---
product_id: 10075614
title: "Essential Art House - 50 Years of Janus Films"
brand: "max von sydowgunnar bjrnstrandakira kurosawaalfred hitchcock"
price: "₨20078"
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reviews_count: 9
url: https://www.desertcart.sc/products/10075614-essential-art-house-50-years-of-janus-films
store_origin: SC
region: Seychelles
---

# Essential Art House - 50 Years of Janus Films

**Brand:** max von sydowgunnar bjrnstrandakira kurosawaalfred hitchcock
**Price:** ₨20078
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

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- **What is this?** Essential Art House - 50 Years of Janus Films by max von sydowgunnar bjrnstrandakira kurosawaalfred hitchcock
- **How much does it cost?** ₨20078 with free shipping
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- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.sc](https://www.desertcart.sc/products/10075614-essential-art-house-50-years-of-janus-films)

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## Description

Product Description               50 Years, 50 Films  One Spectacular DVD Box Set Janus Films opened American viewers eyes to the pleasures of Ingmar Bergman, Federico Fellini, and François Truffaut at the height of their artistic powers. Celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of this world-renowned distribution company with Essential Art House: 50 Years of Janus Films, an expansive collectors box set featuring fifty classic films on DVD and a lavishly illustrated hardcover book that tells the story of Janus Films through an essay by film historian Peter Cowie, a tribute from Martin Scorsese, and notes on each of the fifty films. Eight Academy Awards  Twenty-eight Academy Award nominations Two Palme dor awards                  .com               Essential Art House - 50 Years of Janus Films is a 50-disc celebration of international films collected under the auspices of the groundbreaking theatrical distributor. Packaged in a heavy slipcase set (remember, lift with your legs, not your back), one volume contains the DVDs in sturdy cardboard pages; the other volume is a hardback book with introductory essays and essays about each of the films. Janus Films is the precursor to the Criterion Collection, and this set is far and away the most beautiful art object the company has ever created. The substantial and subdued packaging is meant to stand the test of time, as are the films immortalized within. From The Seventh Seal to Jules and Jim to M and Pygmalion and The 39 Steps, this exquisite set is the art house DVD release of 2006, if not the decade.  The 200-page book provides context for the films and is worth reading in its own right. Martin Scorcese offers a brief and celebratory introduction, reminiscing about the thrill of seeing the antiquated Janus Films logo when attending a movie in one of New York City's art house theaters. Film historian Peter Cowie's essay about the history of art house cinema in America casts light on how films by directors like Akira Kurosawa and Ingmar Bergman first found American audiences. These days it's easy to take for granted our access to films from around the globe, but in the early 20th century it was only due to the efforts of a passionate few that these great films found theatrical life in the United States. Many of these films, particularly those from Europe, boasted more liberal attitudes about such things as sex and war, facing the threat of censorship and hostility from Hollywood-fed audiences who weren't accustomed to considering films as works of art. Janus Films evolved as a way to bridge these cultural gaps, introducing Americans to foreign sensibilities and big-screen stories that transcended language. What DVDs Are Included?  The DVDs presented represent the cream of the crop of the Janus Films catalog, and the best of the Criterion Collection's bar-setting technical sophistication. Six of the films are being debuted on DVD on the occasion of the set's release, though they may be released separately later. These include Fires on the Plain, The Fallen Idol, Pandora's Box, Le Jour Se Leve, Miss Julie, and Three Documentaries by Saul J. Turell. Fans of copious extra features should take note--the discs contain only the films themselves. Those wishing to dig into the two bonus discs of material offered with Criterion's latest release of Seven Samurai, say, won't find that opportunity here. As for the selection of films, cinephiles may get into arguments about what's included and what's not, but any film school student would be far ahead of the game by devouring these fifty films. The treasures are listed below. --Ryan Boudinot ALEXANDER NEVSKY (1938)  ASHES AND DIAMONDS (1958)  L'AVVENTURA (1960)  BALLAD OF A SOLDIER (1959)  BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (1946)  BLACK ORPHEUS (1959)  BRIEF ENCOUNTER (1945)  THE FALLEN IDOL (1948)  FIRES ON THE PLAIN (1959)  FISTS IN THE POCKET (1965)  FLOATING WEEDS (1959)  FORBIDDEN GAMES (1952)  THE 400 BLOWS (1959)  GRAND ILLUSION (1937)  HÄXAN (1922)  IKIRU (1952)  THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST (1952)  IVAN THE TERRIBLE, PART II (1958)  LE JOUR SE LÈVE (1939)  JULES AND JIM (1962)  KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS (1949)  KNIFE IN THE WATER (1962)  THE LADY VANISHES (1938)  THE LIFE AND DEATH OF COLONEL BLIMP (1943)  LOVES OF A BLONDE (1965)  M (1931)  M. HULOT'S HOLIDAY (1953)  MISS JULIE (1951)  PANDORA'S BOX (1929)  PÉPÉ LE MOKO (1937)  IL POSTO (1961)  PYGMALION (1938)  RASHOMON (1950) RICHARD III (1955)  THE RULES OF THE GAME (1939)  SEVEN SAMURAI (1954)  THE SEVENTH SEAL (1957)  THE SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE (1973)  LA STRADA (1954)  SUMMERTIME (1955)  THE THIRD MAN (1949)  THE 39 STEPS (1935)  UGETSU (1953)  UMBERTO D. (1952)  THE VIRGIN SPRING (1960)  VIRIDIANA (1961)  THE WAGES OF FEAR (1953)  THE WHITE SHEIK (1952)  WILD STRAWBERRIES (1957)  THREE DOCUMENTARIES BY SAUL J. TURELL

## Product Details

- **Genre:** Drama
- **Format:** Box set, Color, Multiple Formats, NTSC
- **Contributor:** Akira Kurosawa, Alfred Hitchcock, Andrzej Wajda, Anthony Asquith, Benjamin Christensen, Carol Reed, David Lean, Dmitri Vasilyev, Eiji Funakoshi, Gunnar Bjrnstrand, Jeanne Moreau, Leslie Howard, Loredana Detto, Mantar Ushio, Margaret Lockwood, Max von Sydow, Michael Redgrave, Sandro Panseri, Wendy Hiller, Yoshihiro Hamaguchi
- **Language:** English, French, Russian
- **Number Of Discs:** 50

## Images

![Essential Art House - 50 Years of Janus Films - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/417rCMHSe7L.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    remarkable
  

*by A***N on Reviewed in the United States on November 2, 2006*

This is certainly the most remarkable collection of films to come out in one DVD package. And I would really like to thank Criterion for overpricing their DVDs so much that I had very little overlap with my existing library, having passed on most of their editions of these films. Here are a few observations that might be of use to potential buyers: 1) the widescreen movies are anamorphic 2) Haxen is 104 min, substantially longer than the 77 min version that has shown on premium cable. 3) I compared the Janus versions of two films, Wages of Fear and Seven Samurai, with the Criterion versions I had. I expected them to be identical (figuring that Criterion probably did the work for Janus) but they were considerably different. In both cases, the Janus copies were amazingly superior: much better (and louder)sound, crisper images with fewer defects, much better definition in shadowy areas, and a much more stable image. I never realized how poor the Criterion prints were until I saw the comparison. It's amazing the psychological effect of all that. In both cases, I was strongly tempted to continue watching the whole film with Janus, and found the Criterion copy 'tiring'. The translations also differed, with Janus having fewer errors (e.g. Samurai's "the rice we're eating now" v.s. "the rice we're eating, how"). I cannot wait to watch the rest of these films.3. I could detect no difference between Anchor Bay's and Janus's Kind Hearts and Coronets.4. The print of Lady Vanishes is the clearest I've seen. The el cheapo Brentwood print, in their Hitchcock collection, is unwatchable.5. The one really bad aspect of the collection is that the DVDs are wedged tightly into paper slots. Every single disc was covered with tiny flecks of paper, and every disc was scratched, sometimes quite badly (but not enough to affect playback, I think). Whether this occurred putting the disc in, or taking it out, I can't say. However, repeating this process would rapidly damage the surface. I put all the discs into individual cases, and I STRONGLY recommend doing so. Some of the discs felt like they were glued to the page, the packaging was so tight. If you are a real fanatic about surface defects, and don't plan on reselling the set, you might even want to use a razor to cut the paper and LIFT the disc out. Whatever you do, don't rotate the disc as you try to unstick it or you may get a spiralling defect.  Despite that caveat, this is an incredible bargain - less than $12 per film instead of $30 for Criterion's. That makes those commentaries pretty bloody expensive.  One can only hope Janus will put out another 50 movies (hopefully in individual cases, though).

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    like Askoldov, where you suffer a fate worse than ...
  

*by J***S on Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2016*

This was a state-sponsored, carefully monitored production. Artists, scenario writers directors are carefully conntrolled. A mis-step could land you In the USSR, artists, scenarists and directors were scrutinized by the State and their organs of Censorship. Any mis-step could land you dead, in Siberia or placed on the Russian Blacklist, like Askoldov, where you suffer a fate worse than prison, and never allowed to work again. In spite of this Eisenstein manages to turn the tables on his Inquisitors. He produced a propaganda movie that exalted Russian Leaders, even focused on the lowly soldiers (something not done during the Stalin years) but he managed to produce a touching love story. Between the two suitors, Vasili and Gavrilo, each publicly vying for the hand Olga Danilova, the beautiful maiden. Their gallantry in battle is noteworthy but their chivalry in courting though comically overplayed brings fresh notes to the film. The muse is also a fighter, hearkening back to early Russian Cinema female protagonist left the farm to become commissars and party leaders bringing about Communist Russia. In the end both soldiers appear to be dying. Something quintessentially marvelous takes place. The film recalls Act IV of Verdi’s La Boheme, with some role changes. There is a grim situation with the two soldiers appearing to be both dying. An aria unfolds with choral accompaniment. The skies are dark. The mood somber. This was meant to be the most romantic moments. But one soldier though clearly the most recovered states that his friend is more deserving of Olga and renounces her to him. Olga accepts and they are to be married. The Aria is at once a dirge and a serene mercurial composition (recalling Musette's Waltz). Perhaps Eisenstein was exploring the surreal, the fantastic, doing fine job of it. I’ll leave you view the film yourself. Now one of my favourite films. No need for Eisenstein’s “montage” theory. His narrative produced a classic, the old-fashioned way: Genius. The censors got their Russian propagandist fare, with Olga’s aria’s lyrics, “…Where are the Germans? Spread to the four winds or sunk below the ice! This scene was obviously copied by Antoine Fuqua in King Arthur (2004). Eisenstein cast a long shadow.© JV.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    Arrived in time
  

*by K***E on Reviewed in the United States on February 24, 2024*

Arrived on time and in good condition.

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*Product available on Desertcart Seychelles*
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*Last updated: 2026-03-19*