MoC Forthcoming, Wishlist, and Random Speculation

[Gofter]

2 (mystery) Murnau

I guess
Nosferatu - Eine Symphonie des Grauens, with new German restored print.
the other is maybe Der Letzte Mann

[sevenarts]

+ 2 documentaries (one of them Resan/Shoah

I don't know if this tips the scale towards more or less likely, but Resan is tapped to be released by Project X/New Yorker eventually, so presumably a restoration is happening or in the works. So at least it's a possibility, although I'd almost rather MoC not tackle a film that's going to be released (simultaneously?) in R1 in a likely very similar package. Still time to change that multidisc film to Out1, eh?

[zone_resident]

About the "mystery" Murnau films: if one of them was City Girl, that would be the greatest DVD release news for me, since the release of Ugetsu. A restored version of Nosferatu would be great too.

[HerrSchreck]

The only improvement on the Kino would be the insertion of the correct score and the actual flash German intertitles (do they exist?) extended to actuals. The present nitrate that comprises the bulk of the composite print that comprises the restoration is a French original from 22 (with French intertitles), with gaps filled by the later rerelease with a changed German script. There haven't been any new element discoveries on NOS since the Berrauita - FWMS resto in the mid-90's (I've heard some mention there's an "incredible new restoration" on this film going on in Germany, and I'd love to know where they're hearing this!!)... and Eureka's LETZE MANN (mentioned above somewhere) is quite nice though a fullblown progressive release would always be nice. Be advised all that the two imminent Murnaus actually in the works right now in FWMS are TABU (the foundation aquired rights to handle the film, at least in Europe, and a major resto has been announced as in the works), and, of course, PHANTOM. Flicker Alley are staggering right now. I can't even get an answer from him now regarding when/if this can even be expected in R1 anymore.. needless to say, there is a corresponding r2 inna works somewhere or all these additional elements being unearthed as extras originally described on Flicker Alley's Phantom page would be a complete waste of Transit/FWMS funds. Bank on it.

On a side note a complete print of HILDA WARREN UND TOD/HILDA WARREN AND DEATH (with the omnipresent Georg John playing the figure of Death) has been discovered & restored by the Stiftung, the film which was the 1917/8 script of Lang's which heavily prefigured his later DER MUDE TOD/THE WEARY DEATH. Previously a fragment was all that was thought to exist (seen in THE METROPOLIS CASE).

[Ledos]

There's plenty of room for improvement on the Kino version of Nosferatu (which IMO isn't even the best currently available version). First it is, like many other Kino editions of European silents, a PAL-to-NTSC conversion. Then there's the issue of English intertitles (which in some cases do not correspond well to the contents of the original German text). Like most other DVD versions it's based on Enno Patalas' 1995 restoration, while the new Nosferatu edition will be a recent restoration by Luciano Berriatúa. But perhaps the important improvement is that it will feature, for the first time, the reconstruction of Hans Erdmanns original score.

Like others here I too think the two "mystery Murnaus" are going to be Der letzte Mann and Nosferatu. It has already been mentioned on this forum that Eureka will re-issue the former in the MoC series, and a poster on IMDb's entry for Nosferatu said he was told by Eureka that they were going to release that movie hopefully in November. Sadly I think this won't hold - the Murnau Foundation's current word is that it will probably be ready for 2007 at it's earliest (perhaps Eureka had a lucky deal though - for example their Der Golem was released a full year before Transit put out their identical version).

[HerrSchreck]

There's plenty of room for improvement on the Kino version of Nosferatu (which IMO isn't even the best currently available version). First it is, like many other Kino editions of European silents, a PAL-to-NTSC conversion. Then there's the issue of English intertitles (which in some cases do not correspond well to the contents of the original German text). Like most other DVD versions it's based on Enno Patalas' 1995 restoration, while the new Nosferatu edition will be a recent restoration by Luciano Berriatúa. But perhaps the important improvement is that it will feature, for the first time, the reconstruction of Hans Erdmanns original score.

Like others here I too think the two "mystery Murnaus" are going to be Der letzte Mann and Nosferatu. It has already been mentioned on this forum that Eureka will re-issue the former in the MoC series, and a poster on IMDb's entry for Nosferatu said he was told by Eureka that they were going to release that movie hopefully in November. Sadly I think this won't hold - the Murnau Foundation's current word is that it will probably be ready for 2007 at it's earliest (perhaps Eureka had a lucky deal though - for example their Der Golem was released a full year before Transit put out their identical version).

Right, right, it was Berriatua who unearthed the 1922 print that Eisner & Patalas had overlooked down in the vaults of the Cinemateque, that caused Patalas to go back to lead the team to revisit the former restoration.

Yes I believe I mentioned the intertitles and the score which I'm like a broken record chanting about like a Buddhist monk with echolalia.

Image quality: If you think the BFI or Image edition (or maybe youre talking about alpha, god knows what the hell you're looking at, since you're running counter to pretty much universal techhead opinion on existing editions of NOS) are better than Kino your in a very slim minority. Actually a minority of one, since I've never heard anyone say such a thing before. The Kino is not preconverted, but the frames are individually encoded (yes yes, with every fourth having two I know, but you know what I mean) but the BFI & others are interlaced and have terrible coloring & contrast, and lousy detail compared to the Kino as a result... see the Beev's review or Chiaroscuro review for existing comparison.

What is Berriatua's restoration consisting of-- have new elements been unearthed? Who is financing this-- can you please get me a link as there's nothing I can find on any of the usual suspects, though I could be overlooking something. I see nothing on the Murnau Foundation, Deutsche Filmmuseum, Transit, etc, signalling a project on this.

As for DER LETZE MANN, you heard someone from MoC say on this site that they are putting this out? I think the far greater coup, and moneymaker, would be to release editions from fresh restorations, and where no disc previously exists either 1) in the region (TABU) or 2) anywhere inna world at all (PHANTOM), rather than running expensive telecine simply to create the luxury of replacing a sublime interlaced LETZE MANN transfer witha progressive one for techheads like us, when there's virgin market to be cracked on the above two, or CITY GIRL, or ACKER, etc.

Be forewarned, we're all just douchebag obsessives stabbing in the dark until anything is announced.

[Gregory]

In May, Nick posted in another thread that they plan on releasing DER LETZTE MANN and DER BLAUE ENGEL as MoC titles but haven't scheduled them yet.
I remember reading that the goal of this is not to improve on the Eureka titles but just to bring them into the MoC series. It seems like a housekeeping thing they had planned to do all along, so I hope no one will assume that we're getting these titles instead of films previously unavailable on DVD.
I'm sure if City Girl is a possibility, they're working to get it released with all due speed. Personally I've decided to remain patient, so I'm not in a hurry at all, even as the sound of a ticking clock gets louder and louder inside my brain.

[HerrSchreck]

I know there's a brand new 35mm print of CITY GIRL fresh and sitting around, the NYC Film Forum exhibited it towards the end of last year during their Murnau fest... one dare not dream so high to hope. It's a sin this film is languishing with no one putting it out. Probably one of those Fox "limbo" scenarios, where they don't care enough about their own silents to put them out, and keep them in the ether forever. God knows it took them long enough to bring SUNRISE out in an authorized edition, and even then inna retarded method of distribution... where I had to lie & claim I was a reviewer to get myself a copy of that sublime R1 Fox disc without that rediculous box/coupon deal.

[Gofter]

According to an e-mail from Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Stiftung the German NOSFERATU DVD will be released at the end of November/start of December 2006 with some Extras.

TARTUFFE, SUNRISE and FAUST were already released as MoC DVD, so I thought DER LETZTE MANN become also a MoC Titel.

[Ledos]

Image quality: If you think the BFI or Image edition (or maybe youre talking about alpha, god knows what the hell you're looking at, since you're running counter to pretty much universal techhead opinion on existing editions of NOS) are better than Kino your in a very slim minority.

Actually I slightly prefer the BFI edition over Kino's because of the James Bernard score, and because the intertitles (sadly also in English) are much better translated - if that makes me a minority I'm okay with that . But my preferred version is probably the one from Divisa Red. It's a real PAL transfer and features intertitles in the original German. Unfortunately it only carries the Art Zoyd score.

What is Berriatua's restoration consisting of-- have new elements been unearthed? Who is financing this-- can you please get me a link as there's nothing I can find on any of the usual suspects, though I could be overlooking something. I see nothing on the Murnau Foundation, Deutsche Filmmuseum, Transit, etc, signalling a project on this.

I don't know the answers to most of these questions, and they have been surprisingly quiet on the matter. It was briefly mentioned in their November newsletter. It's being carried out in cooperation with Bundesarchiv-Filmarchiv and Cinémathèque Francaise and described as "extensive" without offering any details as to what this entails.

[Ledos]

According to an e-mail from Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Stiftung the German NOSFERATU DVD will be released at the end of November/start of December 2006 with some Extras.

Nosferatu is not among their planned releases for 2006. Just recently they said they hoped to have the film ready for the Berlin Film Festival in February 2007, which means that the DVD will be released sometime later than this. Even more disheartening is that on a German forum someone posted an answer from Transit Film a few months ago saying it was planned for 2007/2008.

[HerrSchreck]

It says they're using the Federal File copy in conjunction with the C. Francais '22 print, so it doesn't sound like there's any new material there... most exciting will be the reinstatement of Erdman's score. More than anything it simply sounds like the Germans are finally getting around to making themselves a fucking disc of what's only one of their most important films ever, long after the rest of the world did. The Transit Classics line is lagging far far far far far behind schedule, and seems to have deferred to the Universum Film DVD line in many cases i e GOLEM, & the other silents that have FWMS German editions.

More exciting are SUMRUN, von Gerlach's CHRONIK von GREISHUS (total masterpiece, now get us VANINA), and VARIETE by DuPont... in which case I can chuck that old truncated 16mm version.

What's most depressing is folks around here actually seem to be rooting for new discs of old news films they've got zillions of decent-to-good versions of to choose from, rather than PHANTOM or CITY GIRL, or perhaps the recently restored DER GANG IN DER NACHT. Guys, you've got to let them know what your priorities are, or we're never gonna get this stuff out of their vaults, and they'll just keep throwing the same old endlessly recycled known Langs & Murnaus at us.

[Gofter]

According to an e-mail from Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Stiftung the German NOSFERATU DVD will be released at the end of November/start of December 2006 with some Extras.

Nosferatu is not among their planned releases for 2006. Just recently they said they hoped to have the film ready for the Berlin Film Festival in February 2007, which means that the DVD will be released sometime later than this. Even more disheartening is that on a German forum someone posted an answer from Transit Film a few months ago saying it was planned for 2007/2008.

In this e-Mail from Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Stiftung they said the DVD is comming at the end of 2006.
http://forum.cinefacts.de/showpost.php? ... tcount=168

Maybe I should write an e-mail and ask Murnau Stiftung by myselfe.

[Ledos]

In this e-Mail from Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Stiftung they said the DVD is comming at the end of 2006.

Sure, but it keeps getting delayed. The first time I was told it would be out "at the end of this year" was in 2004.

The email mentioning the Berlin Film Festival in 2007 was sent to me about a week ago.

[HerrSchreck]

I feel sleepy.

[What A Disgrace]

Could the 4+5 be a box set containing Joao Cesar Monteiro's four short films, plus five of his features?

I've had my eyes on the Madragao box for ages, but its a bit out of my price range for now...

[Artois]

Peerpee: "Not including films already with their own page at the MoC Series website, we plan to release 53 films in the next year."

So, as I read it, the puzzle excludes Fantastic Planet, Shoeshine and Funeral of Roses.

My bad, that's what I had misunderstood.

I guess the other 2 silents are Die Nibelungen 1 and 2 then, as the restoration is due to be finished in late 2006/early 2007 according to the other thread.

If the Mizoguchi titles in the 2 boxes are the same as the French coffrets, I wonder which will be the 9th film in place of Life of Oharu, will it be one of the recent Japanese releases, Late Crysanthemums or 'just' 47 Ronin.

[Michael Kerpan]

MOC could include Mizoguchi's most neglected 50s film -- Uwasa no onna -- so neglected it doesn't really have an official English name literally "Woman of the Rumor" -- sometimes stupidly called "Crucified Woman").

It's actually quite interesting -- sort of similar to Bernard Shaw's "Mrs Warren's Profession" -- with good lead performances by Kinuyo Tanaka and Yoko Tsukasa (as her daughter).

[colinr0380]

How do you see these films Michael Kerpan? And can you send me any copies of films you don't need anymore?

[Michael Kerpan]

"Uwasa no onna" -- and various films that have never appeared (much) in the west were issued on (very expensive) unsubbed VHS home video in Japan. Some other films I've seen were taped off TV broadcasts here and there about the world. A number of the broadcast copies (etc.) are barely watchable -- so low-fi they hurt your eyes. I also have copies of most of the material that was released in France (but not the new English-subbed DVDs).

FWIW -- I believe there is a Spanish-subbed DVD version of "Uwasa no onna" (but I haven't seen this version).

I can't imagine giving up even those Mizoguchi films I like least (such as "My Love Is Burning" and "Victory of Women").

And I've even seen a few of these screened -- with "Water Magician" even having live benshi narration.

;~}

(I think I've seen 30 of the 32 or so surviving Mizoguchi films -- in some form or another).

[Scharphedin2]

How do you see these films Michael Kerpan? And can you send me any copies of films you don't need anymore?

colinr0380, just in case you do not know already. The French label Films Sans Frontiers has released three subtitled dobule features of Mizoguchi's films. Street of Shame/Empress Yang Kwei-Fei; Tales of the Taira Clan/Shindo's Mizoguchi documentary; and, Crucified Lovers/Sansho the Bailiff.

I am in the middle of watching these, and will comment further in the Mizoguchi thread in a few days. However, I am very impressed with these sets. The black and white films (Street of Shame and Crucified Lovers) have very strong and for all intents and purposes spotless transfers, the color films are also featured in very clean and strong prints, although the image in some sequences looks a little aged (I think this is mainly due to the age of the films).

In any event they are great sets, and beautifully presented. If you read French, there is a very extensive booklet included with that disc. There are also extras on all the discs, but they are text screens. I purchased all of these through alapage within the last three months, so they should still be available, and the service has been quick and reliable.

[zone_resident]

Given the current state-of-affairs with Mabuse, I would like to (re)-recommend an MoC release with possibly the (good) Eureka transfer, improved subtitles and a good commentary (e.g. Kalat's commentary in the old Image release)..

[godardslave]

Nick, when will you be able to confirm what these titles are?
my next few months buying patterns partially depend on them!

[Gropius]

If the Mizoguchi titles in the 2 boxes are the same as the French coffrets, I wonder which will be the 9th film in place of Life of Oharu, will it be one of the recent Japanese releases, Late Crysanthemums or 'just' 47 Ronin.

You speak as if it's a foregone conclusion that the 5+4 will indeed be Mizoguchi box sets; if so, where did you get this information?

[Artois]

You speak as if it's a foregone conclusion that the 5+4 will indeed be Mizoguchi box sets; if so, where did you get this information?

I think it's a foregone conclusion because Mizoguchi is probably near the very top of a relatively short list of directors MoC would love to have in the series, and I don't believe that nick and the rest of the crew would allow the rights for those films to fall into some other less-caring company's hands. Also because I can't bear thinking about any other possibility.