The Decalogue reissue on 8/19 (1 Viewer)

[SteveGon]

According to the Facets email I just received, Krzysztof Kieslowski's The Decalogue is set to be re-released on 8/19. Just FYI.

Go here for details.


Note that nothing is said of the films being remastered, nor do the extras seem substantial enough to warrant investing in this new edition as I have the old one. But for those of you who don't have it...

 

[Brian PB]

For anyone who doesn't own The Decalogue and who is on the fence about whether to purchase the upcoming Facets (re-)release or the Korean R0 release from Infinity (recently praised at DVD Beaver), I offer the following:

I recently purchased the R0 Infinity release. While I'm very pleased with the image quality, the subtitling leaves something to be desired. The numerous typos are distracting, but the biggest problem is the timing of the subtitles: some long sentences zip by too quickly to be read, and I find I have to watch the films with the remote control in my hand so I don't miss any dialogue. Though I don't speak Polish, I also question the quality of the translations. These are not dialogue-heavy films but, with Kieslowski and Piesiewicz (who wrote the screenplays), every word counts.

Compare the translation of a religious/philosophical exchange from Dekalog 8 from the Infinity DVD with that from Annette Insdorf’s book, Double Lives, Second Chances, page 113:

Infinity DVD (Disc 4: Film 2, Chapter 8; 0:00-4:00)

Here, on earth—solitude. And up there? If there really is no life after death, if there really is nothing, then . . .

Granted, there are subtle differences, but the Insdorf translation conveys the meaning better than the more literal (I assume) Infinity translation.

One other quibble: the fifth disc in the set (containing Dekalog Nine and Ten) won't play in my Sony DVD player (though it did play in a friend's).

The Facets set now has a release date of August 19th. It boasts newly translated subtitles but, will likely have the same (inferior--though acceptable) image quality as the prior Image release. In email communications I've had with Facets, I think they may distribute this as an exclusive release, thus there won't be any online discounting of the $79.99 price tag. I'm left with the dilemma of whether to sell the Infinity set (which cost $94.90 delivered) & buy the Facets (since I can't afford both), or hold onto the Infinity & await a better release down the road.

Has anyone else bought the Infinity set and would care to comment?

 

[Holadem]

Never seen them, have been waiting forever. I believe even Even Netflix doesn't have them, or the wait is ridiculous. I'll be the first in line for this one.

With only 3 movies seen (you know which), Kieslowski is one of my favs.

--
Holadem

 

[ShaunS]

I have the original Facets release and will probably just hold onto it. While the few extras are tempting, unless they significantly increase the video quality (which isn't that bad on the first release) I'll probably not pick it up. I'll await some reviews... Too bad really, as it deserves AT LEAST the same quality release as the 3 Colors recently received. I still haven't made it through all those extras! Decalogue, in my opinion, is his best work that I've seen. 10 1-hour films!? The man is a machine! Now if only the Double Life of Veronique would be released.

 

[Brian PB]

Facets Decalogue Website

Facets Press Release

Note that this will be an exclusive release by Facets, which *may* mean it won't be available elsewhere. If that's the case, there probably won't be any discounting available on the $79.95 (+ S&H) price tag.

 

[Marc Colella]

The first review of this re-release is up:

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=6989

Sounds like the transfer is slightly better, but only a very small improvement has been made? I guess I'll wait for more reviews.

 

[Brian PB]

Just to retract my earlier post from June: Facets' release of Decalogue is widely available online, often at substantial discounts. The best prices going right now would seem to be from Playcentric.com ($46.04) or Deep Discount DVD ($47.98)--both more than 40% off the $79.95 retail price.

 

[Dave B Ferris]

Note to interested parties: the new set has started
shipping, at least from Facets. I received mine on
8/15 (Friday), via FedEx.

 

[Holadem]

No mention of this? I thought film lovers would be all over this set! I have been waiting for this since I discovered the trilogy a couple of years ago.

One of my most anticipated releases, but I have to pay some bills first :frowning:. I am getting it within 2 weeks though.

--
Holadem

 

[Marc Colella]

Well I've got mine ordered, and according to Amazon.ca - it's "shipping soon". It should go out today and I'll get it no later than Thursday.

I'll give my impressions after I spend the weekend viewing it. Unfortunately I've never seen the original release, so I can't make a comparison.

I'm just excited to finally have this masterpiece sitting on the shelf next to the other Kieslowski masterpiece - Trois Couleurs.

 

[Brian PB]

I received mine yesterday (from BestPrices.com). I also own the Spectrum (Korea) R0 release. Initial impressions:

* Disappointing that there are three black Snapper cases in the box set (which show every fingerprint, as does the glossy black booklet--get out the white gloves)
* Descriptions of the films on the cases are LOADED with spoilers--if you haven't seen them before, avert your eyes!
* The Ebert video introduction is OK--it's a single 15-minute piece (not individual intros to each film), but also full of spoilers
* The subtitling is much better than the Korean release
* Picture & audio quality is comparable to the Korean set, though I haven't yet done an A/B comparison
* I don't have/haven't seen the previous Image/Facets set, so I can't comment on whether the PQ, subtitling, etc has been improved; haven't had a chance to watch the three additional featurettes on disc 3 yet
* Despite the quibbles, the online discounted price (under $50) and the quality of the films themselves make this set a must-have (if you don't own a previous version)

 

[Gordon McMurphy]

Which is the best edition to get?

The Facets region 1 edition.

The Artificial Eye UK region 2 edition.

The Polish region 2 edition (expensive).

The French edition - does this have the same excellent transfers as the Warner Polish edition?

 

[Marc Colella]

Gordon,

Not sure if you checked out Gary's comparisons, but in case you didnt:

http://207.136.67.23/film/DVDCompare2/decalogue.htm

 

[Gordon McMurphy]

Thanks, Marc. I already checked DVD Beaver and it was very helpful, but it doesn't compare the two 2-disc British region 2 editions from Artificial Eye.

I have since learned that the MGM French edition does NOT have English subtitles, just French subtitles.

I decided to order the Facets edition from DVD Pacific for $58 / £32.

Amazing series of films.

 

[andrew markworthy]

Try:

http://www.dvdcompare.net/comparison...e.php?fid=1893

This says that the R2 version is better (but is it comparing with the original R1 release?}. All I can say is that I picked up my R2 copies at half price, and am perfectly happy with them.