DVDBeaver

Discuss internationally-released DVDs and Blu-rays or other international DVD and Blu-ray-related topics.
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FrauBlucher
Joined: Mon Jul 15, 2013 8:28 pm
Location: Greenwich Village

Re: DVDBeaver

#451 Post by FrauBlucher » Mon Oct 28, 2013 7:27 pm


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Oedipax
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Re: DVDBeaver

#452 Post by Oedipax » Mon Oct 28, 2013 9:57 pm

Only $6.65 for shipping, eh? Quite the bargain.

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Donald Brown
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Re: DVDBeaver

#453 Post by Donald Brown » Mon Oct 28, 2013 10:32 pm

That's a reasonable charge for shipping from Canada to the US. Amazon.ca charges $10 to ship one item. Postage for the average DVD from the US to Canada costs more than $8 at the counter, more than $7 online.

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Lost Highway
Joined: Thu Aug 29, 2013 7:41 am
Location: Berlin, Germany

Re: DVDBeaver

#454 Post by Lost Highway » Wed Sep 03, 2014 5:05 pm

I was a little shocked by the positive review for the German Blu-ray of Midnight Lace. As a German speaker I can tell you that on Amazon.de almost every costumer who reviewed the Blu-ray gave it one star (the overall rating is much higher because Amazon still insists of counting DVD reviews). It looks like a DVD and not a good one at that. On a projector this thing is unwatchable. It's among the worst looking transfers of a vintage film I've seen.

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TMDaines
Joined: Wed Nov 11, 2009 1:01 pm
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DVDBeaver

#455 Post by TMDaines » Tue Jan 13, 2015 10:16 am

Blu-ray & DVD of the Year 2014

DVD:
1) The Lusty Men (Warner Archive)
=2) Birds, Orphans and Fools (Second Run)
=2) Kinoshita and World War II (Eclipse)
=2) A Jester's Tale (Second Run)

Blu-ray:
1) The Werner Herzog Collection (BFI)
=2) The Complete Jacques Tati (Criterion)
=2) Camera Obscura: The Walerian Borowczyk Collection (Arrow Academy)

Usual heavy R1 bias due to location of voters and some refusing to consider imports, but always an interesting read to highlight one or two things you may have overlooked.
Last edited by TMDaines on Wed Jan 14, 2015 4:15 am, edited 2 times in total.

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manicsounds
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Location: Tokyo, Japan

Re: DVDBeaver

#456 Post by manicsounds » Tue Jan 13, 2015 7:38 pm

Think it's very bizarre that "Withnail & I" was nowhere in the top votes...

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swo17
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Re: DVDBeaver

#457 Post by swo17 » Tue Jan 13, 2015 7:50 pm

It probably doesn't help that James White Metzlered his ballot.

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MichaelB
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Re: DVDBeaver

#458 Post by MichaelB » Tue Jan 13, 2015 7:59 pm

Jacques Tati and Camera Obscura were actually joint second.

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TMDaines
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Re: DVDBeaver

#459 Post by TMDaines » Wed Jan 14, 2015 4:16 am

MichaelB wrote:Jacques Tati and Camera Obscura were actually joint second.
Whoops, thanks.

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swo17
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Re: DVDBeaver

#460 Post by swo17 » Wed Jan 14, 2015 11:55 am

I find it a little disconcerting that a review site would rank the Tati set so highly. I know there is a lot going for it, but I don't like the message that it sends. (I doubt the set would have ranked any higher if it had been flawless.) How many more corners can Criterion cut and still earn accolades for their work?

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tenia
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Re: DVDBeaver

#461 Post by tenia » Wed Jan 14, 2015 1:55 pm

Some think that the Demy and the Tati sets are amongst the finest boxset Criterion ever produced, so...

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aox
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Re: DVDBeaver

#462 Post by aox » Wed Jan 14, 2015 2:16 pm

Weren't many (a few) of the transfers in the The Werner Herzog Collection subpar?

(I never picked it up)

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Drucker
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Re: DVDBeaver

#463 Post by Drucker » Wed Jan 14, 2015 2:21 pm

Not the BFI edition. It's really quite beautiful! The Shout edition is what you're thinking of.

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swo17
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Re: DVDBeaver

#464 Post by swo17 » Wed Jan 14, 2015 2:22 pm

tenia wrote:Some think that the Demy and the Tati sets are amongst the finest boxset Criterion ever produced, so...
I mean, I know that a lot of care went into the supplements on the Demy set and that it's packed with all-time classics, but how many more of the films could have had terrible transfers before the set would cease to be "among Criterion's finest"? (I don't even hold Lola against them much, as I suspect their hands were tied, but it certainly has to be taken into account when evaluating these kinds of things.)

As for the Tati set, isn't it basically just the StudioCanal set with better artwork but poorly thought out packaging?

It strikes me that Criterion has released any number of fine boxsets that didn't have basic transfer or packaging issues--Les Blank, Rossellini, Brakhage, Costa, WCF, Etaix, Qatsi, Three Colors, Trilogy of Life, etc. But why bother going to all that effort when your releases win awards either way?

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Minkin
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2009 11:13 pm

Re: DVDBeaver

#465 Post by Minkin » Wed Jan 14, 2015 7:41 pm

swo17 wrote: As for the Tati set, isn't it basically just the StudioCanal set with better artwork but poorly thought out packaging?
Here is (I assume to be correct) the differences in extras between the two sets (Criterion + Studio Canal).

Most of Criterion's and other companies' best works do get overshadowed by some glitz and glam - but most of these polls do come out near the end of the year, thus I wonder what harm companies do to themselves with Nov/Dec releases if they want some accolades.

I don't think its too unfair to give the Tati set praise. It & the Studio Canal version finally give us the long-awaited 4k restoration of Playtime (something we've been bemoaning for a long time) + perfect transfers for all of the main features + a ton of supplements. As to the alternate films, who knows what their reasoning is, but I suspect Studio Canal is to blame. Personally, I voted it for best of year - as I absolutely love Tati, I love the idea of having a complete director's work easily accessible, I haven't had much interest in the alternate presentations other than curios - so I'll chiefly be watching the main features - even if the alternatives weren't fucked (although aren't only 2 out of the four alternative films atrocious? While the other two equal/better than the BFI editions? Not that that's any excuse). Warts and all, it is hard to still not be somewhat excited about a complete Tati set. (I suppose this is turning into a "why didn't they vote for what I want?" thread :P If we're going to get picky, Tooze says in his review for Les Blank "this is certainly the release of the year" and then he doesn't even end up voting for it.) + didn't the Shout/BFI Herzog sets add zero special features over those that came on the Anchor Bay editions years ago? All of the commentaries were certainly ported over.

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swo17
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Re: DVDBeaver

#466 Post by swo17 » Wed Jan 14, 2015 8:01 pm

The color version of Jour de fete and the original version of M. Hulot's Holiday are arguably the primary versions of those films. They certainly aren't mere curios. Of the other alternate versions, one is unique to the Criterion set (but presented in SD) and the other is inferior to the BFI presentation.

I don't know what the BFI might have added to their Herzog set. Even if it's nothing, that set is something of a gold standard for superior, efficient film presentation (especially for films that exist in multiple versions). Given that the purpose of the set was mainly to present as many films as possible, the only way it could have been bettered would have been to add more discs and more films.

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MichaelB
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Re: DVDBeaver

#467 Post by MichaelB » Wed Jan 14, 2015 8:08 pm

Minkin wrote:didn't the Shout/BFI Herzog sets add zero special features over those that came on the Anchor Bay editions years ago? All of the commentaries were certainly ported over.
I can't speak for the Shout release, but the BFI added quite a few extras over and above previous Anchor Bay releases, notably Jack Bond's 56-minute South Bank Show documentary and an 83-minute onstage interview - not to mention Burden of Dreams and Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe. And even if you don't personally appreciate the commentaries, I believe the vast majority (if not all) were making their debuts on a UK release.

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SpiderBaby
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Re: DVDBeaver

#468 Post by SpiderBaby » Wed Jan 14, 2015 11:18 pm

No votes for Mondo's Possession release?

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MichaelB
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Re: DVDBeaver

#469 Post by MichaelB » Thu Jan 15, 2015 3:04 am

Gary doesn't review Mondo Vision products. Granted, there was nothing to stop people voting for it, but there wouldn't have been much prompting from DVD Beaver.

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Roger Ryan
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Re: DVDBeaver

#470 Post by Roger Ryan » Thu Jan 15, 2015 9:16 am

swo17 wrote:The color version of Jour de fete and the original version of M. Hulot's Holiday are arguably the primary versions of those films...
The color version of JOUR DE FETE is a 90s reconstruction of the film that is missing some good footage since I believe they were trying to adhere to Tati's revisionist 60s re-edit when possible, not his original cut. Therefore, I don't consider this one the primary version. No argument with M. HULOT'S HOLIDAY, however; the 1953 edit should be considered the primary version.

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swo17
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Re: DVDBeaver

#471 Post by swo17 » Thu Jan 15, 2015 11:49 am

It was only reconstructed in the '90s because the color process Tati used to shoot it in the '40s was dead in the water. The cameras shooting in color had primary position during filming, with the cameras shooting the B&W version to their side. This was to be the first French film ever made in color. Note also that the BFI presented the color version as the primary version on their release, where it looks marvelous (bearing the limitations of the color process in mind).

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Roger Ryan
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Re: DVDBeaver

#472 Post by Roger Ryan » Thu Jan 15, 2015 1:37 pm

I can't argue with the BFI presenting the color version as the primary version or that Tati intended the film to be in color prior to the realization that the color process was unworkable. However, when reconstructing the color version in the 90s, Tati's original editing scheme was not followed. Maybe it was due to lost footage, but the edit more closely resembles how Tati re-edited the film in 1964 (missing any 60s-era footage, of course) so it is definitely a deviation from how Tati presented the film in 1949. As to camera placement, I tend to prefer the placement of the camera shooting the black-and-white footage for most of the exterior shots. Most of the interior shots, by the way, were printed from the color stock in black-and-white; the giveaway is the visible vertical lines from the special prism lens used on the camera shooting with the experimental color film.

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swo17
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Re: DVDBeaver

#473 Post by swo17 » Thu Jan 15, 2015 1:51 pm

Valid points. In any case, I would have been about equally disappointed if Criterion had presented the color version as the primary in 1080p with the 1949 version as an SD upscale.

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EddieLarkin
Joined: Sat Sep 08, 2012 10:25 am

Re: DVDBeaver

#474 Post by EddieLarkin » Thu Jan 15, 2015 1:59 pm

Also, if Tati had been able to edit the colour version in 1949, he may have done so in a different manner to the 1949 B&W version anyway. Rather than the 1994 version being the original, it's more of a reconstruction a la Touch of Evil. Not the original (which Tati was never able to realise himself), but perhaps the cloest approximation we'll ever have to it. Either way, it deserves a lot more than a very crummy SD upscale (at least the Hulot's Holiday upscale looked half decent!)

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Telstar
Joined: Mon Apr 10, 2006 12:35 pm

Re: DVDBeaver

#475 Post by Telstar » Tue Jan 20, 2015 2:44 pm

MichaelB wrote:Gary doesn't review Mondo Vision products. Granted, there was nothing to stop people voting for it, but there wouldn't have been much prompting from DVD Beaver.
So why no Mondo Vision reviews on DVD Beaver?

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