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(aka "Les Harmonies Werckmeister" or "Werckmeister Harmonies" or "Die Werckmeisterschen Harmonien" )
This mesmeric parable of societal collapse is an enigma of transcendent visual, philosophical, and mystical resonance. Adapted from a novel by László Krasznahorkai, Werckmeister Harmonies unfolds in an unknown time in an unnamed village, where, one day, a mysterious circus—complete with an enormous stuffed whale and a shadowy, demagogue-like figure known as the Prince—arrives and appears to awaken a kind of madness in the citizens that builds inexorably toward violence. In thirty-nine hypnotic long takes engraved in ghostly black and white, auteur Béla Tarr and codirector-editor Ágnes Hranitzky conjure an apocalyptic vision of dreamlike dread and fathomless beauty. *** Hungarian director Bela Tarr follows his mammoth seven-hour 'Satantango' with this critically acclaimed story about a small Eastern European town on the brink of disaster. When a showman brings a huge whale to the town, along with a sinister side attraction known as the Prince, Lajos (Lars Rudolph) is fascinated by the creature and sees it as proof of a great cosmic design. However, the whale also proves to be a magnet for unrest, and the mob that gathers outside soon edges towards violence. |
Posters
Theatrical Release: July 12th, 2000 - Belgium (Cinedecouvertes Age D'or Film Festival Brussels)
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
Review: Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Box Cover |
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CLICK to order from: Simultaneously available from Criterion on 4K UHD: Coming to 4K UHD from Curzons in October 2024: Bonus Captures: |
Distribution | Criterion Spine #1215 - Region 'A' - Blu-ray | |
Runtime | 2:26:46.464 | |
Video |
1. 66:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-rayDisc Size: 48,873,528,228 bytesFeature: 37,312,641,024 bytesVideo Bitrate: 30.04 MbpsCodec: MPEG-4 AVC Video |
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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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Bitrate Blu-ray: |
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Audio |
LPCM Audio Hungarian 1152 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 24-bit |
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Subtitles | English, None | |
Features |
Release Information: Studio: Criterion
1. 66:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-rayDisc Size: 48,873,528,228 bytesFeature: 37,312,641,024 bytesVideo Bitrate: 30.04 MbpsCodec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Edition Details: • Family Nest (1979), Tarr’s first feature film (1:45:34)• New interview with Tarr by film critic Scott Foundas (21:12) • New 4K Trailer (1:44) PLUS: An essay by film programmer and critic Dennis Lim
Transparent Blu-ray Case Chapters 17 |
Comments: |
NOTE:
The below
Blu-ray
captures were taken directly from the
Blu-ray
disc.
NOTE: the bare-bones 4K UHD disc is offered in a package with one 4K UHD disc of the film and this Blu-ray with the feature and special features (see below.)
NOTE: We have added 56 more large
resolution Blu-ray captures
(in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE
On their
Blu-ray,
Criterion use a linear PCM mono track (24-bit) in the
original Hungarian language. Werckmeister Harmonies
has modest effects relying mostly on the score is by
Mihály Vig (NotFilm,
Béla
Tarr's
The Turin Horse,
The Man from London,
Satantango
etc.) and prosaic Book
1 - Prelude No. 8 in E-flat minor (BWV 853) from The Well-Tempered
Clavier by Johann Sebastian Bach and the Radetzky March by Johann
Strauss Sr. (played during the scene where Tünde Eszter is dancing with
the Chief Constable holding a gun.) It sounds much more resonant than
the lossy DVDs. Another 'Nolo contendere'. I thought I noticed
the sync off but it was probably the Scotch. Criterion offer optional English
subtitles on their Region 'A'
Blu-ray.
Their
4K UHD
is, like all, region FREE.
The Criterion
Blu-ray
includes Tarr's first feature Family Nest (reviewed on DVD by
Adam Lemke for DVDBeaver,
HERE,) described by him as "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."
It is transferred to this package with a modest bitrate (10 Mbps) at 8.5
Gig file size, 1080P transfer but is certainly watchable and better than
the Facets DVD. Perhaps I will compare one day. Also included is a new
20-minute interview with 68-year-old Tarr by film critic Scott Foundas
as the director describes his anarchistic view of filmmaking. There is
also a new 4K Trailer and liner notes with an essay by film programmer
and critic Dennis Lim (co-author, with Hong Sangsoo, of
Tale of Cinema.).
Béla Tarr's Werckmeister Harmonies
is adapted from a book
The Melancholy of
Resistance by László Krasznahorkai who also wrote the novel
Satantango. We
have a restless town, on the edge, where an oddly sparse circus rolls
into a helpless town where an apocalyptic atmosphere is forming. This is
a pessimistic political allegory of a time where the Eastern Bloc was
undergoing major social unrest - flirtation with, another, totalitarian
ideology. The title refers to the 17th century Baroque German organist
and musical theorist Andreas Werckmeister who was considered immensely
influential to the pioneering harmonic basis (well known to JS Bach)
underlying almost all of subsequent Western musical theory. Béla Tarr's Werckmeister Harmonies
is exceptionally brilliant. It's wonderful to get this visual film in
the upgraded home-theater formats (approved by Tarr!) What a time we are
living in. My God. It is hailed by many as one of the best films of the
21st century. I'm so thrilled with the Criterion Blu-ray
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Menus / Extras
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
1) Artificial Eye (original) - Region 2 - PA L TOP2) Criterion - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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1) Artificial Eye (original) - Region 2 - PAL TOP2) Criterion - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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1) Artificial Eye (original) - Region 2 - PAL TOP2) Criterion - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM
|
1) Artificial Eye (2009 Re-issue) - Region 2 - PAL TOP2) Criterion - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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More full resolution (1920 X 1080) Blu-ray Captures for DVDBeaver Patreon Supporters HERE
Box Cover |
|
CLICK to order from: Simultaneously available from Criterion on 4K UHD: Coming to 4K UHD from Curzons in October 2024: Bonus Captures: |
Distribution | Criterion Spine #1215 - Region 'A' - Blu-ray |
Search DVDBeaver |
S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |