Artificial Eye / Curzon Film World

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peerpee · #126 Post by **peerpee** » Fri Feb 10, 2006 4:24 pm

more likely to be a Kino release in the States, no? -- ie. a PAL > NTSC conversion.

If only Criterion could get it.

FilmFanSea · #127 Post by **FilmFanSea** » Fri Feb 10, 2006 4:53 pm

peerpee wrote:more likely to be a Kino release in the States, no? -- ie. a PAL > NTSC conversion.

If only Criterion could get it.

There is considerable confusion about which company holds the rights in Region 1, Paramount or Miramax. (see this thread at DVD Talk for details)

If Annette Insdorf is correct, and Paramount holds the rights, both Criterion and Kino are out of the running.

Gordon · #128 Post by **Gordon** » Fri Feb 10, 2006 6:10 pm

FilmFanSea wrote:If Annette Insdorf is correct, and Paramount holds the rights, both Criterion and Kino are out of the running.

Shit, if that's that case, then I would say that everyone is out of the running - including Paramount themselves! They drag their asses over potential big-sellers like Ace in the Hole; Reds; Robinson Crusoe on Mars; The Conformist and If... and generally seem to have an aversion to foreign language titles, so I think I'll go for the Art Eye set.

Art Eye are cruising along nicely these days, but I am still pining for more Bresson. Nevertheless, kudos is due.

otis · #129 Post by **otis** » Tue Feb 14, 2006 8:48 pm

Anyone got any advance word on the Fantomas disc? I know it's not released till next Monday, but I was hoping someone like DVD Times might have a copy by now.

denti alligator · #130 Post by **denti alligator** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 7:31 pm

So I just got my copy of Mirror, bought during amazon.co.uk's sale. Mine says' it's Dolby Digital 5.1. Does that mean I got one of the old batch? How does one go about replacing this?

peerpee · #131 Post by **peerpee** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 8:27 pm

Have you put the disc in and checked the menu options?

denti alligator · #132 Post by **denti alligator** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 8:35 pm

peerpee wrote:Have you put the disc in and checked the menu options?

No, I didn't want to open it in case this would be problematic with exchanging it. Do the newer printings still say only 5.1 on the box?

peerpee · #133 Post by **peerpee** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 8:54 pm

They didn't change the sleeve.

Oedipax · #134 Post by **Oedipax** » Sat Feb 25, 2006 12:42 am

Yeah, the sleeve scared me too. But check the disc itself. It should give you the option of which track to play when you start the movie.

denti alligator · #135 Post by **denti alligator** » Sat Feb 25, 2006 1:31 am

Oedipax wrote:Yeah, the sleeve scared me too. But check the disc itself. It should give you the option of which track to play when you start the movie.

sure 'nuff. thanks.

What A Disgrace · #136 Post by **What A Disgrace** » Tue Mar 07, 2006 10:35 pm

I just received Fantomas today...that took me completely by surprise, since it only shipped last Friday, and wasn't expecting it until Thursday at the earliest. I haven't watched any of the films all the way through, but I've flipped through them, and they look MARVELOUS for such OLD films.

For what its worth, I watched the Kim Newman introduction, and it was quite informative.

Buy now, suckers.

otis · #137 Post by **otis** » Wed Mar 08, 2006 7:42 am

Beaver review here

ellipsis7 · #138 Post by **ellipsis7** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 5:59 am

AE are still awaiting materials from Gaumont for their mooted release of further 3 Bressons - A MAN ESCAPED, LANCELOT DU LAC & LE DIABLE PROBABLEMENT... They say "hopefully" they will release the DVDs come autumn/fall this year...

Gordon · #139 Post by **Gordon** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 9:47 am

Why is it taking Gaumont so long to provide AE with masters, etc? How along ago was it that AE first announced the Bresson films?

ellipsis7 · #140 Post by **ellipsis7** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 10:37 am

Not specified in my telephone conversation with AE...

FilmFanSea · #141 Post by **FilmFanSea** » Mon Apr 10, 2006 12:33 am

AE's release of Kieslowski's The Double Life of Veronique has been favorably reviewed at DVD Times. As expected, it appears to be a port of the French mk2 release recently praised at DVD Beaver (the greenish color palette notwithstanding). For those in R1, the UK release will likely be cheaper (~$27 + delivery at Amazon UK).

daniel p · #142 Post by **daniel p** » Mon Apr 10, 2006 2:05 am

FilmFanSea wrote:AE's release of Kieslowski's The Double Life of Veronique has been favorably reviewed at DVD Times. As expected, it appears to be a port of the French mk2 release recently praised at DVD Beaver (the greenish color palette notwithstanding). For those in R1, the UK release will likely be cheaper (~$27 + delivery at Amazon UK).

... or the region 4 - which is also a direct port (AFAIK), for ~$24 + delivery.

Cinesimilitude · #143 Post by **Cinesimilitude** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 1:10 pm

The Dekalog releases are heavily discounted for pre order here.

Gregory · #144 Post by **Gregory** » Sat Apr 22, 2006 1:57 pm

Hm, it says they normally ship in 24 hours. Is this a price drop that will go into effect everywhere, thus the Â£10 RRP shown (as opposed to the original Â£25)?

alfons416 · #145 Post by **alfons416** » Sat Apr 29, 2006 5:46 am

anyone know whats up with the Angelopoulos films from AE? they should really be out by now...

and do anyone know if thay still have plans for Sátántangó?

ellipsis7 · #146 Post by **ellipsis7** » Sat Apr 29, 2006 8:37 am

AE's Olmi/Kiarostami/Loach's TICKETS is well worth picking up, especially to compare styles of the 3 masters in their separate segments as well as making of docu extra... AK's section seems to rise above the rest, and interesting to see him working outside an Iranian setting and characters...

Inevitably uneven but in many regards a superior example of the portmanteau film, this collaboration by three of cinema's great â€˜realists' (using the term loosely) even succeeds as a feature in its own right. A freewheeling exploration of love, responsibility, truth and lies, almost wholly set on a train going from Austria to Rome, it's unusually coherent for films of this kind, and easily holds the attention from beginning to end.

It kicks off with Ermanno Olmi's delicate, tender tale of an elderly professor (Carlo Delle Piane) undergoing unexpected emotional upheaval while forced to delay his trip home; suspense is introduced through the presence of security guards on the look-out for terrorists and illegal migrants, but the episode is flawed both by a certain predictability and by the female lead â€“ a PR assistant played by the excellent Valeria Bruni Tedeschi â€“ having been given little to say or do save smile winsomely.

Things improve enormously when the film segues into Abbas Kiarostami's typically sly, elliptical and enigmatic study of an obstreperous and obese but oddly beautiful middle-aged woman (Silvana De Santis) travelling with a far younger man (Filippo Trojano) â€“ a son? a servant? a gigolo? â€“ and of their often very funny, always beguiling encounters with other passengers. What's not said, shown or done here is at least as fascinating â€“ and, perhaps, just as important â€“ as what little is made explicit; it's a miniature masterpiece of ever-shifting perspectives and tantalising mysteries.

Then comes Ken Loach's rather more conventional, frequently hilarious and finally rather touching depiction of an encounter between three Scottish football fans (Martin Compston, William Ruane and Gary Maitland, from â€˜Sweet Sixteen') and an Albanian family first seen in the Olmi episode. Written by regular Loach collaborator Paul Laverty, it's pleasingly profane, politically well-meaning, and makes for a rousing coda to a film that's consistently warm, witty and wise. - Geoff Andrew/Time Out

Grimfarrow · #147 Post by **Grimfarrow** » Fri May 12, 2006 12:33 pm

[quote]Act, Knatchbull acquire UK distributor Artificial Eye

In a further shake-up to the UK distribution market, Artificial Eye Film Company, for 30 years the UK's leading distributor of arthouse and foreign language films, has been acquired by Act Entertainment Group, owner of Curzon Cinemas, and Knatchbull Communications Group.

Terms of the acquisition were not released.

The deal comes just as Artificial Eye has been enjoying one of the most substantial successes in its history having made more than $3.7m through the UK theatrical releases of Jacques Audiard's The Beat My Heart Skipped and Michael Haneke's Hidden.

Set up in the mid-1970s by Pam and Andi Engel, Artificial Eye owns a library of more than 200 films as well as two first-run cinemas in central London, The Chelsea Cinema and The Renoir.

It has long been the doyen of UK arthouse distributors, handling work from such renowned filmmakers as Robert Bresson, Claude Chabrol, The Dardenne brothers, Eric Rohmer, Krzysztof Kiewslowski, Andrei Tarkovsky and Alexander Sokurov.

Robert Beeson will stay on as managing director of Artificial Eye's distribution company and Pam Engel will remain as a consultant.

Artificial Eye's cinemas together with the Curzon Mayfair and Curzon Soho and the Richmond Filmhouse will be absorbed into a new subsidiary, giving the group nine screens on five London sites.

â€œAndi and Pamela Engel have created a unique, quality brand,â€

HerrSchreck · #148 Post by **HerrSchreck** » Thu May 25, 2006 9:17 am

I just purchased the AE COMPLETE JEAN VIGO 2-disc set.

Vigo heaven. Narshty & all who say this is one of Artificial Eye's masterpiece-releases are absoLUTEly correct. There is really no need for Criterion to release L'ATALANTE, or ZERO DE CONDUITE. Here you have completely restored, progressive versions of both films, without cropping, along with the sublime L'Apropos De Nice (the driving force behind my desperate need to acquire this as I've had the above 2 masterpieces in other R1 releases for years) as well as the quite interesting TARIS.

The second disc full of kickass extras shows Criterion how to do it: aside from the original Eisenschitz docs (completely different from the fluff including his appearance on the NY'er) the Jean Vigo episode of CINEASTES NOTRE TEMPS is so good it's beyond description. My guess is if CC ever did get around to releasing either of Vigo's two legendary features (as was discussed over on another thread ruminating the Janus At 50 list of films), they would cut this episode to pieces and provide mere excerpts. This release shows what a crime the practice is, as I'm sure the other episodes used by CC (think Bunuel as the latest example, on Viridiana) are equally compelling when viewed in full.

Which, having seen this sublime piece of film (1960's interviews with Nunuez, Vigos producer, Michel Simon, Dita Parlo, Jean Daste, the actor-- his name escapes me at the moment-- who played the wacky 'pedlar' i e the music-hall comedian who performs in the cafe... other bit part players, plus boarding-school friends for ZERO-references, Vigos crew, anarchist speaking of his father, and much much more) cutting this up would be an absolute crime. Which it is in most cases; I cannot imagine a single piece of film worthy of being cut from this atomically fascinating & entertaining episode. Which I'm sure would be the case if I saw the full episodes of CINEASTES & other shows used by CC for extras but cut to pieces & edited.

As to L'ATALANTE here versus the New Yorker version which I've owned for a couple yrs: clearer, more crisp, truer black & white (see Gary's caps), is genuinely progressive vs. the non-preconverted tape used as master in the NY'er.

But an even bigger issue is the subtitle translation. New Yorker's edition seems to miss the spirit and thrust of the dialog in quite a goodly number of scenes. The translations are completely independent from AE & NY'er, and AE wins by a landslide.

Michel Simon: "Dip your arse in the soup.."

Acquired AEye FANTOMAS this week-- add it to your collection, slip the disc before LES VAMPIRES which has JUDEX slipped after it. Absolutely fucking pitch perfect transfers.. and-- amazingly, as it's the oldest (1913/14) of the bunch-- better looking than VAMPS & JUDEX. Crisper, cleaner, nice tints. Don't hesitate!

Gordon · #149 Post by **Gordon** » Sat May 27, 2006 6:58 pm

Fantastic, Herr S! I really must check out Fantomas.

BTW, I second that Vigo set - fucking incredible, one of AE's very best. But more Bresson, please. How many times have I asked that question on this site, now?

Greathinker · #150 Post by **Greathinker** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 4:25 pm

I just got the AE Stalker and gave it a quick look-- is it just my player or does the image give off a slight jumpiness? The scene I was looking at was an almost motionless landscape and it looked as if the image was very slightly going in and out of focus.

I actually just looked on my Tartan Seventh Seal and it seems to have the same kind of jumpiness, though not as apparent. Is this the disks' less than stellar transfers or is my player (JVC XV-N412S) doing something wrong with the conversion?