Announcements from Second Run

[Bikey]

Dear All,

Thank you so much for your postings about Second Run DVD. We are flattered and a little bit humbled by your interest in what we are trying to achieve.

We will post here on a semi-regular basis when we have some news that we think may be of interest to you.

Coming Soon releases :
Karel Kachyna's The Ear and Shirley Clarke's Portrait Of Jason are now confirmed for 26th September .
Ryszard Bugajski's Interrogation and Karoly Makk's Another Way will be released on 3rd October .
Jim McBride's David Holzmans Diary and Ivan Passer's Intimate Lighting are scheduled for end-October.
and within a week or so, our Website will have full details about the films and the DVDs.

That should be it for releases in 2005. We will then be preparing our early 2006 releases. More details on them will follow sometime later in October/early November but we are delighted to have some wonderful films that we love coming your way. We have planned to release over 20 films next year from all around the world. Eastern European classics will again feature but also look out for some surprises from South America, Africa, Iran, India and, of course, the USA and UK.

A shop function should be up on our website very shortly. One of the other features on our website was going to be a Forum to discuss our releases but now, as you guys seem to have happily beaten us to it, we will simply suggest to our visitors that they all go to your Criterion Forum --- and we hope that will increase the community for all the Labels and discussions that happen at your Forum.

Thanks for all of your comments on the suggestions thread here. Rest assured we do pay attention to your posts. Some of your suggestions are already on a list of ours and others have sparked off memories of long-forgotten gems and some furious hunting through piles of old VHS' . Please keep on adding to the thread.

Various people have mailed us at our website info address with suggestions and some other questions. If you have not yet received a reply, please accept our apologies as we are a VERY small and very busy organisation. We do read all of your mail and always try and reply as soon as we can.

Finally, if any of you are London-based you might want to keep the evening of 29th September free. We are looking at having a launch party on that night to which you are invited. It will be at a central London venue. We will post confirmed details early next week. If you are really nice we might even shout you a beer.

Keep on posting / mailing.

Thanks again,

Second Run DVD

[What A Disgrace]

Three words: Africa, Iran, India.

Thank you, Second Run.

[rs98762001]

Thanks for the post. Looking forward to the next set of titles, and seeing what's up your sleeves in the future.

My own humble suggestion is that there's a wealth of fantastic US experimental films from the 60s and 70s that have never seen the light of day on DVD.

[NABOB OF NOWHERE]

Are you reading this Mulvaney??????????

[kieslowski]

Finally, if any of you are London-based you might want to keep the evening of 29th September free. We are looking at having a launch party on that night to which you are invited. It will be at a central London venue. We will post confirmed details early next week. If you are really nice we might even shout you a beer.

If the DVD of The Ear is as good as I'm hoping it'll be, the beers are on me.

[Bikey]

SECOND RUN PRESENTS SECOND RUN TUESDAYS


An intimate free film night is to be held by Second Run on the second Tuesday of each month, beginning on 8th November.

Each night will feature a film from the Second Run catalogue, screened free, in the delightful setting that is The Flea-Pit on Columbia Rd, London E2.
 
The first month sees an exclusive screening of Karoly Makk's film LOVE (Szerelem), Hungary 1971
 
Spare and elegaic, LOVE, the Jury Prize winner at the 1971 Cannes Film Festival, is one of Karoly Makk's finest films. A wonderful meditation on love and longing, it is set in 1950s Hungary but has an absolutely universal appeal. Haunting, atmospheric, beautifully performed and brilliantly shot… an outstanding film.
 
Reviews, articles and full details on LOVE can be found at www.secondundvd.com

You are all very welcome; those of you in far-flung places can be with us in spirit and we look forward to meeting those of you in London at the Second Run Tuesdays.

[Bikey]

It appears that I previously posted details on our Film Night with a dodgy link. Apologies. Correct information is below:

SECOND RUN PRESENTS SECOND RUN TUESDAYS


An intimate free film night is to be held by Second Run on the second Tuesday of each month, beginning on 8th November.

Each night will feature a film from the Second Run catalogue, screened free, in the delightful setting that is The Flea-Pit on Columbia Rd, London E2.
 
The first month sees an exclusive screening of Karoly Makk's film LOVE (Szerelem), Hungary 1971
 
Spare and elegaic, LOVE, the Jury Prize winner at the 1971 Cannes Film Festival, is one of Karoly Makk's finest films. A wonderful meditation on love and longing, it is set in 1950s Hungary but has an absolutely universal appeal. Haunting, atmospheric, beautifully performed and brilliantly shot… an outstanding film.
 
Reviews, articles and full details on LOVE can be found at www.secondrundvd.com

You are all very welcome; those of you in far-flung places can be with us in spirit and we look forward to meeting those of you in London at the Second Run Tuesdays.



Second Run Tuesdays in 2005 

8th November – LOVE (Szerelem)

13th December – In The Land Of The Deaf (Le Pays des sourds)
 
Film starts 8pm. Free Entry.

The Flea-Pit
49 Columbia Road
London E2 7RG
www.thefleapit.com  020 7033 9986

[Bikey]

The next Second Run Film Night takes place on Tuesday 13th December at The Fleapit, Columbia Road, London E2.

December's film will be an exclusive screening of Nicolas Philibert's wonderful documentary IN THE LAND OF THE DEAF (Le Pays des sourds), France 1992.

The films and methods of Nicolas Philibert, maker of Etre et avoir, have shown him to be one of contemporary cinema's most acclaimed documentarists. An elegant portrait of the rich culture and diversity of the deaf community, IN THE LAND OF THE DEAF educates and transports us to another way of occupying this world. In a pleasurable, unrushed and intelligent fashion this film, using the magnificent spectacle of Sign itself, provides a brilliantly perceptive view of the lives of deaf people.

Reviews, articles and full details on IN THE LAND OF THE DEAF can be found at www.secondrundvd.com

Film starts 8pm. Free Entry. Mince pies may be served.

The Flea-Pit
49 Columbia Road
London E2 7RG
www.thefleapit.com  020 7033 9986

[Bikey]

Dear all,

We are delighted to announce that our online Shop is now open at the Second Run DVD website.

All of our catalogue is available at the shop. Prices are competitive and include all postage and packaging to anywhere around the world. All orders should be dispatched within 48 hours.

To celebrate the launch we are running a number of grouped special offers which you will find on the Shopfront page.

The process is all automated, fully secure and complies with the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000. The purchase process shouldn't be that different from other online shopping experiences.

The shop is here:

http://www.secondrundvd.com/shop.php

Please do visit it.

Thank you,

Second Run DVD.

[Gordon]

From the Second Run newsletter:

Other new releases scheduled to follow in the first few months of 2006 include:

Blissfully Yours (Sud sanaeha)
A film by Apichatpong Weerasethakul / Thailand 2002
(Second Run DVD 013)
This is the first time that Apichatpong's film will be presented uncut, with newly translated English subtitles and in its original aspect ratio. And the first time that Second Run release a film from this century!

The Red and the White (Csillagosok, katonak)
A film by Miklos Jancso / Hungary 1967
(Second Run DVD 014)
The first of a collection of director Miklos Jancso's films which Second Run will be releasing through 2006. A brand new anamorphic transfer, with newly translated English subtitles.

The Cremator (Spalovac mrtvol)
A film by Juraj Herz / Czech Republic 1968
(Second Run DVD 015)
"A surrealist-inspired horror", "an expressionist fantasy", "a dark and disturbing tale of terror" - however you might describe it, Second Run is proud to release Juraj Herz's remarkable film.

Every Little Thing (La Moindre des choses)
A film by Nicolas Philibert / France 1997
(Second Run DVD 016)
Following on from our acclaimed release of In The Land of the Deaf, we are proud to release a second film from Nicolas Philibert, one of the most respected documentary filmmakers in the world.


Fuller information on these releases will follow in our next mail out in January.

Kino's DVD of The Red and the White is awful, apparently, although it is anamorphic. It is said to be scratchy, cropped slightly and has some major interlacing and the subtitles are burned-in and the sound is hissy and crackles and pops throughout the film. I have avoided buying it in hope of a better version and this looks it!

I have the Czech DVD of The Cremator, which has English subtitles and a decent transfer, but I might double-dip if the extras are enticing and the transfer is superior.

Second Run are an awesome company!

[Oedipax]

Fantastic news, especially about Blissfully Yours. I'm badly in need of more by Weerasethakul. I'm glad I don't have to pick between the flawed offerings of Blissfully Yours already on DVD now.

[shirobamba]

Oh, wow! What an incredible program! Looking forward to see them all!

[rs98762001]

Fantastic line up of films. Keen to know what other Jancsos are on the way.

[What A Disgrace]

What excellent news! Especially in regards to the Miklos Jancso collection being planned. I'll be getting each of these. Second Run has their own shelf in my room.

I'm still anxious to hear what South American, Indian, African, and Iranian films they will be releasing next year. I'm sure they'll be something special.

[Gregory]

Congratulations on the opening of your shop and on being able to offer competitive prices directly to all your customers from your own site. I suggested that Criterion do the same thing a couple of years ago and many people argued that it wouldn't be feasible. Anyway, I just ordered all four of the special offers. I'm glad I waited around to buy these titles and that my purchase entirely benefits Second Run, not a middleman as well. I wish you all the best in the coming year.

[solent]

The only concern I have, as an Australian buyer, is that Second Run won't take responsibility for items lost in the mail. All other major e-tailers do so. This is a minor point since I have never lost anything form any type of buyer over the many years I have been dealing on the net. Hence, if SR's price beats Amazon's then I would still chance it.

[Bikey]

The next Second Run Film Night takes place on Tuesday 17th January at The Flea-Pit, Columbia Road, London E2.

To welcome in 2006, January's film will be an exclusive pre-release screening of Jim McBride's groundbreaking 'mockumentary' DAVID HOLZMAN'S DIARY, USA 1967.

Shot in 1967 on a miniscule budget, DAVID HOLZMAN'S DIARY is a milestone in contemporary film history. It manages both to be simultaneously very much of its time and very many years ahead of its time. Arguably the first mockumentary, it has been little seen but hugely influential on filmmakers over the years. Profoundly clever, it lampoons the pretensions of the then-burgeoning underground film scene and examines how we define our own reality and how our perceptions can alter that reality. It could also be said that it pre-empts our current times when seemingly everyone is recording everything to do with their lives on camera.

This is the first time ever that DAVID HOLZMAN'S DIARY has been released on DVD and reviews, articles and full details on the film can soon be found at
http://www.secondrundvd.com

Film starts 8pm. Free Entry.

The Flea-Pit
49 Columbia Road
London E2 7RG
http://www.thefleapit.com tel:020 7033 9986

[Bikey]

The next Second Run screening is on Tuesday 14th February at the Fleapit, Columbia Rd, London E2.

As it's Valentine's Night we thought we would show a dark, paranoid masterpiece about the disintegration of a relationship set against a background of state oppression - Karel Kachnya's The Ear (Ucho).

Although made in 1970, The Ear (Ucho) was immediately banned by the Czech authorities and remained unseen for twenty years, being finally released only after the Velvet Revolution took place in Czechoslovakia. This landmark film is an extraordinary mix of one of the most direct indictments of life under an oppressive totalitarian system and an examination of a disintegrating marital relationship.

The events in The Ear take place over one very long night. Ludvik (Radoslav Brzobohaty) is a senior ministry official in the bureaucracy of Prague's ruling Communist Party. Anna is his alcoholic wife, daughter of a small town pub owner. They return home from a party function to find their gate open and a spare set of house keys missing. Initially they dismiss this as of no consequence but other strange findings - including a power outage that only appears to affect their property and a dead phone - make them start to wonder whether they are being surveiled by the authorities. Ludvig runs through party in his mind. Events and conversation that previously seemed innocuous start to appear loaded with a dangerous double meaning. His paranoia increases and what previously seemed like the bickering of tired married couple breaks down into downright hostility. The night reaches a bizarre climax with the sudden appearance of a number of Ludvik's Party colleagues who want to drink their way into the dawn. The film ends with a bitter, ironic twist that confirms Ludvik and Anna's worst fears.

As well as being an indictment of the regime that was governing the Czech Republic at the time The Ear is a brilliantly nuanced observation of a couple who are beginning to find it increasingly difficult to cover the cracks in their relationship. These scenes of Ludvig and Anna's rival the likes of Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf in their of depiction of marital disintegration. One of Kachyna's best films The Ear is a wonderful combination of film noir, political thriller and kitchen sink drama.

“Directed with awesome control... masterlyâ€

[Bikey]

March's Second Run screening will be on Tuesday 21st March at The Fleapit, Columbia Rd, London E2.

The film being screened will be:

Mother Joan Of The Angels (Matka Joanna od aniolow)

One of the landmarks of Polish cinema, this film is based on the documented story of the ‘possession' of a group of nuns that led to the burning of a priest at the stake in Loudun, France in 1634 ( the same story that Ken Russells 'The Devils' was based upon).

Mother Joan of the Angels is a spare, visually rigorous, and profoundly disturbing exploration of faith, repression, fanaticism, and eros. Anyone who is a fan of classics of the strange will find much to savour in Mother Joan of the Angels.

The film starts at 8pm.

Free entry.

Free booze for anyone who turns up dressed as a nun.

The Fleapit
49 Columbia Road
London E2 7RG

0207 033 9986

www.thefleapit.com

[tryavna]

Free booze for anyone who turns up dressed as a nun.

What about real-life nuns?

[Bikey]

If anyone can find me a real life nun who is prepared to come down and talk about ' faith, repression, fanaticism and eros' then I'll happily keep you both in wine for the night (red claret served in a silver goblet obviously).

[Bikey]

Movie Mail are podcasting reviews of David Holman's Diary and Portrait Of Jason here:

http://www.moviemail-online.co.uk/scripts/podcasts.pl

We hope to have a podcast of our own Andy Townsend appearing on Resonance FM's OST show up very soon.

[Bikey]

This month's Second Run Tuesday takes place on Tuesday 18th April at the Flea Pit, Columbia Road, London E2.

On that Tuesday we will be screening Juraj Herz's 'The Cremator'. This brilliantly chilling film has been described as a cross between Dr Strangelove and Repulsion. It tells the story of Karl Kopfrkingl, a professional cremator in Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia. The political climate allows Kopfrkingl free rein to his increasingly deranged impulses for the 'salvation of the world'.

Featuring a terrifying performance from the lead actor (Rudolf Hrusinsky), brothel-loving Nazis, a spectral Dalai Lama and a comb, Juraj Herz has produced a film that is weird, unnerving and bleakly funny. The Cremator has been screened occasionally at film festivals over the last 20 years but, for reasons we cannot fathom, has been forgotten by all but the most dedicated cinephiles. We are delighted to be able to screen it and you should not miss the chance to see this wonderfully expressionist film.

Beyond Hollywood recently called it 'a unique example of modern gothic cinema, being both fantastic and grimly realistic... a sinister gem that deserves rediscovery'.

Screening details:
Tuesday 18th April - The Cremator

Film starts at 8pm. Free entry.

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

The Cremator will be released on DVD on Monday 10th April. As a very special extra the DVD features an introduction from the Quay Brothers who are long term fans of the film.

For more information check the pages on the Second Run website at http://www.secondrundvd.com/release_tc.php

______________________________________________________________________

[Bikey]

In a quite startling engagement with technology we have managed to get trailers for some of our films up at the You Tube website.

The Cremator is up now. Blissfully Yours and The Red & the White should be up sometime over the weekend.

Just go to www.youtube.com and search for the film by name. Tell your friends.

(We have a minor 'ratio issue' on the Cremator that we will be resolving shortly. Be gentle to us - we are new with all this stuff.)

There are a number of other sites where we will also be putting the trailers up. I will let you know as and when.

If any of you have any recommendations of other sites where we can place them then please let me know.

Bikey.

[Bikey]

Podcast reviews of Mother Joan and Cremator at Movie Mail:

http://www.moviemail-online.co.uk/scripts/podcasts.pl