El Sur

[Alphonse Tram]

The BFI are re-releasing this theatrically in September, so a blu-ray will almost certainly follow soon after.

[Manny Karp]

Oh my God, I'm so excited about this I'm gonna change my username to "Victor Erice" and carpet bomb this thread until the disc is in my hands.

[MichaelB]

Wonderful news! I have the Spanish BD, but there's certainly room for improvement.

Oddly enough, I was thinking of El Sur only the other day when recording the commentary for Arrow's upcoming The Night of the Shooting Stars and discussing Omero Antonutti's career - it's probably the highest-profile arthouse film that he made (at least internationally) that wasn't directed by the Taviani brothers. (Although I do have a very soft spot for Pedro Olea's enormously entertaining The Fencing Master, made a decade later.)

[Big Ben]

I remember this from the old MUBI days. I haven't seen it but it 's certainly on my list now.

[bottled spider]

I'll be in the UK sometime in September, and if they advertise the dates of the theatrical run soon enough I can plan my itinerary accordingly. The Blu-ray will be a definite purchase, blind or otherwise. Long been curious to see more of Erice.

[What A Disgrace]

Criterion has been a bit too slow to put this film out on Blu-ray. Whoever goes first, wins my purchase.

[rapta]

Erice on Blu-ray would be huge news...been waiting for a UK label to do The Spirit of the Beehive for quite a while now (Optimum had it last). Very happy to see more Spanish cinema in HD in general!

Plenty of stuff is re-released theatrically by the BFI and doesn't make it to Blu-ray thought...but generally because they don't have the home video rights (e.g. studio pictures). Do we know if a Blu-ray is particularly certain in this case?

I notice they submitted it to the BBFC last September (for theatrical release).

[MichaelB]

Plenty of stuff is re-released theatrically by the BFI and doesn't make it to Blu-ray thought...but generally because they don't have the home video rights (e.g. studio pictures). Do we know if a Blu-ray is particularly certain in this case?

We don't at all, and of course it may well not be the case. European arthouse cinema in particular is often picked up just for theatrical distribution.

[Finch]

I've been considering to buy the Spanish Blu-Ray every now and then, but a BFI BD would be fantastic and complement Saura's Cria Cuervos nicely as another Spanish title in the BFI series. Who's got Spirit of the Beehive in the UK? I know there was a DVD but I don't remember who put it out (Optimum, in which case it'd be with Studio Canal now?).

[rapta]

Plenty of stuff is re-released theatrically by the BFI and doesn't make it to Blu-ray thought...but generally because they don't have the home video rights (e.g. studio pictures). Do we know if a Blu-ray is particularly certain in this case?

We don't at all, and of course it may well not be the case. European arthouse cinema in particular is often picked up just for theatrical distribution.

True. Since writing this I had a look at the BFI DCP list and noticed that most of the titles they have released theatrically have been released on home video either by themselves or another label (or at least the rights are presumably still with another label...for example Rohmer's Le Rayon Vert is with Arrow).

So that does in fact imply this will probably get a Blu-ray release by them, seeing as nobody else seems to have the UK rights at the moment (that we know of). We could of course be wrong, and if it's not BFI releasing it themselves, then it will almost certainly be coming from one of the other great UK labels (Eureka, Arrow, Second Run, Artificial Eye).

Who's got Spirit of the Beehive in the UK? I know there was a DVD but I don't remember who put it out (Optimum, in which case it'd be with Studio Canal now?).

Optimum's release went OOP, so I presume it reverted to the Spanish rightsholder. But I'd be surprised if any UK label hadn't tried to pick it up since.

Does anyone have the DVD? I never managed to get hold of it. It might be a case where the materials aren't in particularly good shape for an HD transfer and would require restoration, in which case it would be a long-term project. But then that doesn't explain why nobody else has released it since, even on DVD. An odd one that's for sure...

Presumably everyone's waiting on somebody to restore it. Either that or some particularly fiddly rights issues.

[Calvin]

Does anyone have the DVD? I never managed to get hold of it. It might be a case where the materials aren't in particularly good shape for an HD transfer and would require restoration, in which case it would be a long-term project. But then that doesn't explain why nobody else has released it since, even on DVD. An odd one that's for sure...

Presumably everyone's waiting on somebody to restore it. Either that or some particularly fiddly rights issues.

A Spanish Blu-Ray was released a few years back. Caps-a-holic comparison with the Criterion DVD here. It looks like it needs tweaking (too dark?), but I'm not sure it requires an entirely new restoration.

[John Doe]

http://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news ... re-anymore" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[rapta]

Known this was coming for a few months now but very happy it's arriving as early as January!

The BFI posted a trailer for this a couple of months ago, by the way. Looks excellent!

[Finch]

Hawks from Criterion, a German silent from MoC, DePalma and Peckinpah from Arrow and Erice from the BFI, all in January. Couldn't ask for a better start to the new year. Hope El Sur sells so that the BFI is encouraged to delve deeper into Spanish cinema, especially more Carlos Saura.

[rapta]

Any more Saura or Erice at this point would be wonderful. Not holding my breath though. Spanish label Divisa have released a lot of both directors' work on Blu-ray, but not sure what the transfers are like.

Obviously The Spirit of the Beehive is the kind of title no label in their right mind would turn down (assuming it has been restored like El Sur).

[criterionsnob]

BFI Dual Format - January 23rd.

[rapta]

Sorry yeah, already confirmed on the main BFI thread a while back. Hopefully this will encourage more Erice releases in the UK!

[Tommaso]

Hopefully this will encourage more Erice releases in the UK!

More importantly, hopefully this will encourage Erice to make a new feature film. Apart from some occasional shorts, he didn't make a new full-length film after "El sol del membrillo". What are the reasons for this absence?

However, imdb now lists a 2016 documentary (?) called "Victor Erice: Abbas Kiarostami: Correspondencias", 96 minutes long. Does anyone know more about that film? There was a 2006 book of the same title, but I don't know it

[Pepsi]

Spanish label Divisa have released a lot of both directors' work on Blu-ray, but not sure what the transfers are like.

I have the Vertice Spanish Blue for EL SUR (English subs) OOP, and the quality is not at all bad.

[ellipsis7]

Basically Erice - Kiarostami - Correspondances was an exchange of ten filmic letters which formed a video correspondence between the two directors (i.e. five created & sent by each to the other)... This in turn formed an installation - a juxtaposition of two creative worlds - which exhibited first in Barcelona, Madrid & Paris, and was curated by Alain Bergala and Jordi Balló... 2 catalogues were published, one by the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona & the other by the Pompidou Centre in Paris... Trailer for the installation showing in Melbourne here... Not sure about a 96 minute feature length version, presumably the ten video missives together, perhaps with additional material...

[zedz]

Basically Erice - Kiarostami - Correspondances was an exchange of ten filmic letters which formed a video correspondence between the two directors (i.e. five created & sent by each to the other)... This in turn formed an installation - a juxtaposition of two creative worlds - which exhibited first in Barcelona, Madrid & Paris, and was curated by Alain Bergala and Jordi Balló... 2 catalogues were published, one by the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona & the other by the Pompidou Centre in Paris... Trailer for the installation showing in Melbourne here... Not sure about a 96 minute feature length version, presumably the ten video missives together, perhaps with additional material...

There was a series of these inter-filmmaker correspondences, and they're all available in a Spanish box set except for the Erice / Kiarostami ones. They vary wildly in approach. Some are just glorifed video-letters, some are proper stand alone short films (Alonso), and Albert Serra contributes a feature.

[markhax]

!

However, imdb now lists a 2016 documentary (?) called "Victor Erice: Abbas Kiarostami: Correspondencias", 96 minutes long. Does anyone know more about that film? There was a 2006 book of the same title, but I don't know it

The film inspired an exhibition by the same name at the Centre Pompidou in Paris in 2007. http://mediation.centrepompidou.fr/educ ... stami.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[ellipsis7]

!

However, imdb now lists a 2016 documentary (?) called "Victor Erice: Abbas Kiarostami: Correspondencias", 96 minutes long. Does anyone know more about that film? There was a 2006 book of the same title, but I don't know it

The film inspired an exhibition by the same name at the Centre Pompidou in Paris in 2007. http://mediation.centrepompidou.fr/educ ... stami.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

No, (see my previous post) the installation/exhibition came first, the feature film is clearly an afterthought...

[MichaelB]

Full specs announced:

El Sur (The South)
A film by Víctor Erice

“One of the best in Spanish cinema history” Pedro Almodóvar

Recalling her youth in northern Spain during the 1950s, Estrella revisits her relationship with her beloved father Agustín, who was raised in the south, and realises how little she knew of him and his secrets. Víctor Erice’s delicate and mysterious film reveals his abiding fascination with memory and loss, missed opportunities and the links between private dreams and political realities.

Following its well-received theatrical release in September, El Sur now comes to DVD and Blu-ray, released by the BFI on 23 January 2017 in a Dual Format Edition.

The performances, like the meticulously lit compositions and the evocative soundtrack, are superb throughout; Omero Antonutti is a charismatic Agustín, while Sonsoles Aranguren and Icíar Bollaín shine, as respectively, the young and teenaged Estella.

Although less well-known than Erice’s The Spirit of the Beehive, El Sur is exquisitely beautiful and profoundly moving.

Special features
• Presented in both High Definition and Standard Definition
• Haunted Memory: The cinema of Víctor Erice (Adrian Martin, Cristina Álvarez López, 2016, 13mins): a video essay celebrating the great Spanish director
• Víctor Erice interviewed by Geoff Andrew (UK, 2003, 83mins, audio only)
• Theatrical re-release trailer (2016)
• Fully illustrated booklet featuring essays by Geoff Andrew and Mar Diestro-Dópido and full film credits

Product details
RRP: £19.99/ Cat. no. BFIB1229 / Cert PG
Spain / 1983 / colour / 95 mins / Spanish language with English subtitles / original aspect ratio 1.66:1 // BD50: 1080p, 24fps, PCM mono audio (48k/24-bit) // DVD9: PAL, 25fps, Dolby Digital mono audio (192 kbps)

[criterionsnob]

Beaver. Too bad about the edge enhancement. Hopefully Criterion releases this soon.