Asta Nielsen's Hamlet, and more

[urbanora]

Edition Filmmuseum, the excellent German DVD label, now includes on its site a list of forthcoming titles and titles in preparation.

http://www.edition-filmmuseum.com/produ ... eases.html

The one I've been looking forward to especially is HAMLET (1920), with Asta Nielsen in the title role, which I understand is to be released in October. I assume this is the recently restored version with highly atmospheric soundtrack by Michael Riessler.

The silents among the upcoming releases are Devushka s korobkoy & Dom na Trubnoy (Boris Barnet, 1927/1928), Der Bettler vom Kölner Dom (Rolf Randolf, 1927) and Shestaya chast mira & Odinnadtsatyy (Dziga Vertov, 1926/1928).

The silents in preparation are: Frankfurt im Film (1900-1945), Karl Valentin und das Kino (1912-1930), Der Hund von Baskerville (Rudolf Meinert, 1914), Sein eigner Mörder (Max Mack, 1914), Von morgens bis Mitternacht (Karl Heinz Martin, 1920), Sappho (Dimitri Buchowetzki, 1921), Abwege (Georg Wilhelm Pabst, 1928), Das Mädchen Sumiko (Shigeyoshi Suzuki, 1929), Waterloo (Karl Grune, 1929) and Der lebende Leichnam (Fedor Ozep, 1929)

[Gaucho]

For those who just can't wait - Das Mädchen Sumiko or Nani ga kanojo wo so saseta ka [lit. What Made Her Do It?] (Suzuki Shigeyoshi, 1929) is readily available in an R0/NTSC - English friendly version from Amazon Japan.

[davidgasten]

I'm going to be putting up reviews of Edition Filmmuseum's release of the restored The Joyless Street and the Danish Film Institute's Asta Nielsen Four Films DVD on the Pola site. I'm a big Asta fan so I am always happy to get the word out on her. I'll let everyone know when I get those reviews up.

[James Bazen]

Wow! I was just saying the other day that Nielsen's Hamlet needed a good DVD release. I have the old Peter Kavel VHS which actually isn't too bad quality. It's a superb production and Nielsen is a knockout. This is great news.

[davidgasten]

Isn't it though? To clue everybody in, the Asta version of Hamlet is based on a theory advanced by some American psychoanalyst from the period that Hamlet was actually a woman disguised as a man, and that is exactly how Asta plays the character of Hamlet. She does such a good job of playing a man that she has to occasionally remind you that she's really a woman. And she always does this right when you are starting to subconsciously accept her as a male character. It's just great acting of the highest order.

I hope this new DVD contains the color tinted version of Hamlet that they found recently. A 2-DVD release with the color version and the original black and white version would be a release made in heaven as far as I am concerned. I have the Peter Kavel version too and it's one of my most prized VHS tapes.

A nice release of Dirnentragödie (1927) would be great too; that's another good Asta picture that's virtually unseen.

[Damfino]

It's very exciting to see the list of Edition Filmmuseum's upcoming releases - I think they're pretty much the best European-silents DVD label - some of these titles have been released, but some are completely unseen surprises. The trouble is their slow release schedule! Which is understandable, given the time needed for restoration work, extras etc, but many of these titles probably won't actually appear on DVD for years.....

Speaking of which, as far as I know the Danish Film Institute hasn't released any silents in years? That's a bit disappointing, considering all the fascinating early Danish silents they've released in the past.

[StefanieTieste]

During an internship at the Deutsches Filminstitut, I had not only the possibility of watching the new reconstruction of 'Hamlet' at the "Caligari Filmbühne Wiesbaden" but I also was a lucky girl, getting the chance to talk to Anke Mebold, who restored the film. She really put much effort into the DVD release. And yes, it is the tinted version - I'm really looking forward for this DVD, too! And, of course, the other releases...

[davidgasten]

I'll say you're lucky! At least these Asta Nielsen movies are coming out on DVD; that's a major accomplishment.

[WaverBoy]

Anyone know if ABWEGE (1928) is still in the pipeline?

[entredeuxguerres]

Anyone know if ABWEGE (1928) is still in the pipeline?

In the pipeline? It's sitting on my DVD shelf.

[greta de groat]

Does anyone know why Der Hund von Baskerville (Rudolf Meinert, 1914) disappeared from the current version of the list? It's not among the already releasedfilms. I don't think i saw Karl Valentine either.

[WaverBoy]

Anyone know if ABWEGE (1928) is still in the pipeline?

In the pipeline? It's sitting on my DVD shelf.

I can't find it listed on their website as being for sale, nor can I find it anywhere else. Might you be able to post a link to it? Thanks in advance!

[entredeuxguerres]

Anyone know if ABWEGE (1928) is still in the pipeline?

In the pipeline? It's sitting on my DVD shelf.

I can't find it listed on their website as being for sale, nor can I find it anywhere else. Might you be able to post a link to it? Thanks in advance!

Copy I have was recorded from an Arte TV broadcast. Superb quality, as I guess is customary for Arte, cost $7; but as it wasn't packaged in a big plastic case, you probably wouldn't like it.

[WaverBoy]

In the pipeline? It's sitting on my DVD shelf.

I can't find it listed on their website as being for sale, nor can I find it anywhere else. Might you be able to post a link to it? Thanks in advance!

Copy I have was recorded from an Arte TV broadcast. Superb quality, as I guess is customary for Arte, cost $7; but as it wasn't packaged in a big plastic case, you probably wouldn't like it.

Impressive snark indeed, but I meant in the pipeline from Edition Filmmuseum. I guess I'll look for other sources then.

[Gary Newman]

I recently got a pretty decent DVD of Abwege, NTSC, Region 0, English subtitles, and good service, from RAREFILMSANDMORE.COM.

[WaverBoy]

I recently got a pretty decent DVD of Abwege, NTSC, Region 0, English subtitles, and good service, from RAREFILMSANDMORE.COM.

Thanks Gary!

[Brent]

Here we go again: what starts off as a well-intentioned thread informing us of legitimate restorations and releases from respected archives, is (eventually) hijacked by those not only unashamed to buy bootlegs and counterfeits, but are actually boastful about it.

With friends like you, who needs enemies?

[Gary Newman]

Here we go again: what starts off as a well-intentioned thread informing us of legitimate restorations and releases from respected archives, is (eventually) hijacked by those not only unashamed to buy bootlegs and counterfeits, but are actually boastful about it.

With friends like you, who needs enemies?

Bootlegs? Counterfeits? Enemies? You really shouldn’t be throwing around words like that, without providing any facts to support them.

[Brent]

There are plenty of "facts to support them" in numerous threads all over these forums. "You really shouldn’t be" telling me what I can and can't say without checking your own facts first.

Hint: that little search box at the top of the page is a good place to start.

[kaleidoscopeworld]

Anyone know if ABWEGE (1928) is still in the pipeline?

Here is the In Preparation list ... no Abwege. It seems to have dropped of the list a couple of years back, along with Der Hund von Baskerville, Das Mädchen Sumiko, Sappho, etc.

I am looking forward to Algol, Der Student von Prag, and Devuska s korobkoj & Dom na Trubnoj, all of which have been in preparation for a couple of years (several years for the Barnet films).

As for the bootleg discussion ... personally I only buy archival-type releases, but can we really call the Abwege DVD a bootleg if there is no other version commercially available? Does anyone know if it is in the PD?