Indications of Incoming Indicator Entertainments

[Drucker]

The Arrow releases have been OOP for nearly seven years, and, assuming Indicator has picked them up, it would probably take a few years to get them all out (meaning that some could potentially be OOP for a decade or longer.)

I have to imagine Bava on UHD would attract enough sales to justify it. And I imagine there's non-zero overlap between those and the Rollin titles from a fanbase perspective right? (Though admittedly I've only seen one Bava and no Rollin...)

[dwk]

Bummed to report that I was on the wrong track. It appears that Indicator got Four Times from Minerva and it is the only Mario Bava film they own.

[Orlac]

Bummed to report that I was on the wrong track. It appears that Indicator got Four Times from Minerva and it is the only Mario Bava film they own.

Pity. Four Times is probably Bava's worst - though I haven't seen THE ROAD TO FORT ALAMO which is rather obscure.

[colinr0380]

Although of course Four Times That Night is Bava's multiple replaying perspective sex comedy take on Rashomon / The Outrage.

[MichaelB]

And it offers two further perspectives on top in the form of just about the most radically divergent English and Italian soundtracks that I’ve ever encountered in the same film.

The Italian dialogue is crammed with cultural and literary references, while the English equivalent…

…well, let’s say that the film’s US distributor was clearly targeting a specific audience and leave it discreetly at that.

[colinr0380]

Yes, it does almost reach Africa Addio levels of becoming almost a radically different film depending on which soundtrack you play. That is why it is really good that the Italian tracks for this era of films are being included and fully subtitled as a standard thing now, after a long period where the Italian tracks were sidelined likely because due to also being post-dubbed rather than sync sound they were therefore presumably considered not 'original' enough to be afforded that honour when the English language track would suffice just as well.

However my favourite example of this sort of change in a dub having a major effect on the content of a film is not an Italian film but a German one, with Run Lola Run's English dub which at the very end has Lola cross paths with the security guard at her father's bank (who is also the figure who, literally, kicks off the action of the film in a meta sense) in the back of an ambulance. Whilst in the German version this plays out as more low key, in the English dub:

Spoiler

the security guard is heavily implied through the dialogue to be Lola's real father!

Which rather recontextualises the entire film!

[Lowry_Sam]

Yes, it does almost reach Africa Addio levels of becoming almost a radically different film depending on which soundtrack you play. That is why it is really good that the Italian tracks for this era of films are being included and fully subtitled as a standard thing now, after a long period where the Italian tracks were sidelined likely because due to also being post-dubbed rather than sync sound they were therefore presumably considered not 'original' enough to be afforded that honour when the English language track would suffice just as well.

My favorites are those English dubs for Japanese horror & sci-fi that were done for US television, making them unintenionally funny. I am glad labels are releasing more audio options, particularly original audio. Another reason is to have the actual voices of international actors on international releases where actors are actually speaking their own language.

[Matt]

I've been watching a lot of Italian peplum (sword-and-sandal) movies lately, and the difference between American versions—often released by exploitation distributors like AIP or Embassy Pictures (which was responsible for the American version of Godzilla)—and the Italian versions is often ludicrously vast, changing character names and context in the dub until the films make almost no sense; chopping out 10, 15, even 20 minutes of footage or inserting footage from other films; and replacing the score entirely. It's mainly for this reason that it's a disreputable, "cheesy" genre in Anglophone countries. The same went for many Italian, Japanese, and Hong Kong genre films before they were rehabilitated via being distributed in their original cuts and languages, but the peplum seems doomed to remain the last genre to be reclaimed. I have other thoughts on this as well, but I'll keep us relatively on topic here.

Now that the giallo, spaghetti western, and Italian gothic genres have been thoroughly mined, and the poliziotteschi revival is in full swing, it looks like the commedia sexy all'italiana is next up for rediscovery. I will have to give this Bava film another look, because I think I've only seen it once 25+ years ago on VHS in the English dub and thought it was his worst. But even the worst Bava probably sells more than the best films of lesser-known Italian genre directors. I'm sure it's not coincidental that almost all of the pepla released on Blu-ray in Anglophone territories have Bava involved in some capacity: director or co-director (credited or uncredited), cinematographer, or special effects.

[MichaelB]

Come to think of it, the original 1954 Godzilla is a famous example. The Japanese version: startlingly sober and serious, with a lot to say about atomic mutation that's particularly heartfelt given when and where it was made. The American version: not so much.

[Finch]

Second Indicator teaser is for Lamberto Bava's Macabre.

[ChunkyLover]

Has there been a stated reason why January's releases (All My Sons, Ivy and Undertow) seemingly keep getting pushed back?

[TVC15]

Hopefully Orbit and Atomic will carry Indicator's Macabre unlike DiabolikDVD which kowtows to Vinegar Syndrome.

[Jonathan S]

Has there been a stated reason why January's releases (All My Sons, Ivy and Undertow) seemingly keep getting pushed back?

A member of the other forum reported yesterday: "Got an email a month back saying problems getting signoff of the discs from the rights owner."

[MichaelB]

That is indeed the reason, and thankfully it only affects these three titles. Powerhouse is as keen to get these released as everyone else.

[therewillbeblus]

Is there reason to believe they'll be pushed back further beyond March 30?

[MichaelB]

I’m afraid it’s out of Powerhouse’s hands, but I very much hope it’ll be sooner rather than later.

[ChunkyLover]

Somebody on the other forum has reported that all three January releases have been dispatched from Powerhouse direct.

[GaryC]

Somebody on the other forum has reported that all three January releases have been dispatched from Powerhouse direct.

I've just had that email as well.

[cfx]

I searched a bit here and elsewhere but couldn't find anything referencing--the standard editions of the titles from Universal Noir #1, which were scheduled for release in April, are no longer listed on the Indicator website. Are these releases canceled?

[tenia]

Over coming months, we will be turning our attention to a number of exceptional crime thrillers from noted filmmakers, such as Jacques Becker, Étienne Périer, and Edmond T Gréville, and some under-appreciated works by celebrated auteurs, including Claude Chabrol, Bertrand Blier, and Nadine Trintignant.

Judging by the first titles, and what is available here and there (especially here), I'd bet for Etienne Périer on Un si joli petit village and for Nadine Trintignant on Défense de savoir.

Less sure for the other ones, but I'd say : Edmond T Gréville : The Hands of Orlac; Chabrol : L'oeil du malin; Jacques Becker : Goupi mains rouges (though it'd require a deal with Pathé); Bertrand Blier : Si j'étais un espion (same).

In any case, always nice to see Indicator dipping their toes in other spots, though I wish they'd keep on releasing mexican movies first.

[MichaelB]

Blier's Buffet froid was teased in the last newsletter.

[tenia]

Oh, I forgot about that (and I didn't think it'd fit the "crime thriller" announcement).

[MichaelB]

Two categories are cited in your quotation: crime thrillers, and "some under-appreciated works by celebrated auteurs".

[Peacock]

Domino will be a happy boy when he wakes up to this!

Excited for the Resnais, more please!

[domino harvey]

Interesting turn for this label, but a welcome one!