Chris Marker on DVD

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magicmarker
Joined: Sat Oct 14, 2006 10:21 pm

#101 Post by magicmarker » Sun Apr 20, 2008 11:58 pm

According to Commeaucinema.com the upcoming Marker coffret will have English subtitles. Here's a link.

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subliminac
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#102 Post by subliminac » Tue Apr 22, 2008 7:27 am

I think the next question is will it have an English dub option, since Marker has always prefered it to subtitles.

mikebowes
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#103 Post by mikebowes » Thu Apr 24, 2008 1:28 pm

I have "Le fond de l'air est rouge" on order at Amazon.fr and today got the following update on my order with new possible shipping date:

Date d'envoi estimée : 6 mai 2008 - 14 mai 2008
Date de livraison estimée : 20 mai 2008 - 28 mai 2008

Hmmm...

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ola t
They call us neo-cinephiles
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#104 Post by ola t » Sat Apr 26, 2008 3:53 pm

bartlebooth wrote:I'm french and new on this forum, but got this Marker DVD at my Paris FNAC yesterday - checked it and :

- Main movie (le fond de l'air est rouge) : FRENCH subs ONLY on english-talking segments of the movie, i.e. NO english subs

- the Extras (A bientôt j'espère - La deuxième face du Pentagone - L'ambassade - 2084 - Puisqu'on vous dit que c'est possible) are english-friendly i.e. with english subs, removable

Sorry for the bad news, and for my english. But by the way, this film is really wonderful, and a good batch of it - on Viet-Nam, etc. - is in english. The best film on French 68, with Reprise (Hervé Le Roux 1997).
Thanks for the news. Of course the DVD is still worth getting for the second disc, but this means I'll have to accelerate my plans to get to Copenhagen next month. The Cinematek is showing A Grin without a Cat three times, with English subtitles. It's probably the 1988 version though, not the new cut. But I've never seen the film at all anyway.

By the way, I really like your name, Bartlebooth! On some other web sites, I use the name Winckler.

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Eriol
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#105 Post by Eriol » Tue Apr 29, 2008 1:27 pm

Mine has just shipped. :D

My French is awful, so I'll have to make do with some Spanish subs ripped from the VHS that is online...

edit: From the SAT-Rip I got (it was shown on ARTE earlier this month) I can say the restoration (if there was one) was very minor... Grainy and cracky, might just be all the bits of footage, don't know. I love this film so much it looks gorgeous anyway. The trailer posted above doesn't look much different from the feature itself, should you want to see for yourselves. Hopefully a proper restoration will be done, Criterion would be a dream come true.

Got it... some of the extras have the English track instead or along with the subs... good pack...

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otis
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#106 Post by otis » Wed May 14, 2008 7:02 pm

According to Chris Darke (who introduced the film tonight at the Institut français), Icarus will be releasing Le Fond de l'air est rouge on DVD soon. Looks like it'll be the 3-hour version (as was tonight's screening): the essay by Marker which will accompany it describes the film as
originally four hours long, wisely reduced to three but without modifying the content, just shortening it, with a short monologue at the end
How long is the Arte DVD?

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magicmarker
Joined: Sat Oct 14, 2006 10:21 pm

#107 Post by magicmarker » Wed May 14, 2008 7:51 pm

Just got the Arte yesterday. Le Fond is three hours, plus the second disk of other films. No English subs or audio track on Le Fond, but A bientot j'espere and Puisqu'on vous dit que c'est possible have English subs and 2084, La sixime face du pentagon, and L'Ambassade have English audio tracks. The set is pretty great for those who understand French, and even if you don't the other films make it worth the 25 euros.

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Gropius
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#108 Post by Gropius » Wed May 14, 2008 9:25 pm

magicmarker wrote:Just got the Arte yesterday. Le Fond is three hours, plus the second disk of other films. No English subs or audio track on Le Fond...
This may have been answered in Bartlebooth's post above (the wording is ambiguous), but does Le fond have a full French subtitle option, or only during the English language sections?

Otis: I wanted to go to that Institut francais screening in London, but couldn't make it. Was there a decent attendance, and was the print subtitled or an English audio version?

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otis
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#109 Post by otis » Thu May 15, 2008 1:33 am

There were around 20 people there. The print was subtitled and English audio, that's to say the archive footage (in French, Spanish, German, Japanese, etc) was subtitled, and the voiceover commentary was in English (Cyril Cusack et al.). I presume this is the version Icarus will release, and I suspect they won't include all the other films that are on the Arte (though they've released La sixième face du Pentagone separately).

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magicmarker
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#110 Post by magicmarker » Thu May 15, 2008 10:34 am

Sorry, I should have clarified; the Arte does have French subs over the non-French segments only. Too bad too, because I understand French much better when I can read it as well as hear it, but I'll muddle through.

By the way, I got the reprint of the Zone Books La Jetee last week, and it truly gorgeous. Also received the Wexner Remembrance of Things To Come, which I haven't watched through, but took a peek and it looks great as well. I'm anxious to see it with an English track, as I've previously seen it in French.

entler

Chris Marker - Letter from Siberia

#111 Post by entler » Mon May 19, 2008 5:27 pm

Hi,

Do you know how I could get the movie "Lettre de Siberie" by C. Marker? I really need that for a research in my University.

If somebody has any information about it, I could buy it or exchange.

Thanks

Ronaldo (Brazil) entler@gmail.com

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magicmarker
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Re: Chris Marker - Letter from Siberia

#112 Post by magicmarker » Wed May 21, 2008 10:12 am

entler wrote:Do you know how I could get the movie "Lettre de Siberie" by C. Marker? I really need that for a research in my University.

If somebody has any information about it, I could buy it or exchange.
As far as I know there have been no official DVD or VHS releases. I've come across some bootlegged VHS copies that were really poor, and there was a guy selling DVDs on Ebay for a while, but I didn't want to risk it as they were pricey. But other than that not much else besides 16mm copies in film archives and university libraries. I saw Lettre de Siberie at the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris where they'll let you watch it as a researcher (though they interview you first), but even the Cinematheque Francais didn't have a copy for viewing. Sorry I can't be more help. If you come up with anything, though, let us know.

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Eriol
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#113 Post by Eriol » Sat May 24, 2008 3:43 pm

I hope it is not considered breaking any rules, but pretty much all that's came out of Marker (and some stuff that hasn't) is on ed2k.

The ARTE DVDs have already been ripped, even.

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backstreetsbackalright
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#114 Post by backstreetsbackalright » Sun May 25, 2008 4:08 am

Eriol wrote:I hope it is not considered breaking any rules, but pretty much all that's came out of Marker (and some stuff that hasn't) is on ed2k.

The ARTE DVDs have already been ripped, even.
Quite a bit is, yes. But I don't think anywhere close to all of it. Plus, a good deal of what's out there is unsubtitled and, in some cases, barely watchable digital rips from VHS sourced from 30-year-old library-stock 16mm prints. So while the Marker enthusiast can find a lot of mouthwatering stuff in shadowy world of file-sharing, they're also due for a good bit of aggravation and disappointment.

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Eriol
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#115 Post by Eriol » Sat Jun 07, 2008 8:16 pm

Just for the consideration of those who decided not to acquire the ARTE DVD;

I've been working on the English subtitles, and though there's a total of 8min unsubbed film for the moment, here they are.

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Gregory
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#116 Post by Gregory » Fri Jul 11, 2008 9:43 pm

ptmd wrote:Since First Run/Icarus has the rights in North America and they seem to have negotiated a port of the Arte release of The Last Bolshevik, it seems safe to assume that Grin Without a Cat (which Arte is releasing in France in April) will come out here in the next year or so.
I have been hoping to see this one in R1 and just read in Rosenbaum's column in Cinema Scope that this is coming in 2009 from First Run/Icarus (along with A Day in the Life of Andrei Arsenevich).

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Jean-Luc Garbo
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#117 Post by Jean-Luc Garbo » Fri Jul 11, 2008 11:10 pm

ptmd wrote:Since First Run/Icarus has the rights in North America and they seem to have negotiated a port of the Arte release of The Last Bolshevik, it seems safe to assume that Grin Without a Cat (which Arte is releasing in France in April) will come out here in the next year or so.
This is the best news I've heard in awhile. I've been dying to see these two Marker films - especially the Tarkovsky film.

mikebowes
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#118 Post by mikebowes » Sat Jul 12, 2008 8:58 am

Indeed - my copy of Remembrance of This to Come (purchased through the Wexler Center's website) came with an insert confirming The Last B and Grin Without a Cat for 2009. Icarus is doing a major part in making Marker more available.

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Kinsayder
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#119 Post by Kinsayder » Sat Jul 12, 2008 10:15 am

The Icarus Markers will be available from Amazon.com on Sept 2nd. This will be a cheaper way to buy them for those outside the US.

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Eriol
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#120 Post by Eriol » Sat Jul 12, 2008 6:48 pm

I do wonder what's the state of the A Grin Without A Cat (about 20min different footage from the French version and much more chewed up, names and events-wise, so I'd almost see it as a different film)

I've finished revising and completing the "Le fond" subs, by the way. Here they are.

Gus
Joined: Thu Nov 30, 2006 12:04 pm

#121 Post by Gus » Mon Jul 14, 2008 12:54 pm

Thanks a bunch for the subs, Great jobb!!!

I have couple of questions about the Icarus Markers. Do they only have the english narration and no subs?

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magicmarker
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#122 Post by magicmarker » Mon Jul 14, 2008 2:15 pm

This may be a stupid question, but how does one use the subs you've posted Eriol? Thanks.

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Eriol
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#123 Post by Eriol » Mon Jul 14, 2008 8:07 pm

First of all you need a rip of the film... which has to have the same file name (e.g "Les Mains Fragiles.avi" - "Les Mains Fragiles.srt") - the files have to be in the same directory.

VobSub will make it work in most players (works with Windows Media Player); I'd recommend Media Player Classic, or while you are at it, get K-Lite Codec pack, which comes with just about everything you need for video playback.

You could also just rip the DVD and re-burn it adding the subs, in which case, ConvertXtoDVD is a good pick (I don't know many programs for this kind of work, anyway... I used the above-mentioned for my DVD)

My rip of "Le fond" is available both on the ed2k network and public bittorrent trackers (TPB). As there is no copyright for the US, or so I think, I don't even think it would be illegal to download.

(Profitless filesharing isn't illegal in Spain, which is where I write from... Though that will probably change before 2010...)

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magicmarker
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#124 Post by magicmarker » Mon Jul 14, 2008 9:17 pm

Many thanks, Eriol, for both your hard work and help.

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Svevan
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#125 Post by Svevan » Sat Jul 26, 2008 5:05 pm

Jonathan Rosenbaum has on more than one occasion complained about the English version of Case of the Grinning Cat. Is that the version available on DVD, and what is the opinion of those who've seen it?

I went ahead and bought the DVD myself, so I can answer my question: indeed the English language track on Case of the Grinning Cat from First Run/Icarus seems to be the one that Rosenbaum doesn't like. I have no clue what the French version may sound like, but it does seem that the English speaking narrator will speak over both images and Marker's on-screen French text, sometimes translating the French text and other times saying nothing as it appears. I'm unsure if there was a narrator at all in the French version, since some of these images speak for themselves, or are explained by the on-screen text. It's as if this is an entirely alternate version, one with gaps filled in for those unfamiliar with French politics (like me, though I could use a re-do on pretty much everything he talked about). I certainly didn't mind it, but I would love to have a one-for-one translation so as to see how Marker addresses the politics to people who understand it.

As for the DVD, I don't think anyone has mentioned anything overly critical about these discs (I just have the Grinning Cat and the Sixth Side of the Pentagon): they're interlaced (Grinning Cat has a video source, so it may be unavoidable; the others I have are on film, so there's no excuse other than time and resources) and sound quality is average to poor, with no English subtitles that I can find (except some unremovable subtitles to translate French text). But I still greatly love the discs since it's a chance to see and share more Marker, and the overall quality is more than watchable. The price is the only sticking point, but for Marker fans it's worth it.

Recently I asked "Mulvaney" about any chance of new Marker discs on Criterion, especially Grin Without a Cat, and they say nothing is on the horizon; I would love to get all the versions of Grin in one set, to see the evolution of Marker's perspective (and I'm probably not shelling out for Region 2 right now).

(edit: missed the post about how First Run will be doing Grin itself; too bad it'll be just one version of the film, but perhaps that's asking too much. At least now I know what to expect of the DVD quality)

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