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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |
(aka "Családi t?zfészek" )
Hungary 1978
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Made when he was still in his early twenties, this first feature from
Hungarian master Béla Tarr is an assured bit of filmmaking. Often compared to
the work of John Cassavetes (an influence Tarr says he was yet to discover),
the film tells the story of a young couple who are forced to share their small
one bedroom apartment with the man’s parents. Tarr films the proceedings in a
series of extremely tight close-ups, often focusing on the faces and hands of
these very real characters as they sit around and drink, trying to cope with
their harsh living conditions. The kitchen-sink approach to the realism may
remind some of the work of the great Ken Loach (the use of non-professional
actors for example) and there is certainly no denying that a powerful raw
emotion is on display here. Fans of Tarr’s later metaphysical work will be
hard pressed to find much of the same cinematic qualities that have become his
trademark, but the underlying notions of man vs. an oppressive environment
should be fully apparent. |
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Theatrical Release: Hungary, 25 January, 1979
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
DVD Review: Facets Video - Region 0 - NTSC
Big thanks to Adam Lemke for the Review!
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CLICK to order from:
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Also available in the Films of Bela Tarr 3-pack Set (The Outsider / Prefab
People / Family Nest) available HERE:
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| Distribution |
Facets Video Region 0 - NTSC |
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| Runtime | 1.39.36 | |
| Video |
1.33:1
Original Aspect Ratio |
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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| Audio | Hungarian 2.0 Stereo | |
| Subtitles | English forced | |
| Features |
Release Information: Studio: Facets Video Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details: Chapters 12 |
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| Comments |
NOTE: Family
Nest just released in Hungary (March 06') with removable English subs
and superior transfer. Just an FYI. Nice review on Beaver. Stefan Kuhn our Hungarian correspondent ****
The biggest
problem with these three Tarr discs are not the source prints—which actually appear to be in great shape—but the
lack of care with which Facets
has transferred them to DVD. Not one of these discs utilizes higher than
3.75
GB of the 4.75 GB allotted for a single layered disc (let alone double for
a standard dual layered). As a result, we have discs that take no advantage whatsoever
of the benefits of the DVD format. They might as well be VHS tapes, in
fact,
VHS might be preferable if this is how Facets is going to produce DVD’s—at
least with VHS you would not get the awful digital pixilation that is
rampant on
these transfers. The subtitles are forced, the extras nil, and there is
combing
evident everywhere (indicating non-progressively transferred). Given the importance of Tarr’s work and the fact that
these films are unlikely to be available anywhere else, it’s hard for any
cinephile not to cave-in and accept the low standards of these Facets
DVD’s.
I can’t recommend these DVD’s, but everyone should see the films. The only
compromise I can come up with is to suggest shelling out $5 and renting
these discs, as that’s about all they are worth.
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DVD Menus
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Screen Captures
Subtitle Sample
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Combing evident
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| DVD Box Cover |
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CLICK to order from:
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Also available in the Films of Bela Tarr 3-pack Set (The Outsider / Prefab
People / Family Nest) available HERE:
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| Distribution |
Facets Video Region 0 - NTSC |
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Gary Tooze
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Thank You!