The Saragossa Manuscript / Rekopis znaleziony w Saragossie (Wojciech Has, 1965)

[mrb]

Mr Bongo Films have this in the shops, a tenner in HMV.

The DVD has an isolated score.

I've bought a copy but haven't watched it yet. Reviews seem to suggest that the plot is difficult to follow - I relish the challenge.

Jerry Garcia was a fan, apparently.

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The Saragossa Manuscript: (amazon.co.uk (http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0013KAAX8/ref=nosim?tag=mondoerotico05) (Mr Bongo Films DVD, UK)

The Saragossa Manuscript: (amazon.co.uk (http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00005Y6YR/ref=nosim?tag=mondoerotico05) | amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00005Y6YR/ref=nosim?tag=mondoerotico)) (Image Entertainment DVD, USA)

[please support the Cult Movie Forums by using our amazon links for your purchases]

http://www.mrbongo.com/typo3temp/pics/d8b6e71e35.jpg (http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0013KAAX8/ref=nosim?tag=mondoerotico05)

[MarcMorris]

I've had the American Image disc for several years. It is indeed hard to follow but is well worth sticking with.

DVD Beaver: The Saragossa Manuscript (http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDReviews11/Saragossa_Manuscript.htm)

[CountFilth]

Mr Bongo Films have this in the shops, a tenner in HMV.

The DVD has an isolated score.

I picked this up the other day, not got round to watching it yet, but gave the disc a quick check. Picture quality seems reasonable and is progressive PAL unfortunately though, while advertised on the back cover, the isolated score is not included on this release.

[WillHay]

Thanks for the pointer - this looks right up my street! (I used the weblink here to order both the DVD and the book...)

[Dr Phibes]

I'm a huge fan of the film - as I am the Count Potocki's original epic book, The Manuscript Found in Saragossa (http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0140445803/ref=nosim?tag=mondoerotico05) which is a magnificent work, one of the greatest 'frame tales' ever created. Has' film resolves the sixty-six days of the book to a mere five days, but as Marc notes above, even this results in a complex narrative, though it is coherent - and enthralling, I might add.

The Image DVD and this recent UK edition are vertically squashed. The original ratio is 2.35:1 and the Image DVD (which I own) is 1.92:1 (listed as 2.00:1 and is interlaced. I also have the French DVD which is the proper 2.35:1, is progressive PAL and has white ENGLISH subtitles instead of the yellow subs of the Image edition, but is lacks the isolated track of Penderecki's amazing score. The contrast and detail of the Image disc look a bit better in places, though. The Image edition is OOP, btw and I am hoping for a Criterion edition!

Has' The Hourglass Sanitorium is also available in France, though I do not own this edition - I own a DVD-R of the Polish edition with hand-made subtitles and it is non-anamorphic. Brilliant film.

[ForestFilmsUK]

I got this and got around to watching it last night. Great movie, but the UK DVD leaves a lot to be desired on the compression front. The bit rate is all over the place, for about 84 one second to 18 the next, always bouncing between the two, with notable image softening coming in and out as it plays.

Can't say I noticed any distortion in the image, and I usually spot that type of thing straight off.