Mr. Bongo Films

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feihong
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Re: Mr. Bongo Films

#401 Post by feihong » Fri Apr 10, 2015 1:13 pm

Little disappointed then, that Immortal Story isn't going to make it to blu ray. But the other announcements are very nice.

Calvin
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Re: Mr. Bongo Films

#402 Post by Calvin » Fri Apr 10, 2015 1:26 pm

Too Much Johnson standalone?! Interesting move. The Immortal Story is being released on Blu-Ray by Gaumont later this year, thankfully.

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Drucker
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Re: Mr. Bongo Films

#403 Post by Drucker » Fri Apr 10, 2015 2:04 pm

For what it's worth, the Kino version of The Stranger is excellent and my eyes felt it did a great job matching the 35mm print I saw at Film Forum earlier this year. Maybe blacks could be a little richer, but overall another great Library of Congress-based transfer.

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Roger Ryan
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Re: Mr. Bongo Films

#404 Post by Roger Ryan » Fri Apr 10, 2015 3:02 pm

Drucker wrote:For what it's worth, the Kino version of The Stranger is excellent and my eyes felt it did a great job matching the 35mm print I saw at Film Forum earlier this year. Maybe blacks could be a little richer, but overall another great Library of Congress-based transfer.
It should be pointed out that the print KINO used is actually missing about twenty-five seconds of footage resulting in an awkward jump three-quarters into the film...
SpoilerShow
...and the loss of most of the shots showing Kindler sawing through the ladder rungs - fortunately, a long shot of this action remains so the peril is still established.
That said, the Library of Congress transfer is from a first generation print made in 1946 so not only is the clarity of the image better than we've seen before, but the final shot of Edward G. Robinson is extended by a few seconds making for a less abrupt close. The film was originally distributed by RKO and featured a credit saying as much superimposed over this last shot. When the film was re-released by Independent Releasing Organization a few years later, the final shot was truncated to avoid showing the outdated credit. This version is the one that appeared on all subsequent home video releases until the KINO Blu-ray.

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John Hodson
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Re: Mr. Bongo Films

#405 Post by John Hodson » Fri Apr 10, 2015 4:02 pm

rapta wrote:
John Hodson wrote:Their press release runs:

To celebrate the centenary of Orson Welles’ birth, Mr Bongo Films is delighted to announce the release of a brand new restored 50th Anniversary Edition of his masterpiece Falstaff Chimes at Midnight.

One of the most radical and groundbreaking of all Shakespeare adaptations, Chimes at Midnight was Orson Welles’ favourite of his films and will be in cinemas from 1 May 2015 as part of the 100 years of Orson Welles celebrations. This will be followed by a DVD and Blu-ray release on 29 June 2015 alongside the first UK release of Welles’ debut feature Too Much Johnson which was amazingly rediscovered and restored in the last decade, the superb Immortal Story starring Jeanne Moreau and Orson Welles and the gripping thriller The Stranger, the first film after World War II to show footage of concentration camps starring Edward G Robinson, Orson Welles and Loretta Young.


If I read it right, the latter two are DVD only.
Where does it say the latter two (or three) are DVD-only? It just says "alongside", but doesn't specify if they're on DVD, Blu-ray, or both. In fact since it says "DVD and Blu-ray release" for Falstaff, surely it would imply the same for the others? Either way, I'm definitely considering Falstaff if it's a restored edition, and will think about getting the others if the transfers are equally as impressive!

EDIT:

This post on their site confirms Falstaff on Blu-ray and DVD, Too Much Johnson on Blu-ray and DVD, and The Immortal Story on DVD only. However, there's no mention of The Stranger...which is odd. I thought The Immortal Story was going to be coupled with Too Much Johnson? Maybe they meant The Stranger will be DVD-only?
I've just double checked the full press release; The Stranger *will* be on Blu and DVD; Immortal Story is the only DVD only.

Calvin
Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2011 11:12 am

Mr. Bongo Films

#406 Post by Calvin » Fri Apr 10, 2015 4:30 pm

Thanks for that detail Roger Ryan. It sounds like an ideal release of The Stranger would be an HD scan of the MGM print with the Library of Congress ending.

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rapta
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Re: Mr. Bongo Films

#407 Post by rapta » Sat Apr 11, 2015 1:09 pm

John Hodson wrote:
rapta wrote:
John Hodson wrote:Their press release runs:

To celebrate the centenary of Orson Welles’ birth, Mr Bongo Films is delighted to announce the release of a brand new restored 50th Anniversary Edition of his masterpiece Falstaff Chimes at Midnight.

One of the most radical and groundbreaking of all Shakespeare adaptations, Chimes at Midnight was Orson Welles’ favourite of his films and will be in cinemas from 1 May 2015 as part of the 100 years of Orson Welles celebrations. This will be followed by a DVD and Blu-ray release on 29 June 2015 alongside the first UK release of Welles’ debut feature Too Much Johnson which was amazingly rediscovered and restored in the last decade, the superb Immortal Story starring Jeanne Moreau and Orson Welles and the gripping thriller The Stranger, the first film after World War II to show footage of concentration camps starring Edward G Robinson, Orson Welles and Loretta Young.


If I read it right, the latter two are DVD only.
Where does it say the latter two (or three) are DVD-only? It just says "alongside", but doesn't specify if they're on DVD, Blu-ray, or both. In fact since it says "DVD and Blu-ray release" for Falstaff, surely it would imply the same for the others? Either way, I'm definitely considering Falstaff if it's a restored edition, and will think about getting the others if the transfers are equally as impressive!

EDIT:

This post on their site confirms Falstaff on Blu-ray and DVD, Too Much Johnson on Blu-ray and DVD, and The Immortal Story on DVD only. However, there's no mention of The Stranger...which is odd. I thought The Immortal Story was going to be coupled with Too Much Johnson? Maybe they meant The Stranger will be DVD-only?
I've just double checked the full press release; The Stranger *will* be on Blu and DVD; Immortal Story is the only DVD only.
Thanks, my response from Mr Bongo was literally just a link back to the article on their website! Glad you could clear that up. I also asked them whether the other films would be restored like Falstaff is, but they also ignored that question.

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

Re: Mr. Bongo Films

#408 Post by kekid » Sat Apr 11, 2015 5:07 pm

John Hodson wrote:
rapta wrote:
John Hodson wrote:Their press release runs:

To celebrate the centenary of Orson Welles’ birth, Mr Bongo Films is delighted to announce the release of a brand new restored 50th Anniversary Edition of his masterpiece Falstaff Chimes at Midnight.

One of the most radical and groundbreaking of all Shakespeare adaptations, Chimes at Midnight was Orson Welles’ favourite of his films and will be in cinemas from 1 May 2015 as part of the 100 years of Orson Welles celebrations. This will be followed by a DVD and Blu-ray release on 29 June 2015 alongside the first UK release of Welles’ debut feature Too Much Johnson which was amazingly rediscovered and restored in the last decade, the superb Immortal Story starring Jeanne Moreau and Orson Welles and the gripping thriller The Stranger, the first film after World War II to show footage of concentration camps starring Edward G Robinson, Orson Welles and Loretta Young.


If I read it right, the latter two are DVD only.
Where does it say the latter two (or three) are DVD-only? It just says "alongside", but doesn't specify if they're on DVD, Blu-ray, or both. In fact since it says "DVD and Blu-ray release" for Falstaff, surely it would imply the same for the others? Either way, I'm definitely considering Falstaff if it's a restored edition, and will think about getting the others if the transfers are equally as impressive!

EDIT:

This post on their site confirms Falstaff on Blu-ray and DVD, Too Much Johnson on Blu-ray and DVD, and The Immortal Story on DVD only. However, there's no mention of The Stranger...which is odd. I thought The Immortal Story was going to be coupled with Too Much Johnson? Maybe they meant The Stranger will be DVD-only?
I've just double checked the full press release; The Stranger *will* be on Blu and DVD; Immortal Story is the only DVD only.
Any information as to whether Falstaff will have English subtitles? The past releases had very unclear sound, hence subtitles are essential for this film.

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MichaelB
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Re: Mr. Bongo Films

#409 Post by MichaelB » Sun Apr 12, 2015 1:29 pm

kekid wrote:Any information as to whether Falstaff will have English subtitles? The past releases had very unclear sound, hence subtitles are essential for this film.
I'd assume no subtitles unless explicitly confirmed.

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Roger Ryan
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Re: Mr. Bongo Films

#410 Post by Roger Ryan » Mon Apr 13, 2015 9:11 am

Calvin wrote:Thanks for that detail Roger Ryan. It sounds like an ideal release of The Stranger would be an HD scan of the MGM print with the Library of Congress ending.
Actually, I suspect the MGM print may be another generation down from the Library of Congress print, although it's difficult to tell just looking at the extant DVD. For me, the ideal release would be a digitally repaired (removing scratches and speckles) Library of Congress print with the missing footage inserted from the MGM print. Safe to say, the Mr. Bongo release will not be doing this!

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GaryC
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Re: Mr. Bongo Films

#411 Post by GaryC » Tue Apr 14, 2015 12:07 pm

Chimes at Midnight will be getting a UK cinema reissue via Mr Bongo on 1 May. The running time as passed by the BBFC is 116:09.

The only time I've seen this film before now was the last time it was shown on British television - as part of the Welles retrospective BBC2 put on in late 1985 following Welles's death.

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FrauBlucher
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Re: Mr. Bongo Films

#412 Post by FrauBlucher » Tue Apr 28, 2015 4:44 pm


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FrauBlucher
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Re: Mr. Bongo Films

#413 Post by FrauBlucher » Tue May 05, 2015 5:50 pm


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rapta
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Re: Mr. Bongo Films

#414 Post by rapta » Fri May 08, 2015 9:48 pm

Latest word is that The Stranger has been cancelled for some reason. Will report back when we hear more as to why...my guess is an unsuitable master.

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FrauBlucher
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Re: Mr. Bongo Films

#415 Post by FrauBlucher » Fri May 22, 2015 6:56 am


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tenia
Ask Me About My Bassoon
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Re: Mr. Bongo Films

#416 Post by tenia » Fri May 22, 2015 7:41 am

Unfortunately for Bongo, Buttle is essentially telling us not to buy the individual UK releases but to wait for the box set which will contain extras.
He also tell us not to buy Immortal Story but wait for a BD to be released from a brand new HD master.

Weird sales technique, IMO.

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rapta
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Re: Mr. Bongo Films

#417 Post by rapta » Mon May 25, 2015 5:42 pm

Yep, very odd. Cancelled Falstaff for the time being, and will only get it if the box set idea is scrapped (for whatever reason).

Calvin
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Re: Mr. Bongo Films

#418 Post by Calvin » Wed Jun 17, 2015 10:25 am

Blu-Ray releases of Fellini's Casanova, The Saragossa Manuscript and The Hourglass Sanatorium on September 7th

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What A Disgrace
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Re: Mr. Bongo Films

#419 Post by What A Disgrace » Thu Jun 18, 2015 11:27 am

Okay, I'm actually going to buy a Mr Bongo release. I refuse to miss out on those two Wojech Has films.

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ellipsis7
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Re: Mr. Bongo Films

#420 Post by ellipsis7 » Thu Jun 18, 2015 11:36 am

CASANOVA should be a port in of the rather nice HD transfer of the recent restoration used by Carlotta on their BR, and hopefully similarly will include Italian & English release versions of the soundtrack...

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Drucker
Your Future our Drucker
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Re: Mr. Bongo Films

#421 Post by Drucker » Thu Jun 18, 2015 11:44 am

What A Disgrace wrote:Okay, I'm actually going to buy a Mr Bongo release. I refuse to miss out on those two Wojech Has films.
Saragossa Manuscript available in a region-free edition from Zebra.

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sir_luke
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Re: Mr. Bongo Films

#422 Post by sir_luke » Thu Jun 18, 2015 2:34 pm

So is The Hourglass Sanatorium

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FrauBlucher
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Re: Mr Bongo Chimes at Midnight

#423 Post by FrauBlucher » Thu Jun 25, 2015 7:35 am

Ugh, all the more reason to wait out Criterion's release next year.

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tenia
Ask Me About My Bassoon
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Re: Mr. Bongo Films

#424 Post by tenia » Thu Jun 25, 2015 2:15 pm

I just had a look at some screen caps and it is awful. It's like the brightness settings has been set up 20 points too high.
Last edited by tenia on Thu Jun 25, 2015 2:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Roger Ryan
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Re: Mr. Bongo Films

#425 Post by Roger Ryan » Thu Jun 25, 2015 2:24 pm

The restoration done by Filmoteca Española that is making the rounds on DCP this year has weak black levels as well. I was under the impression they were working with less-than-ideal elements. Viewing the Mr. Bongo trailer for CHIMES, the image looks about the same* as the DCP I saw screened twice in the past two months. Do the screen caps you've seen look worse?

*Apart from the fact that the trailer on YouTube is stretched horizontally which was not a problem with the DCP.

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