Recommendations for Second Run

Discuss releases by Second Run and the films on them.
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bergelson
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 5:48 pm

#76 Post by bergelson » Thu Nov 23, 2006 3:24 am

How about films of the Polish master Wojciech Has?

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Felix
Joined: Fri Nov 24, 2006 1:48 pm
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#77 Post by Felix » Mon Nov 27, 2006 5:52 pm

I guess you guys, or maybe MoC are the only chance we ever have of getting (Russian) Lopushansky's sublime Letters From A Dead Man on DVD. Please please please...

There is a rather duff Italian version available from SHF but it is dubbed in Italian, no English subtitles, and is in monochrome whereas the version screened in the UK on C4 in 1988 was tinted and did have English subtitles. My old VHS copy leaves much to be desired in terms of picture quality, but it is still one of my most treasured films in any format.

alfons416
Joined: Sat Apr 29, 2006 5:39 am

#78 Post by alfons416 » Mon Feb 12, 2007 5:19 pm

it makes me happy to see that alot of the movies discussed in the begining of this topic have been or is going to be released by SR.

I've agree with alot of suggestions mentioned before: Jakubisko, Has, Chytilova, Hou, Yang to name a few but i will also add on of my favorite directors namely: Kira Muratova, the only works released with english subtitles is as far as i know: The Tuner (Nastrojshchik), Passions (Uvlecheniya) & Chekhov's Motifs (Chekhovskie motivy) so there is alot of movies yet to be release. Astenicheskiy sindrom would be a great start (for a continuing series :D), it's one of the best movies of the 80s and not released on dvd with english subtitles.

Daze73
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#79 Post by Daze73 » Sat May 19, 2007 9:11 pm

Valerie and Her Week of Wonders PLEASE...

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Gropius
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#80 Post by Gropius » Sat May 19, 2007 11:40 pm

Daze73 wrote:Valerie and Her Week of Wonders PLEASE...
That's already been released on UK DVD.

Daze73
Joined: Mon Jan 15, 2007 1:57 pm

#81 Post by Daze73 » Sun May 20, 2007 6:13 am

Gropius wrote:
Daze73 wrote:Valerie and Her Week of Wonders PLEASE...
That's already been released on UK DVD.
Yeah, and a shitty one that is...

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MichaelB
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#82 Post by MichaelB » Sun May 20, 2007 11:48 am

Daze73 wrote:Yeah, and a shitty one that is...
Tell me about it - I watched it recently, and its source print that makes the average unrestored silent look pristine. Apparently the Facets is even worse, which would take some doing.

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tryavna
Joined: Wed Mar 30, 2005 4:38 pm
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#83 Post by tryavna » Sun May 20, 2007 2:20 pm

MichaelB wrote:Apparently the Facets is even worse, which would take some doing.
Facets never fails to disappoint in that regard.

Sorry, I just couldn't resist another opportunity to Facets-bash....

BrightEyes23
Joined: Tue Dec 28, 2004 9:46 am

#84 Post by BrightEyes23 » Sun May 20, 2007 5:17 pm

bikey - any chance second run would consider releasing some of Pedro Costa's work? Cinema Scope magazine has been really talking him up and after seeing Ossos, I would love to see more of his films, and apparently there's been a good deal of work on a retrospective of sorts of all of his works and his newest release Colossal Youth was one of the better films from last year.

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Bikey
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#85 Post by Bikey » Mon May 21, 2007 4:04 am

I also liked Colossal Youth. I would very much like to see more of his work shown here.

BrightEyes23
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#86 Post by BrightEyes23 » Mon May 21, 2007 12:13 pm

so does that mean you guys might look into acquiring some Costa? that would be amazing. i really wish i could get to Toronto this summer for their mini-Costa retrospective. In Vanda's room will be playing and from all i've read that would be a great addition to the Second Run collection.

on a seperate note, i have a minor qualm with "Third Part of the Night" in that the design on the spine is inverted, with the color bar on the top and the title belowit, so it looks a little out of place on my shelf next to the rest of the collection. very minor i know, and i'm not one to make such a fuss about cover art like some on this forum :lol:

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

#87 Post by Bikey » Mon May 21, 2007 12:41 pm

At the moment, we have quite a full list of films in our schedule. However, we are always open to recommendations and are keen to look into the possibility of releasing as wide an array of films as we can. On a positive note, the slate of releases that we do have is fab.

As for your design comment. Yes, we have changed the design - not just the spine. I think the DVD looks good, but I do understand your comments regarding the uniformity of the collection.

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NABOB OF NOWHERE
Joined: Thu Sep 01, 2005 12:30 pm
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#88 Post by NABOB OF NOWHERE » Mon May 21, 2007 12:43 pm

BrightEyes23 wrote:on a seperate note, i have a minor qualm with "Third Part of the Night" in that the design on the spine is inverted, with the color bar on the top and the title belowit, so it looks a little out of place on my shelf next to the rest of the collection. very minor i know, and i'm not one to make such a fuss about cover art like some on this forum
Wasn't it Bunuel who said "Sod the symmetry"??

Mind you I did find it a tad odd myself.

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

#89 Post by thirtyframesasecond » Tue May 22, 2007 6:49 am

I was reading up on a Czech film called
All My Good Countrymen by Vojtech Jasny, made in 1968. It won awards for Best Director at Cannes, and according to IMDB has not been released on DVD.

The Guardian described it as a successful and funny satire on forced collectivisation in Moravia in the late 1940s, which was made shortly after the relative liberality of the 1968 Prague spring was crushed by Soviet tanks.

Actually another of Jasny's films sounds equally interesting, and has not been released on DVD.

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MichaelB
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#90 Post by MichaelB » Tue May 22, 2007 7:16 am

NABOB OF NOWHERE wrote:Wasn't it Bunuel who said "Sod the symmetry"??

Mind you I did find it a tad odd myself.
For some reason this reminds me of the way Factory Records adopted a cataloguing system that made it literally impossible for collectors to amass everything - since the catalogue included things like the Hacienda nightclub and the company cat!

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

#91 Post by Bikey » Mon Jun 04, 2007 6:35 am

You will be relieved to know that we don't have a company cat. I once had a goldfish called Fred, but sadly, a long life was not his to be.

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colinr0380
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#92 Post by colinr0380 » Wed Jun 06, 2007 1:34 pm

MichaelB wrote:For some reason this reminds me of the way Factory Records adopted a cataloguing system that made it literally impossible for collectors to amass everything - since the catalogue included things like the Hacienda nightclub and the company cat!
They had a try though. When I was studying at Manchester I went on work experience to the Museum of Science and Industry where one of the tasks I was given was to catalogue this huge collection of publicity materials, photographs and, most interestingly, lots of correspondence ranging from booking the perfomers and hotels and equipment to correspondences with the police over various disturbances around the club! If people think the numbering system of the Criterion Collection is a bit nerdy then Factory Records took it to absurd levels! (Wasn't the Haciencda nightclub itself given the Fac 51 label in their catalogue?)

The project seemed a big departure from the usual territory of the Museum of Science and Industry, which was always more focused on literal industry and engineering rather than the arts. I'll never know whether anything came of the project but I had a fascinating time there!

This was back in 1999, a few years before that twentyfour hour party people film - sadly I was too young (and not a fan of football) to remember the World In Motion song in 1990 so wasn't very familiar with New Order and Factory Records at the time!

The film set me straight, but came along a couple of years too late to prevent me from making a couple of terrible faux pas in front of the lady running the project (i.e. by reacting with a blank expression when she was describing the importance of Factory Records to me!) :oops:

But then I've always been a film rather than a music person (I did get to recommend A Short Film About Killing to one of the other people on work experience there....I wonder how that worked out? Probably badly - it isn't exactly something people casually recommend others to watch! :oops: )

So at the time I was more familiar with Anthony Wilson being the host of the regional news programmes, which I'm glad was something that was included in the film!

EDIT: You mean this cat? (!)

petoluk
Joined: Tue Jun 12, 2007 7:31 am
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#93 Post by petoluk » Fri Jul 13, 2007 8:54 am

orlik wrote:Jakubisko has also - rightly - been mentioned several times, but I'd also like to suggest another Slovak filmmaker from the same period, Stefan Uher - his first film, 'Sunshine in a Net', is often credited as one of the films that began the New Wave (although it is available on VHS from the Slovak Film Institute in a good print). Then there's his Surrealist 'The Miraculous Virgin' from 1966, which is now almost completely unknown but which sounds fantastic.

FYI, regarding Å tefan Uher, one of his more recent films - Pásla kone na betóne / She Kept Crying for the Moon (1982) - is available on an English-friendly DVD in Slovakia. Here's a tech review of that disc.

Panna zázraÄ

rollotomassi
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#94 Post by rollotomassi » Mon Dec 31, 2007 4:46 pm

I think the fact that there has been no activity on this thread in five months is pretty sad but rather symmptomatic I think of how many people feel about Second Run's increasing problems releasing films. There are a lot of fine films here recommended, but I think Second Run, if they are to proceed, need to concentrate still on the eastern European releases they have made their own. They also should perhaps look at those films that have already had a restoration on DVD but some of which have not been released in English friendly editions...I suggest the following...

Czech
Dita Saxova (1967, A Maskalyk)
Adelheid (1969, F Vlacil)
Diamonds of the Night (1964, J Nemec)
Capricious Summer (1968, J Menzel) - the Czech release here does have Eng subs and is better than the R1 Facets (surprise, surprise)
Erotikon (1929, G Machaty) again the Czech DVD is English friendly, but it could do with a release in the English speaking world
The Long Journey (1949, A Radok), English friendly in Czech Rep, but little heard of
The Proud Princess (1952, B Zeman), English friendly Czech release
Witches Hammer (1969, O Vavra), Facets release is awful and only semi WS. Needs remastering

Polish
Landscape After Battle (1970, A Wajda)
The Last Stage (1947, W Jacubowska), an excellent companion piece to Passenger
Pharaoh (1965, J Kawalerowicz), oh for a subtitled print of the 3 hr version to replace the 140 dubbed Eureka one...I have it, but the print on the VHS is dreadful
Family Life (1970, K Zanussi)
Hourglass Sanatorium (1972, W Has)

Hungarian
Somewhere in Europe (1947, G van Radvanyi)
Angi Vera (1978, P Gabor)
Cold Days (1966, A Kovacs)
Private Vices, Public Virtues (1975, M Jancso) Italian made film, recently released remastered in Italy with no Eng subs

Russian
Zvenigora (1928, Z Dovzhenko)
Arsenal (1929, A Dovzhenko)
Earth (1930, A Dovzhenko)
Ivan (1932, A Dovzhenko)
The Ascent (1976, L Shepitko)
The Asthenic Syndrome (1989, KG Muratova)
Asya's Happiness (1967, AM Konchalovsky)
Chapayev (1934, S & G Vasiliev)
The Debut (1970, G Panfilov)
The Enchanted Desna (1964, J Solntseva)
Kin Dza Dza (1986, G Danileya)
A Private Conversation (1983, N Mikhalkov)
The Thief (1997, P Chukhrai)

Yugoslav
The Switchboard Operator (1967, D Makavejev)
Man is Not a Bird (1965, D Makavejev)
Happy Gypsies (1967, A Petrovic), Eng sub print in Yugo

All surely are possibles...

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MichaelB
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#95 Post by MichaelB » Mon Dec 31, 2007 5:32 pm

The vast majority of those titles are already available in what I consider to be English-friendly editions (i.e. subtitles on the main feature) - and in most cases you don't even have to fall back on the Facets option.

I personally own non-Facets English-subtitled DVDs of Diamonds of the Night, Capricious Summer, Erotikon, The Long Journey, Witches Hammer, Landscape After Battle, Somewhere In Europe and I Even Met Happy Gypsies - and with the exception of the last of these (the Serb DVD is a tad rough and ready), all the transfers are excellent.

So I'd personally be much keener on Second Run licensing more titles like Marketa Lazarová or The Third Part of the Night - i.e. titles that aren't otherwise available in English-friendly editions (or at all, in many cases!)

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vogler
Joined: Thu Jun 29, 2006 8:42 am
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#96 Post by vogler » Mon Dec 31, 2007 6:14 pm

MichaelB wrote:So I'd personally be much keener on Second Run licensing more titles like Marketa Lazarová or The Third Part of the Night - i.e. titles that aren't otherwise available in English-friendly editions (or at all, in many cases!)
I agree entirely. I think when it comes to selecting films, Second Run have proved that they know exactly what they're doing, especially this year. DVD label of the year in my opinion. It doesn't get much better than The Third Part of the Night and The Party and the Guests as far as I'm concerned (I've not seen Marketa Lazarová yet).

If I were to make one suggestion it would be Wajda's Brzezina (The Birch Wood) - a stunningly beautiful and poetic film and in my opinion one of Wajda's very best. I only have a fairly low quality vhs rip. I tried to get hold of an unsubbed Polish dvd some time ago but failed. This film has haunted me since I first saw it.

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MichaelB
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#97 Post by MichaelB » Mon Dec 31, 2007 6:16 pm

vogler wrote:If I were to make one suggestion it would be Wajda's Brzezina (The Birch Wood) - a stunningly beautiful and poetic film and in my opinion one of Wajda's very best. I only have a fairly low quality vhs rip. I tried to get hold of an unsubbed Polish dvd some time ago but failed. This film has haunted me since I first saw it.
Yes, that's the kind of thing that's actually necessary - the Polish DVD, as you say, is unsubtitled (unusually, as most Polish Wajda DVDs have excellent English subs) and I'm not aware of an alternative. I've seen Wajda's The Young Ladies of Wilko, its companion-piece, and I'd love to see the earlier film.

rollotomassi
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#98 Post by rollotomassi » Wed Jan 02, 2008 12:11 pm

Oh, I agree those unavailable at all are better options, but some people don't have the option to get Eastern Eiropean DVDs or cannot navigate the sites (not so bad in Czech, where they have English options).

BTW, MichaelB, that Witches Hammer you mention that isn't Facets. My Czech sites (eg. www.hil.cz) always listed the Czech DVD as 4:3, and I was never sure whether it was a full 2:35 print within the 4:3 transfer or not. Can you confirm, as I have the Facets which is only 1.85 and awful.

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MichaelB
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#99 Post by MichaelB » Wed Jan 02, 2008 12:20 pm

rollotomassi wrote:BTW, MichaelB, that Witches Hammer you mention that isn't Facets. My Czech sites (eg. www.hil.cz) always listed the Czech DVD as 4:3, and I was never sure whether it was a full 2:35 print within the 4:3 transfer or not. Can you confirm, as I have the Facets which is only 1.85 and awful.
Definitely 2.35:1, and infinitely superior. I also seem to recall that it's anamorphic - I'll check when I get home tonight.

Solaris
Joined: Sun Jul 10, 2005 3:25 am
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#100 Post by Solaris » Tue Jan 08, 2008 11:09 pm

How about Keeper of Promises (1962)? I believe it is only available on DVD in Brazil with no English subs.

Also Cairo Station (1958) which has had no DVD release at all (as far as I know).

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