Polish Cinema on DVD

[MichaelB]

That'll be over a year since I saw it!

And I daresay it'll already be out on DVD (or even Blu-ray) in Poland by then, most likely with English subtitles.

[jsteffe]

The niggling question of why the restoration of The Hourglass Sanatorium is presented in 1.85:1 on the Mr Bongo and Telewizja Kinopolska DVDs and the new KinoRP Blu-ray despite the 35mm version being framed at 2.35:1 (and despite the restoration having been supervised by cinematographer Witold Sobociński) seems to have been answered.

In a nutshell, Sobociński effectively went down the VistaVision/Super 35 route by shooting natively in 1.85:1 and then cropping to 2.35:1 for cinema screenings (because few if any Polish cinemas couldn't handle 1.85:1 at the time). So while I'd still need authentic grabs from a 2.35:1 version to be certain of this, it looks as though the HD-sourced DVDs and BDs reveal more of the image at the top and bottom, rather than less at the sides. Which explains why the film looks absolutely fine in 1.85:1 - normally it's all too obvious if a Scope film has been cropped.

I can't speak for Poland, but in the Soviet Union during that era films were produced and exhibited mainly in three formats: standard 35mm with Academy aperture, anamorphic 35mm ('scope), and later 70mm. Generally they did not produce matted widescreen films (such as 1.85:1), though they may have done so later.

With regard to Poland, what about the aspect ratio for Ashes and Diamonds?

[MichaelB]

It's 1.66:1, and I'm pretty sure that that's correct - if I remember rightly, at one point there's a slight pan upwards that wouldn't be necessary if the film was supposed to be framed in Academy, and 1.85:1 would be too tight.

[foe]

Just in to say that have just received KinoRP Blu-rays from Poland ("The Hourglass Sanatorium" &"The Saragossa Manuscript" combo) and the picture quality for both titles is simply ...crippling. I mean THIS IS IT, this is the way those masterpieces should be watched on a home screen. AMUSTHAVES !!

btw, all of the KinoRP titles with some teasers after digital restoration you can find on the following site

btw2, http://www.mspresents.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; & the introduction on youtube

[L.A.]

Restored Krzyżacy with English subtitles.

[TMDaines]

Restored Krzyżacy with English subtitles.

It was released when all the Blu-rays were. There is a Blu-ray of this coming too,

[djvaso]

The publisher of these restored classics DMMS is now suspiciously silent. They haven't answered on requests about forthcoming releases. I hope that these digibooks are selling well so that they will publish more titles on Blu-ray.

[Bruce]

I've just received and played the blu-rays of 'Man Of Marble' and 'Man Of Iron'. The technical quality of both discs is excellent - much better than any of the DVD incarnations of these films.

Both films are presented in a 1.37 aspect ratio. I know this is correct for 'Man Of Marble', but IMDB gives the aspect ratio for 'Man Of Iron' as 1.85, and I've also seen a ratio of 1.66 mentioned for this film. The 1.37 ratio looks fine on the Blu-ray so I think it's clear that it was shot in this ratio, but possibly Wajda intended it to be matted to a wider ratio for theatrical presentation. Does anyone have more definitive information on this?

[feihong]

I'm stunned by the KinoPR trailers for these films. I hope more blu-rays will be coming! I ordered Hourglass Sanatorium and Sargossa Manuscript right away, but I think I'll need to order the Wajdas as well after seeing the previews!

[Telstar]

I placed an order for several of these as well. Anyone have a rough idea of shipping times from Poland to the states?

[feihong]

I cracked and ordered some DVDs, too. There are 3- and 4-packs, and I got the one that has Austeria and some other films I was interested in, as well as a Piotr Szulkin 3-pack. Allegedly they all have english subs! Looking forward to seeing whether or not they do.

[Bruce]

I've just ordered Wajda's 'Promised Land' on blu, on the assumption that it has the longer cut of the film. I'm also interested in 'The Sargossa Manuscript', but as I've never seen it, I might rent the UK DVD first even though I know it is the butchered cut - at least it will hopefully suffice to give me an idea of whether I will respond to the film or not.

[Telstar]

I cracked and ordered some DVDs, too. There are 3- and 4-packs, and I got the one that has Austeria and some other films I was interested in, as well as a Piotr Szulkin 3-pack. Allegedly they all have english subs! Looking forward to seeing whether or not they do.

I have the Szulkin set and can verify it has English subs. The films are petty great as well.

[MichaelB]

I cracked and ordered some DVDs, too. There are 3- and 4-packs, and I got the one that has Austeria and some other films I was interested in, as well as a Piotr Szulkin 3-pack. Allegedly they all have english subs! Looking forward to seeing whether or not they do.

Every single Telewizja Kinopolska box that I'm aware of (and I own most of them) has English subtitles on everything, including the extras - the only part of the package that isn't English-friendly is the booklet.

I've just ordered Wajda's 'Promised Land' on blu, on the assumption that it has the longer cut of the film.

It's the 1974 theatrical cut, so the longest version that ever played in cinemas. But the longest version is the TV miniseries cut, which is also available on an English-subtitles Polish DVD, but it's far inferior visually.

I'm also interested in 'The Sargossa Manuscript', but as I've never seen it, I might rent the UK DVD first even though I know it is the butchered cut.

I don't know where you got that info from, but it's not true - in fact, the Mr Bongo DVD is sourced from exactly the same KinoRP restoration, although obviously it isn't in 1080p.

As far as I'm aware, every DVD and BD release of The Saragossa Manuscript is of the longer cut - the only controversy is that the US edition and the initial Mr Bongo edition were slightly cropped.

[foe]

I'm stunned by the KinoPR trailers for these films. I hope more blu-rays will be coming! I ordered Hourglass Sanatorium and Sargossa Manuscript right away, but I think I'll need to order the Wajdas as well after seeing the previews!

done the same:)

btw, it's fantastic to see "Walkower" by Skolimowski being restored as well. Hope it's just a matter of time to see his other gems in a new disguise.

[jsteffe]

This weekend I watched the Blu-ray of THE SARAGOSSA MANUSCRIPT at a friend's house - he has a top-notch, professionally calibrated projection system. It really does look terrific, it made me appreciate the film's production design in a way that I hadn't before. I also sampled THE HOURGLASS SANATORIUM. Although the Mr. Bongo DVD versions for both are fine, seeing the films in high definition opens up the space within them and magnifies their impact to an extent that I hadn't anticipated.

I did suspect some filtering of the grain, but if it's present it's not overly intrusive - there is still plenty of fine detail within the image. From what I remember of the older generation of Polish Blu-rays (ASHES AND DIAMONDS, AUSTERIA and NIGHT TRAIN), there was heavier grain reduction, somewhat to the detriment of the image.

[vertovfan]

I've been waiting on my shipment of the KinoRP blurays for quite a while - tracking indicate they've been at a customs facility in New York since December 1st. The post office says they can't help... might be time for me to place a new order. First time it's happened to me, and I get shipments from eastern Europe fairly regularly.

[feihong]

So is Austeria already on blu-ray? Can I order that from somewhere? And Promised Land?

[knives]

Yes, it has a region free english subbed Blu available at pretty much all Polish e-tailers though I got my copy at Amazon where the publisher is a seller. Everyone participating in the '80s list should get to it.

[Bruce]

I'm also interested in 'The Sargossa Manuscript', but as I've never seen it, I might rent the UK DVD first even though I know it is the butchered cut.

I don't know where you got that info from, but it's not true - in fact, the Mr Bongo DVD is sourced from exactly the same KinoRP restoration, although obviously it isn't in 1080p.

As far as I'm aware, every DVD and BD release of The Saragossa Manuscript is of the longer cut - the only controversy is that the US edition and the initial Mr Bongo edition were slightly cropped.

Ah OK, thanks for the correction. I thought I'd seen somewhere that the DVD was a shorter version, but I must have misremembered it. Anyway I'll look forward to watching the rental DVD and I hope I will like the film as much as others seem to.

[admira]

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDReview ... script.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[manicsounds]

I don't know, in some screencaps, the old Image disc looks too squished and characters look a bit too thin,
But for the Polish BD, they all look stretched out and fattened.

[Kauno]

I noticed the same.

[Jack Phillips]

I don't know, in some screencaps, the old Image disc looks too squished and characters look a bit too thin,
But for the Polish BD, they all look stretched out and fattened.

This was also a point of comparison between the Image disc and the Mr. Bongo DVD. Your choices seem to come down to one that is too-squeezed looking or too-stretched. There is no third option.

[L.A.]

DVDBeaver reviews the Blu-ray of The Hourglass Sanatorium.