Cinema Guild

[matrixschmatrix]

Haha, I like the dual format releases because it means that I can generously give a copy of the movie away to someone whom I think I can turn into a convert and still have my beautiful blu.

[domino harvey]

Again, as a teacher, dual format means I can enjoy the Blu at home and use the DVD in the classroom

[Peacock]

Count me in the separate releases crowd - keeps the prices down for the customer; and surely laptops and many more homes will fairly soon (two or three years) become Blu-ray compatible?

[cinemaguild]

We strongly weighed the benefits of a combo pack before we did MARWENCOL, our first blu, but ultimately felt that, as 'what a disgrace' notes, separate releases were somehow more aesthetically pleasing. We're always open to reconsidering, but for the moment we think they allow for a more clean, finished product. Of course, our hope is that we'll only be doing blu-ray releases in the near future!

All our blu-rays thus far are region free.

Thanks everyone for your feedback! We actually would love to get your thoughts on another topic ---

How much importance do you place on booklets/inserts in DVD packaging? Do you like critic essays or wish booklets included other things?

[Jazzkammer]

Booklets/inserts are always a nice touch! In fact, if I had to choose between a bare-bones blu-ray disc with a well written essay on the insert, or a blu-ray disc of a film with a couple uninteresting interviews with the cast, but no booklet/insert in packaging, I would choose the former. Even the brief James Quandt write-up that came with Eccentricities was a nice touch. I would even go so far as to say that if Cinema Guild wants to further cement its burgeoning reputation as a company on par with Criterion or MoC, then a booklet of some kind is almost essential.

[knives]

I love them. Naturally all extras are going to be hit or miss, but I find booklets as a quick way to cut the bull and get to the academic meat of the matter. It was especially helpful on Eccentricities.

[JeanRZEJ]

The value of a booklet depends on the quality of the book and the rarity of the material, to me. If it's a film with an overwhelming amount of critical work available online which goes into greater depth (and less synopsis) than the content included in the booklet then I don't see the point. If I have to scrape through compilations of criticism translated from Russian critics at the library to find anything written about the film - that is very helpful. Hence, I think it's more important for obscure Sokurov films from the early nineties than films with a relatively wide release in the internet age.

If your content is worth less than 5 minutes searching on the internet then it's not very valuable to me. If it can't be found anywhere else - then it's invaluable.

Additional material can often be very interesting, as well, depending on the film, like social/historical essays, production diaries, etc. which open up views of the film which are impossible to infer from a distant time and culture.

As a general rule: The more in depth the material, the better. The more distinct and obscure the material, the more valuable the breadth and depth of the supplements become.

[jsteffe]

Speaking of Sokurov, there are two collections about him in Russian edited by Liubov Arkus that are worth checking out. The first volume was published in 1994 and the second volume was published in 2006. Among other people, the noted Russian critic Mikhail Yampolsky contributed to them.

[zedz]

The value of a book is entirely down to its contents, as noted. MoC are surely the gold standard. BFI and Criterion are right behind, and Second Run, though they're generally smaller booklets, are often the only extended critical appraisals of the films that are readily available - thus invaluable.

On the other hand, major studios are generally terrible at producing booklets, since they're terrified to go beyond lowest-common-denominator puff pieces. These kind of products are worse than useless, they're infuriating.

[domino harvey]

Haha, I got some OOP DVD from the early aughts and there was a four panel booklet inside and I was like, "What the shit is this, why do I need this collection of canted neon-bordered Christian Slater pix?"

[Peacock]

I love having a booklet, and agree that the rarity of the material is very important. Kino's dvd of Liverpool has just an interview with Alonso in the booklet - but the interview is readily available online already; so it was pretty disappointing personally.

If you can only afford a couple of written pieces I recommend the frequent Second Run approach of a critical essay, and an interview with the director. But more of either of these things is very much welcomed (as well as stills!)...

[TMDaines]

The value of a book is entirely down to its contents, as noted. MoC are surely the gold standard. BFI and Criterion are right behind, and Second Run, though they're generally smaller booklets, are often the only extended critical appraisals of the films that are readily available - thus invaluable.

Edition Filmmuseum and Ripley's Home Video deserve a place alongside MoC in my opinion. Their booklets are also always excellent and they're often bilingual to boot.

I hate the Blu-ray cases Criterion use. Every booklet is complete chewed up on the plastic on the inside spine.

[cinemaguild]

Thanks everyone for your feedback!! We really appreciate it. We love including booklets with our DVDs (and asking some of the best writers working today to contribute their thoughts on a particular film) but were curious whether others felt the same way. So, glad you do!

And for those that mentioned James Quandt's terrific essay on ECCENTRICITIES, you'll be happy to know he's also involved with the ANGELICA release.

[cinemaguild]

We're very excited to announce the complete supplements package for our second blu-ray/DVD release, THE STRANGE CASE OF ANGELICA - which will include Manoel de Oliveira's first film, DOURA, FAINA FLUVIAL (LABOR ON THE DOURO RIVER).

SUPPLEMENTS:
· DOURO, FAINA FLUVIAL (1931, 20 minutes), the first film from Manoel de Oliveira, in a new 2K restoration (in HD on blu-ray)
· Audio Commentary by film critic and curator James Quandt
· OLIVEIRA L'ARCHITECTE (1992, 60 minutes), a documentary by Paulo Rocha
· ABSOLUTO (2010, 35 minutes), a conversation with Manoel de Oliviera during the filming of THE STRANGE CASE OF ANGELICA
· Theatrical Trailer
· Booklet featuring essay "Late Oliveira" by Haden Guest, Director of the Harvard Film Archive

Release date is September 20.

[domino harvey]

Wow, that is Moc/Criterion-level supplements. Well done!

[John Cope]

Absolutely fantastic news. I'm especially thrilled to see the Paulo Rocha doc (filmed around the time of Valley of Abraham so that should be especially interesting), the Cakoff piece and the Quandt commentary (and of course having an HD quality Douro is gratifying). So, I guess really all of it! This couldn't have been given any better treatment. Congratulations and thank you for your efforts.

[What A Disgrace]

I can scarcely imagine a contemporary film being treated that well. This will be a first day purchase.

[knives]

I just vomited in excitement. Thank you for picking up Doura this made my year. Now I just need to hear news of Aniki-Bóbó (don't want to import especially now) and life would be set.

[monk0nuggets]

I'm very much looking forward to this release.

[cinemaguild]

Hello all, please remind Netflix of the value and importance of art house and foreign films by addng NE CHANGE RIEN, DAGUERREOTYPES and THE STRANGE CASE OF ANGELICA to your queue, even if you've seen the film or plan to buy. Here are the direct links -

NE CHANGE RIEN
http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Ne-Chan ... rkid=33859

DAGUERREOTYPES
http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Dague ... kid=496624

THE STRANGE CASE OF ANGELICA
http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/The_S ... id=2361637

Thanks for your continued support!! And please help spread the word.

[Murdoch]

Just noticed the hulu channel, nice!

[knives]

Super nice. I'll finally be able to get to Everyone Else.

[What A Disgrace]

Hello all, please remind Netflix of the value and importance of art house and foreign films by addng NE CHANGE RIEN, DAGUERREOTYPES and THE STRANGE CASE OF ANGELICA to your queue

Everyone on this board who has Netflix should be doing this out of principal.

I did.

[Stefan Andersson]

Hello Cinema Guild -- thank you very much for all the extras on ANGELICA. Excellent!

[Dadapass]

DVDBeaver on Daguerreotypes and Ne Change Rien