Emil and the Detectives

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MichaelB
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Emil and the Detectives

#1 Post by MichaelB » Fri May 03, 2013 11:56 am

The classic kids' adventure, in an edition that includes both the celebrated 1931 Billy Wilder-scripted German version and a rare 1935 British version.

Out on 19 August, DVD only.

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RossyG
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Re: Emil and the Detectives

#2 Post by RossyG » Fri May 03, 2013 11:59 am

Fabulous news. The Wilder/Emeric Pressburger version is a lovely film.

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rohmerin
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Re: Emil and the Detectives

#3 Post by rohmerin » Fri May 03, 2013 12:24 pm

I agree, it's a very, very, very beautiful film.

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TMDaines
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Re: Emil and the Detectives

#4 Post by TMDaines » Fri May 03, 2013 1:41 pm

Been meaning to buy the German for a while so this is a lovely left-field choice.

didi-5
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Re: Emil and the Detectives

#5 Post by didi-5 » Fri May 03, 2013 5:38 pm

We loved the 1935 version when it was shown at the Southbank, will be really good to have a copy. I've heard good things about the German version so a definite buy for me.

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Tommaso
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Re: Emil and the Detectives

#6 Post by Tommaso » Fri May 03, 2013 5:56 pm

Absolutely unbelievable news, at least for me. I never thought that any international label would pick an important German sound film of that vintage not directed by Lang, Pabst or perhaps Ophuls (not that any German Ophuls has been released internationally, but I still keep dreaming of "Liebelei"). But certainly Gerhard Lamprecht was a very fine director, too, and this one contains one of Fritz Rasp's greatest performances, and of course the film's also a wonderful portrait of late Weimar Berlin. Much more than just a children's film, if you think of that stunning hallucination sequence or the climax in which Rasp is followed by about 20 children trying to stop his game.

Truly great, and I hope that the BFI can improve on the printwise somewhat battered German releases. And then, good people, please move on to Austria and do some Willi Forst. "Leise flehen meine Lieder" can easily be sold due to its Ozu connection (hint hint nudge nudge...)

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HerrSchreck
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Re: Emil and the Detectives

#7 Post by HerrSchreck » Sat May 04, 2013 2:13 pm

Lamprecht is getting some nice play, lately. Slums of Berlin/Die Verruf., and now this sparkling jewel of a promise . . . .

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Tommaso
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Re: Emil and the Detectives

#8 Post by Tommaso » Sat May 04, 2013 4:49 pm

Indeed, and don't forget the outstanding 2-discer of Lamprecht's 1927 "Der alte Fritz" which was also released last year. Very good to see that this director is being rediscovered, at least a little bit.

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lubitsch
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Re: Emil and the Detectives

#9 Post by lubitsch » Sat May 04, 2013 5:27 pm

Not to forget the 3 book package on him by the Kinemathek, the inclusion of Diesel in the Brüche and Kontinuitäten DVD box and the announcement of Unter der roten Laterne for an arte broadcast in September.
Emil is still a comparatively famous film, I wish BFI would dare to dig a bit deeper, Tommaso and me would have lots of suggestions for which the BFI would receive rave rewievs as big rediscoveries. But it's indeed good to see English releases of German films outside the old master director cliches and anything that's fantastic. Lamprecht is one of the strongest representatives of realism in German film which is something that never got the attention it should have.

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Tommaso
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Re: Emil and the Detectives

#10 Post by Tommaso » Sat May 04, 2013 5:44 pm

Hehe... I was just about to recommend "Prinzessin Turandot" (1934), which certainly doesn't fit at all into the general idea of Lamprecht's realism. Admittedly, an exception in his work, but he handled this - for him - unusual material in a wholly convincing manner and produced one of the most endearing German sound film operettas in the process.

Looking much forward to "Unter der roten Laterne", of course (and even more to the new resto of Fanck's "Der Kampf mit dem Berg" which will be shown on arte in December).
Last edited by Tommaso on Sat May 04, 2013 7:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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HerrSchreck
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Re: Emil and the Detectives

#11 Post by HerrSchreck » Sat May 04, 2013 7:09 pm

That's all fantastic, of course. What I wouldn't give for a scholarly 2 disc set of Lamprecht's Die Verrufenen, and Jutzi's Mutter Krauses Farht ins glück, as a sort of German realist tribute and academic study, as well as a tribute to Zille's influence on the movement.

This is the hi impact (neo)realism of Bicycle Thieves twenty years earlier and with searing emotional effect.

CC, MoC or Kino should seriously consider such a set for r1/ntsc.

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Tommaso
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Re: Emil and the Detectives

#12 Post by Tommaso » Sat May 04, 2013 7:54 pm

Yep. In this respect I still wonder about the two recent German releases of Murnau's "Tabu" and Zelnik's "Die Weber", curated apparently by FWMS but without much (or any) promotion by them. No extras or subs on these, but if they can release a relatively unknown film like "Die Weber" - which fits into the 'socially conscious and realist' slot - there should be at least some chance for a release of the stunning new resto of "Mutter Krause" (which is the much more important film, of course), even though it probably won't have subs. Well, perhaps they're simply too ashamed about that awful new soundtrack that was recorded for the arte transmission.

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antnield
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Re: Emil and the Detectives

#13 Post by antnield » Fri May 24, 2013 8:47 am

Image

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zedz
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Re: Emil and the Detectives

#14 Post by zedz » Sun May 26, 2013 4:51 pm

What a wonderful cover.

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Re: Emil and the Detectives

#15 Post by JabbaTheSlut » Sun May 26, 2013 5:03 pm

von?

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Tommaso
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Re: Emil and the Detectives

#16 Post by Tommaso » Sun May 26, 2013 6:07 pm

I'm not quite sure why they have to point out that these are 'live action' films. Does the cover really suggest animation, or is there an animated version I've never heard of? And I don't know, somehow I'd have liked to have a sneering Fritz Rasp on the cover, if only to make sure that this reaches an audience far beyond 'children's films'.

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MichaelB
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Re: Emil and the Detectives

#17 Post by MichaelB » Thu Jun 13, 2013 7:53 am

Full specs announced:
Emil and the Detectives
(Emil und die Detektive)
A film by Gerhard Lamprecht

The latest in the BFI’s DVD releases of film adaptations of children’s books, released on 15 July 2013, is Emil and the Detectives, the classic story by Erich Kästner.

Featuring a screenplay written with Billy Wilder and Emeric Pressburger, this original German version from 1931 is directed by Gerhard Lamprecht. It is accompanied by the rarely-shown 1935 British remake by Milton Rosmer which was set on the streets of London.

When young Emil is sent to Berlin by his mother, the money he is carrying to give to his granny is stolen by a sinister man on the train. Once in Berlin, Emil follows the thief and enlists the help of a gang of youngsters – ‘the detectives’ – to help retrieve the stolen money.

This 1931 German adaptation of Erich Kästner's much-loved book was written by Kästner himself in collaboration with the legendary Billy Wilder (Sunset Boulevard, The Apartment) and an uncredited Emeric Pressburger (A Matter of Life and Death, The Red Shoes).

One of the first German sound films, Emil and the Detectives provides a fascinating glimpse of Berlin before Nazism and the Second World War.

Special features
Emil and the Detectives (Milton Rosmer, 1935, 60 mins): once considered to be a lost film, this rare British adaptation has been newly transferred from the only surviving film elements.
• Illustrated booklet with original promotional material, contemporary reviews, and new essays by Children's Laureate Michael Rosen, Bryony Dixon and Caren Willig.

Product details
RRP: £19.99 / cat. no. BFIVD981 / Cert U
Germany / 1931 / black and white / German language, with English subtitles / 69 mins / Dolby Digital mono audio (320kbps) / DVD9 / Original aspect ratio 1.33:1
...and they've published a clip from the 1935 version here.

Oh, and here's the final packshot:

Image

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antnield
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Re: Emil and the Detectives

#18 Post by antnield » Thu Jun 13, 2013 12:21 pm

MichaelB wrote:• Illustrated booklet with original promotional material, contemporary reviews, and new essays by Children's Laureate Michael Rosen, Bryony Dixon and Caren Willig.
Rosen spoke with the Guardian last month about the book.

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MichaelB
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Re: Emil and the Detectives

#19 Post by MichaelB » Thu Jul 11, 2013 2:28 am

Mondo Digital - whose comments on the transfer (or rather, the surviving film elements) make it pretty clear why a Blu-ray wasn't considered.

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