Product Description

Four years in the making, the new film from the acclaimed Hungarian filmmaker Béla Tarr is an adaptation of a novel by thriller writer Georges Simenon. Maloin (Miroslav Krobot) leads a simple life as a railway signalman, barely registering the world around him. His life takes a sudden turn when he becomes a witness to a murder and he is forced to confront issues of morality, sin, punishment and the line between innocence and complicity. Exploring themes of desire, greed and man s indestructible longing for freedom, this hypnotic film bears the distinctive trademarks of Tarr s universe fluid and stunning monochrome photography, pared-down dialogue and performances (with a striking appearance by Tilda Swinton), and a hauntingly beautiful score by long-time Tarr collaborator Mihály Víg. Special Features: Interview with Béla Tarr, Theatrical trailer

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6431 in DVD
• Released on: 2009-04-06
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, PAL
• Original language: French, English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 130 minutes

Synopsis
Four years in the making, this exceptional film from the acclaimed Hungarian filmmaker Bela Tarr is an adaptation of a novel by thriller writer Georges Simenon. Maloin (Miroslav Krobot) leads a simple life as a railway signalman, barely registering the world around him. His life takes a sudden turn when he becomes a witness to a murder and he is forced to confront issues of morality, sin, punishment and the line between innocence and complicity.

Exploring themes of desire, greed and man’s indestructible longing for freedom, this hypnotic film bears the distinctive trademarks of Tarr’s universe – fluid and stunning monochrome photography, pared-down dialogue and performances (with a striking appearance by Tilda Swinton), and a hauntingly beautiful score by long-time Tarr collaborator Mihaly Vig.

Customer Reviews

Atmospheric
I'm a great fan of Bela Tarr's works and I rate "Satantango" as one of the most remarkable films that I have ever seen. His latest film "The Man from London" is recognisably Tarresque; it is shot in monochrome and features typically heavy set, morose middle aged men living isolated and monotonous lives in a wintery landscape although this time the backdrop is a French fishing village rather than some forgotten part of Hungarian Ruritania.The film is slow moving and has little dialogue.The plot is simple ; a railway signalman witnesses a murder following the recovery of a mysterious suitcase (which turns out to have been stuffed with money) that was tossed from a moored boat and an English police inspector is despatched to recover the money and solve the murder.The signalman fishes the suitcase out of the sea and hides the money , but the Man from London soon closes in on the murderer and the signalman. "The Man from London" is beautifully filmed and well paced , but I still would place the excellent "Werckmeister Harmonies" and "Damnation" ahead of it on the grounds of their excellent imagery and sheer other worldliness.

No overdubs please
The fact that this film is long and slow is not a problem. That's the unique vision of Bela Tarr
and those already familiar with his style should rejoice that this film ever made it to completion.

Is it just me, or do the shadows cast over the troubled production, somehow continue on screen?

The only issue I have with this film is the use of overdubs. I see no reason for this and it distracts and detracts from the sound and viewing experience. In the films mentioned below, I almost think the sound is better than the beauty of the photography. I have seen a short clip of this film without the overdubs and it works so much better. I hope it wasn't to try and reach a wider audience and indeed hope any future release will provide an audio option to play with subtitles only. Also, I feel Mihaly Vig's score is overused to the point of intrusion.

If you're new to Bela Tarr, check out the 'Werckmeister Harmonies' and 'Satantango' first.

Trance
This was my 1st Bela Tarr movie and I confess to being totally mesmerised. Not being a big fan of the poignant "longeur", this was a revelation. Naturalistic acting from a superb cast and a Vig score that seeps thru your soul enhance the special experience that is watching The Man From London. Hungarian dubbed into French with English subs does not SOUND like a promising recipe,but in all honesty dialogue was secondary to the hypnotic atmosphere,Influences? Well the occasional monotonous tone of an engine, heating pipe or railway signal lever put one in mind of the underworld clasics of Fritz Lang [also Tarr's prediliction for the "upshot"].The look and haunting nature of the production design looked a lot like early work by Wim Wenders- pre-Paris Texas.Great face acting by Tilda Swinton is another highlight. Only disppointment was the lack of extras from Artificial Eye, even though the Tarr interview is most enlightening. It won't be too long before I buy my second...hmmm, Werkmiester Harmonies or Satantango? I have a feeing I have just made a delicious new friendship that refuses to be rushed