Shiraz: A Romance of India

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What A Disgrace
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Shiraz: A Romance of India

#1 Post by What A Disgrace » Thu Oct 26, 2017 9:47 am

Franz Osten's 1928 silent film coming to a dual format edition on Feb 26.

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TMDaines
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Re: Shiraz: A Romance of India

#2 Post by TMDaines » Thu Oct 26, 2017 11:35 am

Very cool. I look forward to this - and just in time for our 1920s project!

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Tommaso
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Re: Shiraz: A Romance of India

#3 Post by Tommaso » Thu Oct 26, 2017 1:51 pm

Absolutely wonderful news, and not just because this has only been circulating in an age-old VHS version so far. Beautiful film, not much below "A Throw of Dice".

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thirtyframesasecond
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Re: Shiraz: A Romance of India

#4 Post by thirtyframesasecond » Thu Oct 26, 2017 2:44 pm

TMDaines wrote:Very cool. I look forward to this - and just in time for our 1920s project!
I was at the Barbican for this at the LFF. It really was a great film. And the Anoushka Shankar score was ace, so that's great if this is part of it. I'll have to find A Throw of Dice too (the BFI released it a while back).

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L.A.
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Re: Shiraz: A Romance of India

#5 Post by L.A. » Mon Jan 29, 2018 9:22 am

From Amazon UK:
• Presented in High Definition and Standard
• Restoration Demonstration (2017, 3 mins)
• Temples of India (1938, Hans M Nieter, 10 mins): Indian travelogue featuring beautiful colour footage of the Taj Mahal shot by Jack Cardiff
• Musical Instruments of India (1944, 12 mins): public information film made by the Government of India to promote Indian arts and culture
• Illustrated booklet with essays by Bryony Dixon, Simon Broughton and Gautam Chintamani

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MichaelB
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Re: Shiraz: A Romance of India

#6 Post by MichaelB » Fri Feb 02, 2018 8:22 am

Full specs announced:
Shiraz: A romance of India
A BFI National Archive restoration

Directed by Franz Osten

New score by Anoushka Shankar

Released on Blu-ray/DVD in a Dual Format Edition on 26 February 2018


See the new trailer here.

Franz Osten’s sumptuous Indian silent classic, now restored by the BFI National Archive with a new score by Anoushka Shankar, imagines the sweeping love story of the 17th-century princess Mumtaz Mahal and the subsequent construction of the iconic Taj Mahal in her honour. Following its premiere at the BFI London Film Festival last October and theatrical release today (2 February), Shiraz will be released on Blu-ray/DVD in a Dual Format Edition on 26 February.

The film’s producer, Himansu Rai, also stars as humble potter Shiraz, who follows his childhood sweetheart Selima (Enakshi Rama Rau) when she is sold by slave traders to the future emperor (Charu Roy). Selima catches the eye of the prince but finds a bitter rival in an ambitious favourite (Seeta Devi) from his harem. Shiraz, meanwhile, is fated to design the queen’s iconic mausoleum.

Shot entirely in India, featuring lavish costumes and gorgeous settings – including the extraordinary fort at Agra – this treasure is available on Blu-ray for the first time with a new 4K restoration by the BFI National Archive and a stunning new score from world-renowned sitar player and composer Anoushka Shankar.

Special features
• Presented in High Definition and Standard Definition;
• Restoration Demonstration (2017, 3 mins);
Temples of India (1938, Hans M Nieter, 10 mins): Indian travelogue featuring beautiful colour footage of the Taj Mahal shot by Jack Cardiff;
Musical Instruments of India (1944, 12 mins): public information film made by the Government of India to promote Indian arts and culture;
• Illustrated booklet with essays by Bryony Dixon, Simon Broughton and Gautam Chintamani, and full film credits.

Product details
RRP: £19.99/ Cat. no. BFIB1293/ Cert U
Germany, India, UK / 1928 / black and white / 106 mins / silent with English intertitles / original aspect ratio 1.33:1 / BD50: 1080p, 24fps, PCM 2.0 stereo audio (48kHz/24-bit), 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio (48kHz/24-bit) / DVD9: PAL, 25fps, PCM 2.0 stereo audio (48kHz/16-bit), DTS 5.1 surround audio (48kHz/16-bit)

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L.A.
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Re: Shiraz: A Romance of India

#7 Post by L.A. » Mon Feb 26, 2018 2:42 pm


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htdm
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 3:46 am

Re: Shiraz: A Romance of India

#8 Post by htdm » Mon Feb 26, 2018 10:56 pm

Mine dispatched last week--cannot wait to see the resto.

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Tommaso
Joined: Fri May 19, 2006 10:09 am

Re: Shiraz: A Romance of India

#9 Post by Tommaso » Thu Mar 08, 2018 5:55 pm

Have just watched this right now. Absolutely marvellous in every respect. Brilliant restoration, half of which comes from the original negative, and it shows (even though you'd have a hard time to really discern which parts did NOT come from the neg; it simply looks so good). Even more than the two other films of Osten's Indian trilogy this may be a case of style over substance, but who cares if the result is as enchanting as this? This is one of those silents that really gain so much by a quality resto like this, because the appeal basically is in the amazingly rich visuals, restored here to all their original detail. For a 90-year-old film, it looks really gorgeous, and it's quite obvious that there's a clear connection between these Osten films to the early works of Ray almost 30 years later in terms of visual sumptuousness and 'poetic' approach.

Equally amazing is Anoushka Shankar's new soundtrack, which is so good as a piece of music that I'm actually not fully sure whether it's entirely great as a soundtrack. I'd argue that it draws too much attention to itself because of its sheer musical quality; in fact, I occasionally found myself listening more to this highly inspired (and always fitting!) music than paying attention to the film itself. Well... I guess I should listen to it again without the images in any case.

And the already rather spectacular resto is very nicely complemented here by two (almost) contemporary short documentaries, one of which is even in technicolor. Lavish stuff, and both highly add to the 'atmosphere' created by the film itself. Fine, informative booklet on top of it.

This is already a high point among the silent film releases of this year. And I really hope that the BFI will give us the first part of the trilogy, "The Light of Asia", in the foreseeable future, too. Great!

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