There are not many, if any, in life, but I recently came upon one: that if you’re a lover of the art of film, you absolutely need to see Jan Nemec’s Diamonds of the Night, if you haven’t already. I’m more guilty than anyone I know of throwing around the term “essential cinema,” so I understand why some might feel the need to take my pronouncement here with a grain of salt, but honest, I feel this disc pretty much justifies the purchase of a foreign-region DVD player. For Diamonds is a foreign DVD, and the topic of my weekly Report on such items, at The Auteurs’ Notebook.
I bought a “grey-market” version of this a few years ago that ended one hour into the movie. When I saw this entry, I thought maybe it was finally coming out domestically. Yeah, maybe I’d better break down and get a region-free player. The hour I saw definitely lived up to its reputation.
“…justifies the purchase of a foreign-region DVD player”
I can’t believe that 14 years into the format, this is still an issue. Why is it so difficult to get a multi-region player in the US? Over a decade ago a shop opened up here that could remove the region block from just about any player. With all the films unavailable in region 1, this is absolutely essential. Criterion has been working hard at rereleasing stuff (particularly the superb BFI releases, like BIGGER THAN LIFE), but that only goes so far.
Yeah, at the risk of asking a stupid question, why are all of these great films you’ve written about recently – the Straub-Huillets, the Pialats, DIAMONDS OF THE NIGHT – available only in foreign-region format? Also, does anybody in the U.S. have a comprehensive selction of foreign-region DVDs for rental? Facets does have some foreign-region titles available to rent, but not all of the ones I’d like to see. If anything threatens to turn a picture like DIAMONDS OF THE NIGHT into a “consumer fetish object,” to use Dennis Lim’s phrase, it’s the film’s availability as an import-only collector’s item. I mean, I would L‑U-V to be buying all of this shit, but due to my present economic circumstances, this would likely entail giving up such “vices” as eating. When I was a teenager back in the late 80s/early 90s, any number of seminal albums – PINK MOON by Nick Drake springs immediately to mind – could be had only as expensive imports for sale at places like the late, lamented Midnight Records on 23rd Street in NYC. Here’s hoping that DIAMONDS OF THE NIGHT doesn’t have to be turned into a creepy car commercial before I get a chance to see it.
Well, if you’re in the Seattle area, most of these DVDs can be found for rental at Scarecrow Video there (might take a month or two after release for them to stock them, but they’re pretty good about stocking every obscure art film ever released on DVD in any region). Thankfully, it seems that Netflix and the interwebs still hasn’t managed to kill Scarecrow off. Still haven’t found anything in the NYC area that remotely compares, since it appears that Glenn’s not going into the rental business anytime soon.
Another DVD to add to my to-buy list!
You talked me into it.
Just got my Second Run DVD edition from Amazon UK. Hope you’re getting commission.
FYI. I bought by Philips DVD player for $30 and made it region-free with the help of folks at VideoHelp.com