Polish Cinema on Disc

[DeprongMori]

My old LG Blu-ray player was able to play 25fps DVDs no problem.

My Panasonic 4K UB820 player is much pickier about what it plays.

[ryannichols7]

My old LG Blu-ray player was able to play 25fps DVDs no problem.

My Panasonic 4K UB820 player is much pickier about what it plays.

same deal. LG region free will play any disc I throw at it basically, the UB820 is super picky. won't even play Berlin Alexanderplatz or World on a Wire from Second Sight. had no problem playing Arrow's Dekalog, though?

[djvaso]

While browsing the DVDMax.pl store, I accidentally discovered an upcoming collector's edition Ultra HD Blu-ray of "Promised Land" (Ziemia obiecana). I posted about it on a Polish forum, but members soon reacted with ironic comments. The news also appears to be at least two months old, as it was announced alongside a similar release for "Pharaoh" (Faraon).
The website lists multiple potential edition combinations for these two films:
- Ultra HD Blu-ray + Blu-ray + DVD Collector's Edition,
- Ultra HD Blu-ray + Blu-ray Steelbook Edition,
- Ultra HD Blu-ray + Blu-ray Standard Edition,
- Blu-ray + DVD SteelBook Edition,
- Blu-ray Standard Edition.
Is there any confirmation that these films will actually be released on native Ultra HD Blu-ray discs?

[MichaelB]

Well, I'll certainly investigate, and will definitely buy them if they exist*.

But as far as I'm aware these are the first Polish-produced UHD titles that I'm aware of - Mondo Vision's On the Silver Globe doesn't count.

(*With a caveat: they don't have to have English subtitles, but they do have to have subtitles of some kind, as my Oppo can only add SRT subtitles to discs that already have a subtitle track.)

[kekid]

(*With a caveat: they don't have to have English subtitles, but they do have to have subtitles of some kind, as my Oppo can only add SRT subtitles to discs that already have a subtitle track.)

Hi Michael,I also use OPPO the same way. Could you please let me know which source you use to find English subtitles for films? The site I used to go to is no longer available. Thanks.

[djvaso]

I would be grateful if anyone who owns the FINA edition of "Biały ślad / Wiosna narciarzy" Blu-ray could confirm whether its packaging is a magnet box like their other releases (which I own). Since FINA closed its online store and Polish postal rates increased, ordering from Poland has become nearly impossible for me.

[seancolletti]

Hello,

This thread has been incredibly useful to sift through. I’m hoping someone who knows a bit about silent Polish films, in particular, could help me make a checklist. I’m trying to collect everything that has received a home video release for an eventual online channel with reviews/short histories of national cinemas during the silent era. It looks like these are the Polish silents (excluding documentaries) which have been released on DVD/BR:

Bestia (1917) [BR]
Dla ciebie, Polsko (1920) & Cud nad Wisla (1921) [DVD]
Rok 1863 (1922) [DVD]
Mogila nieznanego zolnierza (1926) [DVD]
Pan Tadeusz (1928) [BR]
Szalency (1928) [BR]
Mocny czlowiek (1929) [DVD]
Halka (1930) [BR]

Am I missing any that have had official releases? And are all these by Filmoteka Narodowa? It looks like they’ve also restored Zew morza (1927) and Szlakiem hanby (1929), but these haven’t been released on home video?

And—very long shot—but does anyone know a way for someone in the United States to order these? I’ve managed to get copies of the Bestia and Halka BRs and have found the DVD version of Pan Tadeusz for sale, but that’s it. All the sites I've seen the others listed on do not ship here. Thank you to anyone who can help.

[DeprongMori]

My old LG Blu-ray player was able to play 25fps DVDs no problem.

My Panasonic 4K UB820 player is much pickier about what it plays.

same deal. LG region free will play any disc I throw at it basically, the UB820 is super picky. won't even play Berlin Alexanderplatz or World on a Wire from Second Sight. had no problem playing Arrow's Dekalog, though?

The current UB820 firmware does play the Second Sight World on a Wire and Berlin Alexanderplatz (1980x1080/50i).

[Stefan Andersson]

Re: Noce i dnie -- the length of the theatrical version was discussed some years ago in this thread.
Here are interesting comments by projectionist Paul Rayton, re: a showing at the American Cinematheque's Second 70mm Festival:
"It was some 5 hours long (including intermission), and was mounted on 16 reels. I personally inspected all the reels. While inspecting the reels, I noticed some certain electronic cue tape sensors which seemed to be familiar...and soon I came to realize that, whaddoyaknow!, I had actually run the same identical reels and print about 25 years ago, during Filmex '75! The print has been stored in the archives of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, and used very few times in the intervening years. The print looked really great, with little if any fading. The film stock is made by Orwo (of [East] Germany) and the color stability is probably owed to its different film chemistry, i.e. different than that of the fade-prone Eastmancolor stock of the early '70s."
https://www.in70mm.com/festival/usa/cin ... /index.htm

EDIT: The above showing was advertised as running 4.5 hours:
https://www.in70mm.com/presents/1963_bl ... /index.htm

Interesting that the Academy archive has/had this print.

The remarks about a five-hour runtime ties in loosely with a 276-min. runtime mentioned on the film´s Polish Wikipedia page:
https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noce_i_dnie_(film)

Though it is of course quite possible that Paul Rayton´s runtime info is an approximation from memory.
Here is a 245-min. runtime mentioned:
https://www.filmpolski.pl/fp/index.php?film=12196

245-min. (back cover) DVD:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Noce-dnie-Regi ... 8362086343

Bluray is 171 mins:
https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Noce-i-d ... ay/255085/

My guess:
the Bluray is an international cut:
"The film in its original version lasted over four hours. For the purposes of the screening at the Berlin Festival, it was shortened to three. The plot of Bogumił and Barbara was left behind, considering that this was the story of the original film, a novel by Maria Dąbrowska. The version presented at this year's Festival in Gdynia is 15 minutes longer than the "Berlin" copy. "We have restored the theme of the death of Barbara's mother and the case of Tomaszek, which is now more expressive in the film," said Jerzy Antczak at a meeting with the audience.
On the digital reconstruction, the director worked with his camera operator, Grzegorz Kędzierski. Antczak recalled that although it was shot on Eastman, the film had copies made on ORWO footage, on which the faces were beetroot in color."
https://www.sfp.org.pl/2016/wydarzenia, ... ukcji.html


The tv version is up on Kinematografia Polska´s YT channel, with a Rekonstrucja text screen at the end.


TV version on dvd, Noce I Dnie (rekonstrukcja Cyfrowa)
https://www.ceneo.pl/117207287?srsltid= ... i9RsVwNjrl - 641 mins. according to back cover
Older (?) dvd:
https://www.filmydvd.pl/x_C_I__P_40521417-40510001.html

[TMDaines]

The TV version was also released on Blu-ray: https://www.ceneo.pl/145955118

[DeprongMori]

The TV version was also released on Blu-ray: https://www.ceneo.pl/145955118

The 12 episodes of the TV version are also available (without English subtitles) on a Polish YouTube channel.

[Stefan Andersson]

Grazyna Grabowska wrote making-of books about Potop and Noce i dnie:
https://tantis.pl/potop-redivivus-p4926 ... k4wghm8wXm_
https://www.ceneo.pl/53529800

Article about a pre-release cut to the cinema version, and about political themes left out of both versions:
https://histmag.org/film-noce-i-dnie-po ... trem-11905

[djvaso]

While browsing the DVDMax.pl store, I accidentally discovered an upcoming collector's edition Ultra HD Blu-ray of "Promised Land" (Ziemia obiecana). I posted about it on a Polish forum, but members soon reacted with ironic comments. The news also appears to be at least two months old, as it was announced alongside a similar release for "Pharaoh" (Faraon).
The website lists multiple potential edition combinations for these two films:
- Ultra HD Blu-ray + Blu-ray + DVD Collector's Edition,
- Ultra HD Blu-ray + Blu-ray Steelbook Edition,
- Ultra HD Blu-ray + Blu-ray Standard Edition,
- Blu-ray + DVD SteelBook Edition,
- Blu-ray Standard Edition.
Is there any confirmation that these films will actually be released on native Ultra HD Blu-ray discs?

Standard edition of "Pharaoh"will be released on December 1st:
https://www.dvdmax.pl/faraon-blu-ray-4k,art3423840

[MichaelB]

Polish or Czech soundtracks, with a choice of Polish, English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese or Czech subtitles.

And a BD-100, which is reassuring.

Unsurprisingly, it's the shorter official Kawalerowicz cut - i.e. what's on the Second Run and Martin Scorsese Presents releases.

[perkizitore]

Nerlin has hit the dust, Empik has trimmed their selection, so the only avenue to buy these UHDs is DVDmax, correct? I think Merlin had the best packaging ever, those were the days...

[djvaso]

Nerlin has hit the dust, Empik has trimmed their selection, so the only avenue to buy these UHDs is DVDmax, correct? I think Merlin had the best packaging ever, those were the days...

I think this is DVDmax.pl exclusive.

[MichaelB]

There's honestly not much difference between Merlin, Empik and DVDMax packaging.

Being full-on tank-proof seems to be a Polish thing across the board.

Sadly, BD production seems to have been drastically scaled back in Poland, with the result that if you want a high-definition presentation you're most likely going to have to seek it out on a streaming channel.

[Lowry_Sam]

Sadly, BD production seems to have been drastically scaled back in Poland, with the result that if you want a high-definition presentation you're most likely going to have to seek it out on a streaming channel.

Because Poland's disc manufacturers are being used more often for products in other markets? In the past 5-10 years I have noticed many more US/UK CDs & blu-rays with the label "Made In Poland".

[MichaelB]

I suspect there simply isn't much of a domestic market any more; the price differential between DVDs and BDs was always far more marked than it was in the UK, which suggests that the latter was being marketed as a niche premium product.

On my annual trips to Poland, I used to leave about a quarter of my suitcase empty, intending to fill it with DVDs and BDs, but I noticed that they were getting harder to come by even pre-Covid, and when I was last in a branch of Empik they'd got rid of their home video section altogether, although they still sold loads of books and CDs.

[djvaso]

A huge improvement in picture quality for "Faraon" compared to the old Blu-ray:
https://slow.pics/c/SA1jfqKf

They will also release "Ziemia obiecana" (The Promised Land) in Ultra HD:
https://dvdmax.pl/ziemia-obiecana-blu-ray-4k,art3423848

[Lowry_Sam]

They will also release "Ziemia obiecana" (The Promised Land) in Ultra HD:
https://dvdmax.pl/ziemia-obiecana-blu-ray-4k,art3423848

Wajda on UHD? Never thought I'd see the day. Gave up on someone putting out a comprehensive blu-ray box to rival the dvd set, but this is almost as good! Best option for importing (US)? Ebay? Amazon.de?

So is 169 minutes the original theatrical version? I see there are multiple versions: 2:18, 2:50, 3 & 3:24. I take it 2:50 is the original, 3:24 the television & 3 hrs is the revised theatrical that adds some of the television series, and the short version being a censored version or edited for commercial distribution?

[andyli]

A huge improvement in picture quality for "Faraon" compared to the old Blu-ray:
https://slow.pics/c/SA1jfqKf

I wonder where the Second Run blu-ray sits in the comparison. Surely it should easily beat the old Polish transfer but I also heard it's sometimes devoid of grains. The 4K transfer seems to retain a healthy amount of grain in the texture. Nice outcome and fingers crossed for any future UHD ventures.

[MichaelB]

So is 169 minutes the original theatrical version? I see there are multiple versions: 2:18, 2:50, 3 & 3:24. I take it 2:50 is the original, 3:24 the television & 3 hrs is the revised theatrical that adds some of the television series, and the short version being a censored version or edited for commercial distribution?

OK, I think I can break all these down with supporting evidence.

• 138 mins is the running time of the DVD version of Wajda's overly cautious revised cut with toned-down anti-Semitism—so once PAL speedup is factored in, it's more like 144 minutes.
• 169 mins (presumably your 2:50) is the running time of the theatrical cut, corroborated by an official footage length of 4,632 metres and the running time of the Polish Blu-ray (which definitely runs at 24fps)
• 179 mins (presumably your 3) is the running time of the 70mm print, corroborated by an official footage length of 6,120 metres. That ten minute difference is suspiciously precise, so may well be something as banal as a ten-minute intermission.
• 204 mins is the combined running time of the four episodes of the extended Polish TV cut, which would have been broadcast at 25fps speed, so more like 212-213 mins at theatrical speed.

Anyway, the 169-minute version is definitely the one to go for, and that seems to be what they're releasing, and it's also what was previously released on Blu-ray, so that's fine.

[Peacock]

A huge improvement in picture quality for "Faraon" compared to the old Blu-ray:
https://slow.pics/c/SA1jfqKf

I wonder where the Second Run blu-ray sits in the comparison. Surely it should easily beat the old Polish transfer but I also heard it's sometimes devoid of grains.

The SecondRun Blu is the same as the old Polish one. Worth getting for the bonus features, but yes this new Blu wipes it out!

[Lowry_Sam]

I read of an extended version featuring scenes from the tv series, has either that or the tv series been released on disc?