Heimat (A Chronicle Of Germany)

[bigshot]

I just received this epic television series in the mail. I'm excited to dive in this weekend. The DVDs appear to be divided into 11 episodes, while the new blu-ray is six episodes. Which way was it originally broadcast?

[sjt]

The original series as broadcast on TV was in eleven episodes of greatly varying length, several less than an hour, some an hour-and-a-half, and some more than two hours (mainly the later ones). The big clue on the new release is the rubric on the back cover which states clearly "The Remastered Seven-Part Cinema Version" where the work was re-cut so that each film's running time is averaged out to just over two hours.

[Mr. Thomsen]

Oh, didn't realise this was the cinema version.

Good thing I did sell off my three DVD sets yet (I have the old ones that look like big books and look like the German flag when put together). I was actually trying to sell them at a market a few weeks back.

[bigshot]

I watched almost all of the first episode last night. (2 hour chunks is pretty long for my schedule.) The transfer is beautiful and the aspect ratio is perfect. It didn't at all feel like a TV show. The style and atmosphere is fantastic. What a great director. I like the way each characters' personalities are so sharply drawn. Looking forward to seeing more.

[KOR101]

Is there any talk of a US release?

[bigshot]

I doubt if a huge box like this would sell well in the US. Maybe Criterion. It would be awfully pricey.

[fatboyslim142]

Originally Posted by Mr. Thomsen

Oh, didn't realise this was the cinema version.

Good thing I did sell off my three DVD sets yet (I have the old ones that look like big books and look like the German flag when put together). I was actually trying to sell them at a market a few weeks back.

At Least the Second Sight release of Berlin Alexanderplatz is the full UNCUT mini-series.

[GiulioP]

this is just the 1s season of Heimat, right? I was hoping for a boxset containing all three (plus also the other independent films by the same director Edgar Reitz)

[fatboyslim142]

Originally Posted by GiulioP

this is just the 1s season of Heimat, right? I was hoping for a boxset containing all three (plus also the other independent films by the same director Edgar Reitz)

Think Artificial Eye still owns the 3rd one. Anyway there are actually 5 in the Heimat franchise.

Heimat (Mini-Series) (1984)
Heimat 2 (Mini-Series) (1993)
Heimat 3 (Mini-Series) (2004)
Heimat Fragments (2006)
Home from Home (2013)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heimat..._series)#Films

[BluBonnet]

Watched the first two episodes, and I gotta tell you, the restoration is unbelievable... It looks a heck of a lot better than the Berlin Alexanderplatz blu-ray, perhaps they had a bigger budget?

[Yami]

It's newer than the restoration for Berlin Alexanderplatz, which is the same transfer as was on the DVD. Also, I believe Heimat was filmed on 35mm as opposed to Berlin Alexanderplatz's 16mm.

[fatboyslim142]

Originally Posted by BluBonnet

Watched the first two episodes, and I gotta tell you, the restoration is unbelievable... It looks a heck of a lot better than the Berlin Alexanderplatz blu-ray, perhaps they had a bigger budget?

This release IS NOT UNCUT.

[BluBonnet]

Originally Posted by fatboyslim142

This release IS NOT UNCUT.

Ah, but where would I get my hands on a blu-ray of the uncut one?

[grahams76]

Originally Posted by fatboyslim142

This release IS NOT UNCUT.

What is CUT then?

[tomkatholic]

He’s upset that the SUBTITLES don’t EMPHASIZE MORE WORDS in all-caps

[GiorgioV]

Originally Posted by BluBonnet

Ah, but where would I get my hands on a blu-ray of the uncut one?

Originally Posted by grahams76

What is CUT then?

+1

At any rate, let us hope this set (which looks stunning) sells well, so that the other seasons might get released too.

[jackranderson]

This sounds like a great series - way outa my price range at the moment though.

[fatboyslim142]

Originally Posted by GiorgioV

+1

At any rate, let us hope this set (which looks stunning) sells well, so that the other seasons might get released too.

This is ONLY the shorter Cinema version. ALL BD releases ONLY have the Cinema version.

For the theatrical version, some of the original 11 episodes have been combined to give 7 episodes overall, resulting in some reductions in runtime (mainly opening/closing credits). This reduction is most noticeable on the final two episodes, whose runtime has been reduced from 82 mins + 100 mins down to 158 mins.

[GiorgioV]

Originally Posted by fatboyslim142

This is ONLY the shorter Cinema version. ALL BD releases ONLY have the Cinema version.

For the theatrical version, some of the original 11 episodes have been combined to give 7 episodes overall, resulting in some reductions in runtime (mainly opening/closing credits). This reduction is most noticeable on the final two episodes, whose runtime has been reduced from 82 mins + 100 mins down to 158 mins.

That sucks. Is there any other uncut release?

[GaryCouzens]

As far as I'm aware, the original 11-episode version was the one which played in cinemas in 1985 in the UK, though it was shown in four parts. As for the restored version, here are the changes as I described them in my Digital Fix review.

There is a new opening title sequence, which now calls the series “Eine deutsche Chronik” (a German chronicle) rather than the previous “Eine Chronik in elf Teilen” (a chronicle in eleven films). The end credits for each episode have been remade and now have two copyright dates, 1984 and 2015. As far as content goes, that's mostly the same. End credits have been removed when they would now appear in the middle of an episode. However, nine out of ten of Glasisch's recaps, where he talks over still photographs (some of which couldn't have been taken at the time, but never mind) or at the start of the original eleventh episode, an illustration of the Simon, Weigand and Schirmer family trees, remain. [...] The one exception is the recap which would have been at the start of “The American”, which has been removed. The other change that I have found [...] “The Feast of the Living and the Dead”, which did have its longueurs I have to say, has been shortened by some twenty minutes.

(I've removed a possible spoiler for the final episode.)

Also, the Blu-ray release is 1.66:1 instead of the 1.33:1 which the DVD release was in. Having watched it though, it seems to me that 1.66:1 is the ratio it was composed for, given that it was aimed for cinemas as well as for television, and it was shown in 4:3 open-matte on TV and on DVD.