(aka 'People on Sunday')

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/direct-chair/ulmer.htm

and Curt Siodmak, Robert Siodmak, and Fred Zinnemann
Germany 1930

 

  This light-hearted tale of five young Berliners - a taxi driver, a traveling wine dealer, a record shop sales girl, a film extra and a model - spending a typical summer Sunday, is considered to be one of the most important works of the German film Avant-Garde of the 1920s. A trip to the countryside reveals the flirtations, rivalries, jealousies, and petty irritations common to any group outing, but all too soon it's the end of the day, and the prospect of Monday and the return to the weekday routine looms.

A blend of feature and documentary, the five principals are all amateurs who actually worked at the jobs described in the film so their performances are strikingly natural and unselfconscious. The film was shot over a number of Sundays and the sense of unforced credibility derives from the fact that these were exactly what the title suggests - ordinary Berliners on their day off, doing pretty much what they would have been doing in any case. This honesty and quietly ironic observation lends the film a timeless, universal appeal.

People on Sunday was a huge influence on the French New Wave (for instance, Renoir's Toni and Partie de campagne) and Italian Neorealist movements - Luciano Emmer's Domenica d'Agosta is virtually a direct homage. It also marked the start of the film careers of six young cinéastes who would go on to great international success: Billy Wilder, Robert and Curt Siodmak (who wrote the screenplay based on a short story by Curt Siodmak), Edgar G Ulmer, Eugen Schüfftan (director of photography) and Fred Zinnemann (camera assistant).

The original negative of the film is lost and no complete copy exists, but this restored version has been reconstructed by the Netherlands Film Museum and contains important scenes previously missing. It also features a vibrant new score by Elena Kats-Chernin.

Theatrical Release: February 4th, 1930 - Germany

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DVD Review: BFI - Region 2 - PAL

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Distribution BFI Video - Region 2 - PAL
Runtime 1:13:45 
Video 1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio
Average Bitrate: 6.48 mb/s
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate:

Audio Silent with musical accompaniment by Elena Kats-Chernin (Dolby Digital 1.0) 
Subtitles English, None
Features

Release Information:
Studio: BFI Video

Aspect Ratio:
Original aspect Ratio 1.33:1

Edition Details:

• This Year - London - 1951 (25 min) short
• Filmmakers bios
• 12-page liner notes booklet includes essay by Philip Kemp

DVD Release Date: April 25th, 2005
Transparent Keep Case
Chapters: 16

 

 

Comments:

I'm going to do some speculation here - occasionally because of frame rate conversion from older silent films that are mastered in HD we can have 'trailing" or what we call "ghosting" as a process of the transfer of such an older film. I don't think though that this was transferred progressively (one frame at time) and can possibly be the same reason it shows limited 'ghosting' and 'combing' (see last capture). Regardless of that - the image looks marvelous - absolutely super. There was contrast flickering evident but it was often on the very last frame or 2 of certain scenes. I assume that the intertitles are new - and they look perfect as do the optional subtitles. There was minor dirt and scratches at times, but all 'flaws' of this image are more-or-less expected from a 75 year old film... but more - from a film virtually lost (original negative gone for good) and reconstructed. Amazing!

BFI have brought us an important film from cinema history and we applaud them for it. I'll admit it - I was mesmerized while viewing. I feel like locking this DVD in the safe every night (if I had a safe). The liner notes extras are great for appreciation of the film. The "This Year -London" short featurette has some relational camp. I think People on Sunday was worthy of a commentary being that it is quite short, but I won't be a nitpicker. An ESSENTIAL DVD! out of    

Gary W. Tooze

 

Kevin tells us:   I would like to let you know that, more or less parallel to the BFI release of Menschen am Sonntag, the Dutch Film Museum itself also released the film on DVD. 'While watching I can't check what the exact length of the feature is, but the inlay says it's 76 minutes - so supposedly three minutes longer than the BFI release. But I guess this can't be right, since both releases are PAL editions of the same Filmmuseum-restoration. However, compared to your screenshots the Dutch version seems to be much brighter (not too bright though), less black and revealing much more detail in the image. This DVD has the same ghosting artefacts you noticed.

The extras are different: it includes the making of Weekend at Wannsee and a featurette about the restoration. Last but not least, the score included is not the Karmin orchestral score, but a warm-blooded, often very funny Techno soundtrack by the Dutch Alliage Orchestra that merges perfectly with the timeless style and atmosphere of the images. The best moment is when at the beach one of the girls switches on the gramophone - at the moment the needle hits the groove, beats start pumping from the speakers!!! a 1929 ghetto-blaster!

O yes, also worth mentioning: the dvd was presented at the Dutch Filmmuseum Bienalle. At the cinema, they used the DVD and not the original 35 mm copy, beamer and all, but the quality of the projection was superb. I really think I wouldn't have guessed it was digital had they not projected the DVD menu as well!!!

 

MORE:

I just read the review of PEOPLE ON SUNDAY and the remarks by Kevin on the Filmmuseum Biennial screening of the film. He states it was shown from DVD, this is actually not true. It was projected from the 35mm print. It may have looked like it was shown from the new DVD released by the Filmmuseum because before the screening they projected the dvdmenu. But that was only to promote the DVD release. Once the screening started, the film print was used.

Kind regards,
André Waardenburg
filmcritic (Amsterdam, Holland)

 




DVD Menus

 

Intertitle/Subtitle Sample

 

 

 

Screen Captures

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
'Ghosting' and 'combing' evident
 

 

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Distribution BFI Video - Region 2 - PAL

 




 

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Gary Tooze

1775 Rowntree Court

Mississauga, Ontario,

L4W 4V3    CANADA

Thank You!

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