Tuesday, October 6, 2015

SYNAPSE FILMS GOES TO WAR WITH TWO NEW HD REMASTERS!

TRIUMPH OF THE WILL (1935) (2015 Remaster)

Label: Synapse Films
Release Date: December 8th 2015 
Duration: 111 minutes
German with English, Spanish, French, Japanese subtitles
Color Not Rated Full screen, Aspect ratio is 1.19:1 DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono All Regions 
Genre: Documentary
Director: Leni Riefenstahl
Cast: Adolph Hitler, Joseph Goebbels, Hermann Goring, Rudolf Hess

Synopsis: Leni Riefenstahl's classic piece of historical filmmaking, filmed during the 1934 Nazi Party Rally in Nuremberg, Germany, is considered by many to be one of the most important films ever made. Realized by Paul Joseph Goebbels, Hitler's Reich Minister for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, this film was created to influence all of Germany to support the power of the Nazi Party.


Historically significant and, at times, a horrifyingly manipulative exercise in propaganda for the Nazi regime, TRIUMPH OF THE WILL continues to be controversial eighty years after its original release and has been banned in Germany for many decades. Until her death in 2003, Riefenstahl was under fire for her personal relationship with Adolph Hitler, spending her life haunted by the shadow of the Nazi Party.


This all-new remastered version of TRIUMPH OF THE WILL is derived from a new 2K scan, digitally corrected and restored under the supervision of film historian and preservationist, Robert A. Harris.


Bonus Features:

- All-new 2015 high-definition 2K remaster of TRIUMPH OF THE WILL from a duplicate 35mm fine grain master
- Original German language with all-new on screen identifications and newly translated removable English subtitles for the speeches
- Leni Riefenstahl's short film DAY OF FREEDOM (Remastered in 2K HD)
- Audio Commentary by Dr. Anthony R. Santoro (Specialist on National Socialist German history)
- Liner Notes

STALINGRAD (2003) (HD Remaster)

Label: Synapse Films
Release Date: December 8th 2015 
Duration: 165 Minutes In English (dubbed)
Color, Black and White Not Rated Widescreen Anamorphic 1.78:1
DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono All Regions 
Genre: Documentary
Directors: Sebastian Dehnhardt, Christian Deick, Jorg Mullner
Cast: Albrecht Appelt, Gerhard Dengler, Luzia Kollak, Hans Rostewitz

Synopsis: The Eastern Front experienced the viciousness of war on a scale of unimaginable horror and brutality. The bloodiest and most savage fighting took place in Stalingrad between August 1942 and February 1943. Stalin's city on the Volga had military significance for Hitler, as it carried the name of his enemy and therefore had to be destroyed. The ensuing battle sealed the fates of hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians, marked the turning point of World War II, and was the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany. This three-part HD documentary by award-winning documentary filmmakers Sebastian Dehnhardt, Christian Deick and Jorg Mullner presents both the German and Russian perspective, contains rare footage shot by soldiers during the siege, and reveals new historical facts with moving eyewitness accounts and confessions from some of Stalingrad's last survivors. The Russian archives opened their doors to the filmmakers, granting exclusive access to a wealth of previously unreleased material. Originally broadcast in both Germany and Russia in slightly truncated editions, this Blu-ray contains all three STALINGRAD documentaries including THE ATTACK (54 min.), THE KESSEL (56 min.) and THE DOOM (55 min.) in their original uncut, English dubbed versions.


Bonus Features:

- High-definition presentation of the original three-part 2003 mini-series
- English language dubbed version featuring footage not seen in the original broadcast
- Deleted interview segments
- Video interview with Dr. Guido Knopp (Professor and Historian)
- Stalingrad Today -- Views of the City of Volgograd