Archive for the 'Flicker Alley' Category
September 4th, 2020 by Gerard Iribe
Eureka Entertainment to release WAXWORKS, Paul Leni’s expressionist anthology masterpiece, on Blu-ray presented from a new 2K restoration on home video for the first time in the UK. Available as a part of The Masters of Cinema Series November 9, 2020. The first print run of 2000 copies will be presented with a Limited Edition O-Card Slipcase. As there is no surviving original negative of Waxworks, this newly restored edition—a joint effort by the Deutsche Kinemathek and Cineteca di Bologna, L’Immagine Ritrovata (with funding from the German Commission for Culture and the Media)—is composed of contemporary prints and additional film materials from archives around the world. The elements, including English intertitles, were scanned in 4K resolution and then restored in 2K. Presented by The Masters of Cinema Series and Flicker Alley in a special Blu-ray edition, there is an option of two new scores to accompany the film: one by the Ensemble Musikfabrik (commissioned by ZDF/ARTE), and the second by composer Richard Siedhoff. Continue reading ‘‘Waxworks’ on Blu-ray November 9!’
August 21st, 2020 by Gerard Iribe
Waxworks (Das Wachsfigurenkabinett) was the final film Paul Leni directed in Germany before striking out for Hollywood, where he made such classic genre films as The Cat and the Canary, The Man Who Laughs, and The Last Warning. Its sophisticated medley of genres was in fact what inspired Universal s Carl Laemmle to invite Leni to come to Hollywood, as Laemmle was hoping to capitalize on the emerging comedy-horror craze of the 1920s. Stylistically, Waxworks was celebrated as a late example of German Expressionism. Its stylized sets (designed by Leni), fantastical costumes, chiaroscuro lighting, and startlingly bold performances are characteristic of that cinematic movement and contribute to the film’s lasting appeal. As the original German version of Waxworks) has not survived, this newly restored English edition – a joint effort by the Deutsche Kinemathek and Cineteca di Bologna, L Immagine Ritrovata (with funding from the German Commission for Culture and the Media) – is composed of vintage exports prints and additional film materials from archives around the world. The elements, including English intertitles, were scanned in 4K resolution and then restored in 2K. Presented by Flicker Alley and Eureka Entertainment in a Blu-ray/DVD dual-format edition, there is an option of two scores to accompany the film: a new piano score by Richard Siedhoff and a new instrumental score by Bernd Schultheis, Olav Lervik, and Jan Kohl, commissioned by ZDF/ARTE and performed by Ensemble Musikfabrik. Continue reading ‘‘Waxworks’ [Flicker Alley] on Blu-ray November 17!’
June 5th, 2020 by Gerard Iribe
Based on the controversial and best-selling novel by Hugo Bettauer, H.K. Breslauer s 1924 film adaptation of The City without Jews (Die Stadt ohne Juden) was produced two years after the publication of the book, only a decade before events depicted in the fictional story became an all-too-horrific reality. Set in the imaginary city of Utopia (a thinly-disguised stand-in for Vienna), the story follows the consequences of an antisemitic law passed by the National Assembly forcing all Jews to leave the country. At first, the decision is met with celebration, yet when the citizens of Utopia are confronted with the loss of the Jewish population – and the resulting economic and cultural decline – the National Assembly must decide whether or not to invite the Jews back. Though darkly comedic in tone, and stylistically influenced by German Expressionism, the film also contains starkly realistic and eerily prophetic sequences, such as the shots of trains transporting deported Jews out of the city. The implicit critique of Nazism in the film is one reason it no longer screened in Continental Europe after 1933, and no prints were thought to have survived. The 1933 fragment, found and published by the Filmarchiv Austria in 1991, was missing critical scenes. Now, thanks to the discovery of a nitrate print with the missing footage in a Parisian flea market in 2015, as well as the comprehensive restoration work of the Filmarchiv Austria, this previously lost film can once again be appreciated in its ever-relevant entirety. The most definitive and authoritative edition of this remarkable film published anywhere in the world, The City without Jews (Die Stadt ohne Juden) features a newly-commissioned score by the acclaimed silent film ensemble, pianist Donald Sosin and Klezmer violinist Alicia Svigals. Continue reading ‘‘The City Without Jews’ on Blu-ray & DVD July 28, 2020!’
March 5th, 2020 by Gerard Iribe
Unearthed from relative obscurity and never before seen by most audiences, the original edit of director J.L. Anderson’s first feature film—the gorgeous and spellbinding Spring Night Summer Night (1967)—is coming soon to Blu-ray in a stunningly restored edition, courtesy of Flicker Alley and Nicolas Winding Refn/byNWR. Italian Neorealism meets the coal-mining country of southeast Ohio in this little-seen wonder of 1960s, American independent cinema. Director J.L. Anderson, a film professor at the University of Ohio, utilized non-professional actors, on-location photography, a shoestring budget, and a passionate knowledge of international film to create what Richard Brody of The New Yorker calls a tense, myth-drenched drama of liberation and retribution. Continue reading ‘‘Spring Night Summer Night’ on Blu-ray May 5, 2020!’
June 2nd, 2019 by Gerard Iribe
Adapted from Émile Zola s novel of the same name, L’Argent is an all-too-timely work of filmmaking loosely based off of the 1882 collapse of Union Générale bank, which subsequently crashed the stock market and plunged France into a decade-long recession. Helmed by Marcel L. Herbier, one of the original members of French cinema s avant-garde, the film uses Zola s tale of mid-1800s stock market speculation to comment on the 1920s greed-fueled fascination with global economies. The story centers on the unscrupulous Nicolas Saccard, played by Pierre Alcover, who makes a bad bet, loses his societal standing and his mistress, and tries to recoup it all by backing an aviator with a daredevil plan to cross the Atlantic to exploit raw materials in the New World. Continue reading ‘‘L’Argent’ [Flicker Alley] on Blu-ray & DVD July 30, 2019!’
March 12th, 2019 by Gerard Iribe
Flicker Alley, in partnership with Universal Pictures, are proud to present Universal Pictures new 4K restoration of the 1928 silent classic, The Man Who Laughs, accompanied by a newly recorded orchestral score by the Berklee School of Music. Based on the novel by Victor Hugo, the story centers on the extraordinary adventures of Gwynplaine (Conrad Veidt), whose wide and mirthless grin inspired DC Comics legendary Batman villain, the Joker. Veidt’s character has become well known to most cinephiles. Orphaned as a child, Gwynplaine is punished by the king for his father s transgressions, by having face carved into a hideous grin. Disfigured and alone, Gwynplaine rescues a blind girl Dea (Mary Philbin), and both end up starring in a sideshow where they fall in love. Because she cannot see, Dea does not know about her lover’s tormented grin. Part of Universal Pictures ongoing silent restoration initiative, The Man Who Laughs honors the studio’s rich film history that has spanned more than a century. The primary source element for this restoration was a 35mm composite fine grain from the Universal Pictures vault, created in 1954 from the nitrate original camera negative. NBCUniversal’s restoration team was able to stabilize and deflicker the film as well as repair scratches, warps, and dirt. The 4K digital restoration was completed by NBCUniversal StudioPost. Continue reading ‘‘The Man Who Laughs’ [Flicker Alley] on Blu-ray & DVD May 28, 2019!’
March 12th, 2019 by Gerard Iribe
Universal Pictures and Flicker Alley present Universal Pictures new 4K restoration of the 1929 silent classic, The Last Warning, accompanied by a newly recorded score from Arthur Barrow. Adapted from Thomas F. Fallon s 1922 Broadway play of the same name, The Last Warning is based on the story The House of Fear by Wadsworth Camp and centers on an unsolved murder that occurs during a live Broadway performance. When the victim s body goes missing, the death remains unsolved and the theater is condemned. That is, until years later when a suspicious new producer arrives to restage the play with the original cast and crew. As one of the last silents Universal produced, The Last Warning was later released as a part-talkie with roughly sixty feet of sound scenes added. Part of Universal’s ongoing silent restoration initiative, The Last Warning honors the studio’s rich film history that has spanned more than a century. Universal’s team of restoration experts conducted a worldwide search for The Last Warning’s available elements, ultimately working with materials from the Cinémathèque française, and the Packard Humanities Institute Collection in the UCLA Film & Television Archive. NBCUniversal’s restoration team was able to stabilize and deflicker the film as well as repair scratches, warps, and dirt. The 4K digital restoration was completed by NBCUniversal StudioPost. Continue reading ‘‘The Last Warning’ [Flicker Alley] on Blu-ray & DVD May 28, 2019!’
