Polish Cinema on DVD

Discuss internationally-released DVDs and Blu-rays or other international DVD and Blu-ray-related topics.
Post Reply
Message
Author
User avatar
MichaelB
Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2006 6:20 pm
Location: Worthing
Contact:

Re: Polish Cinema on DVD

#701 Post by MichaelB » Wed Jul 29, 2020 11:49 am

I've only dipped into most of them, but they seem much of a muchness quality-wise. I'm assuming the ones that I didn't buy - Man of Marble, Man of Iron, The Promised Land etc. - are broadly identical to what's already been released; they'll certainly be from the same restorations.

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

Re: Polish Cinema on DVD

#702 Post by Calvin » Wed Jul 29, 2020 12:12 pm

Thanks, that's good to hear. Any thoughts on Chronicle of Amorous Accidents or The Shadow Line as films? I can't find any prior discussion about them on here, but was wondering whether anyone would recommend them.

djvaso
Joined: Fri Nov 27, 2009 6:00 am
Location: Serbia&Montenegro

Re: Polish Cinema on DVD

#703 Post by djvaso » Fri Aug 21, 2020 3:34 am

⏳One of the most amazing masterpieces of the Polish cinema „The Hourglass Sanatorium” is getting a new restoration at FIXAFILM! Phantasmagoric and visually stunning work of art by Wojciech J. Has will be presented in the REVIVALS section of the 58th New York Film Festival in autumn. The new 4K restoration from the original camera negative is produced by Łukasz Ceranka and Andrzej Łucjanek, supervised by Łukasz Ceranka, and curated by Daniel Bird.

🎥 Two great Polish cinematographers Piotr Sobociński Jr and Michał Sobociński, grandsons of Witold Sobociński who lensed original picture, provide artistic supervision over the project.

🏆“The Hourglass Sanatorium” will be presented alongside the new restorations of films by Mohammad Reza Aslani, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Béla Tarr, Jean Vigo, and Wong Kar Wai.
https://www.facebook.com/FIXAFILM/

This is little different from the announcement for Cannes Classics 2020.

User avatar
htdm
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 3:46 am

Re: Polish Cinema on DVD

#704 Post by htdm » Fri Aug 21, 2020 4:07 pm

Hey Vaso -- is there any update on the status of Halka (1930)?

djvaso
Joined: Fri Nov 27, 2009 6:00 am
Location: Serbia&Montenegro

Re: Polish Cinema on DVD

#705 Post by djvaso » Fri Aug 21, 2020 4:57 pm

htdm wrote:
Fri Aug 21, 2020 4:07 pm
Hey Vaso -- is there any update on the status of Halka (1930)?
Unfortunately no. I sent an e-mail to Michał Banasiak about it in May but I haven't got any replay.

User avatar
L.A.
Joined: Thu May 28, 2009 7:33 am
Location: Helsinki, Finland

Re: Polish Cinema on DVD

#706 Post by L.A. » Fri Aug 21, 2020 6:46 pm

Fortunately I received Bestia. :D

User avatar
htdm
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 3:46 am

Re: Polish Cinema on DVD

#707 Post by htdm » Fri Aug 21, 2020 9:52 pm

Hmm -- how does it look (and how did you manage to order it)?

User avatar
L.A.
Joined: Thu May 28, 2009 7:33 am
Location: Helsinki, Finland

Re: Polish Cinema on DVD

#708 Post by L.A. » Sat Aug 22, 2020 8:53 am

htdm wrote:
Fri Aug 21, 2020 9:52 pm
Hmm -- how does it look (and how did you manage to order it)?
It’s gorgeous, believe me :wink:. Haven’t watched it yet but fully English-friendly and definitely better and (possibly) a longer version than the one in the Iconic Collection. Emailed the Filmoteka back in March and got it.

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

Re: Polish Cinema on DVD

#709 Post by MichaelB » Sat Aug 22, 2020 9:26 am

The relevant paragraph from my review of Bestia in the last Journal of Film Preservation:
Given the film’s rarity and the consequent dearth of usable source materials, the image quality is for the most part remarkably good, with a rock-steady picture and damage mostly kept to a level no more than is expected for a 103-year-old film. Exceptions occur during the first theatre sequence between roughly 19 and 20 minutes, and later for a longer stretch between 42 and 44 minutes, where there is significant chemical deterioration down the middle of the frame, although in both cases not enough to seriously obscure what’s onscreen. There are also occasional brief sections when the image has noticeably higher contrast, presumably dictated by the condition of available materials. The absence of any reliable record of the film’s original tinting and toning schema means that the entire film is presented in black and white. [...] The multi-instrumental part-electronic score by jazz composer Włodek Pawlik was commissioned to accompany this restoration, and is mostly very effective indeed, although opinion will be divided over the occasional use of spoken-word sound samples.
I can also confirm that the entire package is fully bilingual in Polish and English, including the excellent 55-page book. There are also French and German subtitle and menu options.

User avatar
htdm
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 3:46 am

Re: Polish Cinema on DVD

#710 Post by htdm » Sat Aug 22, 2020 12:41 pm

L.A. wrote:
Sat Aug 22, 2020 8:53 am
It’s gorgeous, believe me :wink:. Haven’t watched it yet but fully English-friendly and definitely better and (possibly) a longer version than the one in the Iconic Collection. Emailed the Filmoteka back in March and got it.
Good to hear. I was massively disappointed with the Iconic Collection.
Any Polish members wish to help a fellow out in ordering this one?
MichaelB wrote:
Sat Aug 22, 2020 9:26 am
The relevant paragraph from my review of Bestia in the last Journal of Film Preservation:
Given the film’s rarity and the consequent dearth of usable source materials, the image quality is for the most part remarkably good, with a rock-steady picture and damage mostly kept to a level no more than is expected for a 103-year-old film. Exceptions occur during the first theatre sequence between roughly 19 and 20 minutes, and later for a longer stretch between 42 and 44 minutes, where there is significant chemical deterioration down the middle of the frame, although in both cases not enough to seriously obscure what’s onscreen. There are also occasional brief sections when the image has noticeably higher contrast, presumably dictated by the condition of available materials. The absence of any reliable record of the film’s original tinting and toning schema means that the entire film is presented in black and white. [...] The multi-instrumental part-electronic score by jazz composer Włodek Pawlik was commissioned to accompany this restoration, and is mostly very effective indeed, although opinion will be divided over the occasional use of spoken-word sound samples.
I can also confirm that the entire package is fully bilingual in Polish and English, including the excellent 55-page book. There are also French and German subtitle and menu options.
Yes I'd read your article which was what motivated me to pursue this disc.
Pity that this title is so difficult to procure as the film should have a much wider audience.

User avatar
htdm
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 3:46 am

Re: Polish Cinema on DVD

#711 Post by htdm » Sat Aug 22, 2020 12:46 pm

djvaso wrote:
Fri Aug 21, 2020 4:57 pm
htdm wrote:
Fri Aug 21, 2020 4:07 pm
Hey Vaso -- is there any update on the status of Halka (1930)?
Unfortunately no. I sent an e-mail to Michał Banasiak about it in May but I haven't got any replay.
Thanks Vaso--I've been anxious for this one to be released.

djvaso
Joined: Fri Nov 27, 2009 6:00 am
Location: Serbia&Montenegro

Re: Polish Cinema on DVD

#712 Post by djvaso » Sat Aug 22, 2020 2:55 pm

htdm wrote:
Sat Aug 22, 2020 12:41 pm
Any Polish members wish to help a fellow out in ordering this one?
MichaelB wrote:
Sat Aug 22, 2020 9:26 am
The relevant paragraph from my review of Bestia in the last Journal of Film Preservation:
Given the film’s rarity and the consequent dearth of usable source materials, the image quality is for the most part remarkably good, with a rock-steady picture and damage mostly kept to a level no more than is expected for a 103-year-old film. Exceptions occur during the first theatre sequence between roughly 19 and 20 minutes, and later for a longer stretch between 42 and 44 minutes, where there is significant chemical deterioration down the middle of the frame, although in both cases not enough to seriously obscure what’s onscreen. There are also occasional brief sections when the image has noticeably higher contrast, presumably dictated by the condition of available materials. The absence of any reliable record of the film’s original tinting and toning schema means that the entire film is presented in black and white. [...] The multi-instrumental part-electronic score by jazz composer Włodek Pawlik was commissioned to accompany this restoration, and is mostly very effective indeed, although opinion will be divided over the occasional use of spoken-word sound samples.
I can also confirm that the entire package is fully bilingual in Polish and English, including the excellent 55-page book. There are also French and German subtitle and menu options.
Yes I'd read your article which was what motivated me to pursue this disc.
Pity that this title is so difficult to procure as the film should have a much wider audience.
First of all, you have to check out as if they send orders to America now.
Then you would have to pay by bank transfer probably because the things goes slowly in Poland. This dated in January 2020: "Thank you for your interest in our releases. Right now we are in the middle of migrating to the new website fina.gov.pl and some features - online store among them - still don’t work properly. You can use the online store at https://fina.gov.pl/sklep/ - but it still doesn’t accept Paypal payments, so, as for now, it’s available only for clients with a Polish online bank account. Our apologies for that. We will let you know, when the Paypal payments are accepted and the store is available for the non-Polish residents.
Speaking of “Halka” – the release date is set for March 2020, so this product will go on sale around that time."

This was one of the last discs I got before the lockdown.
Image

User avatar
htdm
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 3:46 am

Re: Polish Cinema on DVD

#713 Post by htdm » Mon Aug 24, 2020 9:46 am

Thanks for that. I finally wound up ordering Bestia from a seller on eBay. It's the only real option for me at this point.
Picked up that Krizenecky set last month, very nice.


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

Re: Polish Cinema on DVD

#715 Post by MichaelB » Mon Oct 05, 2020 2:42 am

Although a word of warning with this batch: I can't find any evidence of English subtitles.

djvaso
Joined: Fri Nov 27, 2009 6:00 am
Location: Serbia&Montenegro

Re: Polish Cinema on DVD

#716 Post by djvaso » Thu Oct 08, 2020 9:15 am

The publisher of these Blu-rays is top secret for the time being. [-X
Hello,
We do not provide the data of our suppliers.
Kind regards

Pozdrawiam,
Katarzyna Kręc

DVDmax.pl Sp. z o. o.
ul. Spółdzielców 18A
62-510 Konin
Last edited by djvaso on Thu Oct 08, 2020 9:30 am, edited 1 time in total.

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

Re: Polish Cinema on DVD

#717 Post by MichaelB » Thu Oct 08, 2020 9:29 am

Well, I could experimentally order something like Goodbye, See You Tomorrow, as I can easily marry up the subtitles from the Second Run release if need be...

djvaso
Joined: Fri Nov 27, 2009 6:00 am
Location: Serbia&Montenegro

Re: Polish Cinema on DVD

#718 Post by djvaso » Tue Nov 24, 2020 10:38 am

The publisher is AlterDystrybucja and the discs will have English subtitles.
ImageImageImageImageImage

User avatar
L.A.
Joined: Thu May 28, 2009 7:33 am
Location: Helsinki, Finland

Re: Polish Cinema on DVD

#719 Post by L.A. » Tue Nov 24, 2020 10:49 am

I’ll repeat myself; Wanda Jakubowska’s The Last Stage would be nice. Considering it is now looking better than ever.

User avatar
TMDaines
Joined: Wed Nov 11, 2009 1:01 pm
Location: Stretford, Manchester

Re: Polish Cinema on DVD

#720 Post by TMDaines » Tue Nov 24, 2020 11:42 am

I need to do a big order before Brexit of a lot of this year's Polish BDs.

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

Re: Polish Cinema on DVD

#721 Post by swo17 » Sat Dec 05, 2020 2:56 pm

Does anyone know if any online DVD shops are currently shipping to the U.S.? Punkt44 definitely isn't, and I'm thinking the same is true for Empik and DVDmax.pl. (Haven't tried Merlin as they don't have all that I'm looking for.)

User avatar
L.A.
Joined: Thu May 28, 2009 7:33 am
Location: Helsinki, Finland

Re: Polish Cinema on DVD

#722 Post by L.A. » Tue Dec 08, 2020 8:16 am

L.A. wrote:
Wed Nov 27, 2019 12:12 pm
Halka (1929) forthcoming apparently.
Now available.

djvaso
Joined: Fri Nov 27, 2009 6:00 am
Location: Serbia&Montenegro

Re: Polish Cinema on DVD

#723 Post by djvaso » Thu Dec 10, 2020 6:29 am

I posted this at Nitrateville.com and member Jim Roots commented:
BE WARNED! This Polish website may be infected.
I don't challenge its authenticity. But there may be malware or spyware in it. I clicked on the link given above, viewed the page, and exited. Not two minutes later, my file directory was locked against me, and I haven't been able to access it since.
If you proceed, proceed with caution.
Jim
#-o
I haven't had such an experience.

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

Re: Polish Cinema on DVD

#724 Post by MichaelB » Thu Dec 10, 2020 7:37 am

Seems fine at my end. I'd be mildly surprised if an actual Polish government website (presumably this release is affiliated with the Ministry of Culture) did anything like that.

User avatar
htdm
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 3:46 am

Re: Polish Cinema on DVD

#725 Post by htdm » Thu Dec 10, 2020 11:23 am

No trouble here either.

Post Reply