Nicolas Roeg on DVD

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Gordon · #1 Post by **Gordon** » Mon Feb 26, 2007 2:00 pm

Network will release a special edition of Nicolas Roeg's 1985 film will be released on 2nd April in the UK: Insignificance.

- Audio commentary with Nicolas Roeg and writer Brian Case
- Introductory booklet written by Brian Case
- Stills gallery
- Original Theatrical Trailer

Hopefully, it will be anamorphic, unlike the Scandanavian edition released a few years ago.

Also on that date, Network will release a SE of Bad Timing.

- Audio commentary with Nicolas Roeg and writer Brian Case
- Introductory booklet written by Brian Case
- Stills gallery
- Press Book PDF
- Original Theatrical Trailer

The underrated, Track 29 will also be released in March. Hopefully, the 4:3 listing is a typo and Anchor Bay will provide an anamorphic transfer. A shame that they didn't get Roeg in for a commentary here, too, as he seems happy to do them.

John Cope · #2 Post by **John Cope** » Mon Feb 26, 2007 2:17 pm

That's great news, Gordon. Thanks for the heads up on this one. I'm pleased by the commentaries as I was very disappointed in the lack of one on the Bad Timing Criterion. Now just to give Eureka the same treatment!

Oh, and I whole heartedly agree with you on Track 29. It may be flawed (I'm sure it is) but it's one of my favorite Roegs and I think its evocation of the original Potter source material is excellent, which was not always an easy thing for directors to do. The hysteria and the empathy are well balanced.

Scharphedin2 · #3 Post by **Scharphedin2** » Mon Feb 26, 2007 2:25 pm

Maybe he is just taking a short break, before doing his commentary track for an upcoming release of Castaway. Just kidding... Great to hear that Insignificance and Track 29 are coming! The former I saw on television more than once back in the eighties, and it is an insane little film. Track 29 never seemed to get a lot of coverage (even as far as Roeg goes), and I never had a chance to see it. How is this film?

EDIT: Thanks for the comments on Track 29, John. I really look forward to finally seeing this.

vogler · #4 Post by **vogler** » Mon Feb 26, 2007 2:51 pm

Gordon wrote:Hopefully, it will be anamorphic, unlike the Scandanavian edition released a few years ago.

It looks like it will be open matte.

From a dvdtimes article located here.

Insignificance - Theresa Russell, Tony Curtis, Gary Busey and Michael Emil star in Nicolas Roeg's fable about post World-War II America which is presented here in its original 1.33:1 'as filmed' format and contains more picture area than previously-released versions, where the original image has been cropped top and bottom.

Gordon · #5 Post by **Gordon** » Mon Feb 26, 2007 3:10 pm

EH? Why are releasing open-matte transfer all of a sudden? Network have been very consistent up until now. Framed at 1.85:1 it looks carefully composed throughout, as the DVD Beaver review shows.

Scharphedin2 · #6 Post by **Scharphedin2** » Fri Jul 13, 2007 3:46 pm

I had completely forgotten about the release of Track 29 until looking at this thread again.

Did anyone pick up this DVD in the end. How does it look?

Person · #7 Post by **Person** » Fri Jul 13, 2007 6:36 pm

I have it on my rental list, but it has yet to come my way. DVD Basen yields no reviews, unfortunately.

I (Dr Phibes) asked about the transfer at the Anchor Bay UK Forum's thread on the film, so hopefully we might get some response.

Rupert Pupkin · #8 Post by **Rupert Pupkin** » Tue Feb 05, 2008 5:21 am

I was about to order on play.com Insignificance network uk zone 2 DVD until I read this commentary on amazon.co.uk which I think apply to the Network release : "poor transfer - INSIGNIFICANCE is an interesting, eccentric film, and Nicholas Roeg is a fab director. But do yourself a favour: record this film next time it is broadcast on TV rather than get ripped off on this awful Network dvd.
The image is soft and grainy and bleached and worn out.
Network doesn't appear to give a toss about the film or its own reputation in putting this out."

Who bought this DVD and could tell me more about the picture quality ? Is is as worst as described ?

Is the Criterion edition of Insignificance still possible ?

MichaelB · #9 Post by **MichaelB** » Tue Feb 05, 2008 5:45 am

I only had a check disc, but it was pretty bad - clearly sourced from an old open-matte TV transfer. The press release disingenuously promised "more of the picture than you saw in cinemas", which rang alarm bells even before I put the disc in.

And it didn't have a commentary, either.

I was especially surprised that it was so poor, because in the same batch of review copies I watched Network's Bad Timing, which was absolutely superb: probably not quite up to the Criterion in the final analysis, but vastly cheaper and with some excellent original extras of its own (notably a PDF directory with facsimiles of the original Rank marketing material, including an extremely detailed, interview-packed press kit).

Rupert Pupkin · #10 Post by **Rupert Pupkin** » Tue Feb 05, 2008 6:20 am

does the network uk DVD zone 2 has English (removable) subtitles ? could you please check that ?

Person · #11 Post by **Person** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 7:20 pm

Rupert Pupkin wrote:does the network uk DVD zone 2 has English (removable) subtitles ? could you please check that ?

No, it doesn't have any subtitles whatsoever, sadly.

MichaelB · #12 Post by **MichaelB** » Wed Aug 27, 2008 12:56 pm

Apologies for the lack of DVD relevance, but London's Riverside Studios Cinema is mounting a surprisingly wide-ranging three-day Roeg retrospective in just over a fortnight's time - and as it's one of my favourite London cinemas for big-screen rep (the vertiginous rake means that the screen is massive proportional to the size of the auditorium), I thought I'd flag it up here:

Fri 12 Sep
Bad Timing (18) 6.15pm
The film tells the story of Alex who, whilst lecturing in Vienna, begins a passionate affair with a young American. Unable to cope with her promiscuity Alex becomes increasingly possessive.

Puffball (18) 8.35pm
Powerful forces are unleashed when a young architect becomes pregnant after moving to an isolated and mysterious valley to transform a ruined cottage.

Sat 13 Sep
Far From the Madding Crowd (U) 1.30pm
A young woman inherits her dead uncle's farm in Wessex. Soon after her arrival, three very different men begin to pursue her.

Panel Discussion 4.40pm
A panel discussing Nicolas Roeg's work with Roeg's collaborators - details of participants here.

Performance (18) 6.30pm
Chas Devlin is a petty gangster on the run. Seeking refuge he falls into a strange household, presided over by the reclusive former rock star, Turner (Jagger).

The Man Who Fell to Earth (18) 8.30pm
Roeg's astonishing, elegiac, sci-fi parable about longing, loss and the constant search for love.

Sun 14 Sep
The Witches (PG) 2.00pm
Roald Dahl's story about a little boy on a seaside holiday who discovers a witches' convention plotting to annihilate children.

Eureka (18) 3.50pm
A one-time gold prospector, Jack McCann's wealth leads to depression and paranoia and he is forced into a desperate fight to protect his assets from the Mafia.

Don't Look Now (18) 6.20pm
An architect and his wife are haunted in a wintry Venice by the sudden death of their daughter and strange glimpses of their past and future.

Insignificance (15) 8.30pm
Insignificance imagines a meeting in an anonymous 1953 hotel room of four iconic individuals: Marilyn Monroe, Einstein, Senator McCarthy and Joe DiMaggio.

wowser · #13 Post by **wowser** » Wed Sep 10, 2008 10:39 am

Roeg was talking about Eureka on R4's The Film Programme. They mentioned a forthcoming Eureka DVD release (another). Does anybody know the details of this?

MichaelB · #14 Post by **MichaelB** » Wed Sep 10, 2008 10:52 am

wowser wrote:Roeg was talking about Eureka on R4's The Film Programme. They mentioned a forthcoming Eureka DVD release (another). Does anybody know the details of this?

It was released on September 1st, and I watched it last night - perfectly decent transfer (1.85:1 anamorphic), but barebones aside from a trailer.

wowser · #15 Post by **wowser** » Wed Sep 10, 2008 11:54 am

That'll do me. Which company has put it out? Optimum?

A commentary would have been nice - the Don't Look Now one is so rambling!

MichaelB · #16 Post by **MichaelB** » Wed Sep 10, 2008 12:18 pm

wowser wrote:That'll do me. Which company has put it out? Optimum?

Indeed.

A commentary would have been nice - the Don't Look Now one is so rambling!

With this particular film, a release of any kind would have been nice, so I'm happy!

bigP · #17 Post by **bigP** » Wed Sep 10, 2008 12:19 pm

Yes, it's on Optimum, and I concur with Michael B, it's a fine transfer (nothing to rave about but nothing much to fault either barr some slight tonal flickering in a couple of scenes). I posted some quick screen shots here if they are any help.

A commentary would have been very nice, but, any more Roeg on DVD in good condition is good enough for me. It was my first viewing of the film, and I have to say the majority of the film was remarkable - easily on par with much of Roeg's 70's output. The last quarter I felt lost it's footing and/or pace that made the first hour and a half sparkle, but, it always kept my interest and did not spoil my overall impression of what came before it or of the film as a whole.

MichaelB · #18 Post by **MichaelB** » Wed Sep 10, 2008 12:40 pm

bigP wrote:It was my first viewing of the film, and I have to say the majority of the film was remarkable - easily on par with much of Roeg's 70's output. The last quarter I felt lost it's footing and/or pace that made the first hour and a half sparkle, but, it always kept my interest and did not spoil my overall impression of what came before it or of the film as a whole.

I saw it on its original release, and for approximately 25 years I'd been under the impression that a blindingly brilliant first reel was followed by crushing disappointment.

Now that I've seen it again, I'm very happy to revise that opinion to concur with BigP's, as pretty much the entire film up to the start of the courtroom scene is Roeg on very close to top form. (The last act is still a major letdown, though).

wowser · #19 Post by **wowser** » Wed Sep 10, 2008 12:43 pm

Looks good to me. Have never seen the film, sadly, but shall be picking this one up. I can't resist Film Programme recommendations!

GaryC · #20 Post by **GaryC** » Wed Sep 10, 2008 2:15 pm

MichaelB wrote:I saw it on its original release

I wouldn't have thought you were old enough...or had you already started sneaking into 18-rated films underage?

I was old enough in 1983, but trips to London to see films were out while I was doing my A-levels. And by the time my exams had finished, the film had gone - and was withdrawn by its distributor for over a year. I finally caught up with it at the Scala in 1985, in a double bill with Walkabout. That remains my only 35mm viewing of Eureka - the print (the only one in distribution) was somewhat damaged - a chunk of the opening credits was missing. However, especially in the early sequences, the late Alex Thomson's camerawork is breathtaking - it has to be amongst his best work.

MichaelB · #21 Post by **MichaelB** » Wed Sep 10, 2008 2:36 pm

GaryC wrote:
MichaelB wrote:I saw it on its original release
I wouldn't have thought you were old enough...or had you already started sneaking into 18-rated films underage?

Curses, you've rumbled me! Do you think they can arrest people retrospectively?

Actually, I was seeing 18-certificate films pretty regularly in cinemas from early 1983 onwards, after I realised that box-office staff basically didn't care provided you at least looked old enough, and I had the great advantage of being six foot plus from about 14.

If I remember rightly, Eureka opened in Britain round about March/April 1983, and as I was already a confirmed Roeg fan thanks to several telly screenings, I needed no second bidding.

Robin Davies · #22 Post by **Robin Davies** » Wed Sep 10, 2008 3:27 pm

A documentary about Roeg called Nothing As It Seems was screened by Channel 4 on 17 March 1983 and the clips from Eureka had me salivating in anticipation.

I saw the film on its initial release at Bristol Watershed on 31st October 1983 and was blown away by it, even the bizarrely melodramatic trial scene. However all was not well. I think the print was in the wrong picture ratio and there was a sound glitch near the end. It was followed by an interview with Roeg in which he revealed that the film was getting a ludicrously limited release on condition that Roeg had to accompany it at every screening. I read somewhere that the studio actually sent someone to check that Roeg turned up! All this sadly put a damper on the occasion, though I took the opportunity to get the great man's autograph and thank him for all his wonderful films.

I wonder if the insulting treatment Eureka received contributed in any way to Roeg's subsequent creative decline. Directing six of the greatest movies ever made only to be greeted with incomprehension, shelving, censorship and insults must make a person wonder if it's all worth it.

wowser · #23 Post by **wowser** » Wed Sep 10, 2008 4:55 pm

Is Puffball worth seeing?

MichaelB · #24 Post by **MichaelB** » Wed Sep 10, 2008 5:03 pm

wowser wrote:Is Puffball worth seeing?

If you're a Roeg fan, absolutely yes.

If you're not... it's an acquired taste!

Felix · #25 Post by **Felix** » Thu Sep 11, 2008 4:20 pm

MichaelB wrote:With this particular film, a release of any kind would have been nice, so I'm happy!

You must have missed the previous one Michael as this was released in the UK on MGM back in 2004, probably the same print, certainly 1.85:1 anamorphic and certainly bare bones.

I remember the film getting really rave reviews in the NME when it came out, I think it was the NME anyway, but never a whisper of a showing round my way.

You mention the R2 Bad Timing in an earlier post, does it have a commentary by Roeg? I recall it being mooted but could never find out if it had one or not, can you confirm.

Oh, and I saw the notorious, for its time, German film Helga with child birth scene back when I was about 12, though my mate didn't manage to get in. Some small compensation for not getting half fares on the buses...