Agnès Varda

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zedz
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Re: Agnes Varda

#51 Post by zedz » Tue Sep 14, 2010 4:26 pm

Yes, it does sound like they're in the final stage of fundraising, at least. Given that a lot of the extras that have already been released (both by Cine-Tamaris and other publishers) have had English subtitles created, I'm optimistic that this time everything in the set will be subbed. Also, given that most of these films have been transferred (or re-transferred) more recently, the overall video quality should be more consistent than the Demy set, which was nevertheless very good.

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Matt
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Re: Agnes Varda

#52 Post by Matt » Tue Sep 14, 2010 4:33 pm

Hm, I read "nous devons d’abord commencer par trouver du financement..." as "we must start by finding funding...," and that can't be terribly easy in this economy. Regardless, it's been, and will continue to be, an agonizing wait.

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zedz
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Re: Agnes Varda

#53 Post by zedz » Tue Sep 14, 2010 4:45 pm

But isn't the funding they're seeking just for the "boni & inedits"? I thought all the transfers of the films were complete when they went up on The Auteurs last year (this year?).

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NABOB OF NOWHERE
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Re: Agnes Varda

#54 Post by NABOB OF NOWHERE » Sun Dec 18, 2011 11:47 am

For those with access to ARTE a series of 45 minutes of Varda documentaries starts this monday. All new stuff with the first promising an encounter with Marker or maybe just some bits of Markerama as well as Manuel de Oliveira.

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NABOB OF NOWHERE
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Re: Agnes Varda

#55 Post by NABOB OF NOWHERE » Tue Dec 20, 2011 12:03 pm

The documentary series on Arte Agnes de-ci de-la Varda started last night. As ever with Auntie Agnes what appear to be random jottings and scrapbook cuttings from her travels and encounters start to dovetail . Rambles from one location to another take on delicate criss-crossing patterns and become interlocking pieces of the jigsaw puzzle of her life, which I suppose is the mark of a true essayist.
This episode took in Paris, Berlin, Sete (the location of her first feature), Nantes and Portugal. Notably we get to rummage around in Chris Marker's atelier, with the man himself (unseen of course) sitting amongst a Gordian knot of cables downloading Al Jazeera TV, updating his virtual reality site, showing off his collection of (faux?) Time magazines, with the infamous Bin Laden crossed out in red cover with matching versions of Hitler and Japan post Hiroshima.
Here the hunter gets captured by the game when A (gnes) V (arda) becomes A (udio) V (isual) and romps around in Marker's computer game staring at a virtual sea. On to Nantes for a moving celebration of Jacques Demy by family members and Anouk Aimee strolling through Lolaville. Finally to the strains of Amalia Rodriguez we look up Manuel De Oliveira who at 102 seems sprightlier than many half his age. Again quarry turns predator when Manuel pinches Varda's camera and turns it on her while she does a little dance. Due to a lack of expertise with focus pulling Manny manages to create a fetching little pointillist number on Agnes with the raindrops on the lens pin sharp.. We are left with the clip from Angelique of the dead girl's smile and of course, as in her dance, Varda neatly sidesteps back to Marker and La Jetee in a blink of an eye.

I see Stefan has noted this in the Cinema Guild thread and it would be great if they or Secon Run managed to include some or all of these in future releases.

Stefan Andersson
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Re: Agnes Varda

#56 Post by Stefan Andersson » Thu Dec 22, 2011 4:01 am

For a German-language description of part 1, go here. Click on "folge" in the upper grey bar to view descriptions of each of the five episodes ("Folge 1" thru 5) including video clips.

Cinema Guild thread updated also.

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NABOB OF NOWHERE
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Re: Agnes Varda

#57 Post by NABOB OF NOWHERE » Tue Dec 27, 2011 5:10 am

If you can't wait or rely on Second Run or Cinema Guild to pick this up, the series is available as a 2 DVD set from Arteboutique with english subs.

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NABOB OF NOWHERE
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Re: Agnes Varda

#58 Post by NABOB OF NOWHERE » Fri Oct 12, 2012 1:23 pm

Strangely not a peep from Cine-Tamaris even though their news page is up to date but here's the Complete AV from Arte with apparently english subs
http://www.amazon.fr/Tout-Varda-Coffret ... 02_01_t_lh" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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Dick Laurent
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Re: Agnes Varda

#59 Post by Dick Laurent » Tue Oct 16, 2012 6:55 am

wow, finally, and at a great price as well, can't wait. thanks for the info.

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R0lf
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Re: Agnes Varda

#60 Post by R0lf » Fri Nov 23, 2012 3:16 am

Has anyone here bought the box set and would like to comment for us?

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NABOB OF NOWHERE
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Re: Agnes Varda

#61 Post by NABOB OF NOWHERE » Sat Nov 24, 2012 11:51 am

The box arrived today and a beautiful little affair it is. In addition to the dvds are a booklet with scrapbook/ illustrated notation to the films (in french only). Also included a little 'pochette' of goodies like postcards, a little game (like you might find in a Xmas cracker where you can fashion a profile of your choice of AV by manipulating a little chain on a card) and a stencil of Chris Marker's cat as well as two extra dvds in plain wrappers with previously unissued stuff.
All films and introductions have at least english subs but don't know about all of the bonus extras as it will involve a pretty exhaustive trawl through it all. If anyone has any specific questions i'm happy to delve in and answer. At 100 euros though it's a steal if you want Auntie Aggie round for Xmas.

UPDATE
ALL DISCS ARE ALL REGION
CLEO is the restored version and has German subs too.

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zedz
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Re: Agnes Varda

#62 Post by zedz » Thu Dec 06, 2012 5:00 pm

Mine just arrived as well, and that little pochette of extra bits and bobs definitely makes this the most adorable box set of the year (in addition to Nabob's list, there are stickers of the posters of all of her features, a strip of film (mine seems to be from Les cent et une nuits, given the appearance of Michel Piccoli on it), and a little wooden thing with a hand on it that you spin to see who will start whatever activity you're about to undertake (board game, washing up, striptease. . .)

I'd been holding off on a couple of the more recent Varda releases from hither and yon (e.g. Les Plages and de ci et de la) in order to maximise the value of this set when it eventually emerged, but I probably needn't have worried: there's masses of stuff on these discs to offset the double or triple-dipping on a few titles. Nine features I've never seen, plus a further four I don't own, plus hours and hours of bonus material. I suspect this box will provide a very enjoyable viewing project over the coming month(s).

ltsiantis
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Re: Agnes Varda

#63 Post by ltsiantis » Thu Dec 13, 2012 2:26 pm

Can either of the owners of the Agnes box set confirm that the films indeed have English subtitles? Another owner of the box has said otherwise to me; i.e. that the films (except for DOCUMENTEUR & perhaps LIONS LOVE) are not English-friendly.

Thanks!

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htshell
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Re: Agnes Varda

#64 Post by htshell » Fri Dec 14, 2012 1:17 am

For anyone in the area, International House Philadelphia will be hosting Agnes Varda with a screening of The Beaches of Agnes on March 14, 2013. Info here.

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mfunk9786
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Re: Agnes Varda

#65 Post by mfunk9786 » Fri Dec 14, 2012 9:03 am

We'll be there, thanks for the heads-up!

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Arn777
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Re: Agnes Varda

#66 Post by Arn777 » Wed Dec 19, 2012 8:01 pm

I haven't checked all the discs but pretty sure all the films have English subs, with Murs Murs which I just watched having an English narration as well. The supplements on that disc even have English subs, so could be safe to assume that many, but may be not all have too.

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zedz
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Re: Agnes Varda

#67 Post by zedz » Thu Dec 20, 2012 10:57 pm

I too, haven't got through everything, but have yet to strike anything without English subs. And that includes dozens of bespoke extras of various lengths.

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zedz
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Re: Agnes Varda

#68 Post by zedz » Sun Dec 23, 2012 4:20 pm

Re: above conversation.

My continued gleaning has revealed that the two bonus discs (tucked into the parcel of oddities along with the postcards and puzzles) do NOT have English subtitles. A shame, because it's fascinating stuff. One disc includes a reconstruction of Varda's suppressed 1970 TV movie Nausicaa, which deals with the Greek situation and fell foul of the French government. The reconstruction (if I've got this right) is raw footage of the filmed scenes, recovered from the Belgian cinematheque, ordered according to the shooting script. Rough but fascinating (and I'd need to be much more fluent in French for it to be entirely intelligible). The actual finished film seems to be AWOL. Also on this disc are brief snippets of two unrealized projects, a pre-Cleo feature and the 1966 Christmas Carol, featuring what seems to be Gerard Depardieu's screen debut (he hangs around for a cameo in Nausicaa the next year), along with two 1971 TV commercials, among them a delirious recruiting film for Tupperware.

The other bonus disc has material on Varda's other careers as photographer and installation artist. Again, no subs, but most of what you want from these snippets is visual. Also included is a (wonderful) feature length documentary Quelques veuves de Noirmoutier, assembled from the footage that comprises one of her installations. This film does have subtitles, albeit French ones, but I found it easy enough to follow with them.

Also watched (for the first time):

Les Creatures - Conceptually wacky, beautifully shot quasi-science-fiction film in which the lives of villagers are synthetically manipulated by two men - an author in retreat and a mad scientist practicing mind control. It's a game of love to the death. The concept is so outre it seems to have strayed from a much later Raul Ruiz film (and you can imagine Ruiz handling things with a little more elegance, but never mind). With Catherine Deneuve as the hysterical mute.

Lions Love (. . . and lies) - Varda doesn't break the troubled run of European auteurs adrift in America, but I enjoyed this a lot more than hubby's Model Shop. It's a life-as-art farrago that's by turns embarrassing and fascinating. Viva is a gloriously terrible actress (but we knew that already), but she's authentically terrible in this film, and the two Hair guys are just dead weight, but there are scenes floating around in this modish morass that are simply wonderful, as when Varda-substitute Shirley Clarke refuses to perform her suicide scene and Varda herself steps in. It's a goofy scene, but one with a sober emotional undercurrent. I also really loved how the film just grinds to a halt when Robert Kennedy is assassinated (and Andy Warhol is shot) and the characters (and the film) just plonk themselves down in front of the television to passively follow the unfolding tragedy. We've all been there, but I can't think of any other films that have been there with us.

Daguerrotypes - Delightful documentary portrait of Varda's neighbourhood. As with many of her best documentaries, it's marked by a wild lateral leap that works. In this case, it's a magic show that serves as the structural core of the film and gives a slightly surreal edge to the breeziness and melancholy of the lives it unites.

Stefan Andersson
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Re: Agnes Varda

#69 Post by Stefan Andersson » Wed Mar 27, 2013 11:57 am

Ciné-Tamaris and Agnès Varda have started a crowdfunding effort to restore Umbrellas of Cherbourg. More info in French here:
http://cinema.blog.lemonde.fr/2013/03/2 ... cherbourg/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

French language crowdfunding site: http://www.kisskissbankbank.com/il-faut ... -cherbourg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Includes details about what your donation will get you (mainly a mention on a dedicated Internet page and various memorabilia items). Donators will be reimbursed if the project is unfinished.
Also information about the digital restoration needed for the "trichrome" negatives (= IB Technicolor?). The restoration is planned for a Cannes Classics 2013 showing if it is finished in time.

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Lino
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Re: French DVD & Blu-ray Recommendations

#70 Post by Lino » Wed Dec 11, 2013 9:23 am

Has anyone bought the Tout(e) Varda set and can offer some opinions? Sorry if it has been answered somewhere on the Forum as I can't find any thread for it. Also, it seems that it is english friendly (although I bet the extras aren't). Is that true?

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Matt
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Re: Agnes Varda

#71 Post by Matt » Wed Dec 11, 2013 10:21 am

See posts above.

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Ovader
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Re: Agnes Varda

#72 Post by Ovader » Thu May 22, 2014 1:25 pm


Werewolf by Night

Re: Agnes Varda

#73 Post by Werewolf by Night » Mon Sep 08, 2014 9:16 pm

"Agnès Varda: From Here to There" is now streaming on Netflix.

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Michael Kerpan
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Re: Agnes Varda

#74 Post by Michael Kerpan » Sun Jun 14, 2015 1:42 pm

Agnes (from here to there) Varda:

http://www.cine-tamaris.fr/shop/product ... product=11" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Really sort of like a set of tangents to tangents to tangents, but traces Varda's travels while presenting her installation (Beaches of Agnes) at various expositions all over the world (but has plenty of side trips). We meet (or sort of meet) a number of directors, performers, artists -- my favorite was probably her visit with Manoel de Oliveira. Probably this would not go over well with anyone who had trouble with Gleaners and I, but otherwise Varda fans should find this fun (if not "essential").


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