Last year, around this time, there was a 4K re-release of filmmaker Béla Tarr’s feature, “Satantango.” That black and white feature was beautifully restored and re-introduced audiences to one of the best filmmakers of the past 40 years. Now, Tarr is once again remastering one of his features for 4K, this time re-releasing his 1988 feature, “Damnation.”
In honor of the 4K release of “Damnation” arriving in virtual cinemas next week, we’re happy to give our readers an exclusive look at the new trailer showing just how beautiful the 32-year-old feature looks in all of its restored glory. For those unfamiliar, “Damnation” tells the story of a regular at a bar that is attempting to woo a cabaret singer away from her husband. However, as with most of the work from Tarr, the story is almost secondary to the incredible visuals and camerawork from the auteur, which is exquisitely presented in the new restoration.
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The film has been restored and remastered in 4K from the original 35mm camera negative by the Hungarian National Film Institute – Film Archive, under the supervision of Tarr. “Damnation” will be arriving on October 30 in select virtual cinemas including Film At Lincoln Center, UCLA Film and Television Archive, and the Roxie Theater, with more participating cinemas announced soon. You can watch the exclusive trailer below.
Here’s the synopsis for the 4K restoration:
A mid-career masterwork by legendary Hungarian art house auteur Béla Tarr and the first of his internationally acclaimed trilogy of films written in collaboration with author László Krasznahorkai (including the legendary Sátántangó), Damnation chronicles the doomed affair between bar Titanik regular Karrer (Sátántangó’s Miklós B. Székely) and the cruel cabaret singer (Vali Kerekes) he pines for while scheming to displace her brutish husband (György Cserhalmi). A poignant allegory on Communism that solidified Tarr’s unique aesthetic, Damnation is exquisitely photographed in black & white and punctuated with the mesmerizing long takes that would come to be his trademark.
