Essentials from Germany

[L.A.]

^ Thanks for that.

[TMDaines]

Visconti's Gruppo di famiglia in un interno (Conversation Piece) is being released by Concorde on Blu-ray in Germany. Hopefully this will be a decent alternative to the woeful Raro Blu-ray.

[zedz]

This is more of a counter-recommendation. I picked up the mouth-watering 5-disc Harun Farocki collection, on the strength of the Amazon listing claiming English subtitles.

Great set of films, but it includes some very dodgy analogue transfers, and is not subbed at all. Well, one film (out of 21) has English subs (which presumably accounts for the misleading listing), but only because the print they used had them burnt in. Naturally, this is the one film that's available elsewhere in a vastly superior, subtitled version. It's the record of Straub / Huillet filming Class Relations, but this version is a terrible transfer and only runs about half the length of the version featured on Edition Filmmuseum's superb disc of the feature.

You have been warned.

[Wu.Qinghua]

That's a real let-down, of course. Not least, as, as far as I remember, all of those films had been sold with English subs by Farocki himself at some point in the past. I am pretty sure they'd been co-produced by the German 'Goethe Institut', so they should be available via its libraries abroad.

[accatone]

This is more of a counter-recommendation. I picked up the mouth-watering 5-disc Harun Farocki collection, on the strength of the Amazon listing claiming English subtitles.

Great set of films, but it includes some very dodgy analogue transfers, and is not subbed at all. Well, one film (out of 21) has English subs (which presumably accounts for the misleading listing), but only because the print they used had them burnt in. Naturally, this is the one film that's available elsewhere in a vastly superior, subtitled version. It's the record of Straub / Huillet filming Class Relations, but this version is a terrible transfer and only runs about half the length of the version featured on Edition Filmmuseum's superb disc of the feature.

You have been warned.

You should have better used the search function on this forum
http://www.criterionforum.org/forum/vie ... ki#p238023" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
and saved money…

[zedz]

Oh, I don't regret getting it, but obviously it could be a lot better and it's not what Amazon makes it out to be.

[repeat]

Daniel Kasman's epic writeup on IFFR's Dominik Graf retro - I don't know about you guys, but this thing is going into my shopping cart now.

[teritor]

Hi,

I'm looking for a collection of Rudolf Thome movies and it seems the DVDs are available on amazon.de But the seller won't ship to USA. Can someone please recommend any other online store or site?

Many Thanks

[TMDaines]

Hi,

I'm looking for a collection of Rudolf Thome movies and it seems the DVDs are available on amazon.de But the seller won't ship to USA. Can someone please recommend any other online store or site?

Many Thanks

Zweitausendeins is the store you want. They reprint many of the other German labels' releases under their own imprint, with the disc contents usually being identical to the standard releases (or the first disc in the standard release). Their DVDs are dirt cheap too, especially as you get 20% off if you order ten discs. In the case of Thome, they've released a couple of world-exclusives that Arthaus didn't even bother releasing themselves. For German film fans Zweitausendeins are one of the best-kept secrets.

[repeat]

Just a heads-up that the English-friendly and region-free 4DVD edition of Dominik Graf's In Face of the Crime is currently going for 10 euros on amazon.de - I'd advise to get it now so you won't have to hunt for collectable copies after he enters the international canon. (And if you still find yourself asking "who?", here's Olaf Möller's typically passionate introduction to the subject - see also Daniel Kasman above: "some of the very best of contemporary cinema", and this extensive interview on Senses of Cinema)

[Numero Trois]

I'd advise to get it now so you won't have to hunt for collectable copies after he enters the international canon.

I've got his "Deine Besten Jahre/ Bittere Unschuld" DVD in my kevyip pile and didn't even realize it. Are those worth the watch as well? Hopefully there's subtitles available somewhere for those. The price is eyebrow raising for that disc on Amazon currently. Glad my fifty euro investment paid off.

[repeat]

I have no idea to be honest - I only have In Face of the Crime, Die Freunde der Freunde and Don't Follow Me Around (from Dreileben); those are the only ones that had English fansubs easily available last time I checked. Probably there are subbed rips of his other works floating around somewhere on the internets.

Apparently Graf has remained obscure internationally because the majority of his work has been for German TV, but I've understood that down there even his TV films often feature on "films of the year" lists. With a big studio production (Beloved Sisters) competing in Berlin and probably present on a number of international festivals as well, hopefully he will finally get more exposure. Here's another intriguing essay on his oeuvre, and see also his own on-the-mark polemic against a certain tendency of German cinema (which unfortunately is by no means limited to Germany if you ask me)

[Numero Trois]

Deine besten Jahre and Bittere Unschuld did get favorable mentions in the Cine-Fils and Senses of Cinema links you supplied, so that's encouraging enough.

[repeat]

Subs are also floating around for his Tatort episode "Frau Bu lacht" and Der Felsen, but sadly not for those two it appears.

Finally watched Die Freunde der Freunde (which by the way works perfectly well with the fansubs without any tinkering - no PAL speedup issues either as it is a digitally shot TV film), and I can assure you it is an out-and-out masterpiece: a heartbreaking adaptation of Henry James's story "The Way It Came" (aka "The Friends of the Friends") combining the effortless intuitive (and elliptical) flow of top-drawer Denis or Kurosawa with the ASL of late-period Tony Scott, this 90-minute film has more cinema per cubic metre than an entire year of Euro festival fluff. Sorry to spew such hyperbole, but this is just so totally up my alley I can't tell you - I think I'm going to learn German to get to see the rest of this man's stuff. Wow.

[James43]

Please also consider watching "Das unsichtbare Mädchen" (The invisible girl) which is available in this boxset (also available at amazon.de, the other features in the box are negligible). I think it's Graf's masterpiece, alongside Eine Stadt wird erpresst. Both films work as dense thrillers, but Graf infuses them with political awareness and local eccentricities in an effortless style. Not to mention his cinematic panache which is at its peak here (so far). I'm eager to see "The beloved sisters" this year (Berlinale) - maybe we see a full thread to his name then.

[repeat]

The Strange Little Cat coming out on DVD from Absolut Medien in June; region free, English subs. I don't think anyone's picked this one up in other territories?

[OnOnt]

The Strange Little Cat coming out on DVD from Absolut Medien in June; region free, English subs. I don't think anyone's picked this one up in other territories?

KimStim have it in the US. A DVD release seems a way off yet though.

[zedz]

It's a fantastic film - well worth importing!

[repeat]

Yeah, can't remember the last time I've immediately loved a new film as much as this one: it was so unexpected, really the proverbial breath of fresh air after all those dreary festival films, and from a first-time director as well! The Artforum reviewer put it nicely: "like [Jeanne Dielman] if Jacques Tati had got around to making it first". It made the year-end top tens of both Film Comment and Cinema Scope - I was fully expecting Cinema Guild to pick it up, but maybe Kimstim got there first. Would've loved a Blu but, with such a relatively marginal title, more than happy to make do with what's offered.

[CR2]

The Strange Little Cat coming out on DVD from Absolut Medien in June; region free, English subs. I don't think anyone's picked this one up in other territories?

Did this get delayed? Amazon.de was saying it was going to take a month to ship and now is listing out of stock. Does anyone know if that is an across the board thing, or are there any other sites that ship international and currently have it stocked?

[repeat]

It's probably been delayed as the Absolut Medien site also only has a pre-order button; this other German shop lists it as shipping on July 11. BTW for New Yorkers who missed it, the film is getting a one week run at the Lincoln Center in August!

[Forrest Taft]

Ralph Bakshi's Coonskin is out in Germany, from OFDb Filmworks. Never heard of the company, but this is a good release, according to posters on the blu-ray forum.

[repeat]

Heads up for New Yorkers those who missed The Strange Little Cat on the festival circuit: it's running at the Lincoln Center for a couple more days! Astute review (A-) by Ignatiy Vishnevetsky at AV Club.

[Forrest Taft]

Arthaus (according to the cover, StudioCanal according to the amazon page) is putting out a complete Jim Jarmusch collection in December. Year of the Horse is DVD only, according to a sticker on the box photo.

[TMDaines]

The mini-series of Das Boot is finally out on Blu-ray in Germany. English subtitles and supposedly of good quality.