Tweet Gaumont planning to release Bernard silent features

Jérôme Soulet (head of Gaumont Classic DVDs) announced on DVDClassik that Gaumont is planning to release 3 silent features by Raymond Bernard. No titles were mentioned. But, I guess the three titles might be: Le Miracle des loups (The Miracle of the Wolves, 1924), Le joueur d'échecs (The Chess Player, 1927) and Tarakanova (1929). The aim is to release a boxset for the last quarter of 2012
And, even better, he said that Gaumont wants to join forces with Pathé to release silent features in boxsets at the rate of 2 per year. Really incredible news!
I'll tell you more when details become available.

I'm a big fan of Raymond Bernard.......but.........The Miracle of The Wolves creaks like an old barn door.....The Chess Player is a work of genius but the Photoplay restoration has been out on DVD for many years.....so Tarakanova; worth buying a box set for ???

Very good news, I also was eager to see Tarakanova.
Let's see if we are lucky and also edited LE PRINCE CHARMANT (1925) Viktor Tourjansky,LE VERTIGE (1926) Marcel L'Herbier.
Regards

I'm a big fan of Raymond Bernard.......but.........The Miracle of The Wolves creaks like an old barn door.....The Chess Player is a work of genius but the Photoplay restoration has been out on DVD for many years.....so Tarakanova; worth buying a box set for ???

I know that The Miracle of the Wolves can feel overlong. I have the feeling that the Henri Rabaud score could make a real difference. I know it was screened in Pordenone with a piano reduction to a mixed reception. Frankly, I doubt any of the colors of the original score where left. (Just imagine Debussy's La Mer on a piano...) For my part, I have seen Le Miracle only on a video screen and mute. I enjoyed it, even if there are some 'longueurs' here and there. If there is a film that needs an orchestral score, that's the one. On top, it already exists!
I saw Tarakanova a few years back at a Cinémathèque screening. It's certainly not quite as good as Le Joueur d'échecs and Le miracle des loups. Bernard uses again his favourite leading lady Edith Jehanne playing a double role. She is a simple gipsy who happens to be the spitting image of Princess Tarakanova, a putative heiress to the throne of Russia, and a ferocious enemy of Catherine II. In my memory, the print was a bit soft (dupey).
Well, I still consider it a miracle that Gaumont is showing any interest in its silent holdings enough to release a DVD.

Woo Hoo! I guess you shamed them into action with your post in response to my question about this very title. Can't wait. Rats, I just saw the "might" in the OP. Oh, well, at least there's a better chance than there was before this news. Any way to give them feedback about which titles we'd prefer?

I think Le miracle des loups is a certainty. When I ask Mr Soulet about this particular title, he said yes. Then he added the idea of a 3-films boxset. But, unlike Tarakanova and Le joueur d'échecs, they have no recorded soundtrack for this one...

Is it very expensive to get a score for it? An orchestral one would be preferred I would guess, but anything would be better than nothing.

Henri Rabaud wrote an orchestral score for Le miracle des loups. I think it has been preformed in the 70s. But, not since. Rabaud wrote also a score for Le joueur d'échecs that Carl Davis restored and recorded. When I met him last year, he said he had examined parts of the Rabaud score for Le miracle des loups and recognised some themes that he reused in Joueur d'échecs. [You can read the interview here.] If Gaumont wants to record it, it's going to be really expensive, because it's not just a case of recording an orchestra playing a score. When Carl Davis got the Joueur d'échecs score, he had to work a lot to adjust it to the film...

The head of Gaumond classic DVDs has confirmed that a Raymond Bernard boxset will be released on 7th November 2012. It will contain: Le Miracle des loups (1924), Le Joueur d'échecs (1927) and Tarakanova (1929)

(Just imagine Debussy's La Mer on a piano...)

It's been done- and by Debussy himself.

Will they be available with English subtitles?

I hope one of the films to be released is Jeanne Doré, which stars Sarah Bernhardt and Bernard's son, Tristan. To the best of my knowledge, only one print exists in the world at the Cinémathèque Française.

I hope one of the films to be released is Jeanne Doré, which stars Sarah Bernhardt and Bernard's son, Tristan. To the best of my knowledge, only one print exists in the world at the Cinémathèque Française.

Not in this box. I think it's unlikely this particular feature will get a release soon.

Good news: the Bernard DVD boxset is to be released on November 7th, 2012. It is confirmed. (I realised I already gave the information some time ago...)

Message for Mr Menefee: Jeanne Doré is being screened tonight. I'll talk about it later.

You can find the review of Jeanne Doré here.

Here is the cover of the Bernard Box:


It will include English subtitles, a short 35 min doc about Bernard's career and some pictures of Jeanne Doré.

My review of the Bernard box and some screen captures.
Reviews of Le Miracle des loups, Le Joueur d'échecs and Tarakanova.

I'm guessing you can't order this from any US company. If not, does anyone know the cheapest way to order? I am guessing it's Region 2 only?

Will your reviews be available in English? Also, I am sorry if I have missed it, but what is your name? I don't want to refer to you as Ann, as I suspect that isn't it. Tks.

I'm guessing you can't order this from any US company. If not, does anyone know the cheapest way to order? I am guessing it's Region 2 only?

I'm hoping Kino releases this in region 1 as they did with some other Gaumont films. Don't forget B & N's Criterion sale. You can get the Raymond Bernard films Les Miserables/Wooden Crosses at a good price now (Eclipse Series 4).

Will your reviews be available in English? Also, I am sorry if I have missed it, but what is your name? I don't want to refer to you as Ann, as I suspect that isn't it. Tks.

I presume that's AH's real name at the end of the review linked to in her post.

Absolutely right. My name appears at the end of the review. As for ordering the discs, you can do it from amazon.fr. The DVDs are region 2, but there are English subs for all 3 films. No there won't be any English translation of the reviews. I haven't got the time right now to do it. But you can use Google Translate.

Sorry, Ann, I thought that was just your screen avatar name. Unfortunately, I don't understand French, so I don't think I can order from Amazon.fr, unless there is an English version of their site.

Does anyone on this board live in France, and would be willing to order this for me? I could send the money before you order obviously. As long as people here can vouch for you.

I hope so, because I really want to get this set. Thanks.

Mike

Sorry, Ann, I thought that was just your screen avatar name. Unfortunately, I don't understand French, so I don't think I can order from Amazon.fr, unless there is an English version of their site.

Does anyone on this board live in France, and would be willing to order this for me? I could send the money before you order obviously. As long as people here can vouch for you.

I hope so, because I really want to get this set. Thanks.

Mike

If you open Amazon.fr on the chrome browser, you can set it to convert the language.
Or as an alternative, just have an amazon.com browser open at the same time, and look at the text, the foreign amazon sites are laid out exactly the same as the US ones, I have ordered from them without translation in the past. And if you log in with your US account info, they have all your account info.

Sorry, Ann, I thought that was just your screen avatar name. Unfortunately, I don't understand French, so I don't think I can order from Amazon.fr, unless there is an English version of their site.

Does anyone on this board live in France, and would be willing to order this for me? I could send the money before you order obviously. As long as people here can vouch for you.

I hope so, because I really want to get this set. Thanks.

Mike

If you open Amazon.fr on the chrome browser, you can set it to convert the language.
Or as an alternative, just have an amazon.com browser open at the same time, and look at the text, the foreign amazon sites are laid out exactly the same as the US ones, I have ordered from them without translation in the past. And if you log in with your US account info, they have all your account info.

Tks, I will give that a try.

As Salty Dog told you, the ordering system is exactly the same as on Amazon.com. You can get help in English on that page.

Ok, I finally took the plunge and ordered this on the french site. Says it will be 10 days. Can't wait.

P.S. - Formerly ChaneyFan.