And then they announced something else: a boxset of all these titles, combined with a book, and limited to only a 1000 pieces. This release was called Camera Obscura: The Walerian Borowczyk Collection, and it was finally released this week. And it is undoubtedly one of the finest releases this year.
Walerian Borowczyk was a Polish director, writer, and illustrator, who made both animated and live-action films, and is hailed as an inspiration by many filmmakers, Terry Gilliam included. While his work is notorious for often containing offensive or even pornographic content, this is not as pervasive as you might think. People who check his films with titillation in mind will most likely be disappointed. Even his The Beast, while having quite a reputation, is first and foremost an arthouse film.
Back to this boxset, the arrival of which on my doorstep was met with much rejoicing, as it has been sold-out for months already, just on pre-orders. I ordered mine in February, and count myself lucky to now be holding one.
Like with the Herzog boxset, I will not be reviewing the films here in one go, as I want to peruse them at my leisure (instead of making a marathon of them). But here is a gallery of pictures showing what the set looks like, and I will list the extras for each title.
And this is what it looks like: a sturdy box from thick cardboard, and covered with Walerian Borowczyk's artwork.
Nothing too complicated or over-designed: the box contains five disc-holders and a thick book.
They're not kidding about this set being limited. Also, under the signature is an explanation why this set was named Camera Obscura.
The contents taken out. That book is a whopping 340 pages thick. More on that later...
As a nice touch, Arrow has included the original poster art (often designed by Borowczyk himself) on reversible sleeves!
All contents in plain view.
Each title here is in double format: Blu-ray (coded for region B) and DVD.
Spine 1 holds Theatre of Mr. & Mrs. Kabal and a collection of shorts.
Extras include:
-An introduction by Terry Gilliam
-Film is Not a Sausage, a documentary on Borowczyk's animation.
-Blow Ups, showing drawings of Borowczyk on paper.
-Three animated commercials Borowczyk made in the sixties.
Spine 2 holds Goto: Isle of Love.
Extras include:
-An introduction by Craigie Horsfield
-The Concentration Universe, a making-of documentary.
-The Profligate Door, a look at how Borowczyk used sound.
-Theatrical trailer.
Spine 3 holds Blanche.
Extras include:
-An introduction by Leslie Megahey.
-Ballad of Inprisonment, a making-of documentary.
-Obscure Pleasures, a filmed interview with Borowczyk from 1985.
-Peter Graham's short film Gunpoint, shot (haha) and edited by Borowczyk.
Spine 4 holds Immoral Tales.
Extras include:
-An introduction by Daniel Bird (a Borowczyk expert who pops up everywhere in this boxset.)
-Immoral Tales: The Golden Age Cut, the original five-episode cut of the film, with the segment which later became The Beast.
-Love Reveals Itself, a making-of documentary.
-Boro Brunch, a 2014 reunion of six cast and crew-members.
-A Private Collection, a short documentary on Borowczyk's collection of erotic cards and toys.
-Theatrical trailer.
Spine 5 holds The Beast.
Extras include:
-An Introduction by Peter Bradshaw.
-Venus on the Half-Shell, a short erotic film by Borowczyk.
-The Making of The Beast. The title says all, and it's a good one, lasting a full hour.
-Frenzy of Ecstasy, a look at the monster's design, and what was planned for a sequel.
-Theatrical trailer.
And now we get to the book, or rather, the two books. One is the 90-page Anatomy of the Devil, a collection of short stories written and illustrated by Walerian Borowczyk. The other is a 250-page collection of essays and artwork called Camera Obscura, and contains all the materials in the booklets of the individual title releases.
Both books have been stuck to each other back-to-reversed-back, so when you're at the end of a book you see the end of the other one, upside-down.
This is one of the best "booklets" I've ever seen in such a collection, and it can proudly enter any contest against a Criterion or Eureka MoC booklet. It is peppered with illustrations, both in black and white and in color. A stellar, STELLAR effort by Arrow.
And that actually goes for the entire boxset! Arrow has consistently been releasing cult-films for the past years, at a very high level of quality, and this boxset pushes them a notch higher even. I can't wait to see what they will do to top this one...