Best non-US releases

[jindianajonz]

As somebody who only recently went region free, I can't help but think I chose a great time for it- the last year has seen an abundance of great international releases, with fantastic box sets of films by Borowczyk, Rohmer, Herzog, Robbe-Grillet, and Mizoguchi. I also became aware of things like the Naruse box which I missed, and want to make sure that doesn't happen again. What are some "must own" international films, either box sets or stunning individual releases, that probably wouldn't have been on my radar if I was focusing only on US titles?

[Drucker]

I will always profess that the Passion Of Joan of Arc blu-ray set is so stunning in terms of packaging and image quality, it's a must-own (but you probably already know that).

Carlotta has 3 Frank Borzage Fox Films on Blu-Ray and they are absolutely fantastic looking and a pleasure to watch (Street Angel, Seventh Heaven, and Lucky Star). In fact, the label is actually releasing a bunch of stuff/has released stuff I'm eagerly anticipating:
-They are releasing Macbeth by Welles. If the work they did on Secret Beyond The Door and Letter From An Unknown Woman is an indication, these will probably be noticeable improvements over the Olive discs.
-Othello by Welles
-Man of The West and the 1946 edition of The Killers are forthcoming as well. They also have editions of Mean Streets that is colored a bit different than the US Disc and certainly a more robust transfer.

[swo17]

Epstein set!

[EddieLarkin]

Eureka
Bakumatsu taiyô-den, City Girl, Cœur fidèle, The Complete (Existing) Films of Sadao Yamanaka, The Passion of Joan of Arc, Tabu

BFI
The Ozu Collection, The Epic of Everest, The Great White Silence, Gaslight, Schalcken the Painter

Arrow
Cinema Paradiso, Sullivan's Travels, White of the Eye, Spider Baby

Soda Pictures
The Kelly Reichardt Collection, The Chris Marker Collection

StudioCanal
The Ealing Collection (they have about 10 out so far), plus their Hammer titles (Devil Rides Out, The Witches, Quatermass and the Pit, The Reptile, Plague of the Zombies), their StudioCanal Collection

Second Run
The lot.

[warren oates]

Arrow's White of the Eye, The Conformist, The Long Goodbye and De Palma's Obsession (already region free).

Master of Cinema's Touch of Evil, Passion of Joan of Arc, The Gospel According to Matthew, Le Silence De La Mer (region free)

The BFI's Terrence Davies box, Celine and Julie Go Boating, Teorema, The Bill Douglas Trilogy (region free)

New Waves' Bruno Dumont films.

Artificial Eye's Bela Tarr sets, Atom Egoyan Blu-rays, Hal Hartley Blus and Ashes of Time (region free). And by default many of their Bresson releases, which are at least slowly going Blu (almost as slowly as Criterion's)

Japanese edition of The Straight Story (already region A). Speaking of which, there are plenty of excellent contemporary Korean films (all region A like the U.S.) such as Memories of Murder and The Day He Arrives.

Drucker mentions Man of the West, but if I didn't already own it, I'd definitely wait for the Kino release in a few months.

[chatterjees]

Do you realize what you just did to your bank accounts?

In addition to whatever mentioned above, here are some of my favorite UK imports (I mostly buy BDs) -

Arrow's . Cinema Paradiso (the latest special edition), L'assassino, The Killers, Runaway Train, The Car, The Fury (if you don't have the TT USA edition), Dressed to Kill, Invasion of the Body Snatchers and the Bava collection.

Master of Cinema/Eureka - La Amiche, La Signora Senra Camelie, Punishment Park, Accattone, Cleopatra, RoGoPaG, La Poison, The Tarnished Angels, A Time to Love and A Time to Die, and a lot more.

Artificial Eye - TheClassic Bergman set and The Mizoguchi Collection are must own in my book.

BFI - Complete Humphrey Jennings Vol 1,2 and 3, More, The Valley, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, Medea, Alain Robbe-Grillet set, L'âge d'or / Un chien andalou, Theorem, Deep End, Deep End, Comrades, Underground, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, The Magick Lantern Cycle, Bill Douglas Trilogy.

Studio Canal Collection (I hate them, but there is no other option to get those films in HD) - Forbidden Games, The Elephant Man, La Grande Illusion, The Go Between, Billy Liar and their Buñuel releases.

I guess I should stop here now before you return your reg free player.

[Morgan Creek]

The Gaumont Pialats
You've mentioned the Rohmer, and that entire set is pure bliss
Went the Day Well?, Casque d'Or, and Quai des Brumes (Studio Canal)
Boudu Saved from Drowning and Taking Off (Park Circus)
The Conformist, as per above, both for the film and the excellent commentary
The MoC Mabuses
All the BFI Terrence Davies (unless Criterion winds up doing more)
BFI's Partie de Campagne

[Numero Trois]

The complete João César Monteiro box set is right up there. Its on the verge of being out of print. Here's the beav on it.

[colinr0380]

StudioCanal
The Ealing Collection (they have about 10 out so far)

While they are only on DVD also throw in Network's series of "Ealing Studios Rarities" with each set containing four films on two DVDs. They're up to Volume 14 as of this month! And there is also an associated British Musicals of the 1930s series up to Volume 2 so far.

[Ogre Kovacs]

Even 7+years after its release, the BFI's Jan Švankmajer-The Complete Shorts (produced by Michael Brooke) still stands as a crown jewel of my collection. It is far and away better than the R1 equivalent (not only in terms of extras and quality, but it actually contains all of the shorts). It is DVD only, but will almost certainly not be going blu anytime in the foreseeable future. Just an amazing group of films and amazing package. The definition of must own for me.

[L.A.]

The Hungarian DVD of Miklós Jancsó's The Red and the White is something I recommend very much. Besides the film, even the extras (including a lengthy documentary about the film) have English subtitles.

[MichaelB]

The Hungarian DVD of Miklós Jancsó's The Red and the White is something I recommend very much. Besides the film, even the extras (including a lengthy documentary about the film) have English subtitles.

Very much seconded - and you left out the fact that it also includes the dreadful but weirdly fascinating Soviet cut, a doomed attempt at getting a Jancsó film to conform both ideologically and in terms of sexual propriety - for instance, any nudity has been ruthlessly hacked out, even in the middle of long and complex takes.

[greekboy]

I also just went region free with the Sony 5100. Can anyone recommend some MOC discs where there is no chance of a Criterion release stateside. I almost placed an order for Passion of Joan of Arc and Profound Desires of the Gods but am worried that Criterion will announce them the moment I place my order.

[swo17]

Those two are likely to come from Criterion at some point (though Joan of Arc may be presented differently enough that both editions would be worth having). Maybe see if the film is listed here before you order. Also, this might be a helpful reference.

[jindianajonz]

One thing I've done is aim for titles released by Kino- Nosferatu, Fear and Desire, Metropolis, etc. MoC is almost always a better value than Kino, and there's less chance of criterion obtaining rights in the future for them as opposed to something unreleased in the states

[Gregory]

Ruggles of Red Gap (relegated to "Universal Vault" MOD disc in R1)

The Mizoguchi set will almost surely never have an American counterpart.

Il Bidone never seems to get any love in R1; Criterion seems to move slowly with Fellini anymore (La Dolce Vita has clearly been their main priority, and Satyricon and Juliet of the Spirits are probably next).

You can be pretty certain Criterion won't release Le Pont Du Nord because Rivette

[greekboy]

Thanks so much for the references and the recommendations. I just placed my first order through Amazon.co.uk and picked up L'accattone, Van Gogh, Profound Desires of the Gods and the Passion of Joan of Arc Steelbook.

I've held out long enough to view the Passion of Joan of Arc and from what I've read the MOC will be worth it. I've been quite hesitant to venture into silent film, but the still images that I have seen are simply works of art.

[Drucker]

Thanks so much for the references and the recommendations. I just placed my first order through Amazon.co.uk and picked up L'accattone, Van Gogh, Profound Desires of the Gods and the Passion of Joan of Arc Steelbook.

I've held out long enough to view the Passion of Joan of Arc and from what I've read the MOC will be worth it. I've been quite hesitant to venture into silent film, but the still images that I have seen are simply works of art.

Why on earth would you be hesitant toi het into silents?

[Lowry_Sam]

Amazon.fr has some titles on sale. Currently, the best deal is 10 blu rays for 70 euros & the selection includes many titles unavailable on blu ray in the US (Arizona Dream, Bagdad Cafe, The Fury, Forbidden Games, The Kite Runner, Cross Of Iron, La Chinoise, The River, 49th Parallel, Barton Fink...). You might want to double check non-English titles to make sure that they have English subtitles.

[htdm]

^
I would add that Le Bonheur and the Epstein set are excellent additions if you are ordering from Amazon.fr.
And no need to be afraid of silents--

[Lazertron]

Numero Trois, many thanks for the heads-up on the Monteiro set. Arrived in like two days from Portugal in great shape. Now to find the time for digging in.

[Numero Trois]

Numero Trois, many thanks for the heads-up on the Monteiro set.

No sweat. And thanks to one my local libraries for having a stray copy of the Image Entertainment edition of God's Comedy. And thanks to Amazon France for featuring the set so prominently on their site to begin with about a decade back! Both definetly made me check the dude's work out.

[L.A.]

From Poland, a series called Arcydzieła Polskiego Kina dedicated to top Polish directors (e.g. Andrzej Wajda, Wojciech Jerzy Has, Janusz Morgenstern and Jerzy Kawalerowicz to name a few) is very good. English subtitles on the main features and extras (most of the sets have supplemental material like short films and interviews).

My favorites so far are the sets from Wojciech Jerzy Has, Jerzy Kawalerowicz and Janusz Morgenstern.

[jindianajonz]

Any recommendations for must-have, English friendly Japanese releases?

[swo17]

The Hiroshi Shimizu "Children" set
Takashi Ito Anthology