Re: Deaf Crocodile
Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2026 12:09 pm
Congratulations.
Page 26 of 31
Re: Deaf Crocodile
Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2026 1:01 pm
Cool TA, congrats!
Re: Deaf Crocodile
Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2026 1:11 pm
Massive congratulations!
I still remember the buzz of seeing my first DVD booklet contribution in actual print, which was compounded by it being published just before my then girlfriend took me to meet her parents for the first time, which is normally a distinctly nerve-wracking rite of passage.
But absolutely not here; as soon as I mentioned I'd contributed to the booklet for Withnail & I, her mother said "well, this one's a keeper".
And how right she was, as I'll be marking the 24th anniversary of marrying her daughter later this year.
(Caveat: this may not work with all prospective mothers-in-law.)
I still remember the buzz of seeing my first DVD booklet contribution in actual print, which was compounded by it being published just before my then girlfriend took me to meet her parents for the first time, which is normally a distinctly nerve-wracking rite of passage.
But absolutely not here; as soon as I mentioned I'd contributed to the booklet for Withnail & I, her mother said "well, this one's a keeper".
And how right she was, as I'll be marking the 24th anniversary of marrying her daughter later this year.
(Caveat: this may not work with all prospective mothers-in-law.)
Re: Deaf Crocodile
Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2026 3:53 pm
Oh hooray, good on you TA!
Re: Deaf Crocodile
Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2026 5:10 pm
Of course, that's your avatar! I hadn't connected the dots. 
John Price was quite a character. From a British artist family, hence the name.
He was mostly a stage actor/director (and quite a snob), so not as famous in Denmark as film/TV-perennials like Poul Reichardt or Ove Sprogøe.
He does do a wonderful Prince John in the Danish language version of Disney's Robin Hood. I suspect he agreed to it when he learned Peter Ustinov had done the original.
A bon vivant, he married the young Birgitte Bruun, who is sort of the Danish Donna Reed in the Father of Four films, one of which is shown at Christmas still.
Their sons are famous today, have a cooking show called Spise med Price (eating with Price), a "motto" of his they took up.
His 1973 cookbook
John Price was quite a character. From a British artist family, hence the name.
He was mostly a stage actor/director (and quite a snob), so not as famous in Denmark as film/TV-perennials like Poul Reichardt or Ove Sprogøe.
He does do a wonderful Prince John in the Danish language version of Disney's Robin Hood. I suspect he agreed to it when he learned Peter Ustinov had done the original.
A bon vivant, he married the young Birgitte Bruun, who is sort of the Danish Donna Reed in the Father of Four films, one of which is shown at Christmas still.
Their sons are famous today, have a cooking show called Spise med Price (eating with Price), a "motto" of his they took up.
His 1973 cookbook
Re: Deaf Crocodile
Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2026 8:10 pm
Thanks everyone! Preorders for it will be up in October and it’s been a holy grail title for me as this stylish, quietly uneasy hidden gem that I’m honored to be featured in the extras for, even if only for a simple little introductory essay in the booklet. Hopefully it won’t be the last you’ll see of me on a boutique release but only time will tell (what I’d do for them to release a Gaidai set with my writing).
Also real quickly, I want to shout out Stefan on this forum, whose post about this film’s restoration helped the Croc boys track down a point of contact for how to license this film and TWBB for his help peer reviewing my work before I sent it out! Once again I’m very grateful for this opportunity and hope you all enjoy reading my piece as much as I enjoyed writing it!
Also real quickly, I want to shout out Stefan on this forum, whose post about this film’s restoration helped the Croc boys track down a point of contact for how to license this film and TWBB for his help peer reviewing my work before I sent it out! Once again I’m very grateful for this opportunity and hope you all enjoy reading my piece as much as I enjoyed writing it!
Re: Deaf Crocodile
Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2026 8:10 pm
March titles:
SONG OF THE MIRACULOUS HIND (ÉNEK A CSODASZARVASRÓL), 2002, N.F.I. (Hungary), 89 min. “We are the people of the deer, our dead appear in the form of a deer," proclaims the voice of the great cosmic elk as it descends to earth, in legendary Hungarian animator Marcell Jankovics’ dazzling, multicolored masterpiece, a stunning blend of Ice Age mythology, primordial symbolism, medieval history and mind-bending metaphysics. His follow-up feature to SON OF THE WHITE MARE, and made during production on his magnum opus THE TRAGEDY OF MAN (recently released by Deaf Crocodile), SONG is Jankovics’ incredibly ambitious attempt to depict thousands of years of Hungarian culture and myth, based in part on early Siberian and Finno-Ugric legends and incorporating Scythian, Iranian and Turkic artistic influences. Divided into four sections, the film opens in a violent snowstorm, with nomadic hunters stalking deer and woolly mammoth and singing songs of their spiritual brethren – and it ends millennia later, with Géza, Grand Prince of the Hungarians, who helped bridge the gap between Paganism and early Christianity. Filled with cascading imagery of mythical She-Deer, of legendary brothers Hunor and Magyar, of forest spirits, gorgeous birds of fire and streams of silvery fish, SONG is easily the visual equal of SON OF THE WHITE MARE and TRAGEDY OF MAN in Jankovics’ filmography As the ancient ballad sings: "The wonderful hind of their dreams ran ahead of them." Featuring the voices of Árpád Besenczi, Ildikó Bokor, Róbert Bolla and others. In Hungarian with English subtitles.
Special Features:
4K restoration of the film by the NFI – Film Archive in Hungary.
First-ever worldwide 4K UHD + Blu-ray release of the film.
New video interview with the film’s composer Levente Szörényi (of legendary Hungarian rock band Illés) and animator Piroska Martsa, translated by Anna Klaniczay and moderated by Dennis Bartok for Deaf Crocodile. (In Hungarian with English translation.)
New visual essay by film historian Evan Chester.
New commentary track by animation producer and podcaster Adam Rackoff, podcaster and film critic James Hancock, and filmmaker and podcaster Martin Kessler.
Blu-ray authoring by Vital Passenger.
Deluxe Edition Bonus Content:
Hard slipcase featuring new artwork by Beth Morris
60-page illustrated booklet
New essay by film historian Jenny Barker
New essay by film critic Walter Chaw
Limited to 2000 units
THIS DELUXE LIMITED EDITION IS INCLUDED IN SUBSCRIPTIONS.
A STANDARD EDITION WILL BE RELEASED AT A LATER DATE.
HAIR HIGH, 2004 Plymptoons, 78 min. Legendary animator Bill Plympton’s (THE TUNE, MUTANT ALIENS) cheerfully unhinged and wildly hormonal tribute to 1950s teen romance opens on star quarterback Rod (voiced by Dermot Mulroney) and head cheerleader Cherri (voiced by Sarah Silverman) as the unchallenged king & queen of Echo Lake H.S.. Enter scooter-driving Spud (Eric Gilliland) as the bumbling New Kid in School, who quickly runs afoul of Rod and Cherri – but will love unexpectedly blossom between the Geek and the Prom Queen? Filled with reanimated frogs, writhing teenage tongues / tonsils / lips, deranged parodies of drive-in flicks like THE BRAINEATERS, and (of course) a sea of gravity-defying, Dr. Seuss-like hairstyles (our favorite visual gag? Rod’s football helmet is shaped like his massive hairdo), this is Plympton’s cheeky musical take on REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE, GREASE, HAIRSPRAY and BYE BYE BIRDIE. And like the best of Plympton, it’s fueled by sex and roaring libidos: the school team is the Fighting Cocks, and one of the wildest sequences involves the mascot experiencing an uncontrollable erection and humping everything in sight. “The joys of biology,” as chainsmoking teacher Mr. Snerz (David Carradine) observes between (literally) hacking his lungs out. Featuring a stellar voice cast including Beverly D’Angelo, Martha Plimpton, Keith Carradine, Tom Noonan, Justin Long, and Ed Begley Jr., plus fellow animators Matt Groening and Don Hertzfeldt, with a wonderful score by longtime Plympton musical collaborators Maureen McElheron, Hank Bones and Corey Allen Jackson. And remember: today’s lunch will be Sloppy Joe’s and creamed corn!
Special Features:
First-ever U.S. Blu-ray release.
Two Bill Plympton animated shorts:
“Shuteye Hotel” (2007, 7 min.)
“Horn Dog” (2009, 5 min.)
New video interview with Bill Plympton and composer Maureen McElheron, moderated by Dennis Bartok of Deaf Crocodile
New visual essay “Horny High: Sex, Identity and Animated Anarchy in Hair High” by film critic Celeste de la Cabra
New commentary track by animation producer and podcaster Adam Rackoff, podcaster and film critic James Hancock, and filmmaker and podcaster Martin Kessler
Blu-ray authoring by Vital Passenger.
New art by Beth Morris
Deluxe Edition Bonus Content:
Hard slipcase featuring new artwork by Bill Plympton
60-page illustrated booklet
New essay by longtime Plympton collaborator John Holderried
New essay by film critic Walter Chaw
Limited to 1750 units
THIS DELUXE LIMITED EDITION IS INCLUDED IN SUBSCRIPTIONS.
A STANDARD EDITION WILL BE RELEASED AT A LATER DATE.
Re: Deaf Crocodile
Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2026 10:34 pm
Listening to the podcast for these releases right now and they’ve just dropped that they’re releasing one of John and Faith Hubley’s cosmic animated films (which appears to be most likely The Cosmic Eye)!
Re: Deaf Crocodile
Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2026 5:21 am
From today's email:
AUTHORING: We’ve begun using a second authoring company. We will continue to have many of our releases authored by David Mackenzie of Fidelity in Motion, but given our increased volume as well as shortened windows between authoring and release dates, it just makes sense to have options. There’s no reason to keep all our eggs in one basket as they say. Johnny Buell of Vital Passenger will also be handling a number of our releases. He’s come highly recommended and has authored a number of very popular releases -including the numerous “best of” listed ALL THE HAUNTS BE OURS box sets - so no need to worry. Our titles are in two of the industry’s very best hands.
Re: Deaf Crocodile
Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2026 1:49 pm
This same thing is happening in the vinyl record reissue world. The buying public starts to learn a name like David's (in records, perhaps the best analogue is Kevin Gray), and then they assume that he's the only person who can adequately author a disc since it's the only, or one of the only, names they recognize. Those heavy hitters only have so much time in the day, so there are inevitably reissues and new releases that are slagged off just because they don't have one guy's initials on them.
Re: Deaf Crocodile
Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2026 3:10 pm
If I remember rightly, David was saying something about wanting his weekends back, with which I can entirely sympathise. Being in complete control of your working hours is one of the biggest bonuses of freelancing, but the downside is that if you're in demand it's very, very easy to let it consume your entire waking life. Especially if you're a perfectionist.
Re: Deaf Crocodile
Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2026 4:16 pm
We may not have much time left, though, before the End of Physical Media. 
Re: Deaf Crocodile
Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2026 4:24 pm
this would be wild, especially given I figured if we ever got a Hubley release, it would come from Criterion. I have asked their daughter Georgia (at her other job) multiple times over the years if she and her sister (who are very involved in their parents' legacy) had been working with Criterion on any release. she always told me not at the moment but she would try and ask them.. definitely a case of I don't care who puts it out as long as it comes out!TechnicolorAcid wrote: Mon Jan 19, 2026 10:34 pm Listening to the podcast for these releases right now and they’ve just dropped that they’re releasing one of John and Faith Hubley’s cosmic animated films (which appears to be most likely The Cosmic Eye)!
I do hope Georgia and Emily will be interviewed for whatever this release ends up being, but I trust if Deaf Crocodile is releasing, Dennis will ensure that happens
Re: Deaf Crocodile
Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2026 5:29 am
I think the set is out now but if anyone wants to sample Tulio´s films before buying they are available to watch (free & legally ) with english subtitles on Elonet.finna.fi
Anyway, I´m excited that some of you lucky bastards are finally going to see Sensuela!
Re: Deaf Crocodile
Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2026 7:52 am
My copy turned up yesterday, so I can confirm that it and the Yuri Norstein set are now out in the wild.
And I gather my copies of White Sun of the Desert and Krakatit will turn up next week.
(All ordered from Diabolik.)
And I gather my copies of White Sun of the Desert and Krakatit will turn up next week.
(All ordered from Diabolik.)
Re: Deaf Crocodile
Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2026 1:26 am
Our copy of the Norstein set is somewhere between North Carolina and Boston.... Really looking forward to its arrival.
Re: Deaf Crocodile
Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2026 6:30 pm
Got my copy of the Norstein set and it is a stunner. The transfers appear to be the same as on the Japanese Blu-ray (dust particles stuck in same places in the gate), but authoring is better on the DC disc - more color gradations are visible, film grain is beautifully resolved, some damage is removed. The new presentations are very film-like, absolutely mesmerizing. The Japanese documentary from 2016 is a joy to watch and provides an insider's view at Norstein's studio environment and the creative process. I was hoping to see more completed footage from Overcoat, but the included bits convey enough to get a sense of this masterpiece-in-progress that may never be completed.
Re: Deaf Crocodile
Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2026 8:04 pm
They may well be the same raw scans at base—in fact, there's no particular reason for them not to be—but the restoration and grading was carried out in-house at Deaf Crocodile prior to authoring.
And I can be certain of this because I recorded my commentaries to ungraded scans, so the films that weren't included in the Japanese Blu-ray were just as much a revelation to me when the final disc turned up as they'd have been to everyone else.
And I can be certain of this because I recorded my commentaries to ungraded scans, so the films that weren't included in the Japanese Blu-ray were just as much a revelation to me when the final disc turned up as they'd have been to everyone else.
Re: Deaf Crocodile
Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2026 11:32 pm
Children and Matches was a hoot -- even if almost certainly not sound historically speaking. (The name made me think of one of those early Kiarostami educational films).
Re: Deaf Crocodile
Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2026 8:45 am
Pretty much the only info I had on that film when devising the commentary was: (a) that it was Norstein's first film as solo director, (b) that he had to make it very quickly to a tight deadline, and (c) he thought that it was "absolute rubbish", a comment made when persuading his biographer Clare Kitson not to watch it. Although in the event it wasn't a huge challenge.
(Compare and contrast with Hedgehog in the Fog and Tale of Tales, for both of which I amassed a gargantuan amount of material, which I then had to fillet down to ten minutes and just under half an hour, respectively.)
(Compare and contrast with Hedgehog in the Fog and Tale of Tales, for both of which I amassed a gargantuan amount of material, which I then had to fillet down to ten minutes and just under half an hour, respectively.)
Re: Deaf Crocodile
Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2026 2:40 pm
I think he was being too harsh -- but I WOULD agree it was only a "trifle" compared to his usual work.
Re: Deaf Crocodile
Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2026 3:11 pm
I suspect the intention on Soyuzmultfilm's part was that The Fox and the Hare would be just as much of a trifle—but Norstein clearly found that commission a lot more congenial.
Re: Deaf Crocodile
Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2026 1:56 am
There's an audio error on the Yuri Norstein release.
More details: https://www.reddit.com/r/boutiquebluray ... se_has_an/
For full transparency, I've made it obvious I'm the OP of the reddit thread, and have posted this here just to inform. Sorry for the intrusion!
More details: https://www.reddit.com/r/boutiquebluray ... se_has_an/
For full transparency, I've made it obvious I'm the OP of the reddit thread, and have posted this here just to inform. Sorry for the intrusion!
Re: Deaf Crocodile
Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2026 2:18 am
Very disappointing but I’m glad they responded quickly and are offering a replacement disc for future pressings. Thanks for bringing this up!Lanerlan wrote: Fri Feb 13, 2026 1:56 am There's an audio error on the Yuri Norstein release.
More details: https://www.reddit.com/r/boutiquebluray ... se_has_an/
For full transparency, I've made it obvious I'm the OP of the reddit thread, and have posted this here just to inform. Sorry for the intrusion!
Re: Deaf Crocodile
Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2026 3:22 am
I wonder if the standard edition which I ordered through Orbit will already include the fixed discs. I'm thinking probably not, because it's due for release later this month, at least according to Orbit. I'll check out the affected scenes when my order arrives.