The Criterion Collection

[gbm82]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

While watching Diamonds of the Night for the first time, I thought often about Andrei Tarkovsky's 1962 Soviet war film, Ivan's Childhood, and of the 1975 British D-Day movie, Overlord, since this feature-length directorial debut from Němec exudes a similar dreamlike aesthetic that is intercut with instances of gritty verisimilitude. One scene, where the boys are eating a sandwich taken from a farm and begin bleeding from the mouth due to the effect of the bread on their starved digestive systems, is a detail not often shared in such stories. Unlike those two other movies, however, this one sidesteps conventional war themes altogether in favor of an uncluttered depiction of the effects of near-death experiences on the human psyche.

This Criterion Blu-ray delivers a brilliantly filmic transfer and a handful of interview extras outlining the main feature's place in Czech New Wave.

another Owl review, another movie on the wishlist. I kinda hate you sometimes...

[critterdvd]

Originally Posted by gbm82

another Owl review, another movie on the wishlist. I kinda hate you sometimes...

I literally looked this up on amazon right after reading his post :P

[bonehica]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I'm sorry that I don't visit y'all in this thread as often as I used to, but I really enjoyed watching this last night...

[Show spoiler]Two teenage boys escape from a concentration camp transport train and flee into a wintry forest, where they spend days braving unforgiving terrain, suffering from starvation, and avoiding recapture by home guard civilians. During this ordeal, their past lives and future hopes come to light through memory flashbacks and dream visions.

The 1964 Czechoslovakian war drama, Diamonds of the Night, which is based on the camp survivor autobiography, Darkness Has No Shadow, by Arnošt Lustig, is a masterful blend of starkness and surrealism brought to the screen by new wave cinema auteur Jan Němec. With its stunning black-and-white cinematography and non-linear narrative, this film plays out over its 68-minute run time in a leisurely fashion by eschewing overt exposition or political allegory. The opening sequence hits the ground running, in a literal sense, by showing our two protagonists moving on foot from a train into the woods as gunshots sound out behind them. Our only hints that this is a World War II story are their jackets, with, “KL”, the acronym for “Konzentrationslager” (concentration camp), written on the backs, and the memory sequences of one boy's earlier life in Prague.

While watching Diamonds of the Night for the first time, I thought often about Andrei Tarkovsky's 1962 Soviet war film, Ivan's Childhood, and of the 1975 British D-Day movie, Overlord, since this feature-length directorial debut from Němec exudes a similar dreamlike aesthetic that is intercut with instances of gritty verisimilitude. One scene, where the boys are eating a sandwich taken from a farm and begin bleeding from the mouth due to the effect of the bread on their starved digestive systems, is a detail not often shared in such stories. Unlike those two other movies, however, this one sidesteps conventional war themes altogether in favor of an uncluttered depiction of the effects of near-death experiences on the human psyche.

This Criterion Blu-ray delivers a brilliantly filmic transfer and a handful of interview extras outlining the main feature's place in Czech New Wave.

Do you write reviews exclusively here or do you have a website and/or write for a publication?

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by bonehica

Do you write reviews exclusively here or do you have a website and/or write for a publication?

I have a Letterboxd account (same username as on this site), but that’s all. This is just a fun hobby that further enriches my love of cinema.

Great avatar, by the way. I love Social Distortion, and I saw them in concert back in 1991.

[20th Century Boy]

Originally Posted by thatguamguy

At the time I had one, the default was auto-renew, you just had to change that on the website. Is it different now?

Funny. It was never auto renew for me until this year. Anyway, I had to call. I went into the store to see about it, they told me I had to call to get the auto-renew stopped. They didn't mention the website and I haven't visited the website in a minute, so I'm not sure.

[20th Century Boy]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

Abbas Kiarostami this year, WKW, what a time to be alive

Sorry if I missed it. Is he also getting a set? I hope Ray gets one too.

[20th Century Boy]

I guess with rights all over the place, Godard won't be getting a First wave set. Ah well.

[bonehica]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I have a Letterboxd account (same username as on this site), but that’s all. This is just a fun hobby that further enriches my love of cinema.

Great avatar, by the way. I love Social Distortion, and I saw them in concert back in 1991.

Saw them that same year as well. A little venue in Virginia Beach called The Boathouse. Great show!!

[Gacivory]

Originally Posted by 20th Century Boy

Sorry if I missed it. Is he also getting a set? I hope Ray gets one too.

I think his son was talking about the restorations and mentioned a set. No confirmation on time, yet.

[Bates_Motel]

Originally Posted by zw94

And that title was Valkyrie, which nobody is hurting for. It's not going to sell gangbusters whereas a classic like the Eastwood/Leone Trilogy would probably sell a lot better.

Except they know 2 of the 3 discs are awful and badly mis-colored (even with their failed "attempt" to fix TGTBTU), so I don't see them opening up that can of worms with further released of terrible product.

[StarDestroyer52]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

WB is showing confidence in UHD.

An 80 year old movie at that.

That's also The Wizard of Oz too.

[ravenus]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I'm sorry that I don't visit y'all in this thread as often as I used to

Just in case you want to know, these were the posts that happened:

1. When is Criterion getting into UHD?
2. Criterion has shit compression vs I don't watch movies zoomed in at 200%
3. Criterion needs to release a boxset of ________'s movies
4. When's the next sale?

[ravenus]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

WB is showing confidence in UHD.

An 80 year old movie at that.

As I recall they had done 8K scans of the film elements, only the other day I was wondering when this would be announced as a UHD release.

[ShellOilJunior]

The UHD discussion won't go away. Back in 2008 there was push back against Criterion going blu-ray, too. Not on this site but on other forums the most common lines were "I don't see a difference between dvd and blu-ray", "I'm not buying the movie again", and the constant calls for Criterion to release a movie on DVD and blu-ray were met with disgust on sites like Criterion Forum. In 2008/2009 it wasn't a given that every non-Eclipse announcement meant a blu-ray would be released (The Fugitive Kind and Z, for starters).

I think the home video market is like a shark. It needs to keep moving forward and eating or it will die.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

The UHD discussion won't go away. Back in 2008 there was push back against Criterion going blu-ray, too. Not on this site but on other forums the most common lines were "I don't see a difference between dvd and blu-ray", "I'm not buying the movie again", and the constant calls for Criterion to release a movie on DVD and blu-ray were met with disgust on sites like Criterion Forum. In 2008/2009 it wasn't a given that every non-Eclipse announcement meant a blu-ray would be released (The Fugitive Kind and Z, for starters).

I think the home video market is like a shark. It needs to keep moving forward and eating or it will die.

On the bright side, the 4K UHD format, which pretty much gives us 35mm movies in their native resolution, should be the final home video physical format.

The thought of upgrading my existing Criterion Blu-rays to 4K discs sort of breaks my heart, but it won’t be an overnight thing.

I’ve got an older model 4K television that does not have the proper HDMI hookup for 4K UHD disc players, but my standard Blu-rays look marvelous on it, and I’m in no hurry to retire it. Since I know that it’s just a matter of time until that television dies, though, I’ve been buying 4K+Blu-ray combo packs of all of new movies, and have been upgrading older films in my collection (Alien, Blade Runner, 2001, etc.) as finances allow. When I do get a setup to watch the new format, I’ll already have over 100 4K discs sitting around for me to dive into.

The decision to release 4K discs in combo packs with standard Blu-rays was a brilliant one, because the gradual transition has been painless.

[regeyer]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

The decision to release 4K discs in combo packs with standard Blu-rays was a brilliant one, because the gradual transition has been painless.

That was done by most studios with DVD/Blu-Ray Combo Packs. And Criterion tried that. But they failed. Why? Because we have to remember that a large part of Criterion's sales go to DVD only buyers. These people/institutions do not want to pay more to get a Blu_Ray copy they'd never use. So Criterion ditched the dual format releases.

I think Criterion learned from its mistake and won't be trying that again. While I'm sure there are plenty of people who would be willing to spend more for a UHD/Blu-Ray combo, I thing that there are many Criterion customers who would be unwilling to spend the extra $5-$10 for the dual format release. That's why I don't see that happening.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by 20th Century Boy

Sorry if I missed it. Is he also getting a set? I hope Ray gets one too.

Janus are doing retrospective tour of his work, similar to what they did with Bergman last year.

It includes the following:

The Koker Trilogy

WHERE IS THE FRIEND’S HOUSE?
AND LIFE GOES ON
THROUGH THE OLIVE TREES

Feature Films

THE EXPERIENCE
THE TRAVELER
A WEDDING SUIT
CASE NO. 1, CASE NO. 2
FELLOW CITIZEN
FIRST GRADERS
HOMEWORK
CLOSE-UP
TASTE OF CHERRY
SHIRIN
24 FRAMES

Children’s Shorts

THE BREAD AND ALLEY
BREAKTIME
SO CAN I
TWO SOLUTIONS FOR ONE PROBLEM
THE COLORS
HOW TO MAKE USE OF LEISURE TIME
TRIBUTE TO TEACHERS
SOLUTION
TOOTHACHE
ORDERLY OR DISORDERLY
THE CHORUS

I imagine a box set like the one for Bergman would be most fitting here.

[edmoney]

Originally Posted by Bates_Motel

Except they know 2 of the 3 discs are awful and badly mis-colored (even with their failed "attempt" to fix TGTBTU), so I don't see them opening up that can of worms with further released of terrible product.

But Kino actually said that they are looking to regrade the colors of the other two to match that of For a Few Dollars More for a potential UHD set. They are currently doing color tests.

[belcherman]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

On the bright side, the 4K UHD format, which pretty much gives us 35mm movies in their native resolution, should be the final home video physical format.

The thought of upgrading my existing Criterion Blu-rays to 4K discs sort of breaks my heart, but it won’t be an overnight thing.

I’ve got an older model 4K television that does not have the proper HDMI hookup for 4K UHD disc players, but my standard Blu-rays look marvelous on it, and I’m in no hurry to retire it. Since I know that it’s just a matter of time until that television dies, though, I’ve been buying 4K+Blu-ray combo packs of all of new movies, and have been upgrading older films in my collection (Alien, Blade Runner, 2001, etc.) as finances allow. When I do get a setup to watch the new format, I’ll already have over 100 4K discs sitting around for me to dive into.

The decision to release 4K discs in combo packs with standard Blu-rays was a brilliant one, because the gradual transition has been painless.

Good luck. I have an 11 year-old 42" TV that I keep hoping will die so I can justify an upgrade to she who must be consulted. It just keeps chugging along.

[regeyer]

Originally Posted by belcherman

Good luck. I have an 11 year-old 42" TV that I keep hoping will die so I can justify an upgrade to she who must be consulted. It just keeps chugging along.

I've heard that salt water, applied in the right place, at the right quantities, can work wonders.