Cinelicious Pics: Two Newly Restored Agnes Varda Films Heading to Blu-ray
HomeCinelicious Pics: Two Newly Restored Agnes Varda Films Heading to Blu-ray
Posted October 23, 2015 06:29 PM by Webmaster
Independent U.S. distributors Cinelicious Pics will add two recently restored films from Agnes Varda to their Blu-ray catalog: Kung-fu master! a.k.a. Le Petit Amour (1988) and Jane B. Par Agnès V. (1988). The two-disc set will be available for purchase on January 12, 2016.
Jane B. Par Agnès V.
"I'll look at you, but not at the camera. It could be a trap," whispers Jane Birkin shyly into Agnès Varda's ear at the start of Jane B. Par Agnès V. The director of Cléo from 5 to 7 and Vagabond once again paints a portrait of a woman, this time in a marvelously Expressionistic way. "It's like an imaginary bio-pic," says Varda. Jane, of course, is the famed singer ("Je t'aime … Moi non plus"), actress (Blow-Up), fashion icon (the Hermes Birkin bag) and longtime muse to Serge Gainsbourg. As Varda implies, Jane B. Par Agnès V. abandons the traditional bio-pic format, favoring instead a freewheeling mix of gorgeous and unexpected fantasy sequences.
In each, Jane inhabits a new character, playing a cat & mouse game with Varda as they explore the role of the Muse and the Artist, all the while showcasing the multifaceted nature of Birkin's talent. "I'd like to be filmed as if I were transparent, anonymous, like everyone else," says Birkin. But her wish to be a "famous nobody" is impossible to achieve; Birkin is simply too magnificent, too mesmerizing. Here, Varda's signature mix of aesthetic innovation and generosity of emotion results in a surreal and captivating essay on Art, Fame, Love, Children and Staircases. For its first-ever U.S. theatrical release the film has been newly-restored from the original 35mm camera negative, overseen by director Varda herself. NEW 2K RESTORATION.
Kung-fu master!
A lovely, bittersweet companion to Jane B. Par Agnès V. from director Agnes Varda and star/muse Jane Birkin, Kung-fu master! has nothing to do with martial arts – the film's title comes from an arcade video game played obsessively in the film by a teenaged boy, Julien. Birkin delivers one of her finest performances as a lonely 40-year old woman who finds herself shattering taboos by falling in love with the 14-year old Julien – but is it romance, or a desperate attempt to turn back time in the face of middle age?
Kung-fu master! is truly a family affair: Varda's son with the late director Jacques Demy, Mathieu Demy, plays Julien – and Birkin appears here with her two real-life daughters: Charlotte Gainsbourg (from Lars von Trier's Melancholia) and Lou Doillon, her child with well-known filmmaker Jacques Doillon. Briefly released in the late 1980s in the U.S. and long unavailable here, Kung-fu master! has been beautifully restored from the original 35mm camera negative. "It's a film in which all the younger actors are the children of the director and lead actress" says Varda. "It was like a picnic, you know?" NEW 2K RESTORATION.
The new restorations will also be screened in select theaters across the nation.
THEATRICAL DATES:
Jane B. Par Agnès V.
Sept 14, 2015 Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar Austin, TX
Sept 25, 26, & 28, 2015 Northwest Film Center Portland, OR
Oct 16-22, 2015 Lincoln Plaza Cinemas New York, NY
Oct 10, 2015 Wexner Center for the Arts Columbus, OH
Oct 11, 2015 Logan Center for the Arts, University of Chicago Chicago, IL
Oct 17-18, 2015 Texas Theater Dallas, TX
Nov 2-6, 2015 Northwest Film Forum Seattle, WA
Nov 13-19, 2015 Royal Movie Theater Los Angeles, CA
Nov 13, 2015 PhilaMOCA Philadelphia, PA
Nov 14, 2015 Cinematheque, University of Wisconsin Madison, WI
Nov 21, 2015 National Gallery of Art Washington, DC
Kung-fu master!
Sept 3-4, 9-20, & 26-27, 2015 Time & Space Limited Hudson, NY
Sept 21, 2015 Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar Austin, TX
Sept 25, 26, & 28, 2015 Northwest Film Center Portland, OR
Oct 9, 2015 Avon Theatre Film Center Stamford, CT
Oct 10, 2015 Wexner Center for the Arts Columbus, OH
Oct 16-22, 2015 Lincoln Plaza Cinemas New York, NY
Oct 17-18, 2015 Texas Theater Dallas, TX
Oct 19, 2015 The Nickelodeon Columbia, SC
Nov 2-6, 2015 Northwest Film Forum Seattle, WA
Nov 13-19, 2015 Royal Movie Theater Los Angeles, CA
Nov 13, 2015 PhilaMOCA Philadelphia, PA
Nov 14, 2015 Cinematheque, University of Wisconsin Madison, WI
Jane B. Par Agnès V.
"I'll look at you, but not at the camera. It could be a trap," whispers Jane Birkin shyly into Agnès Varda's ear at the start of Jane B. Par Agnès V. The director of Cléo from 5 to 7 and Vagabond once again paints a portrait of a woman, this time in a marvelously Expressionistic way. "It's like an imaginary bio-pic," says Varda. Jane, of course, is the famed singer ("Je t'aime … Moi non plus"), actress (Blow-Up), fashion icon (the Hermes Birkin bag) and longtime muse to Serge Gainsbourg. As Varda implies, Jane B. Par Agnès V. abandons the traditional bio-pic format, favoring instead a freewheeling mix of gorgeous and unexpected fantasy sequences.
In each, Jane inhabits a new character, playing a cat & mouse game with Varda as they explore the role of the Muse and the Artist, all the while showcasing the multifaceted nature of Birkin's talent. "I'd like to be filmed as if I were transparent, anonymous, like everyone else," says Birkin. But her wish to be a "famous nobody" is impossible to achieve; Birkin is simply too magnificent, too mesmerizing. Here, Varda's signature mix of aesthetic innovation and generosity of emotion results in a surreal and captivating essay on Art, Fame, Love, Children and Staircases. For its first-ever U.S. theatrical release the film has been newly-restored from the original 35mm camera negative, overseen by director Varda herself. NEW 2K RESTORATION.
Kung-fu master!
A lovely, bittersweet companion to Jane B. Par Agnès V. from director Agnes Varda and star/muse Jane Birkin, Kung-fu master! has nothing to do with martial arts – the film's title comes from an arcade video game played obsessively in the film by a teenaged boy, Julien. Birkin delivers one of her finest performances as a lonely 40-year old woman who finds herself shattering taboos by falling in love with the 14-year old Julien – but is it romance, or a desperate attempt to turn back time in the face of middle age?
Kung-fu master! is truly a family affair: Varda's son with the late director Jacques Demy, Mathieu Demy, plays Julien – and Birkin appears here with her two real-life daughters: Charlotte Gainsbourg (from Lars von Trier's Melancholia) and Lou Doillon, her child with well-known filmmaker Jacques Doillon. Briefly released in the late 1980s in the U.S. and long unavailable here, Kung-fu master! has been beautifully restored from the original 35mm camera negative. "It's a film in which all the younger actors are the children of the director and lead actress" says Varda. "It was like a picnic, you know?" NEW 2K RESTORATION.
The new restorations will also be screened in select theaters across the nation.
THEATRICAL DATES:
Jane B. Par Agnès V.
Sept 14, 2015 Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar Austin, TX
Sept 25, 26, & 28, 2015 Northwest Film Center Portland, OR
Oct 16-22, 2015 Lincoln Plaza Cinemas New York, NY
Oct 10, 2015 Wexner Center for the Arts Columbus, OH
Oct 11, 2015 Logan Center for the Arts, University of Chicago Chicago, IL
Oct 17-18, 2015 Texas Theater Dallas, TX
Nov 2-6, 2015 Northwest Film Forum Seattle, WA
Nov 13-19, 2015 Royal Movie Theater Los Angeles, CA
Nov 13, 2015 PhilaMOCA Philadelphia, PA
Nov 14, 2015 Cinematheque, University of Wisconsin Madison, WI
Nov 21, 2015 National Gallery of Art Washington, DC
Kung-fu master!
Sept 3-4, 9-20, & 26-27, 2015 Time & Space Limited Hudson, NY
Sept 21, 2015 Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar Austin, TX
Sept 25, 26, & 28, 2015 Northwest Film Center Portland, OR
Oct 9, 2015 Avon Theatre Film Center Stamford, CT
Oct 10, 2015 Wexner Center for the Arts Columbus, OH
Oct 16-22, 2015 Lincoln Plaza Cinemas New York, NY
Oct 17-18, 2015 Texas Theater Dallas, TX
Oct 19, 2015 The Nickelodeon Columbia, SC
Nov 2-6, 2015 Northwest Film Forum Seattle, WA
Nov 13-19, 2015 Royal Movie Theater Los Angeles, CA
Nov 13, 2015 PhilaMOCA Philadelphia, PA
Nov 14, 2015 Cinematheque, University of Wisconsin Madison, WI
Jane B. Par Agnès V. - Official Theatrical Trailer from Cinelicious Pics on Vimeo.
Kung-Fu Master! - Official Theatrical Trailer from Cinelicious Pics on Vimeo.