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MichaelB wrote:That said, the 1.66:1 notice would have been primarily intended as a warning to projectionists not to crop to 1.85:1, which would make a far more noticeable difference.

And I agree that there's no apparent sign of compositional compromise - and because I realised more or less immediately that it was in 1.78:1 (as there were no black bars at the sides), I was specifically looking for problems.

To Axiom's credit, they're up front about this is the accompanying booklet, listing the OAR of 1.66 and DVD AR of 1.78 alongside one another in the specs at the front. (Don't know if you had the excellent booklet with your review copy, Michael.)

It seems likely to me that this new AR was imposed on them - by Wenders himself, I hope.

zedz wrote:To Axiom's credit, they're up front about this is the accompanying booklet, listing the OAR of 1.66 and DVD AR of 1.78 alongside one another in the specs at the front. (Don't know if you had the excellent booklet with your review copy, Michael.)

I didn't, so this is very useful indeed - thanks for that.

It seems likely to me that this new AR was imposed on them - by Wenders himself, I hope.

I'm guessing that this is the most likely explanation, but I'll check with Axiom before filing my review. They were going to get a sympathetic hearing regardless, as the transfer is so good aside from a tiny sliver off the top and bottom (I assume).

GaryC wrote:The only other example that I know of a film's aspect ratio being announced in its opening credits is a 1986 French film called L'unique, starring Julia Migenes. White lines appear near the top and bottom of the frame and above or below them (respectively) are words to the effect of "This film is not being shown in the intended ratio of 1.85:1." Obviously the projectionists at the National Film Theatre hadn't noticed!

Brilliant! Funniest thing I've read all year.

Just to update my last post, I've checked with Axiom, and they've confirmed that their source was a 16:9 anamorphic transfer that had been personally supervised by Wim Wenders.

And if he's happy, so am I!

More very welcome Wenders releases: 5 documentaries and Land of Plenty due on 27/10.

DVD Times reviews on One Who Set Forth: Wim Wenders' Early Years and Land of Plenty.

foggy eyes wrote:More very welcome Wenders releases: 5 documentaries and Land of Plenty due on 27/10.

I can thoroughly recommend the documentaries package - all five are well worth watching (Lightning Over Water, Tokyo-ga and Notebook on Cities and Clothes got British cinema releases in their own right, which speaks volumes about the quality threshold), and presentation standards are top-notch.

Three of the films were made in the 1980s, and it's fascinating seeing Wenders grappling with the fundamental shift that was happening between celluloid and video/digital media - something directly tackled by the various interviewees in Room 666, one of whom (Werner Herzog, unsurprisingly) goes on to predict the World Wide Web with commendable accuracy.

Transfers are Wenders-approved, anamorphic where necessary, and extras usually include a Wenders commentary and deleted scenes. Axiom are also throwing in two booklets - one with credits and info on all the films, plus critical essays, the other showcasing an interview with Wenders about his documentary work.

I'd never heard of Axiom until a review copy of Alice in the Cities landed on my desk, but on the basis of what I've seen so far (three other Wenders releases plus Diao Yinan's Uniform) their output is far closer to the BFI, MoC and Second Run than it is to the average UK independent.

Do you have Wrong Move? I'm trying to get someone to talk about whether the deleted scenes are worth double-dipping for the Axiom

domino harvey wrote:Do you have Wrong Move? I'm trying to get someone to talk about whether the deleted scenes are worth double-dipping for the Axiom

Sadly no - I think one of my colleagues did that one.

domino harvey wrote:Do you have Wrong Move? I'm trying to get someone to talk about whether the deleted scenes are worth double-dipping for the Axiom

If anybody's going to double-dip on that film, surely it's you? (in lieu of having anything useful to contribute - but I can verify that the Axiom Wenders releases I've got are the best editions of his films that I've seen).

I don't understand what you're saying, but my thought was that hopefully one of our UK posters has picked the title up for the first time and could report back on the substantiveness of the deleted scenes

Unless they are some kind of hidden easter egg, the DVD of Wrong Move contains no deleted scenes. There are a few minutes of silent Super 8 on-set footage, a commentary with Wenders and a 20-page booklet, but that's the extent of the extras.

Cash Flagg wrote:Unless they are some kind of hidden easter egg, the DVD of Wrong Move contains no deleted scenes. There are a few minutes of silent Super 8 on-set footage, a commentary with Wenders and a 20-page booklet, but that's the extent of the extras.

Thanks! DVDTimes said there were but as sad as I am there aren't any, I'm glad to find out before I imported it over

Before anyone starts to worry about the aspect ratio again (like the DVD times reviewer does), let me say that on the audiocommentary (or one of the interviews) which is on the German disc of "Land of plenty" Wenders clearly states that the film was only matted to 2.35 for theatrical release; so what is on the dvd (1.78) is Wenders' preferred version. Still I wonder why he didn't do an English language commentary for this like he did for other films; the man is always a joy to listen to, and I remember the German commentary to have been one of his best and most insightful ones.

My understanding is that all the Axiom Wenders discs are derived from Wenders-supplied and Wenders-approved masters - they confirmed to me that this is true of the documentary discs, having already told me that the aspect ratio change on Kings of the Road was at his instigation.

My contact there seems extremely clued-up on every relevant issue to do with these discs, very much including aspect ratio changes - so I get the impression that this series is a real labour of love for them. It certainly shows.

Tommaso wrote:Before anyone starts to worry about the aspect ratio again (like the DVD times reviewer does), let me say that on the audiocommentary (or one of the interviews) which is on the German disc of "Land of plenty" Wenders clearly states that the film was only matted to 2.35 for theatrical release; so what is on the dvd (1.78) is Wenders' preferred version. Still I wonder why he didn't do an English language commentary for this like he did for other films; the man is always a joy to listen to, and I remember the German commentary to have been one of his best and most insightful ones.

He did an English commentary for the IFC Home Video R1 disc, so it's probably a right issue that Axiom didn't use that?

And agreed, Wenders is always a pleasure to listen to (as is Herzog too btw).

DVD Times on Wim Wenders: The Early Documentaries

Wenders' The State of Things is coming on May 25th.

Wenders' Lisbon Story also on 25th May 2009.

veering off the Wenders path, what I'd really love to see is Axiom release more Tsai Ming-Liang.

aside from their two releases, his films (at least when subtitled in English) have been treated terribly on DVD, and it'd be great to see more of his earlier work treated as decently as THE WAYWARD CLOUD and I DON'T WANT TO SLEEP ALONE

DVDTimes review of The State of Things. I'll take some screen caps in the native resolution once the disc is delivered.

The new Jean-Claude Brisseau is going straight to DVD.



Not good for the film, but it means I should get to see it quicker. Can't wait

Nothing wrote:Not good for the film, but it means I should get to see it quicker. Can't wait

I agree completely. Any news of a release date for this one?

Amazon.uk says June 22.

I should add here that the problem almost certainly does not lie with Axiom but with City Screen, the American-owned company that holds a virtual monopoly over the UK's arthouse cinema network and now refuses to give screen time to anything of even the remotest interest (whilst playing Twilight and Man on Wire for weeks on end). C***s.

Oh well, they probably would have screened it digitally anyway... ](*,)