Claire Denis on DVD
- Michael
- Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 12:09 pm
I watched Friday Night last night and the film's so amazing that I want to include it in my DVD library. Cinema was made for films like this.
The Wellspring DVD doesn't seem to be really good unless I'm mistaken. I plan to spin the DVD on a different player later to double check but the film was filmed mainly at night and anytime we see anything in dense black, there are horizontal lines "combing" in the black. Friday Night is thoroughly pulsated with enthereal shots/compositions but the surface is grainy which is probably what Denis wants - to give the film a dreamy quality.
The Wellspring's video quality is very hard to judge and Friday Night is nowhere to be found on dvdbeaver so I would appreciate any information or help you could supply. Thanks.
The Wellspring DVD doesn't seem to be really good unless I'm mistaken. I plan to spin the DVD on a different player later to double check but the film was filmed mainly at night and anytime we see anything in dense black, there are horizontal lines "combing" in the black. Friday Night is thoroughly pulsated with enthereal shots/compositions but the surface is grainy which is probably what Denis wants - to give the film a dreamy quality.
The Wellspring's video quality is very hard to judge and Friday Night is nowhere to be found on dvdbeaver so I would appreciate any information or help you could supply. Thanks.
- franco
- Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 7:32 pm
- Location: Vancouver
That's Jae-hyeon Jo gazing at a pretty college girl sitting on a bench in Bad Guy. Sometimes I get the illusion that I resemble him in looks. I recommend the movie (although with trepidation), if you have not seen it and don't mind Kim Ki-Duk.
I just changed my profile name into something more specific so that I sound like a person, not a concept.
I shall let you know about my thoughts after I watch Vendredi Soir. By the way, is it just me or the New Yorker Beau Travail has lots of ghosting (or combing?) during medium to close motion scenes??
I just changed my profile name into something more specific so that I sound like a person, not a concept.
I shall let you know about my thoughts after I watch Vendredi Soir. By the way, is it just me or the New Yorker Beau Travail has lots of ghosting (or combing?) during medium to close motion scenes??
- Michael
- Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 12:09 pm
You can spell out Friday Night 's entire plot in one sentence but Denis turns that humble plot into something so magical and profound.. and the film is unquesttionably as great as the best of cinema. Films like this are rare and must be treasured. For those of you who dismissed Denis based on the awful Trouble Every Day, you will be most certainly shocked (like I was) by the greatness of Friday Night. Pay close attention to the woman's expression on her face as the film concludes. In Friday Night, everything feels so perfect. It's been on my mind all night all day.
I still need to finish watching Beau Travail.. I fell asleep halfway through.
Now about Agnes Godard. I still couldn't get over how beautiful her work is. Inspiring, elegant and pure.
I still need to finish watching Beau Travail.. I fell asleep halfway through.
Now about Agnes Godard. I still couldn't get over how beautiful her work is. Inspiring, elegant and pure.
- zedz
- Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2004 7:24 pm
I've got the UK (Tartan) Friday Night but haven't watched it yet. I'll let you know about quality when I have.
I agree that it's a great film, but it's only about my fifth or sixth favourite film by Denis. Godard's work is so superb, and so subtle and textured, that these films really need to be seen on a big screen, but any DVD release is better than nothing (and I say this as the owner of a horribly shoddy Korean boot of Nenette et Boni).
I'm sure you'll appreciate Beau Travail on a second try, and just wait till you see L'Intrus: Godard is in rare form there. Despite the magnificence and epic sweep of those films, I think Nenette et Boni is still my favourite Denis, and it's probably the closest in tone to Friday Night, and its use of music is, if anything, even more sublime than Beau Travail. When will somebody issue a decent DVD of this film!?
I agree that it's a great film, but it's only about my fifth or sixth favourite film by Denis. Godard's work is so superb, and so subtle and textured, that these films really need to be seen on a big screen, but any DVD release is better than nothing (and I say this as the owner of a horribly shoddy Korean boot of Nenette et Boni).
I'm sure you'll appreciate Beau Travail on a second try, and just wait till you see L'Intrus: Godard is in rare form there. Despite the magnificence and epic sweep of those films, I think Nenette et Boni is still my favourite Denis, and it's probably the closest in tone to Friday Night, and its use of music is, if anything, even more sublime than Beau Travail. When will somebody issue a decent DVD of this film!?
- franco
- Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 7:32 pm
- Location: Vancouver
The DVD of L'Intrus is coming to UK from Tartan on December 5th. No word on extras yet...
I am counting the days before I see it at the festival.
I am counting the days before I see it at the festival.
- backstreetsbackalright
- Joined: Fri Dec 17, 2004 6:49 pm
- Location: 313
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- Joined: Sat Sep 17, 2005 10:06 am
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- zedz
- Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2004 7:24 pm
Getting back to the original post, I've now looked at the UK Tartan disc of Vendredi Soir and it seems decent. The image is crisp enough, at least on my screen, though it does seem to have an slight overall green tinge, which may actually be true to the film, if my foggy memory serves. The black levels are not entirely consistent throughout as well: generally good, but when Jean is speeding in reverse down the suddenly empty streets, for example, the blacks are speckly and greenish. Again, this may be true to Godard's moody, impressionistic photography.
What I love about this film, and what is beautifully preserved on the small screen, is its dreamlike mood and slippery sense of reality. At just about any point along the way, we could be leaving Laure's reality and entering her fantasy. When I attended a screening of the film presented by Denis, she seemed to downplay this possibility, however (and then she went and made L'Intrus). What she emphasised was her absolute fidelity to the source novel, right down to its most fleeting idiosyncracies (such as the smiling pizza).
As for J'ai pas sommeil, what a film indeed. I've heard the US disc is not great, but I don't know how much longer I can hold out. Any comments on that edition?
What I love about this film, and what is beautifully preserved on the small screen, is its dreamlike mood and slippery sense of reality. At just about any point along the way, we could be leaving Laure's reality and entering her fantasy. When I attended a screening of the film presented by Denis, she seemed to downplay this possibility, however (and then she went and made L'Intrus). What she emphasised was her absolute fidelity to the source novel, right down to its most fleeting idiosyncracies (such as the smiling pizza).
As for J'ai pas sommeil, what a film indeed. I've heard the US disc is not great, but I don't know how much longer I can hold out. Any comments on that edition?
- zedz
- Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2004 7:24 pm
Snap! I was amazed how poorly served she was on French DVD (and I don't think it was solely the fault of fnucking FNAC). Even Vendredi Soir seemed to be AWOL. I had little luck with Assayas as well.flixyflox wrote: I tried tracking down some French discs of Denis' films while in Paris in June but didn't have any luck off the shelves. I am really not sure how well she is served by DVDs in her home country but would certianly like to upgrade editions of anything, even without subs.
Thanks for the tips re. different editions. I doubt I'll be able to resist the temptation of J'ai pas sommeil much longer, so here's hoping somebody rushes out a superior transfer.
- Arn777
- Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 6:10 am
- Location: London
It will probably come out in France first, before the end of the year. From Arte, which means probably no english subtitles but some interesting supplements. I saw it when it was broadcasted on the Arte TV channel in France back in May, and it's my favourite film of the year so far and can't wait to get into it again.
- Michael
- Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 12:09 pm
Just finished watching Beau Travail. My god.. what can I say? The best film ever made! No but seriously, it's really that great. I want to say so much about my experience with Beau Travail but the words fail to come out. The most beautifully shot ballet with breathtaking rhythmic patterns - men in the desert, local women weaving, disco...
And what an ending!
A question: I'm trying to understand Galoup's jealousy toward Sentain..why does he feel and think so negative about Sentain? I certainly need time to digest and also revisit the film.
And what an ending!
A question: I'm trying to understand Galoup's jealousy toward Sentain..why does he feel and think so negative about Sentain? I certainly need time to digest and also revisit the film.
- Michael
- Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 12:09 pm
Jonathan Rosenbaum's take on Claire Denis and Beau Travail.
Been digesting Beau Travail for a few hours. Is it wrong to read Galoup as a man who's violently afraid of his repressed sexual feelings for Sentain?
Been digesting Beau Travail for a few hours. Is it wrong to read Galoup as a man who's violently afraid of his repressed sexual feelings for Sentain?
- Andre Jurieu
- Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 3:38 pm
- Location: Back in Milan (Ind.)
Considering the entire thing is influenced by Billy Budd, I'd say no it isn't wrong. It's fairly clear.Michael wrote:Been digesting Beau Travail for a few hours. Is it wrong to read Galoup as a man who's violently afraid of his repressed sexual feelings for Sentain?
- franco
- Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 7:32 pm
- Location: Vancouver
Now there is a word on extras: an interview.Franco wrote:The DVD of L'Intrus is coming to UK from Tartan on December 5th. No word on extras yet...
Michael, I think, with uncertainty, that you will love L'Intrus. My reaction to the whole experience when the film ended was similar to that I had for Mirror (namely utterly confused and spellbound), although Claire Denis' universe is completely in a class of its own.
Acquarello, I am posting a link to your article because it quickly facilitated my infatuation with the film.
More old news: Robert Davis's brilliant interview with Claire Denis and commentary.
- Michael
- Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 12:09 pm
- backstreetsbackalright
- Joined: Fri Dec 17, 2004 6:49 pm
- Location: 313
- Michael
- Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 12:09 pm
My god, Franco. Bad Guy is soooo good. What a strange, perverted love story. I was surprised by how much it moved me. Wonder if that makes me a pervert. I was stunned by the acting and also the director's gorgeous use of compositions. The brutality was hard to take in some scenes. Thinking about starting a thread devoted to Bad Guy since it seems like not many people have heard of this truly awesome film. And I'm also curious about how women generally respond to Bad Guy.
- franco
- Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 7:32 pm
- Location: Vancouver
Michael, I am soooo delighted that you like Bad Guy and to realize that one does not have to bear any grudge for women to like the movie. It certainly deserves its own thread, although I was reluctant to initialize one because I had too little to say and too much personal context.
On the other hand, I finished watching Friday Night and was not in the least degree disappointed. There is not much I can add to what has already been said about the film. I just wish there were someone who would watch it together with me.
If the cover really looks like this, then I'll just wait for the Benson's World sale next summer.
From Sendit.com
The DTS track will be lovely.
As for S'en fout la mort and Nénette et Boni , there is still no word on the subtitles yet.
On the other hand, I finished watching Friday Night and was not in the least degree disappointed. There is not much I can add to what has already been said about the film. I just wish there were someone who would watch it together with me.
If the cover really looks like this, then I'll just wait for the Benson's World sale next summer.
From Sendit.com
The DTS track will be lovely.
As for S'en fout la mort and Nénette et Boni , there is still no word on the subtitles yet.