Artificial Eye releases

[Christoffer]

I notice the homepage for Artificial Eye gets updated with what seems to be the least possible frequency. Is there any way to keep updated on their releases and maybe even find a site that reviews their films from time to time?

[ali]

http://www.bensonsworld.co.uk/productsearch.asp?search=ARTIFICIAL+EYE+FILM+COMPANY+LTD%2E&option=source&filter=dvd

[Noel M]

As far as i am aware, here is the complete list of current and forthcoming Artificial Eye releases. Links have been provided for those that have been reviewed at DVD Times (http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk) :

Affliction
Alice et Martin (http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/index.cgi?html=y&id=reviews/region2/aliceetmartin.html)
L’Appartement
Beau Travail
Blackboards (http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/index.cgi?page=Review&id=186&story=1910)
The Captive (15 October 2001)
Code Unknown (15 October 2001)
L’Ennui
Fanny & Alexander (26 November 2001)
Harry, He's Here To Help (http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/index.cgi?page=Review&id=243&story=2088)
Last Resort (http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/index.cgi?page=Review&id=178&story=1891)
Merci Pour Le Chocolat (26 November)
Place Vendôme (http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/index.cgi?html=y&id=reviews/region2/placevendome.html)
Regeneration
Rosetta/La Promesse
Solaris (19 November 2001)
The Tango Lesson (http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/index.cgi?page=Review&id=156&story=1857)
Those Who Love Me Can Take The Train (http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/index.cgi?html=y&id=reviews/region2/thosewholovemecantakethetrain.html)
Three Colours Blue (29 October 2001)
Three Colours White (29 October 2001)
Three Colours Red (29 October 2001)
Time Regained
Under The Sand (http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/index.cgi?page=Review&id=275&story=2175)
Water Drops On Burning Rocks (http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/index.cgi?page=Review&id=117&story=1793)

I have also done a review for the French release of Code Unknown (http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/index.cgi?page=Review&id=254&story=2111) for DVD Times, which should be substantially the same as the forthcoming Artificial Eye release.

I'm quite pleased to see that Artificial Eye are picking up the pace with forthcoming back catalogue releases this year for the Three Colours Trilogy, Fanny & Alexander and Solaris. More Tarkovsky releases are also promised.

[Michael Brooke]

<B>More Tarkovsky releases are also promised.</B>

...though they're going to have their work cut out to match the Ruscico discs, if their <I>Solaris</I> is anything to go by.

My review should be up this week: essentially, we're talking a gorgeous transfer (with none of the problems I encountered with <a href="http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/index.cgi?page=Review&id=262&story=2133">Viy</A>: we're talking a damn near immaculate print and an immensely detailed anamorphic transfer), a hugely and surprisingly effective Dolby Digital 5.1 mix, and some nice extras: interviews with Tarkovsky's sister Marina Tarkovskaya and Natalya Bondarchuk, the film's female lead, plus an early 1970s documentary on Donatas Banionis, the male lead, plus an unsubtitled ten-minute extract of another Stanislaw Lem adaptation, <I>Investigation of Private Pirks</I>, a stills gallery and a whole raft of filmographies, many of which have trailers buried in them (including <I>Andrei Rublyov</I> and <I>Mirror</I>).

The only peculiarity is that the film is split across two DVDs along the lines of <I>Ben-Hur</I> and <I>Lawrence of Arabia</I>, despite only tipping the scales at three hours - but I'm not too bothered about that, as the film always did have a natural intermission (I think it was shown in two parts in Russian cinemas) and the three 5.1 soundtracks (Russian, English, French) plus an average bitrate of between 8 and 9.5MB/sec shows that space must have been at a premium. And I'd far rather have a stunning transfer on two discs than a so-so one on just one!

[Noel M]

...though they're going to have their work cut out to match the Ruscico discs, if their Solaris is anything to go by.

Well, the good news is, from what I can gather, that Ruscico are licencing their print of Solaris to Artificial Eye.

"Available on DVD for the first time, the film has been carefully restored by the Russian Film Council and features an anamorphic widescreen transfer, a soundtrack re-mixed in Dolby Digital 5.1 surround and subtitle options in a wealth of languages. 'Solaris', and his acclaimed historical epic 'Andrei Rublev', are the first in a series of Tarkovsky films to be released by Artificial Eye on DVD in the coming months."

You can read the full press release at
R2 Project (http://www.r2-dvd.org/article.jsp?sectionId=2&articleId=2797).

[Gary Couzens]

...though it should be noted that <i>Andrei Rublev</i> will certainly be cut by the BBFC on grounds of animal cruelty.

[Michael Brooke]

Interestingly enough, the contentious shot in question (a horse falling off a balcony) is present and (in)correct in the <I>Andrei Rublev</I> trailer on Ruscico's <I>Solaris</I> DVD!

[jonathan.e]

Cool. Just sold my treasured Solaris LD for a tidy sum, a portion of which will go toward upgrading to this UK disc as opposed to the Ruscico (years of flipping and changing discs with LD has made me reluctant to do the same on DVD).

[Joe91]

There must be a pretty good chance that Artificial Eye will release the French MK2 Truffaut DVDs in the UK.

They have previously issued a number of Truffaut films on VHS, and have licenced the MK2 'Three Colours Trilogy' for UK release, so they obviously have a working relationship with the French company.

Let's hope that if they do release them, they can retain all of the extras and provide full English subtitles, especially where they are missing from the French discs ('400 Blows' etc).