criterionforum.org

Hey, check out this comparison between the R1 and UK R2 of You Only Live Once.

I paid $21 for the R1 edition a few years ago and I was livid when I saw the transfer and couldn't bear to watch this powerful film in such poor condition. I irrationally assumed that the UK transfer was either the same or just slightly better, but these captures have pursuded me to rent the R2. Bravo, Mr Tooze.

isn't the R1 Columbia release of The Big Heat pretty good?... no-one seems to have it on their lists

A poster over at DVD Talk says that Fox's new R1 release of Carousel does contain Lang's Liliom and that the print and transfer are miles ahead of the Kino abomination. Glad I waited off on the German R2 -- this will save me a little money.

Also, DVD Savant has posted a message from a German consumer (see bottom of the page I've linked) that the new R2 German release of Hangmen Also Die contains more footage than the Kino release and that the print and transfer are also superior. Looks like what I saved by not buying the German Carousel will be spent with this. (German subs are removable, by the way.)

davidhare wrote:tryavna, a friend in NYC advises me the German Hangmen is still a cut print and a poor transfer, despite the cover notes.

I suspect that the print is indeed cut, but taking PAL speed-up into consideration, it certainly runs longer than any print I've ever seen. (I've never seen the execution scene towards the end, and it seems to be included here.) I'm beginning to have my doubts that we'll ever get the original 140-minute cut. At any rate, it sounds like it's superior at least to Kino's release, so it might serve as a useful stop-gap for fans.

Beaver

From a German Forum: Screenshots from the e-m-s DVD (Runtime: 129:18 Min. [PAL])

Looks like the new German edition is an improvement in terms of sharpness and damage, though it suffers from some cropping.

Just out of curiosity, David: How long ago did your NYC friend tell you about the German DVD? The e-m-s version has only been out about 2 weeks or so. Maybe there was an earlier edition that was just a port of the British Orbit edition.

What execution scene towards the end are you mentioning tryavna? Is it the scene where Czaka (sp?) is released by the SS & shot as an ackkowledged red herring?

HerrSchreck wrote:What execution scene towards the end are you mentioning tryavna? Is it the scene where Czaka (sp?) is released by the SS & shot as an ackkowledged red herring?

DVD Savant details the missing scene here. Basically, the new e-m-s DVD includes a scene immediately following the killing of Czaka (Gene Lockhart) wherein the remaining hostages are killed. There are also a couple of brief scenes of mourning before the film goes back to Nazi HQ.

According to Savant's source, the total additional footage amounts to about 1 minute for a total of roughly 134'43" (in NTSC equivalent), so it's not quite as long as the 138'53" passed by the BBFC (which is the longest official run time I've been able to establish). So there are still at least 4 minutes missing, and possibly even 5 or 6, if we are to believe Eisner's estimate of 140'. (The BBFC says that the 138'53" version they passed was cut, but it doesn't give any details.)

At any rate, it sounds as if the e-m-s DVD gives us the longest cut to date. If Savant's source is correct, it certainly includes footage I've never seen.

With respect to the 40s lists project, Fritz Lang directed 10 films in the forties, and I have only managed to see half of them -- all really good films. Last night I viewed Cloak and Dagger (old Lion's Gate DVD -- not a great presentation, but the only one that I am aware of, and adequate to see the film), which I gather is a minor work in Lang's canon. Yet, for sheer film viewing pleasure, they really do not come much better.

Cooper stars as an American nuclear scientist, who is sent on an espionage/rescue mission in Switzerland at the end of the war. He tangles with undercover Nazi agents, before his mission leads him into Italy. Along the way he is helped by various resistance groups, and meets the lovely Lili Palmer (in one of her first screen appearances).

The pace is brisk, propelled forward by an excellent marching score by Max Steiner. In fact, as soon as the opening credits came on the screen, and the music kicked in, my pulse began to race and I was sucked in and sold on the picture.

Coop's performance has the humility and slight awkwardness that was his trademark. It is a pleasure to look at the way that he would use his hands to convey the inner life of his character, and his face at once so placid, and yet able to convey such a range of emotions.

I was also conscious of Lang being decidedly more brutal than his peers of the '40s. There are several quite violent moments in this film, but especially the scene in which Cooper fights an Italian fascist fist to fist. It is really a trait that runs through his other films of the forties (that I have seen) as well -- the murder in Scarlet Street (not to speak of the emotional violence throughout); the murder in The House By the River (in fact in this film it is more the overwhelming sense of morbidity); and in Hangmen Also Die, several instances of strong physical violence, as well as the general nastiness and sense of menace displayed by the Nazis. There are other little things like the sound effects when people are punched, and the way in which women are slapped by men, and so on, that just struck me as a little more real than usual for that time. It may be just me.

Aside from the titles already mentioned, Western Union is out from Optimum in the UK; a bare bones disc that looks fine (although not spectacular) for a color film of its time. It is a western of course, and a color film, which may be the reason that it seemed like the work of a different director than Lang altogether. Earlier in this thread, some of Lang's other '40 films were mentioned as having been released in other countries. Could anyone comment on any of these, and how do they compare as films to Lang's more readily accessible films of the decade?

This might sound odd, but I just picked up a Dvd of Ministry of Fear, so I'm left wondering if this is out on Dvd anywhere.

I'm in China, so my copy is to put it nicely, a copy. But it must be a bootleg of some existing (or oop) print. Yet I can't tell what that might be, as the usual company logos or markings aren't in evidence. A quick search of IMDb, Amazon and Best Buy doesn't turn up any dvd info.

So, is Ministry of Fear out in any region?

This page is usually reliable, when it comes to releases anywhere in the world, but no mention of Ministry of Fear. However, I was surprised to see that Moonfleet is out in Holland and France.

Lemmy Caution wrote:This might sound odd, but I just picked up a Dvd of Ministry of Fear, so I'm left wondering if this is out on Dvd anywhere.

So, is Ministry of Fear out in any region?

I suspect you have got the same one as me and it is almost certainly a bootleg, possibly from a video tape, though the quality is reasonable. I got it via Amazon, surprisingly, but it just doesn't look right, though it is a good bash at it. The label reproduces the cover in the same way that good bootlegs do, and had a legend on it, Made In Taiwan. No company logo and all regions.

davidhare wrote:It's almost certainly booted from the Universal NTSC VHS which came out around 1994. The print quality is excellent, but it is a VHS source.

Thanks, that's must be it. Although since I think they only copy dvd's here, so it's probably a bootleg of the Taiwanese bootleg of the VHS.

As Felix says above, the picture quality is only decent, being fairly grainy. The biggest flaw is that on this copy there is a centimeter-wide line at the bottom of visual noise, with lights flickering around. Somewhat distracting, especially before I damped down the color, because having a narrow band with some greens dancing around at the bottom of a b&w film was pretty irritating. [How such an error occurs, I have no idea]

So it's really a dodgy copy, but I'm still glad to have had a chance to see it. I love how the opening scenes echo lots of other Lang. Starts in an asylum (maybe a tip of the hat to Dr. Caligari?), then quickly shifts to a fairground (Liliom) and then on to a fancy seance and gangsters (Dr. Mabuse).

Some great Langian scenes throughout, from the first we see Milland super-tense in a bare wooden chair amidst dark shadows staring at a clock on the wall. It looks as though he's about to be executed (or sentenced), but instead he's about to be set free. Then there's the blind man and the cake, nicely combining humor and menace. The mirrors in the tailor shop. A gunshot in the dark. Etc. I also liked how "The Ministry of Home Security" and the title "Ministry of Fear" sound right at home in 21st Century America.

I'am reading Patrick McGilligan's Lang biography The nature of the beast at the moment and feel that such things are completely looked over by this writer. Actually I get the feeling that Lang is presented as a director who never made an entirely personal film in his career. Maybe this is a move to avoid "auteur" clichés, maybe not...

Are you familiar with this book?

Lemmy Caution wrote:

davidhare wrote:It's almost certainly booted from the Universal NTSC VHS which came out around 1994. The print quality is excellent, but it is a VHS source.

Thanks, that's must be it. Although since I think they only copy dvd's here, so it's probably a bootleg of the Taiwanese bootleg of the VHS.

As Felix says above, the picture quality is only decent, being fairly grainy. The biggest flaw is that on this copy there is a centimeter-wide line at the bottom of visual noise, with lights flickering around. Somewhat distracting, especially before I damped down the color, because having a narrow band with some greens dancing around at the bottom of a b&w film was pretty irritating. [How such an error occurs, I have no idea]

I had another wee peek at the DVD after reading the comments here and it is closer to David's appraisal, quite a decent print and certainly OK on my CRT. My box is suffering from a slightly slipped mainframe or WTF you call it so I have no idea if there is a line at the bottom or not.

I compared it with my dupe of Siodmak's Phantom Lady which reproduces the VHS cover and the covers are thematically very similar. Phantom Lady is Universal but 1998. For a boot Ministry is not bad until the real thing comes along. Quite a slick package.

I always liked the 1940's Lang and was always puzzled that the likes of Secret Beyond The Door and the House By The River, especially, were not more highly rated, I loved them and especially their visuals. I never warmed to Cloak And Dagger or Manhunt they way I did to the rest but maybe I should try them again, especially the latter.

Human Desire, Woman In the Window and Secret Behind the Door are all available from a Spanish label called Suevia films. Does anyone here own any of these DVDs, or are familiar with the label in general, and can comment on the quality of their releases?

Scharphedin2 wrote:Human Desire, Woman In the Window and Secret Behind the Door are all available from a Spanish label called Suevia films. Does anyone here own any of these DVDs, or are familiar with the label in general, and can comment on the quality of their releases?

I'd be interested to know more about the last two in particular. Secret Beyond The Door was slated for US release about a year ago but it never happened.

I have Suevia's Dark Mirror and it is a disaster, with the sound out of synch to a degree that makes the film unwatchable (removable subtitles so Lang would probably be the same). I think someone made the same observation about Woman In The Window. Dark Mirror is so bad I recently replaced it with a bootleg.

The French label Wild Side has Secret Behind the Door out. I own a number of their releases of classic American films (Caught, Brute Force/Naked City, God's Little Acre, Men of War, etc), and they are all top notch. So, I will plunge for their edition next time I order from France.

Too bad about Suevia... maybe someone else has had better experiences with their releases?

Scharphedin2 wrote:The French label Wild Side has Secret Behind the Door out. I own a number of their releases of classic American films (Caught, Brute Force/Naked City, God's Little Acre, Men of War, etc), and they are all top notch. So, I will plunge for their edition next time I order from France.

What are these like for removing subtitles? and can you let us know the same regarding Secret when you get it please.

The subtitles are forced on all of Wild Side's releases. What I have done is to simply have a colleague of mine "open" the DVD, and burn a copy of the film without the subtitles. It should not be difficult to do for anyone slightly in the know about the techy side of the medium (davidhare has explained how it works somewhere in the forum).

If anyone knows of any other tricks to remove the subtitles on these particular discs, I would be very happy for the advise myself.

According to DVD Beaver the subtitles on Wild Side's Secret Behind the Door are forced on some DVD players but not others. I should add that the transfer includes the fantasy sequence missing from the USA VHS and most other releases.

No doubt all of Suevia's releases are undistinguished, but I suspect not all of them are equally bad. I haven't seen their Chimes at Midnight DVD, but it's been much reviewed on the internet, and none of the reviewers mentions problems like those described above. However, it would obviously be unwise to risk any Suevia disc that isn't known to be safe.

There is an Italian release of Ministry Of Fear for sale via Xploited, and I also see it via Amazon Marketplace. The legality and quality of the first one would be useful to know. It doesn't look quite right but then again would Fritz with Italian titles ever look right?

"Fritz Lang Collection" (6 DVDs!) from Germany



Release date: May 7th 2007

Contains:
"Dr. Mabuse - Der Spieler, Teil I - Der große Spieler"
"Dr. Mabuse - Der Spieler, Teil II - Inferno"
"Frau im Mond" Music: Javier Pérez de Azpeitia (2003)
"Spione" Music: Neil Brand (2005)

Bonusfeatures:
"Die Metamorphosen des Dr. Mabuse"
"Spione, ein kleiner Film, aber mit viel Action" <- Runtime 68 minutes
"Frau im Mond, der erste wissenschaftliche Science-Fiction-Film"

Gofter wrote:Contains:
"Dr. Mabuse - Der Spieler, Teil I - Der große Spieler"
"Dr. Mabuse - Der Spieler, Teil II - Inferno"
"Frau im Mond" Music: Javier Pérez de Azpeitia (2003)
"Spione" Music: Neil Brand (2005)

Bonusfeatures:
"Die Metamorphosen des Dr. Mabuse"
"Spione, ein kleiner Film, aber mit viel Action" <- Runtime 68 minutes
"Frau im Mond, der erste wissenschaftliche Science-Fiction-Film"

Nice to see, but it sounds like a rip-off even for the German market if they don't make "Spione" and "Frau im Mond" available seperately, as "Mabuse" has been available on its own already for years. Thus, certainly no rival for the forthcoming MoC version of "Frau im Mond". I only hope that MoC will put that documentary on their disc as well. Sad to see they missed out on the "Spione" extra, however (unless this is a brand-new docu, of course).

Tommaso wrote:Sad to see they missed out on the "Spione" extra, however (unless this is a brand-new docu, of course).

Yeah, I would have loved to have seen literal English subtitles for that extra's own title: "Spies: A little film, but with much action!" How true!