BD 95 I clowns

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swo17
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BD 95 I clowns

#1 Post by swo17 » Tue Aug 19, 2014 10:40 am

I clowns

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One of the Fellini films which has been out of circulation for many years, I clowns [The Clowns] has long been revered by Fellini enthusiasts for the last several decades since its release as among the Maestro's finest works — a thrilling spectacle once seen for the first time, and a picture which after multiple viewings easily takes its place alongside such classics as La strada, Le notti di Cabiria, La dolce vita, Satyricon, Amarcord... but in a register all its own.

I clowns plays out in dazzling colour and in episodic cascade, just as in Fellini's late-60s-and-beyond films. As the circus rolls into town, and the big-tent is erected, the clowns execute their acts with feverish can-you-believe-it bravado. It's all true — and yet not a "documentary" per se; rather, something inbetween a dramatic-comedic portrayal of gags-at-play and the memoria of all that makes the spark for childhood inspiration to ignite into creative virtuosity... and/or into something like Federico Fellini.

One of the great and underacknowledged treasures of the cinema, I clowns takes its place alongside such films as Bergman's Carnies' Twilight, Ophuls' Lola Montès, Étaix's Yoyo, and Tati's Parade as one of the grand portraits of the clowning circus, of a bygone era of the wandering entertainer. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present Federico Fellini's I clowns in a special Dual Format (Blu-ray + DVD) edition for the first time in the UK.

DUAL FORMAT RELEASE INCLUDING BLU-RAY AND DVD VERSIONS OF THE FILM

• New high-definition 1080p presentation of feature on the Blu-ray, and in a progressive encode on the DVD
Fellini's Circus — an essay-film about the picture by the great Italian critic and scholar Adriano Aprà
• New and improved English subtitles
• A 40-PAGE BOOKLET featuring a conversation about the film between Craig Keller and Sabrina Marques, copiously illustrated

Perkins Cobb
Joined: Tue Apr 29, 2008 12:49 pm

Re: BD 95 I clowns

#2 Post by Perkins Cobb » Tue Aug 19, 2014 12:35 pm

Does the US Blu-ray look OK, or is it another Raro wax job?

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tenia
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Re: BD 95 I clowns

#3 Post by tenia » Tue Aug 19, 2014 2:48 pm

I remember a very nice looking BD.

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chatterjees
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Re: BD 95 I clowns

#4 Post by chatterjees » Tue Aug 19, 2014 8:35 pm

swo17 wrote:
SPECIAL FEATURES

• New high-definition 1080p presentation of feature on the Blu-ray, and in a progressive encode on the DVD
• New and improved English subtitles
• Fellini's Circus — an essay-film about the picture by the great Italian critic and scholar Adriano Aprà
• A 36-PAGE BOOKLET featuring new writing about the film, rare archival imagery, and more!
I have all the Fellini releases from MoC, but I honestly don't see any point of getting this one, especially when I already have the Raro USA edition. In addition to these, Raro edition contains a short film by Fellini and 14 extra pages in the booklet. Trust me, I clowns was their first USA BD release and by far has the best PQ/SQ. The visual assay by Apra is great.

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TMDaines
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Re: BD 95 I clowns

#5 Post by TMDaines » Wed Aug 20, 2014 8:03 am

chatterjees wrote:
swo17 wrote:
SPECIAL FEATURES

• New high-definition 1080p presentation of feature on the Blu-ray, and in a progressive encode on the DVD
• New and improved English subtitles
• Fellini's Circus — an essay-film about the picture by the great Italian critic and scholar Adriano Aprà
• A 36-PAGE BOOKLET featuring new writing about the film, rare archival imagery, and more!
I have all the Fellini releases from MoC, but I honestly don't see any point of getting this one, especially when I already have the Raro USA edition. In addition to these, Raro edition contains a short film by Fellini and 14 extra pages in the booklet. Trust me, I clowns was their first USA BD release and by far has the best PQ/SQ. The visual assay by Apra is great.
I second this. The rest of their catalogue is a real mix and their customer service is shoddy, but this is a great release.

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manicsounds
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Re: BD 95 I clowns

#6 Post by manicsounds » Thu Oct 09, 2014 10:02 pm

DVDBeaver compares.

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tenia
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Re: BD 95 I clowns

#7 Post by tenia » Fri Oct 10, 2014 4:43 am

I'm at the office and it's only Beaver, but hell, I have a hard time finding the "far more robust" disc and "more advanced visuals" between MoC and Kino.

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Gregory
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Re: BD 95 I clowns

#8 Post by Gregory » Fri Oct 10, 2014 11:58 am

MoC and Raro, and same here. Zooming in on the two comparisons above the elephant one, the grain is just a the tiniest bit more visible in the MoC. (If the latter looks "far more" anything to Gary, I wish he'd use less nebulous wording than "robust" and "advanced" to describe it.) I'm not keen on picking up Raro's Love in the City Blu-ray, so their inclusion of the Fellini segment from it on Clowns makes me glad I have the Raro release and won't need the MoC.

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swo17
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Re: BD 95 I clowns

#9 Post by swo17 » Fri Oct 10, 2014 7:04 pm

Isn't the Minerva DVD of Love in the City supposed to provide a better presentation of the Fellini segment than either Blu-ray from Raro?

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Gregory
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Re: BD 95 I clowns

#10 Post by Gregory » Fri Oct 10, 2014 8:09 pm

Seems like it. It's a film I've never gotten around to, though I enjoyed the Fellini segment.
I liked Raro's booklet for I Clowns as well, though MoC's could be equally good for all I know.

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RossyG
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Re: BD 95 I clowns

#11 Post by RossyG » Tue Nov 03, 2015 1:33 pm

Just got this in the Eureka sale. Oddly, the back of the sleeve doesn't give the run time or the aspect ratio. Curious.

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TMDaines
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Re: BD 95 I clowns

#12 Post by TMDaines » Sun Nov 27, 2016 7:57 am

Anyone had both releases to compare booklets? Got Raro and considering buying MoC, but there appears to be no reason too.

I don't mind loss of Fellini episode short as I have it elsewhere.

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Re: BD 95 I clowns

#13 Post by cana7cl » Sun Nov 27, 2016 2:00 pm

RossyG wrote:Just got this in the Eureka sale. Oddly, the back of the sleeve doesn't give the run time or the aspect ratio. Curious.
Yep. First time I see this.

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