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Werckmeister Harmonies released in the Criterion Collection on April 16th.

Béla Tarr is an auteur with a reputation befitting the Criterion Collection. The Hungarian filmmaker utilizes beautiful visuals — typically in black and white — and unsettling realism to explore the unpleasant truths of existence. It’s fitting that his first feature to receive a proper physical release in the Criterion Collection is 2000’s whimsical mystery The Werckmeister Harmonies. Even better, we get two for the price of one with the inclusion of his debut feature, Family Nest, included in the special features.

Werckmeister Harmonies Plot

A peculiar circus, consisting of a massive and mysterious whale, sets up shop in the center of a small town. As curious spectators flock to the unconventional attraction, a primal violence bubbles to the surface of the sleepy village.

The Critique

A spectator examines the mysterious whale.

Also Read: Criterion Collection: The Runner Review

Werchmeister Harmonies...

From On Demand To Linear

Asian TV channels operator Celestial Tiger Entertainment and myTV Super, the Ott platform of Hong Kong’s Television Broadcasts Limited (Tvb) are to launch PopC, a movie channel dedicated to Chinese online films, with content supplied by mainland China streamer iQiyi. It launches in Hong Kong from May 1.

“The idea of PopC first came about when we saw the amount of great, high quality movies that were being produced for the online space in China. The domestic reception and online hit rates for these movies are just phenomenal, and we want to bring them to an international audience outside of China by curating them all in one great channel.” said Ofanny Choi, CEO of Cte.

Its lineup will take on revolving themes on a daily basis, from fantasy-adventure, to Chinese heroes, suspense, action and comedy.

Taipei-budapest

The Taipei Film Festival has reinstated its “City in...

While the year remains young, Criterion’s already looking to Q2 2024. April’s a notable month for its 4K haul: Béla Tarr and Ágnes Hranitzky’s Werckmeister Harmonies, having played in a dazzling restoration last year, will be the filmmakers’ first time in the collection (and come packaged with Tarr’s debut feature Family Nest). Mikhail Kalatozov’s less of a stranger, but his I Am Cuba continues the much-welcomed growth of Latin American cinema (notwithstanding its Soviet connections) on physical media.

Meanwhile, La Haine and Picnic at Hanging Rock get upgrades, and Nancy Savoca’s lesser-seen Dogfight enters on Blu-ray.

See artwork below and more details at Criterion:

The post The Criterion Collection’s April Lineup Includes Werckmeister Harmonies and I Am Cuba on 4K first appeared on The Film Stage.

Béla Tarr © Zero Fiction FilmThe Hungarian auteur Béla Tarr bid a farewell to the active filmmaking at the age of 55 with the 146-minute long reckoning The Turin Horse (2011), consisting of 30 takes. His filmography counts nine features that elevated him into the pantheon of world cinema, earning Tarr epithets as legend, master, cult or visionary, among others. Tarr started shooting films as an amateur at the age of 16, and at 22 he got a shot to make a feature-length film, Family Nest (1979), at Béla Balázs Studio. The early stage of the filmmaker's career marked by Family Nest, The Outsider (1981) and The Prefab People (1982) is defined by social themes and documentary style akin to cinéma vérité. However, the core of his work features his singular aesthetics and bleak visions of the post-communist landscape, notably in Damnation (1988), the cinephiliac 432-minute long treat Sátántangó (1994), and Werckmeister Harmonies (2000). His distinctive style stems from black and white,...

Not yet thirty, the Hungarian director Béla Tarr was already making a name for himself both at home and abroad. During the late 1970s and early 1980s his early features earned prizes at film festivals west of the Iron Curtain; in Hungary, however, he remained a marginal figure as the regime did not take kindly to his films’ openly dissenting spirit. This rendered it increasingly difficult for him to make films in his native country and following the independently funded Damnation, he moved to West Berlin, only returning after the dissolution of the Eastern bloc. Upon his return, Tarr got to work on a project that had been gestating for a decade: the 432-minute Satantango, which was released in 1994 and became a cult sensation among cinephiles. The resulting recognition, together with the enthusiastic endorsement of his work by prominent peers such as Susan Sontag and Gus van Sant, turned the forever uncompromising,...

Bunyik Entertainment’s new VOD platform has signed agreements with the Hungarian National Digital Archive Manda for Us VOD rights to 46 Hungarian classics.

The list includes Bela Tarr’s Family Nest, The Round-Up and Red Psalm by recently deceased Miklos Jancso and A Very Moral Night by Karoly Makk.

Cinemadanube.com also acquired five early films from Istvan Szabo including Father and Age Of Illusions and My 20th Century from Ildiko Enyedi.

The VOD library includes titles acquired earlier such as Viktoria — A Tale Of Grace & Greed (pictured).

Hungarian director Bela Tarr and Eurimages head Roberto Olla are to receive the honorary Heart of Sarajevo award at the 19th edition of the festival (Aug 16-24).

The award honours “an individual for exceptional contribution to the affirmation and development of South East European film industry”.

Announcing the honours, the Sarajevo Film Festival called Tarr “one of the most significant directors of our time”.

The director, who has now retired from film-making, founded the film.factory at the Sarajevo School for Science and Technology (Ssst) this year. He announced his retirement from directing last year and now lives in Sarajevo.

Tarr made his directorial debut aged 22 with Family Nest (1977). Focussing on social issues with a documentary style he followed up with The Outsider (1981) and The Prefab People (1982).

His TV adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth (1982), which he filmed in just two shots, marked a new phase in his creative work. Damnation (1988) saw the beginning of a visual style for...

Hungarian director Bela Tarr and Eurimages head Roberto Olla are to receive the honorary Heart of Sarajevo award at the 19th edition of the festival (Aug 16-24).

The award honours “an individual for exceptional contribution to the affirmation and development of South East European film industry”.

Announcing the honours, the Sarajevo Film Festival called Tarr “one of the most significant directors of our time”.

The director, who has now retired from film-making, founded the film.factory at the Sarajevo School for Science and Technology (Ssst) this year. He announced his retirement from directing last year and now lives in Sarajevo.

Tarr made his directorial debut aged 22 with Family Nest (1977). Focussing on social issues with a documentary style he followed up with The Outsider (1981) and The Prefab People (1982).

His TV adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth (1982), which he filmed in just two shots, marked a new phase in his creative work. Damnation (1988) saw the beginning of a visual style for...