109, 930-935 Dietrich & von Sternberg in Hollywood

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onedimension
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Re: 109, 930-935 Dietrich & von Sternberg in Hollywood

#151 Post by onedimension » Mon Apr 16, 2018 5:43 pm

hearthesilence wrote:Holy s***, this is amazing. I wasn't sure if some of these titles would ever get released.
Most have been scattered on DVD, some in decent transfers - but this is the first time they've all been put together in the context they deserve.

Hoping for the same with the Mann/Stewart cooperations someday, but Criterion has a lot of months left to fill.

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Murdoch
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Re: 109, 930-935 Dietrich & von Sternberg in Hollywood

#152 Post by Murdoch » Mon Apr 16, 2018 5:59 pm

I haven't been this excited by a Criterion release in a while. I adore Sternberg and Dietrich's collaborations.

Mooney
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Re: 109, 930-935 Dietrich & von Sternberg in Hollywood

#153 Post by Mooney » Mon Apr 16, 2018 6:11 pm

I'm stunned and speechless. This is a amazing release.

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Drucker
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Re: 109, 930-935 Dietrich & von Sternberg in Hollywood

#154 Post by Drucker » Mon Apr 16, 2018 6:15 pm

Holly shit.

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Re: 109, 930-935 Dietrich & von Sternberg in Hollywood

#155 Post by Werewolf by Night » Mon Apr 16, 2018 7:04 pm

I have been waiting for this for about 20 years. Thank you, Criterion.

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denti alligator
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Re: 109, 930-935 Dietrich & von Sternberg in Hollywood

#156 Post by denti alligator » Mon Apr 16, 2018 10:50 pm

Yeah, I think this was on the rumored forthcoming list at the first Criteron Forum back when I joined in.... 2003?

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DeprongMori
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Re: 109, 930-935 Dietrich & von Sternberg in Hollywood

#157 Post by DeprongMori » Mon Apr 16, 2018 11:19 pm

I notice that the set does not seem to include two supplements from The Scarlet Empress DVD release — Documentary: "The World of Josef von Sternberg," including interview with Kevin Brownlow (30 min.), and Von Sternberg tribute by underground filmmaker Jack Smith. I understand the documentary is quite good and a unique glimpse into Sternberg’s lighting methods. It sounds like quite a loss. Anyone have thoughts on these?

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Ashirg
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Re: 109, 930-935 Dietrich & von Sternberg in Hollywood

#158 Post by Ashirg » Mon Apr 16, 2018 11:22 pm

Shanghai Express was rumored to be joining collection at least since October 2001...

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Re: 109, 930-935 Dietrich & von Sternberg in Hollywood

#159 Post by cdnchris » Tue Apr 17, 2018 12:36 am

I'm pretty sure it had been rumored since Scarlet Empress was released, so 2001 sounds about right.

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Svevan
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Re: 109, 930-935 Dietrich & von Sternberg in Hollywood

#160 Post by Svevan » Tue Apr 17, 2018 2:27 am

Finally! What a set.

Blonde Venus and the Golden Afro - not my favorite of the Von Deitberg collabs, but a weird and glitzy film. Worth it for the hairstyles alone.

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movielocke
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109, 930-935 Dietrich & von Sternberg in Hollywood

#161 Post by movielocke » Tue Apr 17, 2018 2:42 am

I remember Shanghai Express being rumored around 2001-ish because I put off watching it for a few months thinking a dvd was imminent.

As I recall during an HTF chat with criterion around 2002-2003 era they said there were no suitable materials for Shanghai Express on dvd, at least not comparable to the standard they’d released Scarlett empress in, so it had more or less been indefinitely postponed/shelved.

ethel
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Re: 109, 930-935 Dietrich & von Sternberg in Hollywood

#162 Post by ethel » Tue Apr 17, 2018 3:27 am

The apparent absence of Jack Smith from the extras is concerning. I hope the overall impression of sober heteronormative academic analysis isn’t actually the whole story. Couldn’t they rope in John Waters, Charles Busch and Lypsinka for balance? Sheesh. The films are delirious, and the extras should ideally reflect this at some point. It’s not John Wayne, Clint Eastwood and Tom Hanks fans who’ve lit candles and kept shrines to these films for lo these 80 years.

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Roscoe
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Re: 109, 930-935 Dietrich & von Sternberg in Hollywood

#163 Post by Roscoe » Tue Apr 17, 2018 10:27 am

Any word as to the restorations? I'm hoping they've found the missing dialogue from SHANGHAI EXPRESS.

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mfunk9786
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Re: 109, 930-935 Dietrich & von Sternberg in Hollywood

#164 Post by mfunk9786 » Tue Apr 17, 2018 10:36 am

david hare's post above has some information on that.

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oldsheperd
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Re: 109, 930-935 Dietrich & von Sternberg in Hollywood

#165 Post by oldsheperd » Tue Apr 17, 2018 2:45 pm

Happy for this release and the price is perfect!

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senseabove
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Re: 109, 930-935 Dietrich & von Sternberg in Hollywood

#166 Post by senseabove » Tue Apr 17, 2018 5:50 pm

david hare wrote:I can't verify the 4K of Shanghai Express has the missing dialogue reinstated but one assumes it will.

If it isn't this is it:

CHANG. Explain to him if he does not tell the truth I'll have him shot.
LILY to LENARD (in French): He says if you don't tell the truth he will have you shot.
LENARD (In French) when I was in the army I committed a minor offence and I was discharged.
LILY: He has been discharged for a minor offence.
CHANG. THen why does he wear that uniform?
LILY. Why do you wear that uniform then?
LENARD. I'm going to see my sister and I dont wamt her to know I've been discharged. It would cause too much shame and sorrow.
LILY. HE is going to visit his sister and he doesn't want her to know about his disgrace.
I don't know the history of the cut or the vintage of the 35mm print I saw—though IIRC it looked fairly pristine—but when I saw it a few weeks ago it had this dialogue in it...

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whaleallright
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Re: 109, 930-935 Dietrich & von Sternberg in Hollywood

#167 Post by whaleallright » Thu Apr 19, 2018 3:23 pm

ethel wrote:The apparent absence of Jack Smith from the extras is concerning. I hope the overall impression of sober heteronormative academic analysis isn’t actually the whole story. Couldn’t they rope in John Waters, Charles Busch and Lypsinka for balance? Sheesh. The films are delirious, and the extras should ideally reflect this at some point. It’s not John Wayne, Clint Eastwood and Tom Hanks fans who’ve lit candles and kept shrines to these films for lo these 80 years.
I gotta agree with this. The centrality of Dietrich and these films in particular to the development of a camp sensibility—and all the gender fuckery the films include— is so important that it would be a major oversight not to make these things the subject of at least one of the "extras" on this set.

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Re: 109, 930-935 Dietrich & von Sternberg in Hollywood

#168 Post by Tuco » Fri Apr 20, 2018 12:13 am

I swear that the last time I saw Shanghai Express on TCM (before Comcast bumped TCM to a more expensive tier), the missing dialog was, well, not missing. And that wasn't the first time I've heard/seen it. At any rate, so excited about this set. And not just because my wife won't be crabby about me "buying another fucking blu-ray" because she luuuuuuuuves Marlene.

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Roscoe
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Re: 109, 930-935 Dietrich & von Sternberg in Hollywood

#169 Post by Roscoe » Fri Apr 20, 2018 8:51 am

The last time I watched it on TCM the dialogue about the French officer was missing. A pity.

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Feego
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Re: 109, 930-935 Dietrich & von Sternberg in Hollywood

#170 Post by Feego » Fri Apr 20, 2018 9:16 pm

david hare wrote:I can't verify the 4K of Shanghai Express has the missing dialogue reinstated but one assumes it will.

If it isn't this is it:

CHANG. Explain to him if he does not tell the truth I'll have him shot.
LILY to LENARD (in French): He says if you don't tell the truth he will have you shot.
LENARD (In French) when I was in the army I committed a minor offence and I was discharged.
LILY: He has been discharged for a minor offence.
CHANG. THen why does he wear that uniform?
LILY. Why do you wear that uniform then?
LENARD. I'm going to see my sister and I dont wamt her to know I've been discharged. It would cause too much shame and sorrow.
LILY. HE is going to visit his sister and he doesn't want her to know about his disgrace.
Tuco wrote:I swear that the last time I saw Shanghai Express on TCM (before Comcast bumped TCM to a more expensive tier), the missing dialog was, well, not missing.
I just checked my DVD of Shanghai Express that was released by TCM in 2012. The lines I have bolded in David Hare's quote above are there, but the lines before that are missing. We hear Chang say, "Your passport says nothing about your military rank." Dietrich translates and the soldier answers, then there is a visible cut to Chang asking about the uniform. I saw no evidence of visual deterioration prior to the cut however. I'm pretty sure this is the version that has aired on TCM for the last several years.

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Fred Holywell
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Re: 109, 930-935 Dietrich & von Sternberg in Hollywood

#171 Post by Fred Holywell » Fri Apr 20, 2018 9:43 pm

Here's the shot as seen on TCM last month:

"Shanghai Express" dialogue cut

The cut comes between Lenard's line in French about having resigned from the army, and Chang's line: "Then why does he wear that uniform?"

black&huge
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Re: 109, 930-935 Dietrich & von Sternberg in Hollywood

#172 Post by black&huge » Sat Apr 21, 2018 2:08 pm

With this mammoth being announced I hope an upgrade of the 3 silent classics box set isn't too far behind.

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domino harvey
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Re: 109, 930-935 Dietrich & von Sternberg in Hollywood

#173 Post by domino harvey » Fri Jun 01, 2018 12:27 pm


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hearthesilence
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Re: 109, 930-935 Dietrich & von Sternberg in Hollywood

#174 Post by hearthesilence » Fri Jun 01, 2018 3:01 pm

Universal released a PAL DVD of Shanghai Express that's pretty good - surprised DVDBeaver didn't use it in their comparisons, and I have to say the new Criterion doesn't look all that different from it. (No surprise - I was under the impression that any radical improvement in PQ is very unlikely given the best available elements,)

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domino harvey
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Re: 109, 930-935 Dietrich & von Sternberg in Hollywood

#175 Post by domino harvey » Fri Jun 01, 2018 3:05 pm

I'm surprised that Shanghai Express only has one extra directly related to it. Those coming into this set blind would not be blamed for not realizing it's one of the most popular of the films

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