MovieChat Forums > Sayat Nova (1982) Discussion > Best DVD version?

Best DVD version?

posted 19 years ago by Niffiwan
15 replies | jump to latest

Well, there's the KINO DVD version, which includes the uncensored 90-minute version, English subtitles and the Parajanov Requiem movie. However, I've heard that the image quality isn't that great.

There's also a guy on eBay selling "Color of Pomegranate" DVDs that he got from the Parajanov museum in Armenia, and he doesn't seem to want to answer my questions (all he says is "look at my product page).

The link is here: http://cgi.ebay.ca/TREASURES-FROM-ARMENIA-COLOR-OF-POMEGRANATES-DVD_W0QQitemZ7707644260QQcategoryZ128QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Has anybody bought from him (or the Parajanov museum in Armenia), and if so, what can you say of the image quality and extras? Is it the same DVD as the KINO one?

[–] gauli 19 years ago

Great to see someone is posting here, lol

I've seen the KINO version and the quality isn't very good. But that might just be how the film was recorded, I don't know.

I was thinking about buying the DVD this month, and I might as well just buy it from this guy in ebay. I've sent him some questions and hopefuly he'll respond.

[–] Niffiwan 19 years ago

Hurrah, a reply! :)

Well, I decided to risk it and buy the DVD from him... I'll tell you my impressions when I receive it (in about a week, hopefully).

I emailed him a second time and he was a lot friendlier this time around (there might've been a misunderstanding before). What he's said so far:
It's a copy from the DVD that the Parajanov museum has in Armenia.
No special features that he knows of
English subtitles
He does not know how long it is (there are 2 different versions of the movie...)

Anyway, I certainly hope that the quality is acceptable... this movie HAS to be seen with a sharp resolution, because otherwise it simply doesn't look good (lots of tiny details and wide compositions). The first time I saw this movie was on a VHS from my library, and ever since then I've wanted to own a copy with a good-quality image.

Have you seen any other Parajanov films, by the way? I also own the RusCiCo DVD of Ashik Kerib, and the image quality and sound quality on that DVD is just breathtaking - much better than the KINO Ashik Kerib/Suram Fortress dual DVD. The menus are amazing as well, and there are some really good extra features.
If you don't believe me, just look at this comparison from the two versions:
http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/dvdcompare/ashik.htm

I was thinking of buying the RusCiCo "Surami Fortress" DVD as well, but unfortunately the only available audio option on that is the Russian voice-over (which is really annoying, especially since I speak Russian ;). It would be really nice if there was a DVD of "Surami Fortress" that combined the image of the RusCiCo and the sound of the KINO (KINO has the original soundtrack, with no voice-over). I'd even do it myself if I knew how... :p

___ __ _
"I am very pleased with the proposals that I have put forward," said Thorwaldsson.

[–] Niffiwan 19 years ago

OK, I've gotten the DVD.

Basically, it's just the KINO DVD but without a menu or special features - otherwise, it's exactly the same (English subtitles are fixed).

The image quality isn't BAD, but it's consistently somewhat blurry and the colours are consistently faded. You can really tell that if KINO had bothered to find a decent print (or restore the one they used even a little bit), the image quality could've been fantastic. Unfortunately, they didn't... so it looks like the best DVD to buy if you want a Parajanov movie is still the RUSCICO DVD of Ashik Kerib (NOT the KINO DVD - that one has very bad quality).

___ __ _
"I am very pleased with the proposals that I have put forward," said Thorwaldsson.

[–] gauli 19 years ago

Hey thanks for the heads-up. For some reason I forgot to buy one from him, and now I probably wont buy it as all :)

I've actually seen everything Parajanov has made. Have you seen Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors? It is really amazing. The way Parajanov makes films is really beyond anything I've ever seen.

It's a real shame that Parajanov's films aren't getting the attention they deserve. There is a documentary called "Parajanov:Last Spring" that I've been trying to find. I emailed the people who are supposedly in charge of making the DVD and they said that they don't have the necessary funds. That's very unfortunate. The documentary features footage of the last film Parajanov was working on... *sigh*

[–] Niffiwan 19 years ago

That documentary is included in the KINO "Pomegranates" DVD. Perhaps it's worth getting just for that...

I've seen "Shadows", but to be honest I didn't like it as much as his later films (it was mainly the music, I think... it got a bit too grating for me near the end). It's not available on DVD yet, also, so it's not quite as easy to find.

Do you own any DVDs of his movies?

___ __ _
"I am very pleased with the proposals that I have put forward," said Thorwaldsson.

[–] gauli 19 years ago

The documentary in the KINO dvd is the requiem one, right? The Last Spring is a different one. No, I don't own any dvds. Actually, I downloaded Shadows from the internet I had no other choice.

Yes, Shadow was very different from his later work. My favorite is still Sayat Nova. I'm interested to know what you liked about Sayat Nova. What's your favorite scene?

[–] 19 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Niffiwan 18 years ago

For God's sake, why don't they combine the best of the two prints? It boggles the mind...

___ __ _
"I am very pleased with the proposals that I have put forward," said Thorwaldsson.

[–] 18 years ago

[deleted]

[–] GleamingMemory 18 years ago

Hello everyone,

I am seriously considering buying the Color of Pomegranates DVD on Kino. I heard about the bad quality. But I can't seem to find other editions. I first saw clips of this movie in a music video called "God Is God" by a band called Juno Reactor. I thought the images were absolutely beautiful. I didn't know they had taken it from a film and I came to learn of this film about a week ago. I am saddened however at the poor film quality. I have seen stills of this movie where the colour is brilliant and vivid. I hear it's a dull grey wash of colour now. So tell me then, is it worth it to buy the Kino DVD?

[–] gauli 18 years ago

It isn;t the best quality, but seriously, it will not ruin your experience at all. The first version of the film I saw was a VCD, but I still enjoyed it ("enjoyed it", hehe. That's a big understatement).

[–] GleamingMemory 18 years ago

Okay, can you give me an idea of the use of colour in this film? Tell me what Kino has subtracted in terms of colour in their edition.

[–] Niffiwan 18 years ago

Basically, their print of the film is sharp but somewhat dusty and faded. If they had bothered to clean it even a little bit, I think they could've had a DVD with very bright colours.

___ __ _
"I am very pleased with the proposals that I have put forward," said Thorwaldsson.

[–] Tchoutoye 14 years ago

There are two versions of the film that were released theatrically. The "director's cut" (a.k.a. the Armenian release), and the Soviet censored "Yutkevitch cut" (a.k.a. the Soviet release).

The Soviet version is 5 minutes shorter than the director's cut due to (mostly religious) censorship. It also replaced the Armenian titles with Russian translations in cyrillic.

Sergei Yutkevitch cut directly into the negative. This means, that although shorter, the image and sound is much better than the director's cut, of which no negative exists.

The director's cut, before being censored by Goskino in Moscow, was already censored by Armenfilm in Armenia. There exists a version in the Armenfilm archives which is longer than the director's cut. Roughly four hours of outtakes have been circulating online after being shown on Italian television.

There are currently 4 DVD versions:

1) The American Kino DVD (region 1, NTSC)
The Kino DVD has the director's cut. Although Kino claims it runs 88 minutes, it actually runs 78 minutes.
The English subtitles are non-removable and ugly: yellow, too large and low resolution.
The best thing about the Kino DVD (compared the other versions) is the bonus documentary "Paradjanov: A Requiem" (55 minutes).
http://www.kino.com/video/item.php?product_id=1090

2) The French Films Sans Frontieres DVD (region free, PAL)
This DVD has the same director's cut as the Kino DVD, though the runtime according to the DVD cover is 75 minutes. The difference between the length of this one and the Kino version is due to PAL/NTSC conversion.
The image and sound quality is much better than on the Kino DVD, although the soundtrack has a few seconds of drop out (which the Kino DVD doesn't have).
This DVD has removable French and English subtitles, in white.
Bonus features are a Paradjanov biography and a some info about the life of the poet Sayat Nova.
http://tinyurl.com/37dwlj7

3) The Japanese Columbia Music Entertainment 2004 DVD (region 2, NTSC)
The Japanese DVD contains the censored Soviet version, runtime 73 minutes.
No idea about English subtitles and bonus features.

4) The Japanese Columbia Music Entertainment "Premium Edition" 2009 DVD (region 2, NTSC), contains no less than 3 discs
Disc 1: digitally remastered version of the film, 71 minutes (which suggests it is the censored Soviet version)
Disc 2 & 3: five documentaries
a) Sayat Nova memory (43 minutes) - the story of the censorship, containing the censored scenes
b) Eros and Thanatos (39 minutes) - the themes of love and death in Paradjanov's work
c) Orpheus fell into Hell (34 minutes) - about Paradjanov's life in prison
d) My Sergei Parajanov (27 minutes) - about the shooting of "The Legend of Fort Slam" and a visit to Paradjanov's birthplace
e) Parajanov, Tarkovsky and islands (45 minutes) - about the friendship between the two directors

I have no idea if this contains English subtitles, though I doubt it.
http://tinyurl.com/22unpwk

[–] wallisdangerous 14 years ago

i ordered the french disc today, will report

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