Werner Herzog Collection

[Zot!]

I dunno, I know the image is representative of his work and symbolically relevant, but I'd have preferred a portrait or something less tied to a specific film.

[knives]

Or at least a better film.

[chatterjees]

I am more eager to find out about the interior. This is my most anticipated set of the year and can't stop thinking about it. I wonder what they will do to the 7 individual discs. Will they encase them separately in individual sleeves like Criterion does for their box sets? Or, inside this beautiful slip case, there will be one of those multi-disc blue case? I have never seen BFI doing such big set before.

[domino harvey]

Or at least a better film.

Knives, I'm not eager to defend Herzog, and I think it's healthy that you have differing views on a lot of things, but you gotta quit coming into threads and dropping shocking opinions like they don't need justification despite being far from the typical response to the film you're dissing/building up

[knives]

That wasn't my intention though I could see how it would appear that way. I was mostly just being light though if you want to discuss the relative merits of Fitzcarraldo I'm game.

[knives]

Wouldn't the more accurate comparison be if it was a massive Ray set and someone joked that there were better films to sell by than Rebel Without a Cause? Either way I get your point and will try to be more conscious of it (I'm assuming my Back to the Future crack is the other moment you are thinking of).

[domino harvey]

I posted from the future, somehow, if you're trying to figure out how knives responded to me before I even said the thing he responded to below (?)-- see, bad-mouth time travel and look what happens, knives [-X

[knives]

Yes, clearly the universe is conspiring against my very terrible taste.

[domino harvey]

Regardless of how either of us feel about the movie, surely you are well-aware that it's one of Herzog's most famous and best-loved films? It's like someone going into the Rebel Without a Cause thread when the Blu-ray was announced and saying "Ugh, we get this in Hi-Def instead of the superior the True Story of Jesse James?"

[FrauBlucher]

This was added to the Amazon product description of the Nosferatu Steelbook

Product Description
NOSFERATU, THE VAMPYRE (Limited Edition Blu-ray Steelbook)
A Film by Werner Herzog

Jonathan Harker (Bruno Ganz, Downfall) lives with his young wife Lucy (Isabelle Adjani, Possession in the idyllic town of Wismar, where he works as an estate agent. In spite of grim omens, Harker ventures deep into the Carpathian Mountains to close a property deal with Count Dracula (Klaus Kinski, Aguirre, Wrath of God), a sickly, wrath-like creature with sunken eyes and pallid skin. While dining that night at the Count's ghostly castle, Harker cuts his finger, provoking a disturbing reaction to his host.

Werner Herzog's masterful contribution to the vampire canon is both a discerning tribute to F W Murnau's 1922 silent classic, and a singularly atmospheric and thoughtful horror film in its own right. Kinski's central performance, Herzog's images and Popul Vuh's music combine to create a darkly hypnotic and seductive experience.

This specially-designed, limited edition SteelBookTM is released ahead of an extensive Werner Herzog box set from the BFI, which will include newly remastered HD presentations of 17 of his greatest feature films and shorts.

Special features

Limited Edition SteelBookTM
Newly remastered presentations of the English and German versions
Original mono audio (German and English)
Alternative 5.1 Surround audio (German)
Feature-length audio commentary with Werner Herzog
On-set documentary (1979, 13 mins): promotional film featuring candid interviews with Werner Herzog and Klaus Kinski
Original theatrical trailer
Stills gallery
Fully illustrated booklet with a new essay by Laurie Johnson, full film credits and on-set photographs
Germany, France | 1979 | colour | German language, with optional English subtitles; English language | 107 minutes | Original aspect ratio 1.85:1 | BD50 | 1080p | PCM 1.0 mono audio (48k/24-bit) and 5.1. DTS-HD Master Audio | Cert 15 (contains moderate horror and gore | Region B Blu-ray

[MichaelB]

Full specs announced for Nosferatu the Vampyre:

Nosferatu the Vampyre
A film by Werner Herzog
Starring Klaus Kinski, Isabelle Adjani and Bruno Ganz

Werner Herzog’s masterful contribution to the vampire canon is both a discerning tribute to FW Murnau's 1922 silent classic, and a singularly atmospheric and thoughtful horror film in its own right.

It comes to Blu-ray for the first time on 19 May 2014, released in a Limited Edition SteelBookTM ahead of its inclusion in mammoth Herzog Blu-ray and DVD box-sets in July.

The SteelBook™ contains both English and German versions of the film, a full-length audio commentary with Werner Herzog, an on-set documentary and more.

Jonathan Harker (Bruno Ganz, Downfall) lives with his young wife Lucy (Isabelle Adjani, Possession) in the idyllic town of Wismar, where he works as an estate agent. In spite of grim omens, Harker ventures deep into the Carpathian Mountains to close a property deal with Count Dracula (Klaus Kinski, Aguirre, Wrath of God), a sickly, wraith-like creature with sunken eyes and pallid skin. While dining that night at the Count’s ghostly castle, Harker cuts his finger, provoking a disturbing reaction in his host...

Kinski’s exquisite central performance, Herzog's painterly images and Popul Vuh's ethereal music combine to create one of horror cinema's most hypnotic and seductive experiences.

Special features
• Limited Edition SteelBook™;
• Newly remastered presentations of the English and German versions;
• Original mono audio (German and English);
• Alternative 5.1 Surround audio (German);
• Feature-length audio commentary with Werner Herzog;
• On-set documentary (1979, 13 mins): promotional film featuring candid interviews with Werner Herzog and Klaus Kinski;
• Original theatrical trailer;
• Stills gallery;
• Illustrated booklet with a new essay by Laurie Johnson, full film credits and on-set photographs.

Product details
RRP: £22.99 / cat. no. BFIB1172 / Cert PG
Germany, France / 1979 / colour / German language, with optional English subtitles; English language / 107 mins / Original aspect ratio 1.85:1 / BD50 / 1080p / PCM 1.0 mono audio (48k/24-bit) and 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio

[FrauBlucher]

This looks like a great edition. Can't wait to see the reviews.
MichaelB, in what language is the commentary?

[MichaelB]

Full specs announced for Aguirre: Wrath of God:

Aguirre, Wrath of God
A film by Werner Herzog
Starring Klaus Kinski

A visceral, ambitious exploration of megalomania and savage beauty, Aguirre, Wrath of God remains one of Herzog's most brilliant achievements and one of German cinema’s totemic masterpieces.

Coming to Blu-ray for the first time on 19 May 2014 in a Limited Edition SteelBook™, it will also be included in mammoth Herzog Blu-ray and DVD box sets released in July. The SteelBookTM contains both English and German versions of Aguirre, four other Herzog films, including Last Words and Fata Morgana, and feature-length audio commentaries with the director for both Aguirre and Fata Morgana.

Shot entirely on location in the wild Amazonian jungle near Machu Picchu, Aguirre, Wrath of God stars the legendarily volatile Klaus Kinski as Don Lope de Aguirre, a power-crazed sixteenth-century explorer who leads a troupe of conquistadors on a doomed expedition in search of El Dorado, the fabled ‘City of Gold’.

This was Herzog’s first of five tempestuous collaborations with Kinski who gave what is arguably his greatest ever performance as Aguirre. With his sinister, tilting walk and demonic gaze, Kinski endows Aguirre with an eerie restraint, a threatening unpredictability.

Integral to the film is the hypnotic score by Florian Fricke of Krautrock band Popol Vuh.

Special features
• Limited Edition SteelBook™;
• Original mono audio (German and English);
• Alternative 5.1 Surround audio (German);
• The Unprecedented Defence of the Fortress Deutschkreuz (Werner Herzog, 1967, 16 mins): symbolic drama about four young men hiding from an imagined enemy;
• Last Words (Werner Herzog, 1968, 13 mins): short film about the last man to leave a former leper colony;
• Precautions Against Fanatics (Werner Herzog, 1969, 11 mins): short satire about horse-racing enthusiasts;
• Fata Morgana (Werner Herzog, 1971, 77 mins): hallucinatory film exploring mirages and the Mayan creation myth;
• Feature-length audio commentaries with Werner Herzog for both Aguirre, Wrath of God and Fata Morgana;
• Original theatrical trailer;
• Stills gallery;
• Illustrated booklet with a new essay by Laurie Johnson, full film credits and on-set photographs.

Product details
RRP: £22.99 / cat. no. BFIB1169 / Cert PG
Germany / 1972 / colour / German language, with optional English subtitles; English language / 93 mins / Original aspect ratio 1.33:1 / BD50 / 1080p / PCM 1.0 mono audio (48k/24-bit) and 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio

[zedz]

Full specs announced for Aguirre: Wrath of God:

I just saw the DCP of this, and it's utterly beautiful. Given that it was originated on 16mm, you're seeing practically everything that was originally captured on film, and probably more than you've ever seen before, in any format. I have extremely high hopes for the BFI Blu.

[David M.]

This is actually 35mm, not 16.

[zedz]

This is actually 35mm, not 16.

Wow, so they were actually lugging a 35mm camera up and down those mountains? I'd always believed it was 16mm, with all that big, beautiful grain.

[David M.]

I *think* he says so on the commentary

[AlexHansen]

From the Aguirre wiki, "The camera used to shoot the film was stolen by Herzog from the Munich Film School.[12] Years later, Herzog recalled:

"It was a very simple 35mm camera, one I used on many other films, so I do not consider it a theft. For me, it was truly a necessity. I wanted to make films and needed a camera. I had some sort of natural right to this tool. If you need air to breathe, and you are locked in a room, you have to take a chisel and hammer and break down a wall. It is your absolute right."[10]"

[Orlac]

Herzog steals a camera, Ed Wood steals an octopus.

[MichaelB]

The Beaver on Nosferatu.

[FrauBlucher]

The Beaver on Nosferatu.

This looks terrific. Plus, my first Steelbook.

[EddieLarkin]

Oh wow. Certainly exceeds my expectations and the grain is perfect. Compare to the German Blu-ray, which has horrible compression issues (despite using a similar amount of disc space). Always bet on Dave!

[manicsounds]

DVDTalk has a review of the Shout Factory "Nosferatu" blu-ray, unfortunately without screenshots.
Shout has 2 commentaries, BFI has 1.
BFI has a booklet, Shout has none.

Besides that, same extras.

[Koukol]

If the BFI uses the same print as the German BD I sure hope they cleaned up a few scenes of what look like excessive snow.

[Mathew2468]

Beaver on Aguirre.