A Film Unfinished - Yael Hersonski

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

(aka 'Shtikat Haarchion')

Directed by Yael Hersonski
German / Israel 2010

At the end of WWII, 60 minutes of raw film, having sat undisturbed in an East German archive, was discovered. Shot by... the Nazis in Warsaw in May 1942, and labeled simply "Ghetto," this footage quickly became a resource for historians seeking an authentic record of the Warsaw Ghetto. However, the later discovery of a long-missing reel complicated earlier readings of the footage. "A Film Unfinished" presents the raw footage in its entirety, carefully noting fictionalized sequences (including a staged dinner party) falsely showing "the good life" enjoyed by Jewish urbanites, and probes deep into the making of a now-infamous Nazi propaganda film.

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Theatrical Release: July 24th 2010 - Melbourne Film Festival

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DVD Review: Oscilloscope Laboratories - Region 0 - NTSC

DVD Box Cover		CLICK to order from:
Distribution	Oscilloscope Laboratories - Region 0 - NTSC
Runtime	1:31:12
Video	1.78:1 Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 7.27 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	German \| Hebrew \| Yiddish \| Polish \| English (Dolby Digital 2.0)
Subtitles	English, English (SDH), None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Oscilloscope Laboratories Aspect Ratio: Original Aspect Ratio 1.78:1 Edition Details: • Interview with author and film researcher Adrian Wood (14:34) • Scholar Michael Berenbaum on A Film Unfinished (3:36) • Death Mills (1945): A short film by Billy Wilder, includes some of the first footage shot from within concentration camps post-liberation (21:06) • Study Guide: For educators and students to gain a deeper understanding of the themes and lessons in the film • Exclusive essay by author and film scholar Annette Insdorf DVD Release Date: March 8th, 2011 Custom cardboard Case Chapters: 18

Comments:

This is, yet, another in the stream of fabulous documentaries I've been privileged to see in the past few weeks. A Film Unfinished is deeply moving - frequently draining - but always... fascinating. What a concept - and it is also enlightening and educational. Important filmmaking!

Oscilloscope dual-layered, progressive image is about as good as one would expect from the format. Not that there is anything wrong with it visually but I would still have liked to see it, and the vintage cinematography (often damaged) in 1080P. There is no manipulation and it has some impressive sharpness in the modern footage - depth, as well, is present at times. It definitely appears a bit better than average for SD.

Audio is clear but many languages are spoken and there are optional English + SDH subtitles - which I encourage - as they even identify subtleness in less-perceptible speech.

There are plenty of extras with a 1/4 hour interview with author and film researcher Adrian Wood, a few minutes with scholar Michael Berenbaum and Billy Wilder's 21-minute short Death Mills (1945) which includes some of the first footage shot from within concentration camps post-liberation. There is a 'Study Guide' accessible for educators and students to gain a deeper understanding of the themes and lessons in the film and the eco-friendly cardboard case has a one page exclusive essay by author and film scholar Annette Insdorf.

Great package by Oscilloscope and it makes for a very easy, and heartfelt recommendation. Don't miss this one!

Gary W. Tooze

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