International Jerzy Hoffman Fans-The Deluge Comes to Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

I really enjoy Hoffman's films, especially his trilogy based on the Henryk Sienkiewicz (Quo Vadis) novels set in 17th Century Poland. The Deluge (Potop) is the second of three, the first is With Fire and Sword and the last is Colonel Wolodyjowski. A Polish BD of With Fire and Sword was released some years ago and it has become a favorite. This newly restored five hour version of the director's cut of Potop will be released on blu-ray on April 14. It is in Polish with English subtitles. Enjoy a trailer of it over at http://bluedvd.pl/potop-redivivus-blu-ray.html Potop is grand historical adventure, and was an Oscar nominee in 1975. You can find it on ebay, as well. I'll report back when my BD arrives.

Great news! Please report back with your views on this very welcome release.

I'd love to see The Deluge on BD. I've only seen the non-anamorphic DVD, but its a great epic. I like Colonel W, too (though not as much as The Deluge). For some reason, I never got around to watching With Fire & Sword. Interesting that the trilogy was filmed in reverse order.

David_B_K said:

I'd love to see The Deluge on BD. I've only seen the non-anamorphic DVD, but its a great epic. I like Colonel W, too (though not as much as The Deluge). For some reason, I never got around to watching With Fire & Sword. Interesting that the trilogy was filmed in reverse order.

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I just love With Fire and Sword. Many of the characters are quirky and fun, to say the least. The battles are fabulous and it is all a wild and rousing adventure. Highly recommended. The BD seems to be now out of print, which tells me that a new transfer is probably on the way soon.

My POTOP blu-ray arrived from Poland and it is magnificent. The official running time is 169 minutes for Part 1 and 146 minutes for Part 2. There are plenty of fascinating extras, as well. Hoffman recut the original film using extensive original material to improve it and ended up with something really exciting. Restored without annoying DNR and scanned in 4K, the visuals are gorgeous, sharp and immersive. In fact, I would say that this one beats out the recent UK TALES OF HOFFMANN for best looking BD of the year. Jerzy is one of the finest historical epic directors and this is considered his masterpiece. It comes in a hardcover booklet package, sort of like what WB does with films like CAMELOT or STREETCAR. The photo-filled booklet is in both Polish and English and the BD is region free. What a spectacular package!

I also just received the blu-ray from Poland. Since I'm at work, I briefly popped it into my office player for a spot check. Granted, the image looks fantastic, but on the disc I received, the film runs only 185 minutes in total. Reading through the booklet, it seems that the director decided to cut the film down to three hours from five, fearing that the long version wouldn't play well with contemporary audiences. My blu-ray is entitled "POTOP REDIVIVUS 2014." Was another blu-ray released of the complete original version? Is that what you received? If so, can you tell me which site you ordered it from? The link shown a few posts above indicates the 185 minute version.

Ed, I, too want to know where you got the long version.

David Com said:

I also just received the blu-ray from Poland. Since I'm at work, I briefly popped it into my office player for a spot check. Granted, the image looks fantastic, but on the disc I received, the film runs only 185 minutes in total. Reading through the booklet, it seems that the director decided to cut the film down to three hours from five, fearing that the long version wouldn't play well with contemporary audiences. My blu-ray is entitled "POTOP REDIVIVUS 2014." Was another blu-ray released of the complete original version? Is that what you received? If so, can you tell me which site you ordered it from? The link shown a few posts above indicates the 185 minute version.

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Well, I took the timeline from the back cover of the POTOP REDIVIVUS BD itself, near the bottom, which states the total time as 305 minutes. Please check that, as that is exactly what my copy states. I've not seen the whole film, just bits and pieces. It seems a bit different than the old Polart DVD, much better in fact, so I've not enjoyed the film in its entirety yet. The booklet describes the two part times. Perhaps, the 305 minutes includes the extras, but that is unusual. This is the only blu-ray I'm aware of.

My blu-ray also lists 305 minutes on the back. There are some lengthy extras, but I agree that it probably wouldn't add up to that runtime. Misprint, possibly? I see the section in the booklet where they break down the Part 1 and 2 runtimes, but if you continue reading, the essay goes on to state that they used those restored complete elements of the five hour version to create the new, shorter three hour cut. There is also another section in the booklet that prints an interview excerpt where Jerzy Hoffman states his reasons for making this new, shorter cut: "modern viewers perception has been shaped by music videos and the Internet…they process the information at a greater speed, hence the need for a more dynamic narration."


While I understand his rationale, I still doubt that a younger, more contemporary audience will be enticed to watch a forty year old film just because it's shorter. And it's a shame that those of us who appreciate and enjoy studying film history have to watch versions with inferior visual presentations to see the complete film. Oh well…hopefully, they'll release the original cut at some point, because it does look great.

Hi Ed and David, thank you very much for reporting about the Deluge Redivivus Blu.


Following your discussion with great interest.


Jerzy Hoffman speaks a bit more about his reediting here, in English:

http://www.repozytorium.fn.org.pl/?q=en/node/8458



Personally, I´ m pretty sure the long version will be released on Blu, perhaps later this year or in 2016. There must be an audience for that version also.

I will be interested in hearing how the new cut holds up. Even if it works, it does not mean it's an improvement. I originally saw the short version of John Woo's Red Cliff, but much preferred the longer cut.

I ordered this Blu-ray from a Polish ebayer and watched it over the weekend. There were lots of cuts. Most were the typical time-savers that happen with most films. Incidents were missing that were not necessarily germane to the plot, though they may have been entertaining incidents nonetheless. I was most bothered by early cutting. There is a scene in the longer version in which Olenka's protectors warn her about the villainous company that Kmicic keeps. Apparently, they had started some trouble that involved rape and murder. This helps set up the reason for the townspeople's violent reaction when Kmicic's companions start harassing some some young women and end up getting themselves killed. I would have liked that scene of the warning to have been left in.


Also, the treachery of the Radziwills is revealed much sooner in this version. I didn't necessarily miss some of the earlier scenes with the Hetman, in which he appears to be a patriot, so I guess this was good economical cutting. One cut that I thought was new was actually the same in the longer version. Near the end, Kmicic and the Colonel are riding together to more battles. The scene rather abruptly shifts to Olenka in a sled discovering a wounded man being dragged in a sled who turns out to be Kmicic. This cut seemed way to sudden for me, but it appeared the same way in my old DVD.


The movie looks and sounds great on this Blu-ray. My wife watched some of it and expressed amazement that such a spectacular film is largely unknown outside of Poland. I do hope they one day do the long version on Blu-ray, but this shorter one is certainly enjoyable until then.

Has anybody seen this DVD of Potop?


http://www.empik.com/potop-hoffman-jerzy,p1102241227,film-p


Released November 2014, with English subtitles. Running time 277 mins. - seems to be the original theatrical version, after PAL speed-up.


The two user reviews by Wieslaw Seczkowski states "image nicely restored in 2.35 format" and "running time is really 287 mins. (154 mins. + 133 mins.)"

I ran the Polish text through Google Translate.


Maybe this is a remastered DVD of the original Potop? Not a restored version on Blu-Ray, but maybe second best.


The release date, Nov. 2014, coincides with the first showings of Potop Redivivus.


Col. Wolodyjowski (135 mins) and With Fire and Sword (204 mins. = TV four-part version according to ImdB) are also available with similar-looking DVD covers.


The reviewer Seczkowski writes that "Wolodyjowski" looks restored, with a greenish tint.

Spotted on the French forum DVDClassik - info about a box set containing all thre Sienkiewicz films -- The Deluge, Col. Wolodyjowski, With Fire and Sword.


The Deluge comes in two versions: the 1974 one and the re-edited Redivivus.


In Blu-Ray, with English subtitles.


Release November 27.


http://www.dvdmax.pl/trylogia-sienkiewicza-potop-ogniem-i-mieczem-pan-wolodyjowski-potop-redivivus-box-4xblu-ray,art509723

That's right! The blu-ray trilogy is coming soon and is up for pre-order at: http://bluedvd.pl/trylogia-ogniem-i-mieczem-potop-pan-wolodyjowski-4-blu-ray.html

No word on individual BDs, besides Potop. which I already have. Very exciting news, indeed. A nice WIth Fire and Sword upgrade is worth the price of the set alone.