Strand Releasing

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_shadow_
Joined: Tue Nov 22, 2011 5:48 am

Strand Releasing

#1 Post by _shadow_ »

Strand Releasing

Starting a main thread for Strand as all the posts about previous releases start with "I thought there was a Strand thread but posting here as there's not", and as Strand's been upping their BD game lately.

I've been looking forward for months to their release of "Love is the Devil", especially once they confirmed on Facebook that it would have lossless audio (unlike "Stranger by the Lake", which was the one drawback to that release).

The BD of LITD definitely stands as the strongest home video presentation of the film, in comparison to Strand's own DVD from the dark ages and the UK Artificial Eye and BFI DVDs (the BFI DVD being windowboxed for no apparent reason). Strand has even ported over the BFI commentary (though not the "Colony" featurette on interview with producers that was also on that disc) as a special feature, which is nice. Unfortunately, there's at least one minor issue, as at 33 minutes in, a visible color-correction power window frame appears over Jacobi's face as he's looking in the mirror. It only shows up on the first appearance of this shot, so only for a few seconds, but it's distracting. I also suspect the scene introducing Craig is brighter than it should be - it's supposed to be night but it's so bright that he doesn't seem to need his flashlight. I checked it against the AE release, which is the only one I currently have, and the scene is a bit darker there, and it plays more convincingly as night. Caveats aside, it's still the best available release.

DVD Beaver assessment.

For comparison to the third screenshot on DVD Beaver, here's the same scene from earlier DVDs (not an exact frame match - I made these a few years ago):

Strand DVD:
Image

Artificial Eye DVD:
Image

BFI DVD:
Image
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Boosmahn
Joined: Tue Sep 05, 2017 2:08 am

Re: Strand Releasing

#2 Post by Boosmahn »

Reviving this thread to give a quick heads-up:

The Mysterious Skin Blu-ray might be going OOP. Amazon, Best Buy, Target, Walmart, B&N, and Deep Discount all list it as backordered/unavailable, and most eBay listings are gone. Granted, this is pure speculation on my part: it could simply be going through a second printing.
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domino harvey
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Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 6:42 pm

Re: Strand Releasing

#3 Post by domino harvey »

30 directors, including Fatih Akin, Gregg Araki, Catherine Breillat, Ira Sachs, John Waters, and Apichatpong Weerasethakul, have contributed segments to an anthology film celebrating Strand's 30th anniversary
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senseabove
Joined: Wed Dec 02, 2015 7:07 am

Re: Strand Releasing

#4 Post by senseabove »

And four of them, by Brady Corbet, Catherine Breillat, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, and Cindy Sherman, are streaming at https://www.lecinemaclub.com/
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domino harvey
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Re: Strand Releasing

#5 Post by domino harvey »

Today's Friday, so those will probably only be up for a few more hours, FYI
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The Fanciful Norwegian
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 6:24 pm
Location: Teegeeack

Re: Strand Releasing

#6 Post by The Fanciful Norwegian »

They just went up today.
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senseabove
Joined: Wed Dec 02, 2015 7:07 am

Re: Strand Releasing

#7 Post by senseabove »

Turns out the whole thing is on the Criterion Channel anyway: https://www.criterionchannel.com/30-30- ... -releasing
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lzx
Joined: Sat Jul 19, 2014 11:27 pm

Re: Strand Releasing

#8 Post by lzx »

As one might expect, it's overall a mixed bag (Guiraudie's segment amounts to... a The Lighthouse-inspired dick joke?), but there are gems scattered throughout. Breillat's very brief piece is surprisingly tender, while Schamus managed to cram quite a bit of insight alongside some beautifully-composed photographs into three minutes. The Grindr segment executes a somewhat tired trope very efficiently and adorably, and the Potemkin homage is hilarious. And John Waters and Bruce LaBruce are great just doing what they do. (Read the end credits for fun Easter eggs)
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Aunt Peg
Joined: Fri Dec 21, 2012 9:30 am
Location: Sydney

Re: Strand Releasing

#10 Post by Aunt Peg »

I don't want to begrudge any film a Blu Ray release but with Strand's extensive back catalogue filled with some real gems it's just a shame that some other Strand titles aren't being released as well.
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Aunt Peg
Joined: Fri Dec 21, 2012 9:30 am
Location: Sydney

Re: Strand Releasing

#11 Post by Aunt Peg »

Strand Releasing released Francois Ozon's Peter von Kant the other day.
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criterionsnob
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 5:23 am
Location: Canada

Re: Strand Releasing

#12 Post by criterionsnob »

4K trailer for the restoration of Pink Narcissus.
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Peacock
Joined: Mon Dec 22, 2008 11:47 pm
Location: Scotland

Re: Strand Releasing

#13 Post by Peacock »

criterionsnob wrote: Wed Mar 19, 2025 6:36 pm 4K trailer for the restoration of Pink Narcissus.
Great news! Has anyone heard anything about a Blu-ray?

While I’m here I can’t recommend the Taschen book (either edition) on Bidgood’s work enough. Light on text perhaps, and lacking in any BTS, but still filled to the brim with luscious imagery.
_shadow_
Joined: Tue Nov 22, 2011 5:48 am

Re: Strand Releasing

#14 Post by _shadow_ »

Peacock wrote: Wed Mar 19, 2025 7:29 pm While I’m here I can’t recommend the Taschen book (either edition) on Bidgood’s work enough. Light on text perhaps, and lacking in any BTS, but still filled to the brim with luscious imagery.
FYI - there is a new book coming out - there were a handful of advance copies that quickly sold out at the UCLA screening of the new restoration: https://salzgeber.de/dreamlands

Related - interview with the author who also spoke at the screening (and noted, re: the Taschen edition, that Bidgood wanted his work to be presented like a carnival sideshow, and got what he wanted there...):

https://dailybruin.com/2025/02/21/legac ... ored-films

The Q&A isn't up on the UCLA Film and Television Archive YouTube page yet, but they mentioned all their Q&As would surface there.
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criterionsnob
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 5:23 am
Location: Canada

Re: Strand Releasing

#15 Post by criterionsnob »

Pink Narcissus coming to Blu-ray February 24 via Strand.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
NEW 4K RESTORATION by the UCLA Film & Television Archive
Interview with James Bidgood
4k Restoration post screening Q&A with John Waters and Kelly Mckraig
LSlideshow of James Bidgood's photography
Newly cut restoration trailer
Additional Strand Releasing trailers
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