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Thread: IMPORT DVDs

  1. #1
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    IMPORT DVDs

    I've been collecting import dvds for a few years. I'd like to have a forum to discuss the discs available outside Region 1 (North America), and perhaps be available for consumer advice if you're interested. Many of these releases are perfectly playable in your common region-coded player that I hope you already own. Some may only play in your PC or require a "world player", which basically accepts any disc, even European PAL-format discs. The price of these beauties is now competitive. Why is this a big deal? Well, because there are tons of great films never released here, at least not on video, which are available elsewhere, at affordable prices.
    I'm not only talking about obscure foreign movies (Orson Welles' Chimes at Midnight is only available in ...Spain). I start the column by highlighting two American films that for political reasons have yet to be released in North America. There are quality dvd releases of these films available on Ebay.

    KEN PARK
    The whole planet has seen this fierce film, directed by Larry Clark (Kids) and co-written by Harmony Korine. The disc for "all-regions" is preferable over the Region 3 disc from Hong Kong (unless nudity bothers you and you own a "world player")

    PROZAC NATION
    Miramax's Harvey's been sitting on this adaptation of Elizabeth Wurtzel's novel since its Toronto 2001 premiere. Producer/star Christina Ricci is mighty pissed. Every dvd-head wants one of these so they command a high price, at the time.

  2. #2
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    Is the DVD of Prozac Nation in high demand because we finally get to see a completely nude Ricci? That's my guess.

    I have 3 import discs which I can't play (no player!): Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (arrived yesterday- I thought it was an NTSC disc. It's not. pissed me off), The Baby of Macon, and Dogville.

    I would contribute to this thread a lot if I had something to say about import DVD's. I don't, so I'll just sit back and learn...
    "Set the controls for the heart of the Sun" - Pink Floyd

  3. #3
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    Nudity, yes. Complete? No idea. I think the recognizable title also could account for its popularity.

    Dogville is now available in NTSC format. I have a single disc with Trier commentary (a surprise) which I bought from a seller from Malaysia. There's also gorgeous 2-disc with tons of extras, made in Korea. The Russian version(PAL) came out first but it's no longer available.

    Johann, have you tried watching these dvds on a PC?

  4. #4
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    Originally posted by oscar jubis
    have you tried watching these dvds on a PC?
    No- should I? Are they playable in any computer? If so, I'm about to get very excited....
    "Set the controls for the heart of the Sun" - Pink Floyd

  5. #5
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    I've been able to watch in my PC some discs that my "regular" player rejected.

  6. #6
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    BELA TARR

    I decided there's no point opening a thread to discuss Hungarian director Bela Tarr's career. None of his films have had a regular commercial release in North America, except for some screenings in a few big cities including New York. None of his films is available on video here.
    Since my sole exposure to his works is the UK release of DAMNATION and WERCKMEISTER HARMONIES on dvd, I decided this was the most appropriate place to post my brief comments.

    Bela Tarr was born in Pecs, Hungary in 1955. He started directing in his teens. He decided to attend film school in Budapest after his feature Family Nest won top honors at the Mannheim Film Festival. Tarr was 22. The Outsiders and The Prefab People followed. These three films evidence a semi-documentary style and detail the daily realities of life in a communist Hungary. The films are not political per se, as Tarr appears more interested in domestic issues:couples trying to stay in love and raise children, dealing with cramped conditions both at work and home. Their bleak view of the world and human nature would remain a constant as his films developed a unique visual style, a curious blend of Tarkovsky, Antonioni and Dreyer. Almanac of Fall is a transition film. It's his last one in color but exhibits in embryonic form the elements of Tarr's mature visual style.

    Damnation is the first film that abandons the cramped spaces where Hungarians (or the Hungarians Tarr is concerned with) live and work, as well as the color palette. Black and White from here on. The film shows public places such as bars and plazas, as well as barren, industrial, muddy vistas, with long shots in which the camara remains static or pans laconically. Characters no longer simply converse but often make pronouncements or recitations. Tarr explains he is interested in characters-in-situations that can lead to a deeper understanding of human nature. He is concerned with developing a visual signature. He is not concerned with telling stories, or plots. The misused term "art film" truly applies to Tarr's work.

    SatanTango, his 7 hour 15 minute long film about the disintegration of a community was released to worldwide acclaim in 1995. The film's duration limited screenings to festivals and cinematheques.

    His latest film is Werckmeister Harmonies. From the dvd: "The population of a provincial town in the Hungarian plains await the arrival of a circus that features the stuffed carcass of a whale and a mysterious Prince. Its appearance disturbs the order, unleashing a torrent of violence and beauty". There are some images here that will live with me forever. The town's gradual descent into anarchy is highly allegorical and carefully developed.

    I realize many are not interested in this type of film. East European despair and bleakness is not everyone's "cup of tea". But if anyone has seen one of Tarr's films, please share your opinion.

  7. #7
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    JAPON

    Mexican films have finally received some distribution in English-speaking nations during the past five years or so. Amores Perros and Y Tu Mama Tambien made it into several critics' Top 10 lists in recent years.
    The debut film from young writer/director Carlos Reygadas, Japon (Spanish for "Japan"), didn't gain distribution in the U.S. despite winning many awards at film festivals worldwide. It was shown in the cable channel Sundance, where I saw it for the first time.
    The film is now available on dvd in the UK. I find it hard to understand why Japon has not been released here, given the size of the Mexican-American community.

    Japon takes the basic premise of Kiarostami's Taste of Cherry (a middle-aged man from the city travels to a remote area intent on suicide) and makes something special out of it. The dvd includes a lenghty interview in which Reygadas, speaking impeccable English, discusses his cinema education. A disciple of Tarkovsky, Berlanga, Bresson, Dreyer and Ozu. The influences show all over this lusty, sensual but sober movie. Classic choral music is married to widescreen images of vast spaces with the skill of an older, more experienced artist. An unhinged visual imagination is evident throughout.
    I have now enjoyed this film several times. I am donating the dvd to a video store, whose owner will transfer it to vhs for rental. I would appreciate any comments regarding this movie and the films by Bela Tarr I discussed earlier.

  8. #8
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    Complete Desperation

    Facets Video released Almanac of Fall many years ago. They seem to have printed few copies. I've been searching Ebay periodically for a long time for a copy on sale but to no avail. I also decided not to buy the one available at Amazon for $60.

    The release of Damnation and Werckmeister Harmonies in the UK gives me hope Tarr's other titles will be released in the future. This double dvd includes an interview in which Tarr responds to charges that his films are brilliant, but also claustrophobic and depressing.
    We wanted to tell what social problems we are facing. Then we realized there were also problems of an ontological nature. And cosmic problems as well. There was nothing else to do but to create complete desperation. The more desperate we are, the more hope there is.

  9. #9
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    Tarr will be appreciated more in the future, particularly outside Europe. I hope we don't have to wait until "after he's done with cinema". After all, he turns 49 years old Wednesday. Maybe he'll make a film in the future that doesn't scare off distributors. I wonder what he'll do next. It's been 4 years since Harmonies came out and I haven't heard of any new projects. Did you notice he always uses "we" in the interview, not "I"? He views himself as part of a team that includes his editor/wife, writer Laszlo Krasznahorkai, composer Mihaly Vig and others.
    East European cinema in general is an unknown entity in North America.

  10. #10
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    I keep complaining about the dvds who are released in america and not here. Here, in Portugal, we can easily find spanish/mexican movies, but most movies from other countries are not just hard to find, they're simply impossible, which is terrible for someone who comes to these foruns and hears all about the latest releases. FNAC sells some criterion dvds but they're all around 40 euros, and wow that's expensive.
    ah well.
    stay gold. x

  11. #11
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    Why not import dvds from the UK?

  12. #12
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    I would appreciate if our young Portuguese colleague or our resident expert could find the following films directed by that master Manoel de Oliveira (With English or Spanish subs) on dvd from anywhere:

    Doomed Love
    Inquietude
    Benilde ou a virgen-mae
    No, or the Vainglory of Command


    Thanks

  13. #13
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    benilde ou a virgem mãe and amor de perdição are quite hard to find, i don't even remember seeing them anywhere on dvd/vhs but the others like non ou a vã glória de mandar and inquietude you can find them at FNAC but i've never seen inquietude with subtitles so that one maybe a bit difficult.
    you might want to try those websites arsaib said because i know quite a few places where you can buy them but well, the subtitles will always be a problem.
    stay gold. x

  14. #14
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    Gracias amigos! Knew I could count on you. I'm going to purchase No... from blueplanetdvd. The Inquietude tape is PAL and I don't think my VCR can handle it. Fnac is currently out of those two titles mentioned but will re-stock, hopefully by the time I go to Spain in late Autumn.

  15. #15
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    A WORD FOR THE INDE VIDEO RENTAL STORE

    What we need I think is more good independent video rental stores all over the country and the world, places like Scarecrow Video in Seattle, Video Americain in Baltimore, the place in Philly, Real Video and Movie Image in Berkeley, Le Video in San Francisco. NOt everybody can afford to buy every exotic film DVD they'd like to watch, but they'd love to rent it at a convenient store. Instead Blockbuster has lived up to its name, wiping out smaller competitors and smearing its bland, dumb images all over the land. Isn't this important? You bet it is! Small neighborhood independent stores, as in other fields, are a link with the community, have helpful, well informed staff who can make movierenting and movie watching fun and enlightening for everybody.

    Film buffs unite!

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