Polish classics

[schweizergarde]

Originally Posted by GeorgeP12

I bought the disks from http://www.punkt44.pl. The site is English friendly (just press "English" button).

Wish information like this can be added to "recommend vendor". Thanks.

[retask]

Im keeping my eyes open for The Hour-Glass Sanatorium on Blu-ray.

But the film Im really missing is The Saragossa Manuscript. I have it on DVD, but have never watched it. Now that Ive heard its coming on Blu, I cant watch the dvd. No way.

[retask]

Any new films here?

[djvaso]

I sent them an e-mail regarding Wojciech Has movies but there is no replay and very likely won't be.

[Lucy Diamond]

Just subscribed.

I have a particular interest in Poland.
My oldest friend was born there, and I spent a month there in 1998.

Beautiful country and amazing experiences.

There is a very specific cheese that is found in the mountains that makes me sing when I eat it!!!

[polskaforever]

Any new Polish movies coming out?

[polskaforever]

Originally Posted by Lucy Diamond

Just subscribed.

I have a particular interest in Poland.
My oldest friend was born there, and I spent a month there in 1998.

Beautiful country and amazing experiences.

There is a very specific cheese that is found in the mountains that makes me sing when I eat it!!!

I am glad you really had a good time in Poland. I was there in 1998 and 2006. Its worth revisiting again since so much has changed

[djvaso]

Ashes & Diamonds [Blu-ray] is planned on 21 March, 2011
Amazon pre-order

[toddly6666]

Here's a polish dvd/blu-ray store in Greenpoint Brooklyn. But so far, they only carry 2 Polish blu-rays: http://www.musicplanet.cc/catalog/index.php?cPath=3_79

[toddly6666]

Originally Posted by MichaelB

If I interpret this page correctly, the current trickle of Polish classics on Blu-ray is about to become a flood, namely:

Second Quarter 2010

Salto (d. Tadeusz Konwicki, 1965)
The Hourglass Sanatorium (Sanatorium pod klepsydrą, d. Wojciech J. Has, 1973)
Kogel-Mogel (d. Roman Zaluski, 1988)
Kogel-Mogel II (Galimatias, czyli kogel-mogel II, d. Roman Zaluski, 1989)
Va Banque (Vabank, d. Juliusz Machulski, 1981)
Va Banque II (Vabank II, czyli riposta, d. Juliusz Machulski, 1984)
Sex Mission (Seksmisja, d. Juliusz Machulski, 1984)

Third Quarter 2010

Knights of the Teutonic Order (Krzyżacy, d. Aleksander Ford, 1962)
The Saragossa Manuscript (Rękopis znaleziony w Saragossie, d. Wojciech J. Has, 1965)
The Last Day of Summer (Ostatni dzień lata, d. Tadeusz Konwicki, 1958)
All Souls' Day (Zaduszki, d. Tadeusz Konwicki, 1961)
Panic on a Train (Ludzie z Pociągu, d. Kazimierz Kutz, 1961)
The Great Shark (Wielki Szu, d. Sylwester Checiński, 1982)
Eroica (d. Andrzej Munk, 1958)
No-one Cries Out (Nikt nie woła, d. Kazimierz Kutz, 1960)
Nights and Days (Noce i dnie (d. Jerzy Antczak, 1975) - not clear whether this is the full TV series or the feature-film spin-off
Pharoah (Faraon, d. Jerzy Kawalerowicz, 1965)
Goodbye Till Tomorrow (Do widzenia, do jutra, d. Janusz Morgenstern, 1960)
The Doll (Lalka, d. Wojciech J. Has, 1969)

I'm not 100% certain that these are all Blu-rays, but this company Pro-motion doesn't seem to have released anything on any other format, and they did say they were prepping 20 hi-def restorations. I just wasn't expecting them to be anything like this imminent.

Not that that's a complaint, mind.

Have all of the above movies been released on Polish blu-ray and is currently for sale?

[Sundance]

According to the punkt44.pl store none of the discs listed as second quarter 2010 have been released yet.

[toddly6666]

Originally Posted by MichaelB

None of them - which doesn't really surprise me, as that slate looked a trifle ambitious.

That's messed up. How can a company advertise so many blu-rays earlier in the year and not one of them come out? What a tease! That's something more like what a Russian or Indian company would do...I wouldn't think Poland would tease people like that since they have a pretty solid DVD industry!

Is this Polish blu-ray company even still in business?

I'm dying to get Hourglass and Pharoa!

[unclemat]

They are, although their webpage was disappearing and reappearing over the last few months. It's address is:

http://www.pro-motion.com.pl/

Click on "Nasze Plany 2010" (our 2010 plans) and they still list most of the movies originally annouced (but not all).

I was thinking about giving them a call since the wait is indeed annoying.

[retask]

Originally Posted by unclemat

They are, although their webpage was disappearing and reappearing over the last few months. It's address is:

http://www.pro-motion.com.pl/

Click on "Nasze Plany 2010" (our 2010 plans) and they still list most of the movies originally annouced (but not all).

I was thinking about giving them a call since the wait is indeed annoying.

Couldnt you please give them a call?

[unclemat]

I called them today. They are unable to give any dates. At least "two-three months", but nothing definitive. Apparently they have not received the source materials so nothing firm. The good news is that they still expect to release all that is listed on their webpage.

[highdeffer]

Hi,
Does anyone know if there are BR releases planned for:


Krzysztof Kieślowski's The Decalogue (Dekalog)

AND

The Maids of Wilko (Panny z Wilka) by Andrzej Wajda

Also, is there a high quality BR release yet of the Three Colors trilogy? I've seen the box set which includes The Double Life of Veronique, but the "Color" discs were canned as being well below the quality of the Veronique disc. Alternatively, can you buy good releases of the Color trilogy as separate titles? My objective is to have each of these titles as the best releases avilable, so I don't mind buying them as separate titles.


Thany you

[unclemat]

Three Colors have been released in France, albeit in 1080i, I believe. They are not horrible I read (don't have them). Check this thread:

https://forum.blu-ray.com/france/146...veronique.html

Decalogue wasn't, and I would be surprised if it was anytime soon. Same for The Maids of Wilko.

[unclemat]

I just found we should not expect any more releases any time soon from Pro-motion. Not clear why exactly, but the problem is not with them but more on the side of the entity performing the restoration (kinorp.pl). Huge disappointment. So no dates, no ETA.

There are some releases on DVD included with Gazeta Wyborcza, biggest Polish daily newspaper. This is a common phenomenon in Poland since a sale of a movie included with a printed material isn't taxed (or taxed on a lower rate).

What a shame. At least from what I heard, the interest in the blu-ray releases met expectations, so it's not an issue of lack of market for such titles. I believe public funds had a part in paying for the restoration, so that's truly a rub that this work is not made available in blu-ray.

[unclemat]

Found the info about the DVD "books" issued by Agora (Gazeta Wyborcza). It is my speculation but it is pretty clear these bullies demanded exclusive rights to release these movies on DVD first, cutting off Pro-motion. Really a shame. I am not interested in DVDs, so I am not going give any $$$ to Agora. Since the movies are restored and available in digital form I hope sooner or later we will get blu-ray releases of them.

http://kulturalnysklep.pl/MPK/prcl/k...ego-kina-.html

Note, the list mixes up directors with actors or even score composers (how clueless one needs to be to do that?):

1. Andrzej Wajda „Popiól i diament” - 5 march
2. Zbigniew Cybulski „Rekopis znaleziony w Saragossie” - 12 march
3. Leon Niemczyk „Pociag” -19 march
4. Franciszek Pieczka "Austeria” - 26 march
5. Andrzej Lapicki „Salto” - 2 april
6. Wojciech Jerzy Has „Sanatorium pod Klepsydra” - 9 april
7. Lucyna Winnicka „Matka Joanna od Aniolów” -16 april
8. Jerzy Stuhr „Seksmisja” - 23 april
9. Krzysztof Komeda „Do widzenia, do jutra” - 30 april
10. Janusz Morgenstern „Trzeba zabic te milosc” - 8 may
11. Elzbieta Czyzewska „Giuseppe w Warszawie” - 14 may
12. Tadeusz Konwicki „Ostatni dzien lata” - 21 may
13. Jan Machulski „Vabank” - 28 may
14. Leonard Pietraszak „Vabank II” - 4 june
15. Tadeusz Lomnicki „Niewinni czarodzieje” - 11 june
16. Edward Dziewonski „Eroica” - 18 june
17. Jan Nowicki „Wielki Szu” - 25 june
18. Jerzy Kawalerowicz „Faraon” - 2 july
19. Daniel Olbrychski „Jowita” - 9 july
20. Wojciech Pszoniak „Wesele” - 16 july

[unclemat]

No, I don't think that's smart, even if apparently intentional. It's like publishing a series of books, and putting the editor's name on one of them, because the author's name has been already placed on one. It's so dumb, only a clueless marketing type can come up with. However important Komeda's music is for "Do widzenia, do jutra", should the movie be labeled exclusively with his name? I don't think so.

And the whole release is a tax fraud. Movies disguised as books to evade VAT tax. All it means the movies won't be available thru regular channels, and because of it the originally planned blu-ray releases will be delayed, if not canceled.

Granted the cheaper releases and distribution via newsstand kiosks ("books" attached to the newspaper) may mean these movies will reach a wider audience, but that also means - at least for the time being - the movies are being denied proper presentation.