PEOPLE ON SUNDAY (1930, Blu-ray released June 28, 2011 – MSRP $39.95)

MOVIE:
VIDEO:
AUDIO:
EXTRAS:
BLU-RAY:

Watching People on Sunday is like watching the birth of neo-realism and the French new wave, several decades (and a country) removed. And watching the new Criterion Collection edition of the film on Blu-ray is a sheer delight, despite a puzzling choice of video modes.

“Years before they became major players in Hollywood, a group of young German filmmakers—including eventual noir masters Robert Siodmak and Edgar G. Ulmer and future Oscar winners Billy Wilder and Fred Zinnemann—worked together on the once-in-a-lifetime collaboration People on Sunday (Menschen am Sonntag). This effervescent, sunlit silent, about a handful of city dwellers (a charming cast of nonprofessionals) enjoying a weekend outing, offers a rare glimpse of Weimar-era Berlin. A unique hybrid of documentary and fictional storytelling, People on Sunday was both an experiment and a mainstream hit that would influence generations of film artists around the world.“

I was excited to see People on Sunday on the basis of the filmmakers involved – a chance to see the earliest available work of some of my favourite writers and directors. I freely admit that as much as I love their various noir films and comedies, it’s their gothic horror thrillers that most attract me. As a fan of the Universal horror films, Edgar G. Ulmer’s The Black Cat, Curt Siodmak’s classic The Wolfman and even his brother, Robert Siodmak’s Son of Dracula are some of the most important films in my life. So, to have the opportunity to see this film, to see where this talented crew of filmmakers got their start, before their many years in Hollywood, was a truly moving experience for me.

People on Sunday is nothing like the work this talented crew of filmmakers would later become known for. This is a slice of life, without plot, with a cast of non-actors simply playing themselves, on a day off from work, frolicking at the beach. The film, shot from the hip (as much as it was possible to do so with the cameras of the day) and relatively naturalistic, is a grand departure from the cinematic styles of the Weimar era (between Germany’s defeat at the end of World War I in 1918, and Hitler’s rise to power in 1933), with massive productions like Fritz Lang‘s Metropolis all the rage at the time. It’s sensitive, joyous with a hint of cynicism and surprisingly real.

I’m puzzled by the necessity to encode this Blu-ray disc at 1080i. I can only guess that the interlacing has to do with either the unusual frame-rate or the state of the available elements. Either way, People on Sunday looks more spectacular than I had hoped. Aside from a fair amount of flicker, the film has been restored to incredible condition, looking like a million bucks on Blu. You’ll be hard pressed to find any issues with the transfer or any evidence of the step-down in encode.

“This new digital transfer was created from a 35mm mute print struck from the restoration negative provided by the EYE Film Institute Netherlands. It was scanned in 2K resolution on a Spirit 4K Datacine, played at 24 frames per second, and then digitally converted to the EYE Film Institute’s recommended speed of 22 frames per second. Color correction was done using DaVinci Resolve software. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, warps, jitter, and flicker were manually removed using MTI’s DRS system, while Digital Vision’s Phoenix system was used for small dirt, grain, and noise reduction. “

People on Sunday offers up a couple of audio options to accompany your silent film viewing experience – an era-appropriate score by the Mont Alto Orches­tra and a modern-era one by Elena Kats-Chernin, performed by the Czech Film Orchestra. Both tracks are clean and clear, without distortion, in linear PCM stereo. Either is a fine option and, really, down to your own preference. Though I feel the modern score is more dynamic and full, I have a feeling I’ll come back to the silent-era music for future screenings.

There isn’t much in the way of special features on this Blu-ray disc but what little is included is fantastic. First up is a great little half-hour doc on the making of the film. Gerald Koll’s Weekend am Wannsee features interviews with film restorer Martin Koeber, writer Curt Siodmak and actress Brigitte Borchert. People on Sunday cinematographer Eugen Schufftan‘s half-hour long short film Ins Blaue Hinein is also featured on the disc and, though it’s a “talkie”, is a stylistic companion to the feature. The Blu-ray package is rounded out with a 28-page illustrated booklet featuring an essay and reprints by scriptwriter Billy Wilder and director Robert Siodmak.

Special Features:

• New high-definition digital restoration, created in collaboration with the Filmmuseum Amsterdam
• Two scores—a silent-era-style score by the Mont Alto Orches­tra and a modern compo­sition by Elena Kats-Chernin, performed by the Czech Film Orchestra—both presented as uncompressed stereo soundtracks on the Blu-ray edition
• Weekend am Wannsee, Gerald Koll’s 2000 documentary about the film, featuring an interview with star Brigitte Borchert
• Ins Blaue Hinein, a thirty-six-minute short from 1931 by People on Sunday cinematographer Eugen Schüfftan
• New and improved English subtitle translation
• PLUS: A booklet featuring a new essay by film scholar Noah Isenberg and reprints by scriptwriter Billy Wilder and director Robert Siodmak

Related posts

• Criterion June Blu-ray titles: Black Moon, Zazie dans le métro, People on Sunday, The Makioka Sisters, Kiss Me Deadly, Insignificance (0)
• Top 5 New Blu-ray releases for the Week of November 9 (1)
• Top 5 New Blu-ray releases for the Week of May 10 (0)
• Top 5 New Blu-ray releases for the Week of June 28 (1)
• [VIDEO] Three Reasons: Sweetie – The Criterion Collection (0)