Memento Mori: The Jörg Buttgereit Collection (Arrow Store Exclusive) Blu-ray Box Set

[cooey]

Pre-order: Arrow
Release date: 26th August, 2024

Shocking and controversial, yet permeated with a dark, poetic beauty, the films of underground German auteur Jörg Buttgereit stand at the very intersection between art and exploitation.

In Nekromantik, the director's groundbreaking 1987 debut, nihilistic couple Rob and Betty seek to enliven their relationship by bringing a freshly-acquired corpse into the equation, with predictably nauseating results. 1990's Der Todesking takes a more experimental - but no less gruelling - approach, offering up seven vignettes of suicide, one for each day of the week, all prompted by a mysterious chain letter. In 1991, Buttgereit would return to the realm of corpse-loving with Nekromantik 2, which sees the young Monika torn between the two men in her life - the dorky yet doting Mark, and a rapidly-decomposing cadaver. Lastly, with 1993's Schramm, Buttgereit takes us deep into the deranged mind of a psychopath, charting the final days in the life of twisted sex killer Lothar Schramm.

With Memento Mori: The Jörg Buttgereit Collection - which brings together all four of the director's feature films, packed with extras and accompanied by a wealth of exclusive content - Arrow Video is proud to offer up the definitive compendium of this most singular of genre filmmakers.

Product Features

5-DISC LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS

[Show spoiler]
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation of all films
- Uncompressed PCM stereo 2.0 audio for all films and additional mono audio option for Nekromantik
- Optional English subtitles for all films
- Limited edition packaging incorporating an exclusive, 100-page rigid book featuring new writing by David Kerekes, author of Sex Murder Art: The Films of Jörg Buttgereit, a selection of archival essays and the colour debut of the Nekromantik comic book sequel, Son of Nekromantik
- Exclusive bonus disc containing the extended cut of Nekromantik 2, the home video premiere of the 2020 Jörg Buttgereit-directed documentary short Schweinchen, recently-unearthed short films and more!
- Original Nekromantik 2 16mm film strip

DISC ONE: NEKROMANTIK
- Audio commentary with Jörg Buttgereit and co-writer Franz Rodenkirchen
- 2014 introduction by Jörg Buttgereit
- Alternative "Grindhouse" version of Nekromantik
- In Conversation with The Death King - 2014 interview with Jörg Buttgereit
- Morbid Fascination: The Nekromantik Legacy - 2014 documentary
- 2014 Q&A with Jörg Buttgereit filmed at the Centre for Contemporary Arts in Glasgow, Scotland
- The Making of Nekromantik - archival documentary
- Nekromantik premiere footage
- A 1997 retrospective on the film featuring interviews with Jörg Buttgereit and producer Manfred Jelinski
- Two short films by Jörg Buttgereit: Horror Heaven (1984, 23 mins) and Hot Love (1985, 29 mins), both with optional audio commentary
- Horror Heaven trailer
- Hot Love premiere footage
- Two Jörg Buttgereit-directed music videos: "I Can't Let Go" by Shock Therapy and "Lemmy, I'm a Feminist" by Half Girl
- Image gallery
- Jörg Buttgereit trailer gallery

DISC TWO: DER TODESKING
- Audio commentary with Jörg Buttgereit and co-writer Franz Rodenkirchen
- From Bundy to Lautréamont - Jörg Buttgereit in conversation with journalist Graham Rae at the 2016 Manchester Festival of Fantastic Films
- Todesmusik: Conversations with the Fish Man - 2018 featurette with actor and composer Hermann Kopp
- Skeleton Beneath the Skin - 2018 featurette on Der Todesking tattoo culture with Graham Rae
- The Making of Der Todesking - archival documentary
- Der Todesking premiere footage
- Alternate English-language chain letter insert
- Corpse ****ing Art - 1992 documentary
- Der Gollob (1983, 25 mins) - short film by Jörg Buttgereit, with optional audio commentary
- Two short films by Manfred Jelinski: Die Reise ins Licht (1972, 25 mins), with optional audio commentary, and Geliebter Wahnsinn (1973, 8 mins)
- Image gallery
- Jörg Buttgereit trailer gallery

DISC THREE: NEKROMANTIK 2
- Audio commentary with Jörg Buttgereit, producer Manfred Jelinksi, co-writer Franz Rodenkirchen and actors Monika M. and Mark Reeder
- 2015 cast and crew introduction
- Masters of Life and Death - 2015 documentary on the making of Nekromantik 2
- City of the Loving Dead - 2015 featurette on the locations of Nekromantik 2
- Nekro Waltz: The Music of Nekromantik 2 - 2015 interview with actor and composer Mark Reeder
- Necropolis: Jörg Buttgereit's Berlin - 2015 featurette with film scholar Dr. Marcus Stiglegger
- The Making of Nekromantik 2 - archival documentary
- Outtakes reel
- Nekromantik 2 Livekonzert - footage from the 20th anniversary Nekromantik 2 concert in Berlin
- Complete 20-track audio recording of the concert [BD-ROM content]
- Two short films by Jörg Buttgereit: Bloody Excess in the Leader's Bunker (1982, 8 mins), with optional audio commentary, and A Moment of - Silence at the Grave of Ed Gein (2012, 2 mins)
- Two Jörg Buttgereit-directed music videos: "Rise Up" by Die Krupps and "Die Frau in der Musik" by Stereo Total
- Image gallery
- Jörg Buttgereit trailer gallery

DISC FOUR: SCHRAMM
- Audio commentary with Jörg Buttgereit and co-writer Franz Rodenkirchen
- Audio commentary with actors Florian Koerner von Gustorf and Monika M.
- Tomorrow I Will Be Dirt (2019, 8 mins) - short animated sequel to Schramm by filmmaker Robert Morgan
- Tomorrow I Will Be Dirt behind-the-scenes and premiere featurettes
- Take My Body: The Journey of a Blow-up Doll - 2019 featurette with author and filmmaker Kier-La Janisse
- Buttgereit: Into the Mind of a Cult Filmmaker - Jörg Buttgereit in conversation with Ewan Cant at the 2019 Offscreen Film Festival in Brussels
- The Making of Schramm - archival documentary
- 1994 Q&A with Jörg Buttgereit, producer Manfred Jelinski, actor Monika M. and author David Kerekes, filmed at a UK screening of Schramm
- Two short films by Jörg Buttgereit: Mein Papi (1981-1995, 8 mins) and Jesus - Der Film (1986, 3 mins), the latter with optional audio commentary
- Two short films by Manfred Jelinski: Orpheus in der Oberwelt (1970, 31 mins) and Ein ku'ze' Film übe' Hambu'g (1990, 7 mins)
- Image galleries
- Jörg Buttgereit trailer gallery

DISC FIVE: BONUS DISC
- Nekromantik 2 Extended Cut (110 mins)
- Nekromantik 2 premiere footage, with audio commentary by Jörg Buttgereit
- Monika M. screen test footage for Nekromantik 2
- Schweinchen (2020, 19 mins) - short film directed by Jörg Buttgereit documenting a decomposition study conducted by renowned forensic biologist Dr. Mark Benecke
- Captain Berlin versus Hitler (2009, 75 mins) - filmed version of the stage play written and co-directed by Jörg Buttgereit, with optional audio commentary by composer Mark Reeder
- New York - Paris (1986, 9 mins) - never-before-seen short film by Jörg Buttgereit documenting his 1986 trip to New York, via Paris, for a screening of Hot Love, with optional audio commentary
- The Muschibärs Live at the Gleisdreieck (1981, 6 mins) - never-before-seen short satirical concert film by Jörg Buttgereit, with optional audio commentary

[the13thman]

Looks like no safe storage for the discs so instant hard pass, I detest book-style packaging.

[DeadEyesSmiling]

Hopefully there's a standard edition with normal packaging, but that also retains that 5th disk!

[jmbe]

When you finally track down the 4 Arrow LE's of these films and a few weeks later this drops...

What I want to know is:

1) Is all the writing from the 4 LE booklets of the individual films carried over to this new book?

2) Just how big is this thing? I don't like oversized packaging. I don't want to have to 'display' it. Will it fit on my shelf if it's turned 90 degrees so the longer side becomes the spine?

3) If this is an Arrow store exclusive, does that mean anyone ordering is going to receive something that looks like it's gone through a warzone? I know the Psycho set got bubble-wrapped and double-boxed due to the pillorying they got after the Bruce Lee debacle, but are they going to revert to type, or have they actually turned a corner in terms of packaging their LE products? I haven't bought directly from them in a long time so I honestly don't know. How have the other LE's been sent out post-Psycho?

Originally Posted by the13thman

Looks like no safe storage for the discs so instant hard pass, I detest book-style packaging.

I would assume that the discs will actually be housed in their own digipack (sticking out of the main box in the image) and will be quite safe. I don't think they're just going to be slid into slits in a page of the book.

Originally Posted by DeadEyesSmiling

Hopefully there's a standard edition with normal packaging, but that also retains that 5th disk!

Highly doubt it. The Love & Death box that's been around for ages is the standard edition. They're not going to release one with the bonus disc whilst the 4 disc box remains on the market.

[fatboyslim142]

Originally Posted by the13thman

Looks like no safe storage for the discs so instant hard pass, I detest book-style packaging.

Looks like it is similar to the Shawscope sets in terms of packaging.

[nekromantik]

i own the OG arrow releases of the Nekromantik movies.
Also own schramm which I did not like.
So maybe will wait for standard set as double dipping when its not even 4k is a bit meh at this price point. These are not double dip worthy for me

[the13thman]

Originally Posted by jmbe

I would assume that the discs will actually be housed in their own digipack (sticking out of the main box in the image) and will be quite safe. I don't think they're just going to be slid into slits in a page of the book...

The Love & Death box that's been around for ages is the standard edition. They're not going to release one with the bonus disc whilst the 4 disc box remains on the market.

Originally Posted by fatboyslim142

Looks like it is similar to the Shawscope sets in terms of packaging.

What's sticking out in the picture is the book, the discs will be indeed no doubt be laid flat within that just like the Shawscope set, the playing surfaces will not be raised away from the page. It's not as bad as slots/sleeves but it's the next worst thing.

And yes, they are counting on fans to buy this for the bonus disc so I would not expect a cheaper way to get that.

[fatboyslim142]

Originally Posted by cooey

Pre-order: Arrow
Release date: 26th August, 2024

Pity they haven't got either of the 2 commentaries (done twice in English & German) for the extended version of Nekromantik 2 that is on the German BD.

[jackranderson]

Originally Posted by jmbe

When you finally track down the 4 Arrow LE's of these films and a few weeks later this drops...

What I want to know is:

1) Is all the writing from the 4 LE booklets of the individual films carried over to this new book?

I doubt it, the LE's have a total page count of 320 and this new books got at least some new writing within it's 100 pages.

It's a bizarre choice really but I am tempted even though I own all the LE's.

[ravenus]

Originally Posted by jackranderson

I doubt it, the LE's have a total page count of 320 and this new books got at least some new writing within it's 100 pages.

But it's a larger sized book and may accommodate more text per page.

[jackranderson]

Originally Posted by ravenus

But it's a larger sized book and may accommodate more text per page.

I agree but I doubt it includes 3-4 times as much per page. Maybe Arrow can clarify though? I'd love to be proven wrong.

[T4ffer]

Maybe worth noting here, Arrow is still selling the Love & Death standard edition box set, which includes 4 of the 5 discs AFAIK (I doubt they would redo the discs for this?)



https://www.arrowfilms.com/love-and-.../12702103.html

At the moment it doesn't feel like such a good deal on their website, but I got it for 35€ last year from Amazon. It's still about 40€ there.

[42Chainlink]

I appreciate not everyone is fan of these large booklet-style editions, but with that artwork & Buttgerreit's films, it definitely has a "What's That!?" quality about it for the uninitiated/burgeoning collector scrolling social media.

Does anyone know the print run?

[ravenus]

It's just me, but the idea of plush packaging for films that look like gritty, grungy home movies is a little weird.

[42Chainlink]

Don't worry, with them being an Arrow site exclusive, there's a chance they'll be bashed & bruised by the time they reach the customer.

[fatboyslim142]

Originally Posted by T4ffer

Maybe worth noting here, Arrow is still selling the Love & Death standard edition box set, which includes 4 of the 5 discs AFAIK (I doubt they would redo the discs for this?)



https://www.arrowfilms.com/love-and-.../12702103.html

At the moment it doesn't feel like such a good deal on their website, but I got it for 35€ last year from Amazon. It's still about 40€ there.

The newer set is better as it has the extended version of Nekromantik 2 & Captain Berlin Versus Hitler, the latter of which I don't think has had any BD release elsewhere.

[T4ffer]

Originally Posted by ravenus

It's just me, but the idea of plush packaging for films that look like gritty, grungy home movies is a little weird.

I don't mind. They are surely grungy but they kind of have a timeless artsy quality to them as well. But it is a little weird.

[annubis44]

I've never seen any of these but have always considered giving them a watch. I'm a horror and art house fan but I'm not sure about these or how frequently I would watch them once I've seen them. I assume folks would recommend them?

[T4ffer]

Originally Posted by annubis44

I've never seen any of these but have always considered giving them a watch. I'm a horror and art house fan but I'm not sure about these or how frequently I would watch them once I've seen them. I assume folks would recommend them?

I would recommend to see at least one - perhaps Der Todesking is the best one. They are probably not for everyone so it's hard to recommend blind buying the box set. I think very likely if you like one, you'll like all and if you really don't like one then you won't like none.

I was really surprised by how they seemed more arthouse than splatter, at least compared to what I was expecting. They were made kind of with the intention of making something funny but also the topic of death is kind of serious, so they have both a funny layer and a serious layer. But they do have some pretty gross special effects that are really well made for the most part. Maybe the movies are also elevated by the music, which kind of adds to that more serious morbid mood.

The cinematography has also had some serious consideration even if shot on 8 mm (e.g. Nekromantik) / 16 mm (Der Todesking), they really spent time getting some shots.

Content warning: some of the movies contain footage of skinning animals shot at a farm (I think it was a farm, don't recall exactly).

[jmbe]

Originally Posted by nekromantik

So maybe will wait for standard set

As already covered in the thread, it is highly unlikely there will be a standard set of this that includes disc 5. The Love & Death set is likely to remain the standard set.

Originally Posted by the13thman

What's sticking out in the picture is the book, the discs will be indeed no doubt be laid flat within that just like the Shawscope set, the playing surfaces will not be raised away from the page. It's not as bad as slots/sleeves but it's the next worst thing.

I've looked up the Shawscope set and can see what you mean now. Given the style of this set you're probably right. Seems excessive for only 5 discs though. The Shawscope ones have like 10 don't they?

Originally Posted by jackranderson

I doubt it, the LE's have a total page count of 320 and this new books got at least some new writing within it's 100 pages.

It's a bizarre choice really but I am tempted even though I own all the LE's.

The image provided for this new set has the book open on what is actually the opening essay of the individual Der Todesking book. So I've had a look to see how they compare and extrapolated from there...

[Show spoiler]





Obviously there are formatting differences with the title, but it's two full pages of writing in the smaller book to one in the new book. How the writing on page 2 of the smaller book (blue highlight) translates to the bigger book confirms this.

So, sad as it is, I've gone through the individual booklets to account for dead pages (i.e. images, contents, transfer details, cast lists etc) to get the page count for just the writing/essays.

Nekromantik - 55
Nekromantik 2 - 51
Der Todesking - 27
Schramm - 28

161 pages of actual written content.

So if they were to include all the written content from the older booklets, that's 81 pages in the new book, but probably more like 70-something accounting for the following:

1. Included in my count are pages where the essay ends say a quarter of the way down the page, so this is a top-end estimate.
2. Based on the promotional image, the formatting of the titles means that the first page of an essay in the new book is going to eat in to the third page of the same essay in the corresponding smaller individual book. So again you can shave a few pages off for that fact too.

That leaves 20-something pages for the "new writing", which is likely a single introductory piece from Kerekes, and the comic, which I can confidently predict will only be 6 pages in this release. It was printed in the German mediabook below and I watched a youtuber thumb through it quickly. It was 12 pages of a 'normal' sized booklet.



The credits/specs etc may well appear in the other 'book' housing the discs themselves, but even if they are in the 100 page book, surely that's only a couple of pages max?

All this leads me to believe that actually the vast majority, if not all of it, will be included in the new book. Why wouldn't they include it? They commissioned writers and presumably still hold the rights to it all. Would they choose to exclude some of the writing they paid money for just to include a few extra pages of still photographs? Maybe?

Arrow must know that there are going to be people out there like us who own the 4 LE's and if buying this, won't want to needlessly hold on to them for a couple of essays. Sure, the CD soundtracks aren't included here but I'm not sure how many people really listen to them anyway. I won't miss them, but that's just me.

At worst, I would say a couple of pieces may miss the cut, perhaps some of the re-printed ones where they may have leased the rights on a temporary basis, but I honestly think most of it will be here. Certainly the stuff commissioned specifically by Arrow for the original booklets.

Anyway, I've taken the plunge and pre-ordered it. Even though I know I'm going to hate not being able to shelve it properly, curiosity has gotten the better of me.

Originally Posted by annubis44

I've never seen any of these but have always considered giving them a watch. I'm a horror and art house fan but I'm not sure about these or how frequently I would watch them once I've seen them. I assume folks would recommend them?

Echoing the reply you got from T4ffer, there is some serious artistic merit to these films. In particular Der Todesking. A very meditative film all things considered, with some sequences of surprising pathos. Gross, but fascinatingly so.

Even Nekromantik, with it's surface level trappings of schlock, has something to say. Without spoiling anything, I have never laughed out loud whilst simultaneously being equal parts disgusted and moved at the same time. Had me pondering long after the credits.

I'd say if you are one of those who is able to watch something like Cannibal Holocaust and appreciate the underlying themes and ideas as well as the more overt provocations, then you'll get something out of these films. Another flawed comparison (I'm just riffing off the top of my head here) would be to maybe imagine them as something like Von Trier's Antichrist, minus the pretentiousness and slick production values, with an added injection of the blackest of black humour. Big fan of Von Trier by the way so no shade!

Would highly recommend, but I don't think there's much middle-ground. You'll either 'get it' or you won't. I'd watch in release order though, so Nekromantik then Der Todesking. With such a small filmography, part of the charm is seeing the progression from film to film. Also, the on-disc features on these are some of the best I've seen. Really fascinating interviews, especially if you're interested in the history of film censorship.

On the off chance you do get these and enjoy (if that's the right word!) them, would recommend seeking out the anthology film 'German Angst'. Buttgereit made the first part.