transfer from that - but I had no alternative source for Faust.

Fortunately, the transfer was otherwise in the OAR (and this was by no means certain until the Digibeta master actually turned up, as the screener they sent me was horribly cropped), so it's not as disastrous as it could have been - but one reason I get on so well with the Second Run guys is that we all know exactly how hard it is getting hold of decent materials from that part of the world! The blood and stone trick sometimes seems like a doddle by comparison.

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Bikey
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#34 Post by Bikey » Fri Sep 07, 2007 8:17 am

Second Run Tuesdays – Free Film Night 11th September

Our next regular free film night takes place on Tuesday 11th September, at our usual venue: The Fleapit, Columbia Road, London E2.
On that Tuesday we will be screening THE THIRD PART OF THE NIGHT, by one of the the true mavericks of European cinema, Andrzej Żuławski.

"Żuławski's first feature sets the tone for the rest of his career, walking a perpetual tightrope between the hallucinatory and the hysterical"
Sight&Sound

"A haunting first feature" Time Out

1971 Venice Film Festival / Official Selection
1971 Polish Film Festival / Best Debut

THE THIRD PART OF THE NIGHT (Trzecia cz___ nocy) is his highly influential and award-winning debut feature. A nightmarish and surreal masterpiece, it is considered one of the best Polish films of the 1970s. Set during the Nazi-occupation of Poland, the film deals with the guilt and experiences of a young man who has narrowly escaped the massacre in which his family has been annihilated. Rich with multilayered symbolism and apocalyptic imagery, it shows one of Europe's most uncompromising and visionary directors at his best.

Second Run DVDs release of THE THIRD PART OF THE NIGHT will be the first-ever DVD release of the film anywhere in the world.

Screening Details:
Tuesday 11th September – THE THIRD PART OF THE NIGHT (102 minutes)
Free entry (please buy a drink at the bar)
Film starts promptly at 8pm

The Fleapit
49 Columbia Road
London E2 7RG
www.thefleapit.com
0207 033 9986

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jbeall
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#35 Post by jbeall » Sun Jan 20, 2008 10:23 am

rs98762001 wrote:Finally got round to watching this last night. What an intense experience. Managed to pull off the trick of conveying a theme as hackneyed as "the brutality of war" in a unique and different way[...]
I just watched this last night, and while "the brutality of war" is one way to look at it, I'd prefer "the surreality of occupation," playing on the multiple meanings of the last word. In terms of strange alliances, ordinary streets and buildings that suddenly become threatening (even Kafkaesque) mazes, safety (relatively) secured by becoming a host organism, and twice over at that! I simply cannot recall seeing a film that so successfully combined the suspense of a war/occupation movie with an utterly believable (after all, the Weigl Institute was real!) creepiness bordering on the fantastic!

I certainly didn't understand everything the first time through, but I'm looking forward to a repeat viewing. This is really a phenomenal release, and I look forward to seeing Second Run bringing more buried treasures to light.

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thirtyframesasecond
Joined: Mon Apr 02, 2007 1:48 pm

#36 Post by thirtyframesasecond » Sun Jan 20, 2008 4:14 pm

I know this should probably go in the recommendations section, but as it's another Zulawski film......I wonder if Second Run has ever looked into the possibility of releasing The Devil, Zulawski's follow up to Third Part of Night.

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Bikey
Joined: Wed Aug 17, 2005 4:09 am

Re: 23 The Third Part of the Night

#37 Post by Bikey » Fri Mar 06, 2009 7:34 am

Zulawski will be in the UK for a screening of THIRD PART OF THE NIGHT at noon on Sunday 5th April at Renoir Cinema.
Hope to see some of you there!

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Bikey
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Re: 23 The Third Part of the Night

#38 Post by Bikey » Wed Apr 01, 2009 6:19 am

THE THIRD PART OF THE NIGHT is No1 Critics' Choice in this week's Time Out London!
Renoir Cinema - Sunday 5th April at 12 Noon.

Our screening of the film with director Andrzej Zulawski in attendance for a Q+A session with Kim Newman has been chosen at the top critics' choice event in Time Out this week. That's a great boost for a rarely screened film by a wonderful filmmaker, and we hope that it will encourage many to come to this unmissable event.

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foggy eyes
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Re: 23 The Third Part of the Night

#39 Post by foggy eyes » Wed Apr 01, 2009 6:26 am

Sounds great - I'd be there if I was around! Hope it all goes well. I imagine you'll be seeing the restoration of On the Silver Globe the day beforehand too, which makes me unspeakably jealous...

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Bikey
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Re: 23 The Third Part of the Night

#40 Post by Bikey » Wed Apr 01, 2009 7:34 am

foggy eyes wrote:Sounds great - I'd be there if I was around! Hope it all goes well. I imagine you'll be seeing the restoration of On the Silver Globe the day beforehand too, which makes me unspeakably jealous...
Fingers crossed that it will be the restored version of On the Silver Globe.

foggy eyes, it's a weekend when you should really come down to London. We'll even try and find you a place to stay!

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foggy eyes
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Re: 23 The Third Part of the Night

#41 Post by foggy eyes » Wed Apr 01, 2009 8:08 am

Oh, don't tempt me... I've been extremely disorganised over the last couple of weeks, so now have a bit too much to do over the next few days. We'll see, though!

I expected to see an incarnation of Bikey at the cineSEA Birkbeck screenings last w/end - especially Lav Diaz's Purgatorio & Heremias Book II. They were right up your street!

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Bikey
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Re: 23 The Third Part of the Night

#42 Post by Bikey » Mon Sep 10, 2012 8:57 am

THE THIRD PART OF THE NIGHT screening this week as part of Genesis Cinema's 'Auteurnative' Season - and introduced by Second Run's own Mehelli Modi.
Thursday 13th September, 7pm at Genesis Cinema, 93-95 Mile End Road, Whitechapel, London, E1 4UJ
Full details here

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Lemmy Caution
Joined: Wed Mar 29, 2006 3:26 am
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Re: 23 The Third Part of the Night

#43 Post by Lemmy Caution » Sun Mar 30, 2014 12:31 am

The curse of the kevyip.
I'd been vaguely meaning to watch this for 2 or 3 years, but knew next to nothing about it except that it was from 2nd Run and likely worthwhile.

What a terrific film.
Nazi occupation and resistance, and whatever relationships can be managed during such, all are pitched at a feverish tilt. The handheld camerawork and distortions, the crazed music, acting veering between deadpan and hyper-emotional all come together with the peculiar storyline to create a uniquely haunting film. The medical experiments/jobs are such a bizarre touch, and amazingly based on actual history. And works as such a powerful metaphor of being subjected to occupation, while adding a further surreal element to the film. The lead actor does an amazing job, especially in the physical scenes.

The rare film that when it ended I was already looking forward to a second viewing. Just such a powerful atmosphere of dread and confusion and brief hints of possible salvation. Really quite an achievement.

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Bikey
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Re: 23 The Third Part of the Night

#44 Post by Bikey » Thu Jun 26, 2014 12:27 pm

Sad to hear of the passing on June 23rd of Małgorzata Braunek - acclaimed Polish actress and former wife of filmmaker Andrzej Żuławski. She gave wonderful performances in two of his films: The Third Part of the Night (1972) and The Devil (1988).

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