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Anyone know when/if the Rouch films will come to home video?

Perkins Cobb wrote:Wonderful film. Wish we could get Loin du Vietnam instead, though, just 'cause I've never seen it.

Why not both? Far From Vietnam - December 10th.

For those who actually know about the film how come all of the press materials including DVD cover for Far From Vietnam omit Varda's name? Is this an edited release?

Most of Varda's material was cut from the final film. Details here.

Thanks.

Hey, whatever happened to those Jean Rouch films they announced a year and a half ago? That never happened, did it?

Level Five and Be Seeing You + Class of Struggle getting dvd releases October 7th.

A set of works by Bill Morrison also coming in a week's time: Collected Works (1996 - 2013)

rockysds wrote:A set of works by Bill Morrison also coming in a week's time: Collected Works (1996 - 2013)

Well, that completely trumps the 2-disc SD collection the BFI was promising a while back!

Perkins Cobb wrote:Hey, whatever happened to those Jean Rouch films they announced a year and a half ago? That never happened, did it?

A long time coming, by the sounds of things, but eight of his remastered films will be out on DVD within a couple of months:

http://mailchi.mp/icarusfilms/rcb0tl427 ... 1a5f52a24d" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I hope by "DVD" they mean "blu ray".

Most Rouch is subbed on back channels, but these are important films for one of the most vital directors of the New Wave and deserve an English-subbed physical release of any kind. I kind of doubt they could sustain the production cost of a Blu-ray set, but I'd love to be proven wrong

Yeah, I'll take them either way.

Third, just wish these would be out before the end of our upcoming list.

Coming 14th of November. Four-disc set according to their Facebook page (no word on RRP yet, that I can see).

http://www.indiewire.com/2017/09/jean-r ... 9/#respond" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Nice trailer!

https://youtu.be/IGob9hRY-hE" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Should I just start with his Chronicle of a Summer? I wish those were Blu rays, but even then Icarus would charge a hefty sum for it they usually do

It's a good place to start as any especially since for now it is the most widely available film.

I'm glad to have these films, but I really wish there was some film specific extras because I'm already rather dumbfounded by the set. Without context The Mad Masters is barely coherent and not helped by the fact that the thickly accented narration is not subbed. It still comes across as a great film, but I would know I have one rather than just feel that way with a little more context (especially since it seems to have had quite the interesting history of censorship).

Wait, it should be in French. Is it in English, or are you saying it's in unsubbed French?

It's in english.

Rouch prepared some of the films in at least two language versions (sometimes reading the narration himself), so I guess they used the English here?

Jesus. Are the other films only offered in English too? My set will be here tomorrow. I know you see us on your Google Alert, Icarus: Why would you do this? This is unacceptable

Mammy Water is the only other one I've looked at, but it is in French with subtitles. I assumed this was a Chris Marker type of situation where Rouch preferred the film to be shown in the native tongue of the audience.

Anyone know if they're using the same transfers found on the French DVD set released by Editions Montparnasse in 2007? I would guess so for a number of reasons (cost of a new transfer for starters - Icarus is a pretty modest operation, and it would make sense if they're issuing a DVD-only set that doesn't mention anything about a new transfer).

They recently released Wang Bing's Bitter Money in a pretty great transfer. I hadn't seen any of his features after Fengming so it was interesting to see that he has since transferred toward docufiction. This make the film less arduous than his first two features which depending on how you look at it is a good or bad thing. It makes his thematic points more direct and forces characters where they might not be needed, yet it also allows him to play with contrasts reminiscent of some of Jia Zhangke's work. The film is at its best though when the mask of fiction is thrown off and you get to see the anxiety of the people beneath the characters. For example about half an hour in (this is about three hours long) one of the main characters gets a phone call which turns out to be for the person and she breaks with the narrative in a direct way that the next points build off of. Everyone involved must have realized this was the great scene of the film as well since it provides the poster art. I'd prefer to see Bing go back to verite or direct cinema, but if this is what he is doing now it's not disappointing.