International European DVD Report: THE WIND (Silent, 1928) (1 Viewer)

Dick · Dec 4, 2014

THE WIND (1928) DVD

Abysmal Spanish Disc.

This review is made possible with the help of www.DaaVeeDee.com

LABEL: LlamentalCOUNTRY OF ORIGIN: SpainREGION: 0, but this is a PAL disc.ASPECT RATIO: 1.33:1
TIME: 1:15:14C/BW: B&WSOUND: DTS 2.0 StereoSUBTITLES: Spanish (removable).BONUS MATERIAL: Nothing.CHAPTERS: 6

THE WIND is a wonderful western silent film directed by Victor Seastrom and starring the iconic Lillian Gish. It needs a decent restoration, along with other Warner Bros. silent holdings such as GREED and THE CROWD. Growing impatient waiting for that to happen, I ordered this Spanish disc as a trial balloon, because this company was also offering the other two titles.

Now, imagine taking a muddy-looking VHS tape and projecting it across a 100" screen, you might have an idea of how this disc looks, It's worse than most of the Alpha Video public domain junk that's out there. No contrast, no detail. On top of that, of course, you have the PAL speedup, and a film running about 3 minutes shorter than the intended running time (although nothing has been cut). It is blurry to the point of being unwatchable even on my 55" monitor. DON'T BUY THIS DISC or the other Llamental titles...cross your fingers and hope that Warner Bros. will at least release these as part of their Archive series.

Insult to injury, for whatever reason, this movie starts in on chapter 3 (of 6) upon loading, and I had to back it up to view the beginning. This might be something that wouldn't happen on other machines, but what difference does it make -- this is an awful release!!

Only consolation is a stereo score by (I believe) Carl Davis, which sounds nice.

This review is made possible with the help of www.DaaVeeDee.com

bujaki · Dec 4, 2014

Pity. One of the great silent films; one of Gish's greatest performances.

AshJW · Dec 8, 2014

Funny, I just read about this film in the book "Lulu in Hollywood" by Louise Brooks.

Too bad this DVD is not worth it.

David_B_K · Dec 8, 2014

Guess I'll stick with my TCM recording.

Brent Reid · Jul 24, 2015

Why on earth would anyone complain in these forums, of all places, about the fact that they got burned on buying a pirate release from a well-known-to-be-operating-illegally/immorally outfit like Llamentol (note: with an 'o').

The Wind was restored in the UK by Photoplay Productions, who also own the copyright to their restoration. When/if it finally does see an official home video release, it certainly won't be by a bunch of fly-by-night Spanish pirates.

Robin9 · Jul 24, 2015

Brenty said:
Why on earth would anyone complain in these forums, of all places, about the fact that they got burned on buying a pirate release from a well-known-to-be-operating-illegally/immorally outfit like Llamentol (note: with an 'o').

I think you have misunderstood Dick's intention.

He is not complaining about being ripped-off. He's continuing his series of reviews of European discs, and in this instance he's advising us that the disc in question is a total abomination.

david hare · Jul 24, 2015

Nobody here would be in the slightest doubt that this was always going to be a z grade pirate disc from a pirated telecine/digibeta source.

Having said that I have no idea why this gentleman who does the reviews even bothered to review it in such detail, in the process not once mentioning the fact it's obviously an illegal bootleg.

IMO the review should be taken down or at least the reviewer should be encouraged to reduce any comments to the simple opening statement the disc is an illegal bootleg and should not be considered for purchase. And end of review,

Giving so much space to these products (especially from Spain and Italy where they abound) is giving them and the pirates oxygen..

Robin9 · Jul 25, 2015

david hare said:
Giving so much space to these products (especially from Spain and Italy where they abound) is giving them and the pirates oxygen..

I think it most unlikely that anyone reading Dick's review will want to buy the disc or want to explore what else this company has released!

Brent Reid · Jul 25, 2015

Disagree. Here are a couple of quotes you may appreciate:

“There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.” – Oscar Wilde

“There’s no such thing as bad publicity” – commonly attributed to Phineas T. Barnum

Robin9 · Jul 25, 2015

Brenty said:
Disagree. Here are a couple of quotes you may appreciate:

“There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.” – Oscar Wilde

“There’s no such thing as bad publicity” – commonly attributed to Phineas T. Barnum

Both those quotes are well-known and neither persuades me that anyone would be interested in this disc after reading Dick's review.

Brent Reid · Jul 25, 2015

You've missed the point. I'll explain more clearly: continually talking about something, even in a negative light, often merely gives it the oxygen of publicity. That Spanish label, along with several others, are discussed regularly in this forums and it's been proven repeatedly that they're definitely pirates. I'm actually surprised that the mods don't actively discourage it: they're quick to jump on and delete other discussions advocating piracy and copyright theft.

To address your point directly: if the OP's approach worked, and your argument was valid, by now people would have long since given up drugs, smoking, extramarital sex, murder... and an infinite number of other 'sins'.

Lastly, as I believe he's done several times before, he paid for the item in question, so he's actively supporting these companies, whether you like it or not. His message is: "I'm going to keep buying these things, so I can tell you not to." To say this is highly illogical is something of an understatement. Neither you nor he can have it both ways, so which is it to be?

schan1269 · Jul 26, 2015

Brenty said:
You've missed the point. I'll explain more clearly: continually talking about something, even in a negative light, often merely gives it the oxygen of publicity. That Spanish label, along with several others, are discussed regularly in this forums and it's been proven repeatedly that they're definitely pirates. I'm actually surprised that the mods don't actively discourage it: they're quick to jump on and delete other discussions advocating piracy and copyright theft.

To address your point directly: if the OP's approach worked, and your argument was valid, by now people would have long since given up drugs, smoking, extramarital sex, murder... and an infinite number of other 'sins'.

Lastly, as I believe he's done several times before, he paid for the item in question, so he's actively supporting these companies, whether you like it or not. His message is: "I'm going to keep buying these things, so I can tell you not to." To say this is highly illogical is something of an understatement. Neither you nor he can have it both ways, so which is it to be?

Or maybe...

DaaVeeDee got a hold of this dreck, wishes they hadn't.

I've never bought a disc from them...mainly from exhorbitant cost. Last movie they had, that nobody else in the US had...I ended up importing from Australia. Bought two movies that cost less than the one, by itself. Granted...I'm willing to wait the 3(???) weeks for them to get here.

Tony Bensley · Jul 26, 2015

David_B_K said:
Guess I'll stick with my TCM recording.

Hi David!

Same here!

CHEERS!

Tony

Robin9 · Jul 26, 2015

Brenty said:
You've missed the point. I'll explain more clearly: continually talking about something, even in a negative light, often merely gives it the oxygen of publicity. That Spanish label, along with several others, are discussed regularly in this forums and it's been proven repeatedly that they're definitely pirates. I'm actually surprised that the mods don't actively discourage it: they're quick to jump on and delete other discussions advocating piracy and copyright theft.

To address your point directly: if the OP's approach worked, and your argument was valid, by now people would have long since given up drugs, smoking, extramarital sex, murder... and an infinite number of other 'sins'.

Lastly, as I believe he's done several times before, he paid for the item in question, so he's actively supporting these companies, whether you like it or not. His message is: "I'm going to keep buying these things, so I can tell you not to." To say this is highly illogical is something of an understatement. Neither you nor he can have it both ways, so which is it to be?

I haven't missed the point. You have. In fact you've missed more than one.

First, if you believe that continually talking about something gives it publicity, why are you belaboring the issue in this thread?

Second, comparing this issue with smoking, taking drugs etc. misses the crucial point that people think it's worthwhile participating in those activities and are unpersuaded by hostile propaganda. No-one in their right mind thinks it worthwhile to buy a severely sub-standard DVD. Your analogy has failed.

Your last paragraph may or may not be valid, but it is a second attempt to reposition yourself. You began by querying why Dick was complaining about being ripped off. When that was rebutted, you changed your stance and presented two shop-worn quotations to suggest that your concern was publicising the product. Now that has been challenged, you criticize Dick for buying this disc without knowing if he was aware it was a bootleg.

My policy is never to buy any bootleg product on principle. Because I avoid bootlegs, I know little about them and it is just possible I might unknowingly buy one. Reviews like Dick's are useful because they bring to light the fact that these discs are both illegitimate and low-quality.

Brent Reid · Jul 26, 2015

There's another "shop-worn" quote, usually misattributed to Winston Churchill, about the very definition of a fan, that would appear to apply to you. I'm sure, being as well-read as you obviously are, you already know it. I'll make this my final word on the matter here for that reason.

All your arguments are based purely on your own opinions, not fact. You've now made several sweeping generalisations and continue to claim the best of both worlds/have your cake and eat it too (two "shop-worn" phrases!) to support your illogical position. Wikipedia call the type of statements you make "weasel words" and with good reason. That isn't a "shop-worn" phrase yet, but it deserves to be.

As I already stated, Dick knew full well what he was buying and he's been doing it for a while. Going by your post count you're likely even more familiar with these forums than I; you already know this too and are clutching at straws.

For actual evidence, as opposed to supposition, try doing an all-forums search using the keywords Dick, Rick, Spanish - I'd like to say I think you'll be surprised at the results, but we both know that isn't true.

Just to give the lie to your claim, here's just one recent thread that you've participated in, where he discusses knowingly buying pirate discs, including - surprise! - the very disc in question. Funny too how you keep clinging to this argument, which you know to be false, and defending his continually and knowingly supporting these companies when he doesn't bother to refute it and defend himself, isn't it? I'm sure he's very grateful to you though.

Lastly, your final paragraph would be hilarious, if you didn't mean it:
"Second, comparing this issue with smoking, taking drugs etc. misses the crucial point that people think it's worthwhile participating in those activities and are unpersuaded by hostile propaganda."

Surely even you don't really think you can speak for everybody on either of those points. I, for one, do not think any of those activities are worthwhile partaking in and never have. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one.

The pirates/bootleggers don't need to sell vast quantities to everybody; relatively few supporters will keep them in business.

"No-one in their right mind thinks it worthwhile to buy a severely sub-standard DVD. Your analogy has failed."

Er, I think some do, some of them repeatedly. Just ask Dick/Rick.

Have a good day sir!

bigshot · Jul 26, 2015

I don't believe they are pirates. I think they're just really cheap and they are doing business in a very limited market. I would imagine that a video comapany doing business in South Africa, the Middle East or Southeast Asia would probably cut a lot of the same corners. Like everything else in this world, you have to judge each release on its own merits. I'm glad I got the South Korean Chaplin box set and the Spanish/Italian Night of the Demon. Sometimes buying in small corners of the Earth pays off. That's the whole reason I got a region free player.

david hare · Jul 26, 2015

You must live in a parallel universe if you believe Lamentol and other fly by night labels like it are not pirates. I find this so completely disingenuous and I can only assume from your last post you have no issues with buying pirated discs from anywhere else.

That's your business and I will leave it at that. But don't come on the high horse about being region free so you can buy pirated discs from across the globe. As everyone here would be aware pirated discs by very mode of creation are normally RCE region stripped anyway.

You must think you're talking to complete idiots here. You're in fact addressing a highly industry literate membership. perhaps you should bear that in mind when you talk so freely about pirated material.

Mike Frezon · Jul 26, 2015

Even though a moderator of this forum, I freely admit to knowing next-to-nothing about this topic. So, as to the earlier discussion about whether this thread should be permitted here...I dunno. But I will try to find out.

That said, I do know that this topic is becoming more about sharp words from members directed against other members and questioning their motivations rather than pertaining to the issue at hand.

Those will stop here and now.

Robin9 · Jul 26, 2015

Mike Frezon said:
That said, I do know that this topic is becoming more about sharp words from members directed against other members and questioning their motivations rather than pertaining to the issue at hand.

Those will stop here and now.

It's a good thing you posted that as I was about to respond in irritation to an ill-natured post directed at me.

Robin9 · Jul 26, 2015

Brenty said:
There's another "shop-worn" quote, usually misattributed to Winston Churchill, about the very definition of a fan, that would appear to apply to you. I'm sure, being as well-read as you obviously are, you already know it. I'll make this my final word on the matter here for that reason.

All your arguments are based purely on your own opinions, not fact. You've now made several sweeping generalisations and continue to claim the best of both worlds/have your cake and eat it too (two "shop-worn" phrases!) to support your illogical position. Wikipedia call the type of statements you make "weasel words" and with good reason. That isn't a "shop-worn" phrase yet, but it deserves to be.

As I already stated, Dick knew full well what he was buying and he's been doing it for a while. Going by your post count you're likely even more familiar with these forums than I; you already know this too and are clutching at straws.

For actual evidence, as opposed to supposition, try doing an all-forums search using the keywords Dick, Rick, Spanish - I'd like to say I think you'll be surprised at the results, but we both know that isn't true.

Just to give the lie to your claim, here's just one recent thread that you've participated in, where he discusses knowingly buying pirate discs, including - surprise! - the very disc in question. Funny too how you keep clinging to this argument, which you know to be false, and defending his continually and knowingly supporting these companies when he doesn't bother to refute it and defend himself, isn't it? I'm sure he's very grateful to you though.

Lastly, your final paragraph would be hilarious, if you didn't mean it:
"Second, comparing this issue with smoking, taking drugs etc. misses the crucial point that people think it's worthwhile participating in those activities and are unpersuaded by hostile propaganda."

Surely even you don't really think you can speak for everybody on either of those points. I, for one, do not think any of those activities are worthwhile partaking in and never have. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one.

The pirates/bootleggers don't need to sell vast quantities to everybody; relatively few supporters will keep them in business.

"No-one in their right mind thinks it worthwhile to buy a severely sub-standard DVD. Your analogy has failed."

Er, I think some do, some of them repeatedly. Just ask Dick/Rick.

Have a good day sir!

As you are becoming increasingly agitated and as a moderator has advised us all to calm down, I'm not going to give a point-by-point refutation of your assertions. I will make the following points.

1) Of course my arguments reflect my opinions! They also reflect common sense!

2) You do not know that Dick was aware he was buying a bootleg product. You may want to believe it but you have no way of knowing for sure.

3) Hurling insults instead of arguing rationally does not strengthen your case.

4) You consistently reposition yourself but you have not yet made an rational argument. Dick has denounced this disc and has said it is worse than VHS. You have responded by asserting that consequently people may buy it. This flies in the face of common sense. So: please explain why people will want to import a disc that has been described as very low quality.

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