Freitag, Mai 14, 2010

Three Silent Classics by Josef von Sternberg - im August von Criterion

Criterion, die DVD/Blu-ray Edelschmiede aus den USA, hat endlich die drei Josef von Sternberg-Stummfilme angekündigt, die schon seit Monaten, wenn nicht sogar seit Jahren in Arbeit waren. Ab dem 24. August 2010 können Filmfreunde das Three Silent Classics by Josef von Sternberg - Set käuflich erwerben, das folgende Ausstattung beinhalten wird:

Die Filme:
  • Underworld (1927)
  • The Last Command (1928)
  • The Docks of New York (1928)
Die Daten:
  • New, restored high-definition digital transfers
  • Six scores: one by Robert Israel for each film; two by the Alloy Orchestra, for Underworld and The Last Command; and a piano and voice piece by Donald Sosin for The Docks of New York
  • Two new visual essays: one by UCLA film professor Janet Bergstrom and the other by film scholar Tag Gallagher
  • 1968 Swedish television interview with director Josef von Sternberg, covering his entire career
  • PLUS: A ninety-six-page booklet featuring essays by film critic Geoffrey O’Brien, film scholar Anton Kaes, and author Luc Sante; the original film treatment for Underworld by Ben Hecht; and an excerpt from Sternberg’s autobiography, Fun in a Chinese Laundry, on Emil Jannings

1 Kommentar:

Christian hat gesagt…

Über die DVDBeaver-Yahoo-Group schrieb jemand, dass Paramount an Criterion nur für DVD-Veröffentlichungen lizensiert. Dies sei der Grund dafür, dass das Sternberg-Set nicht auf Blu-ray erscheinen wird. Bei Paramounts eigenem Klassiker-Output (”The African Queen” in diesem Jahr. Sonst noch was?) werden HD-Discs der Filme wohl sehr unwahrscheinlich. :-( Eine Ausnahme gab es allerdings: Terrence Malicks “Days of Heaven” ist bei Criterion wohl nur auf Blu-ray erschienen, weil der Regisseur sich dafür eingesetzt hat.

Der User “flixyflox” dazu in der “DVDBeaver Yahoo-Group”:

That’s the good news. The bad news is these will be DVD only, no Bluray despite the GE House prints being fine grain masters with HD telecines for encode.

The problem appears to be with Paramount who won’t licence to Crit for Blu (as though they were going to do these themselves!) The same issue arose with Criterion’s planned Days of Heaven, which was only resolved when Malick himself intervened to ensure Crit’s Blu release.

I honestly feel this is potentially one of the great missing opporunities in HV history. If ever any director cried out for the high rez glories of which only Blu is capable, it’s Sternberg and these three masterpieces of visual poetry. Nobody else is ever going to do these titles, and I would urge anyone here who is interested enough to email Peter Becker at Criterion in support of a simultaneous Blu Ray set.

I can barely contain my disappointemnt when you look at the really third rate quality of some Blu classic releases - like Gold Rush or The Kid or 39 Steps - which really don’t merit the format, yet we’re being denied three of the most spectacularly beautiful films in the history of cinema in a format which might have been invented just for them.