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Posted: **Mon Mar 21, 2005 3:51 am**

I'm so excited about all of these...but...I really wish there was a way for someone in the MoC to get these to us americans at reasonable prices, getting around the region resctrictions etc...because...georgie boy aint going away anytime soon which means our economy isn't going to pickup anytime soon...which means the dollar is going to continue to take a whooping...i ordered my first 3 MoC's along with a few other titles from bensons...imagine my horror when i got my statement to see just how bad the exchange rate is...oh well...hopefully they'll be worth it...i've got them in my stack of "too watch"

Posted: **Mon Mar 21, 2005 12:44 pm**

"Carmen comes Home" is delightfully silly. There doesn't seem to be a serious bone in its cinematic body. And the comic performances of Takamine and Ryu (just to mention the leads) are priceless.

Posted: **Mon Mar 21, 2005 9:58 pm**

There's a full-page ad for the Masters of Cinema series in the new issue of Sight & Sound. The Teshigahara releases are featured most prominently, but there's also a list of directors that includes Kinoshita (Keisuke), (Josef) von Sternberg and (Peter) Watkins.

Posted: **Tue Mar 22, 2005 3:26 am**

Von Sternberg: I'm ready to declare my undying love and gratitude.

Posted: **Fri Mar 25, 2005 1:09 am**

solaris72 wrote:

1. Sanatorium pod klepsydra/The Hour-Glass Sanatorium (Wojciech Has, 1973).
and, most unlikely, but I can dream:
6. Ikarie XB-1 (Jindrich Polák, 1963)

WOW - I'm not alone! =D>

The Hour-Glass Sanatorium, what can I say? There is no other film like it. It's creepy, weird and, well... AMAZING! But it hasn't even be released in Poland yet - believe me, I have tried looking! Has' The Saragossa Manuscript is one of my favourite films. He was a great filmmaker.

Ikarie XB-1 was recently restored and a English-subtitled print was on tour in America last year. I have seen the cut and dubbed AIP version, Voyage to the End of the Universe in pan and scan (the film was shot in 2.35:1) which gives a glimpse of the film's austere power. The film should now be regarded as a landmark in sci-fi and fully deserves even a Criterion release.

Posted: **Tue Mar 29, 2005 5:33 am**

shirobamba wrote:Hatsukoi Jigoku-hen/The Inferno of First Love by Hani Susumu (in an uncut version)

Erosu purasu gyakusatsu/Eros Plus Massacre by Yoshida Yoshishige

Kaigenrei/ Coup D´Etat by Yodshida (both of which have been just released as part of two wonderful Yoshida boxsets in Japan, but...grrrrrrrr...without subs)

I'd like to second these. I love Hani, but Yoshishige seems more plausible because of the new transfers in the aformentioned box set (I'm curious enough about this director that I'd probably buy the first two sets if I had scripts or detailed synopsis of the films). Any MoC people interested in these obscure directors?

As for Oshima, I've only seen Cruel Story of Youth and found it more pulpy and less personal than many of my favorite Japanese directors of the same era (though I certainly need a second viewing and doubt my opinion).

Posted: **Tue Mar 29, 2005 8:26 am**

Well, judging by this news provided on the link below, I could say that the next Imamura on the line will be Eijanaika (1981). Let's hope this materializes.

http://www.dvdclassik.com/Critiques/newsv2_z2.htm

MK2 annonce 2 double DVD consacrés à Imamura et Kurosawa !

La Vengeance est à moi (Fukushu Suruwa Ware ni Ari - 1979) : Un homme suspecté de meurtre semble s’être suicidé. Mais la police le soupçonne d’avoir simulé sa propre mort. Soudain, il réapparaît sous les traits d’un professeur, comme s’il se moquait ouvertement de ses poursuivants. Chronique de la vie d'un escroc sans scrupule qui finira par assassiner sa maitresse. A travers un fait divers, Imamura entreprend ici une etude scientifique sans faille de la societe japonaise.
Eijanaika (1981) : Durant la période Edo, un homme revient d’exil d’Amérique pour rechercher sa femme. Il se retrouve alors pris au cœur d’une révolution en train de changer le visage du Japon.

Scandale (Shubun - 1950) : Pendant ses vacances, un jeune peintre fait accidentellement la connaissance d’une chanteuse résidant à la même auberge que lui. Un journal à scandales fait circuler une rumeur à leur propos en publiant leur photo. Les jeunes gens attaquent le magazine en justice mais leur avocat accepte un pot-au-vin en échange de l’abandon de l’affaire.
L'Idiot (Hakuchi - 195) 1: Un homme marqué par la vie rejoint la ville d’origine de son camarade de guerre. Il s’implique alors dans un triangle amoureux aux conséquences tragiques. D’après le roman de Dostoievski.

Pour les deux coffrets :
Format d'image: 1:33 4/3
Format audio : Japonais Mono
Sous-titres: Français

Les suppléments ne sont pas encore connus.

Date de sortie : 12 juillet 2005

Posted: **Tue Mar 29, 2005 10:14 am**

Annie Mall wrote:Well, judging by this news provided on the link below, I could say that the next Imamura on the line will be Eijanaika (1981). Let's hope this materializes.

If Eijanaika is indeed going to be #18, that would mean there'd only be one Kinoshita, right (#19)? Which makes me confused about this quote:

FilmFanSea wrote:Nick (peerpee) has also indicated that MOC #18 & 19 will be films from Japanese director Keisuke KINOSHITA

Posted: **Tue Mar 29, 2005 11:31 am**

We have no plans for EIJANAIKA at the moment.

Posted: **Tue Mar 29, 2005 12:46 pm**

A Russian Winter would get off with a good start with Kin-Dza-Dza [Georgi Daneliya, 1986].

Posted: **Fri Apr 01, 2005 2:11 pm**

I didn't want to start a new thread for this, but MoC's April Fool's joke is up:

Posted: **Fri Apr 01, 2005 10:25 pm**

Gordon McMurphy wrote:The Hour-Glass Sanatorium, what can I say? There is no other film like it. It's creepy, weird and, well... AMAZING! But it hasn't even be released in Poland yet - believe me, I have tried looking! Has' The Saragossa Manuscript is one of my favourite films. He was a great filmmaker.

Ikarie XB-1 was recently restored and a English-subtitled print was on tour in America last year. I have seen the cut and dubbed AIP version, Voyage to the End of the Universe in pan and scan (the film was shot in 2.35:1) which gives a glimpse of the film's austere power. The film should now be regarded as a landmark in sci-fi and fully deserves even a Criterion release.

I must cop to not having seen The Hour-Glass Sanatorium, but I'm dying to see it. Bruno Schulz is my favorite writer, and I just love the Brothers Quay interpretation of Street of Crocodiles, and the things I've heard about Has' take on Sanatorium make me really eager to see it.

I saw the gorgeous, restored cinemascope print of Ikarie XB-1 when it came to the Museum of Fine Arts. I'd heard so many good things about it, and had been trying to see it properly for years. It was everything I'd hoped...haunting, alien, mysterious. I have a bootleg original language uncut (I think it's uncut) letterbox DVD (no subtitles) that I managed to acquire from a seller in Eastern Europe through eBay, though the quality is shit. I would kill for MoC or Criterion (maybe through their rumored cult division) to do this film justice.

Posted: **Mon Apr 04, 2005 3:58 am**

Terence Davies still doesn't make the cut. What does a master have to do to be a part of 'cinema'?

Posted: **Tue Apr 05, 2005 8:34 pm**

Some miscellaneous wishlist items for MoC's consideration:

Akerman -- Jeanne Dielman or Les Rendez-Vous d'Anna. Or better, News From Home or a documentary.

Bellocchio -- Fists in the Pocket. (Never had the opportunity to see this.)

Erice -- South. (Never had the opportunity to see this.)

Makavejev -- Switchboard Operator, aka Love Affair.

Naruse -- Anything really. Michael Kerpan recommends Repast, so I'll suggest that one.

Ozu -- Again, anything will be loved and adored. My preference would be a color film or a silent film. Hen in the Wind or Where Now Are The Dreams of Youth would be great, as I've not been able to see them yet.

Ray -- Nick, in this case. Johnny Guitar or Wind Across the Everglades.

Resnais -- Muriel or a disc of documentaries.

Straub/Huillet -- Again, anything.

Visconti -- Senso.

That's more than enough for now.

Posted: **Thu Apr 07, 2005 4:06 pm**

I have a bootleg original language uncut (I think it's uncut) letterbox DVD (no subtitles) that I managed to acquire from a seller in Eastern Europe through eBay, though the quality is shit. I would kill for MoC or Criterion (maybe through their rumored cult division) to do this film justice

There´s a DVD with english DUB out, but I dunno about the qualiy:

http://www.bijouflix.com/goods/bijou_store1vcd_V.htm

(scroll down the page, it´s the 3rd item)

Maybe this is an acceptable placeholder until CC or MoC will do it?

Posted: **Thu Apr 07, 2005 4:42 pm**

I saw 3 of Yanagimachi Mitsuo´s earlier films this week, and they left a deep impression on me, though this was the 3rd time I saw them. They would all make great follow ups to the "Imamura-Vengeance-is-Mine"-line of the MoC Japanese Summer series. The 3 in question are:

"Jukyusai no chizu" aka "19-sai no chizu" / The 19 year old´s Map (1979)
"Saraba itoshiki daichi" / Farewell to the Land (1982)
"Himatsuri" / The Firefestival (1985)

Though Yanagimachi was one of the most celebrated and critically acclaimed japanese independent filmmakers of the 80´s he virtually disappeared completely in the 90´s. I haven´t seen any of his later works, that were all international productions (perhaps someone can report on them?), but his early work is impressive and lasting IMHO, and deserves to be available on DVD.

Posted: **Thu Apr 07, 2005 5:28 pm**

I would LOVE to see the MoC tackle the entrie Dziga Vertoz Godard series. I know Criterion's done one, but I think if a boxed set were ever to be considered, this should be one of them.

Posted: **Thu Apr 07, 2005 5:46 pm**

Michael Kerpan wrote:From what I've read, Aoyama's early films generally ranged from bad to mediocre.

The general concensus in the industry, even in Japan, is that EUREKA was a fluke, since his other films are just as you said - mediocre to bad. So bad, in fact, that his latest was rejected from every festival until Pusan dumped it in an Asian panorama section.

Which is why I'm surprised that, in HUMANITY AND PAPER BALLOONS, Nick managed to get Tony Rayns and Aoyama Shinji on the same sentence without one party vehemently objecting!

Posted: **Fri Apr 08, 2005 10:39 am**

I'm in the middle of reading Ingmar Bergman's "The Magic Lantern" and I got to the chapter about the making of Wild Strawberries today, and it hit me like a box of bricks...

MoC needs to release some of Victor Sjöström's silent works. From everything I've read, these are complete masterpieces. There was paragraph about how Bergman was enamored with working with the man who created some amazing pieces of film, and yet Victor seemed to think they were utter crap.

Posted: **Tue Apr 12, 2005 5:44 pm**

I'd really like to see MoC release some Korean films. I'm just starting to get seriously interested South Korean cinema, but the only stuff available anywhere is really recent.

Based almost entirely on my close viewing of the excellent, excellent documentary The Cinema on the Road: A Personal Essay on Cinema in Korea (Jang Sun-Woo, 1995), I'd suggest the following:

The Aimless Bullet (Yu Hyun-Mok, 1961)
Barefoot Youth (Kim Ki-Duk, 1964)
Declaration of Fools (Lee Jang-Ho, 1983)
Life and Death of the Hollywood Kid (Chung Ji-Young, 1994)

Also, some films by Im Kwon-Taek. Director of almost one hundred films, and Korea's most significant director by reputation, almost all of his films remain totally unseen outside Korea. Ticket (1986), Mandala (1981) and Fly High, Run Far (1991) would be especially welcome.

I'm sure there's a market for English-subtitled releases of less-recent Korean cinema; I hope someone taps it soon.

Posted: **Wed Apr 13, 2005 9:09 pm**

The earlier reference to Josef Von Sternberg set me thinking - of course, MoC will be rereleasing THE BLUE ANGEL, but is there any chance of a decent version of THE SHANGHAI GESTURE? I've only seen this on the diabolical Image DVD, which was enough to completely jaundice my view of the film. Does a decent print exist anywhere at all, and could MoC/Eureka get hold of it?

Posted: **Wed Apr 20, 2005 4:05 am**

Anatahan would get my vote over any film mentioned in this thread.

Posted: **Sat Apr 30, 2005 12:55 am**

Peerpee, when can we expect the announcement of spine #1? Pretty soon or will it be Masters of Cinema's Grande Illusion?

Posted: **Sat Apr 30, 2005 1:43 am**

Devlinn, Terence Davies would make the cut if there was a nice webpage devoted to him. Those names are from the links down the righthandside of mastersofcinema.org.

-

Sai, we have a number of titles in mind, but none of them have bolted for the gate yet. It's quite frustrating... they're all taking a long time to come to fruition.

Personally, I wish we'dve made FRANCESCO #1, but it's too late now.

Posted: **Sat Apr 30, 2005 3:27 am**

Devlinn, Terence Davies would make the cut if there was a nice webpage devoted to him. Those names are from the links down the righthandside of mastersofcinema.org.

By golly, a quick search and you're right peerpee - no devoted website. Haven't been to the UK for a number of years, but is Davies a forgotten man over there? Do his films play on TV, or in the rep cinemas. The BFI really has to get their act together in getting his work out on DVD - maybe Masters of Cinema can get involved?

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