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I've just received the two-disc DVD set Kieślowski: Documentarist, produced by WFDiF in Poland, and am delighted to confirm that it was well worth the purchase even beyond the specific reasons I had to get it (namely, decent copies of Workers '71 and Before the Rally, which I'd previously only seen as fuzzy low-res MP4s, and any copy at all of I Don't Know, one of the few Kieślowski titles to elude me so completely that I couldn't even track down an unsubtitled copy).

First of all, the package is fully bilingual in Polish and English, including the booklet. Secondly, on the evidence of disc one, all of these are fresh transfers - I did side-by-side comparisons with my older copies of From the City of Łódź, I Was a Soldier, Factory, Refrain, Bricklayer and X-Ray and in all cases the new edition was unquestionably superior. The four black-and-white films were noticeably contrastier before, and the colour films grainier - so I suspect they may have gone back to original negs this time round (this is highly plausible given that WFDiF made the films in the first place). There's a reference to "restoration" at the back of the booklet, but it doesn't go into details, except to confirm that cinematographer Jacek Petrycki and sound recordist Michał Żarnecki were involved.

Anyway, this is what's in the package:

Disc 1

From the City of Łódź (Z miasta Łodzi, 1969)
I Was a Soldier (Byłem żołnierzem, 1970
Factory (Fabryka, 1970)
Before the Rally (Przed rajdem, 1971)
Workers 1971: Nothing About Us Without Us (Robotnicy 1971: Nic o nas bez nas, 1971)
Refrain (Refren, 1972)
Bricklayer (Murarz, 1973)
X-Ray (Prześwietlenie, 1974)

DVD 2

Curriculum Vitae (Życiorys, 1975)
Hospital (Szpital, 1976)
Clapperboard (Klaps, 1976)
I Don't Know (Nie wiem, 1976)
From a Night Porter's Point of View (Z punktu widzenia nocnego portiera, 1977)
Seven Women of Different Ages (Siedem kobiet w różnym wieku, 1978)
Station (Dworzec, 1980)
Talking Heads (Gadające głowy, 1980)

Hi,

Where can you purchase this DVD set? I don't see it on the website, and I looked on BluDVD.pl and don't see it htere. Any info would be most appreciated.
Thanks,

Most Polish retailers seem to have it - Empik, Punkt44, etc.

I got mine from Empik 20 euros shipped by courier. Merlin seem to have become Walmart in recent times

I deliberately didn't mention Merlin!

I'll miss that tank-proof packaging!

Empik's not too bad, but Punkt44 left a bit to be desired.

Thanks for the info!!

MichaelB wrote: Fri Jan 17, 2020 5:29 pm Further gaps can be filled by WFDIF's superb recent collection of the documentaries (DVD only, but recent restorations and completely English-friendly - and it includes such previously unreleased rarities as Workers '71 and I Don't Know), at which point you'll have the overwhelming majority of his output, and pretty much everything that Kieślowski himself placed any creative value on.

Oh nice, I was just about to lament the unavailability of PWA's set, but the WFDIF looks more comprehensive (only excluding First Love, but that's on the Arrow set)

Yes, the PWA set is now redundant, as fine as it was in its day. I can confirm first-hand that the WFDIF transfers are superior in every case.

Oh, and I see I carelessly left out the title: it's Kieślowski Dokumentalista - it still appears to be in print. And I described it in more detail here.

MichaelB wrote: Fri Jan 17, 2020 5:46 pm Oh, and I see I carelessly left out the title: it's Kieślowski Dokumentalista - it still appears to be in print. And I described it in more detail here.

If anyone else is interested in this, I just ordered five copies directly from Poland. PM me if you'd like to go in on a copy--they'll probably come to about $13 shipped if you live in the U.S.

EDIT: This offer has now expired

swo17 wrote:

MichaelB wrote: Fri Jan 17, 2020 5:46 pm Oh, and I see I carelessly left out the title: it's Kieślowski Dokumentalista - it still appears to be in print. And I described it in more detail here.

If anyone else is interested in this, I just ordered five copies directly from Poland. PM me if you'd like to go in on a copy--they'll probably come to about $13 shipped if you live in the U.S.

I’d have been well in for this if you lived in the UK. Where’s you buy them from?

I should probably make another bulk Empik order at some point, so if there's any interest in a UK-specific bulk buy, it looks as though it'll be about nine quid plus whatever form of postage is preferred, which is an insane bargain for what you get.

(Although I don't want to tread on swo's toes - I'd rather all his were accounted for first!)

No, you should totally do a UK-specific one--if I had to pay international shipping on these it would defeat the purpose. And any I don't sell here I can just list on Amazon Marketplace

I got mine here for half price

Woah, maybe I should have ordered more copies--these five are all already spoken for now

New copies of the Kieslowski Documentarist 2-DVD set seems to be available from a seller on Amazon US at a pretty reasonable price. They currently have eight more copies. (~$22)

Anyone else can do the same thing I did--they're basically $6 a pop plus a $20 flat shipping cost, which was why I bought in bulk. It's actually cheaper than the Amazon US option even if you buy just one. It's not like this has gone OOP or anything

swo17 wrote: Sat Jan 18, 2020 1:09 am Anyone else can do the same thing I did--they're basically $6 a pop plus a $20 flat shipping cost, which was why I bought in bulk. It's actually cheaper than the Amazon US option even if you buy just one. It's not like this has gone OOP or anything

I got as far as the submitting the order page (without creating an account), but it was unclear about whether they took credit cards (eCards?), so I didn't place the order. When do they take the credit card info? Perhaps that was the next step after placing the order? Seemed kind of backwards.

Sorting out the money after placing the order is normal in my experience of dealing with central European sellers. You still have the option of cancelling if you're not happy with the payment options.

fdm wrote: Sat Jan 18, 2020 10:18 am

swo17 wrote: Sat Jan 18, 2020 1:09 am Anyone else can do the same thing I did--they're basically $6 a pop plus a $20 flat shipping cost, which was why I bought in bulk. It's actually cheaper than the Amazon US option even if you buy just one. It's not like this has gone OOP or anything

I got as far as the submitting the order page (without creating an account), but it was unclear about whether they took credit cards (eCards?), so I didn't place the order. When do they take the credit card info? Perhaps that was the next step after placing the order? Seemed kind of backwards.

I wasn't sure how that would work either but after I placed the order it took me to an English-language site where I was able to pay with a Mastercard

Anyone have any other recommendations from the shop selling the Kieslowski docs? It looks like some of their other Polish releases have English subs, but I'm not familiar with any of the titles other than the Holland.

I'll give it another shot in the next few days, perhaps find something(s) else to go along with it. Thanks.

dvdmax.pl works out cheaper for one off purchases, at least for the UK, as shipping is much lower at less than 20 zloty, even when adding a lot from their wider range of Blu-rays to the cart.

Re dvdmax.pl, direct order made it to my credit card so almost a $10 savings over getting it from them via amazon.com. Now it just has to make it to me.

Does anyone know what the audio format is on these discs? I can't seem to find any reference to the format(s) anywhere in the documentation. (If you found it, could you tell me where?) Thanks -- I'm trying to complete the disc information for a home video catalog.

BTW, it seems to be a fantastic set.