Silent Film on DVD and BD

[Hofmeister]

That's correct: In a strict sense, the Coffanetto Buñuel (LAS HURDES, L'AGE D'OR and UN CHIEN ANDALOU) appears to be the sole other silent programme on their roster. If we flex our criteria a bit to permit neo-silents, then the Silent Warhol set (BLOW JOB, MARIO BANANA 1, MARIO BANANA 2, EMPIRE, KISS) and a Svankmajer Box would qualify as well, but I'd say that's about it.

[TMDaines]

It looks like Raro Video have just released a dvd edition of Paul Czinner's wonderful "Fräulein Else". Music is by the excellent Italian indie band Marlene Kuntz.

Did anyone make a purchase of this? Just wondering if the intertitles it has are the original German? (I'm presuming it does have intertitles)

[TMDaines]

Comments on Raro's Fräulein Else release: Here

[CRT]

Do any of you who own the NFI Bergenstoget plyndret inatt release happen to have a scanner or a bigger pic of the cover? I'm currently trying to add the title to my online collection organizer site but they refuse to accept it until I can find a better quality picture, and all the images I can find are too small.

[Knappen]

Online collection organizer?

I would like to help, but I'm not sure what you need this for..

Some site engine doesn't like the image you want to upload? You can blow it up a bit in Gimp or Photoshop...

[CRT]

Online collection organizer?

I would like to help, but I'm not sure what you need this for..

You can also blow up the other images a bit.

Certainly, I just ordered the DVD, I use

http://www.dvdaf.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

to track my DVD Collection online so my friends can see what I've got. The DVD isn't in the database and to add it, I need to include the cover art, so it can show up in the database like so...



or the people that run the site won't allow it. All the pictures I can find on the internet do not reach their minimum size requirements. If you could possibly scan the cover image into your computer so I can put include it in my submission to get the dvd listed on the site?

I cannot blow something up, they do not allow that either. Thanks!

[Knappen]

I'll try to get you something. What size do you need?

[CRT]

300x425 or higher should do it! Thanks!

[fiddlesticks]

I always just wait until I receive the DVD, then scan the cover and upload it to DVDAF (and do the whole title-entry dance at that time). Patience is a virtue!

[Knappen]

[CRT]

Thanks so much! =D>

[otis]

Any word on the Absolut Medien DVD of Storm over Asia that came out a couple of years ago? How does it compare to the Image version? I'm hoping that it's as gorgeous as their disc of Dovzhenko's Earth, which I recently bought. Can anyone confirm?

[markhax]

Any word on the Absolut Medien DVD of Storm over Asia that came out a couple of years ago? How does it compare to the Image version? I'm hoping that it's as gorgeous as their disc of Dovzhenko's Earth, which I recently bought. Can anyone confirm?

I own both. I bought EARTH and was so blown away by its superiority to the Image Entertainment DVD that I bought the Absolut-Medien STORM OVER ASIA expecting a similar difference. The Absolut disc is clearly from the same master as the Image disc, with the same damage. At times it appears the contrast has been boosted so that the image has marginally more definition, but it's nothing revelatory like the EARTH resto. The Absolut disc has the original Russian intertitles (German subtitles only) and a new score by Bernd Schultheis. But I like Timothy Brock's score on the Image disc much better. In this case, I am not sure the Absolut disc merits the investment.

[otis]

Thanks for the swift reply, markhax. Guess I'll save my money for the forthcoming Barnets from Edition Filmmuseum...

[perkizitore]

Does the Eureka DVD of Storm Over Asia uses the same master as the Image DVD?

[CRT]

Has anyone picked up Kino's recently released Constance Talmadge double feature of "Her Night of Romance/Her Sister from Paris", I'm strongly inclined to pick it up as I do love a good silent comedy.

[Ann Harding]

Yes I did! I personally enjoyed very much the two Franklin comedies very expertly played by Colman and Talmadge who are a brilliant comedy team. But don't expect a great image quality. The prints have quite a bit of decomp. But, that shouldn't stop you from buying them. I think these two comedies are extremely enjoyable and well directed. (The Norma Talmadge set is also worth a look for Brown's Kiki.)

[otis]

Jonathan Rosenbaum mentions a new Norwegian DVD of Pudovkin's Mother in his Cinema Scope column:

while attending the Tromsø film festival’s screening of The End of St. Petersburg in January, I picked up their own DVD of a restoration from the Norwegian National Library that screened at their festival last year. The musical accompaniment in both cases is (or was) industrial electronic music, which for me is anachronistic in the worst postmodernist fashion. I have to confess that the young audience I saw St. Petersburg with seemed positively delighted with this clunky and seemingly random clatter—to the point where they seemed to regard Pudovkin, not the music, as the accompaniment to this main attraction. But at least on the DVD of Mother you have the option of shutting this noise off.

There's a clip on YouTube which shows extracts from a screening, but it's hard to get a sense of the print quality. Does anyone have the DVD?

[patricio00]

Someone should get this guy to score a silent film.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NZdggNUvq0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2A5Gno7 ... re=related" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1u0VIBU ... re=related" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[L.A.]

Independenta Romaniei (1912)

Does anyone know where to buy the DVD, which seems to have English subtitles?

[rohmerin]

31 short films by Segundo de Chomón has been released by Cameo. Menu, subtitle and booklet, in English.

http://mundodvd.com/showthread.php?t=79055" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Hofmeister]

Independenta Romaniei (1912) -- Does anyone know where to buy the DVD, which seems to have English subtitles?

Two DVDs got mixed up here.

• TVR media (Romanian Television) brought out an official DVD in 2007 (Press release). It's obtainable through online retailers such as MyMovie (link to item page). This DVD which I haven't seen is supposed to run 82 minutes.
• The other DVD was prepared by 'bibescu', has English subs, two audio tracks (1: sound of a 16mm camera; 2: JS Bach partitas), and is not a commercial release. It runs 53 minutes (+extras) and I understand it represents the export version of the film. bibescu has posted the complete files of his effort further down on the page you linked to (31 rapidshare links).

The respective menu screens of the two DVDs are posted here; note that the TVR disc does not offer subtitles.
For a brief overview of Romania's film heritage see issue 54 (1997) of the Journal of Film Preservation, pp.44-49. The PDF version (596 KB) is available as a free download: http://www.fiafnet.org/pdf/uk/fiaf54.pdf

[L.A.]

Thank you very much for the information, Hofmeister!

[Ann Harding]

The French Cinémathèque is going to release some French silents (produced by the Albatros company) on DVD through Arte Video. No titles and no dates mentioned yet. But, it might include Feu Mathias Pascal (1924, M. L'Herbier) and Gribiche (1926, J. Feyder) as they are both scheduled for broadcast on Arte. I'll let you know when more information becomes available.

[Knappen]

Pretty great news.

Ann, do you know if IMDb's list of Albstros productions is complete?

I understand that they have the right for the whole catalog.