Osianama Screening German classics in Mumbai

[intacto]

"Osianama welcomes you to the ongoing forty-five days of cinematic joy at our new headquarters - the iconic art-deco Liberty Cinema. With the completion of the very successful Russian Film Days Festival we begin our focus on German Cinematic Expressionism (20th to 22nd November 2015) , followed by the screening of 15 of Alfred Hitchcock's very best films (23rd to 26th November 2015). A true gift to film connoisseurs.

Thereafter our Tributes to Marlon Brando, Walt Disney and Dilip Kumar begin.

The 'Masterpieces of German Expressionism' focuses on the profound inspiration and influence of three landmark films : Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Nosferatu and Metropolis.
The Horror, Mystery, Film"

[ravenus]

That is freaking amazing!
Carl Dreyer's Vampyr is also a masterpiece of expressionist horror, a film I can watch any number of times and still be mesmerized.
It's interesting that Shadow of The Vampire is followed by Nosferatu, since it covers a fictionalized making of Nosferatu, in which the actor playing Count Orlok is a real vampire (Fabulous performance by Willem Dafoe chanelling Max Schreck as Orlok).

[benhoppel]

Are you showing DCPs?

[intacto]

Originally Posted by benhoppel

Are you showing DCPs?

Ops i should have put the summary in quotes.I am not a part of the organization....No idea about the source.

[ravenus]

Friend of mine who watched a couple of films yesterday said it looked like they were screening DVD's (for Mahal) and HD MKV files (for Caligari). Will be going for Vampyr today, lessee.

[ravenus]

I watched 3 films from the OSIANAMA screenings:

Vampyr (Carl Dreyer)
Cabiria (Giovanni Pastrone) - This was a huge scale extravaganza, running long at 150+ min with a very convoluted plot. Some of the imagery is jaw-dropping, especially when you consider this was the age when all sets had to be actually built to huge scale and have actual actors inhabiting them.
Last Laugh (FW Murnau) - Silent film which also mostly does away with inter-titles relying on the acting and imagery to give you the plot. It's a simple but moving tale of a doorman in a plush hotel, who is proud of his uniform and stature, finding himself in old age transferred to the lowly position of washroom attendant, and how it affects his self-respect as well as his social position in his neighborhood. Emil Jannings in the lead role does a fine job of melodrama. After a legitimate sad end, the film introduces a deliberately absurd epilogue for the character just for the express purpose of giving the audience a happy ending.

All 3 screenings were from MKV files played through a BD player. There are no existing blu-rays for these films and the files seemed to represent upscaled DVD masters, with very obvious edge halos and artifacts, and little by way of fine detail especially when blown up on a cinema screen, but it was still a charming experience to be able to view these films in a theater. From what I am given to know the with newer restorations have properly HD files and look good on the big screen.

[benhoppel]

Caligari and Metropolis were recently restored so a DCP should be around. Nosferatu has a good Blu Ray. The others have 35mm prints. Too bad almost all cinemas can't show 35mm anymore. Even a used print is far better than any DVD projection.