WFDiF: Kieślowski Dokumentalista
- MichaelB
- Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2006 6:20 pm
- Location: Worthing
- Contact:
WFDiF: Kieślowski Dokumentalista
I've just received the two-disc DVD set Kieślowski: Documentarist, produced by WFDiF in Poland, and am delighted to confirm that it was well worth the purchase even beyond the specific reasons I had to get it (namely, decent copies of Workers '71 and Before the Rally, which I'd previously only seen as fuzzy low-res MP4s, and any copy at all of I Don't Know, one of the few Kieślowski titles to elude me so completely that I couldn't even track down an unsubtitled copy).
First of all, the package is fully bilingual in Polish and English, including the booklet. Secondly, on the evidence of disc one, all of these are fresh transfers - I did side-by-side comparisons with my older copies of From the City of Łódź, I Was a Soldier, Factory, Refrain, Bricklayer and X-Ray and in all cases the new edition was unquestionably superior. The four black-and-white films were noticeably contrastier before, and the colour films grainier - so I suspect they may have gone back to original negs this time round (this is highly plausible given that WFDiF made the films in the first place). There's a reference to "restoration" at the back of the booklet, but it doesn't go into details, except to confirm that cinematographer Jacek Petrycki and sound recordist Michał Żarnecki were involved.
Anyway, this is what's in the package:
Disc 1
From the City of Łódź (Z miasta Łodzi, 1969)
I Was a Soldier (Byłem żołnierzem, 1970
Factory (Fabryka, 1970)
Before the Rally (Przed rajdem, 1971)
Workers 1971: Nothing About Us Without Us (Robotnicy 1971: Nic o nas bez nas, 1971)
Refrain (Refren, 1972)
Bricklayer (Murarz, 1973)
X-Ray (Prześwietlenie, 1974)
DVD 2
Curriculum Vitae (Życiorys, 1975)
Hospital (Szpital, 1976)
Clapperboard (Klaps, 1976)
I Don't Know (Nie wiem, 1976)
From a Night Porter's Point of View (Z punktu widzenia nocnego portiera, 1977)
Seven Women of Different Ages (Siedem kobiet w różnym wieku, 1978)
Station (Dworzec, 1980)
Talking Heads (Gadające głowy, 1980)
First of all, the package is fully bilingual in Polish and English, including the booklet. Secondly, on the evidence of disc one, all of these are fresh transfers - I did side-by-side comparisons with my older copies of From the City of Łódź, I Was a Soldier, Factory, Refrain, Bricklayer and X-Ray and in all cases the new edition was unquestionably superior. The four black-and-white films were noticeably contrastier before, and the colour films grainier - so I suspect they may have gone back to original negs this time round (this is highly plausible given that WFDiF made the films in the first place). There's a reference to "restoration" at the back of the booklet, but it doesn't go into details, except to confirm that cinematographer Jacek Petrycki and sound recordist Michał Żarnecki were involved.
Anyway, this is what's in the package:
Disc 1
From the City of Łódź (Z miasta Łodzi, 1969)
I Was a Soldier (Byłem żołnierzem, 1970
Factory (Fabryka, 1970)
Before the Rally (Przed rajdem, 1971)
Workers 1971: Nothing About Us Without Us (Robotnicy 1971: Nic o nas bez nas, 1971)
Refrain (Refren, 1972)
Bricklayer (Murarz, 1973)
X-Ray (Prześwietlenie, 1974)
DVD 2
Curriculum Vitae (Życiorys, 1975)
Hospital (Szpital, 1976)
Clapperboard (Klaps, 1976)
I Don't Know (Nie wiem, 1976)
From a Night Porter's Point of View (Z punktu widzenia nocnego portiera, 1977)
Seven Women of Different Ages (Siedem kobiet w różnym wieku, 1978)
Station (Dworzec, 1980)
Talking Heads (Gadające głowy, 1980)
-
- Joined: Sun Mar 01, 2015 11:27 am
Re: Krzysztof Kieslowski - KIEŚLOWSKI - DOCUMENTALISTA
Hi,
Where can you purchase this DVD set? I don't see it on the website, and I looked on BluDVD.pl and don't see it htere. Any info would be most appreciated.
Thanks,
Where can you purchase this DVD set? I don't see it on the website, and I looked on BluDVD.pl and don't see it htere. Any info would be most appreciated.
Thanks,
- MichaelB
- Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2006 6:20 pm
- Location: Worthing
- Contact:
- NABOB OF NOWHERE
- Joined: Thu Sep 01, 2005 12:30 pm
- Location: Brandywine River
Re: Krzysztof Kieslowski
I got mine from Empik 20 euros shipped by courier. Merlin seem to have become Walmart in recent times
- MichaelB
- Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2006 6:20 pm
- Location: Worthing
- Contact:
Re: Krzysztof Kieslowski
I deliberately didn't mention Merlin!
- NABOB OF NOWHERE
- Joined: Thu Sep 01, 2005 12:30 pm
- Location: Brandywine River
Re: Krzysztof Kieslowski
I'll miss that tank-proof packaging!
- MichaelB
- Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2006 6:20 pm
- Location: Worthing
- Contact:
Re: Krzysztof Kieslowski
Empik's not too bad, but Punkt44 left a bit to be desired.
- swo17
- Bloodthirsty Butcher
- Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2008 10:25 am
- Location: SLC, UT
WFDIF: Kieślowski Dokumentalista
Oh nice, I was just about to lament the unavailability of PWA's set, but the WFDIF looks more comprehensive (only excluding First Love, but that's on the Arrow set)MichaelB wrote: ↑Fri Jan 17, 2020 1:29 pmFurther gaps can be filled by WFDIF's superb recent collection of the documentaries (DVD only, but recent restorations and completely English-friendly - and it includes such previously unreleased rarities as Workers '71 and I Don't Know), at which point you'll have the overwhelming majority of his output, and pretty much everything that Kieślowski himself placed any creative value on.
- MichaelB
- Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2006 6:20 pm
- Location: Worthing
- Contact:
Re: Cinema of Conflict: Four Films by Krzystof Kieślowski
Yes, the PWA set is now redundant, as fine as it was in its day. I can confirm first-hand that the WFDIF transfers are superior in every case.
Oh, and I see I carelessly left out the title: it's Kieślowski Dokumentalista - it still appears to be in print. And I described it in more detail here.
Oh, and I see I carelessly left out the title: it's Kieślowski Dokumentalista - it still appears to be in print. And I described it in more detail here.
- swo17
- Bloodthirsty Butcher
- Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2008 10:25 am
- Location: SLC, UT
Re: Cinema of Conflict: Four Films by Krzystof Kieślowski
If anyone else is interested in this, I just ordered five copies directly from Poland. PM me if you'd like to go in on a copy--they'll probably come to about $13 shipped if you live in the U.S.
EDIT: This offer has now expired
- TMDaines
- Joined: Wed Nov 11, 2009 1:01 pm
- Location: Stretford, Manchester
Re: Cinema of Conflict: Four Films by Krzystof Kieślowski
I’d have been well in for this if you lived in the UK. Where’s you buy them from?swo17 wrote:If anyone else is interested in this, I just ordered five copies directly from Poland. PM me if you'd like to go in on a copy--they'll probably come to about $13 shipped if you live in the U.S.
- MichaelB
- Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2006 6:20 pm
- Location: Worthing
- Contact:
Re: Cinema of Conflict: Four Films by Krzystof Kieślowski
I should probably make another bulk Empik order at some point, so if there's any interest in a UK-specific bulk buy, it looks as though it'll be about nine quid plus whatever form of postage is preferred, which is an insane bargain for what you get.
(Although I don't want to tread on swo's toes - I'd rather all his were accounted for first!)
(Although I don't want to tread on swo's toes - I'd rather all his were accounted for first!)
- swo17
- Bloodthirsty Butcher
- Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2008 10:25 am
- Location: SLC, UT
Re: Cinema of Conflict: Four Films by Krzystof Kieślowski
No, you should totally do a UK-specific one--if I had to pay international shipping on these it would defeat the purpose. And any I don't sell here I can just list on Amazon Marketplace
I got mine here for half price
I got mine here for half price
- swo17
- Bloodthirsty Butcher
- Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2008 10:25 am
- Location: SLC, UT
Re: Cinema of Conflict: Four Films by Krzystof Kieślowski
Woah, maybe I should have ordered more copies--these five are all already spoken for now
- DeprongMori
- Joined: Fri Apr 04, 2014 1:59 am
- Location: San Francisco
Re: Cinema of Conflict: Four Films by Krzysztof Kieślowski
New copies of the Kieslowski Documentarist 2-DVD set seems to be available from a seller on Amazon US at a pretty reasonable price. They currently have eight more copies. (~$22)
- swo17
- Bloodthirsty Butcher
- Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2008 10:25 am
- Location: SLC, UT
Re: Cinema of Conflict: Four Films by Krzysztof Kieślowski
Anyone else can do the same thing I did--they're basically $6 a pop plus a $20 flat shipping cost, which was why I bought in bulk. It's actually cheaper than the Amazon US option even if you buy just one. It's not like this has gone OOP or anything
- fdm
- Joined: Fri Apr 21, 2006 1:25 pm
Re: Cinema of Conflict: Four Films by Krzysztof Kieślowski
I got as far as the submitting the order page (without creating an account), but it was unclear about whether they took credit cards (eCards?), so I didn't place the order. When do they take the credit card info? Perhaps that was the next step after placing the order? Seemed kind of backwards.
- MichaelB
- Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2006 6:20 pm
- Location: Worthing
- Contact:
Re: Cinema of Conflict: Four Films by Krzysztof Kieślowski
Sorting out the money after placing the order is normal in my experience of dealing with central European sellers. You still have the option of cancelling if you're not happy with the payment options.
- swo17
- Bloodthirsty Butcher
- Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2008 10:25 am
- Location: SLC, UT
Re: Cinema of Conflict: Four Films by Krzysztof Kieślowski
I wasn't sure how that would work either but after I placed the order it took me to an English-language site where I was able to pay with a Mastercardfdm wrote: ↑Sat Jan 18, 2020 6:18 amI got as far as the submitting the order page (without creating an account), but it was unclear about whether they took credit cards (eCards?), so I didn't place the order. When do they take the credit card info? Perhaps that was the next step after placing the order? Seemed kind of backwards.
- Timec
- Spencer Tracy had it coming
- Joined: Thu Nov 25, 2004 1:16 pm
- Location: Elsewhere
Re: Cinema of Conflict: Four Films by Krzysztof Kieślowski
Anyone have any other recommendations from the shop selling the Kieslowski docs? It looks like some of their other Polish releases have English subs, but I'm not familiar with any of the titles other than the Holland.
- fdm
- Joined: Fri Apr 21, 2006 1:25 pm
Re: WFDiF: Kieślowski Dokumentalista
I'll give it another shot in the next few days, perhaps find something(s) else to go along with it. Thanks.
- TMDaines
- Joined: Wed Nov 11, 2009 1:01 pm
- Location: Stretford, Manchester
Re: WFDiF: Kieślowski Dokumentalista
dvdmax.pl works out cheaper for one off purchases, at least for the UK, as shipping is much lower at less than 20 zloty, even when adding a lot from their wider range of Blu-rays to the cart.
- fdm
- Joined: Fri Apr 21, 2006 1:25 pm
Re: WFDiF: Kieślowski Dokumentalista
Re dvdmax.pl, direct order made it to my credit card so almost a $10 savings over getting it from them via amazon.com. Now it just has to make it to me.
- DeprongMori
- Joined: Fri Apr 04, 2014 1:59 am
- Location: San Francisco
Re: WFDiF: Kieślowski Dokumentalista
Does anyone know what the audio format is on these discs? I can't seem to find any reference to the format(s) anywhere in the documentation. (If you found it, could you tell me where?) Thanks -- I'm trying to complete the disc information for a home video catalog.
BTW, it seems to be a fantastic set.
BTW, it seems to be a fantastic set.