184, 517-518 by Brakhage: An Anthology (Volumes One and Two)

[ptmd]

It's supposed to be a 3-disc set and, like you, I'm extremely grateful for this. In other news, Pip Chodorov told me that Re:Voir is working on a blu-ray of Anticipation of the Night (which, somewhat inexplicably, is not included on By Brakhage 2).

[knives]

Is this second Brakhage set also going to be Criterion or will it be by a different company?

[Adam]

Criterion

[ouatitw]

It's supposed to be a 3-disc set and, like you, I'm extremely grateful for this. In other news, Pip Chodorov told me that Re:Voir is working on a blu-ray of Anticipation of the Night (which, somewhat inexplicably, is not included on By Brakhage 2).

Amazing news as well, hopefully its region free.

I think my biggest disappointment with the set is that Texts of Light isn't included, but I guess you can't please everyone. I would have much rather had Texts than the 23rd Psalm Branch, but others might feel differently.

In any case I'm pretty grateful for this set, hopefully it will be released before the end of summer (I'm just wishing though).

[kidc85]

(I'm not crazy about The Process, but it's a good example of that period of Brakhage's work)

What do you mean by this? What 'period' was he in at this point?

[Cinephrenic]

From private source:

The Criterion set will be DVDs, but as all transfers are in high definition they would be able to, and may consider re-releasing them in Bluray at a later date. For now, not sure of the initial release date yet. We're probably still some months away, but the titles will be:

The Wonder Ring
The Dead
Two: Creeley/McClure
23rd Psalm Branch
Scenes From Under Childhood (Part One)
The Machine of Eden
Star Garden
Desert
The Process
Burial Path
The Domain of the Moment
Murder Psalm
Duplicity III
Arabic 12
Visions in Meditatiion 1-4
Unconscious London Strata
Boulder Blues and Pearls And
The Mammals of Victoria
From: First Hymn to the NIght - Novalis
I Take These Truths
The Cat of the Worm's Green Realm
Yggdrasill: Whose Roots Are Stars in the Human Mind
Ellipsis #5
Persians 1-3
Chinese Series

Marilyn Brakhage
Victoria BC

[Noiretirc]

Um.....well thanks for that, Marilyn.

I can't wait for this.

This might be of interest to some

[Jun-Dai]

She said actually that it won't be Blu-ray yet, alas, but the telecines are being done in appropriate HD for the future possibility.

But presumably there's little point doing HD telecines from Super 8 originals?

I think that's why the BFI's upcoming multi-disc Jeff Keen set comprises a mixture of Blu-ray and DVD discs, because with some of Keen's films originating on Standard 8 (i.e. with an even smaller picture area than Super 8), there wasn't felt to be any point with scanning them to 1080p, since the SD transfers comfortably resolved all the relevant information.

Doesn't that depend on what the "relevant information" is? I mean, if some footage is representational (as opposed to, say, something painted or affixed to the film), then it's possible that you aren't really losing any significant detail on the object represented with a 480p transfer of 8mm. But while the resolution of the film might be less than 480 lines, the flaws and texture of the film will not, and when you start thinking about the texture of the film itself, it seems like there would be a discernible difference between a 480p and a 1080p transfer when talking about things like film grain, scratches, color separation.

If those details aren't important to the film, then a higher-resolution transfer would be wholly unnecessary—but that seems like a big if, especially when talking about avant-garde films.

Of course, if you're running a business (aren't we all), then the question of "good enough" becomes pretty important.

[MichaelB]

Doesn't that depend on what the "relevant information" is? I mean, if some footage is representational (as opposed to, say, something painted or affixed to the film), then it's possible that you aren't really losing any significant detail on the object represented with a 480p transfer of 8mm. But while the resolution of the film might be less than 480 lines, the flaws and texture of the film will not, and when you start thinking about the texture of the film itself, it seems like there would be a discernible difference between a 480p and a 1080p transfer when talking about things like film grain, scratches, color separation.

First of all, this is a British release, so it's actually 576p. Secondly, the percentage of Standard 8-sourced material on the DVDs is pretty small - the vast majority of the films on those discs were mastered on decidedly lo-fi SD video (usually VHS) in the 1980s and 1990s, so there's really no point in going to the extra expense of a 1080p transfer.

Of course, if you're running a business (aren't we all), then the question of "good enough" becomes pretty important.

Well, of course - and clearly the Jeff Keen box was a big risk regardless of medium. So it made even more sense to achieve economies of scale by ensuring that two of the discs could be in both the DVD and Blu-ray boxes. But, having seen many of the films, I really don't think there's any significant difference in quality - which is emphatically not the case with Keen's 16mm and twin-screen Super 8 work, which has rightly been given a full 1080p transfer.

[Mr Sausage]

I moved the discussion of Warhol and co. here so that it can be as inclusive at it wants without raising concerns over being off-topic.

[ptmd]

What do you mean by this? What 'period' was he in at this point?

I just saw this and realized I never responded. The Process is an example of the series of films about light textures that Brakhage was making in the 1970s at the same time that he was developing his major autobiographical epics (Scenes from Under Childhood, Sincerity, and Duplicity). The culmination of this, in many respects, is The Text of Light, but The Process has a very different rhythmic structure. Brakhage was trying out some of the polyvalent montage ideas that were perfected in The Riddle of Lumen, which also came out in 1972 and is one of his very best films. Presumably that's not being included because it's already available, in a very good transfer, on the NFPF's Treasures From American Film Archives: Avant-Garde Cinema 1947-1986 DVD set.

Don't get me wrong, I'm happy that The Process is included here, but it struck me as a bit odd because, unlike most of the other titles on the list, it's never been considered a major Brakhage film.

[Matt]

Volume 2 and Blu-ray set of both volumes announced.

[swo17]

Technically, Volume 2 is spine 517 and the box including both on Blu is 518.

[domino harvey]

May I suggest: 184 & 517 / 518 by Brakhage: an anthology (Volumes 1 & 2) ?

[swo17]

Fine, though it would be preferable if you could fit a reference to B.D. Wong in there somewhere.

[domino harvey]

Speaking of, where's the Criterion edition of Slappy and the Stinkers?!

[MichaelB]

I'm assuming that the Blu-ray is region-locked, though I'd be thrilled to be proved wrong.

[denti alligator]

I wonder if the Dante Quartet will be non-anamorphic on Blu.

[James]

The Blu-ray Brakhage Collection is going to be Criterion's best release ever! I just hope Fred Camper's comments from the first volume are brought over to the collection's booklet, which seems to include comments on the films from the second volume.

[TheGodfather]

Having discovered Brakhage on the Criterion dvd only last year (and loved it) I`m curious to see how it`s gonna look on blu-ray.
Blind buy

[ouatitw]

the blurays are a must own for me.

I noticed this also:

Brakhage V1 - 242 minutes
Brakhage V2 - 454 minutes

V2 is over 200 minutes longer, I can't wait!

[mteller]

the blurays are a must own for me.

I noticed this also:

Brakhage V1 - 242 minutes
Brakhage V2 - 454 minutes

V2 is over 200 minutes longer, I can't wait!

23rd Psalm Branch is one of the few I've seen from the new set, and it's about an hour and a half.

Getting all these on Blu is going to be amazing. IMO, this'll be hard to top for release of the year.

[stereo]

Finally, an autopsy on Blu-Ray.

[hangman]

PLUS: A booklet featuring film program notes by Marilyn Brakhage and write-ups of the films by Brakhage expert Fred Camper

I was hoping he'd write again for the booklet, and he did, his write-ups for the first volume was immensely helpful for delving into the films.

Wow Criterion's just on a roll with these films O.o oh my poor wallet

[MichaelB]

Finally, an autopsy on Blu-Ray.

Hmm - maybe that'll persuade my (medical) wife to let us go multiregion?