Adam

I'm slightly confused. I have the first Tumbao "From Havana to NY," but not the second, nor the Panart. If I buy the second Tumbao, then will I have all the material on this Panart reissue? Or is it different material?

Look what's popped up on the Criterion site: Charade Back in Print for 2004 After being unavailable for nearly three years, Criterion's DVD of Stanley Donen's classic spy thriller Charade is coming back in print this spring. The Charade re-release will feature an all-new 16x9-enhanced high-definition digital transfer, in addition to all the supplements featured on the original release. Look for Charade in April of this year. But still nothing about PLAYTIME. But they are bringing out 3 Women by Altman in April. That's one of my favorite films.

Well, I wouldn't normally do this, but since it's an official document: In II.3., "it's" should be "its" - no apostrophe on the possessive "its." I have different reasons from Dan, but I would let your kids have however many they want after your wife gets them, not limited to 50, then donate the rest.

I sure hope they do. Two things: 1. The (US) DVD was a Criterion in the first place. 2. They already said on their website that the Tati reissues would be straight reissues of the earlier copies. This is not a problem as Hulot includes the celebrated short Jour de Fete as well as other stuff. And the transfers are great. Good points. They were all Criterions before. Jour de Fete is great. Counterpoints: 1. On the website, they only announced that Mr. Hulot's Holiday & Mon Oncle would be straight reissues. They haven't made any announcement as regards to Playtime. For all we know, they may never reissue Playtime. 2. Criterion is willing do redo their DVDs - witness the reissue of The Seven Samurai. 3. It's not a secret that there is a new extended cut, and Criterion is usually conscientious enough to go for the latest version.

Transferred from the other thread that I started on this, and now deleting: http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-...news-obituaries Charlotte Zwerin, 72; Worked on Stones Film 'Gimme Shelter' By Dennis McLellan, Times Staff Writer Charlotte Zwerin, who was in the vanguard of American documentary filmmaking for four decades as an editor and director and who collaborated with David and Albert Maysles on the landmark "Gimme Shelter," has died. She was 72. Zwerin, whose documentaries frequently focused on visual artists and jazz legends, died of lung cancer Jan. 22 at her home in Manhattan. Zwerin's talent for structuring narratives in the editing room earned her a co-director credit after she edited the Maysleses' documentaries "Meet Marlon Brando" and "A Visit with Truman Capote" (both 1966). "When it comes to editing documentary material, she was the best by far," Albert Maysles told The Times this week. Zwerin's most notable collaborations with the Maysles brothers as co-director were "Salesman" (1969), a feature-length chronicle about four Boston-based door-to-door Bible salesmen; and "Gimme Shelter" (1970), a feature-length documentary on the Rolling Stones' 1969 American tour. The tour ended with the Stones' notorious free concert at Altamont Speedway in Livermore, Calif., where members of the Hells Angels, serving as security guards, brawled with out-of-control fans in the crowd of 300,000 and stabbed a black teenager to death after the youth charged the stage with a gun. After learning that the Rolling Stones wanted to view footage of the concert, Zwerin suggested to the Maysleses that they film the Stones' reactions to what they were viewing in the editing room and use that sequence as a structuring device for the documentary. "It gave us a way to let the audience know right away that what they were about to see was something very disturbing and not just a music documentary," she told the New York Times last year. Stephen Lighthill, one of the cameramen for the film, said in an interview with Salon.com in 2000 that Zwerin had been "the real hero of the making of the film." "I was stunned with what she got out of my footage," Lighthill said. "She compressed it and gave you a sense of a buildup of the tragedy that you otherwise wouldn't have." Zwerin told the New York Times that using the teenager's death to her professional advantage had caused her many sleepless nights. "But what happened, happened, and, yes, you're taking advantage of it. But as a filmmaker, you can't just walk away from something like that," she said. Among the other films Zwerin co-directed with the Maysleses are two on the artist Christo: "Running Fence" (1978) and "Islands" (1987). Zwerin told the New York Times that she had quit working with the Maysleses because they would not let her produce. "They cast an awful long shadow, and it came time for me to get out of it," she said. Among Zwerin's solo films are "De Kooning on de Kooning" (1981) about the abstract expressionist painter Willem de Kooning; and "Sculpture of Spaces: Noguchi" (1995), a look at sculptor Isamu Noguchi's gardens, playgrounds and other public spaces. Tapping her lifelong love of music, she made, among others, "Thelonious Monk: Straight, No Chaser" (1989), a portrait of the eccentric and enigmatic jazz pianist; and "Ella Fitzgerald: Something to Live For" (1999), a biography of the legendary First Lady of Song that was originally shown as part of the PBS "American Masters" series. "She was definitely the filmmaker I wanted for that film," said Susan Lacy, creator and executive producer of "American Masters." "She was a great storyteller, a great editor and she really knew and loved jazz: It was her world. I think she made one of our best films ever." Describing Zwerin as "very laconic, witty and wise," Lacy said Zwerin was a pioneer woman in the documentary field and "a mentor to many women filmmakers." "I adored Charlotte," Lacy said. "She was a great person and a great loss to the filmmaking world." Born in Detroit in 1931, Zwerin fell in love with film and music at an early age. Her passions for both were fueled when her mother took her to downtown Detroit to see what was billed as "Big Band and a Movie" — a live band performance that preceded the feature film. After attending Wayne State University, where she launched a film society, she moved to New York City in the mid-'50s. There she became the librarian for the CBS documentary series "The 20th Century." She was later promoted to assistant film editor but left, she told the New York Times last year, because women were expected to wear hose and heels and fill subsidiary roles. She joined Drew Associates, whose founder, Robert Drew, was a pioneer of cinema verite, or direct cinema, in which documentary filmmakers used hand-held cameras and unobtrusive techniques to capture reality on film. She met the Maysles brothers there. Zwerin, who also worked early in her career as a film editor for ABC and NBC, returned to NBC in 1984 as a producer for the magazine show "First Camera." Last spring, the Museum of Modern Art in New York City presented a retrospective of her work. She leaves behind an unfinished portrait of a fellow Detroit native, jazz pianist Tommy Flanagan. Zwerin, who was divorced from jazz critic Michael Zwerin, is survived by her brother, Charles Mitchell, and sister, Margaret Tesone, both of Detroit.

Is this Critic's Choice? http://www.ccvideo.com/ I just searched. They list Mr. Hulot's Holiday and Mon Oncle, but no Playtime. Do a search on either of the first two, then click on Tati to see all his films that are available. If they have used DVDs, then I can't speak to it. They do mention a film coming out on 10 Feb called "Playtime Maisy" but it has no information, and must be a kids film (or porn). Here is Criterion's Home Page: http://www.criterionco.com/asp/ I simply assert that in the United States of America, there is currently no "in print" Criterion DVD of "Playtime." I might go further, and assert that in the USA there is no non-Criterion "Playtime" DVD in print. Used copies can be had for $75 and up. But I would wait to see if Criterion comes out with a new edition using the extended version of the film. That said, I ditto what Brandon said about enjoying a Tati film earlier. I took a woman to see "Hulot's Holiday" once at LACMA 2 or 3 years ago. A date. She had "Never seen a black & white film" before. She loved it. That was a full house in a theatre. I've never seen a Tati film on DVD, so I can't speak as to whether it doesn't play as well at home. However, I definitely believe that some films (many films) play better in theatres. I'm also a purist, and try to see every film for the first time at least in a theatre (But I live in Los Angeles and can see most things). But I certainly think it might be possible that the Tati films work best with a crowd. Playtime is a scope film, composed for scope, and if you see it shrunk, or pan & scanned, you will actually lose some jokes. I think Sturges films play better with a crowd as well, and I love his films, and have them on tape.

I just saw Playtime like two days ago. It was definately reissued. Believe me. I pay attention to these things. Hi Brandon, It's very odd. I just looked at the Criterion New Release page, and Playtime is not listed, but Hulot's Holiday & Mon Oncle are listed. Playtime is also not listed under Coming Soon. I also just looked at Amazon, and the only copies of Playtime available are used copies of the original Criterion DVD - cheapest price is $75. My guess is that various copies of the previous DVD edition are being sold as used, because everyone is expecting that Criterion will soon be releasing the new version. Some could be in mint condition, as I think people bought up copies when Criterion announced that it would be going OOP, to sell later. Also, it is possible that that was an original release that has simply never sold.

I think Tom was quite active, not just a titular VP. I think the upper echelon at BN consisted of Bruce, Michael, Tom, and one more person whose name escapes me. Four doing everything (with some assistants, mixers, etc).

Back to the original post, as I understand Playtime has not been reissued yet, just the other two. And they are readily available at all the online vendors. I just saw a 70mm print of an extended version of Playtime last week at the Egyptian Theatre here - it is really beautiful and grand. But there are only 3 or 4 "laugh loudly" moments. I think the others have captured it pretty well - lots of chuckles, moments of recognition, comedy of memory (great phrase). And a lot of gags take a while - an accretion of observation and repeated behaviors that are shown to be ridiculous or magical. The ending of Playtime, for example - pure magic, and with the introduction of color where the rest of the film (while color) has been very limited to hues of grey. But nothing announces it dramatically - you just suddenly realize after a few shots that everything is different, and that the Paris roundabout is filled with life & joy. The soundtracks of his films are all marvelous, not just the score, but effects, etc. Anyway, I hope the reason Criterion hasn't reissued Playtime is that they will reissue it with this new 126 minutes version, whcih is longer than their previous DVD version.

Leeway is right; cockpit announcements interrupt all the stations on in-flight "radio."

Ja, it seems to me that all you have to do is start a thread about a non-jazz album, and there you go!

For those of you in LA, Amoeba has many copies of the box, which they are selling (in Hollywood at least) for about $34. And I can second teh recommendation of that earlier More & Prado Tumbao disc.

I had a great time. Thank you for asking. Although I didn't get to any clubs, nor see any music - nothing seemed that interesting to me. Nor did I get to Portsmouth to visit John. I did go shopping at Ray's (in Foley's), though, and picked up a couple of Ogun CDs, and Songlines Magazine (whcih is hard to come by in the USA). Went to a wedding, did some work (interviews on Hannibal), and hung out with several cool peopel that I met at the wedding. I'll leave the thread up though due to the useful links to cultural events in London

I saw the extended director's cut projected last night at the Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles. The producer, Jim Newman, was in attendance. He said this was actually the Los Angeles premiere. It originally showed in San Francisco, Boston, & NY to lousy attendance, and never anywhere else. He said the shortened cut which was the original VHS release came after additional conversations he had with Sun Ra, and reflected some of Sun Ra's concerns about the film. I have not seen the VHS, nor did anyone say what the changes were, but I inferred that some of the "blaxploitation" material was reduced - the two nurses undressing in the hospital for the Overseer, and the whorehouse? Newman said he felt that the scenes with Ra reflected Ra's beliefs, and most of Ra's lines were just made up by Ra - that's how he spoke. But the rest of it was scripted. Originally he was just wanted to do a 30-minute documentary for a TV station in SF at the time that was commissioning work from various artists. Newman saw the Arkestra in concert at the SF Art Institute, and then approached him about doing the film. After the had filmed another concert or two, and a bit of interview, they decided to make it all something else, and started adding all the other plot - the space ships, the Overseer, the blaxploitation element. The DVD release represents the original theatrical release, and adds the additional home movies. The producer said that the outtakes from the film itself were not in any shape to add to the DVD. I would agree with Lon's assessment largely. It's a real B-movie, with shots that go on long after they should end, silly lines, funny stuff, cuts that make no sense, cheesy special FX. The space ship is really amusing - a real 1950s sci-fi bad optical. I found it entertaining, but would not think it is the place to start with Sun Ra. Also, there was a disappointing lack of Arkestra in the film. I have the Evidence "soundtrack" album, which has a lot more music than is in the film. I think the best part is actually the opening, with Ra on another planet with some crazy art design.

When the Metropolitan Museum bought this (in the late 1960s?), they paid the highest price that had ever been paid for a painting to that time. It was in private hands in England, and auctioned off. It is supposed to be in beautiful condition, much better than the Velasquezs in the Prado (which I have never seen). Apparently the former curator of the Prado used to clean the paintings by pressing squashed up pieces of bread on them. This did clean them, but it also flattened them, so the textural quality of those paintings has been lost.

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My recollection is that it contained several earlier ones - I didn't see them all. Definitely ONE HOUR WITH YOU, which is amazing - it's from the pre-Code talkie years, and there are some real eyebrow raisers. I think probably THE LOVE PARADE and THE SMILING LIEUTENANT. I think a couple more as well. The Shop Around the Corner & Ninotchka are also truly wonderful. I wish those would come out - actually, isn't SHOP out? ... Yes it is http://www.target.com/gp/browse.html/602-0...835?node=459314 That also says that Ninotchka is out, but I've never seen it, and Amazon says it is not yet released.

Just a couple of months ago, and only (in the US) individually, as far as I can tell. I believe from Sony Classics.

Delicatessen by Caro & Jeunet A Tale of the Wind ("L'Histoire du Vent") by Joris Ivens Everything by Satyajit Ray that hasn't made it to DVD, whcih is almost everything except the Apu Trilogy Persona - but it's coming out next month!

Once upon a time, also, Tom at BN said that if a copy sells fewer than 500 copies in one year, they pull it. My guess is that Components, for whatever reason, still sells decently, and I could easily imagine that the Braith, for example, would sell 1000 copies & stop.

Wouldn't it be great if Stuff were on one of Norah's records? No catalogue yet in Los Angeles.

There's one Max Nagl on Hat that I really like -- Ramasuri.

One more In school once I wrote a comparison between it and Philip Noyce's "Dead Calm." I don't think Dead Calm is worth buying, and Knife in the Water is, but Dead Calm is certainly worth renting. Early Nicole Kidman. Two films about three people on a boat....and a lot more than that.

The John Woos are OOP, and get a nice price. Hi Medjuck, Thank you for starting the company! It's great! And do you know Mark Rance?

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