More Peter Watkins in R1?

Discuss North American DVDs and Blu-rays or other DVD and Blu-ray-related topics.
Post Reply
Message
Author
User avatar
Steven H
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 3:30 pm
Location: NC

#1 Post by Steven H » Wed May 11, 2005 10:01 pm

from twitchfilm.net:
Basically, it seems Morningstar got the gig because Watkins' people were referred to them by the director Ron Mann, who's worked with them a number of times and really liked the results.

And yes, there will be additional Watkins releases -- "Edvard Munch", "The War Game", "Culloden" and "The Commune" among them. Dates and specs have yet to be locked down, though; I wouldn't expect to see anything for a while.
This is referring to the Canadian release of Punishment Park (Savant review here).

leo goldsmith
Joined: Mon Nov 08, 2004 1:13 pm
Location: Kings County
Contact:

#2 Post by leo goldsmith » Thu May 12, 2005 1:25 pm

I've been in touch with Oliver at Project X, the company that handles Watkins's films in the US and Canada, and this seems to jive with their plans. Also, there are new 35mm prints of Edvard Munch currently touring select cities in N. America. It opens at Cinema Village in NYC on 6/17, I believe.

nredding2
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 4:46 pm

#3 Post by nredding2 » Thu May 12, 2005 3:11 pm

Also, there are new 35mm prints of Edvard Munch currently touring select cities in N. America.
I saw this in Ottawa recently. Well worth viewing.
I watched Punishment Park last night. Rather ironic how it suddenly looks very relevant 34 years after it was made.
I'd really like to seeWar Games.

Arcadean
Joined: Tue May 10, 2005 5:33 am

#4 Post by Arcadean » Thu May 12, 2005 4:08 pm

The War Game is definitely a masterpiece. I have a copy of Culloden that I will probably be viewing tomorrow. Watkins is underappreciated. I wish the BBC didn't ban The War Game. I'm pretty sure it hurt their relationship with Watkins and I don't know if he ever got a real budget to make films anymore.

leo goldsmith
Joined: Mon Nov 08, 2004 1:13 pm
Location: Kings County
Contact:

#5 Post by leo goldsmith » Sun Jun 19, 2005 2:01 am

leo goldsmith wrote:Also, there are new 35mm prints of Edvard Munch currently touring select cities in N. America. It opens at Cinema Village in NYC on 6/17, I believe.
I just wanted to bump this thread and encourage anyone and everyone in the NYC area to catch Edvard Munch during its run at Cinema Village. It is an astonishing film -- possibly Watkins's best -- and an excellent initiation to his body of work (for those of you who aren't familiar with him). Also, look for a feature on Watkins at notcoming.com, coming any minute now, by some (other) hack.

User avatar
tryavna
Joined: Wed Mar 30, 2005 4:38 pm
Location: North Carolina

#6 Post by tryavna » Wed May 03, 2006 3:44 pm

I wasn't sure which thread I should use to post this, since we have discussions of Watkins going on in several places. At any rate, Peter Watkins' own website states that Project X/New Yorker Films aim to release Culloden and The War Game together on July 25, 2006. (Unfortunately, neither Project X nor New Yorker list these dates on their respective websites, but then again, neither seems to have been updated in a while.) Scroll down to the bottom of either here or here.


Matt, I figure you can move this post to -- or merge this whole thread with -- the thread for New Yorker over in Boutique Labels if you want.

User avatar
Gordon
Joined: Thu Nov 11, 2004 8:03 am

#7 Post by Gordon » Thu May 04, 2006 3:25 am

I wasn't expecting that set so soon; great news! At this rate we'll have The Freethinker before the year is out. :D

lovermanzig
Joined: Fri Apr 21, 2006 12:07 am

#8 Post by lovermanzig » Thu May 04, 2006 12:34 pm

I'm personally waiting for La Commune, which one can buy from France I believe (for a pretty penny).

The NY'er DVD of Edvard Munch is absolutely gorgeous...keep it up, guys!

leo goldsmith
Joined: Mon Nov 08, 2004 1:13 pm
Location: Kings County
Contact:

#9 Post by leo goldsmith » Thu May 04, 2006 12:54 pm

tryavna wrote:Peter Watkins' own website states that Project X/New Yorker Films aim to release Culloden and The War Game together on July 25, 2006.
Do you have any idea if this is a recent update to Watkins's site? I don't think he updates his site very frequently either. Still, the precise date is heartening.

Has someone emailed Oliver Groom?

User avatar
pemmican
Joined: Thu Feb 23, 2006 8:19 pm
Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada
Contact:

#10 Post by pemmican » Fri May 05, 2006 3:32 am

My recent interview with Groom about upcoming projects is here.

LA COMMUNE is also available on VHS from the National Film Board of Canada -- don't know if they plan a DVD release. They DO have a DVD of THE UNIVERSAL CLOCK, a documentary about the making of LA COMMUNE. For reasons unclear to me, they only show up in a catalogue search if you identify yourself as being in Canada, so I don't know if they'll ship these to the US or elsewhere. Try here, tho'.

While I'm link-happy, here's an article I wrote on PUNISHMENT PARK. If anyone here is from Vancouver, I'll be screening it at Blim on May 30th.

User avatar
tryavna
Joined: Wed Mar 30, 2005 4:38 pm
Location: North Carolina

#11 Post by tryavna » Fri May 05, 2006 11:30 am

leo goldsmith wrote:
tryavna wrote:Peter Watkins' own website states that Project X/New Yorker Films aim to release Culloden and The War Game together on July 25, 2006.
Do you have any idea if this is a recent update to Watkins's site? I don't think he updates his site very frequently either. Still, the precise date is heartening.
Unfortunately, I don't know the answer to that question. The only indication I see is that at the very bottom of each page is listed a 2006 copyright date. That may not mean anything; however, as you said, having precise date is indeed heartening, and I just wanted to share the info.

leo goldsmith
Joined: Mon Nov 08, 2004 1:13 pm
Location: Kings County
Contact:

#12 Post by leo goldsmith » Fri May 05, 2006 12:13 pm

tryavna wrote:I just wanted to share the info.
I wasn't scolding you! Thanks for sharing.
pemmican wrote:A COMMUNE is also available on VHS from the National Film Board of Canada -- don't know if they plan a DVD release. They DO have a DVD of THE UNIVERSAL CLOCK, a documentary about the making of LA COMMUNE.
Any thoughts on Clock? I've been curious to see this, but haven't been able to get my hands on it.

User avatar
pemmican
Joined: Thu Feb 23, 2006 8:19 pm
Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada
Contact:

#13 Post by pemmican » Tue May 23, 2006 10:35 pm

Me again. I've just posted Peter Watkins' self-interview on Punishment Park on my blog, thought people might be interested. It's probably out there elsewise, but just in case.

User avatar
Ashirg
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 9:10 am
Location: Atlanta

#14 Post by Ashirg » Wed May 24, 2006 1:16 am

I already posted this in Forthcoming Films post, but War Game/Culloden is coming to region 1 on July 25.

User avatar
tryavna
Joined: Wed Mar 30, 2005 4:38 pm
Location: North Carolina

#15 Post by tryavna » Wed May 24, 2006 10:10 am

Ashirg wrote:I already posted this in Forthcoming Films post, but War Game/Culloden is coming to region 1 on July 25.
Mentioned above . . . by me. 8-)
Ashirg wrote:War Game/Culloden is coming to region 1 on July 25.
Reviewed by Savant.

User avatar
Buttery Jeb
Just in it for the game.
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 10:55 pm

#16 Post by Buttery Jeb » Tue Aug 08, 2006 10:01 pm

According to Facets' IndieSource, "La Commune (Paris 1871)" is coming out on October 24th. According to the posting, it will be a 3-disc set, and include "The Universal Clock: The Resistance of Peter Watkins" documentary and a Watkins bio.

-BJ

User avatar
Orphic Lycidas
Joined: Fri Jun 02, 2006 7:25 pm
Location: NY/NJ, USA

#17 Post by Orphic Lycidas » Wed Aug 09, 2006 2:20 pm

Buttery Jeb wrote:According to Facets' IndieSource, "La Commune (Paris 1871)" is coming out on October 24th. According to the posting, it will be a 3-disc set, and include "The Universal Clock: The Resistance of Peter Watkins" documentary and a Watkins bio.
Do you know if this is Facets' that's putting this one out or is this a continuation of the Project X series? Sounds like a great package. I don't think "The Universal Clock" is a particularly great film but it certainly has its share of moments (it's a perfect addition to "La Commune"). Thanx for the info.

User avatar
Ashirg
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 9:10 am
Location: Atlanta

#18 Post by Ashirg » Wed Aug 09, 2006 2:35 pm


User avatar
Buttery Jeb
Just in it for the game.
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 10:55 pm

#19 Post by Buttery Jeb » Wed Aug 09, 2006 2:35 pm

I believe it's First Run Features putting this out, as they handled the non-theatrical runs of the film I've seen. Project X/New Yorker are not involved with this one title.

-BJ

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

#20 Post by Sanjuro » Mon Dec 24, 2007 10:33 pm

The DVD Talk review of La Commune isn't very positive so I guess the French disc is the way to go. Is The Universal Clock available by itself anywhere?
Finally what the producers of this disc have given us is the 345 standard version and not the rare longer 560 min. cut.
Is this a mistake? There's a Longer-Long Version at 9 hours?? Can't see anything about this on Peter Watkins website.

Adam
Joined: Sun Dec 09, 2007 8:29 pm
Location: Los Angeles CA
Contact:

#21 Post by Adam » Wed Jan 02, 2008 9:16 pm

Filmforum screened the 6 hour version in Los Angeles, and I never have heard of a longer 9 hour version.

Has anyone here seen The Journey? That's only about 15 hours (at least, the print at Canyon Cinema is 14.5 hrs). I wonder if that will ever see a DVD release.

Roger_Thornhill
Joined: Thu Dec 01, 2005 10:35 pm

#22 Post by Roger_Thornhill » Thu Jan 03, 2008 10:51 pm

Sanjuro wrote:The DVD Talk review of La Commune isn't very positive so I guess the French disc is the way to go. Is The Universal Clock available by itself anywhere?
Finally what the producers of this disc have given us is the 345 standard version and not the rare longer 560 min. cut.
Is this a mistake? There's a Longer-Long Version at 9 hours?? Can't see anything about this on Peter Watkins website.
La Commune was a really, really hard film to sit through. It was the only Watkins film that bored me to tears even though I find the subject matter interesting and Watkins' approach to the material unique (actors not only comment on their character's situations but also on the process of making La Commune itself). It just goes on far too long and becomes tedious and repetitive.

User avatar
Orphic Lycidas
Joined: Fri Jun 02, 2006 7:25 pm
Location: NY/NJ, USA

#23 Post by Orphic Lycidas » Mon Jan 07, 2008 5:50 pm

Adam wrote:Filmforum screened the 6 hour version in Los Angeles, and I never have heard of a longer 9 hour version.

Has anyone here seen The Journey? That's only about 15 hours (at least, the print at Canyon Cinema is 14.5 hrs). I wonder if that will ever see a DVD release.
I believe "The Journey" is available from Facets on VHS, for a hefty price tag. I've seen about a third of the film. It has its moments. A few spots about how mass media film editing and overlapping sound-effects pre-process thought have really stayed with me. I've never watched a documentary since without mentally going back to that part of Watkins' film. Ronald Reagan's ugly face is all over the film. I remember watching the film in the Film Forum in NYC and during an interval someone who worked there came in and told us that Ronald Reagan had just died. The theater exploded in applause.

The film opens with a discussion of how nuclear weapons operate, what their components are, what the giant aluminum tubes look like. Watkins ever-present voice is heard interviewing various families from different parts of the globe showing them photos of the aftermath of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, asking them what their social and political concerns are, how they feel about certain issues. Apparently this interviews take unexpected turns later on in the film (with one family member deciding to meet a member of another family Watkins' is interviewing) but I have not seen that part of the film. It's rather arresting at times but I don't want to give the impression that this is a completely successful work. "The Journey" compacts all of the worse flaws in Watkins. He let's his subjects go on for way too long even when they don't say much that can be considered very intelligent ("Why don't politicians help us!" "I believe in peace because it's important; now let me just smile for the camera and limit my political statements to hippie flourishes," etc). I remember finding large spans of the film embarrassingly naive and simply boring. I'll have to take a look at the whole film before giving a definitive opinion but I do think it's worth watching while simultaneously being one of Watkins' weakest films. I'm afraid I'll have to echo Roger_Thornhill's sentiments on "La Commune." It's a great three hour film in need of an editor. My main problem with Watkins, a filmmaker I otherwise very greatly admire, is that he leaves far too much to chance. His film-making is 'democratic' to the point of being anarchic. I'm not expecting all film makers to be Miklos Jancso, where every movement and every gesture is composed and symbolic but sometimes some of the stuff that comes out of his actors' mouths are just really lame. The "Imperialism is immoral" guy in "Punishment Park" still really gets to me. Jeezus...

Have you guys seen New Yorker's "Edvard Munch" Special Edition yet? What do you think of the added scenes? Now that "Privilege" seems to be the next film coming out I hope they'll jump on "The 70s People" and "Evening Land." They're unbelievable! And almost no one has seen them!! Maybe they could pair up "Evening Land" with "The Trap" on one DVD like they did with "The War Game"/"Culloden"?

User avatar
Buttery Jeb
Just in it for the game.
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 10:55 pm

#24 Post by Buttery Jeb » Wed Apr 30, 2008 11:27 am

Filmbo's Chick Magnet has word that "Privlege" is coming from New Yorker in July. Extras will include the "Lonely Boy" short documentary with Paul Anka, trailers and stills and poster gallery.

-BJ

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

#25 Post by miless » Wed May 07, 2008 5:55 pm

now that Privilege is coming out, there are only four Watkins films/projects that have yet to be released... and of these two are in the works (according to Watkins' site)

The Journey and Evening Land are both 'in the works'

Watkins is 'attempting to convince Danish TV' to let him produce a DVD of The Seventies People

and The Trap is only available in a Swedish subtitled video copy (and the original, non-subtitled video copy in France has been reported as missing), making a release highly unlikely.

Post Reply