Studio Canal / Kinowelt / Optimum

[M Sanderson]

Heard Brotherhood of the Wolf will get a 4k release in France. Have doubts whether it’d be English friendly, however. And obviously the movie isn’t as big a deal in the U.K. so I’m not hopeful we’d get such a release over here.

[colinr0380]

Heard Brotherhood of the Wolf will get a 4k release in France. Have doubts whether it’d be English friendly, however. And obviously the movie isn’t as big a deal in the U.K. so I’m not hopeful we’d get such a release over here.

Maybe we could cross our fingers for Canada. That's where I got my copy of the three disc DVD edition from back in the day.

I really wish that Christophe Gans would get some love from the UK boutique labels. Something like his live action version of Crying Freeman (also starring Mark Dacascos) would be a great fit for Arrow, or that H.P. Lovecraft anthology film Necronomicon in which Gans' segment ("The Drowned") was the most atmospheric one. Not to mention Brotherhood of the Wolf of course!

[M Sanderson]

Massive fan of Gans myself.

“The Drowned” is gorgeous Bava-esque horror, just beautifully layered gothic.

Got the Crying Freeman 4k from Germany.

He’s making another Silent Hill film, I believe? Need to grab the Shout Blu-ray of that, by the way.

[willoneill]

Maybe we could cross our fingers for Canada.

Don't hold your breath, things have changed up here. Canadian-specific distributors (eOne, Elevation, Mongrel, etc.) barely release blu-rays of some movies these days, and 4K is almost out of the question. Even for a Canadian film like Possessor, I had to import the 4K from the U.S.

[L.A.]

One extra in particular included on the old French Ultimate Edition DVD of Brotherhood of the Wolf that has always interested me is the 1967 film The Beast of the Gevaudan which served as an inspiration for Gans’ film. Too bad Shout! Factory couldn’t get that for their release.

[FrauBlucher]

The Servant is getting a 4K UHD Blu-ray release in September. Pre-order up on Amazon France.

UK edition, same release date...

[M Sanderson]

Losey in 4k. Good to hear there will be a U.K. edition.

BTW heard their recent release of Murder by Decree was a wasted opportunity as the Blu ray doesn’t use the new scan that they were advertising. SC did the same with The Howling a few years ago.

[colinr0380]

One extra in particular included on the old French Ultimate Edition DVD of Brotherhood of the Wolf that has always interested me is the 1967 film The Beast of the Gevaudan which served as an inspiration for Gans’ film. Too bad Shout! Factory couldn’t get that for their release.

That comparison also reminded me that the Canadian three disc edition did not subtitle the two French commentary tracks into English. So there are a lot of pre-existing extras (including that fourth disc of the French DVD with that inspirational film) that could potentially make for an amazing first ever fully English language friendly release of that film, even before the benefits of the UHD upgrade.

[yoloswegmaster]

This brand-new restoration of the César Award-winning political thriller directed by Joseph Losey is starring Alain Delon in a career defining role with a special appearance from Jeanne Moreau. Mr. Klein, with its Kafkaesque focus on the themes of identity and obsession, has become a classic of the doppelgänger paranoia genre and is one of Losey's darkest films.

Paris, January 1942 - art dealer Robert Klein (Alain Delon) is making a killing. For this loyal Frenchman the Nazi occupation is a unique business opportunity. He stands to profit from the Jewish people's misfortune, as they sell their possessions in a hurry to leave the country. But when a Jewish newspaper turns up on Klein's doorstep, his comfortable life begins to unravel. It seems there is another Robert Klein, a suspected Jewish Resistance fighter, who is content to live in the shadows and let his namesake take the fall. As Klein's investigation of his double progresses, the mood shifts from Hitchcock to Kafka and proving his innocence becomes less important than confronting his doppelgänger...

Extras:
Introduction by Jean-Baptiste Thoret
Mr Klein Revisited by Michel Ciment
Interview with Henri Lanoe

[hearthesilence]

Is the UHD of Breathless still only available as part of that 50 € box set of "goodies" (as Amazon calls it)? I was hoping they'd release a slimmed down version of the UHD (not the BD) without all the knickknacks.

[perkizitore]

I got it for 24 euro during Prime Day, but you are right, there is no other release available yet.

[swo17]

I believe their pattern is to wait for those to sell out before putting out standard editions

[jsteffe]

Here is the Caps-a-Holic comparison between the StudioCanal Blu-ray and 4K UHD of Kurosawa's RAN, from the same restoration.

I'm not sure what to make of this. If I am seeing things correctly, the 4K is has slightly flatter contrast than the Blu-ray, though obviously it renders the grain and detail better. However, I am not sure how reliable the screencaps are for judging contrast since I assume they would involve mapping an HDR image down to standard dynamic range.

Has anyone seen the actual 4K UHD disc yet?

[Clarence]

I just watched the first few minutes of the new UHD Blu-Ray and those caps look pretty spot on IMO.

[andyli]

Better not use tone-mapped image to judge contrast levels.

[kekid]

Here is the Caps-a-Holic comparison between the StudioCanal Blu-ray and 4K UHD of Kurosawa's RAN, from the same restoration.

I'm not sure what to make of this. If I am seeing things correctly, the 4K is has slightly flatter contrast than the Blu-ray, though obviously it renders the grain and detail better. However, I am not sure how reliable the screencaps are for judging contrast since I assume they would involve mapping an HDR image down to standard dynamic range.

Has anyone seen the actual 4K UHD disc yet?

I don't know if this is a reasonable request, but I would truly appreciate if someone could give a short tutorial on how to interpret Caps-a-Holic tables and charts. If this better belongs to the "Technical" thread, please feel free to move it there. Thank you.

[tenia]

Better not use tone-mapped image to judge contrast levels.

Absolutely. You can judge superficially obvious things (like, say, a Ritrovata'd grading) but they shouldn't be used for more precise comparisons.

[JabbaTheSlut]

Here is the Caps-a-Holic comparison between the StudioCanal Blu-ray and 4K UHD of Kurosawa's RAN, from the same restoration.

I'm not sure what to make of this. If I am seeing things correctly, the 4K is has slightly flatter contrast than the Blu-ray, though obviously it renders the grain and detail better. However, I am not sure how reliable the screencaps are for judging contrast since I assume they would involve mapping an HDR image down to standard dynamic range.

Has anyone seen the actual 4K UHD disc yet?

Yeah, low contrast as in samples, but it feels correct as the images are shot with long lenses and there is natural haze in the daytime shots. My only problem with the transfer was a little bit too digital looking red and desaturation of the rest of the image in one particular shot, Lord Hidetora exiting the castle after the attack. Otherwise a great transfer.

[Calvin]

On October 18th, Canal will be releasing an 18-film strong Bertrand Tavernier Blu-Ray box set in France. It contains:

The Watchmaker of St. Paul
Let Joy Reign Supreme
The Judge and the Assassin
Spoiled Children
Death Watch
A Week's Vacation
Coup de torchon
A Sunday in the Country
Life and Nothing But
L.627
La guerre sans nom
The Bait
Captain Conan
It All Starts Today
Safe Conduct
Holy Lola
The Princess of Montpensier
The French Minister

Almost certainly without English subtitles, though I think Canal have UK if not pan-European rights to most of them so there isn't any good reason they couldn't add them on.

[dwk]

The Howling UHD is due out on October 25th.

[MichaelB]

On October 18th, Canal will be releasing an 18-film strong Bertrand Tavernier Blu-Ray box set in France. It contains:

The Watchmaker of St. Paul
Let Joy Reign Supreme
The Judge and the Assassin
Spoiled Children
Death Watch
A Week's Vacation
Coup de torchon
A Sunday in the Country
Life and Nothing But
L.627
La guerre sans nom
The Bait
Captain Conan
It All Starts Today
Safe Conduct
Holy Lola
The Princess of Montpensier
The French Minister

Almost certainly without English subtitles, though I think Canal have UK if not pan-European rights to most of them so there isn't any good reason they couldn't add them on.

Ooh, that's very tempting. And SRT subtitle files for most if not all of those will almost certainly be easily obtainable.

And the preorder price is €149.99, or a mere €8.33 per film.

[GaryC]

That certainly is very tempting, as it includes several I haven't seen before, and I've been wanting Blu-rays of Une semaine de vacances and Sunday in the Country for years. Understandable if there are no English subs (other than for Death Watch, which is in English) and I somehow doubt StudioCanal will release all of these in the UK, though they may spring for some of them.

[MichaelB]

I've now tracked down SRT English subtitle files for all the features apart from the documentary La Guerre sans nom, which is pretty good going.

[kekid]

I've now tracked down SRT English subtitle files for all the features apart from the documentary La Guerre sans nom, which is pretty good going.

I tried out the method described by Eddielarkin on my OPPO 205 and it worked flawlessly. So now the challenge is to find the best subtitle files for various films on the Tavernier box. I (and everyone interested in the Tavernier box) will be most grateful, Michael, if you could share the details of the sources for various subtitle files. Thank you.

[MichaelB]

I’m not going to be able to answer that until I have the actual discs, because right now I don’t know the framerate (as a European release, it could be 23.976, 24 or 25fps) or the start point (as previous subs might have been created for versions with different distributor logos).

But I can at least definitely confirm the existence of subs for 17/18 films and will update when I know for certain that they fit.