Luis Buñuel on DVD

[Documaniaque]

Can anyone here comment on the newish French release of l'Age d'Or that the Centre Pompidou put out last year? Better than the BFI or not? Any impressions would be welcome...

[Documaniaque]

I have the Film Sans Frontières DVD with Las Hurdes, and the copy used is definitely in pretty poor condition, so this sounds tempting...

[Davidspector]

Speaking of Los Olvidados, has anyone gotten reports on the R4 version recently issued by Shock? I like the film very much but am not aware of any English-friendly good transfer of the film and am hoping this might be it.

[manicsounds]

Los Olvidados UK DVD September 13th

60th Anniversary edition
Special Features include a specially commissioned interview with internationally renowned film critic, Derek Malcolm

[Lemmy Caution]

Would love to get a copy of Los Olvidados.
I saw a good quality restored print at the Shanghai Film Festival 3 or 4 years back.

The little seen La Fièvre Monte à El Pao (1959) just turned up here on dvd. Unfortunately, it's an Arthaus release and doesn't have English subs (German and Chinese only). It's originally part of a 10 film boxset of Bunuels which Arthaus released late last year. With the further exception of Gran Casino, the rest of the set consists of '60's and '70's Bunuels which are readily available from Criterion and elsewhere.
If anyone can manage German or Chinese subs, and wants a cheap copy of Fievre Monte a El Pao, let me know.

[tojoed]

I received the UK "Los Olvidados" today. It's DVD 9, Region 0.
Here are some caps.

[tojoed]

David, I've edited the above post with some caps. Looks serviceable, but I'd like to hear what you think, especially if you have seen a decent DVD of it yourself.

[tojoed]

Thanks David. I see what you mean.

[perkizitore]

There was a French Films sans Frontieres release, does anyone own it?

[Jonathan S]

Yes, I have the FSF release - the caps on Beaver show similar combing to the frame David posted. My main problem with it (at least when projected) is its softness, probably caused by the PAL-NTSC conversion Beaver mentions. Indeed, I have an off-air PAL VHS, apparently of the same transfer, which is sharper than the FSF DVD.

If anybody has the FSF and the new release I'd love to know how they compare, especially for definition. Also what is the running time of the new one? Some sources list 85 minutes but I think I've only seen an 80 minute print (shorter with PAL speed-up).

[tojoed]

Jon, the new DVD running time is 77 minutes approx.

[Jonathan S]

Thanks. Most of my books actually list it as 88 minutes (before PAL speed-up) - almost a whole reel longer but both the BBC broadcast of 1983 (in a tribute season after Bunuel died) and the FilmFour one about 20 years later were approximately 77 minutes.

[perkizitore]

I am sorry, i meant to ask if anyone has the Spanish releases to compare... :-"

[tavernier]

Las Hurdes is (finally) coming from Microcinema in 2011

[blvdducinema]

Some of the DVDs mentioned seem outated (posts from almost 2 years ago). But...

I'm on a huge Buñuel kick right now. Own everything Criterion has released. What are the best quality DVDs with English Subtitles that I can get for the rest of his available filmography? Been swimming through Amazon and most of the descriptions don't say much.

Anyone know anything about these?

And then there's also this available copy of El Bruto.

[Michael Kerpan]

Death in the Garden is currently viewable on Fandor.

[MichaelB]

And then there's also this available copy of El Bruto.

I haven't seen that version, but framegrab comparisons make it clear that Mr Bongo's PAL edition is far superior. I posted framegrabs here.

Same goes for Susana.

[Gregory]

Death in the Garden is also on a pretty decent DVD from Microcinema. I just checked Amazon to make sure it's still available and saw that it's on sale for 60% off.

I'd second the recommendation for the Mr. Bongo editions of El Bruto and Susana and recommend them, especially with their prices, and exchange rates being what they are.

The BFI dual-format is very probably the best release L'Age d'Or and Chien Andalou will ever get.

This Australian disc, has Las Hurdes (Land WIthout Bread) and is probably well worth buying, now that it's seems Microcinema may not release it in R1 after all.

The Lionsgate 2-fer of Gran Casino and The Young Ones is worth picking up, especially if you don't mind buying from Amazon Marketplace sellers, which have it pretty cheaply.
Same goes for the VCI disc of Robinson Crusoe.

The situation with a lot of the Mexican films not mentioned is a bit more complicated, and I'd have to review what's currently available. Or maybe someone else who's look for those recently can fill that in.

[swo17]

Despite not being in HD, I think the version of Un chien andalou that comes with this book is better than the BFI. Compare: BFI vs. Filmoteca Española

And you can get Las Hurdes cheaper here. It's a different release than the one Gregory linked to, but it looks like it's by the same company, just excluding Un chien andalou.

[MichaelB]

The BFI dual-format is very probably the best release L'Age d'Or and Chien Andalou will ever get.

No argument at all about L'âge d'or. Unless an absolutely pristine source print comes to light, which is wildly implausible given this film's production and suppression history, it's hard to see how the BFI version could seriously be improved upon - it's in the correct aspect ratio, obviously from a 35mm source, and is the best I've ever seen the film look, including cinema screenings.

On the other hand, there's certainly room for improvement with Un chien andalou. The BFI's version was sourced from a visibly cropped 16mm dupe of Buñuel's own 1960 sonorised version, so even a 35mm source would improve matters. It's certainly not bad, and since L'âge d'or is an essential purchase anyway there's no chance of wasting your money on the BFI edition - but it's not definitive.

Incidentally, the BFI dual-format release is region-free, so the Blu-ray should play on any player. The DVD is PAL, so might struggle with some non-European players/TVs, but should play fine on a computer.

[Gregory]

Yep, Un Chien Andalou definitely could be improved on, but at this stage in the history of home video, I was doubtful sure it ever would be, especially with Facets holding it in R1. But then I'd missed the caps swo17 had posted from the Filmoteca Española disc, which seems like a great option (for those who can afford that book!).

[Documaniaque]

Espagne 36, the compilation documentary about the Spanish civil war he supervised and wrote the commentary for (the montage itself is by Jean-Paul Le Chanois) is available on the Filmoteca box-set La Guerra Filmada. I have to say the image quality on this DVD is unbelievably bad, so much so I wondered if I might not be playing it wrong on my computer (though I'm guessing it's because the DVD was made out of a TV-show?). Anyway I was still grateful to see it.

Now if someone would only put out Triumph of Will...

[JPJ]

If you are talking about Riefenstahl documentary Synapse films released it years ago,still available as far as I know.

[Documaniaque]

If you are talking about Riefenstahl documentary Synapse films released it years ago,still available as far as I know.

I was talking about the Bunuel mashup montage-documentary (made during the war while he worked at MoMA) alternating scenes from the Riefenstahl with Bertram's Feueurtaufe, the latter contradicting Hitler's talk about peace in the former...

[antnield]

If you are talking about Riefenstahl documentary Synapse films released it years ago,still available as far as I know.

I was talking about the Bunuel mashup montage-documentary (made during the war while he worked at MoMA) alternating scenes from the Riefenstahl with Bertram's Feueurtaufe, the latter contradicting Hitler's talk about peace in the former...

Off-topic slightly, but Dylan Thomas also did his own take on Triumph of the Will, entitled These Are the Men (1943, co-directed with Alan Osbiston). Over footage of Hitler, et al he provides his own voice-overs detailing the real truths of life under Nazi rule which the assembled crowds nonetheless wildly applaud. It's a strikingly angry piece of British propaganda filmmaking made with the full endorsement of the Ministry of Information.