Kino Lorber Studio Classics

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Lowry_Sam
Joined: Mon Jul 05, 2010 3:35 pm
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Re: Kino

#26 Post by Lowry_Sam » Sat May 03, 2014 5:18 am

Has there been a recent improvement in the quality of Kino's product that I'm not aware of......or am I the only one to be disappointed that Marty & Witness For The Prosecution are going to Kino & not Criterion (particularly given Criterion's rather banal Hollywood/Oscar acquisitions - Big Chill, Tootsie, IAMMMMW - of late)?. Criterion already has the TV version of Marty in the Golden Age of Television box.

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Cold Bishop
Joined: Tue May 30, 2006 9:45 pm
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Re: Kino

#27 Post by Cold Bishop » Sat May 03, 2014 5:33 am

It got really better about a year ago. Then it backslid a bit. And now they got the guy behind Olive Films, so everybody is pretty optimistic he'll bring the same touch to Kino he had over there.

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FrauBlucher
Joined: Mon Jul 15, 2013 8:28 pm
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Kino

#28 Post by FrauBlucher » Sat May 03, 2014 8:06 am

If I were to rate all the boutiques (on both sides of the pond) for their overall product, Kino would be way down the list.

But getting the Olive guy does give us some hope that they will improve their overall output.

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What A Disgrace
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Re: Kino

#29 Post by What A Disgrace » Sat May 03, 2014 9:12 am

Anybody expecting these discs to have actual extra features because they have the guy from Olive are being way too optimistic about both Olive and Kino, but getting more classic Hollywood films on Blu-ray can only be a good thing, especially if things like The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes are to be expected. I'll be gunning for Beach Red and Lord Love a Duck. Extras are not, I need them.

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swo17
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Re: Kino

#30 Post by swo17 » Sat May 03, 2014 9:47 am

The "Olive touch" was to not sit on rights and to flood the market with long-desired titles. It wasn't necessarily to put out the best quality product (though I don't have too many complaints in this regard) or to focus on extras.

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FrauBlucher
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Re: Kino

#31 Post by FrauBlucher » Sat May 03, 2014 10:56 am

For me it is not just titles and extras, but PQ, cover art along with packaging and price point. If they improve on a couple of these than it would only be a plus.

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Gregory
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 4:07 pm

Re: Kino

#32 Post by Gregory » Tue May 06, 2014 2:53 am

Having read the Blu-ray.com review of the Nostalghia Blu-ray, I went into it with lowered expectations and was still disappointed. I don't know what kind of "archival 35mm elements" this was sourced from, or what might've gone wrong with this new transfer, but it mostly looks like a solid DVD with occasional shots showing better depth and clarity. The series of shots of foregrounded actors about 40 minutes in looked as problematic as the worst areas of the earlier Blu of The Sacrifice. The audio is a bigger problem with persistent, distracting soundtrack problems. The Beaver review goes on about the music and how good it sounds in lossless audio. It didn't sound too great to me, and what about all the intermittent instances of low-end and high-end damage/distortion? Fortunately, some of these problems get better during the film's second half.
Fine film as always. There's so much more I'd like to know about it, but KinoLorber's Blu-ray offers no supplements aside from a trailer, so not only offering a poor value for the price point but also missing a real opportunity.
In 2004 I sold my lousy FoxLorber DVD of this film knowing that I'd be able to pick up a better release sometime in the future. It's a let-down that this is the release we waited a decade for, though I wouldn't tell anyone to avoid it completely or wait for anything better at this late date.

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FrauBlucher
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Re: Kino

#33 Post by FrauBlucher » Tue May 06, 2014 5:59 am

I picked up Nostalghia recently when it was on sale. I haven't opened it yet. Now, perhaps I'll wait even longer before I get to it. Tarkovsky's work is so visual. It's a shame that Kino chooses to release his work half ass.

Calvin
Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2011 11:12 am

Re: Kino

#34 Post by Calvin » Tue May 06, 2014 7:20 pm

"Hint of the Week" from Kino Lorber Studio Classics:

Image

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Cold Bishop
Joined: Tue May 30, 2006 9:45 pm
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Re: Kino

#35 Post by Cold Bishop » Wed May 07, 2014 12:04 am

We live in the age of Warner Archive, "DVD-only" and Children of Paradise/Earrings of Madame de.... If Kino can gets Blus out with transfers that are unfussed with and with the texture of actual film (which I think was as much of the "Olive touch" as anything else), then I'll be happy, extras or no.

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Gregory
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 4:07 pm

Re: Kino

#36 Post by Gregory » Wed May 07, 2014 2:18 pm

Kino's transfers seem hit or miss, for example with Nostalghia it not only seemed to me that problematic film elements were used but also some kind of transfer problems were evident. I saw instances of distracting edge enhancement on their blu-rays of this one and The Sacrifice. Their blu-ray of They Made Me a Fugitive was reportedly botched, so I'm keeping my DVD of it and have been trying to resell the sealed Blu-ray to get back most of what I spent on it. Many of their earlier blu-rays were great, but since then they've lost a lot of my confidence in their releases.
Cold Bishop wrote:We live in the age of Warner Archive, "DVD-only" and Children of Paradise/Earrings of Madame de.... If Kino can gets Blus out with transfers that are unfussed with and with the texture of actual film (which I think was as much of the "Olive touch" as anything else), then I'll be happy, extras or no.
Thanks to better labels, we also still live in an age of outstanding new transfers, well-mastered audio, and good assortments of extras for roughly the same prices Kino charges for a bare-bones Nostalghia which they say was newly mastered from "archival" (meaning what, having several worn and damaged reels?) 35mm elements and yet looks mostly very unimpressive and sounds like someone was tapping the microphone with a pencil for minutes at a time, and in one scene there is high-end distortion whenever Domiziana Giordano says a word that begins or ends with an "s" sound.
What Olive does with available transfers of a lot of fairly obscure films is fine, but this is Tarkovsky's Nostalghia, and it's been years and years. Can't someone do some a little more restoration work to at least fix things like these bumping and popping sounds on the soundtrack, and include some kind of supplement on Tarkovsky and the film? Voyage In Time came to mind as an ideal inclusion, but I suppose the rights remain tied with with Facets who have their horrible DVD of it still available.

Olive generally doesn't include extras because their focus has been on getting a huge quantity of back catalog stuff released. KinoLorber doesn't have that excuse—though with Tarzi on board they may be heading toward a more Olive-like model, which I hope will at least mean $30 list prices rather than $35 like Nostalghia.

Let's compare a few close-to-bare-bones blu-rays for value:
The Quiet Man (Olive): booklet essay, 1/2 hour documentary, 4k scan of original negative: $30 retail price.
The Uninvited (Criterion): booklet essay, visual essay, new restoration with fine soundtrack: $30
Nostalghia (KinoLorber): no booklet, just a trailer, generally poor remastering job: $35

A retail price that's a bit higher than it should be isn't the most important thing, but it is another factor in all of this. Okay, I've said my piece on this, probably a little too much.

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warren oates
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Re: Kino

#37 Post by warren oates » Wed May 07, 2014 2:23 pm

Just curious, Gregory if you caught the restored print of Nostalghia that had been touring? And if you were projecting the new Blu-ray or watching it on a monitor? Because it feels like you're massively overstating your case to me. The restoration/remastering was done in 2K and it was obviously not performed up to the standards we expect from a company like Criterion. But, still, it does look way closer to the new film prints and way better than all of the previously available standard def DVDs.

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captveg
Joined: Wed Sep 02, 2009 7:28 pm

Re: Kino

#38 Post by captveg » Wed May 07, 2014 2:28 pm

The release of They Made Me a Fugitive seemed fine to me, and online reviews seem to back me up here, only getting low marks for the lack of bonus content. I'm curious as to what you may be referring to when saying you heard it was botched?

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swo17
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Re: Kino

#39 Post by swo17 » Wed May 07, 2014 2:33 pm

See here.

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Gregory
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 4:07 pm

Re: Kino

#40 Post by Gregory » Wed May 07, 2014 3:42 pm

Warren, no I didn't have the chance to see any of the new film prints, and I was projecting the blu-ray on a large screen, which can tend to show a lot of little flaws like haloing/edge enhancement and compression artifacts.
If the blu-ray features a brand new remastered transfer, why is it so dirty and damaged in the first half? Why weren't more of the persistent rhythmic popping sounds (for example) on the soundtrack eliminated when the audio was digitally remastered?
Yes, I agree that Nostalghia looks far better than its DVD predecessors, but that's setting the bar extremely low.
I wouldn't call the release a disaster, just a disappointment, and I'd probably rate the picture and audio closer to 2.5/5 rather than the 3.5 ratings I saw in the reviews. Again, I specifically took issue with Gary's effusive praise for the audio. He doesn't seem very critical anymore, and when he doesn't like what he sees, he seems to hedge a lot, temper his complaints, and conclude something like, "This is surely the best this film will ever look."
And as peerpee pointed out, reviewers at Blu-ray.com and DVDBeaver missed the big combing problem on They Made Me a Fugitive as well.

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Tommaso
Joined: Fri May 19, 2006 10:09 am

Re: Kino

#41 Post by Tommaso » Wed May 07, 2014 4:06 pm

It won't be of any help for most people here, but has anyone compared the Kino to the Czech release by the Zona label? It's dvd only, and unsubbed (so unfortunately you have to consult the backchannels to get a custom-subbed version), but nevertheless it's by far the best I've ever seen "Nostalghia" look on SD. Almost Criterion level picture quality, and as far as I can see, no annoying crackles on the soundtrack either. That edition was quite clearly sourced from pristine elements, or has received a wonderful restoration. Just to reassure you that this masterpiece can look good.

John Doe
Joined: Fri Jul 27, 2012 5:41 am

Re: Kino

#42 Post by John Doe » Wed May 07, 2014 6:43 pm


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captveg
Joined: Wed Sep 02, 2009 7:28 pm

Re: Kino

#43 Post by captveg » Mon May 12, 2014 5:29 pm


John Doe
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Re: Kino

#44 Post by John Doe » Wed May 14, 2014 12:32 pm

Blake Edwards's The Party is also coming.

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sir_luke
Joined: Sun Nov 03, 2013 9:55 pm

Re: Kino

#45 Post by sir_luke » Wed May 14, 2014 12:49 pm

Hmm. Guess that puts Criterion rumors to rest.

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captveg
Joined: Wed Sep 02, 2009 7:28 pm

Re: Kino

#46 Post by captveg » Wed May 14, 2014 1:27 pm

Don't think this article was posted yet. It recaps the acquisition, but provides a few more details:


"The independent/foreign/silent specialist is ushering in a new era by licensing 70 titles from the United Artists library for DVD and Blu-ray."

And it reveals one more title:

"Coming Home (1978), showcasing Jane Fonda as the wife of a soldier who falls for disabled Vietnam veteran Jon Voight"

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Ashirg
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 9:10 am
Location: Atlanta

Re: Kino

#47 Post by Ashirg » Thu May 15, 2014 11:58 pm

Amazon has the first batch for pre-order:

July 22

The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes
Sabata
The Scalphunters
Witness for the Prosecution

July 29

Duel at Diablo

Separate Tables

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Jeff
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 9:49 pm
Location: Denver, CO

Re: Kino

#48 Post by Jeff » Sat May 17, 2014 1:05 pm

Ashirg wrote:Amazon has the first batch for pre-order
Here's Marty.

As unpleasant as I may find the multi-pseudonymed online persona of the guy responsible of putting these packages of films together for Olive and Kino, he's got great taste. They are once again using theatrical key art for the covers, and seem to be using the extant MGM supplements as well.

I'm thrilled about the two announced Wilders, Marty, and The Party. Other than Marty, I figured that if these came on Blu at all, it would be from Twilight Time. Since there are apparently 70 titles in this deal, I'm hoping they found room for Avanti!, Irma La Douce, Smile, Small Change, The Bride Wore Black, The World of Henry Orient, The Landlord, Eureka, Darling, Carnal Knowledge, Topkapi, The Spiral Staircase, Images, Thieves Like Us, Pauline at the Beach, Man of the West, Lord Love a Duck, and the Hammer version of The Hound of the Baskervilles. Some of those may be better served by Criterion or Shout, but I'd settle for simple, quality high-def transfers of any of them.

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domino harvey
Dot Com Dom
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm

Re: Kino

#49 Post by domino harvey » Sat May 17, 2014 1:15 pm

Irma La Douce is absolutely one of my dream Blu-ray releases from the MGM catalog and I'd take it over any of the Wilders they hold (save the Apartment which is already out)-- even its detractors willingly admit it looks good!

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captveg
Joined: Wed Sep 02, 2009 7:28 pm

Re: Kino

#50 Post by captveg » Sat May 17, 2014 1:30 pm

Jeff wrote:As unpleasant as I may find the multi-pseudonymed online persona of the guy responsible of putting these packages of films together for Olive and Kino, he's got great taste. They are once again using theatrical key art for the covers, and seem to be using the extant MGM supplements as well.
IIRC, MisterLime is NOT Frank Tarzi or another employee of his, but rather an extremely enthusiastic acquaintance who simply gets the acquisition info direct.

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