Don't know what has been said on this forum, but it now sounds less definite than it did initially, but still probably on:
From the
Fassbinder Foundation newsletter:
Twenty-five years later, the past hysteria is mere history now. The new presentation, in best quality and with a new technical format, enables a new engagement with the masterpiece, which is now part of cinematic cultural history. The task mainly involved blowing up the 16mm original negative to 35mm and putting the digital WetGate scan taken from the original negative onto HD format, which gives an authentic reproduction of the original lighting created by Fassbinder together with his cameraman Xaver Schwarzenberger; through this standard, it can also be viewed in TV and DVD format. Not only does the Museum of Modern Art wish to get involved,
but also the biggest and most aspiring DVD company in the world, the New-York-based Criterion, is keen to acquire Berlin Alexanderplatz in a special edition for its Criterion Collection and the US market. Our French distribution partner Carlotta Films has also declared a serious interest, and we receive e-mails and enquiries every day asking about the DVD edition.
The RWFF has also contacted public institutions with regard to financial support for the restoration, and generated lively interest. We have incurred considerable financial outlay in purchasing the novel rights by way of initial contribution, we will also provide Fassbinder's own rights to the screenplay and other services of our own, so we hope that our partners too will follow this example.
The total budget for the restoration alone is, according to our internal budget, approx. � 750,000, and this has been covered by us to date at a level of 1/3 of costs. A sum of � 500,000 is still to be financed.
Completion of the project should take place at the end of 2006. Please support us as much as you can: with your encouragement and positive thoughts �and if you wish, also with donations, for which we can let you have a formal receipt.
For what it's worth, the Fassbinder Foundation does a very decent job with its handling of its property -- they seem much more in tune with reality than, say, the Len Lye Foundation or the Oskar Fischinger Foundation, which seems to want to pretend that a DVD market for avant garde films simply does not exist.
That said, I have been disappointed with one of the Wellspring Fassbinder DVDs which exhibit some strange artefacts in some cases -- e.g., Merchant of Four Seasons has some weird digital twitching that I can't explain. Beware of a Holy Whore, on the other hand, looked pretty great. I've been meaning to investigate the PAL version of "Merchant" to see how it looks. Has anyone in the States already done this investigation?
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