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To be released on December 16:

#82 Battleship Potemkin/October

As already speculated, "Potemkin" is the German release cut, in two different versions (1926, silent; 1930, sound) with reconstructed original music score by Edmund Meisel. Not sure whether anyone needs these apart from film historians, but the new resto of "October" will most likely be the definitive version for a long time. And the extras form a pretty substantial package.

Tommaso wrote:To be released on December 16:

#82 Battleship Potemkin/October

As already speculated, "Potemkin" is the German release cut, in two different versions (1926, silent; 1930, sound) with reconstructed original music score by Edmund Meisel. Not sure whether anyone needs these apart from film historians, but the new resto of "October" will most likely be the definitive version for a long time. And the extras form a pretty substantial package.

Also to be released in December...

Ardiente Paciencia & Abschied in BerlinEdition (Filmmuseum 94)

This double DVD comprises all three of Antonio Skármeta's films shot during his exile in Berlin in the 1980s: His award-winning story about Pablo Neruda and a simple postman, which was also published as a novel and later famously re-filmed as Il Postino; the portrait of a three-generation Chilean family living in a Berlin apartment; and a cinematic dairy, in which Skármeta visits other Chilean artists in exile. These films cast light on the everyday occurrences in a life shaped by politics the hope, the joy and the humour.

The already mentioned two-disc edition of Vertov's "Three Songs about Lenin" is now also available.

And they announce another 'forthcoming' release (#95) called "Kafka geht ins Kino". That was the title of a 1996 book which investigated Kafka's relation to the cinema and which films he watched. There was also a TV documentary with the same title a few years later, but EF give the years 1907-1922 as the year of production, so I guess they will now actually release some of the films that Kafka saw. Whatever these will be, I hope for a nice collection of previously unseen early German silents.

neilist wrote:Ardiente Paciencia

I saw Ardiente Paciencia on TV in the late 80's and thought it was pretty good. It's less sentimental than Il postino, and at times almost seems like a documentary with shots of everyday life, workers aand soldiers. It was a long time ago though. I've looked for it regularly since DVD's came about in the late 90's without any luck. I'm really looking forward to revisit this film and will definitely place an order once amazon.de offers it.

I just finished watching the Potemkin and October DVD, and there seems to be an authoring issue on October. In the last chapter, a large section from earlier in the film is repeated and then the film abruptly ends - that is to say, the correct ending is missing because it has been replaced by the section from earlier in the film. I've emailed Filmmuseum to let them know about the problem.

They seem to have reacted. "Potemkin" is now unavailable at their site with a new release date given as February 2015, indicated as "2nd printing".

I received an email from Filmmuseum as well, saying they're investigating the problem and will provide a replacement when it's available. They seem to be moving quickly to correct the issue. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for another great release when everything is worked out!

New release:

'... und deine Liebe auc'h & 'Sonntagsfahrer'

Edition Filmmuseum 93
The construction of the Berlin Wall on August 13, 1961, was a pivotal break in German history and had to be justified in movies produced by East Germany's DEFA studio. The 2-disc DVD set presents for the first time films by reknowned directors that tried to address topical events. Two of the films even include documentary footage shot in the summer of 1961.

I forgot to update a few weeks ago - I received a 2nd pressing of the Potemkin/October DVD set, and everything seems to be fine!

Is Algol still scheduled to be released? I remember it was announced in 2011 and the trailer was posted but yet it seems so long ago.

As I remember, there have been further improvements to ALGOL (in the words of The Dude, "new shit has come to light"); I'll see whether one can set a reasonably specific date but that's always a double-edged sword.

Announcements can be a bit of a worry. You do want to make known what's in the pipeline, but naturally this engenders expectations which are often frustrated by new developments or bottlenecks. A company that acts exclusively in the publishing field (i.e., a normal DVD/BD label) can and should only reveal projects that have a definite timeline; archives and institutions are different from that. As they primarily deal with the materials themselves, they may sometimes be obliged to put off releases in favor of their core duties.

The only 'solution' to this (and it is definitely being considered) would be to keep silent about what's being worked on and to announce a title only once it's completely finalized and the file is on its way to the pressing plant (even this wouldn't prevent an issue like OKTYABR).

I for one would hate to forego announcements merely because of uncertain dates. We've all seen discs rushed to market prematurely (even in the knowledge of new discoveries or fresh scans) just to keep a deadline, everyone could name a label or two that were forced to go down this road in spite of themselves.

I understand and respect all you say, Hofmeister, but the most frustrating part of the wait is that usually nobody bothers to inform the 'fans' WHY there is such a delay. Now that you say that in the case of "Algol" further materials have been found, this makes the delay much more acceptable. Many thanks for the info!

It would really be nice if someone from Edition Filmmuseum could post such information on a slightly more regular basis. No need to really 'interact' with the people here in the way that representatives of Flicker Alley, MoC or other labels did and do, but simply tell people occasionally what exactly it is that holds up releases like the Barnet set or "Der Student von Prag" (in the latter case the delay seems particularly inexplicable, as the new resto could hardly be bettered and has already been shown on TV several times), and if possible, when a possible release date might be, roughly.

Tommaso, knowing this frustration well I went and inquired about ALGOL and its fellow titles. There is even an unequivocal answer: ALGOL is definitely forthcoming but to be honest there is no way to set a date. We've had dates for it coming and going for a couple of years now; any new tentative date would be just as unsure and fragile as those that went before, thus in the end merely aggravating any frustration instead of quelling it.

Therefore the honest and authentic thing to do is not to tease you with variables but to state what is definite, which is that it will come. The same is true of all the titles announced on the Edition filmmuseum pages: Rest assured they will come out eventually. The long and the short of it is there's no telling what other obligations will arise front of any ongoing work and push it back.

Any delays are not due to idle hands, quite the contrary. Rather, they mean that other projects in parallel development can advance; projects which are no less deserving & rewarding than the ones being, regrettably and unavoidably, delayed.

I do hope that you can see the positive in the efforts being expended – they don't always yield speedy results, but usually above-average quality.

The second volume of the Vlado Kristl series looks to be being released... Detail here.

Manfred Noa's 2-part silent "Helena" (1924) is now available.

Looks like a truly comprehensive, scholarly edition.

That sounds really interesting Tommaso. I've never heard of the film or the director before: is it supposed to be particularly good?

It's a rather fine two-part epic which I find well worth seeing as long as you don't expect another "Nibelungen". As it was made in 1924, it's some sort of a latecomer in the tradition of big 'historical' films like Lubitsch's "Das Weib des Pharao", and definitely quite entertaining. Much better than Noa's "Nathan der Weise", which the same label released some years ago.

Kristl's DER BRIEF, etc is also now available.

Tommaso wrote:"Nathan der Weise", which the same label released some years ago.

Insufferable film.

Now if someone would get on some serious amphetamines and work on Algol, that'd be another story . . . . tantalizing glimpses thru analog noise and decay.

Another new release here. Spine 100.

Die Widerständigen. Zeugen der Weißen Rose & Nein! Zeugen des Widerstandes in München 1933-1945

The 2-disc DVD set features all films by Katrin Seybold about the White Rose and the resistance against National Socialism in Munich: Unique documents about strong personalities.

Sounds interesting. I might pick this up.

There's a couple of feature films that have the story of Sophie Scholl and the White Rose, which I've never got around to watching. Lena Stolze famously played her not once but twice. First in Die Weiße Rose and then she reprised the role a few months later in Fünf letzte Tage. The first has been available on DVD in Germany for a while, but the latter was only just released by zweitausendeins recently.

There's a new title, for the moment only available on the Austrian Film Museum shop and (predictably) not listed on Filmmuseum's infamous Forthcoming releases: Apichatpong Weerasethakul's debut feature Mysterious Object at Noon is number 98 on the series and also includes 3 shorts and a monograph (DVD-ROM) on the director as extras.
Restoration was a cooperation between the Austrian Film Museum and The Film Foundation.

JAP wrote:There's a new title, for the moment only available on the Austrian Film Museum shop and (predictably) not listed on Filmmuseum's infamous Forthcoming releases: Apichatpong Weerasethakul's debut feature Mysterious Object at Noon is number 98 on the series and also includes 3 shorts and a monograph (DVD-ROM) on the director as extras.
Restoration was a cooperation between the Austrian Film Museum and The Film Foundation.

I wonder how that will compare with the forthcoming Second Run release.

Two of the short films have previously appeared on UK DVDs. Thirdworld was among the extras on Second Run's Tropical Malady, and Worldly Desires accompanied Syndromes and a Century on the BFI disc.