Camera Obscura: The Walerian Borowczyk Collection

Discuss releases from Arrow and the films on them.

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Anthony Thorne
Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2009 3:45 am

Re: Camera Obscura: The Walerian Borowczyk Collection

#726 Post by Anthony Thorne » Wed Sep 17, 2014 1:41 am

#191 (pre-order) arrived at the post office for me in Melbourne yesterday, and it's in my laptop bag next to me at work as I type. Beautiful packaging, book smells lovely, glad to finally have received it. Had to sign to collect it, Arrow posting even non-Kickstarted boxes out like this indicates they wanted to avoid anyone having a parcel go lost in the post. Very pleased with the service.
Last edited by Anthony Thorne on Wed Sep 17, 2014 9:47 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Adam X
Joined: Thu Apr 16, 2009 5:04 am

Re: Camera Obscura: The Walerian Borowczyk Collection

#727 Post by Adam X » Wed Sep 17, 2014 2:07 am

Must've been Melbourne's day, as I received it yesterday too. Not had a chance to peel off the shrinkwrap yet, but despite what's been said the book is unexpectedly huge. Looking forward to diving in.
I think I'd have been more excited if my impressive, even bigger new edition of Stephen Thrower's Nightmare USA hadn't arrived simultaneously.

Makes me remember what Xmas used to be like.

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A
Joined: Wed Jan 23, 2008 6:41 pm

Re: Camera Obscura: The Walerian Borowczyk Collection

#728 Post by A » Wed Sep 17, 2014 9:09 am

Mine (kickstarter-backed, #30) arrived last week when I wasn't home. Picked it up this week from the post office. The box is slightly dented from the rough handling the parcel received, but considering how battered my package looked from the outside, the sturdy packing did its job. I'm very happy with the box.

shaky
Joined: Mon Jul 29, 2013 2:52 pm

Re: Camera Obscura: The Walerian Borowczyk Collection

#729 Post by shaky » Wed Sep 17, 2014 2:46 pm

I just received my boxset today and it looks beautiful. One thing though: are there supposed to be two dvds AND two blu-rays in the Short Films and Animation case? I received four discs in that one case, with one of the two blu-rays in no placeholder just moving around freely.

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MichaelB
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Re: Camera Obscura: The Walerian Borowczyk Collection

#730 Post by MichaelB » Wed Sep 17, 2014 2:50 pm

No, you should have had one BD and two DVDs. Are the BDs identical?

shaky
Joined: Mon Jul 29, 2013 2:52 pm

Re: Camera Obscura: The Walerian Borowczyk Collection

#731 Post by shaky » Wed Sep 17, 2014 2:54 pm

Yes, Michael, the covers are the exact same, both saying "Walerian Borowczyk Shorts Films and Animation."

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RyanGallagher
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Re: Camera Obscura: The Walerian Borowczyk Collection

#732 Post by RyanGallagher » Wed Sep 17, 2014 8:08 pm

My copy, 877 of 1000, arrived today in Portland (OR) from Zavvi. It was packed in two bubble mailers, and arrived mostly unscathed (a small amount of damage to one of the edges).

It has been such a fun experience, following this project here on the forum. From the rumors, to the Kickstarter campaign, all the way to the set selling out. I can't believe that it's actually here now, and I want to thank everyone on the forum who has kept the discussion going. I knew nothing of Borowczyk before this project, and you all have been a tremendous resource.

isakborg
Joined: Fri Oct 29, 2010 7:05 pm

Re: Camera Obscura: The Walerian Borowczyk Collection

#733 Post by isakborg » Thu Sep 18, 2014 4:27 pm

0178, non-Kickstarter, ordered from Arrow way back when, arrived in perfect shape here in New Jersey today. What a set!

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jsteffe
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Re: Arrow Films

#734 Post by jsteffe » Thu Sep 18, 2014 5:17 pm

jsteffe wrote:I know what I'm hoping for: Walerian Borowczyk. He could be called "misunderstood," and there are still some of his films which haven't been released on DVD/Blu-ray yet.
My copy of the set, 0080, has arrived, well-packaged and in pristine condition. You can imagine how happy I am right now!

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chatterjees
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Re: Camera Obscura: The Walerian Borowczyk Collection

#735 Post by chatterjees » Thu Sep 18, 2014 7:35 pm

#578 became an integral part of my library yesterday :D

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Thornycroft
Joined: Wed Jan 29, 2014 11:23 pm

Re: Camera Obscura: The Walerian Borowczyk Collection

#736 Post by Thornycroft » Fri Sep 19, 2014 10:28 am

#466 reporting in - a few creased corners from Zavvi's rather casual packaging but joyfully received nonetheless. Looking forward to devouring the whole thing in the coming week.

Meanwhile, over at Blu-Ray.com, Dr. Svet Atanasov's review of Immoral Tales seems to assume that the L'Age d'Or version is Borowczyk's preferred cut and includes The Beast in both his review of the feature and video score.

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scubadonc
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Re: Camera Obscura: The Walerian Borowczyk Collection

#737 Post by scubadonc » Fri Sep 19, 2014 12:45 pm

My un-numbered Arrow direct pre-order arrived in Wyoming today. I won't get to start watching it until next week, but I'm really excited to have it arrive in great shape.

Ron
Joined: Tue Jul 08, 2014 3:22 pm

Re: Camera Obscura: The Walerian Borowczyk Collection

#738 Post by Ron » Sat Sep 20, 2014 5:06 am

My copy (#617) arrived in perfect condition in Austria yesterday. The box set looks really awesome and I already dipped into the book and disc cases. Indeed, this set is a real treasure for Boro fans! Many thanks to Michael B. and the Arrow team for this amazing collectible!

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MichaelB
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Re: Camera Obscura: The Walerian Borowczyk Collection

#739 Post by MichaelB » Sat Sep 20, 2014 5:08 am

Thornycroft wrote:Meanwhile, over at Blu-Ray.com, Dr. Svet Atanasov's review of Immoral Tales seems to assume that the L'Age d'Or version is Borowczyk's preferred cut and includes The Beast in both his review of the feature and video score.
He's also wrong about the provenance of the restoration, which was carried out by Argos, not Arrow (encoding aside, it's the same master that fuelled the Bildstörung BD). This information is provided in the documentation accompanying both the box set and the individual release.

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Thornycroft
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Re: Camera Obscura: The Walerian Borowczyk Collection

#740 Post by Thornycroft » Sat Sep 20, 2014 8:41 pm

MichaelB wrote:This information is provided in the documentation accompanying both the box set and the individual release.
Speaking of which - the pieces written by yourself and James White on the process and logistics of the restoration are absolutely superb. I won't be going through the rest of the essays until I've had a chance to watch all the discs but detailed information on the restoration process and the choices made is always something I take a great interest in.

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Koukol
Joined: Thu Jan 17, 2013 8:31 pm

Re: Camera Obscura: The Walerian Borowczyk Collection

#741 Post by Koukol » Sun Sep 21, 2014 1:53 am

I sure hope this sells well so they consider DR JEKYLL & HIS WOMEN.

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jindianajonz
Jindiana Jonz Abrams
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Re: Camera Obscura: The Walerian Borowczyk Collection

#742 Post by jindianajonz » Sun Sep 21, 2014 2:22 am

Koukol wrote:I sure hope this sells well so they consider DR JEKYLL & HIS WOMEN.
Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be in Arrow's hands

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luridedith
Joined: Fri Feb 01, 2008 7:34 pm

Re: Camera Obscura: The Walerian Borowczyk Collection

#743 Post by luridedith » Sun Sep 21, 2014 7:49 pm

Would another Kickstarter situation resolve the Jekyll rights issues? Its by far his most requested title. I'd definitely pay more to get that and La Marge out of rights hell.

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MichaelB
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Re: Camera Obscura: The Walerian Borowczyk Collection

#744 Post by MichaelB » Mon Sep 22, 2014 2:06 am

luridedith wrote:Would another Kickstarter situation resolve the Jekyll rights issues? Its by far his most requested title. I'd definitely pay more to get that and La Marge out of rights hell.
Money isn't really the issue.

And even if it was, I think launching a Kickstarter to raise money to pay extortionate licensing fees would set a very dangerous precedent!

I'm reminded of a theatrical distributor that went bust in the early 1990s (I forget the name, sadly) largely because it had a very foolish habit of paying the asking price without trying to beat the rightsholder down to something more commercially realistic. It would be fair to say that other indie distributors weren't exactly gutted about their rival's demise, in part because they were genuinely worried that if just one of their number paid what they considered to be extortionate fees, rightsholders would assume that the rest would eventually follow suit - and they'd therefore become much harder to negotiate with.

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Norbie
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Re: Camera Obscura: The Walerian Borowczyk Collection

#745 Post by Norbie » Tue Sep 23, 2014 9:31 am

MichaelB wrote:Mondo Digital:
Various video labels have offered different releases over the years, but the most elaborate and satisfying by far is the astonishing collection assembled by Arrow Films in the U.K. [...] [It] now proudly stands as one of the most essential collections ever released for aficionados of daring European filmmaking.
The review states - "The first disc is essentially a primer on Borowczyk's groundbreaking animation work with one major centerpiece, the 77-minute feature Theatre of Mr. and Mrs. Kabal from 1967."

All that I saw was the purely animated version, much shorter than the 77min this review states. Did I miss something?

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

Re: Camera Obscura: The Walerian Borowczyk Collection

#746 Post by EddieLarkin » Tue Sep 23, 2014 9:44 am

It sounds like it. The short film featuring the Kabals is included in the short film section, but the feature has its own section on the disc. The very first menu should be a choice between "The Shorts" and "Theatre of Mr. and Mrs. Kabal"

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Norbie
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Re: Camera Obscura: The Walerian Borowczyk Collection

#747 Post by Norbie » Tue Sep 23, 2014 11:53 am

EddieLarkin wrote:It sounds like it. The short film featuring the Kabals is included in the short film section, but the feature has its own section on the disc. The very first menu should be a choice between "The Shorts" and "Theatre of Mr. and Mrs. Kabal"
Thank you. Now I feel like a di......

Oh, and for the record I got #562. Has anyone got a copy with single digits?

The set arrived safe and sound yesterday here in Australia, Canberra.

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Charles
Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2011 5:06 pm

Re: Camera Obscura: The Walerian Borowczyk Collection

#748 Post by Charles » Wed Sep 24, 2014 9:29 am

Am I the only MovieMail customer here for this release?

My order status has changed from (whatever it was that sounded very indefinite) to "on order, despatched in 5-7 days".

Hope reigns eternal.

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AidanKing
Joined: Sat Mar 17, 2012 12:22 pm
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Re: Camera Obscura: The Walerian Borowczyk Collection

#749 Post by AidanKing » Wed Sep 24, 2014 9:38 am

Unfortunately, MovieMail seems to be in meltdown following the takeover by Simply Media.

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Rustle
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Re: Re : Camera Obscura: The Walerian Borowczyk Collection

#750 Post by Rustle » Sun Sep 28, 2014 8:55 am

tenia wrote:
MichaelB wrote:
tenia wrote:Very nice boxset, though the paper band is a bit tedious to take out or put back (it's a bit tight).
You're not supposed to put it back!

It's designed to be completely disposable - its sole function is to display the BBFC logo on the requisite sides of the box (to meet the requirements of UK video packaging regulations at the point of sale) and to offer technical details to people who might be browsing in a shop without access to online product descriptions. Although since the box sold out before getting anywhere near HMV, that last bit turned out not to be necessary.
I never dispose of stuff like this. Image
My set was shipped from Amazon UK, and an acquaintance's set was shipped from Arrow. Both arrived with the paper band neatly severed at both front corners of the box, but no cuts to the shrink wrap. That is, the band looked intact under the shrink wrap but fell off as a loose peace upon unwrapping. All contents are perfect and complete, just noting the packaging curiosity.

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