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Magick Lantern Cycle [Blu-ray]
(Kenneth Anger, 1947-81)
Review by Gary Tooze
Production :Video: BFI Home Video
Disc: Region: FREE (as verified by the Momitsu region FREE Blu-ray player) Runtime: 2:48:24.153 Disc Size: 44,567,336,020 bytes Feature Sizes: vary from 9,266,272,704 bytes to 820,509,120 bytes Average Total Bitrate: 32.12 Mbps Case: Standard Blu-ray case Release date: May 25th, 2009
Video: Aspect ratio: 1:33 masked on 1:77:1 Resolution: 1080p Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Audio: LPCM Audio English 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit Commentary: LPCM Audio English 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit
Subtitles: N one
Extras:
Disc one (Blu-ray):
• Restoration Demonstration (6:05 in HD!) 38-page booklet with essays by Kenneth Anger and Gary Lachman, film credits and text about the transfers.
Sample Bitrate:
Description: Renowned as the author of the scandalous best-selling book Hollywood Babylon, Kenneth Anger is a legend in this own time. The mythology that has grown around him has many sources, from his involvement with the occult, astrology and the pop world of Mick Jagger, Marianne Faithfull and Jimmy Page, to the announcement of his own death in the pages of the Village Voice, and the destruction, loss and banning of his films. At the heart of all this mythology is a filmmaker of prodigious talent, whose skill and imagination create films of great visual force, influencing filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese, David Lynch and RW Fassbinder.
The Films:
Offering a description of
himself for the program of a 1966 screening, Kenneth Anger
stated his 'lifework' as being Magick and his 'magical
weapon' the cinematograph. A follower of Aleister Crowley's
teachings, Anger is a high level practitioner of occult
magic who regards the projection of his films as ceremonies
capable of invoking spiritual forces. Cinema, he claims, is
an evil force. Its point is to exert control over people and
events and his filmmaking is carried out with precisely that
intention. Excerpts from Maximilian Le Cain's Article on Senses of Cinema HERE A collection of cult films by experimental filmmaker Kenneth Anger. Includes: FIREWORKS (1947), PUCE MOMENT (1949), RABBIT'S MOON (1950), EAUX D'ARTIFICE (1953), THE INAUGURATION OF THE PLEASURE DOME (1954), SCORPIO RISING (1963), KUSTOM KAR KOMMANDOS (1965), INVOCATION OF MY DEMON BROTHER (1969), LUCIFER RISING (1972). Previously only available in individual volumes, this collection presents the entire cycle in one definitive package.
Because of the nature of the production on 16mm we don't have much to go by in terms of determining just how strong the Blu-ray image is unless we do some comparisons to Fantoma's NTSC DVD sets already reviewed by DVDBeaver - The Films of Kenneth Anger, Vol. 1 and The Films of Kenneth Anger, Vol. 2. In all three comparisons we've made below identify that the improvement is quite dramatic in both detail and colors. I noticed this superiority particularly in the contrast of Rabbit's Moon. There are, obviously, fewer artifacts. There appears to be more information in the frame and I suspect the DVDs to be slightly blown-out in spots and even marginally horizontally stretched. Visually, it borders on creating an excitingly new viewing experience. Inside the BFI's enclosed booklet is the following text about the transfers: "The films of Kenneth Anger: Magick Lantern Cycle were transferred in high-definition and supplied for this releases by Fantoma. The picture was further restored using HD-DVNR and MTI restoration systems, removing dirt, scratches, warps, crackle and noise/hiss were also improved. Every effort has been made to present these films in the highest quality possible., however minor instances of damage are occasionally exhibited due to warping, sprocket wear and frame damage. Selected titles are transferred from UCLA's restoration, as noted in individual film entries. NOTE: Anger Me on the second disc (DVD) was produced on NTSC Digitbeta and has been converted to PAL standard for this release". James White has overseen the transfer to hi-def and it appears to be the best these films will ever look for your home theater - this includes owning them on 16mm. They appear to have now been successfully archived - presumably forever. Wonderful, and important, work BFI!
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Puce Moment (1949)
Blu-ray TOP vs. Fantoma NTSC DVD BOTTOM
Eaux d'Artifice (1953)
Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome (1954)
Blu-ray TOP vs. Fantoma NTSC DVD BOTTOM
Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome (1954)
Blu-ray TOP vs. Fantoma NTSC DVD BOTTOM
Scorpio Rising (1964)
Kustom Kar Kommandos (1965)
Lucifer Rising (1981)
The Man We Want to Hang (2002)
Audio :No artificial surround boost going on here - its a mono 2.0 track rendered in clean, linear PCM audio at 2304 kbps for both the features and the commentaries. So while not 'demo' material for your audio components - this is a consistent and more resonant track than the DVDs. There are no subtitle but my Momitsu identifies this as Region FREE playable on Blu-ray machines worldwide!
Extras :The supplements include 'newly recorded' commentaries by Kenneth Anger. Outside the 'cycle' we get The Man We Want to Hang from 2002 running 13:45 and that is also in HD - 1080P. We also get a 6-minute restoration split-window although my eye couldn't identify dramatic differences in the 2 frames. On the enclosed 2nd disc single-layered DVD is Elio Gelmini's 2006 documentary Anger Me. It involves interview(s) with the Avantgarde filmmaker using footage of both Anger's films and other archival segments portraying his childhood until present day. Fans will surely appreciate this latter supplement that runs almost 1 1/4 hours. The PAL DVD is region FREE and it's a shame it couldn't be included on the Blu-ray for convenience. Lastly BFI have included a 38-page booklet with photos, essays by Kenneth Anger and Gary Lachman, film credits and text about the transfers.
BOTTOM LINE: Gary Tooze June 2nd, 2009
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About the Reviewer: Hello, fellow Beavers! I have been interested in film since I viewed a Chaplin festival on PBS when I was around 9 years old. I credit DVD with expanding my horizons to fill an almost ravenous desire to seek out new film experiences. I currently own approximately 7500 DVDs and have reviewed over 3000 myself. I appreciate my discussion Listserv for furthering my film education and inspiring me to continue running DVDBeaver. Plus a healthy thanks to those who donate and use our Amazon links.
Although I never wanted to become one of those guys who
focused 'too much' on image and sound quality - I
find HD is swiftly pushing me in that direction. So be
it, but film will always be my first love and I list my
favorites on the old YMdb site now accessible
HERE.
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