criterionforum.org

First, cross your fingers that the new Avatar makes 3D popular again. I don't think they even make TVs anymore that are 3D capable, but I believe most projectors and players now are. If you're serious about it, you might consider getting a budget projector just for playing 3D Blu-rays

I never thought I'd ever be asking the movie gods for an Avatar resurgence in popularity

The Sharits release has a great booklet, particularly the filmmaker's own notes for Piece Mandala which start with grand artistic-scientific proclamations like:

Color structure is linear-directional but implies a larger infinite cycle; light-energy and image frequencies induce rhythms related to the psychophysical experience of the creative act of cunnilingus

and then in a long parenthetical they fall apart into an intimate, mystical diary entry:

More truthfully, I had no idea of what I was actually doing while making Piece Mandala. My wife and I had been separated and I began the film immediately following our reconciliation...

Le Lit de la vierge, a baroque and confrontational drone-rock Jesus nightmare, is one of my 60s orphans and if you like early Garrel (at that point something like the middle generation between Godard and Carax plus a dose of, I dunno, Murnau?) it's pretty irresistible. The DVD transfer is kind of subpar though unfortunately.

On another note, I want to say that I appreciate the film discussion in this thread. These works tend not to be the easiest things to find intelligent writing on!

Might be worth mentioning that the Fluxfilm set actually has more Sharits films than the dedicated release!

With a release date of tomorrow?! Release of a lifetime...

Edit: It looks like you can't add it to your cart yet- is it typical for Re:Voir to only allow this once it's officially released?

Will these discs contain the audio commentaries on the Kino release of Walden and Lost Lost Lost?

There's no indication that they will

Holy shit. Amazing! I guess I’ll have to order it now.

swo17 wrote: Thu Jun 09, 2022 8:06 pm There's no indication that they will

Not that it's any kind of deal breaker of course, I'm getting it just as soon as it goes up for order.

At first glance, looks as though missing from this set but included in their "Major Works" DVD box are The Brig and the shorts "Vietnam Newsreel," "Imperfect Three-Image Films," and "Mozart Wien & Elvis."

What A Disgrace wrote: Thu Jun 09, 2022 8:25 pm

swo17 wrote: Thu Jun 09, 2022 8:06 pm There's no indication that they will

Not that it's any kind of deal breaker of course, I'm getting it just as soon as it goes up for order.

It's worth keeping the Kino or even ordering it in addition to this to have those (and to support all Mekas releases in general). From a cursory look at the listing, it appears the mastering was done in NY so I wonder if we'll see other restorations pop up in the near future. Either way, this is a comprehensive box and a day one purchase (and I don't like The Brig anyways, so happy to save disc space for optimal encoding)

Here's a quick and dirty summary of what's old, new borrowed and blu on the set. Titles in bold seem to be previously unreleased (but I'm sure i've seen some of them, such as Out-takes from the Life of a Happy Man, so maybe I'm wrong):

VOL.01/8 : WALDEN VOL.01/8 : WALDEN - Previously released by Re:Voir; previously released on BluRay by Kino

VOL.02/8 : LOST LOST LOST - Previously released by Re:Voir; previously released on BluRay by Kino

VOL.03/8 : 9 films
1. AWARD PRESENTATION TO ANDY WARHOL
2. FILM MAGAZINE OF THE ARTS
3. CASSIS - Previously released by Re:Voir; previously released on BluRay by Kino
4. HARE KRISHNA - Previously released by Re:Voir; previously released on BluRay by Kino
5. NOTES ON THE CIRCUS - Previously released by Re:Voir; previously released on BluRay by Kino
6. REPORT FROM MILLBROOK - Previously released by Re:Voir; previously released on BluRay by Kino
7. TRAVEL SONGS - Previously released by Re:Voir; previously released on BluRay by Kino
8. IN BETWEEN - Previously released on Three Films by Jonas Mekas (Media A Triangle)
9. NOTES FOR JEROME

VOL.04/8 : 2 films
1. REMINISCENCES OF A JOURNEY TO LITHUANIA - Previously released by Re:Voir
2. PARADISE NOT YET LOST

VOL.05/8 : 4 films - Previously released by Re:Voir as the Sixties Quartet
1. SCENES FROM THE LIFE OF ANDY WARHOL - Previously released by Re:Voir
2. ZEFIRO TORNA - Previously released by Re:Voir
3. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JOHN - Previously released by Re:Voir
4. THIS SIDE OF PARADISE - Previously released by Re:Voir

VOL.06/8 : 9 films
1. OUT-TAKES FROM THE LIFE OF A HAPPY MAN
2. QUARTET #1 - Previously released by Re:Voir on Short Film Works
3. CINEMA IS NOT 100 YEARS OLD
4. SONG OF AVIGNON - Previously released by Re:Voir on Short Film Works
5. EIN MÄRCHEN AUS ALTEN ZEITEN
6. LETTER TO PENNY ARCADE
7. WILLIAMSBURG, BROOKLYN - Previously released by Re:Voir; previously released on BluRay by Kino
8. SILENCE PLEASE
9. MY BOLEXES

VOL.07/8 : AS I WAS MOVING AHEAD OCCASIONALLY I SAW BRIEF GLIMPSES OF BEAUTY
REELS 1-6 - Previously released by Re:Voir

VOL.08/8 : AS I WAS MOVING AHEAD OCCASIONALLY I SAW BRIEF GLIMPSES OF BEAUTY
REELS 7-12 - Previously released by Re:Voir

Mekas films previously released by Re:Voir that aren't included in this set:
The Brig
Guns of the Trees
He Stands in the Desert Counting the Seconds of His Life
Imperfect Three-Image Films - on Short Film Works
A Letter from Greenpoint
Mozart, Wien and Elvis - On Short Film Works
Scenes from Allen's Last Three Days on Earth as a Spirit
Sleepless Nights Stories
Vietnam Newsreel - on Short Film Works

Other Mekas films available on disc but not on this set:
When - Three Films by Jonas Mekas
Bed In - Three Films by Jonas Mekas
Film Correspondence with Jose Luis Guerin - Correspondences box set

Thanks for the rundown, zedz!

zedz wrote: Thu Jun 09, 2022 9:49 pmTitles in bold seem to be previously unreleased (but I'm sure i've seen some of them, such as Out-takes from the Life of a Happy Man, so maybe I'm wrong):

The only copies I've seen available on backchannels don't seem to indicate a source, but I can't recommend Out-takes from the Life of a Happy Man highly enough and I'm so glad to see its inclusion. Maybe it won't be left as one of my orphans again by the time we get around to the real 2010s list? To quote my previous thoughts elsewhere, it's a beautiful end-of-life coda of gratitude to the value of images over only memory to elicit the emotions we get from the medium; a shortened version of Mekas' magnum opus to sign off a sublime career and a wonderful life

zedz wrote: Thu Jun 09, 2022 9:49 pm Here's a quick and dirty summary of what's old, new borrowed and blu on the set.

Thank you for this!

Anyone who doesn't already have He Stands in the Desert should pick it up at the same time as this.

Speaking of which, does anyone else in the U.S. want to go in on a group buy to save on shipping? I plan to place a large order this weekend

Possibly! I've never seen any Mekas, so this probably isn't the best way to go about it, but the set looks terribly interesting. When would your deadline be?

I don't want to wait too long, though I suppose there's no particular rush. How long would you want to decide?

Until Saturday afternoon? If that's reasonable!

Sounds reasonable to me

swo17 wrote: Fri Jun 10, 2022 12:13 am Anyone who doesn't already have He Stands in the Desert should pick it up at the same time as this.

Speaking of which, does anyone else in the U.S. want to go in on a group buy to save on shipping? I plan to place a large order this weekend

Thanks for the head's up, I don't have that one. I'm definitely down for a group buy, but I also have quite a large order... not sure if that makes things harder, but if there's a limit on ordering, happy to cut mine down to size!

I don't see why there would be a limit

I guess just be cautious that the amount you order doesn't cross the Rubicon into some much more expensive mode of shipping. This has happened to me with some orders (which I've had to pare back, or split), but not, as far as I can recall, with any Re:Voir order, and my last one came in a box the size of a child's coffin. A hefty child.

Don't worry, I have plenty of experience with both of those things

swo17 wrote: Fri Jun 10, 2022 2:43 am I don't see why there would be a limit

Okay cool- I've never done a group buy or really mailed heavy packages to others within the states, so you'd know better than me if this actually saves $ on shipping no matter how big the order you're repackaging and mailing out