Kino

[perkizitore]

Even if they were created, i doubt Kino would use them anyway. I thought their practice of using only English intertitles was common knowledge, but i thought in this case i should give them the chance of doubt.

[TMDaines]

Even if they were created, i doubt Kino would use them anyway. I thought their practice of using only English intertitles was common knowledge, but i thought in this case i should give them the chance of doubt.

Yeah, I was reading some reviews of the DVD then I remembered why I don't own any Kino silents. Thought it best to double check.

[perkizitore]

You don't own Battleship Potemkin!?!

[Jonathan S]

Kino released Battleship Potemkin as a two-disc set, one with replaced English intertitles as usual for them, the other with Russian intertitles and optional English subtitles, so it seems likely they'll do the same for Blu-ray. [Edit: I see now that is what the above post is referring to, but perhaps as well to clarify as we've started a new page!]
I do have a German edition of Piz Palu where the intertitles are re-created in the original German (no English subs of course).

[MichaelB]

You don't own Battleship Potemkin!?!

I own three versions, none of them released by Kino.

[tojoed]

On February 21 2010 Kino are releasing The Films of Amos Gitai.

[Jeff]

Does anyone know if Richard Lorber retained the rights to The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and La Dolce Vita? I'm hoping that he has taken them to Kino, who will be releasing gorgeous Blu-rays soon.

[Tribe]

Does anyone know if Richard Lorber retained the rights to The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and La Dolce Vita? I'm hoping that he has taken them to Kino, who will be releasing gorgeous Blu-rays soon.

I know this question has been asked else where (it may have been me, and I'm too lazy to go look for it), but doesn't Zeitgeist have The Umbellas of Cherbourg?

[drdoros]

Does anyone know if Richard Lorber retained the rights to The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and La Dolce Vita? I'm hoping that he has taken them to Kino, who will be releasing gorgeous Blu-rays soon.

I know this question has been asked else where (it may have been me, and I'm too lazy to go look for it), but doesn't Zeitgeist have The Umbellas of Cherbourg?

Richard bought all the rights and had Zeitgeist release it theatrically for him. He retained the video rights for Fox Lorber at the time and it went over to Koch Lorber at some point.

[Ashirg]

Fallen Angels blu-ray is coming March 16 per Amazon.

[jurples]

me: can you confirm that you're releasing wkw's fallen angels on blu-ray 3/16?
kino international: confirmed!

[Tribe]

OK, I've had it...no more making excuses. Just got the new Loren Cass release. It's 2010, right? A 2006 production, right? 1.85:1 aspect ratio...you'd expect a transfer that covers the screen with black bars above and below the image, right?

This fuckin' thing is letterboxed...black bars on all four sides!!

Am I being utterly unreasonable finding this utterly unacceptable?

EDIT: In all fairness, what's there looks very good...but this isn't the dawn of the DVD age anymore.

[tavernier]

It's Kino.

[TMDaines]

OK, I've had it...no more making excuses. Just got the new Loren Cass release. It's 2010, right? A 2006 production, right? 1.85:1 aspect ratio...you'd expect a transfer that covers the screen with black bars above and below the image, right?

This fuckin' thing is letterboxed...black bars on all four sides!!

You mean it's pictureboxed then? Letterboxed is what it should be.

But yeh it's Kino. I doubt I'll ever touch any of their releases, especially their foreign language silents.

(But, hell, even Criterion still can't released a lot of stuff without pictureboxing it)

[fiddlesticks]

I think he means it's non-anamorphic, which I guess you could think of as an extreme form of pictureboxing.

[HerrSchreck]

OK, I've had it...no more making excuses. Just got the new Loren Cass release. It's 2010, right? A 2006 production, right? 1.85:1 aspect ratio...you'd expect a transfer that covers the screen with black bars above and below the image, right?

This fuckin' thing is letterboxed...black bars on all four sides!!

Am I being utterly unreasonable finding this utterly unacceptable?

EDIT: In all fairness, what's there looks very good...but this isn't the dawn of the DVD age anymore.

Aren't 95% of CC's like that?

But yeah, their sound, post-1950 catalogue is jack. You buy a Kino color film at your own risk. You could wind up with something lovely like the krzysztof kieslowski box, or vomitous crud. Pencil me in for love of their balls and their silent catalog-- but back out their silents and avant titles, and you've got a catalog of 70% crud.

[Tribe]

I think he means it's non-anamorphic, which I guess you could think of as an extreme form of pictureboxing.

Sorry for being unclear...Fiddlesticks accurately interpreted my patois.

You mean it's pictureboxed then? Letterboxed is what it should be.

If it were letterboxed, then a movie with a 1.85:1 would only have black bars above and below the image. Right?

EDIT: Here's a description of my problem with this release:

Loren Cass was shot on 16mm film (with one sequence appearing to be on videotape), but there is no excuse for Kino’s decision to release it on DVD in a 1.85:1 letterboxed transfer without 16:9 enhancement. We’re not demanding an expensive high-definition transfer here; we’re talking about utilizing basic DVD technology to make the most of the available NTSC resolution that most people now have on their 16:9 sets. In a world where many PC-based software packages have the ability to format a DVD image for 16:9, there is simply no reason for a DVD ever again to be released in standard letterbox.

[HerrSchreck]

Tribe is right. From the HTF review:

Video:

Loren Cass was shot on 16mm film (with one sequence appearing to be on videotape), but there is no excuse for Kino’s decision to release it on DVD in a 1.85:1 letterboxed transfer without 16:9 enhancement. We’re not demanding an expensive high-definition transfer here; we’re talking about utilizing basic DVD technology to make the most of the available NTSC resolution that most people now have on their 16:9 sets. In a world where many PC-based software packages have the ability to format a DVD image for 16:9, there is simply no reason for a DVD ever again to be released in standard letterbox.

As grateful as I am to Kino for providing HTF with a review copy of Loren Cass, I think it’s important that I convey this message to anyone from Kino who may be reading. The constituency that reads these reviews cares very much about technical quality. If you don’t take that seriously, you will lose sales, no matter how groundbreaking or significant the film you are releasing and no matter how well the transfer has otherwise been handled.

And in fact the transfer is remarkably good, given both the 16mm source and the depleted resolution of a non-enhanced transfer. Even though much of the film takes place at night, the black levels are solid enough, and the detail is sufficiently delineated, that you can always make out what’s happening. Features, expressions and events are all distinct. But they could have been better.

Colors appeared generally muted and washed out on my 72" screen, and at first I thought that was deliberate. Then I remembered a print review that talked about the film’s bright colors, and I looked at scenes on my computer monitor and was reminded how the weaknesses of video mastering become more evident as screen size increases. The colors in Loren Cass are vivid and distinct at small screen sizes, but realistically so, which is to say that the color has not been pumped up artificially beyond the intensity it would have in everday life. But since the resolution on the disc is so poor, the colors pale as the screen size increases. Here again, Kino’s failure to provide 16:9 enhancement damages the home viewing experience.

Donald Krim really needs to get on the fucking ball if he wants his company to be taken seriously and stop being a red headed step child of sound film arthouse. If there's a cheaper cat in home vid distribution, he exists in the ninth dimension.

[Tommaso]

Completely right, of course. But let's not forget that Kino isn't alone. The 2008 French disc of "Zabriskie Point" was also non-anamorphic. And that was Warner Brothers.... (ahm...okay...ahm...Warner Brothers.... )

[Tribe]

I posted the following comment on Kino's Facebook page:

I want to preface this by pointing out that I've been a long time supporter of Kino (I have around 130 Kino titles in my DVD collection). Kino has released movies on DVD that otherwise would likely not have been available.

So, I'm not just picking on Kino.

But, why in the world, in 2010 is Kino releasing Loren Cass, with... a 1.85:1 aspect ratio, in a non-anamorphic transfer? I was so disapointed when I popped this into the DVD player and saw a picture-boxed image with thick black bars all around it. I truly appreciate what Kino has done in the past, but I respectfully suggest this is unacceptable today by any standard.

I received the following response:

We had no choice with this, unfortunately. The filmmaker shot the film in 2005 on standard-def video and never made an anamorphic master. We would never willingly release a DVD with such low technical standards, but we had no other options -- the situation is a casualty of a (very talented) young filmmaker having no money and very little knowledge about how to prepare a film for distribution.

Is that something that is ordinarily left to the film maker?

[HerrSchreck]

I'm not sure who's right or wrong-- the HTF w their claim that Kino could have enhanced the master for 16 X 9 in the digital suite quickly and easily, or Kino, in claiming that they were stuck with what they got, which no amount of work could have improved. But this:

We would never willingly release a DVD with such low technical standards,

Cue that corny ol Lolwut Pear.

[Tribe]

And now, they've deleted their response to my Facebook post.

[perkizitore]

Derzu Uzala blu-ray notification has appeared on Amazon.

[Peacock]

Derzu Uzala blu-ray notification has appeared on Amazon.

[-o< Be a good print [-o<

[perkizitore]

If they release this and Sacrifice in competent blu-rays, they are going to be my heroes this year!