therewillbeblus wrote: Tue Mar 09, 2021 3:09 pm
It’s not exactly popular outside of the forum, and regardless there would be a far greater chance of it not getting released than released by Indicator. I’d jump on it.
You've convinced me
Now, you can all thank me if Indicator announce a Quine box set on Thursday!
I bought The Hospital last year when TT tiles were disappearing, and thought it was okay- I didn't hate it like domino and didn't love it like its cult followers. It's definitely an acquired taste, but it's received a fair amount of praise from critics and audiences alike, so like with any black comedy satire, it's a gamble
domino harvey wrote: Tue Mar 09, 2021 7:53 pmMy Cousin Rachel is the worst offender for being soooooo booooring, but can’t say I recommend any of them
Did anyone else see the Roger Michell adaptation a few years ago? I thought it was much better, largely on the strength of Rachel Weisz' performance (fair warning, I am a pretty serious Weisz partisan these days, so grain of salt).
It's been too long since I've seen it to offer a definitive recommendation, but I'd assert that The Hospital is by far the most interesting of those choices, for Scott and Chayefsky's contributions.
domino harvey wrote: Tue Mar 09, 2021 7:53 pm
I hated all three of those titles. My Cousin Rachel is the worst offender for being soooooo booooring, but can’t say I recommend any of them
It’s the only one I like and mostly just as a mood piece.
I liked Rachel quite a bit, not for de Havilland (who mostly only gets to be sensible and sincere) but for Burton. He's a conflagration of naïveté, pure delusional intensity. Spoiler
The tragedy of a man who can only see a woman as an object of vengeance or love meets a woman who refuses to be either a murderer or a wife.
The second adaptation's the one I thought was a snooze. A stunting sense of righteousness and a total imbalance in the leads. Weisz' patience is exhausted and her intelligence unmet.
I loved the original version as well for both de Havilland and Burton and thought the remake was wan and lackluster though in truth I can barely remember it.
Heartfelt thank you all for your comments. After some thinking went ahead and took The Hospital. Black comedies always a big yes for me, in fact on Tuesday I received El Cochecito which I wasn’t aware of before but apparently is a classic in the cinema of Spain.
It appears that Screen Archives taking over TT is off to a decent start, as they released Messalina on blu about a month ago. I haven't seen the film yet, but it's near the top of my 60s pile for our upcoming project, and I know domino has spoken highly of it
It seems to be only available from Screen Archives direct. They sure aren't doing much to gain publicity on their new business undertaking, I wouldn't have known if I wasn't browsing their site today
Same here, I had no idea they released it. I was under the impression they only released Venom and The Man from Hong Kong since they took over, but it seems they have also released Seven Deaths in the Cat's Eye along Messalina !
Hopefully they do a sale one day. I've liked other films from Vittorio Cottafavi so I'm now intrigued by Messalina but I see they've kept that ridiculous price point for even barebone releases which brings it to $30+ after shipping.
I ordered it with some other remaining TT titles I had yet to pick up, which evened down the avg price since it's $2 per film after the initial $6-7 shipping charge
Glowingwabbit wrote: Thu May 20, 2021 3:42 pm
Hopefully they do a sale one day. I've liked other films from Vittorio Cottafavi so I'm now intrigued by Messalina but I see they've kept that ridiculous price point for even barebone releases which brings it to $30+ after shipping.
I've seen quite a few Cottafavi but his popularity with certain members of the Cahiers crew remained a mystery until I saw Messaline and Amazons of Rome / Le vergini di Roma and I was like, "Ohhhhhhhh"! I believe Amazons of Rome is with MGM, so hopefully KLSC gives it a go one of these days
My order already arrived today (after a scheduled delivery for Monday)- I had no idea Screen Archives was operating on Amazon-scale expedited shipping!
Messalina's image quality is about what one would expect from TT, good but not great. The supplements are non-existent other than a booklet that's really just a description of the story's historical events, before saying 'Sike! This film doesn't show much of that!' and of course the bonus of both English and Italian audio tracks, which didn't overlap on backchannel copies. The film itself is great though, a formalist's dream and perfect for these embellished historical costume escapades. Cottafavi shamelessly embraces a fusion of history and cinema's deviations towards melodramatic thriller conventions purely filtered through sensory-stimulated tone, drenched in extravagance dialed up to 11.
Some of the Woody Allen titles are going for insane prices on eBay, especially if they're still brand new/sealed. The Arrow counterparts can be substantially less (but still very high) so if you're region B or region-free, that could help.
I guess the prospects of another boutique licensing these films is very low for the foreseeable future, and Amazon isn't going to release pressed BD's themselves. Regardless, if you've got some Twilight Time BD's of Woody Allen films you've been thinking of selling, now is a very good time.
Those Woody Allen’s seem ideal for Kino. Considering they’re mostly owner by MGM, it doesn’t seem out of the question. I don’t think Kino is as worried about releasing something like the works of Woody Allen in today’s atmosphere, but could be terribly wrong.
The Elegant Dandy Fop wrote: Fri Jun 04, 2021 2:51 am
Those Woody Allen’s seem ideal for Kino. Considering they’re mostly owner by MGM, it doesn’t seem out of the question. I don’t think Kino is as worried about releasing something like the works of Woody Allen in today’s atmosphere, but could be terribly wrong.
Last year, Kino Lorber released the 1969 film adaptation of Allen's play Don't Drink the Water on Blu-ray, with the cover art prominently displaying Allen's name (great transfer and commentary by the way, and I liked the film too). Of course, that was before Allen v. Farrow, but I still feel like the release of Don't Drink the Water is a good indication that Kino Lorber would be among the few labels still willing to release Woody Allen films.
They also released Hickey & Boggs after the Cosby allegations, but that might be more of a “We already licensed it and spent the money so we’re putting it out”. As Arrow proved with how they handled the Shane Carruth and Richard Stanley situations differently, it’s easier to walk away when a project is in it’s early stages or just not license it in the first place.
domino harvey wrote: Fri Jun 04, 2021 1:53 pm
Kino Lorber advertised Jimmy Savile's involvement in a film as a net positive like a year or two ago. They don't care
Has Savile's notoriety spread much beyond the UK? Did they emphasise his participation over and above what would have happened on its original release?
Well, yes, but seeing as he isn’t particularly known in the US, it makes it all the weirder to go out of your way to mention his appearance in the film on the back of the box, as anyone who does know the name will probably know it’s… odd… to promote it…
