Fritz Lang on DVD/Blu-ray

[Der Spieler]

I think I'll wait for the reviews to surface. I already own a DVD-R of the japanese edition that came in a film noir box set (the one reviewed on Beaver). I'm not tha interested in the Film Noir vol. 2 set so I might just pass altogether.

[Der Spieler]

Anybody experienced a little fluctuation in colors and a greenish tone on the 'Return of Frank James' DVD?

[TMDaines]

Anybody experienced a little fluctuation in colors and a greenish tone on the 'Return of Frank James' DVD?

Give me a time where it is noticeable and I'll check my disk.

[Der Spieler]

Pretty much all the way through I had trouble.

I believe it might be my TV but the trailers in the extras were OK so...

[Der Spieler]

Word has it that the German DVD of Hangmen is the longest available version, though I have yet to pick it up for myself.

I'm looking for screencaps of that edition, anybody has some?

[Der Spieler]

Are you sure that the french and german discs sport the same exact transfer? I've heard some pretty bad things about the french Carlotta edition while the german e-m-s is supposed to be of good quality. God, it's really hard trying to find a decent review or screencaps of the latter.

[bugsy_pal]

There were some caps on the now dead (alas) DVDClassik site, specifically one grab of the final gravestones shot.

I bought the French disc (which is a definite imrpvoement over the Kino) a few years ago but it's the same running time as Kino (Allowing for PAL speedup) and only the German disc is complete (and is otherwise the same transfer as the French DVD.)

I have no idea what the rights situation on this is or whether there is any fine grain 35mm source anywhere out there. It seems criminal - it is a major Lang.

I was recently looking at this: http://www.dvdclassik.com/Critiques/bou ... si-dvd.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; - it is a review of a French version of the film. Is this the one that you own David? From what I can gather from the rather flaky Google translation of this page, this version (pictured at bottom of page) is the Carlotta and is a two disc package with American and French versions of the movie. The running times given are 134 minutes and 117 minutes - but I'm not sure which running time applies to which version.

What I was also curious to know is whether the French version has removable French subtitles. I recently bought a few French Wild Side discs including 'House by the River' and I could not get the subtitles to go away on them - had to make a backup copy without subs.

[Der Spieler]

Could you post a few caps of the Carlotta so we can compare?

[domino harvey]

Anyone have this edition of Moonfleet? It says it's only 2.35 but it also says it's 143 minutes long so...

[bugsy_pal]

Yes that is the version I bought. Obviously I can't compare to the German disc coz I don't have that. The Runtime of 134 is for PAL and is identical to the NTSC runtime 140 of the Kino. (Which I also have) So the content is the same, but certainly not the print.

Thanks - so I take it then that the Carlotta, being PAL, is not the same transfer as the Orbit UK disc? The screencaps on DVD Beaver for that one don't look very good - I would rather go with the Kino version (warts and all) over that one, if that was the only choice.

I'm curious about this 117 minute version that is on the other disc of the Carlotta. Have you watched that one?

And finally - in what way is the german DVD more complete than the French or US versions?

[bugsy_pal]

It ends with a final (travelling) shot across the gravestones of the internees who've been killed, and either a VO or a title card saying something like "their deaths weren't in vain." I've never seen it but Eisner describes it in the Lang Book.

The 117 version on the Carlotta is the German language dub version. I played a few minutes once and never bothered with it again.

Thanks again David. Sorry for the incessant questions, but are the French subs hard-coded on the Carlotta disc? I've heard that in some cases, the ability to turn them off is player-dependent - but in the case of the recent Wild Side discs I obtained, I could not turn them off on either a new Panasonic or a new Sony bluray player. Not a deal breaker, but a hassle having to create a play copy without the subtitles.

[tenia]

No not hard coded from memory.

I confirm, not hard coded, but I don't know if they are player-dependant.
And yes, it is definitely not Carlotta's best in term of picture quality (unfortunately).

[jbaart]

Are you sure that the french and german discs sport the same exact transfer? I've heard some pretty bad things about the french Carlotta edition while the german e-m-s is supposed to be of good quality. God, it's really hard trying to find a decent review or screencaps of the latter.

Doesn't help that it is OOP due to the bankruptcy of the distributor. I'm considering buying it from one of the few stores that still has a cheap copy but my wallet is already complaining. Haven't even found money to spend on the current MoC sale yet

[Frankinho007]

Well, Scope is right ratio, and if you subtract the 50 minutes of extras the PAL running time is 89 minutes which is correct.

Those extras appear to be exact ports of the two Bernard Eisenschitz video essays from the French Warner Legendes disc (which are superb, but you need to understand French.) I assume the movie file is also a port of the French disc - I reviewed it for Gary years ago and I think it's as good as we'll get. Fr. subs were not hard coded.

On the French disc, the extras are subtitled in English. Got the disc here.

[Der Spieler]

Somehow I doubt that the Carlotta is superior to the Kino. It got really poor reviews.

Maybe a few caps would help.

[tojoed]

I picked up the German E.M.S. edition of "Hangmen Also Die" from Amazon.de marketplace. Here are some screencaps that look acceptable to me, but my standards are notoriously low.

[TMDaines]

If you turned down the brightness of your screen when watching it, it would be fine in my opinion. Definitely looks brightness boosted.

[broadwayrock]

It looks far better than the Kino.

Whats the sound and print quality like?

[tojoed]

The sound is fine (DD 2.0). TM is right, my brightness settings were too high on my computer, sorry about that.

[Finch]

thanks for those caps, tojoed. I've been wanting to get a decent copy of Hangman and this looks just like it.

[Der Spieler]

Wow, miles ahead of the other releases. Brightness is obviously boosted but that can be fixed.

I'll see if tojoed still can get it for me. *crosses fringers*

[Der Spieler]

Here is an updated list of all the best Lang editions available:

Der müde Tod (1921) - Image
Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler (1922) - MoC
Die Nibelungen (1924) - Kino for now but new restoration will be on MoC DVD or blu-ray
Metropolis (1927) - Upcoming MoC DVD and Blu
Spione (1928) - MoC though Kino is not far behind
Woman in the Moon (1929) - MoC
M (1931) - Criterion and MoC tie
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933) - Criterion and MoC tie
Liliom (1934) - Extra on "Carousel" DVD
Fury (1936) - Warner
You Only Live Once (1937) - Cinema Club
The Return of Frank James (1940) - Fox
Western Union (1941) - Optimum
Man Hunt (1941) - Fox
(Moontide) (1942) - Fox
Hangmen Also Die (1943) - e-m-s
Ministry of Fear (1944) - Optimum or Carlotta
The Woman in the Window (1945) - MGM
Scarlet Street (1945) - Kino or Odeon (same transfer, but the former is not progressive while the latter is)
Cloak and Dagger (1946) - Republic
Secret Beyond the Door... (1948) - Wild Side
House by the River (1950) - Wild Side though Kino is acceptable
Rancho Notorious (1952) - Warner Archives
Clash by Night (1952) - Warner
The Blue Gardenia (1953) - Arthaus R2 or the cheaper, acceptable Image R1
The Big Heat (1953) - Sony
Human Desire (1954) - upcoming Sony
Moonfleet (1955) - Warner France
While the City Sleeps (1956) - upcoming Wild Side or Exposure
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956) - upcoming Wild Side
The Indian Epic (1959) - Fantoma and Wild Side tie
1000 Eyes of Dr. Mabuse (1960) - MoC

[matrixschmatrix]

I've heard rumors about a couple of possible Criterions (Ministry of Fear, I think)- are there any you would recommend holding off on because of that?

[Der Spieler]

Well, 'Der müde Tod', 'Liliom', 'Hangmen Also Die!', 'Ministry of Fear', 'Cloak and Dagger' and 'The Blue Gardenia' all have something that's left to be desired as far as DVDs go but I highly doubt that any of these will ever be Criterionized. I wouldn't be surprised if MoC released 'Der müde Tod' someday though.

[matrixschmatrix]

Thanks!

Incidentally, I'd be happy to paypal anyone who could pick up a copy of that Cinema Club You Only Live Once- it looks like there's no way I can order it to the US, that I can see.