Milestone

[swo17]

Coming to Blu-ray November 16th from Milestone Film and Kino Lorber!

The Mystery of Picasso (1956)

But it loses the great Resnais short from the DVD?

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

Guernica seems to be with a different distributor now.

[drdoros]

I just looked and the restoration of Mystery of Picasso is fine -- the B&W is B&W. It must be somewhere else down the line that the mistake was made.

Dennis
Milestone Films

[tenia]

I just looked and the restoration of Mystery of Picasso is fine -- the B&W is B&W. It must be somewhere else down the line that the mistake was made.

It could very well be that it's down to the Gaumont BD encode, but when a B&W movie gets an improper encode that shows chroma issues (ending up giving a light coloration to the movie), it usually is in a much lesser extent that what happened on their release (some exemples here).
In any case, glad to know it won't have this heavy tint in a release, even if it's too late for the French one.

[swo17]

How was the Arrow?

[knives]

Looks like they’re dropping the Resnais short from the DVD.

[Adam X]

How was the Arrow?

I watched it last year, and I've got no memory of any sort of green tint. But online screenshots seem to say otherwise, though not as pronounced as the ones at tenia's provided link.
I'd not seen it before, though, so had no expectations. I didn't enjoy the film too much, for the most part, so I may just not've noticed. Or cared.

[tenia]

Seemingly the same green tint on the Arrow disc.

[L.A.]

Anna May Wong: the eternal outsider @ The New European. Also Piccadilly coming to Blu-ray next year.

[lzx]

The Mystery of Picasso is up on Kanopy. No green tint that I could see.

[drdoros]

https://shadowandact.com/ayoka-chenzira ... -exclusive

Kino Lorber has announced it will release a new 4K restoration of Ayoka Chenzira’s Alma’s Rainbow. The film is restored by Milestone Films, the Academy Film Archive, and The Film Foundation and is presented by Julie Dash. The restoration will premiere on June 27 at BAMCinemafest with Chenzira in attendance.

The ceremony will also include a new 4K restoration of her short film Hair Piece: A Film for Nappy-Headed People. Alma’s Rainbow will release theatrically on July 29.

'Alma's Rainbow' was written, directed and produced by award-winning film and video artist Ayoka Chenzira, who is one of the first African Americans to teach film production in higher education, as well as one of the first African American women to work in animation.

The film is an integral part of ’90s Black cinema, and its restoration aims to preserve and showcase it for future generations to experience.

Here is the official synopsis of Alma’s Rainbow:
A coming-of-age comedy-drama about three African American women living in Brooklyn, Alma’s Rainbow explores the life of teenager Rainbow Gold (Victoria Gabrielle Platt) as she enters womanhood and navigates standards of beauty, self-image, and the rights women have over their bodies. Rainbow attends a strict parochial school, studies dance, and lives with her strait-laced mother Alma (Kim Weston-Moran), who runs a hair salon in the parlor of their home and disapproves of her daughter’s newfound interest in boys. When Alma’s free-spirited sister Ruby (Mizan Kirby) returns from Paris after a ten-year absence, the sisters clash over what constitutes the “proper” direction for Rainbow’s life. Alma’s Rainbow highlights a multi-layered Black women’s world where the characters live, love, and wrestle with what it means to exert and exercise their agency.

More on the restoration:
Co-founders of Milestone Films, Dennis Doros and Amy Heller said of the restoration: “We have had the fortune to introduce current audiences to Charles Burnett’s Killer of Sheep and My Brother’s Wedding, Billy Woodberry’s Bless Their Little Hearts, and Kathleen Collins’ Losing Ground. Ayoka Chenzira’s Alma’s Rainbow is this year’s rediscovery and we are looking forward to audiences sharing our delight in seeing this fabulous film on the big screen and basking in Ayoka’s light, humor, and artistry.”


Chenzira added, “Someone once told me that filmmakers eventually fall out of love with their films as they move on with their careers. I have never felt this way about my work because with each project, I learn something new about myself as an artist and as a person. So I am thrilled that my independent film, Alma’s Rainbow, was restored by Milestone, a company with a long history of supporting the visions and expressions of filmmakers.”

Richard Lorber, President & CEO of Kino Lorber said, “We’re proud to continue our partnership with Milestone as we reintroduce Alma’s Rainbow to audiences across North America, and internationally in Cannes. It’s an especial honor that Julie Dash will be presenting this vital restoration of the film.”

The restoration by the Academy Film Archive, The Film Foundation, and Milestone Films and supervised by Mark Toscano, with funding provided by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation. The lab credits are Roundabout Entertainment and Audio Mechanics, with thanks to Vincent Pirozzi.

[Quote Perf Unquote]

I love this label, and will continue to support them with purchases, but I'm losing patience with their email newsletters consisting of almost nothing but politics. I agree with their politics, but it's increasingly tiresome, and more frequently seems less relevant to the films they are promoting.

[hearthesilence]

I didn't even know they had a newsletter, and I buy their stuff. Maybe just unsubscribe?

[Quote Perf Unquote]

I didn't even know they had a newsletter, and I buy their stuff. Maybe just unsubscribe?

I'm not one of those people who "blanks" everyone and everything I don't want to see, unlike a lot of people I'm a big boy who can handle bad news, personal affronts, and that sort. And as I say, the slant of their politics is agreeable to me anyway. It's just the percentage of content has in the past few months gone from about 90% label news and 10% BTW here's a charity related to a recent crisis, please consider donating, to 90% straight up political commentary and 10% maybe we'll mention an upcoming release if we remember to so.

And I love their more political releases, Shirley Clarke, I am Cuba, I dig all that Olde Commie Shit, no problem.

But for god's sake, if I wanted political screeds I'd subscribe to Salon.com or Utne Reader's newsletters.

Other labels have done benefits, I think Oscillioscope did a woman's reproductive rights sale couple weeks ago, but goddamn even their newsletter isn't as strident and overbearing as Milestone's.

[yoloswegmaster]

I posted this in the Sight and Sound thread but I might as well post this here. Milestone responded to someone asking if Soy Cuba and Killer of Sheep were coming out soon:

They are both coming out, but the delay is for the same reason, which I'm sorry, I can't share with you. But they are definitely both supposed to be out in this year.

[Michael Kerpan]

Milestone is good people. I know they are very committed to these 2 films...

[What A Disgrace]

I had no idea Killer of Sheep was coming to Blu-ray, so this is indeed great news. I hope Bless Their Little Hearts and My Brother's Wedding follow.

[L.A.]

Very interesting interview with Dennis at Media Play News.

[beamish14]

Very interesting interview with Dennis at Media Play News.

That is a great interview. Love how he mentioned Deadhead Miles as being an inexplicably “lost” film

[drdoros]

Thanks for the kind words. If any of you want to read the first MM newsletter, you can find it here:
https://mailchi.mp/milestonefilms/welco ... f291bfe6e2
and if you want to sign up for upcoming newsletters, you can go to www.missingmovies.org

[drdoros]

Coming soon from Milestone and Kino Lorber!

[Peacock]

Great news. I love that you guys keep unearthing these underseen silents, just received The Dumb Girl of Portici today.

Dennis, is there any update on Soy Cuba’s blu-ray release? Or is that more likely to be licensed out to Criterion now?

[starmanof51]

I thought Soy Cuba was finally going to happen jointly with Kino, but man, is it taking forever

[drdoros]

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film11/blu-ray ... HKrIM87bJs

On their Blu-ray, Milestone Films offers options of DTS-HD Master 5.1 and 2.0 channel stereo (both 24-bit.) The Spanish Dancer has a delightful new orchestral score by Bill Ware. He is a jazz vibraphonist that has collaborated with Steely Dan, John Zorn, Deborah Harry, the BBC Concert Orchestra, Elvis Costello, Arturo O’Farrill, Andy Summers, Pink Floyd’s David Gilmore among others. The score was very supportive, frequently subtle, without attempting to supersede the film - I enjoyed it very much via the lossless transfer. Wonderful moods. Milestone Films offer the original English intertitles on their Region FREE Blu-ray.

The Milestone Films Blu-ray offers a new commentary by Scott Eyman for the first hour - he discusses the sources that this restoration was derived, shooting at the Lasky Ranch near Hollywood, stars Pola Negri, Antonio Moreno, Wallace Beery, Adolphe Menjou and much more. It's very informative. The remainder of the film (3/4 of an hour) continues the optional commentary - but by dance historian Naima Prevots (author of Dancing in the Sun: Hollywood choreographers, 1915-1937 - Theater and dramatic studies.) Among other details she talks about the Ballet dancer and choreographer Ernest Belcher often referred to "Father of Ballet in Southern California." Also included is a 22-minute interview with the composer Bill Ware - who describes his approach to creating the score for The Spanish Dancer - and a short restoration piece showing a split-screen of the four sources..

Dennis D
Milestone Film & Video

[drdoros]

https://ohmr.themailnewspapers.com/wong ... tic-dance/

Wong’s Radiant Cinematic Dance
Chris Jones
September 21, 2023
MOVIE REVIEW
Piccadilly
–
RAVING REVIEW: The magnetic Anna May Wong leaps from obscurity in the US and shines brighter than ever across the pond in PICCADILLY, a genuinely riveting tale. Transported to the heart of the roaring twenties, viewers are given a sneak peek into the lives, the glamour, and the unanticipated twists of the Piccadilly Club. Oh, and when Shosho (Anna May Wong) steps out of the dark corners of her dishwashing duties into the enchanting glow of the stage? Hold on to your seats because it’s an unforgettable ride!

If cinema is a landscape, every shot is an explorer’s dream, and who better to navigate this terrain than the visionary cinematographer Werner Brandes? His brilliant manipulation of light, shadow, and hue narrates a story of its own, mirroring Shosho’s intricate journey. The emotional depth and the layers he adds to each character, especially Shosho, make every scene an art piece. This journey should not be missed, along with director Ewald André Dupont’s (EA Dupont) fantastic direction and the film’s stunning restoration!

Dupont, not one to be overshadowed, crafts an evocative backdrop. He paints a vivid picture of the glamorous lives of London’s crème de la crème while not forgetting the poignant tales of the everyday Joe. His lens keenly observes the societal divides of the time, juxtaposing them against a vibrant world. Beneath the razzle-dazzle lies an understated commentary on racial biases; instead of diving deep into the murky waters of prejudice, PICCADILLY provides glimpses of it, letting Anna May Wong’s undeniable charisma address the audience.

Any issues in the film, and some minor pacing questions, ultimately are only minor hiccups in an otherwise exhilarating cinematic joyride. Dupont pivots back, keeping us engrossed with his vivid portrayal of the Jazz Age, innovative storytelling twists, and breathtaking sequences.

In the grand scheme, PICCADILLY isn’t just your run-of-the-mill period flick. It’s a magnificent canvas painted with the life of 1920s London, sprinkled with societal insights and topped off with Anna May Wong’s unparalleled artistry. This movie stands tall, a testament to its importance in British cinema history. And if there’s one thing you’d take away from the entire visual treat? It’s Wong’s transcendent portrayal of Shosho, bound to resonate in your thoughts long after the final scene fades out. So, whether you’re a casual movie-goer or someone who lives and breathes cinema, PICCADILLY promises a journey worth every second!

PRODUCT EXTRAS:
– Audio commentary by film historian Farran Smith Nehme
– Introduction to the 1929 sound version
– Neil Brand on the score for Piccadilly
– San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival panel: “Dangerous to Know:
– The Career and Legacy of Anna May Wong,” moderated by B. Ruby Rich

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