Rossellini: The War Trilogy (Limited to 3,000 Copies) - March 23, 2015

[Mansinthe]

Originally Posted by Judex

Moved to March 30th now.

lol...

[Pieter V]

Roberto Rossellini: The War Trilogy – 4K restorations of Rome Open City (1945), Paisa (1946) and Germany Year Zero (1948), plus Rossellini’s 1948 rarity L’amore, all on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK. The trilogy will also be available in stand-alone DVD editions (March)

http://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/n...ses-early-2015

[tenia]

It's going to be released (normally...) in 5 weeks, and I'm surprised the official specs are still expected, especially regarding extras.

[Eny-]

I will wait for the Criterion upgrade.

[Norbie]

Originally Posted by Eny-

I will wait for the Criterion upgrade.

As usual it will be interesting to see how the transfers compare. I already have the Criterion DVD so I don't think I'll be getting the BD version. If there are significant extras that are different on the BFI release I'd be very tempted to get it.

Talking about it is giving me the urge to revisit these movies again right now.

[Judex]

Originally Posted by tenia

It's going to be released (normally...) in 5 weeks, and I'm surprised the official specs are still expected, especially regarding extras.

The separate DVD releases which are also out on March 30th. Have these two listed as extras. I'm assuming they'll be in the boxset.

Into the Future (2009, Tag Gallagher, 30 mins): a visual essay on the War Trilogy by film scholar Tag Gallagher

The Children of Open City (2006, Laura Muscardin, 52 mins): a documentary made for the 60th anniversary of Rome, Open City featuring Vito Annicchiarico visiting key locations and sharing memories of the shoot

[tenia]

Thanks, I admit I didn't think checking if the DVD listing was more complete.

[Vakulinchuk]

Does anyone know if the blurays published in various countries (in Italy by Flamingo video, see database) already use these 4k restorations as their source?

Also, is it too late to publicly ask to some kind soul working at BFI to double check that these discs have their colour space correctly set to 16-235 instead of the plain wrong 0-255? Thanks!

[RetroAlarm]

The entry at Amazon UK now has more details:

Product Description
ROBERTO ROSSELLINI: THE WAR TRILOGY (Limited Edition numbered blu-ray box set)
Films by Roberto Rossellini

Rossellini's celebrated trilogy, made during and immediately after the Second World War, is available for the first time on Blu-ray in the UK in this limited- edition box set. Rome, Open City, Paisà and Germany Year Zero provide heart-rending depictions of a Europe savaged by war, the struggles faced by ordinary people and the hope that endures, establishing Roberto Rossellini as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of all time.

Rome, Open City
Italy | 1945 | 1.33:1 | black and white | 103 minutes

Paisà
Italy | 1946 | 1.33:1 | black and white | 125 minutes

Germany Year Zero
Germany, Italy | 1948 | 1.33:1 | black and white | 73 minutes

Special features

• Newly remastered presentations
• L'amore (Roberto Rossellini, 1948, 80 minutes): Rossellini's controversial two- part anthology film showcasing the manifold talents of Anna Magnani. The first part, A Human Voice is written by Jean Cocteau, and the second, The Miracle, is written by Federico Fellini, who also puts in an acting appearance
• Children of Open City (Laura Muscardin, 2005, 53 mins): a documentary featuring Vito Annicchiarico visiting key locations from Rome, Open City and sharing memories of the shoot
• Into the Future (Tag Gallagher, 2009, 32 mins): visual essay on the War Trilogy by film scholar Tag Gallagher
• Fully illustrated booklet featuring new writings by Tag Gallagher, Geoffrey Nowell-Smith and Jonathan Rosenbaum, and full film credits

Italian, German and English language, with optional English subtitles | BD50 x 3 | 1080p | 24fps | PCM mono audio (48k/24-bit) | Cert 12 (moderate violence) | Region B Blu-ray

Review

Rome, Open City - Rossellini's study of resistance, shot in war-ravaged Rome in 1945, is a masterpiece --Mark Kemode - Observer

Paisa - This is a film to be seen - and seen again --New York Times

Germany Year Zero - An uncomfortable, powerful film --Kim Newman, Empire

[Bates_Motel]

Originally Posted by Eny-

I will wait for the Criterion upgrade.

What sucks is Criterion was already releasing blu-rays at the time and opted to go DVD only because they claimed the source materials at the time weren't in good enough shape to "warrant" the upgrade. Waste of a DVD purchase for me.

[nitin]

Originally Posted by Bates_Motel

What sucks is Criterion was already releasing blu-rays at the time and opted to go DVD only because they claimed the source materials at the time weren't in good enough shape to "warrant" the upgrade. Waste of a DVD purchase for me.

But this restoration was not availble when they released the dvds, so even if they put it out on blu then, it would have looked inferior.

[Yami]

It's a shame that it loses the bulk of the Criterion extras (Once Upon a Time...Rome Open City and the Rossellini introductions will be missed). Still very excited for it though - the transfers should be far superior to previous releases and L'amore is very much appreciated.

[tama]

Got my pre-order in. Never know when Criterion will announce or release there own set. And considering this is a limited set...

Looks like new release date is April 6th 2015

[Judex]

DVDBeaver have a review of this up.

[tama]

I take it this release is region locked? If it is glad I'm region free

[kuro_sawa]

Originally Posted by tama

I take it this release is region locked? If it is glad I'm region free

It's region B.

[Judex]

Apparently this is going to be £32.99 in HMV.

[TomN245]

Unavailable on Amazon and not showing on Zavvi. Could it be selling out already?

[rapta]

Originally Posted by TomN245

Unavailable on Amazon and not showing on Zavvi. Could it be selling out already?

I hope not! I was about to cancel it and buy it in a month or two instead...I wonder if it's just a stock hiccup?

[tama]

Well. My pre-order has a scheduled ship date of Tuesday March 31st. We'll see what happens.