Claire Denis on DVD

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Dylan · #76 Post by **Dylan** » Mon Aug 14, 2006 9:31 pm

Sounds great. Are they available at all, even on VHS or maybe on some 'unofficial releases' webpage (of course with English subtitles)? I'd really like to see these. David(hare), have you seen these as well?

And Zedz, "Nanette et Boni" is your favorite Denis, right? Do you remember it's original aspect ratio, or did you see it on VHS? There's a cheap VHS online I might buy, seeing as that no DVD release is on the horizon.

#77 Post by **zedz** » Mon Aug 14, 2006 11:19 pm

Dylan wrote:And Zedz, "Nanette et Boni" is your favorite Denis, right? Do you remember it's original aspect ratio, or did you see it on VHS? There's a cheap VHS online I might buy, seeing as that no DVD release is on the horizon.

I have a terrible memory for aspect ratios (other than ones at either extreme). I saw this on the big screen when it was first doing the rounds. Sublime! Two of the most perfect image / music fusions I know of: 'God Only Knows' (Vincent Gallo's finest three minutes?) and 'Tiny Tears' (Stuart Staples and Gregoire Colin's finest four?).

I've also got a very poor subtitled Korean - or Hong Kong - DVD. I'll check the AR on that, but I wouldn't count on it being correct. (It looks like a smeary video transfer.)

franco · #78 Post by **franco** » Mon Aug 14, 2006 11:38 pm

zedz wrote:I've also got a very poor subtitled Korean - or Hong Kong - DVD. I'll check the AR on that, but I wouldn't count on it being correct. (It looks like a smeary video transfer.)

Are you talking about this one, Zedz? Looks like it came from Taiwan.

Dylan · #79 Post by **Dylan** » Mon Aug 14, 2006 11:56 pm

'God Only Knows' (Vincent Gallo's finest three minutes?)

Alright, now I need to see this.

It looks like the Taiwan DVD isn't available, but a VCD (subtitled?) is. Can anybody vouch for this?

I'll likely just get the VHS, since it's really cheap and the subtitles are probably better (and if it's only 1.66 I'm not missing much). Then again, that VCD is dirt cheap as well.

Any other alternatives?

#80 Post by **zedz** » Tue Aug 15, 2006 12:23 am

franco wrote:
zedz wrote:I've also got a very poor subtitled Korean - or Hong Kong - DVD. I'll check the AR on that, but I wouldn't count on it being correct. (It looks like a smeary video transfer.)
Are you talking about this one, Zedz? Looks like it came from Taiwan.

That's the one!

Wasn't this released recently (unsubbed) in France? It's not currently available from either Amazon or Alapage, but a single copy is for sale from one of Amazon's sellers. It's accompanied by No Fear No Die, which I'd love to see.

franco · #81 Post by **franco** » Tue Aug 15, 2006 12:31 am

Dylan wrote:It looks like the Taiwan DVD isn't available, but a VCD (subtitled?) is.

I doubt it is subtitled in English. Most of these bootlegged VCDs and DVDs only have forced traditional Chinese subtitles.

Since when did your fascination with Claire Denis start to grow, Dylan... ah never mind. I just read your Pont Mirabeau

Dylan · #82 Post by **Dylan** » Tue Aug 15, 2006 1:15 am

I sort of accidently walked onto the Denis train last week (via Vincent Gallo). I thought "Trouble Every Day" was great: cinematically affecting while at the same time being a completely disturbing (and rather sickening) physical/emotional rampage. It was incredibly well-balanced in its presentation, particularly for a film of this sort (and there aren't many of them, only "Twentynine Palms" is coming to mind). From what I understand, this is not a typical reaction, particularly if it was one's first Denis (as it was mine), but even aside from that, almost everybody else seems to hate it.

It looks like none of her work with Gallo is on R1, aside from Netflix carrying the R0 of "Trouble Every Day." Anybody seen their first work together, "Keep it for Yourself?"

At least Denis is more represented on R1 than other directors.

#83 Post by **zedz** » Mon Nov 27, 2006 9:50 pm

I checked out my Nenette DVD and it's 1.66 - and that looks about right. The big problem with the image is that it's very soft and ALL motion is blurred.

yoshimori wrote:
Don Lope de Aguirre wrote:Has anyone seen her latest doc 'Vers Mathilde'?
Saw it in Hong Kong.

Part master class, part making-of doc. In case you don't already know, the Mathilde in question is Mathilde Monnier, choreographer at the Centre National Montpellier Languedoc Roussillon. The film charts the evolution of a Monnier dance piece that involves both long stretches of "walking" and cages made of lots of gigantic rubber bands. Grainy super-8 and super-16 footage.

Not much like Denis' fiction work, but engaging enough to keep me in the theater.

I saw this recently. It's pretty minor Denis, and lacks a lot of the formal virtues that make even her weaker features compelling. However, it has its points of interest if you've been following her career. Obviously, Monnier's interest in bodies in space aligns with Denis' own, and there are distinct similarities between the vernacular choreography in this film and the choreographed vernacular movements of, say, Beau travail. Nancy is there again, raising the remote possibility that this and Vers Nancy could be considered as the side panels of a very loose L'Intrus triptych. And there's also the concern with adaptation across forms (music into dance into film) which Denis has herself explored in several of her recent features.

Worth catching if you're a Denis-watcher and it lands in your town, but probably not worth fretting over if it doesn't.

Oedipax · #84 Post by **Oedipax** » Thu Nov 30, 2006 5:07 pm

Since this thread's been resurrected, I wanted to ask, does anyone else think the motion looks a little weird on the Wellspring DVD of Friday Night? It feels like the whole film has been slightly sped up, or something - if I didn't know for a fact it was shot on film, I would suspect it was done on video. The motion has the feel of interlaced 60i rather than progressive 24p. It's enough to take me out of the movie at certain points - look in particular at some of the pans in the film, during the traffic jam sequence - the movement is wrong somehow, too smooth, too fast, just not filmic, and unlike any of Denis' other movies - strange!

None of the DVD reviews I looked at mention this, so I feel a bit crazy pointing it out. I really don't think it's just me, though. Hopefully someone else feels the same way and can explain what is going on. My only guess is something to do with Wellspring's PAL-NTSC conversion (if this is what they used). Very odd, and frustrating.

martin · #85 Post by **martin** » Tue Dec 25, 2007 8:11 am

As mentioned in another thread her documentary Jacques Rivette - Le veilleur (1990) will be released as part of a German 5-disc set on Rivette March 2008 (by Arthaus). No English subs.

Adam · #86 Post by **Adam** » Wed Jan 02, 2008 9:18 pm

yukiyuki wrote:how about I Can't Sleep?anyone seen this flick?

I saw it years ago, and can't really remember it, beyond the impression that I thought it very good.

pro-bassoonist · #87 Post by **pro-bassoonist** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 5:18 am

Oedipax wrote:None of the DVD reviews I looked at mention this, so I feel a bit crazy pointing it out. I really don't think it's just me, though. Hopefully someone else feels the same way and can explain what is going on. My only guess is something to do with Wellspring's PAL-NTSC conversion (if this is what they used). Very odd, and frustrating.

Hello Oedipax:

This is precisely the case! Even though not a single review mentions it I can confirm that the print for the R1 isn't properly converted. While your eye has caught something most other viewers were impartial about you are correct in assuming that the sourcing is to blame.

Ciao,
Pro-B

ps
I know your post was a very old one but still...

Oedipax · #88 Post by **Oedipax** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 6:14 am

Well it's good to know I'm not just seeing things! Like I said, it really takes me out of the movie at times, which is a shame.

I see there's a DVD release of the film in France as of January '07. I wonder how the transfer is on that one? Probably no English subs, though.

reaky · #89 Post by **reaky** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 6:47 am

There's a UK Tartan release (under its French title, VENDREDI SOIR). I have no idea about image quality, but would be interested to hear.

Arn777 · #90 Post by **Arn777** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 7:43 am

I rented the Tartan one, and the PQ wasn't very good at all (on a plasma screen, and on my powerbook, might be better on a CRT). The Arte DVD has English subs, I haven't seen it as I'm not a big fan of Vendredi Soir, but their DVD of J'ai aps sommeil was good.

pro-bassoonist · #91 Post by **pro-bassoonist** » Sat Jan 05, 2008 5:21 am

reaky wrote:There's a UK Tartan release (under its French title, VENDREDI SOIR). I have no idea about image quality, but would be interested to hear.

It is solid, properly converted, and substantially better than the Wellspring. The only glitch here is the English translation which is rather loose at times.

Dr. A

Zazou dans le Metro · #92 Post by **Zazou dans le Metro** » Sat Jan 05, 2008 8:13 am

Apologies if this is old news but I didn't notice it earlier in the thread.

A newish Region 2 of 'Sommeil' came out on Arte last year. Best picture I've seen over two previous outings. English subs on main but not on interview bonus.

Just checked it again and started mamboing 'round the kitchen to the opening titles Machito track.

#93 Post by **zedz** » Wed Apr 09, 2008 11:56 pm

Just a heads up. I was ordering the Yoshida coffrets and flipping between amazon, fnac and alapage to see which site was cheapest (no real difference) when I noticed that fnac still had the Cahiers double set of S'en fout la mort (which I've never seen) and Nenette et Boni available. I think this is out of print - it wasn't on the other sites - so I went for it. I'll let you know if it turns out to be unavailable after all.

I'm pretty sure it's unsubbed.

yoshimori · #94 Post by **yoshimori** » Thu Apr 10, 2008 1:46 am

zedz wrote:... S'en fout la mort

This was on vhs way back in 2000. You can get it (and its subs) for $3.55 at amazon.

Knappen · #95 Post by **Knappen** » Thu Apr 10, 2008 3:31 am

I have the set. Can check later if there are subs.

Zazou dans le Metro · #96 Post by **Zazou dans le Metro** » Thu Apr 10, 2008 4:47 am

Knappen wrote:I have the set. Can check later if there are subs.

I can save you the bother. There are definitely NO subs. But I think it is still available directly from Cahiers/Why Not publications.

#97 Post by **zedz** » Thu Apr 10, 2008 5:36 pm

yoshimori wrote:
zedz wrote:... S'en fout la mort
This was on vhs way back in 2000. You can get it (and its subs) for $3.55 at amazon.

Now that's a cheap set of subs. And my very bad Taiwanese DVD of Nenette is subbed too, so I'm set. Thanks! And thanks Zazou for the confirmation of no subs. I assume that there are no French subs either?

Oedipax · #98 Post by **Oedipax** » Thu Apr 10, 2008 6:14 pm

I transcribed the English subs from the VHS a while back and retimed 'em to go with the French DVD.

You can get them here.

You'll have to supply your own source for the sound+image part, though

#99 Post by **zedz** » Thu Apr 10, 2008 7:11 pm

Even better. Does anybody need this done for Nenette et Boni? I'm happy to copy down and patch up the subs on my edition.

NABOB OF NOWHERE · #100 Post by **NABOB OF NOWHERE** » Fri Apr 11, 2008 2:36 am

zedz wrote: And thanks Zazou for the confirmation of no subs. I assume that there are no French subs either?

Unfortunately your assumption is correct.