lesterlong

I did enjoy the Three Colors trilogy, is there a likely possibility I will enjoy The Decalogue? That much money is hard for me to justify on a release that's not a boxset or a Criterion.

meritocracy

The new release of Kieslowski's masterpiece for Polish Television is most definitely worth the money considering what the now OOP original release went for and is still mostly getting on Ebay. This, combined with the fact that this new release will contain many extras not present on the initial one make this purchase a no brainer for fans.

P.S. This is in essence a Boxset as the runtime is roughly 10 hours.

Der Zorn Gottes

Best film of the past two decades. Its ten hours long, and spread across three discs, so I'd say you're getting a pretty good deal.

FilmFanSea

Many consider The Decalogue to be Kieslowski's masterpiece. I have the Korean box set & can wholeheartedly recommend the films themselves. You should know that these were made for Polish television, so the production values are nowhere near as high as they are in the Three Colors trilogy. But the stories--and the way Kieslowski tells them--are brilliant.

Remember that these are 10 one-hour films--eqiuivalent to 5 full-length movies. Personally, I see the price as a great bargain (I paid 90 bucks for the Infinity [Korean] set and, despite the crummy subtitling, still feel it was a great purchase). I have pre-ordered the Facets set as well. Highly recommended.

I would also enthusiastically recommend Annette Insdorf's book, Double Lives, Second Chances: The Cinema of Krzysztof Kieslowski (1999), which gives an excellent analysis of each of the Decalogue films (as well as his other films). The hardback version can be found remaindered on Amazon.com Marketplace for under $10.

indycohiba

I watch a lot of foreign cinema and really enjoyed the Three Colors, but I bought the original release of The Decalogue, watched 3 episodes and then traded. After continuing to read glowing reviews, I thought maybe I did not give it a fair chance and so I bought it again. I then watched another two episodes and traded it once more. I could not adapt to the speed of the shows. They were very slow, understated and demanding to watch. I know I am probably in the minority , but I found them to be very tedious. If you like Russian cinema such as Tarkovsky, then you should be safe. If not, then rent first.

bboisvert

I think this is a very fair comment... and one that mirrors my own experiences. I had the first set and got almost halfway through before trailing off and watching other stuff. I set it aside and went back to it about 6 months later and just couldn't get into it at all. (and this is from someone who LOVES Tarkovsky films ).

I finally sold it on eBay when the prices went through the roof.


However, that being said, I've preordered the new set and plan to give it a 2nd (3rd?) chance. But this is the last time.

garmonbozia

well it is a boxset. Without a doubt, The Decalogue was the single greatest cinematic experience of my entire life. I wish I could watch it for the first time again. I cannot wait to get the new set. Out of the 10 episodes, there was only 1 that I didn't feel was on par with the others (since I already sold my old set I cannot check on the #, but I think it was #3, which ever one had the theme of "Honor the Sabbath day").
My favorite one was #6 (I think)...the one themed "Thou shalt not commit adultery". That one has a longer version called "A Short Film About Love" that I got on vcd from ebay. I wish it was available on dvd. (I also wish the longer version of #5 "A Short Film About Killing" was on dvd too.)

jackson walker

This is one of the first great deals I got through this forum, way back in 2001 (I think). I highly recommend this box set, and you can see why Roger Ebert considers this one of the greatest movies ever made here:
http://www.suntimes.com/ebert/great_...decalogue.html

RichDB10

If you have multi-region capability you may be pleased to know both of these are being released on 25th August in the UK (Artificial Eye Label i think).

I won't be picking up the Facets 'new' release purely on the basis that it uses the same transfer as the previous edition which i used to own.....i sold that and bought the R2 Artificial Eye releases which were superior to the Facets one.....i have since sold those and am going to purchase the Korean R3 set like FilmFansea (suprised you are actually picking up the Facets one also..i guess it must contain extras not present in the korean set and you want them for 'completist' purposes?)

garmonbozia

I just wanted to warn people that have purchased the new Decalogue release and have not seen these films before to:

1. NOT watch Eberts' introduction segment before seeing the films (contains some spoilers)

and 2. NOT read the episode descriptions on the back of the boxes as these are more spoiler laiden than Ebert's intro (these are the same spoiler-laiden descriptions that were on the first release).

Buford T Pusser

ANy other difference new vs. old? (not trying to stalk you garmonbozia )

garmonbozia

suuuuure, you're not!

lol, I'll just restate what I siad in the other thread for the benefit of anyone else who wonders into this thread.

There's about an hour's worth of interviews on the last disc. The picture quality of the films themselves is supposed to be improved (but from the same transfer, I've read) but I cannot compare since I no longer have the old set. Also, the films are now on 3 single sided discs which I like since I hate double sided discs. There's a booklet too, and the first disc has a 15 minute intro by Ebert.

IMO, the new set was worth it, especially since it was easy to find for cheap prices, and I sold my older set for more on half.com
I found the long interview of Kieslowski with the press to be really interesting, although I didn't like the fact that instead of being subtitled it had translators speaking English over top the Polish dialogue (like is done on US news reports).

Unfortunately, the cases are snappers. I know the first pressing of the first release (the 2 disc version) came in snappers because that's the one I used to have, but what about the second pressing? IIRC, I thought people said that one came in amarays? maybe I remember wrong.....
I was just hoping the new set would be snapper-free.

buckee1

I too have to agree with this statement. I watched the entire 10 hrs. and felt largely underwhelmed by what I had seen. I traded it for another title and am all the happier for it. So to answer your question, IMHO I don't think it's worth the $47 asking price.

brombie

I'm getting this movie as a half blind buy since I've only seen the first 5 episodes. It's definitely worth the MSRP, but I'm getting it for ~$40 just like anyone else.

I enjoyed Three Colors a lot, but unlike indochiba, I enjoyed Decalogue a lot more. I find the shorter running time of each episodes (90min+ for Three Colors, 50min+ for Decalogue) is more appropriate. I also feel like getting more stories, 10 instead of 3.

Actually, I don't quite understand why some folks wouldn't enjoy Decalogue if they like Three Colors. In both cases, we're dropped in the middle of some people's lives. There are not much exposition but a lot of unspoken stories in the character's faces, movements, and circumstances. Only until the end we understand what's going on. This makes rewatching them becomes almost mandatory and most of the times, more enjoyable. Kieslowski movies make me wish I don't have to watch them for the first time

I got all the discs from Netflix but I returned them before watching them all. I know I need more than 10 hours to go through them, so based on that alone, this is a buy for me.

garmonbozia

I don't understand how someone could like one and not the other either, but I guess people do.
I consider The Decalogue to be the best "film" of the 1980s and The Three Colors Trilogy to be the best "film" of the 1990s.....but The Decalogue is also my favorite "film" of all time. It is just an amazing example of exquisite screenwriting. It never ceases to amaze me at how powerful these stories are for their short running time. Perfect proof that a film does not need to be 3 hours long to tell an engaging story.

jackson walker

Your favorite film of ALL TIME? That is quiet a statement, gar. I think it is a great film, and worth owning (as I do), but of ALL TIME?

garmonbozia

yeah sure, why not? lol.
I don't really like picking *single* favorites of anything (I prefer to pick groups of things as to not tie my opinions down to one thing...like say picking top three favorite films of a certain director, or top five favorite films of a certain year, etc....)
...but when people ask me what my favorite film is and they won't let me cop out with a list...after some deliberation, I've chosen The Decalogue....so that's been my stock answer for the past two years (could change in the future, but I doubt anytime soon).

The Bus

It was a good pick for $28 when I picked it up from Border's...