Ernst Lubitsch

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Jonathan S
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#51 Post by Jonathan S » Mon Aug 18, 2008 3:48 am

I think a lot of Universal's bad reputation in the UK comes from their releases of RKO films, at least a couple of which have been colorized! For example, the two UK sets of the Astaire-Rogers films were mostly terrible, though in different ways (one title - Carefree, I think - even had part of a scene repeated!) Of course, Warner controls the US rights to the RKOs so Universal UK can't just use masters from their American headquarters, as they presumably can with the Universal and Paramount titles.

Re. the 18-disc Dietrich set, which has been intermittently available, the last place to have it at a reasonable price (£49.99) appears to be play.com.

According to Find DVD the next cheapest price is nearly £100 more! I grabbed it for just over £40 a few months ago and can confirm each film is individually packaged, so you can sell off all the duds and duplicates, as I did!

By the way, when this set was re-released (with a sticker acknowledging the "Marlene Dietrich Collection Berlin/Munich"!) Moviemail told me they had been informed Universal had cut a song from one of the films due to copyright issues, but they did not know which song or which film. Has anybody else heard this?

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rohmerin
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#52 Post by rohmerin » Tue Aug 19, 2008 4:14 am

Merry Widow has been released in exclusive at Fnac Spain by a subsidary branch of WB. If you're interested search for "La viuda alegre"
Last edited by rohmerin on Fri Aug 22, 2008 8:16 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Tommaso
Joined: Fri May 19, 2006 10:09 am

#53 Post by Tommaso » Fri Aug 22, 2008 7:46 am

Thanks, Rohmerin. I just couldn't resist ordering it :-) Hope the quality is acceptable. Too bad this is a fnac exclusive, though. They charged 18,60 Euros for shipping this and "Sol de Membrillo" (another fnac exclusive) to Germany....

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rohmerin
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#54 Post by rohmerin » Sat Sep 06, 2008 1:11 pm

Tommaso, has you receipt your Merry widow DVD? is it good?

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Tommaso
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#55 Post by Tommaso » Sun Sep 07, 2008 6:00 am

Yes, incidentally I just watched it last night! The print used has a few speckles (nothing to worry about), but the image looks fine, with good and natural contrast, no edge enhancement etc. It is not as sharp as it could be, though, probably due to the disc being single layered with a bitrate hovering somewhere between 4 and 5 mbps only. Sound is allright, though perhaps suffering a little in clarity from too much noise reduction; but I didn't have any real difficulty understanding the dialogue. Subs are removable, thankfully, but only via the remote control. No extras to speak of. All in all, a fine effort, though not quite as good as the discs in the Eclipse set.
The film itself is wonderful, as expected. It's not as frivolous as "Love Parade" or "Monte Carlo" and Jeanette MacDonald isn't quite as cute here as in those earlier films, but what it loses in daring it gains in pure style and elegance. Chevalier basically repeats his roles from "Love Parade" and "The smiling lieutenant", but that is just fine and constantly amusing. A very refined film, then, and a fitting end to Lubitsch's excursion into the musical genre.
I can't imagine WB will not release this any time soon in the US, too, but if you love those films in the Eclipse set, you'd hardly want to wait.

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rohmerin
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#56 Post by rohmerin » Thu Sep 18, 2008 11:10 am

Thank you, Tommaso. I'll buy if I travel to Madrid or Oviedo. There's no Fnac in my town and I deny paying post rates in my own country. It's my favourite Lubitch film, in despice of my hate to Maurice Chevalier (I can't stand him).

I've taken from public library La dama de armiño, and La zarina (A royal scandal), those 2 Lubitch's proyects finished by Preminger. Both DVDs are licenced by FOX to other Spanish companies.

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Tommaso
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#57 Post by Tommaso » Thu Sep 18, 2008 11:42 am

rohmerin wrote:It's my favourite Lubitch film, in despice of my hate to Maurice Chevalier (I can't stand him).
Well, when I first saw him in "One hour with you", he irritated me mightily, too. Too overtly mannerist, especially in comparison with Lubitsch's silent version of the same film, "The Marriage Circle". But after a while I quite liked his inimitable style, especially in "Love Parade", and now I find him constantly amusing, and "Merry Widow" is no exception.

Tell us what you think about "Lady in Ermine" and "Royal Scandal". I haven't seen them, and heard nothing good about them. General consensus seems to be that Preminger's directing murdered what might have been great Lubitsch films....

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rohmerin
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#58 Post by rohmerin » Wed Sep 24, 2008 6:56 am

Royal scandal is a poor comedy. It looks like a bad cliché of Lubitsch world with not good actors and, the most important, with bad timing that spoils all the dialogue gags. I mean, Preminger's rythm is faster. There's no Lubitch's touch, poetry and genious. Talullah may be she was great on stage or as socialite, but as movie star, she's like a copy of Dietrich but made by stone. Dietrich's performance in Von Sternberg's film is excellet. Did Talullah operate to be a xerox print of Marene in the 40's? Even in Lifeboat she looks Marlene at the sea.

About Lady in armine, not seen yet, but I'm scared.


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Ashirg
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Re: Ernst Lubitsch on DVD

#60 Post by Ashirg » Mon Mar 25, 2013 10:51 am

A Royal Scandal is being released on DVD-R by Fox in April. At least they can't fuck-up aspect ratio....

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hearthesilence
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Re: Ernst Lubitsch on DVD

#61 Post by hearthesilence » Sat Jun 03, 2017 12:23 am

Quick question - was the MoC box set of early Lubitsch films DVD only because they didn't think the PQ would be significantly improved by an HD presentation? (I believe that was the reason for Trouble in Paradise being DVD only.)

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swo17
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Re: Ernst Lubitsch on DVD

#62 Post by swo17 » Sat Jun 03, 2017 1:45 am

I think that one came out just before boutique labels had to explain themselves over every DVD-only release.

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hearthesilence
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Re: Ernst Lubitsch on DVD

#63 Post by hearthesilence » Sun Jun 04, 2017 9:16 pm

Finally saw Lady Windemere's Fan and what an incredible surprise. I knew Lubitsch mainly through his sound films, and the glorious dialogue (perhaps the best ever written in Hollywood) is so enjoyable, it may overshadow Lubitsch's mastery of the visual elements of filmmaking. That's why this film feels like an enormous revelation, one that is essential to anyone who wishes to understand Lubitsch's brilliance as a filmmaker. Just watch the long, wordless stretches in this film, there's so much that's revealed, so much with plot and character, and he makes it look easy - it's a wonder to behold. This is silent filmmaking of the highest order. Credit is due to the cast, the acting here is extraordinary.

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Drucker
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Re: Ernst Lubitsch on DVD

#64 Post by Drucker » Sun Jun 04, 2017 11:25 pm

Looks like it's playing at Film Forum next week, thanks for the recommendation! I haven't been thrilled with the Lubitsch silents I've seen. I found some of the earliest ones to be very funny, but his costume pieces don't do much for me. The only American silent I've seen is Eternal Love which was fine, but I didn't find it spectacular.

There doesn't seem to be a Lubitsch filmmaker thread, so I'll that I did catch Cluny Brown which was quite good the other day. It's certainly a bit more...peaceful film than I'm used to, and certainly makes you think what else Lubitsch could've done. The film started pretty slowly and it wasn't as humorous as some of his other films. The primary plot between Cluny and her stuffy boyfriend also wasn't that funny. But there are some great moments that are truly laugh out loud, and the Cluny/boyfriend plot doesn't take up so much time as to ruin the movie.

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hearthesilence
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Re: Ernst Lubitsch on DVD

#65 Post by hearthesilence » Mon Jun 05, 2017 12:33 am

You're welcome! I'm still fairly new to Lubitsch's silents, but Lady Windermere's Fan is certainly the best I've seen - it's one of the very few dramas I've seen by Lubitsch, so it was also a revelation in that regard. (It does have a good deal of comedy, but it never flies off into the lofty heights of ridiculousness of his funniest pictures because it's grounded by its source material.)

The Doll is probably my favorite of his silent comedies - a genuinely great film in my book. I really like his first feature (The Oyster Princess) too - the "Lubitsch touch" had already crystallized with that picture and would grow only more refined with time. Again, both are/were scheduled at Film Forum.

FWIW, 1932's The Man I Killed (later retitled as Broken Lullaby) is playing tomorrow, and that's worth checking out - it has its ardent supporters (and I believe Dave Kehr and Jonathan Rosenbaum are both big fans), but for a long time it was deemed a failure. It may have been a departure from the Lubitsch most people knew, as it's an antiwar melodrama, but if you want to see yet another side of him, definitely check it out.

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Drucker
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Re: Ernst Lubitsch on DVD

#66 Post by Drucker » Mon Jun 05, 2017 9:34 am

Yes, agreed about the Doll and Oyster Princess being absolute delights.

I'm skipping Man I Killed. Maybe I'll regret it later, but I'm already planning on catching Angel, Marriage Circle, Merry Widow, One Hour With You, That Uncertain Feeling and now I suppose possibly Lady Windermere's Fan. Trying to whittle down what I can't get easily on home video with this series.

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hearthesilence
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Re: Ernst Lubitsch on DVD

#67 Post by hearthesilence » Mon Jun 05, 2017 2:23 pm

No worries, I know The Man I Killed/Broken Lullaby screened in recent years at MoMA (for their series on films on World War I) and at Anthology Film Archives (a series on outlier films from various major directors' filmographies), all in 35mm, so you'll get another chance.

Coincidentally, I just found out it was more or less remade by François Ozon in a film released this year.

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Michael Kerpan
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Re: Ernst Lubitsch on DVD

#68 Post by Michael Kerpan » Wed Jun 07, 2017 11:00 pm

Is there some rights problem that has prevented the delightful (and very funny) So This Is Paris from ever showibng up on DVD?

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hearthesilence
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Re: Ernst Lubitsch on DVD

#69 Post by hearthesilence » Wed Jun 07, 2017 11:55 pm

David Bordwell mentioned this in a blog post:

So This Is Paris is less famous than Lubitsch’s earlier American comedies primarily because it has never appeared on DVD. Marilyn Ferdinand, in a blog entry that gives a detailed description of the film, writes that Warner Bros. claims not to own the rights to the film anymore and therefore has made no effort to bring it out on home video. On the other hand, a four-minute excerpt of the dance montage sequence was included in the Unseen Cinema set (disc 3, number 18), and the credit there is “Courtesy: Warner Bros., Turner Entertainment Company.” Whatever the rights situation is, a home-video version of this film is in order. A beautiful 35mm print is owned by the Library of Congress, so there is hope.

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htdm
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Re: Ernst Lubitsch on DVD

#70 Post by htdm » Thu Jun 08, 2017 12:19 am

I agree--what a delightful film!

FWIW, for a brief period in 2003, Grapevine offered So This Is Paris? on DVD-R. When I called to place an order, the person on the phone declined telling me that they had just been served with a Cease and Desist order from Paramount and were no longer able to sell copies.

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hearthesilence
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Re: Ernst Lubitsch on DVD

#71 Post by hearthesilence » Thu Jun 08, 2017 9:07 am

One may appreciate the brilliant first 20 minutes more if they know a bit about Rudolph Valentino and the impact he had on the culture. The part where...
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the "sheik" looks like he's examining his genitals, maybe even masturbating
...still comes off as surprisingly risqué.

javi82
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Re: Ernst Lubitsch on DVD

#72 Post by javi82 » Thu Jun 08, 2017 10:38 am

hearthesilence wrote:David Bordwell mentioned this in a blog post:

So This Is Paris is less famous than Lubitsch’s earlier American comedies primarily because it has never appeared on DVD... A beautiful 35mm print is owned by the Library of Congress, so there is hope.
I saw the LOC print at my local museum several months ago. It was brilliant. The film itself definitely has the Lubitsch touch, but it doesn't scale the heights of his best work. Still, I would be all over a decent home video release.

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Michael Kerpan
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Re: Ernst Lubitsch on DVD

#73 Post by Michael Kerpan » Thu Jun 08, 2017 4:01 pm

"Best" or not -- So This Is Paris (and Marriage Circle) are both near the very top of my Lubitsch list.

I would say that LOTS of STIP is on the risque side... ;-)

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Drucker
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Re: Ernst Lubitsch on DVD

#74 Post by Drucker » Fri Jun 09, 2017 11:43 am

Saw Angel last night. A fun movie that clearly showcases two things Lubitsch does extraordinarily well. The first is that he takes his time outlining the central plot of a film. We really have no idea where the film is going until we're into the second reel. I often go to films after work, and so sometimes I'm restless/tired/hungry. With his films however, I'm transfixed, and totally glued to the screen, eager to see what happens next. His ability to put surprising plot points (Angel's desertion of Halton) and film them in unique ways is so simple, but works so well. That moment called into my mind another point, which I really noticed during Cluny Brown and the last scene of Ninotchka. Lubitsch's films are tremendously musical even though there are not a large amount of musical cues. Moments like the one I just mentioned fall completely silently, and make the viewer feel that all the air has been sucked out of the room. I keep thinking music stopped playing, but there hadn't necessarily been music in the previous scene, but the way his films move and progress is so musical that the silent moments feel accented.

Not a laugh out loud film, but certainly top rate and on par with most of his classics I've seen from the 1930s. Certainly calls to mind the maturity of The Shop Around The Corner.

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Drucker
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Re: Ernst Lubitsch on DVD

#75 Post by Drucker » Wed Jun 14, 2017 11:07 pm

That Uncertain Feeling is an absolute gem. The film is incredibly well-focused, and unlike Cluny Brown or some of his other films, the plot kicks in pretty immediately, with a wife bored from an inattentive husband, and her falling for someone else. Melvyn Douglass is spectacular as usual, but really puts in an amazing performance here. His tone shifts from aloof to arrogant to deranged and carefree, and he pulls it off marvelously. One moment he's weeping as he's unable to part in his marriage, and the next he's pulling off hijinx in order to win her back. There are lots of touches of real black comedy here, including an absolute gasp-worthy moment
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when Douglas does a sarcastic Heil Hitler, which comes out of nowhere, but I found it even more shocking and showstopping than the famous line about Shakesepeare and Warsaw (I think?) in To Be Or Not To Be.
Superb film, which is probably the driest comedy I've ever seen from Lubitsch.

I also caught Trouble In Paradise the other day. I've nothing exceptional to add that I'm sure isn't obvious to its films admirers. For whatever reason, the first time I saw the film on DVD it did nothing for me (which was unusual for a Lubitsch film). In a theater it all came alive, however. Lubitsch's jokes are never obvious or expected, but they are exactly what they should be (the pickpocketing of the main couple for example). Probably not my favorite of his films, but clearly in the running for one of his best.

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