Artificial Eye / Curzon: Andrei Tarkovsky Collection

Vinegar Syndrome, Deaf Crocodile, Imprint, Cinema Guild, and more.
Post Reply
Message
Author
User avatar
jsteffe
Joined: Sat Mar 31, 2007 9:00 am
Location: Atlanta, GA

Re: Artificial Eye / Curzon Film World

#201 Post by jsteffe » Sat Sep 24, 2016 11:04 pm

This is very encouraging! I'll order the Blu-ray of The Sacrifice, since it's available separately from the rest of the set.

Berzeli
Joined: Fri Nov 01, 2013 1:13 pm

Re: Artificial Eye / Curzon Film World

#202 Post by Berzeli » Sun Sep 25, 2016 7:02 am

jsteffe wrote:In the Kino thread, Berzeli noted that the Swedish Film Institute performed a digital restoration a few years back. (After the Kino Blu-ray came out.) Let's hope that Artificial Eye is using this restoration since it supposedly looked good.
That they did. Though I realise that I accidentally wrote positive in that thread rather than interpositive which my notes say it was.
FrauBlucher wrote:Beaver...Sacrifice
Tooze wrote:The Sacrifice could be from The Swedish Film Institute source(?!) although does not resemble that 2004 DVDs color scheme - nor the Kino Blu-ray.
And it looks like that is what is the basis of the AE blu. Won't swear on it since caps (and beaver caps at that) aren't the best way to accurately judge these things.
Also, Gary if you read this, the restoration was done in 2013/14 the DVD is from 2004. So it definitely can be from The Swedish Film Institute and look nothing like the DVD.

kekid
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 9:55 pm

Re: Artificial Eye / Curzon Film World

#203 Post by kekid » Mon Sep 26, 2016 5:25 pm

When the box? If 4 out of 7 films are good (Rublev, Mirror, Solaris, Sacrifice), box may still be the preferable option.

User avatar
jegharfangetmigenmyg
Joined: Wed Nov 16, 2011 7:52 am

Re: Artificial Eye / Curzon Film World

#204 Post by jegharfangetmigenmyg » Wed Sep 28, 2016 7:00 am

The rumor is that it'll be out in time for Christmas sale, isn't it?

Hopefully, someone will add the AE for comparison with the Japanese blu-ray which blows the US edition out of the water even more than does the AE, IMO: http://caps-a-holic.com/c_list.php?c=2441" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If it doesn't best the Japanese blu-ray, we're down to 3 (2 if you already own the Criterions of Ivan and Solaris) out of 7 titles, and then it'll certainly be cheaper to buy Rublev and Mirror on stand alone discs... Very disappointing overall, I must say.

kekid
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 9:55 pm

Re: Artificial Eye / Curzon Film World

#205 Post by kekid » Tue Nov 01, 2016 11:01 pm

Any update on the Tarkovsky box this year?

User avatar
jsteffe
Joined: Sat Mar 31, 2007 9:00 am
Location: Atlanta, GA

Re: Artificial Eye / Curzon Film World

#206 Post by jsteffe » Fri Nov 04, 2016 10:52 pm

I finally ordered the Artificial Eye Blu-ray of Tarkovsky's The Sacrifice, and it's a huge improvement over the old Kino Blu-ray. They must have used the restoration, though it's not mentioned anywhere that I can see in the package. Detail, contrast and color are all dramatically more refined and delineated. I felt that a couple of shots here and there looked overly digital, but nothing outside the norm for what you occasionally find in digital restorations like this, and nothing too serious, either. The film's carefully designed scheme of subtle gradations of color and monochrome comes through clearly and precisely.

This particular Blu-ray is a must-buy, regardless of whether you've seen the film before or not!

Pepsi
Joined: Mon Aug 23, 2010 1:01 pm

Re: Artificial Eye / Curzon Film World

#207 Post by Pepsi » Thu Nov 17, 2016 5:00 am

The AE Tarkovsky BD's are in Base.com 8,69 £ for UK, and for EU approx. 12€ (including shipping).

kekid
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 9:55 pm

Re: Artificial Eye / Curzon Film World

#208 Post by kekid » Thu Jan 12, 2017 7:57 pm

Do we still believe AE is going to release their Tarkovsky blu-rays as a box set?

User avatar
MichaelB
Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2006 6:20 pm
Location: Worthing
Contact:

Re: Artificial Eye / Curzon Film World

#209 Post by MichaelB » Fri Jan 13, 2017 6:09 am

Have they ever said they would?

User avatar
rapta
Joined: Sun Jun 29, 2014 5:04 pm
Location: Hants, UK

Re: Artificial Eye / Curzon Film World

#210 Post by rapta » Fri Jan 13, 2017 10:22 am

Yes, they repeatedly informed Blu-ray.com that a box set would follow (as with their other filmmaker collections).

User avatar
GaryC
Joined: Fri Mar 28, 2008 3:56 pm
Location: Aldershot, Hampshire, UK

Re: Artificial Eye / Curzon Film World

#211 Post by GaryC » Sat Jan 14, 2017 5:46 am

I haven't seen the new Blu-ray of Andrei Rublev but I presume the horse falling down the stairs has been precut? The BBFC recertified it in 2016 without cuts and there's no mention of the scene in the consumer advice.

I ask as this scene was in Artificial Eye's previous DVD, which was a port of Ruscico's edition. I suspect that was accidental. AE had precut the scene before submitting the film to the BBFC for their cinema reissue in 1991 (I confirmed this with them at the time) and presumably did with their VHS release certified the same year, also passed uncut. So I guess that when they released the DVD someone assumed that because they already had a video certificate they didn't need to resubmit it, not realising that they had a version with a scene which was in clear breach of the Animals Act.

User avatar
Roger Ryan
Joined: Wed Apr 28, 2010 12:04 pm
Location: A Midland town spread and darkened into a city

Artificial Eye/Curzon: Andrei Tarkovsky Collection

#212 Post by Roger Ryan » Mon Jan 16, 2017 2:09 pm

I have not seen the Artificial Eye Blu-ray release, but could the actual shot in contention be the one that followed in the initial 205 minute edit of the film: the horse being impaled by the spear? The Blu-ray is a transfer of the 183 minute re-edit (done by Tarkovsky) which retained the shot of the horse falling from the stairs but deletes the subsequent, more violent shot. Perhaps the version you mention screening in 1991 was the 205 minute edit that demanded the impaling shot be cut to avoid breaching the animal cruelty act, but allowed the tumble down the stairs shot? The more recent releases of this film have all been the 183 minute edit since superior elements exist for this version whereas the Criterion-released 205 minute edit was based on a washed-out print.

User avatar
domino harvey
Dot Com Dom
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm

Re: Artificial Eye / Curzon Film World

#213 Post by domino harvey » Tue Jan 17, 2017 1:28 am

I just watched the Artificial Eye Blu-ray and, having never seen the film before, I can tell you that we see the horse fall over the railings of the staircase and land, and within the same shot we briefly see the horse on the ground. The film then cuts to the face of an older woman in a new scene. The music cue is unaltered from horse to woman, so I presume this was precut or configured this way in advance. I do not recall a scene of a horse being impaled with a spear, but I wasn't looking for it either, whereas the stairs bit I remembered from these posts. Hope this helps!

User avatar
Roger Ryan
Joined: Wed Apr 28, 2010 12:04 pm
Location: A Midland town spread and darkened into a city

Re: Artificial Eye / Curzon Film World

#214 Post by Roger Ryan » Tue Jan 17, 2017 9:42 am

domino harvey wrote:...I do not recall a scene of a horse being impaled with a spear, but I wasn't looking for it either...
The shot of the horse being impaled with a spear is only present in Tarkovsky's initial 205 minute edit (often called The Passion of Andrei Rublev) which is the version Criterion released (Spine #34). Tarkovsky edited the film down to 183 minutes himself, both to appease Soviet censorship and because he came to feel that the film would play better at a shorter length. He removed the spear/horse shot himself.

Interestingly, the notes regarding this film on Criterion's website do not acknowledge that the director himself oversaw what could be called the "final cut": "Too experimental, too frightening, too violent, and too politically complicated to be released officially, Andrei Rublev has existed only in shortened, censored versions until the Criterion Collection created this complete 205-minute director’s cut special edition."

If a Blu-ray of this film ever comes out on Criterion, it will almost certainly be the shorter version that was restored by Mosfilm although I could see the 205 minute edit being included as a bonus version.

User avatar
MichaelB
Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2006 6:20 pm
Location: Worthing
Contact:

Re: Artificial Eye / Curzon Film World

#215 Post by MichaelB » Wed Jan 18, 2017 6:21 am

Whatever Criterion says, all evidence suggests that the 183-minute cut is Tarkovsky's final and preferred one. It was initially carried out due to censorship requests, but Tarkovsky also took the opportunity to refine and tighten several sequences, very much to their benefit. (I'm thinking of the prologue in particular.)

There's obviously a good case for including both cuts in a single edition, but as far as I'm concerned it's the 183-minute cut that's the definitive one. Longer doesn't always mean better.

User avatar
chatterjees
Joined: Tue Apr 02, 2013 6:08 pm
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Contact:

Re: Artificial Eye / Curzon Film World

#216 Post by chatterjees » Fri Jan 20, 2017 1:00 pm

kekid wrote:Do we still believe AE is going to release their Tarkovsky blu-rays as a box set?
They just announced it on their FB page. The The Deluxe Collection box is coming out on April 10.


Special features:

• Andrei Tarkovsky’s metaphysical dream zone: Selected scene commentary for all seven films by psychoanalyst Mary Wild

177-page book

• Ivan’s Childhood: Interviews with composer Vyaaheslav Ovchinnikov, cinematographer Vadim Usov and actor Evgeniy Zharikov

• Andrei Rublev: Making-of featurette; interview with actor Yuriy Nazarov

• Mirror: Interviews with screenwriter A. Misharin, composer Eduard Artemev and actor Oleg Yankovskiy; featurette

• Solaris: Interview with actor Natalia Bondarchuk; Donatas Banionis featurette

• Stalker: Interviews with cinematographer Aleksandr Knyazhinsky and set designer Rashit Safiullin

• Nostalgia: Interviews with co-writer Tonino Guerra and Marina Tarkovsky

• The Sacrifice: Video essay ‘Poetic Harmony’; audio commentary with author and translator Layla Alexander-Garrett and James King from Curzon Artificial Eye

FILMS:
Ivan's Childhood
Andrei Rublev
Mirror
Solaris
Stalker
Nostalgia
The Sacrifice

http://www.curzonartificialeye.com/andr ... VGh15TL.99

User avatar
domino harvey
Dot Com Dom
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm

Re: Artificial Eye / Curzon Film World

#217 Post by domino harvey » Fri Jan 20, 2017 1:58 pm

This limited-edition Blu-ray box set brings together all the seven features from the true master of cinema, Andrei Tarkovsky.
Image

User avatar
dda1996a
Joined: Tue Oct 27, 2015 6:14 am

Re: Artificial Eye / Curzon: Andrei Tarkovsky Collection

#218 Post by dda1996a » Fri Jan 20, 2017 3:14 pm

Who is the master for you then?
Wondering how much this will cost. Considering all the backlash against the transfer I'm hesitant to buy it, but for the right price anything is possible.
Are all the extras from the individual releases available here as well?

User avatar
swo17
Bloodthirsty Butcher
Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2008 10:25 am
Location: SLC, UT

Re: Artificial Eye / Curzon: Andrei Tarkovsky Collection

#219 Post by swo17 » Fri Jan 20, 2017 3:19 pm

Does there have to be only one?

User avatar
dda1996a
Joined: Tue Oct 27, 2015 6:14 am

Re: Artificial Eye / Curzon: Andrei Tarkovsky Collection

#220 Post by dda1996a » Fri Jan 20, 2017 5:55 pm

There isn't obviously one master to rule them all... I was just interested in hearing who domino considers masters of cinema

User avatar
swo17
Bloodthirsty Butcher
Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2008 10:25 am
Location: SLC, UT

Re: Artificial Eye / Curzon: Andrei Tarkovsky Collection

#221 Post by swo17 » Fri Jan 20, 2017 5:56 pm

I once saw Jess Franco at the top of his list, though it could have been in reverse order.

User avatar
Dr Amicus
Joined: Thu Feb 15, 2007 10:20 am
Location: Guernsey

Re: Artificial Eye / Curzon: Andrei Tarkovsky Collection

#222 Post by Dr Amicus » Fri Jan 20, 2017 6:44 pm

Stanley Kramer.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

User avatar
domino harvey
Dot Com Dom
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm

Re: Artificial Eye / Curzon: Andrei Tarkovsky Collection

#223 Post by domino harvey » Sat Jan 21, 2017 1:10 pm

dda1996a wrote:There isn't obviously one master to rule them all... I was just interested in hearing who domino considers masters of cinema
I would object to any director, even one I loved, being referred to as "the true master of cinema," as it implies there could ever be just one. I am sure that even the most fervent lovers of Tarkovsky would admit that other directors have as much a claim on the title as their man here. I know it's just lazy ad copy, but still!

It's also entirely possible that I fell victim to this brand of Oneism myself in the past with regards to naming either Hitchcock or Godard as such (which itself is of course defeating the purpose of only picking one), so there's your actual answer as well!

User avatar
dda1996a
Joined: Tue Oct 27, 2015 6:14 am

Re: Artificial Eye / Curzon: Andrei Tarkovsky Collection

#224 Post by dda1996a » Wed Mar 08, 2017 4:02 pm

So in reading Sculpting in Time and rewatching (probably the most visceral theater experience I ever had) The Sacrifice on the big screen, I really want to have all his films on Blu Ray. So I wasn't entirely sure, what AE Tarkovsky blus are worth buying? I'm guessing I should wait for Criterion's Stalker, but other than that how good are the rest?

User avatar
MichaelB
Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2006 6:20 pm
Location: Worthing
Contact:

Re: Artificial Eye / Curzon: Andrei Tarkovsky Collection

#225 Post by MichaelB » Wed Mar 08, 2017 4:42 pm

Avoid Nostalghia. Other than that and Stalker, they're pretty good - and The Sacrifice is meant to be the best edition available anywhere.

Post Reply