Luis Buñuel on DVD

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Solaris · #51 Post by **Solaris** » Sat Oct 07, 2006 8:15 am

Here is a good review of the R4 release of Exterminating Angel (it mentions the missing scene)

#52 Post by **Matt** » Sat Oct 07, 2006 2:54 pm

davidhare wrote:(Although I still think the movie needs a Criterion makeover.)

With Criterion's recent track record (M, Jigoku), they'd probably leave the scene out, too.

tryavna · #53 Post by **tryavna** » Sat Oct 07, 2006 3:41 pm

Matt wrote:
davidhare wrote:(Altho I still think the movie needs a Criterion makeover.)
With Criterion's recent track record (M, Jigoku), they'd probably leave the scene out, too.

But only in the first pressing (which they will then proceed to silently correct, hoping nobody will notice).

Don Lope de Aguirre · Thu Oct 19, 2006 9:22 am

Is Belle de Jour to be released by Optimum in the UK?

Rich Malloy · #55 Post by **Rich Malloy** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 5:24 pm

tolpol wrote:What happened to those two UK Bunuel-boxsets? They were pulled off the market after what seemed like just a few weeks. Problems with lincences perhaps?

Not sure. I noticed that many months ago, and went ahead and purchased the one with "Belle de jour", "La Voie lactee", and "Chambermaid", reasoning that it was unlikely for "Belle de jour" to receive a better transfer on an English-friendly disc anytime soon, and likely never by Criterion. By that time, Amazon was out-of-stock, and I found one for a decent price (near MSRP, as I recall, or about 30 pounds) from an amazon marketplace vendor.

The transfer on "Belle de jour" is considerably better than the faded, pock-marked, non-anamorphic transfer that Buena Vista released (with that shitty commentary). I was so enraged by that release that I was banned from the Hometheaterforum for a brief spell for, as I recall, suggesting that some fairly vulgar things be done to the anuses of Mickey Mouse and Walt Disney. So, you know... I'm glad to have a better transfer.

And I've watched "The Milky Way" twice now, so even if a Criterion release is looming just beyond the horizon, I've got my buck's worth on that title as well. In short, if you can find this set for a decent price, I think you'll find that it's worth it.

Don Lope de Aguirre · Wed Oct 25, 2006 10:46 pm

Rich Malloy wrote:Not sure. I noticed that many months ago, and went ahead and purchased the one with "Belle de jour", "La Voie lactee", and "Chambermaid", reasoning that it was unlikely for "Belle de jour" to receive a better transfer on an English-friendly disc anytime soon, and likely never by Criterion.

I saw in the BFI guide that a new print of Belle de Jour was being shown courtesy of Optimum. As the R2 DVD is scarce and (presumably) out of print, I thought an Optimum release might be on the cards... [-o<

#57 Post by **Matt** » Fri Oct 27, 2006 2:38 am

davidhare wrote:If the source is still Studio Canal they will presumably release it given their "takeover" of Optimum in the UK.

Something called "Yume Pictures" is releasing Bunuel's The Great Madcap and Ascent to Heaven in the UK on October 23. Apparently, their disc of Nazarin is already out.

Can anyone vouch for the quality?

kekid · #58 Post by **kekid** » Fri Oct 27, 2006 2:56 am

Matt wrote:Can anyone vouch for the quality?

I saw "Ascent to Heaven". The 4:3 frame is cropped on all sides as evidenced by the opening titles. Otherwise the image quality is quite good. It is a delightful film, and while I have no other reference to judge by, I found the Yume version more than acceptable. This is unlikely to ever show up on Criterion, so if you love Bunuel in Mexico (I do), get this.

Hashi · #59 Post by **Hashi** » Fri Oct 27, 2006 4:53 am

Matt wrote:Something called "Yume Pictures" is releasing Bunuel's The Great Madcap and Ascent to Heaven in the UK on October 23. Apparently, their disc of Nazarin is already out.

Can anyone vouch for the quality?

Received these on monday. I only took a glimpse of them but neither of them didn't convince me. Not really good, but watchable imo (my friend commented that they border on watchable, but I'm not that picky). If no one beats me to it, I could post grabs later today.

colinr0380 · #60 Post by **colinr0380** » Fri Oct 27, 2006 10:40 am

Matt wrote:Something called "Yume Pictures" is releasing Bunuel's The Great Madcap and Ascent to Heaven in the UK on October 23. Apparently, their disc of Nazarin is already out.

Can anyone vouch for the quality?

Can't vouch for the quality yet but this Yume Pictures company has also just released Yasuo Masumura's Red Angel (which I think DVD Beaver has compared with the Fantoma disc) and Seijun Suzuki's Princess Raccoon.

kekid · #61 Post by **kekid** » Fri Oct 27, 2006 6:17 pm

davidhare wrote:Very VERY grateful if you can post caps of Subida al Cielo, including some subs?

I would be happy to do this if I knew how it is done. If you can send me a personal e'mail giving some instructions, I will do it. It will also be useful for future use. Thank you.

Cobalt60 · #62 Post by **Cobalt60** » Mon Dec 18, 2006 3:47 pm

Optimum's upcoming Bunuel set seems to be the most comprehensive collection of his work in one set. I don't have any of their other releases so I am not sure what their track record is for quality.

Lemmy Caution · #63 Post by **Lemmy Caution** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 8:52 am

Reviving a Bunuel thread after a long hiatus seems rather appropriate.

There's a series of Bunuel's put out on the Japanese Imagica label. Unfortunately they only have Japanese and Chinese subtitles, despite having English menus. Still I picked up La Hurdes/Terre Sans Pain and El Rio y La Muerte, as I have no other versions available ... and some very rusty Spanish language ability. I wish they had Spanish sub-titles, as I would comprehend more that way.

Quality seems reasonably good, though they are cropped slightly on the sides, not so sharp at times, and somewhat high contrast There was at least one or two more titles in the series, but I can't recall which at the moment.

Not exactly useful for English-speakers, but might be worth noting for Asians and Spanish speakers.

Otherwise, I have a number of the Yume Bunuels and I'd agree that they are pretty decent and definitely watchable.

Steven H · #64 Post by **Steven H** » Tue Aug 14, 2007 11:33 am

FACETS is releasing El Bruto on Oct. 23rd. The previous R1 version of this film is OOP, I assume because it's going for about $135 on amazon.com.

Lemmy Caution · #65 Post by **Lemmy Caution** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 3:32 pm

Today I spotted a 26-disc box of Bunuel. His complete filmography apparently. Being in China, it is almost assuredly not a proper release. The shop thought that it only had French subtitles. Seemed to be a guess, but I doubt it has English subs. I'll try to get someone to open it and check for me, if possible. Anyway, it was kind of cool (if frustrating) to just hold such an item in my hand for a minute or two.

dx23 · #66 Post by **dx23** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 4:23 pm

Steven H wrote:FACETS is releasing El Bruto on Oct. 23rd. The previous R1 version of this film is OOP, I assume because it's going for about $135 on amazon.com.

sorry for that. I just got married and need some spare cash.

Steven H · #67 Post by **Steven H** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 4:34 pm

dx23 wrote:
Steven H wrote:FACETS is releasing El Bruto on Oct. 23rd. The previous R1 version of this film is OOP, I assume because it's going for about $135 on amazon.com.
sorry for that. I just got married and need some spare cash.

Yours is the best deal. Good luck!

Kinsayder · #68 Post by **Kinsayder** » Sat Sep 01, 2007 7:02 pm

Simon of the Desert in a French twofer with Exterminating Angel.

dx23 · #69 Post by **dx23** » Thu Nov 08, 2007 2:23 am

Any reviews on the new Facets release of El Bruto (The Brute)?

eez28 · #70 Post by **eez28** » Thu Nov 08, 2007 2:43 am

dx23 wrote:Any reviews on the new Facets release of El Bruto (The Brute)?

Beaver on El Bruto

tavernier · #71 Post by **tavernier** » Thu Nov 08, 2007 5:35 am

eez28 wrote:
dx23 wrote:Any reviews on the new Facets release of El Bruto (The Brute)?
Beaver on El Bruto

Christ, that looks like shit....even for Facets.

Cold Bishop · #72 Post by **Cold Bishop** » Thu Nov 08, 2007 6:48 am

tavernier wrote:Christ, that looks like shit....even for Facets.

I disagree... for Facets, this is quite decent.

bunuelian · #73 Post by **bunuelian** » Fri Nov 09, 2007 7:42 am

While surfing Amazon the other day I was surprised to see some new Bunuel releases. Una Mujer Sin Amor and Susana are two titles that are available now. I strongly suspect that from a technical perspective the releases aren't very strong, but these films likely will never receive much more than a passing treatment anyway. They are minor Bunuel no matter how you cut it, unless you happen to cut with a well-used spatula. Mujer is an especially mundane soap opera.

Susana does have some wonderfully humorous moments, however. One shot in particular stands out in my mind, when we watch Susana bending over doing some scrubbing, with her tits giggling, and she looks up sharply at the manboy she's seducing. It's one of the sexiest moments in all of Bunuel's work - her look goes right to the hearts/dicks of the men watching the film for the titty payoff.

Although I'm a completist about Bunuel, I'm not sure I'll ever drop the cash for these unless I can get them very cheap indeed. I guess that makes me a faux completist.

As for El Bruto, even a bad disc is worth it to see this film. It's a gem on par with his best Mexican work.

Michael Kerpan · #74 Post by **Michael Kerpan** » Fri Nov 09, 2007 2:58 pm

#75 Post by **domino harvey** » Fri Nov 09, 2007 7:54 pm

there's plenty of discussion of the new Bunuel Facets releases in the Facets thread

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