German Filmmuseum Edition

[SuperBlu]

Anyone got The Joyless Street yet or is it even out? Any reviews or screen captures?

[tojoed]

Anyone got The Joyless Street yet or is it even out? Any reviews or screen captures?

If you look up the page you'll see that I got "Joylesss Street" and posted a couple of screen caps.

[markhax]

Anyone got The Joyless Street yet or is it even out? Any reviews or screen captures?

It's still not listed on Amazon.de. Is Amazon.de slower on these things than Amazon.com and Amazon.UK? They usually list new releases for pre-order weeks before the date they become available.

[Tommaso]

It has nothing to do with amazon, only with Filmmuseum. I think that initially they want to sell their new titles exclusively via their website, thus maximizing their profits, knowing that many can't wait if it comes to such a key title like this. They later give the thing a new release date for normal distribution, and then it will show up at amazon or jpc. Try ebay Germany instead; it has begun to appear there now (new items all, a little cheaper than at Filmmuseum, though still more expensive than what I expect will be the amazon or jpc prices).

[feckless boy]

Die freudlose Gasse is available at JPC now.

[Tommaso]

Meanwhile, Filmmuseum have announced the release of the two Vertov films for January (read: May) 2010. No details yet, but it will be a 2-disc set, and music will be provided by Michael Nyman. Hmm...

[markhax]

Die freudlose Gasse is available at JPC now.

It became available at Amazon.de this week.

[NilbogSavant]

Where's the best place to purchase the Kluge Film/TV set for Americans? The Filmmuseum website wants to charge me 50 euros for shipping.

[Tommaso]

"Freudlose Gasse":

All I can say is that I was really impressed. Despite ca. 30 minutes still missing from the film, the restoration hangs together really well story-wise. I was struck by how "contemporary" the film seemed and it certainly pulled no punches in depicting the grim realities of the period. Another excellent effort by the German Film Museum and a treat in store for anyone who likes German silent films.

I have watched the film and most of the extras now and would agree that it is a real treat and as comprehensive an edition as you could possibly imagine; surely a very major effort. The one thing I cannot quite agree about is your comment about the story really hanging well together. Although this is by far the most complete version available, I was almost shocked to see how many seemingly very important moments are still missing, especially in the last few minutes, which become almost incomprehensible as a result of the very fragmentary character of the Russian print used which, however, unlike all the other prints, at least contains the gist of what was going on. But you can only guess at what's happening, unless you read the pdf-file of Sorkin's working script which clarifies things a lot. I also have the feeling that some of the most visually exciting (and raucous) bits are lost; I think especially of the 'living pictures' in the final act, which are represented only by two very brief shots. I cannot imagine that Pabst would not have made some major provocative showpiece out of these. There are other moments, too, in which the pacing seems totally off because of the missing bits.

Alas, it cannot be helped, unless a complete print turns up in Buenos Aires or Kuala Lumpur; nevertheless, what we have is so magnificent and impressive that any disappointment about the state of affairs is minor and surely futile anyway. One of the most significant German silents rescued from near-oblivion, I'd say. Garbo isn't fully convincing yet (and simply looks too beautiful for the role), but don't get me started on the phenomenal performances of Asta Nielsen and Werner Krauss....

Oh yes, and that 110-min. documentary "Der andere Blick" isn't as 'experimental' as I feared, but proves to be a very interesting and informative look at Pabst's career. I haven't watched all of it yet, but so far I'm amazed to see excerpts from a 1930 Pabst film I cannot recall having ever heard about, "Skandal um Eva", starring Henny Porten. Absolutely no comments on it on Imdb, so I guess this is largely unseen, but obviously it still exists! Okay, MoC or Eclipse: 'Early Pabst Sound Films' set please: "Westfront", "Skandal um Eva", "Kameradschaft" and "Die Herrin von Atlantis".

[Cash Flagg]

Info on the Vertov set:

Sestaja cast' mira & Odinnadcatyj

Edition Filmmuseum 53

The poetic travelogue A Sixth Part of the World and the "visual symphony" The Eleventh Year mark the beginning of Dziga Vertov's most creative period, which peaked in the canonical film Man with the Movie Camera. This 2-disc set presents the two rare masterpieces in a new transfer and with new soundtracks by British composer Michael Nyman. The bonus features offer materials on the methods of the filmmaker, as well as an introduction to the Vienna research project on Vertov, "Digital Formalism."

The Films:

Sestaja čast' mira (A Sixth Part of the World) Soviet Union 1926 Directed by: Dziga Vertov Assistant and editor: Elizaveta Svilova Director of Photography: Michail Kaufman

Odinnadcatyj (The Eleventh Year) Soviet Union 1928 Directed by: Dziga Vertov Assistant and editor: Elizaveta Svilova Director of Photography: Michail Kaufman

Im Schatten der Maschine Ein Montagefilm (In the Shadow of the Machine - A Compilation Film) Germany 1928 Directed by: Albrecht Viktor Blum, Leo Lania

DVD features (2-disc DVD):

DVD 1

* estaja čast' mira 1926, 74'
* Music by Michael Nyman
* 20page bilingual booklet

DVD 2

* Odinnadcatyj 1928, 53'
* Music by Michael Nyman
* Im Schatten der Maschine Ein Montagefilm 1928, 21'
* Vertov in Blum. Eine Untersuchung 2009, 10'
* ROM section with additional materials

Edited by: Österreichisches Filmmuseum, Wien
DVD authoring: Ralph Schermbach
DVD supervision: Michael Loebenstein

First edition: January 2010

And another silent in February, Der Bettler vom Kölner Dom (1927).

[Cash Flagg]

DVD Talk review of Die Freudlose Gasse

[JAP]

It seems the Sestaja cast' mira & Odinnadcatyj release may be just around the corner. From their latest newsletter:

We managed to finish another title just in time before the end of 2009! Another masterpiece of Dziga Vertov edited by the Austrian Filmmuseum Wien.

[videozor]

Why this thread is not moved to Other DVD and Blu-ray Labels wherw it belongs?

[Cash Flagg]

I'd just like to praise GFE for their astoundingly fast shipping. I received a shipping notice for my order yesterday, and it arrived today! In comparison, my 12/18 order from Chaos hasn't even shipped yet.

[NilbogSavant]

Okay, I am about to receive some hefty scholarship funds and, to offset the huge shipping charge, am looking to make a big order from the German Filmmuseum . Here's what I'm looking at getting:

Alexander Kluge - Films and Television Works 1960-2008
Klassenverhältnisse
Blind Husbands
Entuziazm
The Other Weimar (Nerven, Anders als die Andern, Wunder der Schopfung, Fridrich Schiller - Eine Dichterjugend, Die eld Teufel & Konig der Mittelsturmer, Vom Reiche der sechs Punkte, and Ella Bergmann-Michel's Dokumentarische Filme 1931-1933)
Sestaja cast' mira & Odinnadcatyj

Is the label's storefront the best place to buy these releases? The only real blind buy for me is The Other Weimar bundle. Is this a bad idea for someone completely unfamiliar with these films? Also, is there anything else essential that I'm going to be kicking myself about later if I don't order along with these?

[TMDaines]

Berlin: Die Sinfonie der Großstadt?

[markhax]

Berlin: Die Sinfonie der Großstadt?

Yes, certainly that. And what about "Die Freudlose Gasse"? A must!

But why order from Edition Filmmuseum? If you are in the States, their shipping is outrageous. I was going to order the new Vertov DVD and the shipping price quoted was EUR 13.88! With Amazon.DE there is a flat shipping charge to the US, EUR 14.00, regardless of the size of the order. And like Edition Filmmuseum they deduct the VAT. With an order your size your total order will probably cost you less than the total combined list price of all the items.

But the Vertov "One-Sixth of the World" and "The Eleventh Year" is not yet available at Amazon.DE. "Freudlose Gasse" became available there about two weeks after its release from EF. So you will have to wait a week or so--it's what I am doing.

[Tommaso]

Another film not to be missed if you are interested in what the special fx departments were able to do in the 1920s (and see a beautiful film in itself) is Kornblum's "Wunder der Schöpfung". Quite amazing stuff.

Another thing: Rolf Randolf's crime thriller "Der Bettler vom Kölner Dom", which will be released by Filmmuseum in February (hopefully), can already be seen on arte TV on Monday, 25 (or rather 26 very early in the morning) at 00.20 o'clock. More info in German here.

[Wu.Qinghua]

The Ruttmann disc is a nice one.

But I love Mischkowski's and Steinkuehler's "Westend", too. You find Anthony Nield's review here.

[NilbogSavant]

But why order from Edition Filmmuseum? If you are in the States, their shipping is outrageous. I was going to order the new Vertov DVD and the shipping price quoted was EUR 13.88! With Amazon.DE there is a flat shipping charge to the US, EUR 14.00, regardless of the size of the order. And like Edition Filmmuseum they deduct the VAT. With an order your size your total order will probably cost you less than the total combined list price of all the items.

I can't find the Kluge boxset on Amazon.de which is my main interest.

[markhax]

But why order from Edition Filmmuseum? If you are in the States, their shipping is outrageous. I was going to order the new Vertov DVD and the shipping price quoted was EUR 13.88! With Amazon.DE there is a flat shipping charge to the US, EUR 14.00, regardless of the size of the order. And like Edition Filmmuseum they deduct the VAT. With an order your size your total order will probably cost you less than the total combined list price of all the items.

I can't find the Kluge boxset on Amazon.de which is my main interest.

Well I would compare the total shipping if you buy everything else on Amazon, and just the Kluge from Edition Filmmuseum. You still may come out ahead. If you click the 'checkout' button on EF you will get the shipping charges.

[zedz]

Your prospective order looks very similar to mine of a year ago, if you add Berlin (and you should!) You won't regret it. 'The Other Weimar' is a grab bag, but it's a bargain. Also, the Filmmuseum shop seems to carry many of the DFI discs, and if you don't have them (specifically the Dreyers and Christensens), they're absolutely essential.

[Gregory]

I would advise waiting to order The Other Weimar. They've dropped Nathan der Weise out of the bundle awaiting the new edition with additional features, but the price for the bundle stayed the same. When Nathan der Weise is back in print in March it'll be included in The Other Weimar again.

[HerrSchreck]

Of course, Natan der Weise is a bit of a snooze. Not even the presence of the real HerrSchreck could keep me with it.

[Tommaso]

Which is precisely why the need for such a new, improved release is beyond me. As far as I know, the reason for the re-release is the existence of a new music score. And even if that might be interesting - from what I hear it is somewhat 'orientally' sounding - , the one on the old disc by Aljoscha Zimmermann (R.I.P.) is perfectly fine. And apparently the new score was co-financed by arte on top of it.

I have no doubt the new edition will be better contentwise (I expect a whole flurry of pdf-files at the very least), but in times where the budget for restos and releases is severely cut down, why bother with "Nathan" again, especially as the transfer on the old disc is fine, too? It's not "Metropolis" or "Die Nibelungen", and the money and especially time spent on the new version might have been rather given to much-desired films like "Varieté" or some Galeen, for instance.