Fritz Lang on DVD/Blu-ray

[rohmerin]

Sí, again, horrible image. Look

http://mundodvd.com/showthread.php?t=77782" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I shout:
Attention, avoid all Impulso DVDs, they are a rubbish subcontracted company set in Canary Islands (bizarre for being a DVD company) and in 99% of cases, all their WB films are old VHS masters, except Lang's Moonflet or Minneli's 4 horsemen on the apocalpsy, that miracle, they are 16/9 and the quality is reasonabe.

Impulso make 99% of their DVDs on 4:3.

They also put in market Paramount, Fox and MGM films, most are NOT released on USA, or they are on "burn od demand". Mr 880, They came back 3 or other Fox films are good DVDs, but not always.

ASK on each case.

[Der Spieler]

Thanks for that!

[MichaelB]

The checkdisc of While The City Sleeps that Exposure Cinema sent me is clearly sourced from an analogue master and closer to VHS than DVD quality. There were no extras, so whether this is reflective of the final production version is anyone's guess, but I have a strict policy of reviewing what I'm sent.

(I had my fingers burned over a Mr Bongo release when they assured me that it would have certain extras and I printed that info in good faith - but the final disc was barebones).

[Jonathan S]

The checkdisc of While The City Sleeps that Exposure Cinema sent me is clearly sourced from an analogue master and closer to VHS than DVD quality.

That doesn't surprise me as it was a RKO release, so I believe it would have to be licensed from Universal in the UK... and most of Universal UK's own releases of RKO films are like VHS or worse. I've noticed that quite a few RKO titles are scheduled for DVD release soon in the UK, many of them through Odeon Entertainment who sometimes produce good quality discs, but I'm not hopeful this time.

Generally speaking, the best UK source for RKO films has been the BBC (who I believe own permanent UK TV rights), though they show only a select few these days. Some of their prints - e.g. most of the Lewton series - beat even the R1 Warner releases, especially for digital clean-up.

[Peacock]

Some of their prints - e.g. most of the Lewton series - beat even the R1 Warner releases, especially for digital clean-up.

Off topic but; Odeon are releasing The Seventh Victim in October... wonder if that means they'll be using the BBC print?

[Jonathan S]

The BBC print of The Seventh Victim, though cleaner than Warner's, is actually problematic in that the Lord's Prayer quotations near the end of the picture are cut (censored?) though they are intact on the R1 DVD.

[Finch]

Some of their prints - e.g. most of the Lewton series - beat even the R1 Warner releases, especially for digital clean-up.

Jon, do you happen to know if they have a print of The Leopard Man? If so, it might be worthwhile pestering Odeon about licencing this as the Warner print was in battered shape. All the more frustrating as this is my favourite Lawton/Tourneur and occupies the Number 2 spot in my All-Time list!

[Jonathan S]

Yes, the BBC copy of The Leopard Man is much preferable, I think, to Warner's, as is their I Walked with a Zombie. As with most of the Lewtons, the BBC transmit them regularly - annually, I'd say.

[HerrSchreck]

I muss confess to a pretty flat and uneventful veiwing experiences with Herr Fritz via HUMAN DESIRE, which I really didn't know all that much about. But given Lang's excellent retread of Renoir's La Chienne via SCARLET STREET (lord do I love that film) , I thought that, despite some of the poo-pooing, the film might hold some pearls of Good Langian Viewing.

The film just fell somehwat flat for me... there was something sedentary about the whole proceeding as the narrative unfolded. Somehow I get the feeling that Lang couldn't determine where his greatest interest in the unfoldings lay, or what it was that he thought the film should be saying about the characters. The usual flair for magnetizing his narratives with his extraordinary sense of human frailty, coarseness, insensitivity, of a good man getting sucked into a vortex of inescapable doom and subject to the machinations of fate-- that incredible sixth sense for locking the viewer head-to-toe into the films pace, this seemed to fail him here. Whereas I easily watch Scarlet Street more than La Chienne, there's no way this film could even come close to comparing to La Bete Humaine, at least not in my cinematic universe.

Not a bad film, neccessarily, but certainly not up to Lang's usual standard of narrative execution.

[Der Spieler]

The checkdisc of While The City Sleeps that Exposure Cinema sent me is clearly sourced from an analogue master and closer to VHS than DVD quality.

Wow, what a letdown.

[Exposure Cinema]

The checkdisc of While The City Sleeps that Exposure Cinema sent me is clearly sourced from an analogue master and closer to VHS than DVD quality.

Wow, what a letdown.

Hello!

We couldn't help noticing the posts here regarding our forthcoming release of WHILE THE CITY SLEEPS and would like to reassure potential customers and clarify one or two points.

Firstly, all check-discs were from an old broadcast video master from the 1990s which is being used for the film's BBC and TCM TV broadcasts. Having found it to be unacceptable for DVD release, we've made a completely new transfer from the 35mm original. This is vastly superior.

Check-discs are merely disposable, low-quality items and give no indication of final version picture quality!

Secondly, regarding extra features, the film will contain its original trailer, a comprehensive gallery of stills, poster and pressbook material and poster reproduction.

Lastly, release is imminent - the date changes have been necessary to allow us to issue the best possible version of the film.

Please see the example below for comparison.

Zuno Dunlop
Founder & Owner
Exposure Cinema

[Frankinho007]

Looks good. Got two questions. The 27th of September is the definite release date?

Is it true that you're going to release Beyond a Reasonable Doubt as well?

[peerpee]

Check-discs are merely disposable, low-quality items and give no indication of final version picture quality!

Umm... the whole point of checkdiscs is that they are high quality and give an exact indication of the final product, so that the people you're sending them to can review the quality of the DVD. No point otherwise and you'll only get really bad reviews. There is an industry tendency to just send "any old shit" around as checkdiscs but I've never been able to understand it. Why do it?

[manicsounds]

Japanese Blu-ray of METROPOLIS on schedule for 11/27/2010 for those interested. I was waiting for the theatrical screenings in Japan but there were NONE!

[Mozart]

Only ￥5,284 (ca. 50 Euro) -> seems like a catch, especially in comparison to the MoC Edition of Metropolis....

[HarryLong]

There is an industry tendency to just send "any old shit" around as checkdiscs but I've never been able to understand it. Why do it?

I wonder that myself when I get screeners that end up bearing little resemblance to the finished products. Do they think we're psychic & can review what they intend to release?

[Frankinho007]

Guess what, "While the City Sleeps" got pushed back again. It's now listed with a October 11 release date on Amazon.co.uk

[Der Spieler]

So surprising...

[Frankinho007]

Some news from Germany. Lang's You and Me (1938) will be released on December 3 from Koch Media - which is a very reliable German company.

[Der Spieler]

So...

Der müde Tod (1921) - Image
Dr. Mabuse the Gambler (1922) - MoC
Die Nibelungen (1924) - Kino
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
You and Me (1938) - upcoming Koch Media
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) - 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

That means pretty much all of Lang's important films have or will get a DVD release!

[Der Spieler]

"Hi Alexandre

Thank you for your enquiry.

It has been frustrating for us too, but here's the good news: we're definitely going ahead on October 11.

Kind regards

Zuno Dunlop
Founder & Owner
Exposure Cinema"

[Frankinho007]

"Hi Alexandre

Thank you for your enquiry.

It has been frustrating for us too, but here's the good news: we're definitely going ahead on October 11.

Kind regards

Zuno Dunlop
Founder & Owner
Exposure Cinema"

Woohoo:

While the City Sleeps (1956) [DVD]
Dana Andrews, et al
Sold by: Amazon EU S.a.r.L.

We are preparing these items for dispatch and this portion of your order cannot be cancelled or changed.

[Der Spieler]

Cool, you'll be able to tell us if it's any good.

Still strange that Exposure didn't bother sending final checkdiscs for review...

[bugsy_pal]

That's great news about the forthcoming "You and Me" disc from Koch - I've never seen that film. I'm also looking forward to hearing impressions of the new "While the City Sleeps".

I was wondering about the best version of "Cloak and Dagger" - I don't have a copy, and i'm not sure whether to go with the US Republic version or the UK disc which is from "Paladium" (according to Amazon UK). I have not been able to find anything on the quality of the UK disc. It would be nice if it improved on the US version, which doesn't look great according to Beaver screencaps.

[Frankinho007]

Got the disc today.

Some technical specs first:
The disc comes with a normal keep case and features an inlay with a poster reproduction on each side (Italian & US poster)
DVD is locked to region 2
It's a DVD-9 (approx. 6GB were used)
Runtime: 95:39 Min. (PAL)
Audio is DD 2.0 Mono and the disc features English hard of hearing subs.
Besides the Poster,stills and pressbook gallery the disc does feature the Original Trailer.

Now to the picture quality and I would say it was worth waiting. Took some screencaps with WinDVD and converted them to .jpg at a quality of 100 with GIMP: