Mr. Bongo Films

[peerpee]

Let's leave the BBFC issue to one side for a moment, along with the ill-informed indifferent shrugs:

i.) Multiple licensors have not been paid royalties by Mr Pongo.

ii.) Mr Pongo have released some films without properly licensing them from anyone. This makes them thieves.

iii.) Mr Pongo have no quality control and no qualms about releasing shocking quality discs – dreadful transfers of ropey prints, full of damage, burned in subtitles that are hard to read, NTSC > PAL conversions, the lot. They have been known to release discs with anamorphic menus but non-anamorphic features. Basically, all the no-nos – they just don’t give a shit.

iv.) Mr Pongo are known to reverse engineer encodes from releases in other territories. Presumably because they haven't paid a licensor for access to a proper master. There are numerous, proven examples of their DVDs and Blu-rays being repurposed illegally in this way.

--

For all the reasons above, and more, they deserve zero respect from everyone.

[tenia]

Would it be too expensive or problematic to just sue them ?

[kuzine]

Do similar practices occur with regard to their record label?

[domino harvey]

peerpee, you left out Mr Pongo's abominable persecution of local socialite Cruella DeVille

[hearthesilence]

Let's leave the BBFC issue to one side for a moment, along with the ill-informed indifferent shrugs:

i.) Multiple licensors have not been paid royalties by Mr Pongo.

ii.) Mr Pongo have released some films without properly licensing them from anyone. This makes them thieves.

iii.) Mr Pongo have no quality control and no qualms about releasing shocking quality discs – dreadful transfers of ropey prints, full of damage, burned in subtitles that are hard to read, NTSC > PAL conversions, the lot. They have been known to release discs with anamorphic menus but non-anamorphic features. Basically, all the no-nos – they just don’t give a shit.

iv.) Mr Pongo are known to reverse engineer encodes from releases in other territories. Presumably because they haven't paid a licensor for access to a proper master. There are numerous, proven examples of their DVDs and Blu-rays being repurposed illegally in this way.

--

For all the reasons above, and more, they deserve zero respect from everyone.

Three out of four of those reasons would get them into massive legal trouble, at least here in the U.S. If they ever get tangled with someone with deeper pockets and a more litigious attitude, I imagine they'd be taken down pretty hard. (Or has anyone else tried yet?)

[peerpee]

Do similar practices occur with regard to their record label?

Worringly, they also operate a "royalties collection service" for musicians.

[Calvin]

I spotted on the R3:store Studios (they’ve done recent restorations for Arrow, such as The Apartment) website that they’ve restored I Am Cuba in 4K for Mr. Bongo and say that a Blu-Ray release will be forthcoming

[kidc]

Bongo have a sale on right now, most DVDs are £4, blu-rays £5, and postage seems to be a flat £3.25 regardless of how many you order.

[rapta]

Bongo have a sale on right now, most DVDs are £4, blu-rays £5, and postage seems to be a flat £3.25 regardless of how many you order.

Unless you order just the one, in which case it's £1.70...

I'd recommend Santa Sangre, and I also have The Hourglass Sanitorium but haven't watched the disc yet (it's a direct port of the Polish disc apparently). I'm tempted to get The Saragossa Manuscript despite the waxy transfer (DNR), and Memories of Underdevelopment just in case the Criterion never gets ported over (this is the cheapest I've seen it).

From what I've heard the Welles discs are a complete no-go (bad encodes/transfers), but Casanova is worth getting (but doesn't seem to be on offer, for some reason).

I spotted on the R3:store Studios (they’ve done recent restorations for Arrow, such as The Apartment) website that they’ve restored I Am Cuba in 4K for Mr. Bongo and say that a Blu-Ray release will be forthcoming

Interesting it has been 6 months since you've posted this and still nothing from Mr. Bongo's end. I'd be keen to get this on Blu-ray - I was given the DVD a couple of years ago but haven't had a chance to watch it. Obviously I'd get rid of it if a Blu-ray from the 4K restoration was imminent.

[kidc]

I wasn't expecting great quality but I didn't expect their Kozintsev Hamlet DVD to be windowboxed... Ugh, even £4 is a rip-off.

[Hilderic523]

Hi, is anybody able to comment on the quality of the Outskirts, By the Bluest of Seas and Lola DVDs? Thanks.

[knives]

By the Bluest of Seas is a pretty high quality disc.

[Hilderic523]

By the Bluest of Seas is a pretty high quality disc.

Thank you!

Another question (for anyone to answer): I have read in the posts above that the restored DVD of The Saragossa Manuscript is pretty good, while reviews on the Blu-ray mention problems of waxiness/smoothness/DNR. Should I buy the DVD, then?

[colinr0380]

I would probably recommend the Ruscico Hyperkino editions of Outskirts and By The Bluest of Seas though. They are both available on Amazon UK, currently slightly cheaper than the Mr Bongo discs and have a second disc containing a version of the film with a running video commentary thing on them!

[Michael Kerpan]

How do the Ruscico and Mr Bongo compare in terms of picture quality?

[Hilderic523]

I would probably recommend the Ruscico Hyperkino editions of Outskirts and By The Bluest of Seas though. They are both available on Amazon UK, currently slightly cheaper than the Mr Bongo discs and have a second disc containing a version of the film with a running video commentary thing on them!

Thank you.

How do the Ruscico and Mr Bongo compare in terms of picture quality?

After some further research, I have found two online reviews (of which you may already be aware) which include some degree of comparison.
On Outskirts: https://www.thedigitalfix.com/film/cont ... outskirts/:

Of the two the Ruscico edges things in the presentation department thanks to a superior encode – the Mr. Bongo has the more prominent compression artefacts – and the slightly sharper image.

On By The Bluest Of Seas: https://www.theartsshelf.com/a-z/a-z/re ... t-of-seas/ (includes screenshots from the Mr Bongo edition):

The [Mr Bongo] image appears slightly sharper and more defined than the previously available Hyperkino edition.

Further feedback is greatly welcome, though.