17 Marketa Lazarová

Discuss releases by Second Run and the films on them.
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kekid
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 9:55 pm

#101 Post by kekid » Sun Nov 18, 2007 1:19 pm

SoyCuba wrote:The delivery estimate for my pre-order at amazon now says 21 - 23 april 2008. Has it really been postponed this much?
That would be unexplainable, given that some members of this forum have seen the DVD and have provided comments on its quality.

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MichaelB
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#102 Post by MichaelB » Sun Nov 18, 2007 5:05 pm

kekid wrote:
SoyCuba wrote:The delivery estimate for my pre-order at amazon now says 21 - 23 april 2008. Has it really been postponed this much?
That would be unexplainable, given that some members of this forum have seen the DVD and have provided comments on its quality.
To be absolutely precise, one member of this forum has seen a dual-layer DVD-R copy - though I was assured that the transfer on the final disc will be identical.

But Amazon goes haywire when dates are changed - when the BFI's Quay Brothers DVD was shifted from late October to mid-November 2006, Amazon spent several days confidently announcing that the new release date was October 2007. God alone knows where they got that one from!

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domino harvey
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#103 Post by domino harvey » Sun Nov 18, 2007 5:44 pm

My delivery estimate, while separated from the rest of my items in the order, still estimates delivery between Dec 10-13 (meaning the release date is still Dec 3).

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MichaelB
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#104 Post by MichaelB » Wed Nov 21, 2007 9:27 am

I have a final copy sitting in front of me right now - so I suspect it's just a case of the discs passing into the relevant supply chains.

You'll be glad to hear that the BBFC consumer advice promises "strong violence, nudity and a scene of sexual violence" - in fact, had it been released in Britain in the 1960s, it would almost certainly have been cut, as parts of it definitely go beyond what John Trevelyan's BBFC was prepared to sanction back then (if I remember rightly, full-frontal female nudity was verboten until 1968, when the Swedish film Hugs and Kisses broke the mould).

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MichaelB
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#105 Post by MichaelB » Wed Nov 28, 2007 8:19 pm

My first draft of a full review - I'll probably refine it over the next 24 hours, but I doubt it'll put anyone off. After three viewings, I'm more than ever convinced that this is a major masterpiece, and one of the most exciting discoveries I've made in years.

UPDATE: I revised the text earlier today - and hope to add illustrations at some point over the weekend.

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MichaelB
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#106 Post by MichaelB » Fri Nov 30, 2007 7:44 pm

OK, I've finally worked out how to do decent frame grabs...

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Ovader
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#107 Post by Ovader » Fri Nov 30, 2007 8:48 pm

Have I drunk too much wine or is that a man's face superimposed over the dog's face in the sixth capture?

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jbeall
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#108 Post by jbeall » Sat Dec 01, 2007 12:18 am

Ovader wrote:Have I drunk too much wine or is that a man's face superimposed over the dog's face in the sixth capture?
Ha! That's too funny!

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MichaelB
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#109 Post by MichaelB » Sat Dec 01, 2007 12:49 pm

Ovader wrote:Have I drunk too much wine or is that a man's face superimposed over the dog's face in the sixth capture?
It's actually a wolf, not a dog, but I see what you mean!

bluesea
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#110 Post by bluesea » Sat Dec 01, 2007 2:29 pm

Amazon shows my order for: Delivery estimate: 10 Dec 2007 - 12 Dec 2007. I can only hope...

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Der Müde Tod
Joined: Thu Sep 21, 2006 9:50 am

#111 Post by Der Müde Tod » Sat Dec 01, 2007 6:28 pm

bluesea wrote:Amazon shows my order for: Delivery estimate: 10 Dec 2007 - 12 Dec 2007. I can only hope...
Mine has shipped today.

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domino harvey
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#112 Post by domino harvey » Sat Dec 01, 2007 6:37 pm

mine too \:D/

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Person
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#113 Post by Person » Sun Dec 02, 2007 1:07 am

MichaelB wrote:OK, I've finally worked out how to do decent frame grabs...
CHRIST! The deep-focus widescreen BW compositions in this one are fucking staggering. Ho-lay shit.

Nothing
Joined: Fri Oct 20, 2006 4:04 am

#114 Post by Nothing » Sun Dec 02, 2007 1:09 am

It's been clear for a long while that this is a company who put out releases of wildly varying quality depending on what elements they've been chucked, whilst shiftly obfuscating their public. There is no comparison with MoC. Knights of the Teutonic order must surely compete for worst and most misleading DVD release of the past 5 years...

Having said that, this transfer thankfully looks okay. Yeah, mine shipped today too.

p.s. it doesn't cost £200,000 to HD transfer, grade and dust bust a 35mm film. Try £20,000 for a film of this length if you strike a deal, although that's still a lot of cash for this kind of release.

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Subbuteo
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#115 Post by Subbuteo » Sun Dec 02, 2007 5:05 am

Nothing wrote:It's been clear for a long while that this is a company who put out releases of wildly varying quality depending on what elements they've been chucked, whilst shiftly obfuscating their public. There is no comparison with MoC. Knights of the Teutonic order must surely compete for worst and most misleading DVD release of the past 5 years...
Now that you've made several thread attacks... how about some of these to quell such bombast.

Second Run have an excellent catalogue for a new company, affordable pricing, informative booklets and exhibit a willingness to take risks on little known titles. What's more they are approachable.

They are a small independent (no doubt on a shoestring budget) learning the ropes, how about singing some praise where they have excelled.

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carax09
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#116 Post by carax09 » Sun Dec 02, 2007 11:43 am

Yeah, I'm not sure I understand the reasoning behind attacking the company on the eve of what promises to be one of their finest releases. While I do believe Second Run (and all companies) should be held accountable for their product, putting a seed of doubt in the mind of potential buyers, at this point, just seems mean-spirited.

rs98762001
Joined: Mon Jul 25, 2005 6:04 pm

#117 Post by rs98762001 » Sun Dec 02, 2007 4:01 pm

Nothing wrote:It's been clear for a long while that this is a company who put out releases of wildly varying quality depending on what elements they've been chucked, whilst shiftly obfuscating their public. There is no comparison with MoC. Knights of the Teutonic order must surely compete for worst and most misleading DVD release of the past 5 years...
And it's clear from your posts that there's some sort of obvious agenda at work. So far, there have been maybe three Second Run releases out of almost thirty that have been compromised, and they're the only ones you seem to have watched or commented upon. While I agree that the quality of Passenger, Knights..., and Red and the White have been disappointing, the rest of SR's catalogue to date is largely excellent - reliable in quality, cheap in price, and beautifully presented - and, moreover, they show a willingness, despite obvious budget limitations, to take on films that their better-funded competitors won't touch. I suggest that instead of continuing your obvious hatchet job, you rent their releases of LOVE, INTIMATE LIGHTING, HOLZMAN, BLACK SUN, PALMS, etc, and see if your criticism/character assassination holds up.

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jbeall
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#118 Post by jbeall » Sun Dec 02, 2007 11:03 pm

Nothing wrote:It's been clear for a long while that this is a company who put out releases of wildly varying quality depending on what elements they've been chucked, whilst shiftly obfuscating their public. There is no comparison with MoC. Knights of the Teutonic order must surely compete for worst and most misleading DVD release of the past 5 years...
And that's relevant for this thread... why, exactly? Second Run is still a fledgling company, one that didn't produce laserdiscs before the dvd format (unlike Criterion) and has had a couple of hiccups along the way. For that matter, even some of Criterion's early transfers are sub-par, so your criticism rings hollow. As SR has found their bearings, they've become much more consistent, even in films where the source print is in bad enough condition that they feel compelled to issue a caveat (a la Romeo, Juliet and Darkness).

As for Marketa, I ordered directly from Second Run, so hopefully my copy will ship tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to this one, perhaps even more than any of Criterion's 2007 releases. MichaelB's screengrabs suggest that it'll be a more than adequate transfer, and it's about time SOMEBODY had the intestinal fortitude to release this film on dvd. Check out the screengrabs for yourself before you judge this release, and it's rather pointless to hold Knights against SR several years later.

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Skritek
Joined: Fri Jul 13, 2007 9:59 am
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#119 Post by Skritek » Wed Dec 05, 2007 8:16 am

The guys at nostalghia.cz/zona aren't too happy with the transfer.

Mine should arrive today or tomorrow, so I'm excited anyway.

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MichaelB
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#120 Post by MichaelB » Wed Dec 05, 2007 8:39 am

Skritek wrote:The guys at nostalghia.cz/zona aren't too happy with the transfer.
I suspect there's going to be a distinct division between perfectionists and realists here!

But what might well happen is that the UK release of Marketa gets such publicity in the Czech Republic that they're shamed into producing a superior edition of their own - based around the longed-for original negative restoration.

The BFI's Jan Å vankmajer set had a great deal of coverage over there (example), much of it along the lines of "why oh why has it taken foreigners to do justice to our native masterpieces?" - and I've heard that Å vankmajer and his associates are milking this for all they're worth. (As of now, only his two most recent films are out on DVD in his native country, and none of the shorts, despite the vast majority of the rightsholders being based in Prague).

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Skritek
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#121 Post by Skritek » Wed Dec 05, 2007 4:02 pm

One of their problems was, that SecondRun raised the expectations by claiming they want it to be of the highest possible quality, so people have to be disappointed.

There apparently is a lot of dirt on the picture, which the guys thought shouldn't be too expensive to clean up. The scenes taking place in broad daylight are great, but the ones at dawn/in the dark are supposedly not too good.


I still haven't received my DVD...even though it was shipped on Friday already, so I can't comment on it (from a total amateurs POV).

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MichaelB
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#122 Post by MichaelB » Wed Dec 05, 2007 4:38 pm

Skritek wrote:There apparently is a lot of dirt on the picture, which the guys thought shouldn't be too expensive to clean up.
There's a small amount, certainly not "a lot" - it's at its worst in the middle of the second half, but it's pretty easy to tune out given that the images and camerawork are so busy.
The scenes taking place in broad daylight are great, but the ones at dawn/in the dark are supposedly not too good.
Yes, the high contrast image is a distinct disadvantage with the darker scenes - though a colleague of mine who saw the 35mm screening in London last month said that the DVD pretty much matched what he saw.

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MichaelB
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#123 Post by MichaelB » Thu Dec 06, 2007 5:50 am

DVD Beaver - pretty much in line with my reaction.
Competent work by Second Run - progressive, anamorphic and dual-layered for this mystic and historical masterpiece. I can't add more about the image than represented by the screen captures below - fairly clean, contrast is a shade dusty with possible minute brightness boosting - I saw no untoward artifacts or chroma. It looks quite strong - and we should be thankful a company like Second Run put this out (as opposed to, say, a Kino or NY'er in region 1). Sound is mono but the Czech dialogue is quite audible and supported by optional English subtitles.

petoluk
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#124 Post by petoluk » Fri Dec 07, 2007 3:35 am

FYI, Nostalghia.cz compares the original negative (top) with the DigiBeta master provided to Second Run (middle) & the final product (bottom)...

Cheers! :wink:

Peto

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Barmy
Joined: Mon May 16, 2005 3:59 pm

#125 Post by Barmy » Fri Dec 07, 2007 1:31 pm

Disastrous.

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