Jacques Rivette on DVD and BD

Discuss internationally-released DVDs and Blu-rays or other international DVD and Blu-ray-related topics.
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fred
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#51 Post by fred » Fri Aug 03, 2007 4:44 pm

Michael Kerpan wrote:When the Harvard Film Archive showed this film several years back they had to borrow a print from the UK -- as all the prints available in the US were of the cut version -- also the o/p US video :immortalized" the cut version.
Actually, now that you mention it, this rings a bell, but aren't "all the prints available in the US" actually just one print? The one held by MoMA?

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Michael Kerpan
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#52 Post by Michael Kerpan » Fri Aug 03, 2007 4:50 pm

fred wrote:
Michael Kerpan wrote:When the Harvard Film Archive showed this film several years back they had to borrow a print from the UK -- as all the prints available in the US were of the cut version -- also the o/p US video :immortalized" the cut version.
Actually, now that you mention it, this rings a bell, but aren't "all the prints available in the US" actually just one print? The one held by MoMA?
I don't think the HFA people were that specific. There may have been another copy or two floating about at that point (5 or so years ago, maybe even a bit longer). This was a New Yorker film back then (I think).

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#53 Post by fred » Fri Aug 03, 2007 4:55 pm

Michael Kerpan wrote:This was a New Yorker film back then (I think).
Maybe we can look forward to them "restoring" this version on DVD. :lol:

Costas
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#54 Post by Costas » Fri Aug 03, 2007 6:15 pm

Michael Kerpan wrote:
Costas wrote:Is this the Divertimento DVD of which you speak? I want to make sure before I purchase it.
It's the one I have. It's actually pretty decent -- though not as nice looking as Arte's version of the long version (which is utterly gorgeous).
Thanks for that, I've just bought it. I have the Artificial Eye long version which I'm very happy with. AE were advertising Divertimento on VHS around the time the DVD released, but I loathe buying videos at this stage.

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justeleblanc
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#55 Post by justeleblanc » Fri Aug 03, 2007 11:57 pm

I may have actually mixed up L'Amour fou and it's shortened version with LpT and it's shortened version, long before I had seen or was familiar with either.

As for Divertimento, I'm interested in your guys's thoughts on it, but I assume that will be for another thread.

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pro-bassoonist
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#56 Post by pro-bassoonist » Sat Aug 04, 2007 1:36 am

A little off topic I suppose but...I have three discs with me so far from this company and they are all gravitating from average to reaaalllyy poor!

I would certainly hope that they improve in the next couple of months.

Pro-B

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#57 Post by evillights » Sun Aug 05, 2007 6:43 pm

fred wrote:
justeleblanc wrote:There seems to be many things wrong with your statement.

1) To say that the people behind the retro in Queens last fall didn't give a damn is moronic and based on nothing.
It may be slightly hyperbolic, but it's hardly based on nothing. It's based on my direct personal experience of how they mishandled multiple aspects of their supposedly complete retrospective.
Fred's right. The most painful mistake of the retrospective (in addition to publicizing the event as "The Complete Jacques Rivette" when, although comprehensive, it was not complete) was the announcement that they would be screening the truncated (truncated by the U.S. distributor) version of 'Jeanne la pucelle' — thus, my (and Fred's too, if I recall) not bothering to acquire tickets for the screening. Then came, on the evening the film screened, the revelation of the print unreeling as the complete, uncut, integral version — a surprise not only for the many audience members inside the theater (and friends who had gone in expecting the compromised taster-platter, but who ended up being presented the four-course meal), but also to David Schwartz and the MoMI administration themselves, who had scheduled a screening of 'Divertimento' directly after what they had assumed (beyond the increased number of reels!) was the bastardized version, — thus leaving everyone who had come for, let's say, the 7:30 pm screening of 'Divertimento' waiting for more than an hour-and-a-half or so outside! In other words, a delectable treat —

— should the predilection exist for chaos-strudel!!!

I asked Schwartz some time afterward whether they planned to rescreen 'Jeanne' in full, and he distractedly replied, "Yeah, that was kind of weird that that happened..." Let's try this again, I thought. — "So, do you think there's a chance you'll rescreen it? Given the mix-up?"

"Well... it wouldn't make any sense outside of the context of the retrospective, would it?" was the response.

So yes, Moullet *and* Rivette remain the second-class citizens of the Nouvelle Vague.

craig.

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justeleblanc
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#58 Post by justeleblanc » Sun Aug 05, 2007 8:21 pm

For what it's worth, the NGA screened the full version in December for free. I'm trying to contact the French Embassy to see if they would be up for hosting yet another screening of the film. Maybe a Joan retrospective.

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#59 Post by evillights » Sun Aug 05, 2007 10:57 pm

justeleblanc wrote:For what it's worth, the NGA screened the full version in December for free. I'm trying to contact the French Embassy to see if they would be up for hosting yet another screening of the film. Maybe a Joan retrospective.
That would be marvelous. They could call it "JEANNE (IN FOUR MASTERPIECES" —

-'Jeanne la pucelle' by Jacques Rivette
-'Jeanne au bûcher' by Roberto Rossellini
-'La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc' by Carl Theodor Dreyer
-'Procès de Jeanne d'Arc' by Robert Bresson

— obviously.

Anyway, I would imagine the UK 'L'Amour par terre' on DVD will be the complete version, given the master, etc. It will be nice to have it with subtitles. It is a truly great film. (At least in its full form, which of course is all that matters — I've never seen the shortened version.)

craig.

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domino harvey
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#60 Post by domino harvey » Sun Dec 02, 2007 4:08 pm

These have been pushed to either January 07 2008 or January 28 2008, depending on which sites you trust. Has anyone heard anything about the length for Love on the Ground or anything at all about any of these releases? I just spent 20 minutes on Google trying to find any sort of website for Bluebell to no avail.

cinemartin

#61 Post by cinemartin » Mon Dec 03, 2007 2:55 am

I'm willing to bet it will be the complete cut.

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#62 Post by evillights » Tue Dec 11, 2007 1:59 pm

Guys, really, this speculation about whether the 'L'Amour par terre' release will consist of the integral version or the "cut"-version is silly. When a film makes it to DVD, there is -a- digibeta of -a- telecine provided by the rights-holders. No-one is going to go back and commission (read as: "pay for") a new telecine for 'L'Amour par terre,' let alone one based on "the shorter version" -- especially when the current one is not just acceptable but rather beautiful. You can basically expect these releases to come from the same digibeta transfers as the PAL Arte discs, with the bonus of English subtitles.

And yes, the long version of 'L'Amour par terre' (I've never seen the short version) is a masterpiece.

The thing to really be concerned about is getting new releases circulating of 'Jeanne la pucelle' and 'Va savoir' (that is, 'Va savoir +', its integral form that Rivette has gone on record stating is the true version of the film). (Which, again, was not shown at AMMI.)

craig.

cinemartin

#63 Post by cinemartin » Tue Dec 11, 2007 2:05 pm

I think getting the long versions of these 2 films on dvd is a bit of pipe dream, especially where Va Savior is concerned. Did this film even show anywhere? I've heard of its existence, but have never read any accounts of it or know anyone who has seen it. To me, this is the most "phantom" of all of Rivette's films.

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#64 Post by Michael Kerpan » Tue Dec 11, 2007 2:33 pm

The long version of "Va savoir" was shown theatrically in France (2 or 3 years after the original run) -- though I am not certain as to how extensively.

I agree that the Arte version of "L'amour par terre" is very fine. And the film is lots of fun.

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justeleblanc
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#65 Post by justeleblanc » Tue Dec 11, 2007 4:48 pm

Sadly, when I saw Love on the Ground theatrically, it was only the two hour version. I'd be curious as to how the longer version differs.

Also, is it just me, or are there other people on this board who don't want to see a Rivette film on home video until they've seen it theatrically? That may be a tall order for some, but there is a big difference between sharing a theater with strangers and watching one of his films, and watching it in the privacy of your home. And he's one of the few directors whose films -- at least for me -- really become different beasts altogether in different settings.

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#66 Post by cinemartin » Tue Dec 11, 2007 8:55 pm

It seems like one of those questions along the lines of sex without love.

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#67 Post by tavernier » Tue Dec 11, 2007 9:33 pm

....as empty experiences go, it's one of the best.

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domino harvey
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#68 Post by domino harvey » Sat Dec 15, 2007 4:14 pm

And now the release date is February 25th. #-o

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martin
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#69 Post by martin » Tue Dec 18, 2007 2:35 pm

justeleblanc wrote:As for Divertimento, I'm interested in your guys's thoughts on it, but I assume that will be for another thread.
I'll answer in this thread anyway. I've seen it in the beautiful German Box set earlier this year (no subs, I'm afraid). I like the shorter version a lot, but I still prefer the 4 hour La belle noiseuse.

The different relationships (Frenhofer vs. his wife Liz; Marianne vs. her boyfriend Nicolas; Artist vs. model; Liz vs. Marianne etc.) which are so important in this movie, are (obviously) given much more time and prominence in the longer version. I also think the creative process of painting La belle... needs the 4 hour duration.

But I really like that Rivette insists on using completely different takes for Divertimento. It's sort of Heretic; like not playing by the rules. Both beginning and ending is different, and the editing completely different too. Divertimento generally has longer takes, I think, which may seem surprising. The reason for this is, IRC, because Rivette didn't have enough usable takes to edit scenes. He had to use complete takes.

Regarding the three new films from Bluebell: I hope Bluebell Films raises their level on this occasion! The discs I've seen from them so far are actually quite bad:
  • Single layer discs with very low bitrates - even below 4 Mb/s
    "Burnt in" subtitles
    Often non-anamorphic
    Often bad picture quality, colors etc.
    Never any extras
I've added a few screenshots and specs from three of Blueell's other relases here.

At least we can hope for DVD-9. A Rivette film on a single layer disc is not very realistic?

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domino harvey
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#70 Post by domino harvey » Tue Dec 18, 2007 2:39 pm

martin wrote:Regarding the three new films from Bluebell: I hope Bluebell Films raises their level on this occasion! The discs I've seen from them so far are actually quite bad:
  • Single layer discs with very low bitrates - even below 4 Mb/s
    "Burnt in" subtitles
    Often non-anamorphic
    Often bad picture quality, colors etc.
    Never any extras
I've added a few screenshots and specs from three of Blueell's other relases here.

At least we can hope for DVD-9. A Rivette film on a single layer disc is not very realistic?
The burnt-in subs somehow ruins the "aesthetic value"
lol! This is disappointing, I hope the titles will at least me anamorphic in 2008 for cryingoutloud.

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Tommaso
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New Rivette Set from Germany

#71 Post by Tommaso » Sat Dec 22, 2007 6:40 am

New Rivette Set from Germany:

According to jpc
there's a new German Rivette set coming from arthaus in March. A rather curious combination of films, as there will be:

1. Duelle
2. Merry-go-round
3. Celine et Julie
4. Va savoir

No English subs, but those who speak French or German might be interested. However, I'm getting more and more annoyed about the ongoing practice of companies worldwide of not making the films available on their own. "Merry-go-round" is much desired, of course, but who would want to buy "Celine" and "Va savoir" again, or "Duelle" WITHOUT "Noroit"? I have said it before, but I'm becoming really thankful to Kino for NOT adopting this practice.

"La belle noiseuse" will also be available as a separate 3-disc set, just in case you only need that short version (which is original, but only contains shots not used for the long version, and is certainly inferior), as all the other films are already available at least in France (no english subs, either).

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justeleblanc
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#72 Post by justeleblanc » Mon Dec 24, 2007 6:41 pm

I did the math and it's not adding up:

Celine = 192
Duelle = 121
Merry = 160
Savoir = 154

Sum is 627. DVD case says sum is 603. Either this is not the full version of Merry Go Round.... or what if instead of 603 it should read 703, thus meaning that Va Savoir may in fact be THE Va Savoir+.

Thoughts?

Update: vier Filme des Mitbegründers der Nouvelle Vague plus dem Bonusfilm von Claire Denis Nevermind

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martin
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#73 Post by martin » Tue Dec 25, 2007 7:59 am

Celine = 192
Duelle = 121
Merry = 160
Savoir = 154
I have no thoughts on the playing times. My guess is it's just a printing error.

But I'm excited to see Claire Denis' documentary on Rivette! She's (also) one of my favourite filmmakers and this bonus feature is reason enough for me to get the set. I don't think this documentary has been release before?

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bearcuborg
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#74 Post by bearcuborg » Wed Jan 09, 2008 4:31 am

New Rivette Set from Germany: According to jpc
I would love to get this set, but it appears there will not be English subs available.

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Barmy
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#75 Post by Barmy » Wed Jan 09, 2008 1:16 pm

The Denis doc is fairly tedious and will be useless unless you speak the relevant language(s), as it's all chatter.

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