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Tribe · #26 Post by **Tribe** » Tue Jan 25, 2005 3:36 am

Sometime back, (maybe three Forums ago?), I posted a link to Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus, a documentary about alternative-country musician Jim White. Well, it now looks like it's going to be released on DVD by HVE.

Tribe

Martha · #27 Post by **Martha** » Tue Jan 25, 2005 12:44 pm

Tribe wrote:Sometime back, (maybe three Forums ago?), I posted a link to Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus, a documentary about alternative-country musician Jim White. Well, it now looks like it's going to be released on DVD by HVE.

I'm always surprised that other people even know who White is-- and look, a movie about him! I didn't even know this existed. Have you seen it, John?

manicsounds · #28 Post by **manicsounds** » Tue Jan 25, 2005 4:27 pm

A Jim White documentary? it passed by me..... cool news!

todcraproductions · Tue Jan 25, 2005 5:27 pm

Actually, it's not really about him, it's hosted by him; it's actually about the American South and alt. country music and that sort of Gothicness that runs through it; I really enjoyed this documentary. I'll be picking up the DVD when it comes out, and I wish they had a soundtrack for it. (Unless they do, in which case, I want it.) But Jim White does perform in the film, as do The Handsome Family (one of my all-time favorites), Johnny Dowd, and a couple other acts.

Tribe · #30 Post by **Tribe** » Tue Jan 25, 2005 9:46 pm

Nope, haven't seen it, Martha....but I'm a big Jim White fan, and I just envision this as a fistful of Southern Gothica....as someone else mentioned it's not about White, but rather, something of a fantasy involving his character maybe?

Tribe

Buttery Jeb · #31 Post by **Buttery Jeb** » Fri Jan 28, 2005 7:34 pm

Because I know how they make everybody go all tingly in their nethers, let me be the first to mention that, according to the M-I mini-site, two more films will be released under The Merchant-Ivory Collection banner in April: "In Custody" and "The Courtesans of Bombay."

Yes, all tingly in their nethers.

-BJ

analoguezombie · #32 Post by **analoguezombie** » Mon Jan 31, 2005 3:44 pm

Buttery Jeb wrote:Because I know how they make everybody go all tingly in their nethers, let me be the first to mention that, according to the M-I mini-site, two more films will be released under The Merchant-Ivory Collection banner in April: "In Custody" and "The Courtesans of Bombay."

Yes, all tingly in their nethers.

-BJ

superb! more valuable resources taken away from releasing gritty, violent Japanese gangster movies, I'm sorry but Graveyard of Honor could totally kick Howard's End's ass in a fight!

Buttery Jeb · #33 Post by **Buttery Jeb** » Tue Feb 01, 2005 9:22 pm

The April Slate:

Barbet Schroeder's "More"

http://www.homevision.com/users/folder. ... &id=MOR080

"Zero Day"

http://www.homevision.com/users/folder. ... &id=ZER030

Wen Jiang's "Devils on the Doorstep"

http://www.homevision.com/users/folder. ... &id=DEV050

Hanzo: The Razor (Three Disc Set)

http://www.homevision.com/users/folder. ... &id=RAZ010

"In Custody" (Merchant-Ivory)

http://www.homevision.com/users/folder. ... &id=CUS010

"The Courtesans of Bombay" (Merchant-Ivory)

http://www.homevision.com/users/folder. ... &id=COU140

I'm shocked, shocked I say, to see that "More" isn't going to be a Criterion release. Other than that, the April slate looks about solid.

-BJ

Cinephrenic · #34 Post by **Cinephrenic** » Tue Feb 01, 2005 10:31 pm

Finally, I'm glad to see More get a release. Looking forward to the 3-disc Hanzo.

chaddoli · #35 Post by **chaddoli** » Tue Feb 01, 2005 11:11 pm

I have seen Zero Day and met the director who is a very cool guy. The film is very interesting if not great; it's style is different than Elephant's while the plot is similar. But both films are very unique and make for good comparisons.

I recommend it.

EDIT: Just to clarify, it is NOT a better film than Elephant though, in my opinion.

Gregory · #36 Post by **Gregory** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 1:49 am

I just read some reviews of Devils on the Doorstep and am now really excited to get it. Has anyone here seen it?

#37 Post by **zedz** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 2:08 am

Yes. It's a strong, tough film with an unusual tonal range (at times comic and folksy, at others bleak and horrific). I didn't think it was entirely successful in negotiating the changes, and it dragged in places, but generally it was impressive (great cinematography, as I recall). Plotwise, there are similarities to Red Sorghum, but this film reminded me more of 60s Soviet war films (Ivan's Childhood, Cranes are Flying) than much other contemporary Chinese film.

htdm · #38 Post by **htdm** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 6:46 am

I'm really glad that Home Vision is releasing Devils on the Doorstep, I thought it would never come out here. However, I'm surprised that they are only releasing the shorter version. I know that the original 160 minute version screened in Cannes; I wonder why they couldn't access that print?
On a side note, the film's only color sequence really reminded me of Kurosawa's High and Low.

Also glad to see that a proper version of the very funny In Custody is being released.

Gregory · #39 Post by **Gregory** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 7:18 am

Yeah, I can't believe the specs only show the censored cut. I'll email Home Vision to ask if that's indeed the case. If so, I won't be buying it.

Here's an Aug. 18, 2000, article from The Guardian that explains the whole sad story:

The Chinese film Devils on the Doorstep was withdrawn from the Edinburgh film festival last night amid fears of a new climate of censorship in Beijing.
The spectacular epic, set during the brutal Japanese occupation of northern China during the second world war, won the Grand Prix at Cannes in May. It was shown without the permission of the Chinese authorities.
Jiang, a hugely powerful star in mainland China, was reportedly banned from making films for seven years last month but had tried to ignore the sanction, as he had a previous one for acting in Zhang Yimou's Red Sorghum.
But with shooting due to begin on his new film, The Story of Xu San-Guan the Blood Seller, about a man who sells his blood to survive, it appears that Jiang has been forced to compromise.
Wouter Barendrecht, his European representative, said Jiang was now cutting Devils on the Doorstep. "He has informed us that his new version with be approximately 23 minutes shorter. Unfortunately he is behind schedule due to the sensitive nature of the discussions the producers have been having with the Chinese government."
The statement, released yesterday, is in stark contrast to his defiance of the authorities during Cannes and his fighting talking only weeks ago when he said: "The film shows that people must express their feelings frankly and openly, instead of bottling them up inside while smiling and nodding."
China has been opening up its cinemas to foreign films, with Hollywood's summer blockbusters, The Patriot and The Perfect Storm, showing there this month.
Many observers believe Jiang has been a victim of bureaucrats whose role has been diminished by the new openness.
Their chief objections to the film are that the Japanese are shown to be too powerful and that "turtle fucker" - a Chinese term of abuse - is over-used.
A spokeswoman for the Edinburgh film festival expressed disappointment at the news but was reluctant to comment fearing it would make Jiang's situation more difficult.

richast2 · #40 Post by **richast2** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 2:23 pm

FINALLY! I've bewaiting for a DVD of More for years! I won't say I'm surprised that HVE is releasing it rather than Criterion, but it does make their release of Maitresse that much more puzzling.

Tribe · #41 Post by **Tribe** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 2:53 pm

Never seen Hanzo: The Razor. The HVE website says:

He’s Hanzo “The Razor” Itami; the incorruptible and uncompromising samurai cop, and he packs a weapon more devastating than any sword (just ask any of the female suspects he “interrogates”).

Uhm, is that "weapon" that he's packing that "is more devastating than any sword" what I think it is?

Tribe

htdm · #42 Post by **htdm** » Thu Feb 03, 2005 8:06 am

Gregory wrote:Yeah, I can't believe the specs only show the censored cut. I'll email Home Vision to ask if that's indeed the case. If so, I won't be buying it.

I'll still buy it to show my support for this and other titles like it but I'm surprised that HVE wasn't able to access the excised materials. Mabel Cheung's Soong Sisters, for instance, was also censored by the Chinese government who cited similar concerns over its content. When the first DVD came out several years ago, it was the shorter version but recently the longer Director's cut was released. My point being that the materials don't disappear.

I read about Jiang Wen's Devils controversy when it came to a head in the film press during the Cannes screening. I believe the general consensus over the "ban" was that it was largely symbolic as Jiang continued to appear in films no too long afterward (including Missing Gun, if I'm not mistaken).

What I'd really like to see is someone come out with a decent edition of his excellent directorial debut, Children of the Sun.

mingus · #43 Post by **mingus** » Thu Feb 03, 2005 12:41 pm

I just finished watching their wonderful DVD of Claude Chabrol's "La Cérémonie". Definitely recommended.
Has anybody heard some news on further Chabrol movies being released by either HVE or Criterion ? I certainly hope that my favorite: "The Hatter's Ghost" gets the Criterion treatment and if possible with some participation from Michel Serrault.

Gregory · #44 Post by **Gregory** » Sat Feb 05, 2005 10:35 am

I received a nice, detailed reply from Home Vision today. Their release of Devils on the Doorstep will indeed be the 139-minute cut. They said there is some question as to which version Jiang now prefers. They could only get the 139-minute cut and figured that a release of that was far better than no release at all, because it's a truly outstanding film that had very little theatrical distribution in the U.S. despite earning high praise at festivals around the world.
Not a perfect situation, by far, but I'm definitely looking forward to the DVD.

htdm · #45 Post by **htdm** » Sat Feb 05, 2005 11:20 pm

Thanks very much for that update, Gregory!

Subbuteo · #46 Post by **Subbuteo** » Sat Feb 05, 2005 11:32 pm

mingus wrote:I just finished watching their wonderful DVD of Claude Chabrol's "La Cérémonie". Definitely recommended.

Absolutely, great film and dead sexy!

iangj · #47 Post by **iangj** » Sun Feb 06, 2005 8:15 am

Subbuteo wrote:
mingus wrote:I just finished watching their wonderful DVD of Claude Chabrol's "La Cérémonie". Definitely recommended.
Absolutely, great film and dead sexy!

Yes, absolutely. Maybe Chabrol's best film ever, and with two great actresses working together: Sandrine Bonnaire and Isabelle Huppert.

Tribe · #48 Post by **Tribe** » Mon Feb 07, 2005 5:43 pm

homevision drops the ball on lily chou
http://p088.ezboard.com/fhongkongdvdsre ... 3520.topic

That's surprising, HVE usually does a nice job on its releases. I think that the fault lays in the effort to squeeze everything onto one disc. Too bad.

Tribe

mbalson · #49 Post by **mbalson** » Tue Feb 08, 2005 2:22 am

It's obvious that the bitrate is not the only problem with the HVe release. Lowering the bitrate does not cause an image to look like that.

The Fanciful Norwegian · Tue Feb 08, 2005 5:05 am

Maybe the HVE is from a film master and the R2 is from an HD master? I dunno, I'm just grasping at straws here. I can't imagine why anyone would consider that an acceptable image given the quality of the R2 release.

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