Criterion F For Fake DVD

[Knowles Noel Shane]

Yes, Michael Moore employs the "essay" form of film. That's all there is to be said. To compare him to Orson is absurd and meaningless. Is Canadian Bacon Moore's Citizen Kane? Moore's best film was Roger and Me, but it's no F for Fake. And to be fat and bearded is to be Orson? Pathetic.

[Tony]

Knowles Noel Shane:

I wasn't kidding when I compared Moore to Welles: they both won the Palme de or at Cannes; the Cannes people weren't kidding either.

By the way: how about a little civility on the board? Disagree, but do it inteligently and politely; your post is neither.

[Wilson]

Guys, take it to the private message system if you want to take this any further. Thanks.

[Knowles Noel Shane]

Yeah - not the place for political soapboxing. Sorry, Jeff.

[colwood]

Have to say I completely agree with BOTH points Tony made.

[Knowles Noel Shane]

Oops, I was referring to my own act of soapboxing. I do, however, apologize profusely to all concerned. While I may tend to be vicious in attacking someone else's idea, I am not meaning by extension to be attacking them personally. I know this is a vague and probably worthless distinction, but I honestly didn't mean for anyone here to take any offense. I have a terrific knee-jerk reaction to Michael Moore, and that's not an excuse, but an explanation. I'd rather talk about Orson.

[Narshty]

Out of interest, full specs are up at HVE's site here:

Disc One: The Film
New, restored high-definition digital transfer
Audio commentary by star and co-writer Oja Kodar and director of photography Gary Graver
Introduction by director Peter Bogdonavich
Extended 9-minute trailer
English subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired

Disc Two: The Supplements
Orson Welles: One-Man Band (1995), an 88-minute documentary of Welles’s unfinished projects
Almost True: The Noble Art of Forgery (1997), a 52-minute documentary on art forger Elmyr de Hory
A 60 Minutes interview with Clifford Irving, from 2000, about his Howard Hughes autobiography hoax
A 1972 Hughes press conference exposing Irving's Hoax

Plus: A new essay by film critic Jonathan Rosenbaum

[Glenn Anders]

Looks worth the dough to me.

Glenn

[Wilson]

I'm now writing DVD reviews for the Digitally Obsessed web site and was given the F for Fake set to review. I'll obviously post a link to the review here when it's up, but in the meantime, let me say that the picture quality is excellent. Much much better than the other DVDs out there, though that should hardly be a shock. I'll post screencaps here when I can, though it may be a while, as my DVD-Rom drive is on the fritz. One other note of interest: the booklet has the aforementioned Rosenbaum essay, but it mentions in the credit line at the end that Rosenbaum's writings on Welles will be collected in book form in 2006.

[tadao]

By way of a preview, there's a brief review with some nice, big screencaps here:

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDReviews11/f_for_fake_.htm

For anyone who doesn't know, dvdbeaver is an excellent site that is very astute in its comments on the AV quality of the DVDs it reviews. The multi-region comparisons are especially useful, and I'd thoroughly recommend the site to anyone who hasn't yet discovered it.

Can't wait for the disc itself, should arrive very soon on preorder!

[dkovacev]

Here's another review of Criterion F for Fake, at DVD Talk web site:

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=15404

[R Kadin]

Shipping costs and possible customs duty concerns make it preferable for me to deal through Amazon's Canadian (amazon.ca) site; yet I would also like my domestic F4F purchase (I already have the very good Japanese version) to count towards the Wellesnet affiliation arrangement.

Would clicking through the Wellesnet site's generic link and then on to the corresponding "amazon.ca" page still count in this site's favour? Anybody know?

One more thing - I have noticed that, along with Amazon's standard offering, there are often cheaper, alternate suppliers listed under the "New & Used" links, even on Day 1 of a DVD's public availablility. I've seen it happen often enough to hold me back from committing up front to a full-priced pre-order.

Since I'll be on full alert come the release date, I think the chances of this disc being sold out from under me via both channels are slim to none; so it's a risk I'm prepared to run.

[tony williams]

Actually, Olive Films.com are offering the DVD for $27. They often retail material at discount prices and I've had no problem with two items I've acquired from them so far.

[Jaime N. Christley]

Here's the DVD review on CNN.com:

http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/04/20/eye.ent.fake/index.html

It's an awfully bland write-up, but very positive, and it's been linked to CNN's Entertainment News page for a few days now.

[Jaime N. Christley]

The evening before the DVD's release, my general impression is that F for Fake may not revolutionize the public's opinion of Welles, but in general it is receiving a very, very warm welcome. People - young people, seasoned viewers - are genuinely excited by their "discovery"! Very encouraging.