Yugoslavian films on DVD/BD

[MichaelB]

What's the issue with Second Hand Video?

[djvaso]

What's the issue with Second Hand Video?

According to Polish buyers, there are three or four problems:
- they used an inferior x264 encoder instead of the superior h264; about 20% of the space on the single-layer disc was left unused;
- some logos and the barcode were used as JPG images in lower resolution;
- a price change (increase then reduction) of the collector's edition during the subscription period.

[Matt]

Filmokaz has a website, but there's nothing on it yet but a link to their Facebook page

Filmokaz's website will probably be operational in September, because it doesn't make sense to me to start sales during the summer. I hope their first release won't suffer from the usual teething problems that such releases tend to have (see, for example, the Polish label Second Hand Video). However, I think the long-term problem will be securing the rights to release subsequent films.

I just want to make sure I get an order in as soon as it's possible. Wasn't certain what the timeline for this release is.

[djvaso]

Filmokaz has a website, but there's nothing on it yet but a link to their Facebook page

Filmokaz's website will probably be operational in September, because it doesn't make sense to me to start sales during the summer. I hope their first release won't suffer from the usual teething problems that such releases tend to have (see, for example, the Polish label Second Hand Video). However, I think the long-term problem will be securing the rights to release subsequent films.

I just want to make sure I get an order in as soon as it's possible. Wasn't certain what the timeline for this release is.

To confute myself, "The website will go live next week."

[djvaso]

AI translation:

Today, quality control of all materials currently in preparation for printing has been completed. Next week, confirmation of the release date will arrive, and pre-orders will open at https://filmokaz.com/For disc authoring, we selected the best in Europe – LSP Medien. The video is in 1080p / 24fps / AVC format. The audio is 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio Mono. The menu is bilingual: Croatian and English. Subtitles for I Even Met Happy Gypsies include Croatian, Serbian, Serbian (Romani dialogue only), and English. For the short films (Putevi and Sabori), Croatian and English subtitles are included. For the documentary Banned Without Ban, there is an option to watch with English subtitles. The accompanying booklet contains 40 pages.

[Matt]

Pre-order link is now live: https://filmokaz.com/proizvod/blu-ray-skupljaci-perja/

I don’t think they accept any other payment option than bank transfer, so be prepared.

EDIT: Cost is €30 plus €18 shipping to the US (about $56 USD). If your bank does not offer international transfers, Xoom (a service of PayPal) allows you to use your PayPal account. No fee* if you use your PayPal balance or bank account, under $1 for debit card, under $5 for credit card.

* Xoom makes money off their conversion rates. At this moment, they've got $1 at €0.77. XE.com has $1 at €0.86, so you're paying $5-6 for the transfer.

[Lowry_Sam]

Is any retailer (US/UK/EU) going to sell this? (t looks like their only title and rather buy it with a larger order).

[MichaelB]

I've just experimentally ordered a copy - to the UK it's €42 total, or a whisker under £36 at the current exchange rate. Which is expensive, but I'm a big fan of the film and very much support what they're doing.

You do indeed need to do a direct bank transfer, although this was very straightforward with my banking app (Barclays) - I only needed to type in "Filmokaz" and the IBAN number and it did the rest.

I'll report back when it arrives.

Oh, and for what it's worth, this was my capsule review of the now redundant Serbian DVD, published some 19 years ago in Sight & Sound:

I Even Met Happy Gypsies

Aleksandar Petrović; Yugoslavia 1967; Delta Video/Region 0 PAL; 82 minutes; Aspect Ratio 1.66:1 Non-Anamorphic; Features: none (MFB No. 411)

Film: Lauded at the time (the Cannes Grand Prix, an Oscar nomination), all but forgotten by the West since, Aleksandar Petrović's film is one of the milestones of Yugoslav cinema and also laid the foundations on which Emir Kusturica and Tony Gatlif built their careers. Their fans will find plenty to recognise here, but the complexity of Petrović's portrait of the Roma people and their uneasy relationships with each other, outsiders and the Church (the nun and the priest are particularly well drawn) is very much his own. It follows the adventures of Bora (Bekim Fehmiu), a trader in goose-down (the original title Skupljači perja translates as The Feather Buyer) who gets embroiled in a star-crossed romance with Tisa (Gordana Jovanovic), whose guardian is Bora's commercial rival.

Disc: The non-anamorphic image of this Serbian DVD is very soft and the colours seem faded, though the print is in acceptable condition for its age. The English subtitles are rough and ready, and occasionally poorly synchronised, but one is grateful to have them at all.

[djvaso]

From the owner of the label:

Great news! The shipment arrived today. We will be sending out all pre-orders over the course of this week.

[djvaso]

Regarding shipments outside the EU, we are still awaiting Customs' resolution. It should be forthcoming shortly. The packages are prepared and ready to be sent.

[Filmokaz]

The first review of our edition of 'I Even Met Happy Gypsies': https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/I-Even-M ... 48/#Review

[Calvin]

Very happy to support this label. Caught most of the Yugoslav Black Wave programme at Il Cinema Ritrovato a few years ago and ever since I've been hoping that some of them would end up on disc. Particularly Živojin Pavlović's Zaseda, France Štiglic's The Ninth Circle, and Aleksandar Petrović's Tri

[denti alligator]

I want this! There's a fixed price of 26 Euro to ship to the US. Is anyone interested in making a bigger order of these to save on shipping? (I'd still have to add Media rate to each one, but would divide it evenly among us all, myself included. Rough calculation for 5 people plus me would be $8 shipping per person--not bad. The more, the cheaper.)

P.S. I'm delighted that my browser translates the Croatian for "First Name" as "Pregnancy."

[swo17]

I'm interested. I'm also interested in whether more titles will be announced soon. Would it perhaps be worth waiting to be able to order multiple titles?

[Lowry_Sam]

I was thinking of waiting til a few more titles were released, but with only 1k copies who knows how long that would last. Will the limited edtion follow up with a standard? How long til the next release?

[denti alligator]

All good questions. I suspect the limited edition is it. There won't be a standard edition. But who knows. This, from the blog, is revealing:

All in all, when considering the importance and reputation of Yugoslav cinema, the selection of Blu-ray releases remains disappointingly modest. There is hope that this will change in time – both with changes in Croatian legislation that would allow for easier licensing of the Jadran film holdings, and with the greater openness of the Film Center towards physical releases. In the meantime, the Avala film catalog remains available for licensing and represents one of the greatest opportunities for future publishers. A dozen as-yet-unannounced titles have already been licensed for the North American market, while Filmokaz has around forty films on its shortlist. How many of them will ultimately be released will depend primarily on audience interest.

So by waiting to order we also potentially delay future releases, which will depend on sales? Plus, there are only 1,000 copies.

[TechnicolorAcid]

I’m curious to know this but can we expect any places like DiabolikDVD or Atomic to get any stock for this release for those of us who can’t afford the import fees?