I'm thinking of placing a book order through amazon.de and want to know what DVDs I might add to the order. The double-disc version of Downfall looks tempting. What else is available in Germany that is worth the investment (and not available elsehwhere, at least in as good of editions)? I don't need English subs, so this broadens the selection quite a bit.

Don't they have a really nice edition of Million Dollar Hotel? Not that it's a great film, but if you're into Wenders, U2, and/or Milla Jovovich, it's a must-see/-have.

Hi,

Thats not easy, but I will say what comes to my mind.
First of all look a bit at what Kinowelt releases within their Arthaus Label. They started a very good Wenders Collection, released a lot of Herzogs stuff (wo die grünen armeisen träumen for example)...great commentaries and many of his best and very rare short are to find on the disks). Their Fassbinder collection is awesome too, I think a few (Lili Marlene, Why does...runs amok") aren't available somewhere else. They have a disk of the long version of Viscontis Ludwig out as well, some of Riefenstahl's work (both Olymia's), Sauras Carmen, Alas Fresa y chocolate and nearly all Laurel & Hardy Films in great quality.
Legend films released some great Pasolini disks, Il Fiore delle mille e una notte, I Racconti da Canterbury and Il Decameron, they look much better than the bfi disks. They also released a nearly perfect edition of Salo a week ago, with the picture quality of the french disk (but with the "Benn poem" scene which is missing on the french disk) and a few doc's (look for salo not at amazon, they dont sell adult films, look at www.dtm.at).
The "Hitchcock - Early Years" set from Eurovideo is very good too.
Sure there is many other stuff, but I can't think of more right know.

Regards,

Dennis

Wo die gruenen Armeisen ... and Schrei aus Stein each have a scathing review at amazon.de. Are these films really that bad?

Thanks for the suggestions, though.

I like Ameisen very much and the short included ( Wodaabe – Hirten der Sonne (50. Min) ) is very nice as well. I read the amazon review a few moments ago, and I think it say's nothing. Is a political correct movie always bad? Must anything be political uncorrect to be taken serious?
The opinion expressed by Herzog is what he wanted to say, and if this guy disliked it, he can't like much of Herzog's work because you will find it in a lot of his films. For example if you seen his short film for the "Ten minutes older" compilation you can see that his point of view on this matter hasn't changed.
Well I must admit, and Herzog himself said that in the very good commentary, that there are two or three pathetic moments, but non the less this movie carries a lot of truth and is incredibly beautiful.
Schrei aus Stein is good (for me, a Herzog fan), but certainly not one of his best. I bought it mainly because if the commentary and the short "Die Ballade des kleinen Soldaten", but if this isn't of your interest I would say rent it first or skip it.
What makes Schrei aus Stein even more unattractive is that the original english language audio is missing, only german dub...

Regards,

Dennis

Is this the case with Ameisen?

No, only with Schrei aus Stein. "Schrei" is the only Herzog DVD from Kinowelt/Arthaus which is missing the original audio track.

Regards,

Dennis

I guess the subject says it all. Other then Enthusiazm, are there any other purchases worthwhile from amazon.de? I'd like to combine shipping! Thanks!

do you need English subs?

The German Some Like It Hot (anamorphic, slightly better picture quality, identical extras) is better than the current American edition (non-anamorphic).

On the other hand, you may want to wait for the coming 2-disc US edition.

The German edition of Hitchcock's Blackmail ("Erpressung") is first-rate and includes both the silent and sound versions. There's also an "Alfred Hitchcock: The Early Years" box set that's said to be really good.

I've had Errol Morris' A Brief History of Time ("Eine kurze Geschichte der Zeit") in my Amazon.de shopping cart forever, but haven't bought it yet, so I'm not sure about the quality. If anyone's seen it, please tell us.

As you're interested in Vertov's Entuziasm, there is a brand new edition of Eisenstein's "The General line" (Die Generallinie), published by 'arte stummfilmedition'. This is a re-stored version following Eisenstein's original plans (the film was much mutilated by Stalin's censors). This version seems to be far more avantgardistic as far as editing is concerned than the one known hitherto. It now runs 131 min., has a new soundtrack, and is probably the best version you could get at the moment. The print has quite a lot of damage though, especially in the 'unknown' parts, but it's still a worthwhile purchase. The dvd also has a one-hour documentary in German about Eisenstein which is quite good. If you don't need English subs, it's almost a must buy.

Pardon my naivete but I also misunderstood the call. Does the initial poster want comprehensive refs to ANY DVD of ANY interest released in Germany, or German titles? Simply dunno.

Pray tell?

anything that's really not available elsewhere is what im looking for, unless of course there's something that is a better edition in germany that is close to the same price elsewhere...the american dollar is really weak right now, so i might just hold off on this purchase, although i've been holding off for ages because of that very reason

Oh and i DO need english subs...unless of course the dialogue is in english

Yeah what was that line of discs which poster Lubitsch wrote about with the restored BLIND HUSBANDS, etc?

The Hitchcock set is essential. It includes the best-looking versions of The Lodger, Young and Innocent, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Secret Agent, The Lady Vanishes (significantly better than the Criterion!), and the only DVD release of Downhill. For the price, it's a steal, too!

Almodovar's High Heels is anamorphic and has English subtitles.

The two German Laurel and Hardy box sets (one and two) are preferable, in my opinion, to the similar UK set. You don't get the colourised versions, but you do get some other very interesting extras, including some foreign language versions that they made by reading offscreen cue-cards phonetically.

I'd also suggest Leni Riefenstahl's amazing Olympia (Part 1 and Part 2), but it may be worth waiting to see how it compares with this announced Region 1 edition.

A couple of other recommendations are Themroc (wordless, so no subs required) and this Isabelle Adjani box set (no English subs, but excellent in every other respect).

Add to the Hitchs Blackmail, a superbo disc.

The German la Luna is also very nice indeed (mine finally arrived yesterday.)

Go for the new R1 edition, definitely! It contains a lot of footage (including the infamous Olympic oath) that Riefenstahl had to cut out in later years in Germany for political reasons. It also restores the running order of the original version. Apparently, this R1 edition will be a limited edition, so get it while you can. The film is a must see for anyone interested in film art and editing.

One release that I was very excited about was the director's cut of UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD/BIS ANS ENDE DER WELT. I am not sure if this has surfaced in other regions as well... There are some interviews on the discs with Wim Wenders, although not subtitled.

Check here for English friendly Romy Schneider collection, and here for Claude Lelouch collection with English subtitles.

Good German DVDs?

Stranger than Paradise: Much better transfer than the R1. See HERE.

Pathfinder: Brilliant Norwegian film (first ever film in Saami, the language of Northern Norwegian peoples) set in 1000 AD. The Amazon listing is incomplete - the DVD has the Saami dialogue (encoded as Norwegian) and had english subtitles. 2.35:1 anamorphic.

The Stranger (Orson Welles): Far superior to all other transfers.

Much fabulous German treasure-troveness here at Universum Film's DVD/VHS Label, much of which defaults to the german amazon as buying link.

BLIND HUSBANDS is for October this year. Other DVDs already available are here, here, and here.

ABSOLUT MEDIEN is doing a fine job, too. Consider Feyder's VISAGES D'ENFANTES. There's also a four part edition of Lotte Reiniger's works without subs.

Don't forget Hitchcock's MURDER by Kinowelt which has the German version shot by Hitch simultaneously (no subs)