Four Nights of a Dreamer (Robert Bresson)

[easydreamer]

Robert Bresson's Four Nights of a Dreamer (Quatre nuits d'un rêveur, 1971) was released out of nowhere in Japan. This is the first time the film was released in Blu-ray anywhere in the world.

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Four-...lu-ray/156650/

The HD master for this Blu-ray was sourced from the print used for the theatrical re-release in Japan in 2012. This (then) new print was created from OCN, supervised by the cinematographer Pierre Lhomme, according to the back cover. IMAGICA did the restoration and created this new HD master. This Blu-ray was released by the company called "etantje", who had re-released the film in Japan back in 2012.

This release was suggested on the net 3 days ago, and was put on sale yesterday. It was an immediate sellout, sold out in less than 1 hour. This release is only available from etantje via Amazon Japan, and the discs will be stocked at the Amazon warehouse, which allows the buyers to save on shipping if they buy multiple items from Amazon. The price is fixed at ¥5,000 plus tax, and no discount will be available. The film only comes with Japanese subtitles, unfortunately. This is not a limited edition, but etantje might stop pressing more copies once the sale becomes slow. So far the sale number appears to be strong for them, so more copies are to come.

I managed to put it in the cart yesterday, but couldn't make an order due to the immediate sellout. It is said that Amazon will stock more in a day or two, so hopefully I could order it then.

[classicman]

Thanks for letting us know, I'll be sure to pick this up as soon as it goes back in-stock, it's my favorite Bresson.

[easydreamer]

etantje has the website showing the Blu-ray covers, as well as some clips with print damages (which could not be fixed during the restoration).

BTW, there are Japanese Blu-rays of some of the great French films coming out this week, such as Cléo from 5 to 7, Le bonheur & Le samouraï. All of these (& the Bresson film) are in French with Japanese subtitles only, but it will be an exciting week for the French film lovers like me for sure.

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Cleo-...lu-ray/153691/
https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Le-Bo...lu-ray/153690/
https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Le-Sa...lu-ray/152366/

[easydreamer]

Originally Posted by classicman

Thanks for letting us know, I'll be sure to pick this up as soon as it goes back in-stock, it's my favorite Bresson.

It's back in stock at Amazon. It seems that a few hundred copies were sent to the Amazon warehouse this time, so hopefully it lasts longer.

[McCrutchy]

Unfortunately, etantje will not ship to my address.

[easydreamer]

Originally Posted by McCrutchy

Unfortunately, etantje will not ship to my address.

I checked with etanje through someone involved with the release, and their response was that they aren't be able to ship to the foreign address due to the rights issue (or restriction)... This practically made this thread useless unless something changes along the lines, but hopefully the prices for the third party sellers drop more & they are able to ship it overseas.

[Onoladon2]

Just to let you know there are services in Japan that will order from amazon and other sites too and ship to their warehouse and then they ship internationally.
I just found out about them and the one I used to order Four Nights of a Dreamer was zenmarket.jp. I think they are a fairly new site. Shipping to their warehouse was 350 yen and
a commission of 300 yen. Now it is 2000 yen for shipping to the US via EMS.
Some people have said they are more expensive than some of the other services like Tenso which is apparently more popular but they require you to send proof of identity because of a japanese law. That amounts to either a scan of your drivers license or if your address isn't current on your license a license and a bank statement or other document with your name and current address. Then one to two days for verification. I don't know about the other sites that offer this service. I found out about them by searching online and I stumbled onto the communities of people who buy the amiibo toys to life tchotchkes. I mention that because I just wanted to use the word tchotchke.

[easydreamer]

Great to know there are reshipping services in Japan. I didn't realize there were any, but I guess it's natural to think there are

BTW, the Next batch of the Blu-ray is supposed to be coming later next week.

...and I don't even know what tchotchke is

[McCrutchy]

There are plenty of re-sellers in Japan, like Tenso or Buyee, but they obviously all incur costs. That said, considering the film, I would use a re-seller, if this release was better equipped (or English-friendly), but the disc is more than expensive enough already for one BD-25 with no extras, so I can't justify the surcharges. If etantje decides to authorize Amazon to ship their stock outside of Japan, I'll be happy to pick up a copy, unless a better edition is announced elsewhere beforehand.

[RupertPupkin]

wow! screenshots would be really appreciate!
I've seen all Bresson movies except this one.
My favorite are Pickpocket, Au Hasard Balthazar et Une Femme Douce.

some spefs about the transfer would be appreciated too : 1080i or 1080p24.

[easydreamer]

Originally Posted by RupertPupkin

wow! screenshots would be really appreciate!
I've seen all Bresson movies except this one.
My favorite are Pickpocket, Au Hasard Balthazar et Une Femme Douce.

some spefs about the transfer would be appreciated too : 1080i or 1080p24.

I had already updated the specs as much as I could.

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Four-...lu-ray/156650/

Sorry, but I don't have the capability of doing the screen captures. Hope someone who also got the Blu-ray could provide ones. However, you can check 2 clips from the film showing some film damage at the etantje website:

http://etantje.com

I saw the Blu-ray, and the first 5 min or so had the noticeable vertical lines (scratches) in the middle of the screen, but not much after that (they were in the OCN, and could not be repaired). The grains were well managed, and overall it looked quite filmic to me. I had never seen it before, but it was definitely a joyous ride, much lighter in tones than A Man Escaped or Pickpocket.

[McCrutchy]

FYI-- It seems etantje are now shipping copies internationally via Amazon.co.jp. My copy shipped on Monday, and I just received it today.

Here is the direct link to copies sold from etantje on Amazon. The price is ¥5,400 plus Amazon's first-item shipping charge (even if you add the usual items shipped from and sold by Amazon.co.jp themselves, since this is sold by etantje through Amazon, and not Amazon themselves) and orders seem to be limited strictly to one copy:

https://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/B01FXBSXGI/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=AC4LNC03K D92M

Perhaps etantje changed their minds after it seems that a number of other Amazon.co.jp marketplace sellers began listing new copies internationally for profit last week.

[easydreamer]

Originally Posted by McCrutchy

FYI-- It seems etantje are now shipping copies internationally via Amazon.co.jp. My copy shipped on Monday, and I just received it today.

Here is the direct link to copies sold from etantje on Amazon. The price is ¥5,400 plus Amazon's first-item shipping charge (even if you add the usual items shipped from and sold by Amazon.co.jp themselves, since this is sold by etantje through Amazon, and not Amazon themselves) and orders seem to be limited strictly to one copy:

https://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/B01FXBSXGI/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=AC4LNC03K D92M

Perhaps etantje changed their minds after it seems that a number of other Amazon.co.jp marketplace sellers began listing new copies internationally for profit last week.

Great to know etantje started shipping internationally. Hope you like the Blu-ray & it's well worth the price.