European version of Variete

[Dave Pitts]

Anyone know of a reissue company that offers the European version of Variete (in which Lya dePutti is Jannings' mistress, not his wife?) I've wanted to see this for about 30 years -- everyone seems to have the U.S. version. That version is still good, and Jannings is staggering -- just bug-eyed berserk, after he discovers that DePutti is cheating on him. But the original is elusive and may have an extra edge of oomph. Also it's always good when a reissue manages to roll back the inane censorship of the olden-timey days.

[Mike Gebert]

It's out already.

[Dave Pitts]

Can you be more specific? Just visited Amazon -- they have some German DVD editions that won't play in the U.S. Other than that, they show only Grapevine's edition, and the Grapevine people told me over the phone that their copy is the version shown in the U.S. in '26.

[Mike Gebert]

More specific than the entire thread?

There's a German one out. There are lots of reviews of it in the thread. You have to be able to play region free though.

[Rodney]

Can you be more specific? Just visited Amazon -- they have some German DVD editions that won't play in the U.S. Other than that, they show only Grapevine's edition, and the Grapevine people told me over the phone that their copy is the version shown in the U.S. in '26.

You may have missed that Mike Gebert's post contained a link (click on the words) to a lot of information on the recent release of Variete.

It will play in the U.S., but you need a region-free DVD player. They can be found, often with a little tinkering (you may have one already: google your DVD player model number with the word "region hack" added to the search terms).

[Connoisseur]

The Blu Ray from the Murnau Stiftung, while having a horrible score, is Code Free....

[Real_McCoy]

i have the blu ray but i aint got no blu ray player. will it play on a dvd player?

[kaleidoscopeworld]

Real McCoy, no, a BR will not play on a DVD player.

[Rodney]

Real McCoy, no, a BR will not play on a DVD player.

On the plus side, your DVDs will play on your new Bluray player, so you don't need both.

However, I'm unclear on whether BluRays can be code free, and making a Bluray player code free is much harder than most DVD players. Sounds like you should get the DVD.

[Mitch Farish]

I got the BFI blu-ray of Phantom of the Opera, popped it in to my Zone A Oppo and it played like a charm. I finally bought the German blu-ray of Variete, after trying to decide whether I could live with the Tiger Lillies score. I haven't played it yet, but I think it will be fine. I will play it tonight and let you know what happens.

I just remembered, I also bought the German Loves of Pharaoh blu-ray, and it too played fine in my Zone A player.

[Real_McCoy]

Real McCoy, no, a BR will not play on a DVD player.

On the plus side, your DVDs will play on your new Bluray player, so you don't need both.

However, I'm unclear on whether BluRays can be code free, and making a Bluray player code free is much harder than most DVD players. Sounds like you should get the DVD.

I got it from a trade. (Variete) brand new with cellophane intact. But I am not too aware of the technology involved. I am going to wait before I buy any equipment. I actually thought it was going to be compatible. In the OLD days during the cold war each country had its own tv system. NOW we dont need separate systems but the One World Govt wants us separate as possible so the idea of one tv system in the world was verboten when or if the subject came up. In the OLD days I was getting tapes out from behind the iron curtain. Just goes to show the freeer you get the less free you become.

[Mitch Farish]

I just now put the BD in my Zone A player, and it read the disc with no problem. If you have a BD player, buy the blu-ray. The HD picture is worth it. If you aren't willing to invest in a blu-ray player, buy the DVD if you must have the movie.

[Mike Gebert]

Blu rays definitely can be code free. The BFI ones usually seem to be.

My region free player, once set to be region free for DVDs, seems to be that way forever. The bluray part I have to set to the region if it's different from the last thing I played. I bought from this place, who gave me clear instructions on how to set it:

http://www.220-electronics.com/region-f ... ayers.html" target="_blank

[Brent]

Hi Rodney,
For you and anyone else that's interested I've penned a simple guide that demystifies the intricacies of DVD and Blu-ray coding, PAL/NTSC and multi-region playback, etc:
http://www.brentonfilm.com/reference/bl ... -standards

[Rodney]

Thanks to all who corrected me on this! That sounds like good news. And though they're pricey, the Oppo players seem to be very good at what they do.

[Donald Binks]

Hi Rodney,
For you and anyone else that's interested I've penned a simple guide that demystifies the intricacies of DVD and Blu-ray coding, PAL/NTSC and multi-region playback, etc:
http://www.brentonfilm.com/reference/bl ... -standards

Thank you for explaining all this. I was astonished to learn that there is a world-wide standard for Blue Rays. How on earth was agreement reached on this? Also, the regional areas seem to be more logical than those of DVD's. I must admit I've never bothered with Blue Rays. I am quite happy with DVD's and all my machines play everything regardless of region or television system. I must have been lucky when I purchased them?

[Brent]

If you want the freedom to always buy the best possible discs from around the world, a region free A/V setup is essential. I've many friends with Oppo BD players who swear by them; one even runs two in tandem, permanently set to region A and region B. However, they are pricey and region free capability needn't cost the earth. I've got a great 5.1 surround system and project onto a 104" screen. My player of choice is a Toshiba BDX1200 which cost me all of £40 when new, three years ago. I made it BD/DVD region free in just a few minutes with a downloadable hack and it's worked like a dream ever since. In fact, if it failed now I'd get straight on eBay and search for a replacement unused one.

I was mainly guided in my choice by this forum:
https://www.avforums.com/threads/toshib ... d.1504741/
From similar A/V forums I know there are many equivalent, cheaply priced models to be had around the world. You just have to look!

There are many who will swear until their dying breath that a really expensive player is somehow "better" but all my friends agree I've got the best looking and sounding system among us.
For those who insist on only ever buying very expensive gear: I've got some $1,000 speaker cables and snake oil to sell you...

[BenModel]

And for those of you in the NYC area, the new Murnau Fdtn restoration of VARIETÉ will screen at MoMA twice, later this month. Tinted, and quite a bit of clean-up done, with orig German titles with English subtitles. Nov 4 at 4pm accomp by Donald Sosin, Nov 15 at 6:15 accomp by some guy Ben Model. Also on the program is the recently discovered/restored MAIDS AND MUSLIN (1920, Vitagraph) with Jimmy Aubrey and Oliver Hardy.

*show/venue details*

Ben

[Mitch Farish]

There are many who will swear until their dying breath that a really expensive player is somehow "better" but all my friends agree I've got the best looking and sounding system among us.

I don't think an Oppo will make your blu-rays look any better than a less expensive player will, but I used to have an Oppo upscaling DVD player that make my DVDs look HD (not like 1080p but much better than 480p), and the Oppo BDs do claim they have superior upscaling. I horded all my Amazon points for a year so I could get a region free player for less than I would have paid for a region locked player. I am very happy.

[Brent]

I set my amp to "pass through" the A/V unaltered and let my PJ, an Epson EH-TW3200 (E 8350 in the US) handle the upscaling. DVDs look brilliant: with decent ones I have to constantly remind myself I'm not watching a BD. I've even got up and ejected the disc once or twice to check I wasn't sent a BD by mistake! None of this is meant to sound like boasting: I simply urge everyone here who loves film to see that they can very easily and cheaply have a true cinematic experience in their own home every night. Everything else is just television.

Anyhoo, to get back on topic: At Pordenone last month I saw a presentation of Varieté's new score hosted by a representative of the FWMS. The kindest thing I can say about it is that... it's definitely not for me. Clearly, most other people present strongly concurred. It's heartening to hear that Donald and Ben are accompanying it in the States. Hopefully interest in it will start to grow and alternatively scored BDs will be released, in at least the US and UK. And hey: if it ends up only being the former and it's region A locked, I'm ready for it!