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Werckmeister Harmonies/Damnation [DVD] [2001]
 
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Werckmeister Harmonies/Damnation [DVD] [2001]

DVD ~ Lars Rudolph
3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)

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Werckmeister Harmonies/Damnation [DVD] [2001]
53% buy the item featured on this page:
Werckmeister Harmonies/Damnation [DVD] [2001] 3.7 out of 5 stars (7)
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Product details

  • Actors: Lars Rudolph, Peter Fitz, Hanna Schygulla, János Derzsi, Djoko Rosic
  • Directors: Béla Tarr, Ágnes Hranitzky
  • Writers: Béla Tarr, Gyuri Dósa Kiss, György Fehér, László Krasznahorkai, Péter Dobai
  • Producers: Béla Tarr
  • Format: Black & White, PAL, Widescreen
  • Language Hungarian, Slovak
  • Subtitles: English
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
  • Number of discs: 2
  • Classification: 15
  • Studio: Artificial Eye
  • DVD Release Date: 23 Feb 2004
  • Run Time: 265 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B00009Z52L
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 38,697 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

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Reviews

Special Features
  • Bela Tarr interview
  • Filmography

DVD Technical Information:

  • Language: Hungarian
  • Subtitles: English
  • Black & White
  • Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
  • Region Code: 2
  • Running time:
    Disc 1 (Werckmeister Harmonies): 145 minutes
    Disc 2 (Damnation): 120 minutes


Synopsis
A 2-DVD set containing Hungarian director Bela Tarr's tour de force WERCKMEISTER HARMONIES alongside 2000's DAMNATION. In a nameless, frozen, Eastern European village cloaked in fog, Janos (Lars Rudolph) choreographs three grizzly drunks in a pantomime of the earth circling the sun and the moon circling the earth. He freezes his actors and describes a total eclipse of the sun; the world grinds to a halt in momentary fear until the warmth of the sun again blankets the earth. On his errands in the wintry wee hours, he hears his neighbours worry about the severe coal shortage, the disappearance of entire families, and the impending riot. He watches as a truck lumbers into town, pulling an enormous corrugated shed behind it. Inside is a stuffed whale. The most gigantic ever seen. A sign says that a Prince accompanies the whale. Janos goes to visit Uncle Gyorgy (Peter Fitz), a musicologist determined to prove that the order imposed on sound by the Werckmeister Harmonies is false and only sonic chaos and disorder is truth. Weary and hungry, Janos finally makes it home when Aunt Tunde (Hanna Schygulla) arrives, threatening to move back in with Gyorgy if Janos does not convince him to use his influence to help her start her "clean town movement." It's simply exquisite.DAMNATION tells the story of Karrer, a virtual hermit who has no human contact save an obsession with a singer in his local bar.

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Customer Reviews

7 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
3.7 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The Melancholy of film making., 23 Mar 2004
Bela Tarr is a visionary film maker. I can think on no other who is as unafraid of his audience or material: he has no fear of challenging the viewer and as a result, his films have an unhurried rhythm that allows the audience to absorb atmosphere, often to claustrophobic effect.

Werkmeister Harmonies is based on the central section of László Krasznahorkai's novel "The Melancholy Of Resistance". It takes place in a small Magyar town that is visited in the night by a mysterious "Prince" and his travelling pantechnicon which contains a huge stuffed whale. Mysterious strangers arrive and the atmosphere turns violent...

Tarr immerses the viewer in his unique vision. The succession of daringly long takes brings the audience closer to the people and place: a four minute shot of people walking in silence becomes unbearably tense; a two minute shot of a man running along a railway track brings desperation.

This disc comes with the bonus of Tarr's earlier "Damnation" on a separate disc.

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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Two Bela Tarr Classics, 6 Jun 2006
By hj (London) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   
Damnation (1987): stricken by hopelessness a man seeks salvation in his desire for a woman, who he then betrays to the authorities, betraying his own humanity in the process.
Werckmeister Harmonies (2000): a strange carnival comes to town during a corrupt election which erupts into mob violence.

Arty black & white; very long takes; very slow pans & zooms; characters muttering profound aphorisms; a general mood of existentialist angst. At first Bela Tarr seems like a throwback to the days of Antonioni, Bergman & Tarkovsky. Surely you can't make movies like that now, in this ironic post-modern post-Tarantino world? After awhile, however, you realise Tarr's precursors are more likely to be Fassbinder & (early) Kieslowski and what might seem pretentious & old fashioned is actually as hard as nails & utterly contemporary. Which is why Tarr is having such an influence on younger American "indie" directors like Gus Van Zant. If you want to present the confused horror of the modern world without resorting to cartoon violence then Tarr's aesthetic is as good as any right now.

Damnation gets better with each viewing. It is a remarkable film & what seems initially like heavy-handed plot, characterisation & dialogue turns out to be very clever, complex & twisted. The movie would be worth watching just for the elaborate set piece dolly shots - really! Werckmeister Harmonies throws in another old-fashioned element: allegory & symbolism (& of course these films could be seen as a comment on the degeneration of the old Eastern Block), but again there are some remarkable scenes (such as the horrific mob attack on a hospital) which continue to haunt long after viewing. If you like classic European art house movies then you should certainly investigate Bela Tarr. This Artificial Eye edition is basic but it's great to get the two movies in one package.
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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Beauty is to see without thought, 20 Nov 2004
By Mr. N. Coombs (UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
That Werkmeister Harmonies is a genuine 21st century classic is not in dispute, an open mind and appreciation of meaningful cinema will ensure that you find value in it. The real surprise here is Tarr's 1989 film Damnation. It could nominally be categorised a a sort of film noir but is adverse to any easy categorisation. Borrowing the style of Tarkovsky's Stalker the camera spends most of its time rolling at glacial speeds along dolly tracks that illuminate tableus of desparation and ironically fatalistic scenes. The effect not only drags you into the decaying world of a late eighties Eastern bloc city, but via its stillness and the exploration of the stillness you develop an ontological relationship with the images and the real world that surrounds it. To put it in a less philisophical way, Tarr's film through its slowness, non commital dialogue, and cypher characters creates an enormous space in order for you to insert yourself within the situation. The effect you cannot describe as enjoyable, only essential. Rumour has it that Tarr's 7 hour opus SatanTango is on the release horizon for DVD now, what better way to prepare than to ease yourself into his earlier, and later, dark worlds.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Damnation
One of the worst films I have ever seen . I am not doubting the creative images and some of the shots are amazing , but how many times can one director use the very slow pan to... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Mark Wharton

1.0 out of 5 stars I couldn't believe the frail woman could have so much blood in her
This quote from Damnation lifted straight out of Shakespeare (Lady Macbeth on the murdered Duncan). No surprise, Bela Tarr adapted Macbeth the year before he made Damnation... Read more
Published on 14 Jun 2006 by R. M. Hillier

4.0 out of 5 stars Very unique and unusual films
"Werckmeister Harmonies" and "Damnation" are two of the strangest avant-garde films that I have ever seen. Read more
Published on 8 Mar 2006 by L. Davidson

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best films ever made
Bela Tarr's film Werckmeister Harmonies is a masterpiece. A superb film reflecting the Communist upheaval in his own country, Hungary. Read more
Published on 28 Nov 2005 by J. Leslie

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