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FROM THE VAULTS OF THE LEGENDARY DEFA COLLECTION AVAILABLE ON DVD beginning November 18, 2008
Played by the gifted Lithuanian actor Donatas Banionis (Solaris), the painter Goya has found great success in the court of King Carlos IV – wealth, reputation…not to mention the love of a beautiful Duchess. Despite his achievements, Goya finds himself increasingly drawn to portraying, in his paintings, the suffering and nightmares of the Spanish masses. But Goya’s interest in subject matter upsets powerful figures of the Inquisition – and before long the uncompromising genius must contend with an equally adamant adversary who will stop at nothing to cleanse Spain of undesirables like Goya. Konrad Wolf was born in 1925, in Hechingen, Germany. At twenty, he took part in the liberation of Warsaw, and his experiences as a Russian propaganda officer in Germany at the end of WWII became the basis for his acclaimed film I Was Nineteen (1967), as well as the innovative Mama I'm Alive (1976). His awards include: the Karlovy Vary Grand Prize for Lissy in 1957; the Special Jury Prize at Cannes for Stars in 1959; and the Silver Bear at the 1980 Berlin Film Festival for Solo Sunny, his last film. Both I Was Nineteen and Solo Sunny are also available on DVD from First Run Features. DVD Bonus Feature:
Interviews with Angel Wagenstein (scriptwriter) and Tatjana Lolowna (actress) Selected Praise for GOYA: “GOYA is a world masterpiece of film.” - Barrett Warren, Dept. of English, Wayne State University “One of DEFA's most spectacular and colorful productions, GOYA is an epic bio-pic of Reason and Madness in the Age of Absolutism and Revolution.” GOYA |
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From Oscar Nominee Allan Miller . . . AVAILABLE ON DVD beginning November 18, 2008
After 45 years of performing, the Guarneri String Quartet will retire at the end of the 2008-09 season. This renowned Quartet "is among the most revered and enduring ensembles of its kind in the world" (National Public Radio) and has circled the globe countless times since it was formed in 1964, playing in the most prestigious halls in North and South America, Mexico, Europe, Asia and Australia. In their final season the quartet is touring extensively throughout the United States and Europe this winter. The Quartet has received numerous awards including the very first New York Seal of Recognition in 1982; the Chamber Music America highest honor, for a lifetime of service and achievement in the field. They are the only quartet to receive the prestigious Award of Merit from the Association of Performing Arts Presenters. They have been given Honorary Doctorate degrees from the University of South Florida and the State University of New York and the Ford Honors Award from the University of Michigan, where they have performed 30 times in the past 40 years. The Quartet’s recordings have won international awards, including the 1996 Deutsche Schallplattenkritik Award in Germany. Among its other award-winning recordings are collaborations with such artists as Artur Rubinstein, Pinchas Zukerman; and Boris Kroyt and Mischa Schneider of the Budapest Quartet. America's finest music documentarian, Allan Miller has produced films involving some of the most important musical events of the last two decades. He has made 35 documentaries about music, two of which have won Academy Awards - The Bolero, featuring Zubin Mehta and the Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra performing Ravel’s classic, and From Mao To Mozart: Isaac Stern in China, his Emmy-winning documentary about classical violinist Itzhak Perlman. He also directed Small Wonders, which received an Academy Award nomination and was subsequently made into the feature length movie Music of the Heart, starring Meryl Streep. The DVD box set A Musical Quartet (which includes From Mao to Mozart, Small Wonders, High Fidelity and The Turandot Project) as well as Bolero are also available from First Run Features. “ “Excellent! Captures not only the music of Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert but also, even more vividly, the music of four distinctive personalities in constantly shifting harmony and dissonance.” - Joseph McLellan, Washington Post “An entrancing and highly entertaining documentary about four gifted musicians who have been making beautiful music together for 25 years.” HIGH FIDELITY: |
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Please send review links to kelly.hargraves@firstrunfeatures.com or mail tear sheets to: Attn: Ian Grody Make it easy for your readers to find First Run Features: |
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First Run Features is thrilled to announce the release of the digitally restored director’s cut of GOYA by the acclaimed East German master, Konrad Wolf. One of only ten East German films shot in 70mm, GOYA bears the fingerprints of Wolf’s greatest influences, from Buñuel and Saura to Eisenstein, and stands along side I Was Nineteen and Solo Sunny, at the core of Wolf’s impressive oeuvre.
From the filmmaking team that brought us the Academy Award-winning From Mao To Mozart: Isaac Stern In China comes this spirited and often humorous documentary about the world-famous Guarneri String Quartet. Filled with the music of Haydn, Schubert, Mozart and Beethoven, this enjoyable film joins the Quartet during intimate rehearsals and recording sessions, as well as on tour to Prague, Venice, Baden-Baden, and across the United States. An astonishing look into the inner workings of the legendary Quartet, “High Fidelity may be the best film about music and musicians since From Mao To Mozart!” (Vincent Canby, The New York Times).
! Wonderfully Humorous.” - Kathleen Carroll, NY Daily News