Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould (1993) 4K UHD (Criterion Collection)

[MifuneFan]

Criterion will be releasing the 1993 Canadian biological anthology film Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould on 4K in June

Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould 4K UHD

https://www.criterion.com/films/2791...ut-glenn-gould

DIRECTOR-APPROVED 4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

• New 4K digital restoration, supervised and approved by director François Girard, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
• One 4K UHD disc of the film and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
• New audio commentary featuring Girard and cowriter and actor Don McKellar
• New conversation between Girard and filmmaker Atom Egoyan
• Glenn Gould: Off the Record and Glenn Gould: On the Record, companion programs from 1959 produced for Canadian television
• Archival interviews with actor Colm Feore and producer Niv Fichman
• Trailer
• English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• PLUS: An essay by author and film critic Michael Koresky

A rare film biography as boldly unconventional as its subject, writer-director François Girard’s visionary portrait of iconoclastic, world-renowned pianist Glenn Gould explodes the conventions of the form to illuminate the brilliant mind and innermost obsessions of a singular artist. Across thirty-two vignettes encompassing everything from dramatic sketches to documentary interviews to avant-garde animation, Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould pieces together the story of Gould’s trajectory from child prodigy to celebrated concert pianist who turned his back on public performance to pursue his all-consuming fascination with recording technology. Led by a tour-de-force performance by Colm Feore and underscored by Gould’s landmark recordings of Bach’s Goldberg Variations, Girard’s film daringly deconstructs the enigma of genius.

Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould (1993) Trailer - YouTube

[Gacivory]

I hadn’t heard of this, but seems like something I’d enjoy! Always enjoy Colm Feore!

[MifuneFan]

Just added a trailer to the first post. I've never heard of the film before, but it does look interesting.

The New Yorker also has a short video where Richard Brody talks about it. I can't embed their videos here.

https://www.newyorker.com/video/watc...ut-glenn-gould

[BluBonnet]

Watched this when it was released theatrically, and it was a positively glorious experience…. It was very sad to see it languish for so long without a proper HD transfer.

[dorium]

have heard of this and love Glenn Gould as a performer. Will definitely be grabbing.

[captveg]

Been waiting a couple decades now for a quality release.

One of my holy grail titles for sure.

[nicwood]

Criterion keeps pushing the 4K format into more unexpected territory. Absolutely incredible and as always I hope this does well for them. This is certainly a more surprising 4K choice than the Mitchell Leisen film or The Wind Will Carry Us but very welcome nonetheless!

Also never heard of the film before.

[The Sovereign]

Originally Posted by Gacivory

I hadn’t heard of this, but seems like something I’d enjoy! Always enjoy Colm Feore!

If you like him, if you like Gould, if you like Bach, if you like musician biopics, I think this is an extremely safe buy.

[captveg]

For those unfamiliar with the film, its fractured multi-narrarive form was an obvious influence on Todd Haynes' I'm Not There. If you like how that film breaks the music biopic formula you should enjoy this one, too.

[greycellgreen]

It's a beautifully made film - so intelligently made. And Colm Feore is sensational in it. Very excited to upgrade by DVD to 4K.

[trespoochies]

Great release! Makes me hope they release The Red Violin at some point. Another great Girard film - also with Colm Feore!

[Mr. Smedley]

I’m so excited to see this getting a BD/4K release. I’ve been hoping for an upgrade from the dvd forever. It’s such a unique and engaging biopic.

[vladding]

Wow, this and the Monk doc are two of the personally exciting/favorite releases I've seen in years. Didn't own the DVD but this one but had a copy of it on VHS. For any classical music lover and music lover in general, but for those that love Gould especially, that haven't seen this, what a joy to see it coming out in 4K..

[briwas101]

I guess today is my day to load up on Criterion 4k. Picked up this, Barry Lyndon, and Brazil.
With criterions on sale 50% off it's only $25

[hipsofjw]

Disc Title: THIRTY TWO SHORT FILMS ABOUT GLENN GOULD
Disc Size: 65,292,766,715 bytes
Protection: AACS2
Playlist: 00003.MPLS
Size: 64,721,981,760 bytes
Length: 1:33:41.532
Total Bitrate: 92.11 Mbps
Video: MPEG-H HEVC Video / 84151 kbps / 2160p / 23.976 fps / 16:9 / Main 10 @ Level 5.1 @ High / 4:2:0 / 10 bits / Limited Range / BT.709 / BT.709 / BT.709
Audio: English / DTS-HD Master Audio / 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3543 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Audio: English / Dolby Digital Audio / 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -31dB
Subtitle: English / 2.201 kbps
Subtitle: English / 40.071 kbps

[nicwood]

The film was licensed from Sony Classical, a sublabel from Sony Music and that the 4K restoration was made from an interpositive.

Nevertheless, the film looks beautiful in 4K but there are definitely shots that lack the kinds of textures we associate with 4K masters. It’s not that grain management was applied during the mastering but there’s just a general softness here and there that’s likely a byproduct of the negative -> IP copying process or even the digital scanning of the IP. What I’m saying is: Keep your expectations in check, this is not a demo disc but it’s far from poor as the master is often quite good.

The color grade is fine but I imagine the most arduous teal haters will be bothered by one or two of the segments. Why just fine? While I don’t mind the "teal" at all, I spotted an early short film that’s graded a bit too aggressively video-like, complete with a visible magenta touch in the whites. Keep in mind that I don’t have any knowledge of the film’s making, so this could very well be another stylistic trait this unusual film has to offer.

I’ll be watching it soon and maybe report back if I spot anything glaringly irritating.

[C.C. 95]

Terrific film. Very glad it's getting the 4K treatment

[vinvanveen]

Blind buy. This film was absolutely terrific.

[Riki333]

Originally Posted by nicwood

The film was licensed from Sony Classical, a sublabel from Sony Music and that the 4K restoration was made from an interpositive.

Nevertheless, the film looks beautiful in 4K but there are definitely shots that lack the kinds of textures we associate with 4K masters. It’s not that grain management was applied during the mastering but there’s just a general softness here and there that’s likely a byproduct of the negative -> IP copying process or even the digital scanning of the IP. What I’m saying is: Keep your expectations in check, this is not a demo disc but it’s far from poor as the master is often quite good.

The color grade is fine but I imagine the most arduous teal haters will be bothered by one or two of the segments. Why just fine? While I don’t mind the "teal" at all, I spotted an early short film that’s graded a bit too aggressively video-like, complete with a visible magenta touch in the whites. Keep in mind that I don’t have any knowledge of the film’s making, so this could very well be another stylistic trait this unusual film has to offer.

I’ll be watching it soon and maybe report back if I spot anything glaringly irritating.

Can I ask if the American Blu-ray is Region A and Region B?

Thanks.

[nicwood]

Originally Posted by Riki333

Can I ask if the American Blu-ray is Region A and Region B?

Thanks.

The Blu-ray is Region A.