reaky wrote:There's a UK Tartan release (under its French title, VENDREDI SOIR). I have no idea about image quality, but would be interested to hear.
It is solid, properly converted, and substantially better than the Wellspring. The only glitch here is the English translation which is rather loose at times.
Apologies if this is old news but I didn't notice it earlier in the thread.
A newish Region 2 of 'Sommeil' came out on Arte last year. Best picture I've seen over two previous outings. English subs on main but not on interview bonus.
Just checked it again and started mamboing 'round the kitchen to the opening titles Machito track.
Just a heads up. I was ordering the Yoshida coffrets and flipping between amazon, fnac and alapage to see which site was cheapest (no real difference) when I noticed that fnac still had the Cahiers double set of S'en fout la mort (which I've never seen) and Nenette et Boni available. I think this is out of print - it wasn't on the other sites - so I went for it. I'll let you know if it turns out to be unavailable after all.
This was on vhs way back in 2000. You can get it (and its subs) for $3.55 at amazon.
Now that's a cheap set of subs. And my very bad Taiwanese DVD of Nenette is subbed too, so I'm set. Thanks! And thanks Zazou for the confirmation of no subs. I assume that there are no French subs either?
Mise En Scene wrote:According to this blog, Strand is releasing Nenette et Boni in May.
Hrmm. I have only seen this on the New Yorker VHS -- a powerful film despite looking awful. I hoped that when it debuted on DVD with English subtitles it would look significantly better, but I suppose we shouldn't dare hope for something like a progressive transfer on this.
That was my blog which mentioned the Strand disc of Nenette et Boni. I got that directly from Amazon.com. I know nothing of the transfer or of any special features, or if Strand has any plans for further Denis titles.
Received the Strand Nenette et Boni today. Quality is not too hot. In fact, the transfer looks pretty much like the last copy I saw, which was VHS-sourced if I remember correctly, in terms of sharpness/contrast/color/etc. It's 16x9 and interlaced. DVD5. Only a trailer for the extras. Oh, and the subtitles are burned in.
Bleh. Has anyone seen the Cahiers du Cinema 2-disc set with No Fear, No Die? Are those 16x9 progressive transfers? I know they don't have English subtitles, but that's what PC subtitle programs are for. This is a pretty poor release for such a lovely film after such a long wait for a DVD.
Which DVD of 35 Shots of Rum do you folks recommend? The Drakes Avenue (Amazon UK) or Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (Amazon France)? Does the latter have English subtitles? I know the Drakes does.
My local cinematheque projected 35 Rhums on DVD last night. I was so disappointed it wasn't a 35mm print. IMDB states 35mm prints exist. Can anybody tell me if this is true or have other theatres been screening this on DVD as well? Pretty disappointing as I thought it was an out-and-out masterpiece and their DVD projector was terrible.
criterionsnob wrote:My local cinematheque projected 35 Rhums on DVD last night. I was so disappointed it wasn't a 35mm print. IMDB states 35mm prints exist. Can anybody tell me if this is true or have other theatres been screening this on DVD as well? Pretty disappointing as I thought it was an out-and-out masterpiece and their DVD projector was terrible.
Where are you in Canada? The Vancouver International Film Centre (home to VIFF) also projected it on DVD. I'd assume that it's a budget reason... or maybe rights. Our city also showed Police, Adjective in DigiBeta.
Yup, Canada. The manager claimed that "more and more films are being shot and finished on digital and we may be forced to continue screening on DVD." What the fuck? She failed to mention the film I was talking about was in fact completed on 35mm. Total bullshit. I guess that's what I get for living in the middle of nowhere.
Not to mention that those films shot in digital are likely to have been shot in HD, not the SD of a DVD projection. DVDs were simply not designed for projection on a large screen. The smaller size and resolution of standard-definition televisions was taken into account when determining compression levels, etc.
Notoriously, house managers for cinemas can be obfuscatory when they're not defensive, even in the best of times. Many are now taking advantage of the confusions attending the "digital transition" to hoodwink customers (or maybe they've been hoodwinked themselves?). "Art cinemas" (such as they are nowadays) hardly seem to be an exception to this. Apparently even Film Forum has switched out 35mm for DVD without posting the information for patrons.
Pretty despicable, honestly, and probably not in the theaters' long-term interests: you'd think they'd want to make the advantages of seeing films in a cinema clear to customers, and not blur the distinction with home viewing....
Reminds me of a few years ago when I went to my local "arthouse theater" to see Army of Shadows. I expected it to be the 35mm print that Rialto was touring but it turned out to be a "digital download" (I only found out after asking afterward if it was the DVD) that looked far worse than the R2 DVD I had at home.
Does anyone know if this dvd of J'ai pas sommeil at amazon.fr is the Arte DVD. It says "Studio : Gie Sphe-Tf1" but I suppose that's probably a distributor or parent company or something like that. Also can anyone confirm that it's got English subs. I don't really need them personally, but I'll be watching it with someone who does and I don't want to have to translate the whole film as it plays.
