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Seizing the opportunity - after 80s Szulkin and 60s Skolimowski are finally done (thanks to Radiance, Second Run, and BFI) - my next dream box set would be a 70/80s Krolikiewicz, similar to Kino Polska bundle that includes "The Dancing Hawk", "Permanent Objections", "Through and Through" and "Killing Auntie". The transfers are abominable on that set and his formally explosive films (think of the very best bits of Fassbinder [-> let's say Katzelmacher, Chinese Roulette & World on a Wire & Beware of a Holy Whore]) deserve so much more. I know I'm asking a great deal but even a year ago thinking about Szulkin's box on my shelf was like being in the wishful-thinking zone.

I really do hope we do get a Krolikiewicz set as The Dancing Hawk has been on my personal watchlist ever since I heard of it a couple months back as is the same with Through and Through so getting them on Blu-Ray would be wonderful.

35mm.film has many restored Polish films with excellent English subtitles. Two Krolikiewicz films are available (especially the excellent THROUGH AND THROUGH). Remember to engage the English friendly option on the website. The site is free to use but you need to set up a login.

The Dancing Hawk is astonishing - and that's a literal description of a reasonable person's reaction to it, not hyperbole; how the hell did something like that get made in Communist Poland in 1977? - and I believe that it's also been restored.

On the subject of wishful thinking, only two years ago the prospect of any Communist-era Polish films on UK or US labels seemed like wishful thinking! And now what was barely a trickle (Arrow's Kieślowski sets and precious little else) has turned into a tsunami.

(And don't I know it! My commentary commissions have absolutely exploded over the last fifteen months, and the fact that eight of those were for Polish titles says it all - the Wajda war trilogy, two Skolimowskis, two Szulkins plus an as yet unannounced title that was made between the last of the Wajdas and the first of the Skolimowskis. Prior to that, I'd recorded a grand total of one, for Arrow's Blind Chance.)

I just finished watching Portrait of Chieko (1967), a film I have long wanted to view and the print was very nice.

Anyone know what may be stopping a physical media release of this masterful film?

Needless to say it would be a perfect fit for Radiance.

The film is with Shochiku and Radiance have a deal with them, so rights-wise it should be clear. However, a lack of a HD master could stop it from getting a release.

Portrait of Chieko has an HD master, it just doesn't have a BD release thus far. In fact I don't think it's been released on physical media since the VHS era, and the same goes for Tōhō's 1957 adaptation of the same source material starring Hara Setsuko. The book is still under copyright until 2026, so maybe there's an issue with that.

There is a HD master out there but it looks very poor, and just like with Naruse's Lightning, I wouldn't be surprised if Radiance were to pass on it because of the poor quality of the master (that is if they were even interested in releasing it in the first place).

Carlotta’s Blu-ray release of De Seta’s Banditi a Orgoloso and his shorts looks like a great package to get a similar release from Radiance.

Re Naruse: I'd honestly buy a Radiance DVD if the source is good enough for SD at least.

TMDaines wrote:Carlotta’s Blu-ray release of De Seta’s Banditi a Orgoloso and his shorts looks like a great package to get a similar release from Radiance.

I didn’t even know about this Carlotta release. I was so impressed by the De Seta shorts on the Criterion Channel that I might buy it despite the lack of English subs.

Matt wrote: Tue Nov 21, 2023 12:50 am

TMDaines wrote:Carlotta’s Blu-ray release of De Seta’s Banditi a Orgoloso and his shorts looks like a great package to get a similar release from Radiance.

I didn’t even know about this Carlotta release. I was so impressed by the De Seta shorts on the Criterion Channel that I might buy it despite the lack of English subs.

Yeah, on my wishlist for sure. Can always flip it if Criterion, Radiance or maybe the BFI do a similar package.

Black Friday 4/£40 sale is live. and a clue for next month, is anyone shocked:

Join us next month for more Toei goodness...

ryannichols7 wrote: Wed Nov 22, 2023 9:06 am Black Friday 4/£40 sale is live

I didn't realize they had limited slipcase editions of some titles for the same price as the regular editions (at least within this sale's listings). They look nice.

Also, the 4/£40 pricing works out great for the U.S. - shipping's costly, but they also remove what appears to be VAT baked into the sale prices, so it almost evens out.

TMDaines wrote: Tue Nov 21, 2023 12:45 pm

Matt wrote: Tue Nov 21, 2023 12:50 am

TMDaines wrote:Carlotta’s Blu-ray release of De Seta’s Banditi a Orgoloso and his shorts looks like a great package to get a similar release from Radiance.

I didn’t even know about this Carlotta release. I was so impressed by the De Seta shorts on the Criterion Channel that I might buy it despite the lack of English subs.

Yeah, on my wishlist for sure. Can always flip it if Criterion, Radiance or maybe the BFI do a similar package.

Have the Carlotta BR now & it's a very nice package & presentation... The ten De Seta shorts are from 2019 4K restorations and are now all in the correct aspect ratios - 5 in Cinemascope 2.35:1 and 5 in Academy 4:3... Carlotta's 2010 DVD (and also an Italian counterpart) had them all from an earlier restoration as Academy 4:3 ratio, thus cutting off a substantial part of the picture in half of the shorts...

But the new grading is 150% Ritrovata'd.

My first Radiance/Raro is on the way: Gang War in Milan. Curious to see what they can do with the old remaster, how much better it can look with sturdy and intelligent encoding, and very much looking forward to enjoying prime Lenzi's clean, sharp and economical approach to ferocious subject matter.

charal wrote: Wed Nov 15, 2023 9:19 am 35mm.film has many restored Polish films with excellent English subtitles. Two Krolikiewicz films are available (especially the excellent THROUGH AND THROUGH). Remember to engage the English friendly option on the website. The site is free to use but you need to set up a login.

Thanks for the tip, wasn't aware 35mm stores some restored Krolikiewicz. Both films ("TAT" and "Wieczne pretensje") are spectacular. Still, my 2 faves from the Kino Polska box set were "Dancing Hawk" and "Zabicie Ciotki". There is also "Pekosinski Case" from 1993 that people in Poland rave about. Never seen that one before.

All in all the box devoted to Krolikiewicz would be my release of the year for sure.

New releases: A Story Written in Water, Suzhou River, The Bounty Hunter trilogy, and Tony Arzenta.

Newsletter clue > Up next: not a book by Tess Gerritsen

So, will we get Alan Rudolph's Choose Me? Fingers crossed...

As a Wakayama fan, I just couldn't say no to the Bounty Hunter set. Radiance continue to deliver the goods!

Looks like the Yoshida is a single pressing (3000 copies).

One of these days Radiance will release something that makes me say "nah,I'm good" as soon as I hear about it, but today is not that day. A pity that there's no Raro title, although Tony Arzenta is one in spirit.

Glad for more Italian crime films. Loved the Lenzi, Gang War in Milan, which I felt was his most controlled and mature film: a fascinating battle of wits between two rival gangs with the two in a constant state of fluctuation. I'd rank it easily among the best of Lenzi, Rome Armed to the Teeth, Almost Human, Free Hand for a Tough Cop and The Cynic, the Rat & the Fist. Blu ray was absolutely solid.

Eagerly awaiting announcements for the two major di Leos, Il Boss and The Italian Connection, which have yet to be given a date.

jtlin wrote: Wed Dec 13, 2023 11:43 am Newsletter clue > Up next: not a book by Tess Gerritsen

So, will we get Alan Rudolph's Choose Me? Fingers crossed...

I hope so too...that would be very cool, especially as it seems relatively unavailable in the UK (the US rights are with MGM so it might be UK-only).

Finch wrote: Wed Dec 13, 2023 12:25 pm As a Wakayama fan, I just couldn't say no to the Bounty Hunter set. Radiance continue to deliver the goods!

The trailer looks great fun, an essential purchase! I love chanbara and Spaghetti Westerns, why not have both?

dadaistnun wrote: Wed Dec 13, 2023 1:17 pm Looks like the Yoshida is a single pressing (3000 copies).

And even more essential for this reason (though I said the same about the Taviani and Hui). Really cool to see Fran revisit this filmmaker, quite unexpectedly! I wonder if the same could be done for Jissoji (cue a Radiance release of Ultraman...).