The 3rd Annual Criterion Porno Thread

[R0lf]

ONCE UPON A TIME IN ANATOLIA AND HER SISTERS.

[tarpilot]

Think I caught that on a double-bill with The Act of Seeing with One's Own Thighs

[matrixschmatrix]

I much prefered The Turin Whores

[The Narrator Returns]

Gotta say, I really loved Beast of the Southern Region.

[MichaelB]

Has anyone been following the ongoing efforts of Distribpix to release Metzger's Opening of Misty Beethoven on DVD and Blu? I just read through the last several months' worth of posts on their blog (http://distribpixblog.wordpress.com/) and it's fascinating... it sounds like they spared no expense to painstakingly restore and remaster the film, commission new cover art, track down all kinds of special features, etc. Then they apparently tried to raise funds for the Blu-Ray release on Kickstarter and got kicked off the site for promoting adult-oriented material. Distribpix then raised almost $12,000 from fans--in 10 days--on their own. That was back in June; no news on the blog since then, which is strange because they were updating pretty regularly until then.

I'm hoping the project hasn't been aborted due to some other snafu. This really looks like a stunning release--possibly the closest we'll come to seeing an adult film getting a Criterion-caliber DVD release.

I'm very happy to confirm that it is a stunning release - an obvious labour of love from beginning to end, the mere fact that the restoration featurette alone runs 25 minutes shows how proud they are of what they've achieved. Had I received it a month earlier, it would have been a dead cert for my Sight & Sound 2012 top five, and BFI DVD Publishing head Sam Dunn did include it on his own list. (Sadly, I can't envision a UK release any time soon - it would have no problem getting an uncut R18, but I suspect the BBFC would baulk at an 18, and it's impossible to make money on the R18 circuit unless you actually own licensed sex shops yourself).

The transfer is unbelievably good: obviously, you have to make some allowances for the fact that it was mostly shot on 16mm (albeit Super 16) on a limited budget, but I genuinely can't see how they could have got it to look any better. I'm guessing that the 2K scan must have picked up pretty much everything on the original camera negative, as it certainly looks that way. There's been some digital cleanup of spots and scratches, but the image overall is mercifully DNR-free.

I've only just started delving into the extras, but they look gratifyingly encyclopaedic - the 60-page MoC-style booklet is so thick that it had to be packaged outside the Blu-ray box!. Alternative softcore versions are usually worthless, but I suspect the one included here will be unusually interesting - Misty Beethoven is one of the few hardcore features with a half-decent plot and genuinely witty dialogue, and apparently there's more of the latter to compensate for the toned-down sex scenes.

I don't know how many copies a crowdfunded project like this would have stretched to pressing, so if you're even the slightest bit interested I recommend snapping it up sooner rather than later. Annoyingly, it's a pretty expensive import - I got stung for Customs charges, though at least that's an improvement on the gauntlet that my original VCX DVD had to run a dozen or so years ago, when there was a distinct possibility of it getting seized en route!

[med]

Re: the booklet, a friend of mine got the DVD and says the booklet fits perfectly inside the case. So it's less a matter of thickness than it is Distribpix just not wanting to or not having the funds to print up two different-sized booklets.

Haven't sat down and watched the feature yet, but, backing up MichaelB, I can tell you from sampling it that the film looks pretty wonderful. A minor quibble: the menus—at least on the Blu version—are not the easiest to navigate. And, as far as I can tell, there's no simple way of switching between the hardcore and softcore versions (should, uh, you want to do that). Again, that's a minor quibble, and one I can forgive since this is their first Blu and, from what I gather, the decision to release it on Blu was a last-minute thing.

[MichaelB]

Re: the booklet, a friend of mine got the DVD and says the booklet fits perfectly inside the case. So it's less a matter of thickness than it is Distribpix just not wanting to or not having the funds to print up two different-sized booklets.

Yes of course, that makes perfect sense - especially since the creation of the Blu-ray was indeed a last-minute bonus. From a budgeting perspective, it would make much more sense just to whack up the print run of the DVD booklet. (This is a major reason why distributors hate producing separate DVD and BD editions, at least when booklets are involved).

Haven't sat down and watched the feature yet, but, backing up MichaelB, I can tell you from sampling it that the film looks pretty wonderful. A minor quibble: the menus—at least on the Blu version—are not the easiest to navigate. And, as far as I can tell, there's no simple way of switching between the hardcore and softcore versions (should, uh, you want to do that).

That's because they're two completely different cuts and therefore two completely separate encodes. In fact, now that you've tangentially brought up disc space issues, I was struck by the way in the restoration demo they appeared to have deliberately encoded their own self-produced video footage (i.e. of the film being scanned, interviews, etc.) at an ultra-low bitrate, presumably to minimise the size of the video file while still allowing the actual film clips to be presented in genuine HD.

[med]

I haven't yet watched any of the extras other than the trailers, but I'm not surprised to learn the self-produced supplements are at a low bitrate. Considering just how much material is on the one disc, it goes a way to explain why the feature attraction looks as good as it does.

A word about the trailers. I'd never seen any classic porn trailers prior to this, so I was surprised to see just how much they show you in them. I guess it was needed in order to lure in the curious; you'll get to see everything—everything—and presumably more, so come to the show!

[Cinephrenic]

Porn got me here

[MichaelB]

A word about the trailers. I'd never seen any classic porn trailers prior to this, so I was surprised to see just how much they show you in them. I guess it was needed in order to lure in the curious; you'll get to see everything—everything—and presumably more, so come to the show!

Yes, I don't imagine plot spoilers are much of an issue here!

I watched the trailers last night, and I see what you mean - I daresay there's not much point being all coy about it if your film does actually deliver what the punters are after.

The one for Barbara Broadcast reminded me of how good the first half of that film was - Buñuel would have loved the restaurant scene. Sadly, I remember it going downhill from then on, but it's certainly one of the great porn set-pieces.

[ianthemovie]

Thanks, Michael, for your response. Since I wrote that post I found my way to Distribpix's new site, which I monitored closely leading up to the release of the DVD last fall. I ended up getting the SD version and while I haven't watched the film itself yet I agree that it's a beautifully designed set. (I chose to reverse the cover sleeve, though; I prefer the original poster art to the newly commissioned cover, which is fabulously retro but reminds me a bit of a Grateful Dead poster.) I watched (and loved) Metzger's Score a year or so ago, so I look forward to watching the film itself, which I've never seen before, sometime soon. The extras look great too.

[jbeall]

Vinegar Syndrome is the Criterion Collection for vintage porn.

[Matt]

Vinegar Syndrome thread here.