Thelma Schoonmaker on "Testing Patience"

If you don't already know Thelma Schoonmaker's name, you almost certainly know her work if you've ever seen a Martin Scorsese picture. The NY Times ran a piece talking with her about editing long movies, specifically her work on The Wolf of Wall Street:, and she does better than most critics I've read thus far in defending the pace and lingering final shots in the 3-hour masterpiece:

David Denby’s pan in The New Yorker thrice mentions its three-hour duration, while Michael Phillips of The Chicago Tribune describes a scene that “goes on two minutes too long,” before lamenting that “those minutes add up.” But Ms. Schoonmaker said that was precisely the director Martin Scorsese’s design. “A film like ‘Wolf’ is intended to be sprawling,” she said. “Marty wanted things to go just a little too far in the scenes sometimes, to test the patience of the audience just a bit. Because that’s what the whole movie is about.”

WOLF OF WALL STREET: Under the Effects

Virtuoso compositing work that once again emphasize that VFX don't have to be distracting, and quite the opposite. Translated from this article:

The work also owes much to its technicians. But their collaboration is often, paradoxically, invisible. However, their work on the special effects fills the screen. The company that insured those of "Wolf Wall Street "," Brainstorm Digital, "has released a video showing the film ... uncovered

Grandmasters: Scorsese/Wong

Two titans of modern cinema talking for 20 minutes is my version of an opulent dessert. What I would do for a series of these such interviews in the style of Hitchcock/Truffaut (get the book or listen to the twelve hours of raw audio).

Originally posted by Deadline, they include one of my favorite bits of trivia about Wong Kar-wai's The Grandmaster: it was shot on film.

...he knew the end was near and his digital career would soon begin when Fuji sent him the last film stock during the long shoot accompanied by a letter that said it would be the last shipment. No more film.

It's a shame that the US home video release of the film does not include the longer, superior Hong Kong cut.

Screen Time 53: I <3 LaserDisc

On the latest Screen Time, I'm joined by superstar Blu-ray/DVD producers Charles de Lauzirika, Robert Meyer Burnett, and Brian Ward to discuss the world of special editions and supplements, the inevitable decline of physical media, and the future of home video presentation. We take a moment to touch on 4K/UHD and what it means for the next few years.

We also get a couple of exclusive tidbits: The X-Files is being remastered for both 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratios, and Shout! Factory's Pee-Wee's Playhouse set will not only be done before the holidays in 2014, but in all likelihood, much sooner.

In a bit of a new development, much of this WatchList is comprised of supplemental documentaries available on various Blu-rays, DVDs, and iTunes Extras packages.

Wreckage and Rage: The Making of Alien 3

As recounted by Charlie on the show, this doc has had more than one life, and took years to see the light of day in its original cut, resulting in Charlie initially having himself credited as Frederick Garvin, as in Fred Garvin, Male Prostitute. The complete and final version of this is included on the Alien Anthology Blu-ray box set.

Dangerous Days: Making Blade Runner

Another great piece by Charlie, this truly completes the Final Cut version of the movie, and is thankfully included as part of the iTunes Extras download for those who've moved away from discs already.

Gladiator (3-disc Extended Edition DVD)

Charlie related how they hid an easter egg in this specific release teasing a Gladiator sequel that has still yet to come to fruition.

Brazil (Criterion Collection) - Docs and "Love Conquers All" version
The Last Temptation of Christ (Criterion Collection) - Martin Scorsese's Video Journal

Charlie cited these two as among his favorite Criterion releases, due to the incredible insight into the struggle to make both of these masterpieces.

Time Bandits (Criterion Collection)
The Seven Samurai (Criterion Collection)
The Rock (Criterion Collection)

Brian is particularly fond of these: the first for its infinite re-watchability, the second for the outstanding docs included, and the last in particular for the memorable Ed Harris outtakes that give a look behind the curtain.

Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (Criterion Collection)

Rob really loved being blindsided by the feature-length doc on the director, whom he was completely unaware of until watching this set.

"Missing Discs" longed for by the panel include Tuff Turf, Quick Change, Liquid Sky, Batman (1966 series), and did I mention Tuff Turf?

HUGO Free on iTunes in HD

Part of iTunes' 12 Gifts promotion, this is by far the coolest "gift" thus far, and it'll take something pretty spectacular to outdo it. Even if you got a Digital Copy code in the Blu-ray edition of Hugo, it isn't HD, but this free download is, and replaces your old one.

Hugo is one of the few modern 3D movies that I found truly worth seeing that format. I hope that even though it didn't set the box office on fire, it will grow considerably as a children's movie via home video in the decades to come.

Criterion Collected: Martin Scorsese's WORLD CINEMA PROJECT for $65

I try to not flood this feed with "DEALS EXTRA! LOWEST PRICE EVER (UNTIL NEXT WEEK)!" sorts of posts, but this case is an important exception. This week sees the release of Criterion's other big end-of-year boxed set release: the six-film Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Project.

Amazon is selling it for $65 at the moment, and there's no way of knowing when the price will suddenly skyrocket. I hope that a sales success with this installment means that we see subsequent editions down the line.

For just over $10 per movie, you get new digital restorations, introductions to all the films by Scorsese himself, interviews with filmmakers, a visual essay, and more, including booklet essays by some of the sharpest critics in the world, including my friendly electronic acquaintance Bilge Ebiri among other experts in the cinema of different regions.

A rundown of the included films, from Criterion's site:

Touki bouki (Senegal, 1973)
With a stunning mix of the surreal and the naturalistic, Djibril Diop Mambéty paints a vivid, fractured portrait of Senegal in the early 1970s.

Redes (Mexico, 1936)
In this vivid, documentary-like dramatization of the daily grind of men struggling to make a living by fishing on the Gulf of Mexico (mostly played by real- life fishermen), one worker’s terrible loss instigates a political awakening among him and his fellow laborers.

A River Called Titas (India & Bangladesh, 1973)
The Bengali filmmaker Ritwik Ghatak’s stunningly beautiful, elegiac saga concerns the tumultuous lives of people in fishing villages along the banks of the Titas River in pre-Partition East Bengal.

Dry Summer (Turkey, 1964)
Metin Erksan’s wallop of a melodrama follows the machinations of an unrepentantly selfish tobacco farmer who builds a dam to prevent water from flowing downhill to his neighbors’ crops.

Trances (Morocco, 1981)
The beloved Moroccan band Nass El Ghiwane is the dynamic subject of this captivating musical documentary.

The Housemaid (South Korea, 1960)
A torrent of sexual obsession, revenge, and betrayal is unleashed under one roof in this venomous melodrama from South Korean master Kim Ki-young.

WOLF OF WALL STREET Trailer

This looks better than pretty good.

Criterion Richard III Available 3 Weeks Early at B&N

From an email sent an hour ago to B&N newsletter subscribers:

Now is the spring of your contentment, for the new Criterion Collection Blu-ray of Laurence Olivier's celebrated 1955 Shakespeare adaptation ''Richard III'' is available today at Barnes & Noble -- three weeks earlier than anywhere else. Criterion produced this edition using a new high-definition digital master of the Film Foundation's 2012 restoration, and the bonus material includes an interview with Olivier from a 1966 episode of ''Great Acting.''

Also in there is a Fillm Foundation intro from Martin Scorsese.

It's $35.99 on their site, and is readily available in their stores. When it's widely released, the price will probably only be five or six bucks less than that at retailers like Best Buy and Fry's, but Amazon's pre-order is currently at $27.99 if you don't mind waiting.

Daily Grab 112: The Duel

The duel in The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp represents one of the great choices in cinema, crossing direction, editing, cinematography, and acting.

When the audience expects to see a thrilling, climactic duel, Powell and Pressburger choose to avoid the route taken by other films, from any version of Scaramouche to the various Robin Hood(s) to even The Princess Bride. The duel itself is less important than the build up and the aftermath. The actors knew the importance of the preparation and approach, since the duel itself would barely be seen.

This scene represents one of the most perfect series of choices in cinematic composition, and Criterion's new Blu-ray shows off the whole movie in a manner befitting one of the greatest movies ever made. Scorsese does a marvelous newly-recorded introduction, and Thelma Schoonmaker offers keen insight as she always does on Powell's films. This is one of the best discs of the year, and we're just 1/4 of the way through.

I swear I'll finish a review of this one soon. I've been busy finshing off my monster 2012 Best in Blu-ray multi-list article, among other things.

Daily Grab 104: Afraid to Hit Back

From this week's wonderful Criterion edition of Michael Powell's The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp. It includes all of the features found in the Region B disc I imported late last year, plus a half hour interview with Thelma Schonnmaker-Powell and a meaty introduction piece with Martin Scorsese, on top of the carried-over Criteiron commentary track. A full review and comparison are in the works.

Daily Grab 100: The Way of the Future

A relentless meme on 5by5 in general, but especially on Back to Work with Merlin Mann, this line from Martin Scorsese's brilliant Howard Hughes movie belongs on a shirt.

I would own three.

Now...come in with the milk.

Marty's Day Out (featuring Siri)

I wish that Scorsese would do another side thing featuring himself, like My Voyage to Italy. This time, it woud feature his plucky new sidekick, Siri. Oh the escapades they'd get into. Think of something that'd be called Marty's Day Out, with a Gershwin score.