Solntse / The Sun (Sokurov, 2005)

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htdm · #1 Post by **htdm** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 5:23 pm

Solntse / The Sun (Sokurov, 2005)

DVD Times just posted a disappointing review of Artificial Eye's release of the Sokurov film.

Video
Description and evaluation of the picture quality is somewhat difficult, as the film was shot on Digital Video and has clearly undergone much treatment in the way of tinting and effects. Much of what might be perceived as issues with the transfer, the heavy grain, the haziness and softness of the image and the non-naturalistic colours are almost certainly stylistic. I haven't seen this film theatrically to confirm this, but Sokurov has employed similar techniques in such films as Russian Ark and Father and Son. But that only goes part of the way to explaining the look of the film. Artefact blocking and cross colouration is rife, taking the form of rippling waves in the yellow/purplish backgrounds. Edges are jagged, leading to colour bleed and haloes can sometimes be seen. While the intentional effects and tones of the film make this no doubt a difficult film to encode for DVD, the general instability of the transfer and its artefacting problems can be somewhat distracting.

Let's hope that Fantomas -- whenever it comes out -- isn't similarly handled.

nyasa · #2 Post by **nyasa** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 6:02 pm

I watched The Sun a couple of nights ago, and while it was pretty obvious it had been shot digitally, I can't say that the visual quality of the DVD was a problem for me.

My real gripe was Robert Dawson's rather wooden and unconvincing performance as General MacArthur, which sits like a black hole in the middle of the film, sucking everything that's good into it. His meetings with Hirohito (brilliantly portrayed by Issey Ogata) ought to be pivotal, but it's impossible to get past his utter lack of screen presence, despite one of the most incredible foreheads seen on screen since Coneheads.

Michael Kerpan · #3 Post by **Michael Kerpan** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 7:45 pm

I'm with nyasa on this -- the MacArthur was just dreadful beyond belief while Ogata was beyond awesome.

John Cope · #4 Post by **John Cope** » Sun Mar 05, 2006 12:18 am

Well, here's yet another review which suggests that the quality is iffy. We need more people to chime in on this one. And, of course, Gary Tooze and the boys.

I'd be willing to wait for a region one release but who knows how long that will take.

#5 Post by **Matt** » Sun Mar 05, 2006 1:19 am

I haven't watched the whole film yet, but just skimming through it, it looks great to me. The transfer is done at a very high bit rate, so maybe some players can't process it well. I noticed no artifacts.

tavernier · #6 Post by **tavernier** » Sun Mar 05, 2006 5:50 pm

I saw this at the NY Film Festival last fall and the description of how the DVD looks sounds like what I saw on the big screen.

porcupine2 · #7 Post by **porcupine2** » Thu Dec 14, 2006 5:16 pm

Same here, I saw it at the Curzon Soho in London, & - tho I know S uses digital manipulation effects, I've seen lots of his films - I did think several times, Surely this is a screening mess-up? The soundtrack and the image had glitches in them which didn't seem like you'd do them on purpose.

I haven't seen the dvd - due to negative comments on it & I'm in no rush to re-experience this one, though I might want to some day - but I wouldn't be surprised if what I saw in the cinema - & complained to the box office about afterwards - is what is raising negative comment on it.

Anonymous · #8 Post by **Anonymous** » Thu Dec 14, 2006 6:17 pm

As we are on the subject of Sokurov, does anyone know how good the R1 disc of MOLOCH is? I've been thinking about getting it, yet I'm not sure about its transfer.

Barmy · #9 Post by **Barmy** » Thu Dec 14, 2006 10:46 pm

The Sun on DVD shouldn't look much different from Moloch or the Lenin film (but maybe they all look problematic on DVD). All had comparable murk and image manipulation. Russian Ark is a different story--I wouldn't be surprised if it looked great on DVD as there is much less image manipulation. I've seen all of these in 35mm. Not having seen any of these on DVD I can't comment, other than to say that (again, except Russian Ark) there certainly should be some bleed, waviness and discoloration.

And as to the following "bad review" of The Sun DVD:

colours are severely muted, sharpness is iffy and grain is dancing loudly all over the picture

Yes, yes and yes.

However, it is quite possible that DVD on a TV/plasma/LCD screen make some of these effects "worse" than 35mm.

htdm · #10 Post by **htdm** » Fri Dec 15, 2006 1:20 am

Was Telets ever released on DVD? I've been looking for a copy and so far haven't found it anywhere.

John Cope · #11 Post by **John Cope** » Fri Dec 15, 2006 2:24 am

dmkb wrote:Was Telets ever released on DVD? I've been looking for a copy and so far haven't found it anywhere.

I've been trying to find a copy of this one myself for several years with no luck. It is available on a Russian DVD (it turns up on ebay now and again) but with no English subs so that doesn't help me. Of all Sokurov's work I have yet to see, this one and Stone are the Holy Grail.

porcupine2 · #12 Post by **porcupine2** » Fri Dec 15, 2006 9:32 am

Yes, a lot more drastic than Russian Ark, which just has tinting, I think, but more like what you see during the short which comes on that DVD, "Hubert Robert: A fortunate life", a fascinating, shaky, misty, bleached thing where the image seems to be burning up at points.

Someone must have seen the Moloch dvd??

John Cope · #13 Post by **John Cope** » Fri Dec 15, 2006 12:48 pm

porcupine2 wrote:Someone must have seen the Moloch dvd??

Yeah, I've seen it, I own it. It looks great to me but I'm always hesitant to post these kind of assessments around here as the general standard for quality often seems excessively high. I can appreciate that and God knows I'm glad somebody maintains these standards but I also know that I'm less stringent with what I expect and on those terms Moloch looks terrific (the interview on the disc is first rate, too).

Der Müde Tod · #14 Post by **Der Müde Tod** » Fri Dec 15, 2006 3:34 pm

porcupine2 wrote: Someone must have seen the Moloch dvd??

We are talking about the Koch/Lorber R1 release I take it. The whole movie is very dark, with soft focus probably intended. The DVD is ok but not stunning. It is interlaced, and VLC reports a video stream bitrate around 6000 kb/s, which is medium quality (Criterion's releases get 8000). I didn't see any encoding artifacts. If your player can deinterlace, you should be fine. I can post screen shots, if desired.

Der Müde Tod · #15 Post by **Der Müde Tod** » Sat Dec 16, 2006 12:42 pm

davidhare wrote:Yes please!

Here you go. I should note that while the subtitles are optional, they are in yellow.

porcupine2 · #16 Post by **porcupine2** » Sat Dec 16, 2006 1:31 pm

Thanks, Der Müde Tod, that's great. The grey, smudgy image/ atmosphere is so clearly of a piece with The Sun (the sun itself gone out...) - actually now I've seen these I might get the dvd anyway, they've got me excited, the thought of the three films adding up to an indelible portrait of power eclipsed.

How's the soundtrack? There were all sorts of suspicious buzzes and blips in the Sun, I think.

The Fanciful Norwegian · #17 Post by **The Fanciful Norwegian** » Sat Dec 16, 2006 2:55 pm

I'm pretty sure the "suspicious buzzes and blips" were deliberate -- a number of reviewers saw fit to single out that aspect of the sound design, so if it's a mistake (which seems very doubtful) it certainly isn't limited to the Artificial Eye DVD.

foggy eyes · #18 Post by **foggy eyes** » Tue Dec 19, 2006 11:14 am

Just gotten around to revisiting this on DVD, and it does look very much like The Sun I saw on theatrical release. The picture is perhaps a little 'blotchier' (for want of a better word), but no real cause for concern. The film is mesmerising, and sound design is incredible (pops, hisses and all).

The Fanciful Norwegian · #19 Post by **The Fanciful Norwegian** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 4:23 pm

Weirdly enough, it looks like an R1 NTSC version of this is available in Canada. Unfortunately the company in question has seen fit to provide no specs.

The Fanciful Norwegian · #20 Post by **The Fanciful Norwegian** » Fri May 15, 2009 5:21 am

This is unexpected

Richard Lorber’s Lorber HT Digital has acquired all US rights to The Sun, the third feature in Aleksandr Sokurov’s Dictator Trilogy.

The film focuses on Japanese emperor Hirohito and his surrender to General MacArthur at the end of the second world war. It will premiere theatrically at New York’s Film Forum in November followed by a national release in 2010.

Solntse / The Sun (Sokurov, 2005)

Solntse / The Sun (Sokurov, 2005)

Re: The Sun