tofferman

I came across the Russian war movie "Come and See" on dvd in a local store today. It looks very interesting, but there are hardly any reviews on the Internet. Can anybody comment about the quality of this dvd? I was disappointed to see that it was full frame only. Here is a link on Amazon for more information about this movie:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...v=glance&s=dvd

I also was interested in the Finnish movies 'Ambush' and 'The Winter War', both of which cover the Finnish/Russian War. Any comments on these two dvds (quality of transfer, etc.) as well would be welcome.

William Fuld

"Come and See" is an incredibly powerful movie. I'd easily put it in the top five war movies ever.

Its OAR is 4:3. The transfer is mediocre but the sound is good and the extras are worthwhile, but nothing you'll watch more than once.

Mike Lowrey

The only time I've seen 'The Winter War' was on VHS and IIRC the sound was mono.

The movie was pretty good though. I believe they used some authentic early Soviet and German tanks. Some BT-5s, BT-7s, Pz Is and Pz IIs.

JOE29

Anything on Warriors of Heaven and Earth? I was reading the box on this title in the store and almost picked it up, it looks intresting. Will be a blind buy sometime in the near future.

bdots48

I've been thinking recently about digging this one out of my collection and watching it again. William Fuld - you have motivated me to watch it "more than once".

Mike Lowrey

Well, I bought it back when it was released in Dec. '04 and it's a pretty cool movie. If you are familiar with or like movies like Hero, House of Flying Daggers, and the less familiar Musa - The Warrior, you'd like Warriors of Heaven and Earth.

Actually it's like Musa more than it is like Hero or Daggers. It's basically a Western but in the mountains and deserts of north western China. Basically it goes like this:


It's a good under-rate flick. I probably need to watch it again here in the near future. If you enjoy it, I'd recommend Musa-The Warrior as well. Probably have to order that one. You'd probably not find it at a B&M.

uhftv

Come and See is a must-buy. The most powerful war film to date. Don't want to embellish too much cause it turns people off and the back of the case states the same thing, but you will not be sorry for seeing this.

I had a philosophy professor once who kept showing these BANNED films in every class he taught.

Along with Paths of Glory and the Battle of Algiers was this little-heard of movie, which puts it in good company.

(Just added that last bit cause that's how to get buyers interested, by mentioning things that are or have been... BANNED!!)

pro-bassoonist

Klimov's film was/is one of the strongest war productions ever made. These may be some strong words however the only other film that has had such an emotional impact on me as Come and See is Before the Rain.

This is a film that defies all of the common clichés Hollywood uses (Germans are all evil) to deal with the subject of war. It is also a film that shows you from a European/USSR perspective what the war felt in the Baltic region...and that ultimately there were/are no winners at the end...only survivors.
Unfortunately, many of the films that were made in the former USSR in the late 70s/80s were marred by ideological and nihilistic writing...which consequently turned many talented directors away from cinema. Much like mainstream Hollywood where the only difference nowadays is...money!!

Regards,
Pro-B

William Fuld

Very true. It's hard to discuss the film without sounding "blurb-ish", but it really is that good.

The Bus

Go get this movie. Just order it now, sit down, watch it. It is very long, and it is haunting, and beautiful.

AfroRouge

I disagree that Come and See is one you won't watch again. It strongly rewards repeat viewings.

William Fuld

I said the extras weren't something you'd watch more than once (at least I haven't), not the movie itself.

jmj713

There are plenty of great Russian war films. Some are on DVD and available here for purchase (I've used these people myself, and the service is fine): http://www.russiandvd.com/store/dvd.asp?genreid=29 This is their war films catalog, and if it's in Russian, look for a "Switch to English" button on top of the page... There are some real good ones available, like "They Fought for Their Motherland", "Our Own", "Ivan's Childhood", "Osvobozhdenie (The Liberation)", and many others, as well as the Ruscico edition of "Come and See".

natevines

The Winter War is EXCELLENT, but the DVD by Belle & Blade is rather crappy. No extras and very poor image. There's no other choice, though. I would like to inquire about the other Belle & Blade war films, Die Brucke (The Bridge, I hear this film is great) and "Stalingrad: Dogs do you want to live forever?". Both of these are German films from the late 50s and look fascinating. The DVDs, though, are on amazon for $45 a piece and I can't find them on any other e-tailer.

Subgeniusguy

I have the Korean Spectrum edition
http://www.koreandvds.com/dvddetail.html?id=6689
It appears to have similar extras to the Kino disc, and unlike most Korean DVD's, the extras have English subs. The film is difficult to watch but worth repeat viewing. The spectrum release is two discs. Is the Kino a flipper? "Grave of the Fireflies" is another haunting war film from a child's perspective. I'm not an anime fan in general but loved it. Keep tissues on hand.

Pro-b, is "Before the Rain" available anywhere on DVD? If anyone would know, you would.

Numanoid

So which version of Come and See is the most recommended? I usually trust the Kino name, but it seems to be kind of rare and pricey ($32 used). Ruscico is around $30 new, and the Korean version is only $17 (there also seems to be a very cheap Asian version on eBay, probably a Hong Kong VCD). Any reason to get one over another?

Subgeniusguy

A review with screenshots of the Spectrum edition. The subtitle sample is a poor choice as the English subs are quite good throughout the film. Someone with the Kino can say how the image may compare or whether the menus are the same.

Long live DVDBeaver!

FilmFanSea

The original Kino release had some extras (3 interviews, including one with director Elem Klimov, 2 documentaries, photo galleries, etc.) & was split across two discs (yes, the 2 & a quarter hour film was split across two dual-layer discs). This 2-disc version is now OOP. Kino re-released a 1 disc presentation without the extras (except for a text interview with Sean Penn).

I don't think the retail price ($29.95) changed, however.

I believe all of the available DVD versions of Come and See were originally produced by Ruscico. You can still purchase the 2-disc edition (with the extras) directly from Ruscico for $35, or you can buy virtually the same 2-disc set from the Korean company Spectrum for under $17. The Korean DVD is reviewed here.

pro-bassoonist

No...not yet. As a matter of fact last year me and another member of the forum ran a petition to have Universal release a decent copy of it in the US...bottom line No Interest Whatsoever. Thank's to that member again I managed to get a DVD of the film that was put out by the Macedonian government for foreign diplomats only.

Perhaps in the future.....

An amazing film with a superb soundtrack.

Regards,
PRO-b

AeroStone

Another reason for TRUE film fans to be plugged into the Net and on some sort of dvd message board!

Come and See has been added to Netflix Q..thanks!

Also..another chime in for Musa The Warrior. Good movie. I'm gonna check out Warriors of Heaven and Earth as well...sounds very much like Musa.

I also wanna recommend, Tai Guk Gi (sp?) For my money, this was much better than Saving Private Ryan. Some of the most graphic depictions of war you'll see on film as well.

Njål

All releases of Come and see I know of (Kino, the Korean, various European) use the Ruscico master. And as all Rucico titles it's originally a PAL master, and the NTSC releases are standards conversions PAL>NTSC.
If you have the option of watching PAL dvds the Ruscico PAL will be the best.

As for Warriors of Heaven and Earth, Id say that it's not that much like Musa, and IMO not remotely as good (of the mentioned titles I loved Musa, liked Hero a lot, didn't think too much of House of Flying Daggers, and found Warriors of Heaven and Earth muddled. Seen all but Musa at the movies).

FRwL

You can get Stalingrad: Dogs for 35 new on amazon, i sprung for a 25.00 one (there was 2 but now i see its gone)

This 1958 film is much better than the early 90s one which is a bunch of anti-war "we're so helpless and why are people shooting at us? sniffle" foot-in-mouth drama while Dogs is as put by an amazon review "I say chaps, Stalingrad is awfully chilly, hm?"

The Bus

I was going to also mention Die Brücke (surprised I did not in April) and I am damn glad it is now available on DVD. A price of $45 seems very steep but I will have to shell out for it if I want it, doesn't look like I have other R1 options.

Amazon.de has it for approximately $10 though.

visitor Q

I'll second that motion, strongly. Even though Musa had its flaws, it was quite well done!!

Warriors of Heaven and Earth barely held me throughout the entire film. Thank goodness I got it free.

Another very good war film to tack on would be Peckinpath's Cross of Iron. Quite a remarkable film with similarities to Paths of Glory ...

pro-bassoonist

As Far as My Feet Will Carry Me


Synopsis and further info:
http://www.soweitdiefuessetragen.de/frameset.shtml




Ciao,
Pro-B