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L.A. wrote:Eolomea (Herrmann Zschoche, 1972) was released on Blu-ray last month. I understand it has English subs but can anyone confirm is this true?

Oh dear, I shouldn't have raised my head here. I read on a bit, came across Icestorm's new homepage and had to read here that the Blu Ray would really include English subtitles. Well then, I haven't seen the disc and I won't do it in the nearest future.

Paul Petit wrote:

L.A. wrote:Eolomea (Herrmann Zschoche, 1972) was released on Blu-ray last month. I understand it has English subs but can anyone confirm is this true?

Oh dear, I shouldn't have raised my head here. I read on a bit, came across Icestorm's new homepage and had to read here that the Blu Ray would really include English subtitles. Well then, I haven't seen the disc and I won't do it in the nearest future.

Since the site promised "Untertitel: Englisch", took the gamble and ordered it. Received the disc and checked; the feature film has EN subs but unfortunately not the interviews (including one from the director).

Complete works of Ulrich Seidl from 1980 to 2017 is available in Germany for around 200 euros. English subtitles are included as well as an interview with John Waters who is a big fan (surprise, surprise) of Siedl.

DVD only I'm afraid but a great opportunity to fill in all the missing gaps.

Very spectacular - and obviously English-friendly and export-oriented - DVD box set with African films engaging with the struggles against colonialism, which will be released by Filmgalerie 451 in cooperation with the Arsenal institute somewhat later this month: link.

Paul Petit wrote:Very spectacular - and obviously English-friendly and export-oriented - DVD box set with African films engaging with the struggles against colonialism, which will be released by Filmgalerie 451 in cooperation with the Arsenal institute somewhat later this month: link.

Ah, so this is what Arsene Wenger has been focused on that they have dropped out of the top four. No wonder, I didn't know he was trying to bring culture to the Premier League!

In all seriousness, the release does look great. Here it is on Amazon.de, where it has a €17,98 price, and an April 13th, 2018 release date (though I'd suppose ordering direct would get it sooner):

https://www.amazon.de/dp/3946274145

I had not realised David Lean‘s Summertime is out on blu-ray in Germany ( the German title is Traum meines Lebens/Dream of my Life) and judging from this, it looks good:

https://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?d1=11557&d2=11556&c=4563" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Just ordered it and not because I'm a Lean completest but because this actually is my favorite film of his.

Even tough it looks better than the old DVD, i'm sure it's a open matte print, and it should be in widescreen without the headroom above the actors.

Pepsi wrote:Even tough it looks better than the old DVD, i'm sure it's a open matte print, and it should be in widescreen without the headroom above the actors.

I don’t know of a DVD/BD release of the film which had an aspect ratio other than 1:33. I’ve seen this argument in regard to aspect ratio about several mid-50s movies which was a transitional period. From what I understand films were matted for some theatres and not for others, depending on their set up.

In any case, even if the only correct ratio is a wider one, this is the only option. Even the Criterion DVD framed this at 1:33. I’d rather have this than wait for a release at the ”correct” aspect ratio which may never materialise. It‘s just arrived I’ll probably watch it tonight.

Keep in mind that it looks to be an older HD master, which while better than the old DVD, might need an update, and maybe this will generate a review of what is the appropriate AR (which, as I understand, wasn't particularly the case in the past).

tenia wrote:Keep in mind that it looks to be an older HD master, which while better than the old DVD, might need an update, and maybe this will generate a review of what is the appropriate AR (which, as I understand, wasn't particularly the case in the past).

True, but for that it looks surprisingly good and it is a noticeable upgrade over the DVD. As to the framing, it is the case that there is a lot of headroom, but at least you get to see more of Venice.

The film itself is a great vehicle for Hepburn who does slightly uptight vulnerability so well. She gives one if her most understated performances here. I far prefer this to Lean’s more celebrated romance, Brief Encounter.

I just found out that Menschen am Sonntag and Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse were released as limited blu-ray editions last year in Germany, both billed as 2014 restoration/digitization. So in theory they should look better than Criterion/MoC's older releases. Has anyone been able to grab and evaluate them?

Under the Bridges is up for pre-order.

Margarethe von Trotta's Die bleierne Zeit (aka Marianne & Juliane) finally has an English friendly disc release, on blu-ray no less. (Looked quite decent to me, no English subs for the supplements though.)

Murnau-Stiftung recently released a new restoration of Münchausen (1943) on a double-blu-ray set, with 3 different cuts, and the first review is up at DVDFREAK:http://dvdfreak.cz/freak.php?dz=0&p=munchhausen%2Fhd

Thanks for posting the review, Antipolis! I own that new "Münchhausen" set, and unfortunately I have to agree with the reviewer, more or less. The only version that looks truly convincing in terms of Agfacolor colours is the export version, which is artistically clearly inferior. I would, however, add that the earlier restoration that was released by Kino and Eureka in the early 2000s, attractive as it may look at the first glance, is also some sort of travesty (as it much rather looks like Technicolor than the much more earthy Agfacolor). In this respect I would even agree with restorer Anke Wilkening who points out in the booklet of this release that this earlier version was colour-timed according to what people - especially a TV audience - expected an early colour film to look like. And indeed, the export version and even the newly restored release cut show much more the typical, pastel Agfacolor colours (and let's not even talk about the much better clarity and detail even on the SD version compared to the Eureka/Kino dvd).

The problem is only that the new resto of the release version indeed looks like Agfacolor at its worst, i.e. when it's badly faded. The over-all brownish look and faded colours especially in some of the nighttime scenes simply cannot have been intended by the filmmakers, and the export version is very clear proof of this. What I don't understand is: if they have the well-preserved export version with the correct colour timing, why didn't they use it as a reference for digitally restoring the original look of the release version?

And a further question/complaint: it's great that they found the longer premiere cut, but again: why did they release it 'as is', with colours and clarity even further deteriorated so that you basically only want to watch that version once (to find out about the differences) and then return to one of the other versions to watch the film next time. A much better solution would have been to take the restored release version and simply add in the additional material from the premiere version (à la the Argentinian "Metropolis" footage) and release this as an alternative to the main version.

So while all in all this new three-cut-set is probably the one to go, it leaves a lot to be desired. And from what I've seen and read elsewhere, Murnau-Stiftung's new resto of Käutner's seminal "Große Freiheit Nr.7" has similar colour issues, turning the Agfacolor even more into a brownish mess. And this whole colour problem is somewhat surprising because the same restorers only a few years ago got everything absolutely right with the gorgeous restos of Harlan's "Opfergang" and "Immensee". These two films are a model of how Agfacolor looked when it was new (another one is the excellent new release on the Filmjuwelen label of Willi Forst's 1944/49 "Wiener Mädeln", a release in which Murnau-Stiftung had no hand).

.......

Well, but as this thread is about Essentials from Germany, let me briefly mention that Concorde Entertainment/Murnau-Stiftung have just released two of the very best German comedies of the 1930s in what look like wonderful restorations, namely Paul Martin's "7 Ohrfeigen" (1937, starring Lilian Harvey and Willy Fritsch) and even more importantly, "Ich bei Tag und du bei Nacht" (Ludwig Berger 1932, with Käthe von Nagy and Willy Fritsch). The latter film is even somewhat popular here at this forum if the 1930s listmaking is any indication. And I'm so happy that this masterpiece is now finally officially available, restored and in correct 1.19 aspect ratio. If you don't need subs, this is an absolute must-own.

Yeah, colour timing issues aside, classic German films on Blu-ray looking to be ramping up. Now if only someone decent got access to the DEFA catalogue.

fdm wrote: Sun Jul 21, 2019 6:33 pm Margarethe von Trotta's Die bleierne Zeit (aka Marianne & Juliane) finally has an English friendly disc release, on blu-ray no less. (Looked quite decent to me, no English subs for the supplements though.)

Similarly, Reinhard Hauff's Messer im Kopf (Knife in the Head) from 1978 is now on an English friendly blu-ray disc. (Looked fine, no English subs for the supplements (two interviews)).

The back cover of the Unter den Brücken blu-ray doesn't list any subtitle options. Is that accurate? I'd love to get this if it has English subs.

Also curious if anyone happens to know if there are English subs on the German BDs of Happy as Lazzaro, Transit and Shoplifters. Thanks!

I have Shoplifters and unfortunately there are no English subs.

The Arthaus release of Paris, Texas I'd say deserves more focus than its gotten, very significant improvement and one of the best non UHD releases I'v seen in terms of giving an authentic film like look.

fdm wrote: Tue Jun 23, 2020 8:46 pm

fdm wrote: Sun Jul 21, 2019 6:33 pm Margarethe von Trotta's Die bleierne Zeit (aka Marianne & Juliane) finally has an English friendly disc release, on blu-ray no less. (Looked quite decent to me, no English subs for the supplements though.)

Similarly, Reinhard Hauff's Messer im Kopf (Knife in the Head) from 1978 is now on an English friendly blu-ray disc. (Looked fine, no English subs for the supplements (two interviews)).

Wow. Thanks for the news. I've ordered the von Trotta and Knife in the Head - I've been dying to see that film again for over 40 years

Upcoming German releases:

Lachende Erben (Ophuls)
F.P.1 antwortet nicht
Wasser für Canitoga
Die Grosse Liebe (Zarah Leander)
Paracelsus (Pabst)

http://www.murnau-stiftung.de/news/weit ... er-auf-dvd

moreorless wrote: Fri Aug 07, 2020 1:25 pm The Arthaus release of Paris, Texas I'd say deserves more focus than its gotten, very significant improvement and one of the best non UHD releases I'v seen in terms of giving an authentic film like look.

Same for the Arthaus release of 'The Vanishing' (Spoorloos) - a good improvement over the Criterion release, even if it's not such a jump compared to 'Paris, Texas' which was released by Criterion using a very dated telecine master. In the case of 'The Vanishing' both come from 4K restorations, but the Arthaus scan, grading, and encoding are noticeably better.

The upcoming 4K UHD release of Christiane F. - Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo lists English subtitles.

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Does anyone know if the Blu-Ray releases of Konrad Wolf's Solo Sunny and Wolfgang Staudte's Die Mörder sind unter uns have English subtitles? I can't see any listed, but they are listed on the DVD releases from the same label so it would be odd (though not unheard of) for them to be dropped.

Calvin wrote: Sat Mar 26, 2022 5:05 pmDoes anyone know if the Blu-Ray releases of Konrad Wolf's Solo Sunny and Wolfgang Staudte's Die Mörder sind unter uns have English subtitles? I can't see any listed, but they are listed on the DVD releases from the same label so it would be odd (though not unheard of) for them to be dropped.

They don't.