French F for Fake DVD

[colwood]

I was wondering if anybody has picked up the French DVD of F for Fake that was released last month? If so, care to share your thoughts? How it compares to the Japaneese DVD, etc.?

[Coldspur]

Are you seeing the film for the first time or are you looking to update your version?

Just curious because I just got the Criterion LD off Ebay and I could make a VHS copy for you (no charge), if you want.

[Coldspur]

No problem, Colwood.

Where did you get your Immortal Story DVD?

[colwood]

I picked up the Immortal Story DVD from dvd.it for about $25. I believe Jeff Wilson mentioned he was able to pick his up from dvdland.it for $23.

[colwood]

Thought I'd try again: has anybody purchased the French F for Fake DVD and, if so, how does it compare to the Japaneese F for Fake DVD?

[Jeff Wilson]

I will have screen caps from the French release up before long for comparison. It is not as sharp as the Japanese release, I can tell you.

[Jaime N. Christley]

I guess I'm too lazy to search the archives, but did we ever sort out "what is up" with F FOR FAKE's aspect ratio?

If I recall - it was a while ago - comparable screen caps from the (excellent) Crit laserdisc and the (superb) Jap DVD showed there was a discrepancy, i.e. one of 'em was letterboxed, the other wasn't. Could turn out to be a case of six in one, half dozen in the other, but I'm just curious I guess.

Also - and Narshty will confirm or deny this for me - but it's rumored that F FOR FAKE will represent Welles' (second) debut into the Criterion Collection, maybe as early as late '04. I'd like to think I was responsible for pushing a lot of younger cinephile types to discover how awesome FFF is, but this could only win more converts.

[Narshty]

That's about right - when I e-mailed them a few months back, I was told 2004 was a "strong possibility" for Welles' directorial debut into the collection. The fact that Criterion and Janus Films have struck a new print of F for Fake for the upcoming Film Forum retrospective would seem to indicate some kind of activity around the movie.

If Criterion have any sense of proportion or even common decency, it'll be a full-blown $40 affair.

[Jeff Wilson]

I hope Criterion puts out the definitive edition of FAKE, if only to make these DVD comparison pages irrelevant. The French DVD of FAKE is now included in the comparisons, page on the site, and it has its own page with rollover images of the Japanese disc for comparison. Enjoy, and my gratitude to the Wellesnet member who sent me the disc for comparison's sake.

FAKE Comparisons

French FAKE DVD review



Edited By Jeff Wilson on Jan. 05 2004 at 16:55

[colwood]

Thanks for the comparison Jeff.

As Narshty and others have pointed out that F for Fake has a new print thanks to Janus, I emailed criterion again to ask if they have any plans for a Welles dvd release. The response of "we hope to introduce Welles fairly soon, but have no certain plans" is the most encouraging response I've heard yet. So while it will probably be a few months, and that's assuming it's even F for Fake, I think I'll wait for now.

[Jeff Wilson]

At this point, given the likelihood of a Criterion release, I'd wait myself if I were in the market for a DVD copy fo FAKE. Of course, there is still no confirmation of FAKE being added to Criterion's roster yet, but I can't imagine they'd make CONFIDENTIAL REPORT their first Welles title. The rest of Welles' films seem even more unlikely, given their current releases or rights situations. As for the aspect ratio question, I don't believe it's ever been answered definitively, though I'd take Criterion's statement of 1.66 as fairly reliable.

What else would they add to FAKE in terms of extras, though? I know there's an hour long docu on de Hory out there, and the trailer is an obvious inclusion, but I'm not sure what else they could stick on that would justify their more expensive price tag and be worthwhile, unless they add some more general material on Welles, instead of stuff related specifically to FAKE.

[Jaime N. Christley]

Extras for a movie like FAKE will probably be little stuff like "video introduction by Peter Boganovich," an essay or two, maybe a PB commentary. Wouldn'd mind seeing Graver and/or Kodar participation, either.

And the trailer, obviously (although I don't really care for it).

[Cole]

For those hoping that Criterion plans to release F FOR FAKE or another Welles film on DVD in the near future, don’t be too anxious. The other night a person from Criterion chatted with members of the “Home Theater Forum” and made the following brief equivocation about their plans to release F FOR FAKE:

“I think we're about to embark [on] F FOR FAKE soon, but again, I make no promises.”

There's nothing more about Welles, but if you're interested you can find the full transcript here:

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/files/chat.html