The Celebration (Festen) (1998)

[Akijama]

Coming in January

https://www.criterion.com/films/28059-the-celebration

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES:

2K digital restoration, approved by director Thomas Vinterberg, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
Audio commentary from 2005 featuring Vinterberg
New interview with Vinterberg
Two early short films by Vinterberg: Last Round (1993) and The Boy Who Walked Backwards (1995)
The Purified, a 2002 documentary about Dogme 95, featuring interviews with Vinterberg and filmmakers Søren Kragh-Jacobsen, Kristian Levring, and Lars von Trier
Program in which Vinterberg discusses the real-life inspiration for the film
Documentaries featuring members of the cast and crew at the film’s premiere in Copenhagen and reflecting back on the production
ADM: DOP, a 2003 documentary profile of cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle
Deleted scenes, with optional audio commentary by Vinterberg
Trailer
PLUS: An essay by critic and author Michael Koresky

New cover by Century.Studio

The Danish Dogme 95 movement that struck world cinema like a thunderbolt began with The Celebration, the international breakthrough by Thomas Vinterberg, a lacerating chamber drama that uses the economic and aesthetic freedoms of digital video to achieve annihilating emotional intensity. On a wealthy man’s sixtieth birthday, a sprawling group of family and friends convenes at his country estate for a celebration that soon spirals into bedlam, as bombshell revelations threaten to tear away the veneer of bourgeois respectability and expose the traumas roiling beneath. The dynamic handheld camera work, grainy natural lighting, cacophonous diegetic sound, and raw performance style that would become Dogme hallmarks enhance the shattering visceral impact of this caustic indictment of patriarchal failings, which swings between blackest comedy and bleakest tragedy as it turns the sick soul of a family inside out.

[Show spoiler]Criterion is listed as a distributor on Alamo's site.

https://ondemand.drafthouse.com/film/the-celebration/

[themp3000]

This is the first Dogme 95 film for BD I think?

This’ll be fascinating.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by themp3000

This is the first Dogme 95 film for BD I think?

This’ll be fascinating.

If it does indeed get a BD release. I mentioned it yesterday in the Criterion thread, but was hesitant to start a thread as Festen was shot on video, so it wouldn't really benefit much from a BD, as it wouldn't be in proper HD or anything. I suppose it would be similar to something like 28 Day Later (minus the part at the end). I'd still like to see what Criterion could do with it, perhaps as part of a bigger Dogme 95 set, but I could see it being relegated to the Criterion Channel too.

This is what Pro-B said about a Festen BD years back:

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

There is no need to wait for a Blu-ray. The film was shot on video, as dictated by the Dogme movement, and it looks as it should.

Buy the DVD.



Pro-B

[themp3000]

I’ve had a bad history with the UK DVD and the five replacements I’ve gone through (every single replacement had problems, mostly rot, bad scratches and some layer coming off) so I’d welcome just about anything.

[thatguamguy]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

If it does indeed get a BD release. I mentioned it yesterday in the Criterion thread, but was hesitant to start a thread as Festen was shot on video, so it wouldn't really benefit much from a BD, as it wouldn't be in proper HD or anything.

Also, wouldn't it have been shot on PAL video?

So any Criterion US release would be in the wrong frame rate.

[MifuneFan]

https://www.criterion.com/films/28059-the-celebration

[Akijama]

Coming in January

https://www.criterion.com/films/28059-the-celebration

[jordan-r]

So the only packaging is the manifesto. Too cool.

[MifuneFan]

This is very cool. The quality probably won't be great, but this is one I've wanted in the collection for some time. Hopefully it is just the first of many Dogme 95 films.

[D.I.T.C.]

That packaging is amazing

[BunyipPouch]

This has been near the top of my Criterion wish list for a while. Awesome announcement.

[MifuneFan]

Forgot this was leaked out a while back, so there's already a thread for it here:

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=337852

[LPMA]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

This is very cool. The quality probably won't be great, but this is one I've wanted in the collection for some time. Hopefully it is just the first of many Dogme 95 films.

I feel like the packaging highlighting “Dogme 1” so prominently kinda heavily hints that more might be coming, so here’s hoping!

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by LPMA

I feel like the packaging highlighting “Dogme 1” so prominently kinda heavily hints that more might be coming, so here’s hoping!

Yeah, that's the first thing I thought too.

[Herry Dunston]

I doubt we'll get more, outside of maybe Von Trier's The Idiots, Susanne Bier's Open Hearts and that one film by that one director who did that film with Carey Mulligan. That might be more of a presentation than anything, which is a fantastic presentation for the minimalist aspect that's the manifesto is going for.

[brainofj72]

Have to buy this for the Yeezus packaging alone

[pastel]

A dream release for me, was absolutely stunned to see this announcement. But yeah, I thought this was shot on video so I'm not expecting the PQ to blow me away. But still, years of asking Criterion for this has paid off! I love Italian for Beginners too, and really hope that gets in one day.

[Donda]

anyone know when this will hit amazon?

[Akijama]

Originally Posted by Donda

anyone know when this will hit amazon?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09JLGLQTG...es-tv&sr=1-387

[Cremildo]

I haven't been wowed by Vinterberg's films yet (the ones I've seen, of course) but, as this is the one that put him on the map, I reckon it'll be worth a blind buy.