A Serbian Film (2010)

[Shallow_]

Originally Posted by OrlandoEastwood

I am tempted to get the German Blu-ray to see how coherent it is since 18 minutes are missing. How the hell do you go from 104 min to 86 min?

The germans make some bizarre pron themselves, perhaps they just cut out all the talking

[Mr. Movie Fan]

Originally Posted by OrlandoEastwood

I thought the scene became funny when

[Show spoiler]he popped his dick into that eye socket like the damn splinter from Zombi 2

.

I am tempted to get the German Blu-ray to see how coherent it is since 18 minutes are missing. How the hell do you go from 104 min to 86 min?

I am sure it can be done, but the movie would probably loose all it's humorous grotesquery and become too grim. I imagine the end result would not be unlike "8MM".

[MercsOwnz]

How limited will this be? Will stores sell it?

[Kentai]

Originally Posted by OrlandoEastwood

I am tempted to get the German Blu-ray to see how coherent it is since 18 minutes are missing. How the hell do you go from 104 min to 86 min?

Here's an EDIT REPORT (NSFW) to give you an idea. I think it's "only" cut by about 14 minutes, since the 86 min. runtime is for the PAL DVD running 25fps.

The film is definitely a black comedy, and I did laugh out loud more than once. But it's "comedy" in the same way that A Clockwork Orange, Tetsuo: The Iron Man, and Nekromantik 2 are comedies; I expect that the vast majority of people who aren't already jaded are never going to see the humor past all of the grotesque imagery, and if so that's fine; this wasn't a film made for you any more than the average romantic comedy was not a film made for me.

The defining moment of insight into how serious the filmmakers were taking it all occurs shortly after the film's most infamous sequence. Director Vukmir goes off on his violent rant immediately following the single most disturbing moment this (or probably any other) film has to offer, upset that the hero - who's understandably disgusted - just doesn't see the genius of his vision. ("Don't you understand? We've created a whole new genre!") I really think I was so upset following the first viewing less because of how 'icky' it all was, and more because I was totally unprepared for how smart the film surrounding them was. Just like Requiem for a Dream, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre or Oldboy, it's not the grotesque imagery itself; it's how that imagery was used that makes it powerful.

This isn't a clumsy effort like Last House on the Left or The Guineapigs, it's a real movie made by smart film makers who wanted to test audiences with the most vile sort of satire. A Serbian Film is most certainly offensive, but it's also not violence just for violence's sake. It was taking the framework of 21st century 'Torture Porn' and pushing the limits so hard they've completely broken the genre, and I'm sure that was their intention from the start. Seriously, there's nowhere to go from here but down; even if A Serbian Film didn't "mean it", it still crossed a line, and future film makers are just going to have to explore new avenues to offend audiences.

That bit that the director/producer spouted off about the film being a political allegory has got to be BS, though - it's a commentary on the fight film industry if anything, not Serbia as a nation. (And if it was allegory, I sure as heck don't follow it - but I'm severely ignorant of Serbia's rather bloody civil war, so maybe I'm missing something?) I don't think that matters much though - people have sworn for decades that Pasolini's "Salo" was a commentary on fascism and fast food when it so obviously isn't - it's just a convienant excuse to make a philosophically driven film about libertines sound socially relevant. If overly pretentious critics have to find modern relevancy in a 19th century work of pre-Nietzsche God Is Dead theology masquerading as an encyclopedia of smut to "like" a great film, hey, whatever makes them happy...

[OrlandoEastwood]

Originally Posted by MercsOwnz

How limited will this be? Will stores sell it?

I bet Wal-Mart won't sell it, without a doubt.

[28BlusLater]

Originally Posted by MercsOwnz

How limited will this be? Will stores sell it?

As posted above, I don't think that Wal-Mart will sell it. I will say that it's unlikely for Best Buy to carry it, but if they do, it will just be a few copies they'll have in stock. They definitely won't be filling a shelf with them. I would recommend just getting it online if you really want to buy it since I wouldn't be surprised if no major retailers had it for sale.

[McCrutchy]

Originally Posted by MercsOwnz

How limited will this be? Will stores sell it?

Originally Posted by OrlandoEastwood

I bet Wal-Mart won't sell it, without a doubt.

Originally Posted by 28BlusLater

As posted above, I don't think that Wal-Mart will sell it. I will say that it's unlikely for Best Buy to carry it, but if they do, it will just be a few copies they'll have in stock. They definitely won't be filling a shelf with them. I would recommend just getting it online if you really want to buy it since I wouldn't be surprised if no major retailers had it for sale.

Stores like Target, Wal-Mart, etc. are non-starters since they often refuse to carry any "unrated version" of anything.

I will bet money that this will only be available online through Amazon, Best Buy, and other online vendors; I can't see it in a store at all. Beyond the fact that this movie is incredibly un-PC, retailers are continually shrinking their stock anyway--and don't forget, this is a foreign-language film.

Hell, BB may choose not to offer it at all.

Let's put it this way, if someone finds a new, direct-from-the-manufacturer (i.e. not a special order) copy of this being sold in an American brick and mortar store, I will be shocked.

[Shallow_]

Damn, he only had them on DVD, you know that format with the tapes or someting argh

[DetroitSportsFan]

Originally Posted by 28BlusLater

As posted above, I don't think that Wal-Mart will sell it. I will say that it's unlikely for Best Buy to carry it, but if they do, it will just be a few copies they'll have in stock. They definitely won't be filling a shelf with them. I would recommend just getting it online if you really want to buy it since I wouldn't be surprised if no major retailers had it for sale.

I saw Faces Of Death on the shelf at BB a few months ago, so it's possible they will have it (but likely in very small quantities).

[28BlusLater]

Originally Posted by DetroitSportsFan

I saw Faces Of Death on the shelf at BB a few months ago, so it's possible they will have it (but likely in very small quantities).

If they do carry it, not only will it be limited to a very small amount of copies, but I'm sure that it will be limited to certain locations. With titles like these, I notice that BB doesn't always carry them at all locations.

[Kentai]

Originally Posted by McCrutchy

Stores like Target, Wal-Mart, etc. are non-starters since they often refuse to carry any "unrated version" of anything.

I've seen plenty of Unrated DVDs at Wal-Marts in my area. As I understand it it's basically up to the store manager - if they don't think selling an Unrated version is an issue, it simply isn't an issue. Most studios get around that nowadays by putting both the Rated and Unrated versions on the same disc anyway.

The bigger issue is that when you sell a DVD/BD at Wal-Mart and Best Buy and the like, it's usually not like they pay you for a thousand copies and that's the end of it. You actually have to pay them for that spot on the shelf first, and then guarantee them X number of copies so they'll never not have it in stock (because then they look bad). And by the way, if they don't sell out of "X" (and they really aren't even trying to), they return the unsold stock to you. What's that? You don't need 245,000 copies of A Serbian Film back because you'll never sell that many of them? Well! In that case we'll keep the stock we didn't sell, discount it to almost nothing, and then we'll give you a credit next time you want to sell another title on our shelves. Best of luck!

That's how it used to go down, anyway - maybe things are better now, I'm not certain. In any case, big retail space just isn't a fun place for a small distributor. Studios like Fox and Warner Brothers can afford to play these games, but guys like Invincible Pictures sure can't.

[OrlandoEastwood]

Originally Posted by McCrutchy

Stores like Target, Wal-Mart, etc. are non-starters since they often refuse to carry any "unrated version" of anything.

The Target I work at carries unrated versions, but this is something I doubt we'd carry in store, possibly target.com would sell it. A lot of Blu-rays end up at the website.

[McCrutchy]

Even so, I'm pretty certain this won't be available from those stores because it's a foreign film. I can never find any of Magnolia's releases, for example, in my Best Buy, Wal-Mart or Target. Even the Sony Pictures Classics titles appear in small quantities, if at all.

I'm pretty sure the combined factors of being a foreign-language film that is rife with objectionable content and being released by a small distributor, will keep A Serbian Film off store shelves in this country, at least until the market is saturated with copies a few months after release.

[Icemouth]

Originally Posted by Kentai

Here's an EDIT REPORT (NSFW) to give you an idea. I think it's "only" cut by about 14 minutes, since the 86 min. runtime is for the PAL DVD running 25fps.

The film is definitely a black comedy, and I did laugh out loud more than once. But it's "comedy" in the same way that A Clockwork Orange, Tetsuo: The Iron Man, and Nekromantik 2 are comedies; I expect that the vast majority of people who aren't already jaded are never going to see the humor past all of the grotesque imagery, and if so that's fine; this wasn't a film made for you any more than the average romantic comedy was not a film made for me.

The defining moment of insight into how serious the filmmakers were taking it all occurs shortly after the film's most infamous sequence. Director Vukmir goes off on his violent rant immediately following the single most disturbing moment this (or probably any other) film has to offer, upset that the hero - who's understandably disgusted - just doesn't see the genius of his vision. ("Don't you understand? We've created a whole new genre!") I really think I was so upset following the first viewing less because of how 'icky' it all was, and more because I was totally unprepared for how smart the film surrounding them was. Just like Requiem for a Dream, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre or Oldboy, it's not the grotesque imagery itself; it's how that imagery was used that makes it powerful.

This isn't a clumsy effort like Last House on the Left or The Guineapigs, it's a real movie made by smart film makers who wanted to test audiences with the most vile sort of satire. A Serbian Film is most certainly offensive, but it's also not violence just for violence's sake. It was taking the framework of 21st century 'Torture Porn' and pushing the limits so hard they've completely broken the genre, and I'm sure that was their intention from the start. Seriously, there's nowhere to go from here but down; even if A Serbian Film didn't "mean it", it still crossed a line, and future film makers are just going to have to explore new avenues to offend audiences.

That bit that the director/producer spouted off about the film being a political allegory has got to be BS, though - it's a commentary on the fight film industry if anything, not Serbia as a nation. (And if it was allegory, I sure as heck don't follow it - but I'm severely ignorant of Serbia's rather bloody civil war, so maybe I'm missing something?) I don't think that matters much though - people have sworn for decades that Pasolini's "Salo" was a commentary on fascism and fast food when it so obviously isn't - it's just a convienant excuse to make a philosophically driven film about libertines sound socially relevant. If overly pretentious critics have to find modern relevancy in a 19th century work of pre-Nietzsche God Is Dead theology masquerading as an encyclopedia of smut to "like" a great film, hey, whatever makes them happy...

What, you're telling me various forms of rape aren't a clever allegory for various forms of rape?

....oh, right, it's not. I don't understand why he even tried to make the movie seem "deep" when it's clearly exactly what it is and nothing more.

[totentanz]

My copy arrived from Sweden in just 5 days. I ordered it from http://serbianfilm.net Johan is great to deal with! He has 25 more copies in stock. Now on to subtitling this puppy in English

[Shallow_]

Originally Posted by totentanz

My copy arrived from Sweden in just 5 days. I ordered it from http://serbianfilm.net Johan is great to deal with! He has 25 more copies in stock. Now on to subtitling this puppy in English

Glad you finally got hold of a copy

[Joe Mama]

Originally Posted by Icemouth

What, you're telling me various forms of rape aren't a clever allegory for various forms of rape?

....oh, right, it's not. I don't understand why he even tried to make the movie seem "deep" when it's clearly exactly what it is and nothing more.

When did you go to school, 1942? LOL.

[OrlandoEastwood]

The Germans have a "Black Version" of the film which is the full uncut version. The listing for it was just put up on Bluray-disc.de. http://www.bluray-disc.de/blu-ray-fi...n-blu-ray-disc

[DetroitSportsFan]

Originally Posted by OrlandoEastwood

The Germans have a "Black Version" of the film which is the full uncut version. The listing for it was just put up on Bluray-disc.de. http://www.bluray-disc.de/blu-ray-fi...n-blu-ray-disc

A digibook? That could be interesting.

[OrlandoEastwood]

Originally Posted by DetroitSportsFan

A digibook? That could be interesting.

It should be a digibook that comes with some Bull Aphrodisiac.