Yes, folks. It is the return of Twitch VIDEO HOME INVASION! The column
that takes a look at independent home video labels fighting the good
fight all over the world! The last time we spoke was back in January as
I wrapped up coverage of the UK's preeminent distributor of independent
Japanese films, Third Window Films. Prior to them I'd covered the
wonderful Arrow Video in the UK and the US's venerable Severin Films. To
reopen the gates, I thought I'd take a look at a very cool label that
contacted me over the summer. It's been a long time coming, but after
digging into their catalog and the quality of their releases, I think it
is definitely worth exploring Germany's Bildstorung. I hope you enjoy
this look at a great little label releasing some truly outstanding
stuff.
Back in 2008, Carsten Baiersdörfer and Alexander Beneke decided to wade into the often dangerous business of cult film distribution. The result is the company now known as BILDSTÖRUNG, which Google tells me translates to Image Disorder, which is a pretty fucking good name for a company with a catalog like this. BILDSTÖRUNG was initially created in order to introduce, or reintroduce as the case may be, cult oddities to the German home video audience. In the process, the company has become one of the elite video labels in the world, though one that not many westerners know about.
Carsten and Alexander chose for their first release the horrific drama thriller In a Glass Cage (Tras el Cristal), which set the tone for their company's direction early. In a Glass Cage is just the kind of unsettling dramatic film that pushes many cinephiles to their limits, and such was the idea behind Bildstorung. Not content to simply release a film for the first time in Germany, the company sought out the original negatives and released the first home video edition from Filmax's HD transfer. It was clear right from the beginning that Bildstorung was out to make a big impression, and their continued dedication to this caliber of films and releases has led to them becoming a fantastic player in the premium home video market.
In addition to sourcing the best available materials, Bildstorung has taken up the release model of companies like The Criterion Collection and Eureka's Masters of Cinema, and packed their editions with bonus material including informative booklets and super-premium packaging, often with incredible original artwork. Unfortunately for westerners like myself, their fantastic looking booklets are typically printed only in German, however for select titles, the rest of the bonus material is often subtitled in English, except where prohibited by licensing.
Among the most appealing parts of Bildstorung releases is the attention to design, with some of their covers qualifying as works of art on their own. Among the more incredible looking covers are the Possession cover seen above, as well as this amazing cover for Czech masterpiece, Valerie & her Week of Wonders. There are many other that are just as good, and I have included some of my favorites in the gallery below. In addition to the original cover art, the rest of the packaging reaches a level of brilliant art design like I've never seen, not even from Criterion or Masters of Cinema. The booklets are intricately designed, the inner cases are beautiful, and each release comes in a heavy cardboard slipcase with a paper sleeve with both case and sleeve often utilizing different design and copy. There is attention to detail on these releases like I've never seen.
Bildstorung has released a number of European art house cult classics. These films include the abovementioned titles, as well as stuff like Arrebato, Walerian Borowcyzk's La bete (The Beast) and Immoral Tales, and many more. While they started their company with these releases, they haven't been scared to branch out. In the past year or so, they've begun releasing more contemporary titles like Serbian shocker Life & Death of a Porno Gang, and it's sister documentary, Made in Serbia. In addition, their release of Q's Bengali game-changer Gandu is due very soon. Details on Gandu haven't been finalized yet, so I'm not sure it's English-friendly, but it is a welcome step in any case.
Among Bildstorung's successes is their jump to Blu-ray, when many labels doing similarly good work in Germany, like Camera Obscura, haven't quite hit that plateau yet. They only have a few releases, but the films they've chosen are not available elsewhere in high definition, and will be must-buys for collectors. Bildstorung's commitment to quality runs deep, and they appreciate the customer and target audience for these releases. This is one company which hasn't, for whatever reason, really shown up on western movie geek radars, but I'm here to help change that. Stay tuned, Twitch readers, next time, we'll explore the dark art-house releases of Bildstorung.
Back in 2008, Carsten Baiersdörfer and Alexander Beneke decided to wade into the often dangerous business of cult film distribution. The result is the company now known as BILDSTÖRUNG, which Google tells me translates to Image Disorder, which is a pretty fucking good name for a company with a catalog like this. BILDSTÖRUNG was initially created in order to introduce, or reintroduce as the case may be, cult oddities to the German home video audience. In the process, the company has become one of the elite video labels in the world, though one that not many westerners know about.
Carsten and Alexander chose for their first release the horrific drama thriller In a Glass Cage (Tras el Cristal), which set the tone for their company's direction early. In a Glass Cage is just the kind of unsettling dramatic film that pushes many cinephiles to their limits, and such was the idea behind Bildstorung. Not content to simply release a film for the first time in Germany, the company sought out the original negatives and released the first home video edition from Filmax's HD transfer. It was clear right from the beginning that Bildstorung was out to make a big impression, and their continued dedication to this caliber of films and releases has led to them becoming a fantastic player in the premium home video market.
In addition to sourcing the best available materials, Bildstorung has taken up the release model of companies like The Criterion Collection and Eureka's Masters of Cinema, and packed their editions with bonus material including informative booklets and super-premium packaging, often with incredible original artwork. Unfortunately for westerners like myself, their fantastic looking booklets are typically printed only in German, however for select titles, the rest of the bonus material is often subtitled in English, except where prohibited by licensing.
Among the most appealing parts of Bildstorung releases is the attention to design, with some of their covers qualifying as works of art on their own. Among the more incredible looking covers are the Possession cover seen above, as well as this amazing cover for Czech masterpiece, Valerie & her Week of Wonders. There are many other that are just as good, and I have included some of my favorites in the gallery below. In addition to the original cover art, the rest of the packaging reaches a level of brilliant art design like I've never seen, not even from Criterion or Masters of Cinema. The booklets are intricately designed, the inner cases are beautiful, and each release comes in a heavy cardboard slipcase with a paper sleeve with both case and sleeve often utilizing different design and copy. There is attention to detail on these releases like I've never seen.
Bildstorung has released a number of European art house cult classics. These films include the abovementioned titles, as well as stuff like Arrebato, Walerian Borowcyzk's La bete (The Beast) and Immoral Tales, and many more. While they started their company with these releases, they haven't been scared to branch out. In the past year or so, they've begun releasing more contemporary titles like Serbian shocker Life & Death of a Porno Gang, and it's sister documentary, Made in Serbia. In addition, their release of Q's Bengali game-changer Gandu is due very soon. Details on Gandu haven't been finalized yet, so I'm not sure it's English-friendly, but it is a welcome step in any case.
Among Bildstorung's successes is their jump to Blu-ray, when many labels doing similarly good work in Germany, like Camera Obscura, haven't quite hit that plateau yet. They only have a few releases, but the films they've chosen are not available elsewhere in high definition, and will be must-buys for collectors. Bildstorung's commitment to quality runs deep, and they appreciate the customer and target audience for these releases. This is one company which hasn't, for whatever reason, really shown up on western movie geek radars, but I'm here to help change that. Stay tuned, Twitch readers, next time, we'll explore the dark art-house releases of Bildstorung.
It's really not that much of an exaggeration to say that I was distraught when I found out their stacked special edition of Valerie And Her Week Of Wonders had gone OOP before I had the chance to snap one up, only to be replaced by an vanilla 'budget' edition. Still keeping my fingers crossed that those bonus features (including a Daniel Bird/Peter Hames commentary and a featurette interviewing Valerie fans including the late Trish Keenan) and their stunning new transfer make their way to another edition or even, God willing, a Blu-Ray.
Good to see VIDEO HOME INVASION return. And with a label housed quite near me too!
Another great thing is that they come with very interesting essays written by very knowledgeable critics/journalists. It's definitely one of the best labels in Germany.