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Jean-Luc Garbo wrote:So the interview with Udo is brand new? That's definitely worth the wait. I always enjoy interviews with him so I'm glad you got him to sit down for a chat.

Indeed - grabbed at the Berlin Film Festival last month. I was slightly nervous when I found out that we had fifteen minutes maximum, but the final edited piece runs 11:27 so Daniel Bird and Uwe Huber clearly made the most of their time with him.

I'm really pleased with both the Udo Kier and Marina Pierro interviews, not least because I was very conscious with Arrow's earlier Borowczyk discs that the voices of the actors in general were largely absent (Jean-Pierre Andréani on Goto being the only exception) and the voices of the female actors were wholly absent - and believe me, this wasn't for want of trying.

But Marina Pierro more than makes up for this: it becomes very clear very quickly why Borowczyk made her his muse, as she comes across as a highly intelligent woman who clearly shared lots of interests with him (notably Surrealism): her interview is peppered with references to the likes of André Breton, Man Ray, Max Ernst and earlier proto-Surrealists like the Comte de Lautréamont. She's clearly fiercely proud of the six films that she made with Borowczyk - five features, one piece for French TV - and explains why in considerable detail. And although people may be disappointed that she elected not to appear on camera for the interview (completely her choice, which we obviously respected), in compensation she speaks over a montage of what are often fascinatingly rare stills.

So basically, this is shaping up to be the home video release of the year, amirite?

criterion10 wrote:So basically, this is shaping up to be the home video release of the year, amirite?

I think we need to see what Arrow has in store for Yoshida first, but if it isn't it won't be for lack of trying.

Amazon.com shows the release date of this item to be 21 April, while Amazonco.uk shows it to be 11 May. Are these correct, or has Amazon.com not reflected the delay?

Are the blu rays released in two regions expected to be identical (apart from region coding) or could there be differences between them (in run time or picture quality)?

There isn't even any difference in region coding.

The only difference will be the ratings logos on the cover of the UK release.

Though I suppose on this particular release one of the disc intro screens will be Academy, whilst it'll be Video on the US disc.

As the co-producer of said discs, I can confirm first hand that the machine-readable surface will be identical in every way regardless of where you purchase them - Arrow is only producing one master apiece for the BD and DVD.

The BDs will be simultaneously coded to Region A and Region B, and the DVDs likewise for Region 1 and Region 2. The DVDs will be encoded to the NTSC video system to maximise compatibility, as pretty much any modern European setup can handle them, whereas many US setups still struggle with PAL.

The only differences are to do with the barcode on the back of the sleeve (content and position), the BBFC logos/info (not featured on the US release), and the wording of the copyright info (minor local variations). Booklets will be identical.

And 11 May is indeed the release date, and Daniel Bird and I are hugely grateful to Arrow for giving us a much-needed extension: a fortnight ago we were faced with the deeply unappetising prospect of having to cut corners and possibly drop one extra altogether, but as it is we're delivering a superior package to what was originally promised. (We're making a bit of a habit with that kind of thing as regards the Borowczyk discs...)

It's great to read again and again how much effort you are putting into this release.
Can't wait till I can hold it in my hands.

I just received an email from Amazon about my order. Any reason why the Arrow USA release has been pushed back to May?

But it's been formally signed off for replication, so there shouldn't be any further delays.

And I'm as proud of this release as I am of absolutely anything else that I've ever done.

swo17 wrote:See here

Ah, now I remember! Sorry about that. Reading about those extended special features again has me even more excited for this release. Between this and the Bava, I can't praise Arrow enough.

The first review, as far as I'm aware, courtesy of Mondo Digital.

And a final shrinkwrapped copy reached me 24 hours ago, so hopefully they're already starting to enter retail supply chains.

Beaver.

Those beaver stills look amazing!

Good job, Michael!

Good job, James White and David Mackenzie. And Noël Véry for shooting the film in the first place and generously giving up his time to pop over to London to make sure that they got it right.

My involvement with the visuals was nonexistent by comparison, but I did tweak all three subtitle tracks.

That framing seems a little tight, I think I'll stick with the VHS.

I laughed, obviously, but mainly because I don't think I've ever been more relaxed about framing in my life.

Because the original cinematographer was fired and camera operator Noël Véry took over, this means that the man who oversaw Arrow's framing and grading was the man who was actually looking through the viewfinder throughout filming. You're not going to get a more expert opinion than that!

The special thanks section in the booklet is great. I get the sense the producers were even more surprised and grateful they were given the opportunity to get this out there than they were the massive box set.

I watched this tonight and settled for the French track despite English being the default. As good as Patrick Magee's dubbing is, he is a secondary character and doesn't have that many lines. Udo Kier's dubbing on the other hand, which was clearly not performed by himself, gives him a weird American accent and is pretty awful in comparison to the far more restrained French dubbing (even if the sync is worse since he performed in English). The same largely goes for Marina Pierro. Anyway, the film was fantastic. It doesn't quite come together as one would hope but I think it's maybe a case of the sum of its parts being greater than the whole. The last 15 minutes have to be my favourite in all Borowczyk cinema I've seen so far.

Michael's great appreciation will hopefully lead to a run on the other five Borowczyk discs (certainly it made me want to go back and watch everything from the box set) so we can get even more restorations. Lulu is now at the top of my list.

Just received my copy from the arrow indiegogo drive. One thing I enjoy that has been placed in these Borowczyk discs (at least my copies of Immoral Tales and Dr Jekyll and Miss Osbourne) is their sections for contemporary reviews. I'm always curious how a film's critical reception is taken and changed from it's initial release to ten, twenty years in life. Glad to see them included.

I'll delve further into the disc this weekend possibly after exams.

Banasa wrote:One thing I enjoy that has been placed in these Borowczyk discs (at least my copies of Immoral Tales and Dr Jekyll and Miss Osbourne) is their sections for contemporary reviews. I'm always curious how a film's critical reception is taken and changed from it's initial release to ten, twenty years in life. Glad to see them included.

That's a by-product of it being an Arrow Academy release in the UK - they nearly always include a Contemporary Reviews section, and it's one of my favourite bits to research and edit.

Especially if the reception was mixed or even downright terrible - The Night of the Hunter got such lousy reviews that I ended up running just about the only good one in full (Gavin Lambert's in Sight & Sound). I always try to include at least one absolute stinker, and I think Ashes and Diamonds was the only film where I couldn't find one (or not one from 1958, anyway). I was quite surprised by how mixed a reception Sullivan's Travels got as well, given its status now.

Received mine today and I still can't quite believe it. Didn't think I'd see a good home video release so soon in my lifetime - let alone one like this!

Here's hoping for even more Borowczyk from Arrow - and keep up the fantastic work!!!

Haven't received mine yet, but I guess you have to factor in time for it to reach the other side of the world.

Anyone else from Australia got theirs?