Afire (2023) (Janus Contemporaries)

[MifuneFan]

Christian Petzold's Afire will be released on Blu-ray on February 20th through Janus Contemporaries

https://www.criterion.com/films/33797-afire

INCLUDES

• Meet the Filmmakers, a new interview with director Christian Petzold
• Trailer

While vacationing by the Baltic Sea, writer Leon (Thomas Schubert) and photographer Felix (Langston Uibel) are surprised to encounter Nadja (Paula Beer), a mysterious young woman staying as a guest at the holiday home of Felix’s family. Nadja soon distracts Leon from finishing his latest novel, not only because of her passionate liaison with lifeguard Devid (Enno Trebs) but also because her brutal honesty forces Leon to confront his artistic inadequacies. As Nadja and Leon grow closer, an encroaching forest fire threatens the group and pushes the writer to discover whether he can truly care for anything beyond himself. Christian Petzold’s acclaimed latest film was the winner of the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize at the 2023 Berlin International Film Festival.

AFIRE - Official US Trailer - YouTube

[Hotel Garma]

Right on. I was hoping for this release. I've seen all of Christian Petzold's films from Barbara through Undine and really liked them all. Those have been released on physical media, some only available as DVD but I've picked them up anyway. Looking forward to Afire.

[eightslicesofpie]

Originally Posted by Hotel Garma

Right on. I was hoping for this release. I've seen all of Christian Petzold's films from Barbara through Undine and really liked them all. Those have been released on physical media, some only available as DVD but I've picked them up anyway. Looking forward to Afire.

It's sold out on their site but you might be able to find it on ebay or something, but Plain Archive did a really nice boxset of those 4 movies on blu and has English subtitles

[Hotel Garma]

Originally Posted by eightslicesofpie

It's sold out on their site but you might be able to find it on ebay or something, but Plain Archive did a really nice boxset of those 4 movies on blu and has English subtitles

Wow, thanks for the tip! I'll keep an eye out for that box. I'm not unhappy with DVDs if that's the only format available but it's good to know there are blu-rays out there, too.

[eightslicesofpie]

Originally Posted by Hotel Garma

Wow, thanks for the tip! I'll keep an eye out for that box. I'm not unhappy with DVDs if that's the only format available but it's good to know there are blu-rays out there, too.

Yup! It's a really great set, all of Plain Archive's releases are stellar. Really gorgeous and high quality materials

[CelestialAgent]

will probably just get the English friendly German release instead of waiting until next year

[nicwood]

Originally Posted by CelestialAgent

will probably just get the English friendly German release instead of waiting until next year

That release is truly excellent and surely looks better than the Janus / CC and their low-pass filtering. It’s such a shame that these Janus releases are that sparse and cheap-feeling as the films are surely trapped in there for God knows how long. Criterion could have made an effort and license the exceptional bonus features on the German Afire BD for that edition just to have a little more than their Petzold Channel interview. I have a bad feeling that they even give the new Nuri Bilge Ceylan film the Janus treatment instead of a proper CC edition.

[theosh]

Just out of interest, what bonus features are included on the German AFIRE blu ray?

[Hotel Garma]

I received my copy from Amazon and watched it today. These Janus Contemporaries discs appear very similar to regular Criterion releases. Same case style, same disc quality, etc. The main menu is really the only difference. Bonus features are sparse, but the lone interview with director Christian Petzold is pretty extensive and covers the themes and inspirational sources for the film. There is also a short essay insert.

The movie itself was excellent, IMO it's maybe his best work so far. Tonally a bit different from his previous films, less overt drama and more humor, but an engaging watch. The ending is perfect. Gorgeous cinematography. I've read in some interviews that he was heavily influenced by the films of Eric Rohmer prior to making this so now I want to dive in and explore some Rohmer.

Video and audio quality both looked/sounded great on my meager setup.

[nicwood]

Mini comparison between the Janus / Criterion BD and the German Piffl BD of Afire (both have English subtitles). I was quite convinced the German BD was definitive and appropriate for the film but this is not the case after comparing both simultaneously. The German BD is heavily low-pass filtered for the image (even more than the usual for Criterion) and excessive compression applies to the audio as well, even though the Janus is overall only roughly 10 GB larger in file size. This doesn’t mean the Criterion is good though, as evident in most of these caps with severe compression anomalies.
The second aspect are colors. The German BD is more vibrant and less green-ish, although the Janus looks more natural and less blown-out. Overall a really interesting comparison:

https://slow.pics/c/CK5ODapH

[nicwood]

Originally Posted by theosh

Just out of interest, what bonus features are included on the German AFIRE blu ray?

Very good interviews with Petzold, Paula Beer, Langston Uibel and Enno Trebs. All in German without subtitles.

[sidetracked1]

Originally Posted by nicwood

Mini comparison between the Janus / Criterion BD and the German Piffl BD of Afire (both have English subtitles). I was quite convinced the German BD was definitive and appropriate for the film but this is not the case after comparing both simultaneously. The German BD is heavily low-pass filtered for the image (even more than the usual for Criterion) and excessive compression applies to the audio as well, even though the Janus is overall only roughly 10 GB larger in file size. This doesn’t mean the Criterion is good though, as evident in most of these caps with severe compression anomalies.
The second aspect are colors. The German BD is more vibrant and less green-ish, although the Janus looks more natural and less blown-out. Overall a really interesting comparison:

https://slow.pics/c/CK5ODapH

Thanks for the pics and opinions. Interesting conundrum. On my less than perfectly calibrated computer my eye gravitates to the German images. But that could just be the old human weakness for 'pop' and 'pretty' when comparing images - which is meaningless if not the filmmaker's intent. Love to know if Petzold discussed the look anywhere...

Follow up: went over to the Criterion Forum to see if any more could be gleaned. Didn't realize you post there as well. :-). In any case, was interested to see another poster who knew the film well claimed the Janus was closer to the 2x they saw the film in the theater. Of course 'theater memories' - even of the recent variety - can be wrong (the nature of variabilities in both human memory and presentation), but short of something from the filmmaker or DP it's better than nothing.

[nicwood]

Originally Posted by sidetracked1

Thanks for the pics and opinions. Interesting conundrum. On my less than perfectly calibrated computer my eye gravitates to the German images. But that could just be the old human weakness for 'pop' and 'pretty' when comparing images - which is meaningless if not the filmmaker's intent. Love to know if Petzold discussed the look anywhere...

Follow up: went over to the Criterion Forum to see if any more could be gleaned. Didn't realize you post there as well. :-). In any case, was interested to see another poster who knew the film well claimed the Janus was closer to the 2x they saw the film in the theater. Of course 'theater memories' - even of the recent variety - can be wrong (the nature of variabilities in both human memory and presentation), but short of something from the filmmaker or DP it's better than nothing.

I also feel comfortable believing the poster who claimed the Janus look is the correct one. I’ve compared back and forth again and would think so as well. I haven’t seen the film in theaters but twice on the German BD, so I don’t have a reference either. My next viewing will definitely be the Janus BD as the excessive low-pass filter on the German BD annoys me the most now as we’re aware of it.

[theosh]

I rewatched this again tonight after receiving the Janus Contemporaries release, and fell in love with the movie all over again. Actually, I reckon I enjoyed it even more second time around and I loved AFIRE the first time I saw it.

In no way do I understand how Svet could think this is any kind of misfire for Christian Petzold.