The Official Eureka / Masters of Cinema (MoC) Thread

[criticalblur]

Is there a chance for Eureka (or another boutique label) to release The profound desires of the gods in the near future? It's a formidable movie and I need it in my personal collection.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by criticalblur

Is there a chance for Eureka (or another boutique label) to release The profound desires of the gods in the near future? It's a formidable movie and I need it in my personal collection.

Eureka did release it in the past, but it's OOP now. You'll have to seek it out from a third party most likely.

[criticalblur]

Oh... yeah. I forgot to mention that I saw it received a 4K restoration recently (and it looks stunning) so I wondered if it could be reissued:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kssYZjaA6Q

https://intl.nikkatsu.com/sales/152.html

[Dailyan]

Originally Posted by criticalblur

Is there a chance for Eureka (or another boutique label) to release The profound desires of the gods in the near future? It's a formidable movie and I need it in my personal collection.

I can’t imagine Eureka trying to reacquire it but I could see Radiance potentially doing a reissue.

[rapta]

Originally Posted by Dailyan

I can’t imagine Eureka trying to reacquire it but I could see Radiance potentially doing a reissue.

Yeah possibly, especially since Fran was presumably at least part behind Arrow’s Imamura set (which revisited The Ballad of Narayama).

Eureka are definitely on board with the Toei catalogue now - I’ve been assured more are coming, and not just things like Revenge and Samurai Wolf - so I imagine most of their upcoming Japanese titles will be fresh, both to the English-speaking market and home video in general. Exciting in its own way!

Does make me wonder if other labels will revisit some of these key directors though. Radiance seem like the most likely label to do that at this point, and I imagine they’ll at least scour the gaps not yet filled by other UK boutiques, whether it’s Imamura, Oshima, Kobayashi, Fukasaku, Suzuki, or other directors we’ve been somewhat deprived of before now (on Blu-ray at least; Teshigahara or Shinoda, for example). Feel like if there’s interest then those bigger names can act as tentpoles for some of the deeper cuts, as they may flounder on their own, as has been the case in the past (for anything that’s not yakuza, kaiju, horror or exploitation at least).

[Nazca]

Originally Posted by Yami

It seems unlikely that Eureka will explore Murnau Stiftung's catalog with much gumption in the future but I do hope that they release the recent Helmut Kautner restorations

I have a feeling that Eureka will release more Murnau Stiftung restorations, especially of Weimar and maybe some Imperial German-Era Films. However, I feel they only have so much to release, I can see a Surviving Early Works of Fritz Lang (1919-1921) Set, other works by Arnold Fanck, the Christian Wahnschaffe Duology (1920-1921), Carmen (1918), and obviously, Asphalt (1928/1929), just to name a few. I also fully agree that it would be amazing if Eureka released some of Helmut Käutner's films, truly some excellent works waiting to get some English-friendly Region B releases! I'll also add that if Eureka doesn't explore Murnau Stiftung's catalog as much, I would love to see Eureka license from other German archives such as the Deutsche Kinemathek, Filmmuseum München, and DFF – Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum more often, so many films that are begging to be released. It'd also be nice to see some of Filmmuseum München's restorations released on Blu-ray as well, one example I will always love using is F.W. Murnau's earliest surviving film, Der Gang in die Nacht (1920/1921).

Also, in regards to the Profound Desires of the Gods (1968) discussion, I have a good feeling that 4K Restoration will be released soon seeing that it was released on Blu-ray in Japan (Not English-friendly) via Happinet as apart of Nikkatsu's 110th Anniversary.

[hilderic523]

Personally, I hope Eureka releases Douglas Sirk's German melodramas (The Final Chord, To New Shores, La Habanera) someday. I'd also welcome Helmut Käutner's films (Romance in a Minor Key, Port of Freedom, Under the Bridges).

[Yami]

I couldn't agree more with you both. Kino have released some of the titles being discussed but their releases, while I certainly value them, seem to be relatively low effort - just commissioning an audio commentary and no other supplemental material for films that would really benefit from contextualising extras.

I've been watching all the Kautner films I can find over the past few weeks and the run of four films he had from We Make Music, Romance in a Minor Key, Port of Freedom, and Under the Bridges has to be one of the most impressive in cinema - especially so considering the circumstances under which he made them. FWMS recently restored over a dozen of his works.

[trobrianders]

Originally Posted by Yami

I couldn't agree more with you both. Kino have released some of the titles being discussed but their releases, while I certainly value them, seem to be relatively low effort - just commissioning an audio commentary and no other supplemental material for films that would really benefit from contextualising extras.

We appreciate contextualising extras but we also like a label to release a high volume of much loved and anticipated titles. As with much in life there's a trade off. Kino's fans are mostly happy with the trade off Kino strike. I am too.

I'd say, these days, there's extras fatigue (same faces, same ideas, that seem to be narrowing all the time) whereas no one tires of a packed release schedule.

[wabrit]

Originally Posted by trobrianders

We appreciate contextualising extras but we also like a label to release a high volume of much loved and anticipated titles. As with much in life there's a trade off. Kino's fans are mostly happy with the trade off Kino strike. I am too.

I'd say, these days, there's extras fatigue (same faces, same ideas, that seem to be narrowing all the time) whereas no one tires of a packed release schedule.

There's generally plenty of contextualising info out on the interwebs if I have the time and motivation to follow it up, which suits me better than hours of extras, photo-padded essays and audio commentaries. The film's the thing.

[CelestialAgent]

It definitely depends on the film as some will have original research or quote from long OOP books you can’t find online. But definitely not the case for everything.

Speaking of early Lang, the German Blu-ray of Hilde Warren und der Tod from Ostalgica, which he scripted, includes English subtitles.

https://bluray-disc.de/blu-ray-news/...ray_im_digipak

[Rutger Lundgren]

Originally Posted by wabrit

There's generally plenty of contextualising info out on the interwebs if I have the time and motivation to follow it up, which suits me better than hours of extras, photo-padded essays and audio commentaries. The film's the thing.

I appreciate good extras, although not all films need them, and those we get are not always good. I also like to see many films released, but it also stresses me out, because I can invest only so much of my time and money. As with everything in life, striking a good balance is key.

[trobrianders]

Originally Posted by Rutger Lundgren

I appreciate good extras, although not all films need them, and those we get are not always good.

The business of extras; a cottage industry and an echo chamber. Incestuous and fearful of outsiders. Unsurprising the extras we get are not always good.

[Yami]

I don't have 'extras fatigue'. On the contrary, well curated releases are why I still collect physical media as opposed to digital files. Thankfully, it now feels like more labels than ever before agree with me. Kino's model has its pros and cons, but there's a reason that I usually wait to pick up their releases when they're $9.99 in a sale (and do so in large quantities!) whereas I'm happy to buy titles I want from Second Run, Second Sight, BFI, Indicator, or Eureka at full price.

I don't think every film necessarily warrants or needs that kind of treatment, but the Third Reich-era Sirk and Kautner films are even more remarkable the more you learn about their production.

[Nazca]

Originally Posted by trobrianders

We appreciate contextualising extras but we also like a label to release a high volume of much loved and anticipated titles. As with much in life there's a trade off. Kino's fans are mostly happy with the trade off Kino strike. I am too.

I'd say, these days, there's extras fatigue (same faces, same ideas, that seem to be narrowing all the time) whereas no one tires of a packed release schedule.

I agree that it seems like a lot of people, especially people that enjoy/appreciate Kino Lorber a lot are happy with the trade off. I will say, I personally don't believe that there's some kind of "extras fatigue' going on. I feel it's more that people are okay if there's little to no extras, as long as the film/restoration/transfer is good. Eureka has some fantastic releases that don't have many extras such as Kwaidan (1964), Execution in Autumn (1972), Das Indische Grabmal (1921), Fellini Satyricon (1969), etc. They may not have many extras, in fact, they have very little in that department, but I feel they are some of Eureka's best releases in my honest opinion.

I do also feel that in regards to extras, people want more interesting/out there extras that are more worthwhile and that can't be easily accessed outside of the release. Eureka's releases of Fehérlófia (1981), Vampyr (1932), The Saphead (1920), Buster Keaton's Our Hospitality/Go West/College (1923/1925/1927), and Das Wachsfigurenkabinett (1924) for example have some of the greatest and most interesting extras that make those releases even more worthwhile. That and they are extras that I personally feel a lot of people would actually be interested in. Hell, I feel even incomplete reconstructions of films such as Der Golem (1915), short films such as Die ideale Gattin (1913), as well as surviving film fragments like The Case of Lena Smith (1929) and Sterbende Völker (1922) make for more interesting extras.

That Hilde Warren und der Tod (1917) release looks quite interesting, makes for a great pairing with Pest in Florenz (1919).

Anyway, that's just my personal opinion, and I'll be off for a while. Good day.
Also, Eureka, if you all could do a "Complete Surviving Early Works of Fritz Lang" Set, that would be great.

[theater dreamer]

What I really want in 2023 is a Eureka release for this.

[trobrianders]

Originally Posted by Yami

I don't have 'extras fatigue'. On the contrary, well curated releases are why I still collect physical media as opposed to digital files. Thankfully, it now feels like more labels than ever before agree with me. Kino's model has its pros and cons, but there's a reason that I usually wait to pick up their releases when they're $9.99 in a sale (and do so in large quantities!) whereas I'm happy to buy titles I want from Second Run, Second Sight, BFI, Indicator, or Eureka at full price.

I don't think every film necessarily warrants or needs that kind of treatment, but the Third Reich-era Sirk and Kautner films are even more remarkable the more you learn about their production.

Forgive me but I don't follow how citing one or two examples of great extras packages negates 'extras fatigue' more generally. I could compile a long list of titles with great extras that have enhanced my viewing pleasure. I say 'extras fatigue' in relation to frustration with an ever-narrowing range of views in a growing number of extras packages. I think that narrowing is unmistakeable. For example I'm certain the average fan of Golden Era Hollywood doesn't want their enjoyment of a film 'enhanced' by yet more lectures about the patriarchy. Not because they're not contextualising but because thay're so very narrow in their interpretations. Groupthink has its fanatical defenders but reasonable people are turned off by it.

[CouncilSpectre]

Originally Posted by theater dreamer

What I really want in 2023 is a Eureka release for this.

#1 on my wishlist. Has been for ages.

I imported the DE disc when it was released and muxed in the English subs, but I'd happily double dip on a Eureka/Boutique release.

[Tiger Tanaka]

have eureka (or some retailers) started shipping run man run?

[Ben_C]

Originally Posted by Tiger Tanaka

have eureka (or some retailers) started shipping run man run?

I received my copy on the 14th of January.