Kino

[kaujot]

Not sure if this has been mentioned yet or not, but here is an e-mail I got from Roger Ebert concerning Killer of Sheep:

The current theatrical release will be followed by a DVD from Kino.

Best,
RE

[Matt]

The current theatrical release will be followed by a DVD from Kino.

I'll bet that's news to Milestone Films.

[zedz]

The current theatrical release will be followed by a DVD from Kino.

I'll bet that's news to Milestone Films.

And the Milestone DVD transfer is gorgeous and ready to go, if their screener is anything to go by.

[barnyard078]

Regarding Battleship Potemkin, I just received the new Kino 30th Anniversary catalog in the mail, and here is what it says exactly:

Available 10/16

A 2 DVD box set

In association with THE BERLIN FILM MUSEUM, GOSFILMOFUND RUSSIAN ARCHIVE, and BRITISH FILM INSTITUTE, Kino is proud to present an all new restoration of Sergei Eisenstein's masterwork Battleship Potemkin

DVD extra: Expertly researched documentary on the MAKING OF POTEMKIN with rare outtake footage (Germany, 2007, 60 min.)

On the soundtrack: the original 1926 Edmund Miesel score played by the 55 piece Deutches Filmorchestra

[Tribe]

Some new Kino releases:

Alibi

Strongly influenced by the German cinema of the 1920s, director Roland West (The Bat Whispers) created America's first expressionist crime film-a stylish thriller that presaged the rise of film noir.

Chester Morris stars as Chick Williams, a Prohibition gangster who rejoins his mob soon after being released from prison. When a policeman is murdered during a robbery, Williams falls under suspicion and the detective squad employs its most sophisticated and barbaric techniques to pin the crime on him.

Eye-grabbing compositions, eccentric Art Deco sets (designed by William Cameron Menzies) and the experimental use of sound make ALIBI like a cinematic funhouse-a carnival of shadow and violence and angst that dazzled viewers of 1929 and earned the film three Academy Award nominations.

For this edition, Kino has used a restored ALIBI soundtrack (which had been recorded on disc and edited in a primitive manner). Though some surface noise, distortion and level fluctuations remain, a good degree of improvement and consistency has been attained.

U.S. 1929 84 Min. B&W Full-Frame (1.33:1)
United Artists Not Rated
Directed by Roland West
Screenplay by Roland West and C. Gardner Sullivan
Based on the play NIGHTSTICK by John Griffith
Wray, J.C. Nugent, and Elaine S. Carrington
Art Direction by William Cameron Menzies
With Chester Morris, Harry Stubbs, Mae Busch, Eleanor Griffith, Regis Toomey
Licensed from the Douris Corp.

Be Yourself

Joseph M. Schenck presents
Fannie Brice in Be Yourself

Featuring Five Musical Numbers by Billy Rose including "When a Woman Loves a Man"

Comic chanteuse Fannie Brice stars as a nightclub singer in love with a thick-witted boxer (Robert Armstrong) in this delightful musical from the dawn of the talkies. Highlighted by five musical numbers co-written by Billy Rose (including "When a Woman Loves a Man"), Be Yourself showcases the unique blend of sophisticated grace, broad comedy and Yiddish pluck that made Brice a superstar of stage, screen and radio.

U.S. 1930 66 Min. B&W Full-Frame (1.33:1)
United Artists Not Rated
Presented by Joseph M. Schenck
Directed by Thornton Freeland
Screenplay by Max Marcin and Thornton Freeland
Based on "The Champ" by Joseph Jackson
Photographed by Robert H. Planck and Karl Struss
Art Direction by William Cameron Menzies
With Fannie Brice, Robert Armstrong, Harry Green, Gertrude Astor, Marjorie Kane

The Lottery Bride

An enchanted operetta set in the remote Norwegian Alps, THE LOTTERY BRIDE evokes the storybook romances of Ernst Lubitsch and Rouben Mamoulian. It weaves the tale of a young tavern hostess (Jeanette MacDonald) who finds herself torn between a young student (John Garrick), a dashing Italian aviator (Joseph Macaulay) and a rugged miner (Robert Chisholm).

Through these complicated romantic maneuverings are woven a series of lively songs by Rudolf Friml and J. Kiern Brennan, including the rhapsodic "My Northern Lights." Spectacular visual effects devised by William Cameron Menzies (including a zeppelin crash in the arctic wasteland) and splashes of comedy by Joe E. Brown and Zasu Pitts help make THE LOTTERY BRIDE a deliriously far-fetched melodrama that could only have emerged from the fearless early years of the Hollywood musical.

This Kino edition was newly mastered in high definition from a 35mm negative from the estate of producer Joseph M. Schenck.

THE LOTTERY BRIDE
U.S. 1930 B&W 65 Min.
Full Frame (1.33:1)
Directed by Paul L. Stein
Presented by Joseph M. Schenck
Produced by Arthur Hammerstein
Screenplay by Howard Emmett Rogers
Adapted by Horace Jackson from the story "Bride 66" by Herbert Stothart
Photographed by Ray June
Art Direction: William Cameron Menzies
Music by Rudolf Friml
Lyrics by J. Kiern Brennan
With Jeanette MacDonald, John Garrick, Joe E. Brown, Zasu Pitts

[kevyip1]

Just received Kino's latest catalog in the mail... Is anyone getting tired of seeing that Metropolis robot on the cover so much?? Come on, Kino, that Metropolis DVD came out years ago.

[What A Disgrace]

I just received a newsletter from Kino, confirming a two disc special edition of Potemkin on October 16.

Boo.

[justeleblanc]

I just received a newsletter from Kino, confirming a two disc special edition of Potemkin on October 16.

So did Criterion turn it down? How is it that Kino was able to get the film and Criterion didn't?

If I were to guess, I would say the quality of materials wasn't up to Criterion's standards and Kino was willing to release it instead.

[Tribe]

Earlier in this thread Nick sed:

I'm under the impression that Kino have licenced the new German restoration of POTEMKIN. Tartan have licenced the Ruscico edition.

The German restoration of POTEMKIN is, apparently, "the one" -- and I heard this was with the BFI in the UK.

I may be wrong, however. I had been hoping that Criterion would get the German version, and Kino would release what Tartan are releasing.

So it looks like there might be two editions out there....but it all does sound mighty strange that Criterion not be in the running for this.

Tribe

[justeleblanc]

It depends who did the German restoration. Kino has a solid deal with Transit, so if this came from them then Kino would surely get it over Criterion.

[Tribe]

It depends who did the German restoration. Kino has a solid deal with Transit, so if this came from them then Kino would surely get it over Criterion.

The recent Kino catalog says its being presented in association with the Berlin Film Museum, Gosfilmofund Russian Archive and British Film Institute.

Tribe

[tavernier]

Kino is releasing Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors on Nov. 6.

From a BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music) press release:

KINO 30TH ANNIVERSARY: SHADOWS OF FORGOTTEN ANCESTORS
OCTOBER 31–NOVEMBER 6
A week-long screening with a New Print
SHADOWS OF FORGOTTEN ANCESTORS (1964) Directed by Sergei Parajanov
BAMcinématek continues to celebrate Kino's 30th Anniversary with a brand-new print of Sergei Parajanov's masterpiece SHADOWS OF FORGOTTEN ANCESTORS. Considered safe by the Soviet government, the director seized a rare moment of freedom to create this Romeo and Juliet-esque tale set in the Carpathian mountains. Infused with Ukrainian folk music, religious symbolism, dazzling bursts of vivid reds and yellows, and dizzying camerawork, SHADOWS OF FORGOTTEN ANCESTORS is a chaotic and lyrical tour de force.
The Kino DVD is coming out on November 6.

[miless]

Kino is releasing Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors on Nov. 6.

GODDAMNIT! I sure as hell hope that it looks better than any of their other Parajanov releases

[Tribe]

A Potemkin page is up now at Kino.

Kino International is proud to release on DVD a definitive and unprecedented restoration of one of the most important films of all time: Sergei Eisenstein's BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN (1925). Widely considered one the most influential silent film ever made, this undisputed masterpiece is now available in a cut as close as possible to Eisenstein's original vision, which premiered in Moscow in December of 1925.

Kino's two-DVD boxed set of Sergei Eisenstein's BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN will prebook on September 25, 2007, with a SRP of 29.95. Kino's BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN DVD will be available to the general public on October 23.

With a gamut of exclusive special features, Kino's BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN DVD offers a 42-minute documentary ("Tracing Battleship Potemkin") on the making and restoration of the film, a photo gallery, and another presentation of the film with original Russian intertitles and optional English subtitles.

THE RESTORATION

The result of a twenty-year restoration project led by the Deutches Kinemathek in Germany and supported by Bundesarchiv (Berlin), Gosfilmofond (Moscow) and the British Film Institute (London), this definitive version of BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN restores all 1,374 of Eisenstein's original shots. Setting this apart from previous re-issues of this Russian classic is the inclusion of never-before-seen segments cut from the original negative at the insistence of German censors in 1926 and 1928.

After Sergei Eisenstein supervised the cutting of the film's original negative (prior to the Russian premiere in 1925), this material was sold to a German distribution company that became responsible for the foreign sales of Potemkin. Still in the throes of a crippling economic depression and concerned with Bolshevik agitation within its own borders, German officials ordered distributor Prometheus to cut the most incendiary shots from the original negative, forcing them to further re-edit the film in order to cover up those cuts. Even the famed Odessa steps scene was altered.

Kino's BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN not only brings back all of the film's original shots, rescued from early prints made from the untouched original negative, but also presents the film as close as possible to its original edit, when it premiered in Russia on December 21, 1925. Moreover, all of Eisenstein's original titles have been put back in their original order, re-inserted into the film and retranslated into English. For instance, Kino's version brings back a quote, originally placed at the beginning of the film, by the Ukrainian-born Bolshevik revolutionary and Marxist theorist by Leon Trotsky. Even though Trotsky wrote extensively on the 1905 revolution, Russian censors decided to replace this quote with a less ambiguous excerpt written by Lenin.

And while the 1925 Russian premiere of POTEMKIN was presented without an exclusive score, Eisenstein personally supervised Edmund Meisel's composition in Germany before his film's premiere in Berlin in 1926. As such, Kino's DVD brings back to life the only official music track for Eisenstein's masterpiece, now rendered by the 55-piece Deutches Filmorchestra in 5.1 Stereo Surround.

After 80 years since its world premiere, dozens of missing shots have been replaced, all 146 mistranslated and reordered titles have been restored to Eisenstein's specifications and Potemkin's iconic imagery has been re-mastered in High Definition.

BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN returns Eisenstein's magnificent and revolutionary film to a form as close to its creator's bold vision as we are ever likely to see.

[MichaelB]

Kino is releasing Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors on Nov. 6.

GODDAMNIT! I sure as hell hope that it looks better than any of their other Parajanov releases

It's already out in France - with optional English subtitles - and I can give a very firm thumbs up to Films Sans Frontières' release.

[kekid]

Kino is releasing Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors on Nov. 6.

Wasn't this at one time believed to be a Criterion certainty (just like Potemkin)? What do we think is happening for Criterion to be losing these important titles?

[miless]

Kino is releasing Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors on Nov. 6.

Wasn't this at one time believed to be a Criterion certainty (just like Potemkin)? What do we think is happening for Criterion to be losing these important titles?

Kino spends all their money licensing films, intead of restoring them.

[Jean-Luc Garbo]

Didn't Home Vision have the Parajanov film on VHS? It would be nice if this could have been Criterion.

[MichaelB]

Didn't Home Vision have the Parajanov film on VHS? It would be nice if this could have been Criterion.

Connoisseur Video released it on VHS in Britain - that was my reference copy until the Films Sans Frontières edition came along.

[mikeohhh]

Kino is releasing Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors on Nov. 6.

Wasn't this at one time believed to be a Criterion certainty (just like Potemkin)? What do we think is happening for Criterion to be losing these important titles?

Kino spends all their money licensing films, intead of restoring them.

not really, I mean, I check this thread all the time precisely because of Kino's track record with silent releases and this is the first BIG MAJOR OMG coup of a canonical silent flick by them in a while. If your statement were true, we'd have (half-assed?) Kino releases of A Page of Madness, The Phantom Chariot, The Docks of New York, Lonesome, Seventh Heaven, Street Angel, The Lodger, Blackmail, <insert eagerly anticipated title here>... you get the picture. I know this site is CRITERIONforum.org, but good releases can come from companies not called Criterion. That said, yeah, I'm bummed the Criterion Eisenstein silents box isn't coming but we've known that for like 8 years right? I think Kino can get Potemkin right. At least compared to any other R1 label.

Now, the Paradjanov... welllllllll, let's thank our lucky stars this Eastern European film isn't being released by Facets! Remember, just a rule of thumb: if it ain't US/UK/Western Europe/Japan, don't expect the Turrells and Beckers to give a fuck.

[jbeall]

Now, the Paradjanov... welllllllll, let's thank our lucky stars this Eastern European film isn't being released by Facets! Remember, just a rule of thumb: if it ain't US/UK/Western Europe/Japan, don't expect the Turrells and Beckers to give a fuck.

I think you're being a little hard on Criterion, but I have to agree that I'm tired of them going back to the well time and time again on Bergman, Malle, etc. (and I really want Zazie dans le metro!) when so many other deserving directors aren't in the collection at all (or region 1, for that matter).

Be that as it may, I'm going to wait and see on Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors. Kino's release of The Color of Pomegranates really was awful; the colors were really bleached out. If anybody released Malick's Days of Heaven with washed-out colors, people would be firebombing the dvd company, and I'd say Kino's treatment of Paradjanov is comparably bad (only Kino is so hit-and-miss that nobody was terribly surprised).

[miless]

Kino's release of The Color of Pomegranates really was awful; the colors were really bleached out. If anybody released Malick's Days of Heaven with washed-out colors, people would be firebombing the dvd company, and I'd say Kino's treatment of Paradjanov is comparably bad (only Kino is so hit-and-miss that nobody was terribly surprised).

to be fair, however, Kino's release of The Color of Pomegranates was from a 16mm print of Parajanov's original cut, and therefore not made with original (or secondary) camera elements. This 25-30 year old 16mm print was lying around in a Georgian film archive before being discovered and hailed as "the way it was meant to be". Of course it looks like crap. It's either a chopped down beauty, or a bleached out wreck that shows Parajanov's original intentions with the editing and "storytelling".

[Cold Bishop]

It's either a chopped down beauty, or a bleached out wreck that shows Parajanov's original intentions with the editing and "storytelling".

But if I'm not mistaken, isn't there a French release of the full Parajanov cut that is remarkably better than the Kino? Or was it another country, or am I just mistaken completely?

[miless]

It's either a chopped down beauty, or a bleached out wreck that shows Parajanov's original intentions with the editing and "storytelling".

But if I'm not mistaken, isn't there a French release of the full Parajanov cut that is remarkably better than the Kino? Or was it another country, or am I just mistaken completely?

I wouldn't doubt that there's another version out there that's better, but its source material would be the same (seeming as it only exists from one 16mm print, and the Russian censors took the original camera elements and edited the film themselves... presumably destroying the excised footage). From what I've heard, the best transfers are all of the Russian edit (as the transfer can be done with much better materials)...

[Cold Bishop]

I wouldn't doubt that there's another version out there that's better, but its source material would be the same (seeming as it only exists from one 16mm print, and the Russian censors took the original camera elements and edited the film themselves... presumably destroying the excised footage).
From what I've heard, the best transfers are all of the Russian edit (as the transfer can be done with much better materials)...

Yes, but if there is a better version from the same source, it at least goes to show that Kino could do a better job than they did.