Second Sight: Max Ophuls Collection

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lubitsch
Joined: Fri Oct 07, 2005 4:20 pm

#51 Post by lubitsch » Sun Oct 08, 2006 5:51 am

What A Disgrace wrote:Hats off to Second Sight for these releases. A second wave can't come too soon.
Would be nice. But the situation with LOLA MONTEZ is complicated because release of the new restoration is blocked by Marcel Ophüls. LA RONDE exists in two different versions I have on tape, but supposedly the shorter is the authentic one with the longer having sequences Ophüls wanted out of the picture.
But maybe somebody could bring us DIE VERKAUFTE BRAUT und LIEBELEI? At the moment only the worst of Ophüls four German films is available on DVD, LACHENDE ERBEN and that only because of Heinz Rühmann.
And then there is the French WERTHER film which I loved dearly as I saw him years ago.

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Matt
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 12:58 pm

#52 Post by Matt » Sun Nov 12, 2006 1:19 pm

A caveat: don't watch the Todd Haynes "introductions" if you haven't already seen the movie. They blithely give away the endings and every interesting plot point.

I have never seen Le Plaisir until now and I can only think that it is a botched masterpiece. Ophuls' technique is at a real peak here: frames within frames within frames, gravity-defying camera, extraordinarily elaborate and detailed sets, but the storytelling runs a distant second. I haven't read the Maupassant stories on which the film is based, but it almost seems like Ophuls threw out entire pages from them. The narrative is so lightly sketched in all three episodes that it is practically no more than a loose framework on which to hang gorgeous visuals. But perhaps that's a flaw of Ophuls' work in general. He's never really struck me as a very deep director (the strong sentiment in Letter from an Unknown Woman and Lola Montes[/i] notwithstanding.

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Matt
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 12:58 pm

#53 Post by Matt » Mon Nov 13, 2006 11:14 pm

I think I agree with your assessment. I thought it was odd the the longest segment by far was the most lightweight. I do think "Le Masque" was a very intriguing start to the picture, and I wish that the remainder lived up to its promise. "Le Modele" I liked, but it did seem as if the writing did not come together (as if it had been rushed).

I plan to read the Maupassant stories to see what might have been left out, but I'm unable to find an adequate translation at hand.

ByMarkClark.com
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#54 Post by ByMarkClark.com » Tue Jan 23, 2007 3:32 pm

Wasn't Fox supposed to release LETTER FROM AN UNKNOWN WOMAN? Whatever happened to that disc?

BTW, Amazon.co.uk has the English Ophuls discs for under 8 BP apiece.

mikeohhh
Joined: Fri Jul 08, 2005 11:22 pm

#55 Post by mikeohhh » Tue Jan 23, 2007 5:34 pm

Nah, it was Paramount that had it on their schedule briefly last year but it's a Republic title and those all got acquired by Lionsgate so now they're the ones to bug.

ByMarkClark.com
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#56 Post by ByMarkClark.com » Wed Jan 24, 2007 10:11 am

Ah. that explains much. Many thanks.

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Scharphedin2
Joined: Fri May 19, 2006 7:37 am
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#57 Post by Scharphedin2 » Wed Jan 24, 2007 10:18 am

The UK releases are absolutely fine. At this price, if you are able to, get them (all)... I've viewed Reckless Moment and Letter... so far. Excellent films that I would be sorry to have had to wait any longer to see.

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nyasa
Joined: Thu Mar 10, 2005 5:05 am
Location: UK

#58 Post by nyasa » Wed Jan 24, 2007 10:49 am

Scharphedin2 wrote:The UK releases are absolutely fine. At this price, if you are able to, get them (all)... I've viewed Reckless Moment and Letter... so far. Excellent films that I would be sorry to have had to wait any longer to see.
I've seen them all on rental. All excellent, with decent extras. Not sure if I need to own any of them, but if I decide to open my wallet it'll be for Le Plaisir - a wonderful film.

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foggy eyes
Joined: Fri Sep 01, 2006 9:58 am
Location: UK

#59 Post by foggy eyes » Wed Jan 24, 2007 11:03 am

Have no fear. They've dropped in price considerably at Amazon.co.uk.

EDIT: And, Scharp, don't hesitate when it comes to Le Plaisir. It's a beauty!
Last edited by foggy eyes on Wed Jan 24, 2007 11:38 am, edited 1 time in total.

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GringoTex
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 5:57 am

#60 Post by GringoTex » Wed Jan 24, 2007 11:35 am

Scharphedin2 wrote:The UK releases are absolutely fine. At this price, if you are able to, get them (all)... I've viewed Reckless Moment and Letter... so far. Excellent films that I would be sorry to have had to wait any longer to see.
Madame de... is a terrible transfer. Almost unwatchable with all the ghosting. The rest are great.

Anonymous

#61 Post by Anonymous » Wed Jan 24, 2007 1:31 pm

GringoTex wrote:
Scharphedin2 wrote:The UK releases are absolutely fine. At this price, if you are able to, get them (all)... I've viewed Reckless Moment and Letter... so far. Excellent films that I would be sorry to have had to wait any longer to see.
Madame de... is a terrible transfer. Almost unwatchable with all the ghosting. The rest are great.
Almost unwatchable? Wow, the transfer really isn't perfect but that statement strikes me as dead-wrong. Have you never seen a film on an old and faded 16mm print, from a nasty-looking bootleg tape or those cheap-ass DVDs that some no-name companies are throwing away for 5 bucks?

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jorencain
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 1:45 am

#62 Post by jorencain » Wed Jan 24, 2007 3:41 pm

"Almost unwatchable" is pretty strong. I had no problem watching it; I wasn't bothered by the ghosting.

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GringoTex
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 5:57 am

#63 Post by GringoTex » Wed Jan 24, 2007 5:22 pm

davidhare wrote:Like Gringo I find the transfer unwatchable. There's ghosting and artefacting in every instance of movement which, given Ophuls constantly moving camera is 90% of the movie.
I imagine HD monitors make the ghosting and artefacting worse?

Do you guys who say it isnt bad have standard tvs?

Anonymous

#64 Post by Anonymous » Wed Jan 24, 2007 6:37 pm

GringoTex wrote:Do you guys who say it isnt bad have standard tvs?
Actually I have a beamer, a Toshiba projector. Maybe that makes the difference, but I really find the transfer to be OK. Gary Tooze at DVDBeaver seems to agree.

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jorencain
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#65 Post by jorencain » Wed Jan 24, 2007 9:40 pm

Stan Czarnecki wrote:
GringoTex wrote:Do you guys who say it isnt bad have standard tvs?
Actually I have a beamer, a Toshiba projector. Maybe that makes the difference, but I really find the transfer to be OK. Gary Tooze at DVDBeaver seems to agree.
I've got a DLP TV. I don't know, I've only watched it once and maybe it would bother me next time. I guess (since it was my first time watching the film) that I was too engulfed in the movie itself to notice the DVD flaws.

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jorencain
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#66 Post by jorencain » Wed Jan 24, 2007 10:53 pm

I hope Criterion WILL be releasing at least some of these, but I can't wait for that to happen. I was so blown away by "Letter From An Unknown Woman" that I've bought all 4 of these. This has been my introduction to Ophuls and, as I said in my previous post, I'm so engrossed with the films that I can live with the flaws in the disc.

I will have no problem double-dipping on these if Criterion releases them. Right now, I'm just excited to see them.

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GringoTex
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#67 Post by GringoTex » Sat Jan 27, 2007 12:39 am

I finally watched Tad Gallagher's video essay for "Letters..." and this may be my favorite dvd extra ever. It really is an essay (rather than a mishmash of spoken ideas) with a thesis statement and supporting evidence, and I love how he doesn't hesitate to replay the same clip five times in a row to demonstrate his point.

At 25 minutes long, much much better than your standard commentary.

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skuhn8
Joined: Tue Dec 14, 2004 4:46 pm
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#68 Post by skuhn8 » Mon Feb 05, 2007 10:47 am

mikeohhh wrote:Nah, it was Paramount that had it on their schedule briefly last year but it's a Republic title and those all got acquired by Lionsgate so now they're the ones to bug.
these are going dirt cheap on amazon.co.uk...but with all the hoopla about lionsgate putting out films by the crate, ala Hitchcock and upcoming renoir, could this price drop be in anticipation of just such a box coming out?

Great price on amazon until the VAT and shipping and handling (S&H 5 pounds for two dvds?! wtf?)

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tryavna
Joined: Wed Mar 30, 2005 4:38 pm
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#69 Post by tryavna » Mon Feb 05, 2007 12:26 pm

skuhn8 wrote:Great price on amazon until the VAT and shipping and handling (S&H 5 pounds for two dvds?! wtf?)
Yeah, Amazon really screws you over on the S&H fees. If you can get VAT removed, it helps, but I find that it's only worthwhile ordering from Amazon if you're picking up at least three or four DVDs at a tme. (At least, in the States, it's not.) That's why I've always been puzzled when folks complain about companies like Blah not removing VAT. They more than make up for it by not charging for shipping.

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Ornette
Joined: Tue Nov 28, 2006 10:41 am

#70 Post by Ornette » Sun Feb 11, 2007 11:00 pm

Now £6.99 over at Play. All of them "Temporarily out of stock" though.

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domino harvey
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#71 Post by domino harvey » Mon Feb 12, 2007 12:20 am

just picked all four of these up on Amazon.co.uk, then added some more titles to justify the shipping.

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Darth Lavender
Joined: Sun Aug 13, 2006 2:24 pm

#72 Post by Darth Lavender » Mon Feb 12, 2007 7:14 am

I think Amazon.UK is probably the website which lends itself best to smaller purchases (not *necessarily* a good thing.)

The shipping to Australia is £1.45 per title and £2.05 per shipment. Most other stores have a much bigger disparity between the 'per title' and 'per shipment' fee (ie. Amazon.DE and .FR which charge 13 euros per shipment and only a further 1-point-something per title.)

No question that shipping from Amazon.UK can get fairly expensive, but it's mostly because of that £1.45 per title.

Also, a minor thing to beware of... if you 'combine orders,' Amazon will sometimes still charge the extra £2.05 (especially if one half of the order was already shipped "at no extra expense to you")

Seems many of their titles no longer include the 'VAT' in the price (those shipped from Amazon Jersey)

Still, all in all, when the prices are reasonable (ie. reduced by at least 50% of the oft ridiculous RRP) Amazon.UK is one of the better online retailers.

Minor note: are DVDs more expensive in the UK for some reason? Amazon.UK's RRPs seem exceptionally high. Things like the Star Trek movies work out to £19.99 = $50 (Australian,) which is a heck of a lot more than one would pay for DVDs in Australia, even full price (the Star Treks in Australia are, I think, $37 full RRP)
I know Japan is prone to silly DVD prices; I wonder if the UK is the same?

(Similarly, stuff like BFI and MoC, which nobody ever complains about the prices of, work out to the same as a full RRP Criterion (which people often, sometimes very justifiably, complain about the prices of.))

peerpee
not perpee
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 3:41 pm

#73 Post by peerpee » Mon Feb 12, 2007 8:55 am

Britain is pretty expensive. Practically everything here costs more than elsewhere.... just look at $ vs. £ list prices for things like Apple iPods and iMacs, Sony Bravias, Nintendo Wii prices, etc etc

If something is $1,000 USD in the US, it's usually sold at £1,000 GBP in the UK (that's nearly $2,000 USD).

Which all goes to make the BFI and MoC discs you mention look pretty cheap in comparison to Criterions.

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jt
Joined: Thu Nov 30, 2006 9:47 am
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#74 Post by jt » Mon Feb 19, 2007 8:22 am

Amazon.co.uk has dropped the price of these again.

I just picked up my fourth one for £5.08 (once tax had been removed for the overseas order).

They're listed at £5.97 full price.

If you've not got all of these, I can't see them ever being cheaper.

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Cash Flagg
Joined: Thu Jan 24, 2008 11:15 pm

#75 Post by Cash Flagg » Mon Jun 09, 2008 8:57 pm

Don Lope de Aguirre wrote:I received 'The Reckless Moment' yesterday... unfortunately I have only had time to watch the Todd Haynes intro which is superb, in depth and very lengthy (at around 20 minutes).
Did anyone else notice Haynes start to call Ophuls Sirk, then correct himself?

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