criterionforum.org

tojoed wrote:He sometimes contributes at Dave Kehr's blog, but not as much as he used to.

I guess I've somehow missed his posts there.

Madman are releasing Lynch's Lost Highway and Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me next February. It's safe to say that these will be the exact same transfers as the French releases

Tim Burtall's PETERSEN & LAST OF THE KNUCKLEMEN are out via Umbrella on January 4th. These are identical to the previously released versions [replete with extras] found on the OOP Roadshow boxset .

Also James Ricketson's Blackfellas (1993) on the upcoming Umbrella slate.

And it is nice to see those Tim Burstall films from the Hexagon Collection coming back into print; most of them, apart from the two Alvin Purple movies, are worth a look.

For those studying Oz cinema check out this site. It offers generous excerpts from all important films made during our 'golden age.'

Has anyone ever seen 27A? It looks interesting to me. I can't find any evidence of VHS or DVD versions out there. Does anyone know if Umbrella/Roadshow hold the rights?

I was surprised to see that PURE SHIT (1975) was released 2 years ago. Is this film worth looking into? I've heard people say it is a lost classic.

That's a well-organized one-stop source for Australian cinema. I loved watching the clips from BLISS (1985), a wonderful little satire that I saw a 35mm print of when first released and just once more on VHS a few years later. Would love to have a Blu-ray of it.

None of Esben Storm's features as director are available on DVD. I watched In Search of Anna just after he died - on an ex-rental VHS copy. It's an interesting movie, and particularly recommended for fans of anti-chronological narrative.

I haven't seen 27A so can't comment. It never had a UK release of any kind.

My review of Pure Shit is here.

As it turns out, 27A is available direct from the copyright holders Smart Street Films.

Powaqqatsi blu ray coming in march, also Drowning by Numbers is listed as a blu ray, but me thinks it is just a standard dvd.

I pre-ordered Brook's MARAT /SADE (1966) from Umbrella [due out in March] but for some strange reason it arrived today in the post [3 weeks early]. I was expecting a 4:3 non-anamorphic travesty (Viz R1 NTSC) but was surprised to find a stunning, impeccable 16:9 transfer. What puzzles me is the fact that this DVD is out of print in the US and not out at all in the UK. So why is it out in Oz-Down-under?

The disc is typical of Umbrella's recent releases. Bare-bones, auto-starting with no chapter selection (despite having chapter stops) and no menu page at all.

Re: R2. Could our friends at the BFI be contemplating this 'avant Garde' film as a future Flipside release? After all they have previously released an MGM film [BED SITTING ROOM] in the series and I think this transfer looks better than most of their recent Blu Ray releases.

p.s. Since the print used has no 'cigarette burns' [reel markers] and no scratches, etc. I assume it was struck from the negative and probably restored also!

This poor thread has too little going on in it, but I did notice that John Duigan's Casablanca pastiche, Far East, is getting a release from Umbrella.

John Duigan's MOUTH TO MOUTH (1978) is out on June 6.

http://www.umbrellaent.com.au/p-3305-mo ... mouth.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

His more sexually orientated film from 1976 THE TRESPASSERS may also come out on Umbrella in the near future. Here is a sampler of that film: http://aso.gov.au/titles/features/trespassers/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Terrific news - Mouth to Mouth is a rare and important one.

Incidentally, I know someone who has tried at length and so far unsuccessfully to coax DVDs of those two Esben Storm films out of Smart Street, so ... good luck, I guess.

That wasn't me, though I did think the chance of them sending review copies to me in the UK was probably zero... I guess I'd better save up for them as I can't see much chance of seeing 27A or the two Haydn Keenan films otherwise.

Mouth to Mouth had a UK television screening on Channel 4 in the late 80s IIRC, which is when I saw it. If memory serves it's very good. Nice to see that and other John Duigan films getting a release. He was born in the UK, by the way, in Hartley Wintney, which is not very far away from where I live.

I also remember that when every time a Duigan film used to play the London Film festival, the souvenir booklet's Duigan filmography always used to misspell the title as Month by Month.

I don't think it was a problem of reaching them, I think it was more a question of prodding them into action.

MOUTH TO MOUTH came in the post today. The transfer was done with the involvement of both Duigan and Cowan (as the included interviews suggest) but it is a bit soft on detail. The first reels have too much red tone which turns skin tones pinkish but it gets better as the film progresses. I assume this is the best we will get (for now). It is 16:9 anamorphic. Despite this it is a much better film than FJ HOLDEN - a film with themes and characters in common.

I remember seeing it on TV c.1980 but forgot the details with the exception of the scene of the two girls singing Ave Maria. In some ways the film reminded me of the Finnish film RED RIDING HOOD [Bergholm, 1968] in which ex-reform girls are also featured. The ending with one of the girls on a Melbourne street at night with the beautiful theme song playing over is one of the best film endings of any Australian film I have seen. [Don't ask me why, it just felt and looked right.]

The fact that the Aussie release doesn't have North by Northwest, yet has the US packaging, is really starting to make me think that the EU packaging shot was just placeholder art.

Can anyone tell me if this release of "Solaris" is worth buying?

http://www.ezydvd.com.au/blu-ray/solaris/dp/6112060" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

david hare wrote:The Oz 14 disc BluRay Hitchcock Masterpiece Collection loically released October 20, RRP 169.95.

http://www.michaeldvd.com.au/NewsFiles/ ... ct%203.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If there are further discounted tieups with JB or whoever this could be even less making it a comparable buy to the UK box at circa 97 quid (which I currently have on order like everyone. )
One thing: Universal UK are normally Region fixed "B". Same thing may apply here if it's a port so offshore fixed Rehgion "A" people be cautious.

It's only $130 AUD on Chaos.

Since the special features are the same as on the Criterion DVD / Blu I would assume the Oz blu of SOLARIS is the same transfer as Criterions.

charal wrote:Since the special features are the same as on the Criterion DVD / Blu I would assume the Oz blu of SOLARIS is the same transfer as Criterions.

Yes, I suspected that. Thanks!

Manganinnie. Taking forever, but Umbrella is still going with the Oz New Wave and its fellow travelers.

charal wrote:Since the special features are the same as on the Criterion DVD / Blu I would assume the Oz blu of SOLARIS is the same transfer as Criterions.

I have bought this and I can confirm that it is the same transfer as Criterion.

Some other remarks: no optional english subtitles (they are fixed to the image but at least they are not yellow), same extras except for the commentary track, having lossy audio (no "uncompressed audio" as stated on the back cover, no pop-up menu option.

Any idea what happened to Gillian Armstrong's High Tide? Umbrella issued a 16:9 special edition, w/Armstrong commentary & other extras, in October 2010. Now that seems to have disappeared, and there's a 2012 DVD release from some budget outfit called Payless. The DeVoteD page lists the same specs as the Umbrella, but I'm wary -- can anyone confirm it's the same edition and not some 4:3 bootleg?

New from Umbrella: The documentary The Back of Beyond (1954) and two post-New Wave titles I'm eager to see, Duigan's The Winter of Our Dreams (1981) and the David Williamson-scripted The Perfectionist (1987).

And High Tide seems to be back on the Umbrella page, as well.