DVD Talk Forum - Eureka's Masters of Cinema

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Cosmic Bus

Oof! That's terrible. It had been a couple of months since I'd done business with them, but was looking to place an order soon. Looks like that won't be happening... It's unlikely to matter, but I'll probably drop them an e-mail expressing my disappointment in this increase.

It looks like Bensonsworld might have got an earful over their decision to up shipping from 1 GBP to 5 GBP. I just received their first-ever e-mail newsletter and one of the main highlights was that they have now gone back to the 1 GBP shipping (and this is confirmed on their website). Wise decision on their part.....and excellent news for us......I look forward to doing business with them once again (and hopefully for a long time to come).

Great news, flixtime! I'll re-add them to my bookmarks posthaste. :)

I posted this in the cdwow thread, but I thought I'd post it here as well. MOC Onibaba is only $9.95 through the Iowa link.

Naruse MOC 2nd set?

Does anyone on the forum know which films will be on the next set of Naruse from MOC ?

So I'm interested in getting some MOD discs but would perfer to only get ones that have the least likely chance of being released with criterion (just to prevent double dipping mainly). So what are some must buys? I know the Kwaidan MOC is a longer edition so i take it the MOC would be the better one to get. thanks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by EEz28

Yes, MoC's Kwaidan is superior to Criterion's. Also, I'd say that MoC's Onibaba and Vengeance Is Mine are better than Criterion's versions of each. If you're wanting to avoid eventual overlap, you'll probably want to avoid the MoC releases of the Naruse and (upcoming) Mizoguchi sets -- as long as you don't mind waiting. Avoid MoC's F for Fake, as the word I've heard is that Criterion's is better.

As a rule, you should always buy MoC's silents. Criterion will never overlap on these, because Kino always handles the silents that MoC releases in Britain. And Kino uses bad PAL->NTSC ports. MoC is preferable.

Thanks for the info, now i have some new stuff to buy.

I recently purchased John Ford's Prisoner of Shark Island simply because I had never seen it before.

It is simply brilliant and another take on the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

I am thinking of also purchasing Murnau's Faust

I'll second Prisoner of Shark Island. I saw it many years ago on AMC when they actually showed classic films all the time without commercial interuption (they were playing Terminator 3 tonight). It made a memorable impression on me and I've wanted to see it again for years. Can't believe there has never been an R1 release of this. It's one of my favorites in the MOC collection. AMC was my biggest exposure to classic American films.

Does anyone know if MOC is releasing Pandora's Box?

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Originally Posted by Subgeniusguy

Does anyone know if MOC is releasing Pandora's Box?

No, they won't. It has already been released in the UK by the R2 label Second Sight. However, MoC will be releasing the Pabst-Brooks follow-up Diary of a Lost Girl later this year.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ambassador

Between the MoC collection of Naruse, and Criterion's "When a Women Ascends the Stairs" is the Criterion that much better? I was going to go with MoC for all the Naruse, but maybe Criterion is the way to go.

DVD Beaver prefers the Criterion, but then again he always seems to prefer them:http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/Reviews/wawats.htm
The Criterion DVD is splendid. The progressive transfer is superior to the image quality of the Naruse, Vol. 1 boxset (featuring three older Naruse films) produced by Masters of Cinema in the UK - sharper, stronger contrast, brighter and vastly better than my old VHS copy of this very film. There is some minor flickering contrast, miniscule damage marks and although not fully pristine (contrast is a slight notch below usual standards for Criterion) as the film progresses detail appears to improve. The 2.35:1 Tohoscope, anamorphically transferred, widescreen is very impressive.

They're completely different animals. The MoC set includes three Naruse films unreleased by Criterion.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gypo66

They're completely different animals. The MoC set includes three Naruse films unreleased by Criterion.

...well then I might hold off untill the 2nd set gets released from MoC....

Quote:

Originally Posted by siegfried

I am going to echo what you suggest in your post...the Criterion release is not solid. Despite of the review linked above, which simply plays an old tune, there are more credible evaluations out there that precisely point out what ISN'T right with the R1 disc.

Noel Megahey who is a much better writer and reviewer with an excellent eye for detail, and happens to provide unbiased opinions, has a great one!

Pro-B

Pro-B,

Thanks again for your valuable insight !

Siegfried

I've read rumors of a Criterion Tegishara box containing Pitfall, Face of Another,
Woman in the Dunes and the Gaudi doc but nothing has been confirmed. It may just be speculation. That being said, the Pitfall and Face of Another MOCs are excellent and can be had for $16 shipped to the US right now.

Noel's video review of CC "When A Woman Ascends The Stairs" (I agree with Pro-B that he's one of the finest reviewers on one of the best DVD sites):

Quote:

There are significant flaws with the transfer of When A Woman Ascends The Stairs, and it is certainly not on a par with the quality we can normally expect from Criterion. The black-and-white tones are reasonably good, but lacking depth and tone. Part of this is due to the softness of the print, more evident in the early part of the film, with skin tones in particular appearing rather flat and smeary and the image lacking detail elsewhere in shadows and textures. This improves as the movie progresses, but remains less than perfect. The image is further compromised by frequent fluctuations and wavering throughout, the marks taking the appearance of soft water damage. It’s not overly troublesome, but frequent enough to be very distracting. It’s clear that Criterion have done the best they can with the source materials – the 2.35:1 image, transferred anamorphically can occasionally look very good indeed with good stability and nice tones – but it’s a pity that the problems are so frequent.

Unfortunately, it sounds like the lion's share of problems aren't with the transfer, but the original elements. Short of an actual restoration of those, my guess is that this will be as good as it gets on this format. If you love this film, I see no reason whatsoever not to get it.

Moving on to the MOC Vol. 1 boxset. I may hold a minority opinion here, but I prefer any one of the three films included in this box better than "When a Woman Ascends the Stairs". Unfortunately, the original elements are not in great shape here either, and unfortunately MOC did not do as good a job with their transfers, excacerbating some of the problems and adding a few new ones. Again, I defer to Noel Megahey:

Quote:

[re REPAST] "The image is a little soft, tending towards hazy, and tones are shades of grey rather than black and white – the print looking like it has been artificially brightened. It’s possible that this could also be the result of noise reduction or filters, with banding or posterisation occurring frequently throughout in backgrounds."

[re SOUND OF THE MOUNTAIN] "The same problems with an overall greyness of tone are there, as are the issues of banding, though both are much less noticeable here, with there being more outdoor scenes. The print however does show slightly more damage and less stability, the image wavering slightly at points. Noise reduction would appear to be an issue here as well, with one or two scenes showing wavering between foreground and background elements. There is also one transfer error in the master quite early in the film (around the 4-5 minute mark) where the image breaks up for a second."

[re FLOWING] "Flowing has the best transfer of the set with stronger contrasts and a better range of tones than the other two films, although it still remains slightly on the grey side. There are scarcely any real flaws – a few minor scratches can be seen occasionally at the end of reels, but largely the image is clear and stable throughout."

IMO, if the first and foremost consideration of yours is image quality, then Criterion's disc is easily better than any of those in the MoC box. The MoC's are quite a letdown for me in this regard, particularly as many of the problems appear to be caused by the manner in which these prints were transferred (see Noel's comments about the use of filtering, noise reduction, and artificial brightening). This is particularly upsetting for me as I like the early films contained in the MoC box better than "When a Woman Ascends the Stairs".

I should probably add that I - like Noel and Pro-B - am a picky mofo when it comes to DVD transfers, and nothing said in the previous post should be taken as a recommendation against buying and enjoying these films. Both the MoC and Criterion releases are excellent films (though again I prefer the three in the MoC set), and both releases have excellent special features.

And, FWIW, Gary/DVD Beaver also gushes quite a bit more than I would about the transfer quality of the MoC box, as well as the Criterion transfer (but I completely agree with Gary's assessment - posted by Pro-B above - that Criterion's transfer is superior than any of those in the MoC box):

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Although the 3 main features of this boxset are housed in individual (transparent) keep cases - see images above and below - they are not sold separately at this time and can only be obtained in MoC's Mikio Naruse, Vol. 1 Boxset. They have been progressively transferred in the NTSC standard, coded for Region 2 and have optional English subtitles.

Image: Firstly, where so many other companies would compromise the available transfer sources and detrimentally alter to suit marketability - I am so proud of Masters of Cinema that they do not succumb to this practice. I am referring to the NTSC standard in which the discs are transferred - which was obviously the only available source that MoC had access to. It wasn't cheaply manipulated for PAL-locked audiences where, perhaps, they might find stronger sales... but also destroy the integrity of the image (and audio). This commitment to art is virtually unheard of today. Bravo - you guys remain my heroes!

The overall image quality is consistent in all three film-to-DVD transfers. There is some minor contrast flickering and very minimal damage (light scratches) with Flowing tending to show the most at the very beginning of the presentation. I didn't know what to expect with this boxset but I am honestly very pleased with the outcome. It has far exceeded my expectations. The screen captures give a fair representation. These films look very acceptable folks. I feel honored to view Naruse' cinema looking this good. It borders on miraculous.

I'm interested in Naruse, especially two films, Mother and Floating Clouds, the french boxset (not english friendly) contains Repast,
Floating Clouds and Summer Clouds. Could someone tell me if there's a chance to have Okasan in the second MOC set.

French boxset review :

http://www.dvdrama.com/rw_fiche-6990...kio-naruse.php

MOC has wonderful films. I have just watched Naked Island - an awe inspiring movie with hardly any dialog. Simply superb. If you liked this, don's miss Twenty-Four Eyes. Another gem of a movie.

I just watched Shoeshine from MOC. What a superb movie by De Sica. Very moving and a host of extras on the disc. The transfer itself is beautiful but a tad bit dark for my taste. But I doubt there is a better transfer anywhere else. Another magic release by MOC.

Dreyer's Vampyr is coming! Great news!

I recently watched Diary of a Lost Girl. Great movie. I had to get it after watching Pandora's Box. The DVD, unfortunately is barebones but there's a nice thick booklet with tons of great stuff inside. I'm really digging the Masters of Cinema series, really happy they've got 2 Kurosawas that Criterion hasn't released. I wish though that they would release more obscure movies and not ones that are available through Criterion.

I miss Nicheflix :(

too many movies, not enought money to buy all that I want

Benson's World is currently holding a sale on MoC titles: most of them are £9.99 and boxsets at £29.99. Not a fantastic sale, but better than the prices at most places currently (especially with the issues CD-Wow is going through) and they do still offer free shipping to the US. I ordered the Buster Keaton set...