New on DVD: I Am Cuba, Why Has Bodhi-Dharma…
By Norm Schrager at August 14, 2007 | 11:47 pm | Print
This caught my eye today: Milestone Film just announced October special edition DVD releases for two famed specialty films: I Am Cuba and Why Has Bodhi-Dharma Left for the East?
I AM CUBA (1964)
The Ultimate Edition
Available October 23 — Watch the trailer
Director: Mikhail Kalatozov (The Cranes Are Flying)
Background: I Am Cuba is considered a modern visual masterpiece, with balletic camera moves seen as amazing even today. The film, co-produced by the Cubans and Soviets, is a propagandist trip through Cuba — it’s pro-Castro, anti-American, and huge on cinematic technique. The opening no-cut, single-take sequence is still talked about 40+ years later.
DVD Details: A three-disc set brought to you by two huge fans, Francis Coppola and Martin Scorsese
Disc 1 — a new master of the film, the original trailer, an interview with Scorsese and still photos;
Disc 2 — The Siberian Mammoth, the 2005 documentary about the making of I Am Cuba, and an interview with I Am Cuba’s screenwriter, Yevgeny Yevtushenko;
Disc 3 — A Film About Mikhail Kalatozov, a 2006 documentary about… well, it’s obvious, no?
WHY HAS BODHI-DHARMA LEFT FOR THE EAST? (1989)
The Director’s Edition DVD
Available October 16
Director: Bae Yong-Kyun (who’s made only one film since)
Background: What an interesting title. This South Korean feature is set in a remote monastery, where a man contemplates his search for enlightenment and the barriers along the way. An introspective story that requires patience… and, ultimately, may point viewers toward their own inward cinematic enlightenment. The New York Times called it “visionary”… The Boston Globe said it’s “extraordinary.”
DVD Details: 10 minutes of never-before-seen footage, new remastering by the director, improved subtitles in English and Korean.
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7 Comments
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Two notes about I Am Cuba:
It has the most amazing tracking shot that starts inside a cigar factory on the second floor, out a window, and down to the street – with no edits!
The english subtitles are a translation of the Russian subtitles which are a translation of the spanish being spoken by the actors. At one point an an American man speaks to a young woman in english, and says something like, “Come here you sweet thing.” The tripple translation comes back as, “Come here you tasty little olive.”
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- Tworm –
Yeah, I’m really looking forward to seeing this DVD set. And I’ve always appreciated poor translation in film… I was at a screening for John Woo’s Bullet In the Head, and the English subtitle “Let’s get out of here!” was an American actually saying something like “Let’s get the f*ck out of here!”
If anyone out there remembers this gaffe, please let me know. Not sure I have it right. But it sure was funny, right in the middle of a movie that looks and feels like The Deer Hunter.
-Norm S.
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In the new DVD edition of I AM CUBA, there is the Spanish soundtrack and the Russian soundtrack, and they BOTH will have their own subtitle tracks.
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Hey, Lobby readers, that last comment is directly from Dennis at Milestone Films, the company distributing I Am Cuba. So you know that’s some real-deal information.
We’ll have more coverage of the I Am Cuba DVD release, specifically the packaging. It’s certainly unique. Stay tuned.
-Norm S
[...] told with staggeringly amazing cinematography. This DVD set includes the movie and tons of extras (see details), all neatly packaged in a Cuban-looking cigar box. A tongue-in-cheek statement considering the [...]
[...] I AM CUBA "Ultimate Edition" DVD Announced [...]
[...] including Kalatozov’s The Cranes Are Flying (he’d later direct the groundbreaking I Am Cuba), Tarkovsky’s Solaris, Louis Malle’s Au Revoir Les Enfants (above) and [...]