International Blu-ray discs

Discuss internationally-released DVDs and Blu-rays or other international DVD and Blu-ray-related topics.
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johnsusq
Joined: Fri Jun 27, 2008 1:32 pm
Location: Portland, OR

#51 Post by johnsusq » Wed Jul 02, 2008 12:55 pm

zedz wrote:
davidhare wrote:I personally prefer to see Criterion MoC Kino Tartan etc Blu news under those companie's headers, but others may not.
Not that I'm Blu-enhanced, but I'd much rather see discussion on this site organised around films than around formats ...
I vote for centralizing Blu-ray content. Being a recent adopter I would love to be able to find all my Blu-ray news and disc impressions in one place. Since this forum was founded on a specific label though, perhaps the best compromise is Blu subsections for each label?

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The Fanciful Norwegian
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#52 Post by The Fanciful Norwegian » Wed Jul 02, 2008 2:12 pm

In further Johnnie To news, Mega Star is releasing Exiled on the 8th.

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pro-bassoonist
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#53 Post by pro-bassoonist » Fri Jul 04, 2008 5:29 am

The Fanciful Norwegian wrote:In further Johnnie To news, Mega Star is releasing Exiled on the 8th.
Image

Pro-B

yoshimori
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#54 Post by yoshimori » Sat Jul 05, 2008 3:10 am

Thanks all.

Added links to: My Blueberry Nights (jp), Paris (fr), PTU (hk), Mad Detective (hk), and Lust, Caution (korea).
Deleted: Kill Bill (us release announced)

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pro-bassoonist
Joined: Wed Jun 07, 2006 12:26 am

#55 Post by pro-bassoonist » Mon Jul 07, 2008 1:59 pm

French distrib Carlotta will begin releasing on BR this October 8th. The first three BR titles will be:

Fellini's Casanova
Godard's One + One
Ramesh Sippy's Sholay.

In November Warner-France is bringing Quo Vadis.

Pro-B

yoshimori
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#56 Post by yoshimori » Sat Jul 12, 2008 7:00 pm

added the above, the uk and fr Speed Racer (!), and the fr Deer Hunter.

[in US news: Mamet's Redbelt is now up at amazon.]

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miless
Joined: Sat Apr 01, 2006 9:45 pm

#57 Post by miless » Sat Jul 12, 2008 7:21 pm

pro-bassoonist wrote:Fellini's Casanova
has this ever been on DVD before (or any home video format)?

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tavernier
Joined: Sat Apr 02, 2005 7:18 pm

#58 Post by tavernier » Sat Jul 12, 2008 7:31 pm

miless wrote:
pro-bassoonist wrote:Fellini's Casanova
has this ever been on DVD before (or any home video format)?
It's been on DVD in Italy and England--maybe other places as well.

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Cold Bishop
Joined: Tue May 30, 2006 9:45 pm
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#59 Post by Cold Bishop » Sat Jul 12, 2008 8:37 pm

miless wrote:
pro-bassoonist wrote:Fellini's Casanova
has this ever been on DVD before (or any home video format)?
DVD Beaver

peerpee
not perpee
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 3:41 pm

#60 Post by peerpee » Sun Jul 13, 2008 10:06 pm

Saw ITV DVDs Blu-ray of GREAT EXPECTATIONS last night.

(Imagine a label named "ITV VHS" releasing a DVD of something! It's such an atrocious name for their label).

Absolutely zero extras, digitally unrestored, not bad looking transfer. At times looked like a good DVD, at other times looked astonishing. [The cover and discart tout "David Lean's GREAT EXPECTATIONS". The Blu-ray menu offers: "Charles Dickens' GREAT EXPECTATIONS".]

If Criterion get hold of this HD master and clean it up, it will be a fantastic release.

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pro-bassoonist
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#61 Post by pro-bassoonist » Thu Jul 17, 2008 2:50 pm

Also a quick announcement pertaining to a future BFI release:

Antonioni's breathtaking The Red Desert will receive its international Blu-ray premiere, immediately after Pasolini's SALO boasting an absolutely stunning new presentation freshly telecined from original negatives in Rome.

(Do not look for a source of the news yet, this should become official in the weeks to come).

Also in 2009 BFI will release 15 brand new BR films/discs to coincide with their SDVD counterparts (catalog favorites will be in addition).

The following three BD releases on the way from BAC Films in France this Fall/Winter (the distrib is responsible for the ABC-coded Caramel):

1. Wild at Heart (David Lynch)
2. Dead Man (Jim Jarmusch)
3. The Man Who Wasn't There (Joel Coen)

Ciao,
Pro-B

yoshimori
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 2:03 am
Location: LA CA

#62 Post by yoshimori » Sun Jul 20, 2008 3:04 am

added the titles mentioned by pro-b, above.

also added the following pre-orders: French Pulp Fiction, Casino, and Amelie, and German Standard Operating Procedure and Deer Hunter.

deleted Sukiyaki Western Django and Speed Racer (both now up at amazon US)

perhaps also of interest to others: French Match Point and The Host, and US Baraka and Paris, je' t'aime.

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pro-bassoonist
Joined: Wed Jun 07, 2006 12:26 am

#63 Post by pro-bassoonist » Thu Jul 24, 2008 3:28 pm

Drake's Avenue Pictures are set to release their first BR in the UK on October 27th.

Image

Also, Carlotta have replaced Sholay with Double Indemnity.

Double Indemnity
Image

One+One
Image

Casanova
Image

Ciao,
Pro-B

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pro-bassoonist
Joined: Wed Jun 07, 2006 12:26 am

#64 Post by pro-bassoonist » Tue Aug 05, 2008 1:53 am

Update (CANADA): Both Amelie and C.R.A.Z.Y are now officially announced as English-friendly.
INFORMATIONS TECHNIQUES
Durée : 122 min.
Langue: Français et sous-titres anglais
Son : 5.1 Dolby TrueHD & 5.1 Dolby Digital
Format d’image :2.35 :1 16/9
and
INFORMATIONS TECHNIQUES
Durée : 129 minutes.
Langue:Français & sous-titres anglais
Son : 5.1 Dolby TrueHD & 5.1 Dolby Digital
Format d’image :1.78:1 16/9
Swedish distributor Noble Entertainment are set to release Krzysztof Kieslowski's beloved Three Colors Trilogy as a 3BD set this October.

Image

Cover update:
Image
Ciao,
Pro-B

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foggy eyes
Joined: Fri Sep 01, 2006 9:58 am
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#65 Post by foggy eyes » Tue Aug 05, 2008 9:09 am

pro-bassoonist wrote:Cover update
Looks more like the old Image cover with a snazzy Blu-ray logo rather than something that would come from the BFI. Where did you find it?

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MichaelB
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#66 Post by MichaelB » Tue Aug 05, 2008 10:50 am

Right still, but wrong layout and typeface, and there's no BFI logo on the front.

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pro-bassoonist
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#67 Post by pro-bassoonist » Sun Aug 10, 2008 1:27 am

Image

Favorite distrib Artificial Eye are set to enter Blu waters with Lou Reed's Berlin directed by Julian Schnabel (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly). Street date is October 6th (SDVD/BR).

Info courtesy of Peter Noble PR
Variety:

At the height of his popularity in 1973, Lou Reed released "Berlin," an ambitious, Brechtian song-cycle album chronicling a couple's drug- and violence-spattered downward spiral. A critical and commercial disaster at the time ("the most depressing album ever made"), platter subsequently attained cult status. Thirty-three years later, in Brooklyn, Reed gave the album its first live performance, with a production designed by Julian Schnabel, who also filmed it for posterity. Less groundbreaking video experimentation than extraordinary concert experience, "Lou Reed's Berlin" expertly fulfills its function. Limited arthouse exposure followed by extensive DVD rollout seems indicated.

Reed's complex, stage-filling orchestration incorporates strings, horns and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus. The performance unites original musicians like lead guitarist Steve Hunter with young guest vocalists like Anthony of Anthony and the Johnsons (whose pure rendition of "Candy Says" offsets the gravel-voiced Reed to perfection). Along with now-classic "Berlin" cuts like "How Do You Think It Feels?" and "The Bed," Reed includes the Velvet Underground retread "Sweet Jane" and his later composition "Rock Minuet." As shot by the incomparable Ellen Kuras, the concert retains a rich organic feel, complementing the music without over-determining it.
Pro-B

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pro-bassoonist
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#68 Post by pro-bassoonist » Mon Aug 11, 2008 3:50 am

Image

Following Artificial Eye, Icon Home Entertainment are set to enter Blu-waters with the release of La mome arriving on October 13th in the UK.
by Roger Ebert

She was the daughter of a street singer and a circus acrobat. She was dumped by her mother with her father, who dumped her with his mother, who ran a brothel. In childhood, diseases rendered her temporarily blind and deaf. She claimed she was cured by St. Therese, whose shrine the prostitutes took her to. One of the prostitutes adopted her, until her father returned, snatched her away, and put her to work in his act. From her mother and the prostitute she heard many songs, and one day when his sidewalk act was doing badly, her father commanded her, "Do something." She sang "La Marseilles." And Edith Piaf was born.

Piaf. The French word for "sparrow." She was named by her first impresario, Louis Leplee. He was found shot dead not long after -- possibly by a pimp who considered her his property. She stood 4 feet, 8 inches tall, and so became "the Little Sparrow." She was the most famous and beloved French singer of her time -- of the century, in fact -- and her lovers included Yves Montand (who she discovered) and the middleweight champion Marcel Cerdan. She drank too much, all the time. She became addicted to morphine, and required ten injections a day. She grew old and prematurely stooped, and died at 47.

Olivier Dahan's "La Vie en Rose," one of the best biopics I've seen, tells Piaf's life story through the extraordinary performance of Marion Cotillard, who looks like the singer. The title, which translates loosely as "life through rose-colored glasses," is from one of Piaf's most famous songs, which she wrote herself. She is known for countless other songs perhaps most poignantly for "Non je ne regrette rien" ("No, I regret nothing"), which is seen in the film as her final song; if it wasn't, it should have been.

How do you tell a life story to chaotic, jumbled and open to chance as Piaf's? Her life did not have an arc but a trajectory. Joy and tragedy seemed simultaneous. Her loves were heartfelt but doomed; after she begged the boxer Cerdan to fly to her in New York, he was killed in the crash of his flight from Paris. Her stage triumphs alternated with her stage collapses. If her life resembled in some ways Judy Garland's, there is this difference: Garland lived for the adulation of the audience, and Piaf lived to do her duty as a singer. From her earliest days, from the prostitutes, her father and her managers, she learned that when you're paid, you perform.

Oh, but what a performer she was. Her voice was loud and clear, reflecting her early years as a street singer. Such a big voice for such a little woman. At first she sang mechanically, but was tutored to improve her diction and express the meaning of her words. She did that so well that if you know what the words "Non je ne regrette rien" mean, you can essentially feel the meaning of every other word in the song.

Dahan and his co-writer, Isabelle Sobelman, move freely through the pages of Piaf's life. A chronology would have missed the point. She didn't start here and go there; she was always, at every age, even before she had the name, the little sparrow. The action moves back and forth from childhood to final illness, from applause to desperation, from joy to heartbreak (particularly in the handling of Cerdan's last visit to her).

This mosaic storytelling style has been criticized in some quarters as obscuring facts (quick: how many times was she married?). But think of it this way: Since there are, in fact, no wedding scenes in the movie, isn't it more accurate to see husbands, lovers, friends, admirers, employees and everyone else as whirling around her small, still center? Nothing in her early life taught her to count on permanence or loyalty. What she counted on was singing, champagne, infatuation and morphine.

Many biopics break down in depicting their subjects in old age, and Piaf, at 47, looked old. Gene Siskel once referred to an actor's old-age makeup as making him look like a turtle. In "La Vie en Rose" there is never a moment's doubt. Even the hair is right; her frizzled, dyed, thinning hair in the final scenes matches the real Piaf in the videos I cite below. The only detail I can question is her resiliency after all-night drinking sessions. I once knew an alcoholic who said, "If I wasn't a drinker and I woke up with one of these hangovers, I'd check myself into the emergency room."

Then there are the songs, a lot of them. I gather from the credits that some are dubbed by other singers, some are sung by Piaf herself, and some, in parts at least, by Cotillard. In the video clips you can see how Piaf choreographed her hands and fingers, and Cotillard has that right, too. If a singer has been dead 50 years and sang in another language, she must have been pretty great to make it onto so many saloon jukeboxes, which is how I first heard her. Now, of course, she's on my iPod, and I'm listening to her right now.

Pour moi toute seule.
Ciao,
Pro-B

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

#69 Post by kekid » Thu Aug 14, 2008 2:18 pm

Is Blu Ray Red Desert region-coded? Please forgive me if this has already been answered - I could not find it.

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Forrest Taft
Joined: Thu Mar 15, 2007 8:34 pm
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#70 Post by Forrest Taft » Wed Aug 20, 2008 4:45 am

Fanny and Alexander is coming out on BR in Norway on October 15th.

yoshimori
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Location: LA CA

#71 Post by yoshimori » Thu Aug 21, 2008 12:50 am

Please let me know when you find links to e-tailers for the Swedish Kieslowski and the Norwegian Bergman. Thanks.

Updated the first post on page 1:

added links to One + One and Fellini Casanova (French releases); Fight Club and Casino (German releases)

deleted Standard Operating Procedure (now up at Amazon US)

some other clean-up

also of interest to others perhaps are the following, now up at their respective amazon homes: Casablanca, Caligula, and Young Frankenstein (US releases); Cabaret and Zatoichi (UK releases); Double Indemnity and An American in Paris (French releases)

yoshimori
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Location: LA CA

#72 Post by yoshimori » Thu Aug 21, 2008 1:47 am

If you mean One + One and Casanova, they're on the first post in this thread. If you mean the Wilder and the Donen, here they are:

An American in Paris releases Nov. 12

Double Indemnity releases Oct. 8

Rich Malloy
Joined: Tue Jun 13, 2006 12:29 pm
Location: Boston MA

#73 Post by Rich Malloy » Thu Aug 21, 2008 9:44 am

Does anyone know anything about the recent Japanese re-release of "Innocence (Ghost in the Shell II)"? My understanding is that it's supposed to be remastered, inclusive of a number of extras, and with English subs. But given the high prices to import from Japan, I'd love to get a bit of feedback on the disc before ordering!

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manicsounds
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 10:58 pm
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#74 Post by manicsounds » Thu Aug 21, 2008 11:42 pm

apparently, the new rerelease of "Innocence: The Absolute Edition" is absolutely dumb. It eliminates most of the extras, and only has the 44 minutes of interviews, plus a trailer for Oshii's latest, "Sky Crawlers".

by the way, Japanese subtitles only.

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Sanjuro
Joined: Fri Nov 03, 2006 1:37 am
Location: Yokohama, Japan

#75 Post by Sanjuro » Fri Aug 22, 2008 4:13 am

The original Blu-Ray of Innocence has English, French and Korean subs. But of course, it's twice as expensive...

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