Facets

[railroaded]

Facets announcing Bill Douglas Trilogy

[jsteffe]

Facets announcing Bill Douglas Trilogy

Thanks for spotting this! I know that in all likelihood this will be from the BFI transfer and thus will be a PAL-NTSC conversion, but you have to give Facets credit for having the wisdom to pick it up. There are a lot people--and especially educational institutions--who don't have region-free players.

[jbeall]

Oh my. I know it's a four-discer and all, but that's a little steep, no?

[miless]

you also have to keep in mind that they had to do a lot of work to get this DVD out (and to Tarr's specifications, apparently)... so maybe they have to sell it at that price just in an attempt to try and make a profit (Like Criterion did with their LD of Andrei Rublev back in the day).

I'm looking forward to this release... and the quantity of bonus materials only makes this even more enticing (plus seeing it in its intended speed, my one annoyance with PAL).

[jsteffe]

Oh my. I know it's a four-discer and all, but that's a little steep, no?

I don't think it's too steep at all. It's a 4-disc set, and the pricing isn't out of line for a specialized arthouse release like that. Besides, if you pre-order it, you can get it from Amazon for $56! The proof will be in the quality of the transfer.

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

I just noticed that Facets is releasing Masahiro Kobayashi's Bashing on September 23rd. Not too familiar with Kobayashi -- I've only seen Kaizokuban Bootleg Film (although The Rebirth is in my "to watch" pile) -- but what I've read sounds intriguing and I might pick it up if Facets doesn't fuck it up too badly. Has anyone here seen it?

[yoshimori]

I'm a big Kobayashi fan (though of Koroshi, Amazing Story, and especially Flic, more so than the earlier films). Bashing belongs with those good later works. I'd buy it, no question.

Rebirth, which I saw in Tokyo last year, is a VERY difficult film to warm up to. Obviously made by an intelligent filmmaker, but nothing for me to hang onto. Do you have a subbed version I missed or the r2jp?

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

Thanks for the recommendation, I'll keep my fingers crossed that Facets will at least keep it watchable. And my copy of The Rebirth is the R2J.

[yoshimori]

There's also a great-looking but subless r2jp of Bashing ... in case the Facets image smells.

An HK disc of Amazing Story is available, with subs, at dvdasian and elsewhere. Mediocre transfer. Nice film - surely the best of the "Perfect Education" series.

If you don't need subs, go for the Flic r2jp. One of the great recent Japanese films, iyam.

[Scharphedin2]

Two very respectable collections of works by filmmakers that I did not even know about (before ordering the sets) have come out from Facets -- The Films of James Broughton and The Lawrence Jordan Album.

Jordan was an animator, using a lot of classic pictorial art in his work, and adding animated flourishes to these. I was more than thrilled to find that his adaptation of Rime of the Ancient Mariner turned out to be a 40 minute film set to a reading by Orson Welles of the epic poem. To me, this was worth the price of admission alone.

The work of James Broughton would appear to resemble some of Brakhage's early films.

The sets are 3 and 4 disc collections, respectively, offering career comprehensive selections of both artists' films. At a quick glance, the transfers looked respectable, as far as non-restored independently produced films go. The packaging on (especially the Lawrence Jordan set) is really very nice -- a foldout affair with art from the films serving as backgrounds to the DVD treys, and both sets also include substantial booklets.

I am the eternal Facets apologist; any time I look at their list of releases there is always something intrigueing. Several more of their recent releases are en route to me courtesy of the recent sales. I will comment, when these are in hand.

Did anyone else pick these particular sets up? Anyone familiar with Broughton and Jordan...?

[jsteffe]

The work of James Broughton would appear to resemble some of Brakhage's early films.
[...]
Did anyone else pick these particular sets up? Anyone familiar with Broughton and Jordan...?

Broughton is no Brackhage, let me say that up front--that is, he doesn't display Brakhage's phenomenal range of techniques. You should rent the Broughton set before purchasing to see whether he's your cup of tea. I have a soft spot in my heart for the playful, free love ethic espoused in Broughton's films starting in the late Sixties, but "Dreamwood" (1972) is finally too artsy-faerie-mythological even for me. The DVD transfers seem fine considering the 16mm source material.

Lastly, I should point out that there is more male nudity in Broughton's films than anything you'll see short of Joe Gage.

[solaris72]

Back in film school I saw a still from Jordan's "Our Lady of the Sphere" in a David Bordwell textbook, and it looked pretty amazing, always wanted to see it.

[zedz]

Did anyone else pick these particular sets up? Anyone familiar with Broughton and Jordan...?

I've got both sets, but have only just started in on the Jordan (which looks to be great - closest point of reference for me is early Lenica / Borowczyk).

Broughton is in the tradition of (very) early Brakhagian psychodrama, but that was a leading paradigm for American independent film at the time, so it's not really particular to either of them.

Broughton's films are much more whimsical, sometimes clunkily naive, and I confess I find some of them hard to take (e.g. The Pleasure Garden, my first exposure to his work). But I think he gets a lot better as he goes on and delves deeper into his personal and sexual identity. jsteffe is right about the sexual explicitness of the films, but what I like about the films is Broughton's attitude towards that material: joyously celebratory and not at all prurient. Devotions, probably my favourite of his films, is an ecstatic vision of a gay utopia, a giddily happy film.

[kaujot]

Satantango - Beaver review

I do not understand how Tarr could let them, of all companies, touch his films.

[MichaelB]

I do not understand how Tarr could let them, of all companies, touch his films.

When you're selling a seven-hour black-and-white Hungarian film, you might not have much of a choice!

[drdoros]

I do not understand how Tarr could let them, of all companies, touch his films.

When you're selling a seven-hour black-and-white Hungarian film, you might not have much of a choice!

There was at least one other company who met with Tarr and tried to get the rights from the Hungarian owners.

[kaujot]

There was at least one other company who met with Tarr and tried to get the rights from the Hungarian owners.

Honestly, though. Does Facets spend ALL of its available cash on getting the rights to films? Is THAT why they are incapable of putting out an even AVERAGE dvd?

[domino harvey]

I know their budget doesn't go towards their disc menus

[HerrSchreck]

I do not understand how Tarr could let them, of all companies, touch his films.

When you're selling a seven-hour black-and-white Hungarian film, you might not have much of a choice!

There was at least one other company who met with Tarr and tried to get the rights from the Hungarian owners.

Now a Milestone release of this would have been something worth getting psyched for. Darn... and to think this title is locked down (in SD anyway) for years to come by that cruddo Facets release.

Btw a dedicated thread here.

[zedz]

I thoight this was funny, and here seems to be the best place for it:

Thank you for your recent order. Due to an overwhelming demand for the item(s listed, we are temporarily out of stock.

The disc for which there was an "overwhelming demand"? Marguerite Duras' Nathalie Granger. Can a wave of Duras film festivals in drive-ins across the country be far behind?

[MichaelB]

The disc for which there was an "overwhelming demand"? Marguerite Duras' Nathalie Granger. Can a wave of Duras film festivals in drive-ins across the country be far behind?

Quick! Someone tell John Waters!

(What was it he said about Duras? Something like "I want to meet the people who gave her the money to make these wonderful films. They must be very very rich or very very insane.")

[Cold Bishop]

Any reason the Facets Polart release of Mother Joan of Angels has been ignored so much? Is the Second Run a longer cut or something, because the Facets is far and away the better film in picture quality. I thought the film prints were all gone, and thats why SR were excused using a tape source, yet, as the DVDBeaver comparison with the images below show, Polart had access to a quality print. Was there just simply no way Second Run could get access to one?

Otherwise, beside some combing (PAL>NTSC it appears) and minor problems with subtitling, I'm willing to call this a green for Facets.

[jsteffe]

An reason the Facets Polart release of Mother Joan of Angels has been ignored so much? Is the Second Run a longer cut or something, because the Facets is far and away the better film in picture quality. I thought the film prints were all gone, and thats why SR were excused using a tape source, yet, as the DVDBeaver comparison with the images below show, Polart had access to a quality print. Was there just simply no way Second Run could get access to it?

Otherwise, beside some combing and lousy subtitling, I'm willing to call this a green for Facets.

Cold Bishop, thank you for pointing this out! I haven't bought either version yet, but this makes me want to get the Facets. The difference is indeed striking! Stunning film, BTW. My school rented it in 35mm from Kino a while back. I'm not sure if they still distribute it.

[zedz]

Thanks indeed, Cold Bishop! This is fantastic news (and I doubt any of us would have hazarded a purchase without those caps). This may be my only chance in this lifetime to say, "Bravo, Facets!" so: Bravo, Facets!

[yoshimori]

Yes. The Polart image is superior. BUT, if I remember correctly, the subtitles are a horror!