Wellspring

[FilmFanSea]

Wellspring will be releasing the following on May 17th:

Notre musique (Godard/2004/France) $29.95

Tarnation (Jonathan Caouette/2003/US/Docu) $29.95

Elective Affinities (Taviani Brothers/1996/Italy) $19.95

Night Sun (Taviani Bros/1990/Italy) $19.95

St. Michael Had a Rooster (Taviani Bros/1972/Italy) $19.95

Hoxsey: How Healing Becomes A Crime (Ken Ausubel/1987/US/Docu) $19.95


Up for pre-order at DVD Planet. No word on extras (if any).

Thanks to poster Heimlich 1 at the DVD Talk Forum for the heads-up

[Dylan]

Ah, terrific news on "Notre Musique!"

I haven't heard of the Taviani Brothers, has anybody seen their films?

Dylan

[NoHayBanda]

Wow, wow, wow.

I'm so excited about Tarnation. I saw this last fall in NYC, and it just floored me. I cried.

Easily one of the most emotionally exhausting films I've ever seen. There's just nothing like it out there. It's the man's whole life on film.

My favorite film of 2004. No competition.

[Dylan]

Wow, what a rave! I'll be certain to check it out.

Dylan

[iangj]

Ah, terrific news on "Notre Musique!"

I haven't heard of the Taviani Brothers, has anybody seen their films?

The Taviani Brothers: some of the best Italian cinema of the seventies and eighties - Padre Padrone, Night of the Shooting Stars, Kaos. But I haven't seen anything since their English-language crossover Good Morning, Babylon (not too successful). Anyone seen Night Sun or Elective Affinities (the latter presumably an adaptation of Goethe's novel) - how do they compare with the earlier work?

[kazantzakis]

From those I have seen, "Kaos" is the best and one of my favorite films. It helps that it is based on Pirandello though.

[Arn777]

Anybody got Notre Musique yet? And can please comment on the AV quality or seen any reviews? Many thanks

[Oedipax]

Here's hoping the aspect is right on Notre Musique (1.33:1). I'm waiting for word of that before I purchase.

[nick]

Not that their word is gold, but dvdempire is listing the aspect ratio for notre musique at 1.33:1 so maybe wellspring decided to do it the right way.

http://www.dvdempire.com/Exec/v4_item.a ... _id=678688

[jorencain]

Here's hoping the aspect is right on Notre Musique (1.33:1). I'm waiting for word of that before I purchase.

Yep, it's correct.

[carax09]

I found the film, and the AV quality of the dvd, to be astounding...colors just explode off the screen. I really didn't think Wellspring had it in 'em---they even included a little David Sterritt essay which contextualizes this very important and affecting film. Wow.

[Arn777]

Thank you! I just ordered it.

[godardslave]

well i am his slave...so you can guess what i did.

[Arn777]

Good review from DVD Talk: http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=16095

[Matt]

Indie Wellspring runs dry as distributor

By Gregg Goldstein and Thomas K. ArnoldWed Feb 22, 1:16 AM ET

In a move that effectively ends Wellspring Media's existence as an independent theatrical distributor, Genius Products, the parent company of the art-house-oriented Wellspring, said Tuesday that it has reached an agreement for the Weinstein Co. to serve as the new theatrical distribution arm for the indie's theatrical releases.

As part of what Genius called a "corporate realignment," it will move Wellspring Home Entertainment, which has developed a 700-title library, to Genius' Santa Monica headquarters.

Shutting down Wellspring's theatrical arm will save the company nearly $1 million in annual overhead expenses, Genius said. Sources said about 10 Wellspring jobs will be eliminated, though so far only one exec, head of acquisitions Marie Therese Guirgis, is confirmed to be leaving the company.

Genius CEO Trevor Drinkwater maintained that Wellspring Media isn't going away. "Genius remains committed to the independent film industry, and we are moving forward with indie releases. We're just going to handle them in a different manner than we did before," he said. "This realignment supports an aggressive acquisition campaign to build on the Wellspring brand with critically acclaimed films that celebrate intelligent cinema, while at the same time supporting our strategy of leveraging our core competency by focusing on the sales and distribution of higher-margin, packaged entertainment products at retail."

Wellspring last year became a wholly owned subsidiary of Genius Products. In December, the Weinsteins tapped Genius as exclusive U.S. home entertainment distributor for their new company, the Weinstein Co. The arrangement was part of a bigger deal that called for the Weinsteins to assume 70 percent ownership of Genius, which would be renamed Genius Products Llc.

Among the handful of films still in the Wellspring pipeline are Jan Kounen's docu "Darshan," Patrice Chereau's drama "Gabrielle" and the Rupert Murray docu "Unknown White Male," which opens Friday in Los Angeles and New York. The latter film has become embroiled in controversy amid doubts some have raised about its subject, an amnesiac who had to re-create his life when he suffered severe memory loss for unknown reasons.

Wellspring's staff intends to handle the theatrical rollout of "Unknown White Male," but once the film's run is complete, Wellspring's theatrical division may be shuttered entirely. A Genius representative said it was not known which Wellspring employees would be kept or how the remaining theatrical slate might be released.

[Oedipax]

Awful news. Wellspring consistently distributed great stuff and their DVDs were usually anywhere from very good to competent...

[richast2]

if anybody's interested, the "Dear Wendy" DVD is a well-done affair, with a boatload of interesting/informative special features and a solid transfer.

[dx23]

According to Amazon.com, it seems that Wellspring is releasing Ran and Madadayo in a 2 disc set or something like it. Anybody has info about this?

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000Q7ZL24/

[patrick]

Madadayo is supposed to be rereleased by the Weinstein Co. sometime in the near future, I suppose this is probably their way of clearing out the stock of Wellspring's old disc.

I've never been completely clear on the relationship between Wellspring and Genius/The Weinstein Co. - can the Weinsteins just pick and choose what Wellspring titles they want to add to their catalog?

[ptmd]

Wellspring was completely bought out by Genius/The Weinstein Company. They liquidated all of their staff and their theatrical prints, but decided to keep the name to use as a video label (presumably to capitalize on their existing infrastructure and name recognition). They let the rights to most of the Wellspring titles expire, but kept the Kurosawas and several others.

[justeleblanc]

I've never been completely clear on the relationship between Wellspring and Genius/The Weinstein Co. - can the Weinsteins just pick and choose what Wellspring titles they want to add to their catalog?

As long as the Wellspring title is still in the hands of Wellspring and not Criterion, then I assume the answer is yes.

[Jeff]

I'm sure that there's already a post about these sets somewhere else on the forum, but I can't find it. Interesting that Wellspring is still pushing their own Breathless disc.

The Films of Catherine Deneuve
The Films of Jean-Luc Godard
The Films of Pedro Almodovar
The Films of Werner Herzog

[Matt]

The Films of Catherine Deneuve

Ridiculous. Deneuve is in Kings and Queen for about 5 minutes. And for not much longer in Pola X.