Damnation Blu-ray - Miklós Székely B.

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

(aka "Kárhozat" or "Damnation")

Hungary 1980

A mid-career masterwork by legendary Hungarian art house auteur Be´la Tarr and the first of his internationally acclaimed trilogy of films written in collaboration with author La´szlo´ Krasznahorkai (including the legendary SATANTANGO). DAMNATION (Karhozat) chronicles the doomed affair between Bar Titanik regular Karrer (SATANTANGO’s Miklo´s B. Szekely) and the cabaret singer (Vali Kerekes) he pines for while scheming to displace her brutish husband (Gyorgy Cserhalmi). A poignant Communism allegory that solidified Tarr’s unique aesthetic, DAMNATION is photographed in an exquisitely black & white palette underscored by the mesmerizing long takes that would come to be his mark-in-trade.

DAMNATION has been restored in 4K from the original 35mm camera negative by the Hungarian National Film Institute – Film Archive under the supervision of Bela Tarr.

***

Karrer plods his way through life in quiet desperation. His environment is drab and rainy and muddy. Eaten up with solitude, his hopelessness would be incurable but for the existence of the Titanik Bar and its beautiful, haunting singer. But the lady is married and Karrer is determined to keep her husband away...

Posters

Theatrical Release: February 16th, 1988 (Berlin International Film Festival)

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Comparison:

Artificial Eye - Region 2 - PAL vs. Arbelos Films - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Box Cover		Bonus Captures:
Distribution	Artificial Eye - Region 2 - PAL	Arbelos Films - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:55:09 (4% PAL speedup)	2:01:16.852
Video	1.33:1 Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5.54 mb/s PAL 720x480 29.97 f/s	1.66:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 42,928,189,657 bytes Feature: 33,393,841,536 bytes Video Bitrate: 33.85 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate Blu-ray:
Audio	Hungarian (Dolby Digital mono)	DTS-HD Master Audio Hungarian 1085 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1085 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 1.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit)
Subtitles	English, None	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Artificial Eye Aspect Ratio: Original Aspect Ratio 1.33:1 Edition Details: • 40 minute Bela Tarr video interview on stage at the NFT (London) in 2001 DVD Release Date: July 15th, 2006 Keep Case Chapters: 17	Release Information: Studio: Arbelos Films 1.66:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 42,928,189,657 bytes Feature: 33,393,841,536 bytes Video Bitrate: 33.85 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • New video interview with Bela Tarr (10:27) • New video interview with Miklos Szekely B. (11:47) • New video interview with Mihaly Vig (13:49) • Archival newsreels from the Oroszlány and Dorog coal mine (2:00 / 2:16) • U.S. Theatrical Trailer (2:31) • New Essay by Jay Kuehner Blu-ray Release Date: December 14th, 2021 Transparent Blu-ray Case Chapters 11

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Arbelos Films Blu-ray (January 2022): Arbelos Films have transferred Béla Tarr's Damnation to Blu-ray. It is cited as being from a "New 4K restoration from the original 35mm camera negative". It is in the 1.66:1 aspect ratio. The two disc Artificial Eye DVD from 2004 had Werckmeister Harmonies (2000) and Damnation (1987) with the latter film transferred in 1.33:1. I believe the 1.66:1 is accurate and the image quality of the 1080P is a large advancement over the SD. It's less video-y or waxy and looks far more like film texture.

NOTE: We have added 22 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Arbelos Films use a DTS-HD Master mono track (24-bit) in the original Hungarian language. Damnation has plenty of rain that comes through with modest depth. The score is by Mihály Vig (NotFilm, Béla Tarr's The Turin Horse, The Man from London, Werckmeister Harmonies, Satantango etc.). It sounds clean without pops or hiss and is authentically flat via the uncompressed transfer. Arbelos Films offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Arbelos Films Blu-ray offers a new 10-minute video interview with Béla Tarr, another for a dozen minutes with actor Miklos Szekely B. and a third new 14-minute interview with composer and actor Mihaly Vig. These are revealing if short. There is also a few minutes of archival newsreels from the Oroszlány and Dorog coal mine and a U.S. theatrical trailer. The package has liner notes with a new essay by Jay Kuehner.

Béla Tarr's Damnation is darkness, isolation, obsession, nihilism and a deft vision of the bleakness of existence. It's brilliant filmmaking on every level. As with Sátántangó, Arbelos Films Blu-ray has done this masterwork justice. This is a must-own.