I loved Kino’s release of Metropolis. Fantastic print, the restoration, etc.
As for another great distributor, Something Weird Video.
Kino Video is a great distributor. I recently acquired their Avant-Garde Volume 1 DVD release. Great DVD!
Fantoma releases a lot of bizarre obscure titles, like the complete work of Kenneth Anger.
Artsmagic releases a lot of Takashi Miike’s movies.
Facets is well known for releasing a lot of art films like Kieslowski’s The Decalogue.
i’m glad someone said this. i LOVE kino and check up on their website all the time to see what they’re coming out with. i love silent films and they put a lot ogf care into them.
if you like silent movies, kino is the way to go!
check out DIARY OF A LOST GIRL by pabst, starring louise brooks
I also loved the KINO release of Metropolis, and I have been meaning to check out their release of Battleship Potemkin. As far as others I also like Facets, who have released some of the Vera Chytilova stuff, as far as I can tell Facets seems to be a more low budget criterion… i.e. nice booklet, but printed on plain printer paper etc.
Their double disc Battleship Potemkin is also very, very good! They’re perfect for silents…
Other Kino titles worth viewing:
THE MAN WHO LAUGHS
Their recent German Expressionism box with SECRETS OF A SOUL, THE HANDS OF ORLAC (not great but nice to finally see it), the amazing WARNING SHADOWS …
Their Murnau box
DIE NIBELUNGEN
The Mirror is also a Kino film, from Tarkovsky.
They put out some nice DVDs. I own Metropolis, which I think they did a great job with, and I loved their 2 disc release of Battleship Potemkin.
Definitely own alot of releases by Kino though in all honesty their print quality on average is nowhere near the standards of Criterion but that is hardly a fair comparison…
i have thoroughly enjoyed their releases.
Their Michael Haneke Box-set is essential.
Kino’s I own, “The Old Dark House” 1932 James Whale and “Contraband” 1940 Powell and Pressburger. Both great films. There are probably others in my stack somewhere.
Their Paradjanov Box is killer too…if only a superb master of COLOR OF POMEGRANATES would surface someday.
Kino has a real commitment to foreign films, avant-garde, and silent films. Their bonus features are not always as extensive as Criterion’s but I enjoy a lot of their releases.
NOTABLES: Stalker, Chabrol-Tales of Deceit box set, The Piano Teacher, Man With A Movie Camera, Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Cabiria, Battleship Potemkin, Dersu Uzala, Come and See and more…
In defense of Kino, they do a lot more silents than Criterion attempt.
>>Unfortunately for some unknown reasons, like Criterion, some of the same vhs titles haven’t been released on dvd yet.<<
Possibly sales performance, possibly no longer having the rights.
I know (from an interview with Bred Wood) that their VHS of Roland West’s ALIBI did poorly & so is not a candidate for DVD – and it killed the possible production of a West box set (a pity, because awareness of this neglected director ought to be increased).
They also don’t always have rights for DVD that the had for VHS (like, even when they put out THE 1000 EYES OF DR MABUSE on VHS, Image did the DVD). Or else the rights to create and release a new copy lapsed between when they got put out the VHS and present, with renewal cost for the DVD medium being prohibitively expensive.
Thanks to Kino, we can now watch Mirror, some Paradjanov or Schlondorff’s Circle of Deceit, but I hate their quality.It’s often cheap, the cover and menu shows some pretty bad taste, and the images are often horrible.
I’m a big fan of Kino (own maybe 100-150 titles on DVD), a source for films not readily available elsewhere, including silents and contemporary world cinema, although the quality of their transfers, Dersu Uzala being a prime example, often leave a lot to be desired. This, most likely, is caused by the unavailability of original film elements.
The NY Times said it best : “Movies without Kino International would be like parks without trees or museums without paintings …Founded in 1977 and as relevant as ever , this irreplaceable distribution company keeps one eye on the past maintaining a rich catalogue of cinema touchstones , and one on the future , acquiring and releasing the classics of tomorrow”
Kino would be truly awesome if they took the time to make good transfers. Movies are a visual medium, and as much as I respect and appreciate Kino’s contribution to getting seldom seen movies out there, they need to respect the fact that these movies are something that we see with our eyes, and every film that receives a half baked transfer is compromised by them.
The only Kino I have so far is Oprhans of the Storm and while there’s nothing wrong with the picture, I wish that the score was better ’cause I believe it sounds like a MIDI performance.
Josh S. – Yes! I recently had the chance to see their incredible box of early silents, and the scores were wretched. There’s probably not too much that can be done to make a better transfer of some silents, but there more modern releases have pretty bad transfers.
Nathan: I had no problem with the picture it was just the score and it’s the only Kino release I’ve seen so far so I wouldn’t have known about the modern releases. But that music just sounded like some music box and made the film a little dull for it. :( Also, is it just me or does their packaging remind anyone of candy wrappers with the bright colors and everything? :D
Josh S. – To be fair, this problem isn’t strictly relegated to Kino releases for silent films. There’s a broad tendency for silent films to include the most repetitive, innocuous scores. I often prefer just to watch them with no music at all.
Nathan: I didn’t mind the repetitiveness, I put it poorly. I just would’ve preferred the sound of an actual orchestra recording.
Josh S. – I agree with you about the actual orchestra deal. The repetitiveness of the scores is what really gets to me. I also find that many silent scores have little musical cues for almost every bit of action, and that drives me insane.
Nathan: I guess that’s true, but I haven’t particularly focused on it in the few silents I’ve seen.
SILENTS: Unless you are dealing with a film that includes a score composed for that film, or is made up from elements that may have accompanied the film on its initial release why not just leave the sound off? Problem solved.
George Jones
I recently watched Stalker and noticed that, unlike several other Tarkovsky films, it was not a criterion release. It was Kino. I have been unintentionally watching more and more Kino releases. Not quite as fancy as criterion, and not the benifactor of this site, but they have a lot of titles that criterion doesn’t. What do you think about Kino, quality, value, etc.? Do you know of any other rare and artistic DVD distributors that are worthwhile?