Godard on DVD and Blu-ray

Discuss internationally-released DVDs and Blu-rays or other international DVD and Blu-ray-related topics.
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domino harvey
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Re: Godard on DVD and Blu-ray

#476 Post by domino harvey » Fri Feb 15, 2019 4:47 pm

I’m very nervous that KL will fuck up the aspect ratios, which are unambiguously Academy. The LionsGate DVDs respected this, hopefully these do too

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whaleallright
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Re: Godard on DVD and Blu-ray

#477 Post by whaleallright » Fri Feb 15, 2019 7:36 pm

There's so much stuff out there about how Godard prefers the Academy ratio that Kino would have to work hard to fuck it up, not that stranger things haven't happened. If these discs are being drawn from the same masters as other regions' BD releases, we should be OK.

IIRC the Lionsgate DVDs respected the aspect ratio but managed to include only mono soundtracks? Which is its own sort of disaster.

Calvin
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Re: Godard on DVD and Blu-ray

#478 Post by Calvin » Fri Feb 15, 2019 9:05 pm

R. Emmet Sweeney will be producing those and I'd trust him to get it right.

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domino harvey
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Re: Godard on DVD and Blu-ray

#479 Post by domino harvey » Fri Feb 15, 2019 9:24 pm

What previous Godard releases has Sweeney produced? I'll be more than happy to have faith restored if indeed the disc producer knows what they're doing!

Calvin
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Re: Godard on DVD and Blu-ray

#480 Post by Calvin » Fri Feb 15, 2019 9:36 pm

I'm unsure if he has previously produced any Godard releases (but he is also in charge of the upcoming The Image Book), but I know that he has previously written on Histoire(s) du cinema as a critic. My main point is that he has produced some of Kino's banner releases over the past few years - Lost Lost Lost & Walden: Two Diary Films by Jonas Mekas, Joaquim Pedro de Andrade, Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers, among others - so I'd certainly have more faith in him than any other producer that Kino works with.

Scott Nye
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Re: Godard on DVD and Blu-ray

#481 Post by Scott Nye » Fri Feb 15, 2019 11:43 pm

Robert Sweeney did LA CHINOISE and LE GAI SAVOIR, which are A-OK as far as I'm concerned.

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The Fanciful Norwegian
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Re: Godard on DVD and Blu-ray

#482 Post by The Fanciful Norwegian » Wed Mar 06, 2019 4:20 pm

Kino Lorber recently added Hélas pour moi and Prénom Carmen to Kanopy, so someone with a participating library account can check them out now (and perhaps give us a heads-up on aspect ratios and general quality).

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Kirkinson
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Re: Godard on DVD and Blu-ray

#483 Post by Kirkinson » Wed Mar 06, 2019 5:24 pm

Just checked them out and skipped around a bit. Both are in Academy and image quality looks generally good. I don't think I'm getting full HD resolution (Kanopy doesn't give you an obvious way to tell) but if I am it's still compressed so much as to not really give you a sense of what the BDs will look like. Carmen especially has a very healthy amount of grain that's wreaking havoc on the compression algorithms. Color looks consistent with what I remember of the Lionsgate DVDs and the print of Helas I saw ten or so years ago (I don't think I've seen Carmen projected). Helas has some edge enhancement visible in the intertitles, but again since I'm not sure I'm actually seeing a 1080p transfer I wouldn't get worried about it yet.

EDITED TO ADD: Both have mono soundtracks as far as I can tell. Studio Canal's own page for Prénom Carmen suggests that's correct, FWIW. They don't specify a sound mix for Hélas pour moi.

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therewillbeblus
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Re: Kino

#484 Post by therewillbeblus » Tue Jun 04, 2019 3:20 pm

domino harvey wrote:
Mon Aug 21, 2017 7:11 pm
This Adrian Martin commentary is actually different than the excellent one that appeared on Madman's edition FYI
Can anyone speak to the strength of the Martin commentary on Kino’s Le Gai Savoir release? How does it compare to the Madman?

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Ovader
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Re: Kino

#485 Post by Ovader » Tue Jun 04, 2019 7:00 pm

therewillbeblus wrote:
Tue Jun 04, 2019 3:20 pm
Can anyone speak to the strength of the Martin commentary on Kino’s Le Gai Savoir release? How does it compare to the Madman?
I don't have the KINO edition but here is what the man himself told me in 2017 when I asked about the two commentaries. No details of the content but only his enthusiasm for the new version.
I was gratified to have a second opportunity to talk about this fascinating film. There has been more material to draw upon since I did my first version in Australia some 8 or more years ago. Also, I use a more precise technique these days: in the past (for the Madman DVDs) I was often doing a well-prepared, 90 minute single-take in a studio; today, I break my commentary up into blocks, record them at my computer, and then the master-montage hands of Cristina Álvarez López get to work on the audio, fitting it exactly to the image, sometimes moving (and removing) things around. I think the result is far superior.

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therewillbeblus
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Re: Godard on DVD and Blu-ray

#486 Post by therewillbeblus » Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:46 pm

Thanks!

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domino harvey
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Re: Godard on DVD and Blu-ray

#487 Post by domino harvey » Mon Jun 17, 2019 7:57 pm

domino harvey wrote:
Fri Feb 15, 2019 4:47 pm
I’m very nervous that KL will fuck up the aspect ratios, which are unambiguously Academy. The LionsGate DVDs respected this, hopefully these do too
DVDBeaver’s reviews of Detective and Prenom Carmen confirm they’re in Academy— and they look incredible

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Michael Kerpan
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Re: Godard on DVD and Blu-ray

#488 Post by Michael Kerpan » Tue Jun 18, 2019 10:07 am

The Lionsgate DVDs were exceptionally good (IMHO). I wonder if one can tell any difference between those and the new BDs on a 50 in screen at a normal viewing distance. ;-)

Glowingwabbit
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Re: Godard on DVD and Blu-ray

#489 Post by Glowingwabbit » Tue Jun 18, 2019 4:09 pm

Michael Kerpan wrote:
Tue Jun 18, 2019 10:07 am
The Lionsgate DVDs were exceptionally good (IMHO). I wonder if one can tell any difference between those and the new BDs on a 50 in screen at a normal viewing distance. ;-)
The Lionsgate DVDs were in mono, whereas the Kino's have corrected this issue (Detective was Godard's first film in stereo I believe). So there is that if it matters to you.

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domino harvey
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Re: Godard on DVD and Blu-ray

#490 Post by domino harvey » Wed Jun 19, 2019 7:09 am

I got my copy in of Helas pour moi and it’s also Academy, just to close the book on worrying about these KL releases. That dastardly MGM DVD of King Lear has left me a lifetime legacy of worrying about this kind of thing

Glowingwabbit
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Re: Godard on DVD and Blu-ray

#491 Post by Glowingwabbit » Wed Jun 19, 2019 7:35 am

domino harvey wrote:
Wed Jun 19, 2019 7:09 am
I got my copy in of Helas pour moi and it’s also Academy, just to close the book on worrying about these KL releases. That dastardly MGM DVD of King Lear has left me a lifetime legacy of worrying about this kind of thing
Wasnt it speculated that Criterion had plans for King Lear? Or am I thinking of something else.

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Ovader
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Re: Godard on DVD and Blu-ray

#492 Post by Ovader » Wed Dec 25, 2019 11:55 am

Glowingwabbit wrote:
Wed Jun 19, 2019 7:35 am
Wasnt it speculated that Criterion had plans for King Lear? Or am I thinking of something else.
There is a Forthcoming: King Lear (Godard) thread in the Criterion Rumors and News section about that possibility.

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therewillbeblus
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Re: Godard on DVD and Blu-ray

#493 Post by therewillbeblus » Mon Jan 06, 2020 12:58 pm

Is there any decent copy of JLG/JLG - autoportrait de décembre out there on disc? In filling in my few gaps in Godard’s filmography, I came across this and it’s become a new favorite, joining Notre Musique as the best of his late period for me.

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domino harvey
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Re: Godard on DVD and Blu-ray

#494 Post by domino harvey » Mon Jan 06, 2020 1:06 pm

There's a Japanese release, but I believe with no English subs

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The Fanciful Norwegian
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Re: Godard on DVD and Blu-ray

#495 Post by The Fanciful Norwegian » Mon Jan 06, 2020 1:25 pm

Can't speak to the quality, but there was also a French DVD from Gaumont and an Italian disc from Ripley's. Intermedio in Spain released a four-disc boxset called "Cofre Jean-Luc Godard: Ensayos" that included it alongside seven other films and a book. All of these are OOP and go for hefty prices on the secondary market; the third-party seller on Fnac asking 30 euro for a new copy is the best deal I can find. That might still be cheaper than importing the Japanese Blu-ray, which from all indications is an upscale and a poor one at that. No English subs on any of these.

Edit: Another in-print option appears to be this German boxset that also includes Band of Outsiders, The Married Woman, Weekend, Hail Mary, and Two in the Wave. Again, no English subs.

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therewillbeblus
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Re: Godard on DVD and Blu-ray

#496 Post by therewillbeblus » Mon Jan 06, 2020 2:25 pm

Rats, I only speak English. Thanks anyways! Hopefully Arrow or somebody will rescue the early-mid 90s gems

accatone
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Re: Godard on DVD and Blu-ray

#497 Post by accatone » Tue Jan 07, 2020 4:24 am

https://www.amazon.de/Die-Außenseiterba ... 361&sr=8-1

Also on this disc, incl. as a Bonus. No engl. subs though, but better price point.

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feckless boy
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Re: Godard on DVD and Blu-ray

#498 Post by feckless boy » Tue Jan 07, 2020 10:12 am

therewillbeblus wrote:
Mon Jan 06, 2020 12:58 pm
Is there any decent copy of JLG/JLG - autoportrait de décembre out there on disc? In filling in my few gaps in Godard’s filmography, I came across this and it’s become a new favorite, joining Notre Musique as the best of his late period for me.
It was part of the Gaumont 10 DVD "Fiction" box-set with English and French subtitles. At times individual discs from that box-set can be found, usually through third-party sellers. This listing looks like the right one (cover and bonus short films are correct, but forgets to mention Lettre à Freddy Buache and Meetin' WA. There never was an HD-DVD of this title).
And yes you're right it is one of Godard's better mid/late period efforts, I voted for it when we did the Renoir/Godard lists.

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therewillbeblus
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Re: Godard on DVD and Blu-ray

#499 Post by therewillbeblus » Tue Jan 07, 2020 3:53 pm

Thanks, this looks great!

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barbarella satyricon
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Re: Godard on DVD and Blu-ray

#500 Post by barbarella satyricon » Wed Dec 30, 2020 3:38 am

Does anyone know of any confirmed issues with the English subtitles on Kino Lorber’s The Image Book blu ray? From the disc that I had, it seemed like about 40-50% of the subs were missing, like every other line in some sequences, but entirely absent in others. My French isn’t good at all, but even from the opening, with Godard’s voice-over narration, it was apparent that about every other line of translation was being dropped.

On the other hand, there were some sequences that looked to be subtitled in full, and others that had no subs at all. I thought at first that some of the clips in other languages (i.e. not French) were intentionally left unsubbed, but that didn’t seem consistent across scenes either. I messaged Kino Lorber through their customer service form, but didn’t hear back, and just got a refund on the disc before the return window on the purchase (from another online vendor) had closed. Not sure if I just got a bad disc, but am certain that there were major problems with the subs and that it definitely wasn’t some intentional Navajo thing.

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