Martin Scorsese Presents Masterpieces of Polish Cinema

[TheDoug]

Where, when & how much? Are they up for pre-order?

Where: Definitely Poland, possibly elsewhere.
When: Early October for volume 1, some time in 2016 for the other two, presumably with similar gaps between Vols 1, 2 and 3.
How much: 399 złotys seems to be the RRP, which is currently £69.99, €94.99 or US$104.99 (rounded up or down to the nearest .99)

Finally available after some delay from this website only: http://store.mspresents.com/screen/product" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Just in time for the holidays!

[twicebilled]

Curious of the running time for Faraon.

This showed up yesterday and I finally had time to look the set over and can respond. FARAON has a run time of 151:51 compared to the 145:06 run time of the polish Best Film DVD release.

[L.A.]

Curious of the running time for Faraon.

This showed up yesterday and I finally had time to look the set over and can respond. FARAON has a run time of 151:51 compared to the 145:06 run time of the polish Best Film DVD release.

Thanks for the info.

[MichaelB]

Curious of the running time for Faraon.

This showed up yesterday and I finally had time to look the set over and can respond. FARAON has a run time of 151:51 compared to the 145:06 run time of the polish Best Film DVD release.

PAL speedup accounts for most of that (a direct conversion would produce a running time of 151:18), and I suspect the remainder is down to restoration credits.

[twicebilled]

Curious of the running time for Faraon.

This showed up yesterday and I finally had time to look the set over and can respond. FARAON has a run time of 151:51 compared to the 145:06 run time of the polish Best Film DVD release.

PAL speedup accounts for most of that (a direct conversion would produce a running time of 151:18), and I suspect the remainder is down to restoration credits.

Correct, the difference comes from PAL speedup along with restoration credits at the end of the film and a new digitized KADR credit at the intro.

[L.A.]

Just curious, does the new Masterpieces of Polish Cinema Blu-ray box contain any supplemental material?

[MichaelB]

As far as I'm aware, just an intro from Martin Scorsese and a booklet.

[TheDoug]

As far as I'm aware, just an intro from Martin Scorsese and a booklet.

Yes, you are correct, just as Michael B said just the booklet and the intros by Martin Scorsese. I own this set which I'm very satisfied with. I am curious as to what the time frame will be when the next two sets in this series will be released. I'm still waiting to hear in what format the Milestone Films releases will be, boxed sets or single disk releases?

[TMDaines]

The set is now 499 zloty on the site. Too dear for me when I already have three of the films on Blu-ray. Any reviews up online yet? Would be especially interested in comparisons between previous releases.

[domino harvey]

Limited number of boxes available in the states via Milestone, more details in the label's thread

[vertovfan]

I had mine shipped to the US from Poland back when they were 399 zł, but they seem to have removed that option when they raised the price. The box it was shipped in was badly crushed, but the blue box itself was undamaged due to plenty of packing foam. Some of the interior white cardboard was bent / creased though, presumably due to discs flopping around in the empty space. I absolutely love the films, and the picture quality seems very good to my eyes, though I'm admittedly not the most discerning or critical viewer. I have the previous blu-rays, and will try to compare them soon.

[domino harvey]

For this price Milestone better have it hand delivered by an actual Pole

[TheDoug]

I had mine shipped to the US from Poland back when they were 399 zł, but they seem to have removed that option when they raised the price. The box it was shipped in was badly crushed, but the blue box itself was undamaged due to plenty of packing foam. Some of the interior white cardboard was bent / creased though, presumably due to discs flopping around in the empty space. I absolutely love the films, and the picture quality seems very good to my eyes, though I'm admittedly not the most discerning or critical viewer. I have the previous blu-rays, and will try to compare them soon.

Like vertovfan, I ordered mine at the same pricing point 399 zl. from Poland. As he noted they no longer ship to the United States since Milestone posted their stock inventory. Mine wasn't even shipped in a box but was profusely wrapped in bubble-wrap. Go figure. Very satisfied with the set as well and the restoration quality seems fine.

[L.A.]

Now the site offers Finland in the countries section, with Priority Mail as a shipping option. Thinking should I email them and ask if they could offer courier instead. Just to get this in less than 24 hours!

[vertovfan]

I did a quick comparison with the Polish blu-rays that were released a while back. They look very similar to me, with similar disc sizes as well:

Hourglass Sanatorium 36 GB MS / 40 GB KinoRP (I don't have the Mr. Bongo release)
Man of Iron 44.3 GB MS / 41.1 GB KinoRP
Promised Land 45 GB MS / 41.7 GB KinoRP

Man of Iron and Promised Land might even use the same subtitles, but the Hourglass Sanatorium subs are definitely different.

[MichaelB]

Hourglass Sanatorium 36 GB MS / 40 GB KinoRP (I don't have the Mr. Bongo release)

You don't need the Mr Bongo release, because it uses exactly the same file as the KinoRP disc. Not just the same restoration and encode, but the exact same digital file, so it's identical in every possible way (including the subtitles).

[vertovfan]

Just a few thoughts on the films I've watched so far. Hourglass Sanatorium has long been a personal favorite, creepily surreal and a feast for the eyes. I enjoyed the way Man of Iron (and the earlier Man of Marble) put historical events and major social changes into a compelling human context. Promised Land feels more "epic", perhaps due to its 19th-century setting, but also calls to mind then-recent events like the 1970 shooting of Gdansk shipyard workers. Provincial Actors is more intimate, a painfully honest portrait of professional frustration and disillusionment. Camouflage covers similar territory, and adds a delightfully sadistic character who revels in tearing down the young protagonist's ideals. Great films, all - I can't wait to see the rest of them.

[L.A.]

One thing that bothers me is the aspect ratio for The Hourglass Sanatorium. In the end, which one is correct: 1.85:1 or 2.35:1?

[warren oates]

For me the real discoveries from this series and the reason I pulled the trigger for the Milestone box are the Zanussi films. Seeing the two included in this box (Camouflague and The Constant Factor) and Second Run's release of Illumination put him straight at the top of my list of "best directors you've not yet heard of." His films aren't for everyone, but they are for most of us here. He's really the equal -- in terms of seriousness, quality of output, rigor of thought -- of other intellectual filmmakers whose personal study of philosophy has influenced their work. I'm thinking of people like Rohmer, Dumont and Malick.

[swo17]

Absolutely. And of course Illumination will be on Volume 2.

Re: aspect ratio:

The contentious one is The Hourglass Sanatorium, which notionally should be 2.35:1 - but the restoration was signed off by the film's cinematographer and there honestly isn't the slightest compositional sign that 1.85:1 is incorrect, so I'd be curious to compare framegrabs with a 2.35:1 version.

[MichaelB]

Since I wrote that, I've actually interviewed The Hourglass Sanatorium's cinematographer Witold Sobocinski, who confirmed that 1.85:1 is absolutely the correct aspect ratio. It was shot in an experimental precursor to Super 35 whose negative aspect ratio was 1.85:1 - in other words, the 2.35:1 theatrical version was cropped at the top and bottom. Which is why the BD doesn't look cropped at the sides in a way that reframings from 2.35:1 almost invariably do.

So the BD is absolutely fine.

[domino harvey]

Highly recommend this new 8 x disc set. Familiar with all of the titles and must say you can't go wrong with any of them. "Salto" is my personal fave, easily rivals the best of 60s Bresson (no joke!) and could be a revelation for some. Wonder how it looks on BR format, restored DVD of that title released in Poland a year (two?) ago is absolutely fantastic when it comes to picture quality.

Watched Jump over the weekend and I must confess I didn't get anything Bressonian out of it. If anything, it was of a piece with Czech New Wave films of the era. I was left indifferent by it but would love to read a more spirited defense from any of its admirers

[vertovfan]

I just watched Jump a couple nights ago. It wasn't my favorite film in the set but I certainly enjoyed it, especially the beautifully strange dance scene. It's described in the notes as "a grotesque and derisive parody of the films of the Polish Film School from a few years earlier". I wonder if that includes Konwicki's own Last Day of Summer from 1958, which features similarly ambiguous characters and dialog, but without Jump's coming-down-to-earth at the end. Even so, I like that Jump remains open to multiple interpretations, some of them voiced by the characters themselves, like the idea that

SpoilerShow

they're all dead.

There's also a certain creepiness in the fact that actor Zbigniew Cybulski died jumping onto a train a couple years later.

I watched Pharaoh as well the other day, and was absolutely blown away by the visual style.

And yes, I'm also trying to engineer an aesthetically-pleasing way to flatten and strengthen my creased interior cardboard packaging.

[TheDoug]

Even though those that own Volume 1 of this set are just now getting around to viewing said contents, I'm curious as to what the proposed timeframe for the next two sets might be, quarterly or once a year. Once again they'll be some double-dipping for those that own these films in other formats or contained in other box sets but the blu-ray format is the clincher for acquiring these sets. Hopefully next time they'll reconsider how they distribute these bulky sets as well so as to incur less damage. We shall see...

[swo17]

Supposedly they are both coming this year.