Tartan Jodorowsky Collection in May - Artwork added
06-04-2007 14:43 | 8365 views | Dave Foster | Show Backlinks
Tartan Video have announced the UK DVD release of several key works by director Alejandro Jodorowsky. Arriving uncut and uncensored for the very first time on 14th May 2007 are three of the visionary director’s most celebrated yet rarely seen films - El Topo, Holy Mountain and Fando & Lis. All have been digitally restored and remastered, under the close supervision of the director himself, and presented along with an array of superb extra features, including a rare 1957 short, original trailers and deleted scenes.
Revered for his work as an underground filmmaker, Jodorowsky has also garnered a worldwide reputation as a prolific author, playwright, graphic novelist (in collaboration with high-profile artists such as Jean ‘Mœbius’ Giraud), and a learned Tarot reader. However, it is for his controversial and groundbreaking films that he is best known, and for which he is hailed, alongside other visionary auteurs such as Fellini, Buñuel and Lynch, as a cult director.
As challenging and unique now as when they were made, these previously “lost” masterpieces are certain to excite a new generation of film fans, whilst offering a welcome opportunity for others to rediscover these legendary films. EL Topo and The Holy Mountain are both available individually priced at £19.99 each, but are also include in a special 6-disc Jodorowsky Collection (£59.99 RRP), alongside his first feature, Fando & Lis, original soundtrack disc and a host of extras and documentaries.
El Topo (1970, 125 mins, Colour) (rrp £19.99)
This bizarre, mesmerising neo-Spaghetti Western, internationally regarded as his masterpiece, and credited as the original Midnight Movie, tells of a gunfighter taking revenge on a group of murderous bandits, and encountering cave-dwellers, dwarf women, and religious cults, in between disembowelments and cactus whippings.
Fully uncut and uncensored for the first time! First official UK release making its UK premiere on DVD.
Features include:
Holy Mountain (1973, 115 mins, Colour) (rrp £19.99)
In this hallucinogenic journey full of exquisite imagery a thief bands together with a group of the most powerful people in society, made up of politicians, industrialists and financiers. Together they set out in search of immortality, lead by a charismatic guru, (played by Jodorowksy himself). John Lennon and Yoko Ono were huge fans of EL TOPO and ensured financial backing for this legendary film.
Fully uncut and uncensored for the first time! First official UK release receiving its UK premiere on DVD.
Features include:
Jodorowsky Collection (£59.99 RRP)
Both El Topo and Holy Mountain are brought together in a specially designed 6-disc boxset which features an unbelievable collection of exciting exclusive extras, including his first feature, Fando & Lis, never previously released in the UK, and, for the first time on CD, original film soundtracks - all exclusively available in the boxset only.
Fando & Lis (1968, 95 mins, B&W) Fando and his partially paralyzed lover set off in search of the mythical city of Tar. Based on a play by Jodorowsky's fellow Panique! collaborator, Fernando Arabel, and sharing the surrealist qualities of Dalí, this bizarre but beautiful tale scandalised and shocked audiences upon release, causing a riot at its premiere at the Acapulco Film Festival.
Features include:
The boxset also contains:
- La Constellation Jodorowsky - 90 minute documentary by Louis Mouchet in which Jodorowsky talks at length about his life and his work as a film-maker, graphic novelist and renowned and celebrated Tarot reader. Includes extensive coverage from the famously unrealised DUNE project.
- El Topo / Holy Mountain Soundtrack CDs EL TOPO receives its first ever CD release, having originally been released on vinyl on the Beatles’ Apple label in 1971, whilst HOLY MOUNTAIN receives its first ever official soundtrack release on any format. Full track details to be announced.
DVD notes written by Ben Cobb, journalist and author, whose latest book, ‘Anarchy and Alchemy: The Films of Alejandro Jodorowsky’ is published in the Persistence of Vision series from Creation Press - out in April.
All features are subject to change.
Revered for his work as an underground filmmaker, Jodorowsky has also garnered a worldwide reputation as a prolific author, playwright, graphic novelist (in collaboration with high-profile artists such as Jean ‘Mœbius’ Giraud), and a learned Tarot reader. However, it is for his controversial and groundbreaking films that he is best known, and for which he is hailed, alongside other visionary auteurs such as Fellini, Buñuel and Lynch, as a cult director.
As challenging and unique now as when they were made, these previously “lost” masterpieces are certain to excite a new generation of film fans, whilst offering a welcome opportunity for others to rediscover these legendary films. EL Topo and The Holy Mountain are both available individually priced at £19.99 each, but are also include in a special 6-disc Jodorowsky Collection (£59.99 RRP), alongside his first feature, Fando & Lis, original soundtrack disc and a host of extras and documentaries.
El Topo (1970, 125 mins, Colour) (rrp £19.99)
This bizarre, mesmerising neo-Spaghetti Western, internationally regarded as his masterpiece, and credited as the original Midnight Movie, tells of a gunfighter taking revenge on a group of murderous bandits, and encountering cave-dwellers, dwarf women, and religious cults, in between disembowelments and cactus whippings.
Fully uncut and uncensored for the first time! First official UK release making its UK premiere on DVD.
Features include:
- Original 1.33:1 format
- Digitally remastered and restored from the original negatives
- Optimum bitrate for outstanding playback quality
- Original Spanish Audio (Dolby 2.0 / Dolby 5.1); English Audio Option (Dolby 1.0)
- Newly created optional English subtitles
- Feature-length Jodorowsky Audio Commentary
- Jodorowsky on EL TOPO
- Original theatrical trailer
Holy Mountain (1973, 115 mins, Colour) (rrp £19.99)
In this hallucinogenic journey full of exquisite imagery a thief bands together with a group of the most powerful people in society, made up of politicians, industrialists and financiers. Together they set out in search of immortality, lead by a charismatic guru, (played by Jodorowksy himself). John Lennon and Yoko Ono were huge fans of EL TOPO and ensured financial backing for this legendary film.
Fully uncut and uncensored for the first time! First official UK release receiving its UK premiere on DVD.
Features include:
- 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
- Digitally remastered and restored from the original negatives
- Optimum bitrate for outstanding playback quality
- Original English Audio (Dolby 2.0 / Dolby 5.1)
- Feature-length Jodorowsky Audio Commentary
- Restoration featurette
- ‘The Tarot’ featurette
- Deleted Scenes with Jodorowsky Audio Commentary
- Original theatrical trailer
Jodorowsky Collection (£59.99 RRP)
Both El Topo and Holy Mountain are brought together in a specially designed 6-disc boxset which features an unbelievable collection of exciting exclusive extras, including his first feature, Fando & Lis, never previously released in the UK, and, for the first time on CD, original film soundtracks - all exclusively available in the boxset only.
Fando & Lis (1968, 95 mins, B&W) Fando and his partially paralyzed lover set off in search of the mythical city of Tar. Based on a play by Jodorowsky's fellow Panique! collaborator, Fernando Arabel, and sharing the surrealist qualities of Dalí, this bizarre but beautiful tale scandalised and shocked audiences upon release, causing a riot at its premiere at the Acapulco Film Festival.
Features include:
- Letterboxed 1.66:1 Format
- Digitally remastered and restored from the best available materials
- Optimum bitrate for outstanding playback quality
- Newly-created optional English subtitles
- Feature-length Jodorowsky Audio Commentary
- Jodorowsky’s rare 1957 short La Cravatte (21 mins, Colour, no dialogue)
- Restoration featurettes for both Fando & Lis and La Cravatte
The boxset also contains:
- La Constellation Jodorowsky - 90 minute documentary by Louis Mouchet in which Jodorowsky talks at length about his life and his work as a film-maker, graphic novelist and renowned and celebrated Tarot reader. Includes extensive coverage from the famously unrealised DUNE project.
- El Topo / Holy Mountain Soundtrack CDs EL TOPO receives its first ever CD release, having originally been released on vinyl on the Beatles’ Apple label in 1971, whilst HOLY MOUNTAIN receives its first ever official soundtrack release on any format. Full track details to be announced.
DVD notes written by Ben Cobb, journalist and author, whose latest book, ‘Anarchy and Alchemy: The Films of Alejandro Jodorowsky’ is published in the Persistence of Vision series from Creation Press - out in April.
All features are subject to change.
Comments
Member
Posts: 13
Member
Posts: 21
Member
Posts: 18
Originally Posted by Robin Davies:
It's a shame it duplicates so much of the superb Fantoma release of Fando and Lis but hey, that's a minor quibble.
It should be noted that 'Fando & Lis' has been extensively remastered and restored by Tartan, and that, unlike the Fantoma edition, the film will appear on a disc without the 90-minute 'La Constellation Jodorowsky' documentary (thereby leaving room to assign more space to the much improved presentation of 'Fando & Lis'). 'La Cravate' has also been lovingly restored, and will be added to the 'Fando & Lis' disc (since its 20 minute running time won't impact on the presentation of the feature).
Member
Posts: 23
It should also be noted that Fantoma's release of FANDO Y LIS is long out of print and a new copy can only be obtained if you're willing to pay upwards of $100.
I for one will be hanging onto my Fantoma DVD, but once I've got this new box set I doubt I'll ever watch the Fantoma DVD again.
This box set is long, long overdue. All previous releases of these films have been passable if unexceptional for their time with fully letterboxed transfers (HOLY MOUNTAIN) and soft and worn in prints.
Prints for HOLY MOUNTAIN & EL TOPO have languished in obscurity for years and it seems it was Klein's apparent intention to keep both films buried. Due to Klein's and Jodorowsky's long feud, I don't think anyone though Klein would ever cough up the negatives for these films, so I wonder have they now patched things up?
Member
Posts: 430
Never seen any of his films, so I don't know whether to take the dip and get the big ol' box-set or not. I'll wait for the reviews, methinks.
Member
Posts: 1817
Originally Posted by zombeaner:
So this is the exact same set as the Anchor Bay set here in the States. Nice, at least now I won't have to choose, it is going to be half the price here in the US.
I suspect (or fear) the Tartan will be an NTSC to PAL conversion from Anchor Bay's materials, or possibly even vice versa. I'm waiting for reviews.
I'm seeing all three films at the NFT later on today!