British Film Institute (BFI) Discussion Thread

[rapta]

Originally Posted by BarnDoor

Women in Love £10.99 at HMV. Just waiting for them to add Cry of the City now, which will hopefully be the same price.

Yeah I was gonna say! Been checking the site every few days to see if they've added it, but still no. When I saw Women in Love this morning I decided they're just winding me up! Hopefully they add it soon. I notice they haven't got rid of The Glass Shield listing (my BFI contact told me it was never coming out on Blu-ray in the first place).

I hope it's not gonna be like Night and the City and for whatever reason not turn out to be £10.99 from HMV (and in turn, Amazon too). I still managed to get that one for about £11.50 or so on Amazon but the price shot up after that, and the lowest Cry of the City has fallen to on Amazon so far is £14.99 (Amazon price-drops have been rubbish lately).

[BarnDoor]

Psychomania specs:

Psychomania (Flipside 033) (DVD + Blu-ray)
A film by Don Sharp

Upon discovering a dark family secret Tom Latam (Nick Henson), the leader of hell-raising teen motorcycle gang The Living Dead , decides to take drastic measures to ensure his gang's superiority.

Through his devil-worshipping mother (Beryl Reid), Tom makes a pact with Satan to ascertain the secret of immortality. Using this information he encourages his fellow riders to end their lives, safe in the knowledge that they'll soon return from the dead to invulnerably terrorise the locals.

Packed with gothic tropes, black humour and eccentric performances (including George Sanders final screen role), Psychomania is a cult horror classic brimming with exciting action and fantastical mayhem.

Special features

Return of the Living Dead (2010, 25 mins): interviews with stars Nicky Henson, Mary Larkin, Denis Gilmore, and more
Sound of Psychomania (2010, 9 mins): interview with soundtrack composer John Cameron
Riding Free (2010, 6 mins): interview with Riding Free singer Harvey Andrews
An interview with Nicky Henson (2016): a new interview with actor Nicky Henson, star of Psychomania
Leather and Hell: Dressing the Living Dead (2016): new featurette on the company who supplied the film's costumes
Discovering Britain with John Betjeman: Avebury, Wiltshire (1955, 4 mins): the famous British poet narrates this travelogue about the Avebury stone circle and nearby burial grounds
Roger Wonders Why (1965, 18 mins): a church-made amateur film which sees two Christian biker youths visit the legendary 59 club where they meet the founder, Rev. Bill Shergold
Remastering Psychomania (2016)
Original theatrical trailer
Fully illustrated booklet with new writing by Andrew Roberts, Vic Pratt and Will Fowler

[rapta]

New BFI trailer for Victor Erice's El Sur has just been posted, which will give us a tease for how it'll look when it ends up on Blu-ray!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Ox_Vs1T2AWM

Also, I just found out some interesting facts about Eureka's recent announcement of acquiring the recent Spanish film The Olive Tree. Not only is it directed by Iciar Bollain (Even the Rain) and written by Ken Loach regular Paul Laverty, but Bollain herself played the little girl in Victor Erice's El Sur. If you watch the sales trailer for it, you'll notice some similarities in tone between the two films. Could make for an interesting watch when it's released later this year (and early next year on Blu-ray).

Originally Posted by BarnDoor

Psychomania specs:

Wow, another packed release! This is definitely now just behind Symptoms on my list of Flipside titles to pick up next (and also Privilege once that gets reissued, assuming the current edition is still selling for stupid money).

[Fnord Prefect]

Originally Posted by BarnDoor

Psychomania specs:

While Roger Wonders Why sounds like an intriguing oddity and any John Betjeman travelogues (even if they're only 4 minutes) are appreciated and enjoyed in this household I was hoping for more UK biker specific material.

Not complaining though, looks like yet another stacked quality Flipside release. Hopefully it'll be fun revisiting this incredibly daft movie in both the correct aspect ratio and HD.

[Yami]

El Sur is superb. Fingers crossed for an Erice box set though, as none of his films are in print.

[rapta]

Originally Posted by Yami

El Sur is superb. Fingers crossed for an Erice box set though, as none of his films are in print.

Sounds to me like a one-off, but hopefully the good response encourages them to try and do more. Hopefully MoC or Arrow Academy could even get The Spirit of the Beehive one day (if not BFI). God knows what the holdup with that one's all about!

[Yami]

Originally Posted by rapta

Sounds to me like a one-off, but hopefully the good response encourages them to try and do more. Hopefully MoC or Arrow Academy could even get The Spirit of the Beehive one day (if not BFI). God knows what the holdup with that one's all about!

Well, other than The Spirit of the Beehive there is only one more feature: the utter masterpiece that is The Quince Tree Sun.

[darthfrede]

Originally Posted by mattyl149

I've also seen Privilege on here:
http://www.simplyhe.com/cult/139461-...FSuBoCyE_w_wcB

Tried this out - but the order's stayed "In Progress" in the days since placing it.
Not holding out much hope. Worth a shot though.

Hoping they'll make the reissue available soon.

[rapta]

Originally Posted by Yami

Well, other than The Spirit of the Beehive there is only one more feature: the utter masterpiece that is The Quince Tree Sun.

Not released anywhere else on Blu-ray though so would have to be a debut like El Sur. Guess we would've heard by now if they were going to do that one as well.

El Sur seems to have been lined up just in time for the Pedro Almodovar season in fact, or is that just a coincidence?

Originally Posted by darthfrede

Tried this out - but the order's stayed "In Progress" in the days since placing it.
Not holding out much hope. Worth a shot though.

Hoping they'll make the reissue available soon.

Yeah I'm gonna wait for the reissue. The artwork sounds like it'll get spruced up a bit too which sounds appealing, especially since it's not going to lose any of the content within. I can wait for it, and will probably get Culloden/The War Game whilst I'm waiting!

[darthfrede]

Originally Posted by rapta

Yeah I'm gonna wait for the reissue. The artwork sounds like it'll get spruced up a bit too which sounds appealing, especially since it's not going to lose any of the content within. I can wait for it, and will probably get Culloden/The War Game whilst I'm waiting!

I feel like I might be the only one who really, really digs the designs of those early BFI covers.
The "Cullodden"/"The War Games" is a fantastic package. Definitely worth getting!
Now, if only the Danish Film Institute would get their act together and release "The Seventies People"!

[Yami]

Originally Posted by rapta

Not released anywhere else on Blu-ray though so would have to be a debut like El Sur. Guess we would've heard by now if they were going to do that one as well.

El Sur seems to have been lined up just in time for the Pedro Almodovar season in fact, or is that just a coincidence?

El Sur was released on Blu-Ray years ago in Spain. It's part of the Almodovar season itself, as he chose it along with a few other Spanish cinema classics to be shown alongside his own.

[aewb]

Originally Posted by rapta

New BFI trailer for Victor Erice's El Sur has just been posted, which will give us a tease for how it'll look when it ends up on Blu-ray!

I already have the Spanish blus of Spirit of the Beehive and El Sur plus dvds of Le Morte Rouge and El sol del membrillo but i'd be more than happy to upgrade them all.

Really looking forward to the Almodovar season as well.

[rapta]

Originally Posted by darthfrede

I feel like I might be the only one who really, really digs the designs of those early BFI covers.
The "Cullodden"/"The War Games" is a fantastic package. Definitely worth getting!
Now, if only the Danish Film Institute would get their act together and release "The Seventies People"!

I don't hate the old covers, but since the old edition of Privilege is OOP and selling for stupid prices and it's being reissued with new artwork, I'm more interested in waiting for that one now. Think it'd be nice to have its own design instead of just a screencap with a blue background...

In fact, I hope they use this poster (or adapt it at least):



As for other Watkins films, I'd love to see someone release The Gladiators and/or La Commune. Both sound pretty interesting, but then again so do all of his films.

Originally Posted by Yami

El Sur was released on Blu-Ray years ago in Spain. It's part of the Almodovar season itself, as he chose it along with a few other Spanish cinema classics to be shown alongside his own.

Originally Posted by aewb

I already have the Spanish blus of Spirit of the Beehive and El Sur plus dvds of Le Morte Rouge and El sol del membrillo but i'd be more than happy to upgrade them all.

Really looking forward to the Almodovar season as well.

Ah right, didn't realise. Yeah I knew El Sur was part of the Almodovar season (I thought I mentioned that in my comment?), but I'm wondering if they restored it just for that or just happened to be working on it anyway when they were planning an Almodovar season and he mentioned it was one of his favourites? Probably the former but wouldn't that seem a bit rushed (or however long it would have taken to organise the Almodovar season I guess).

[Yami]

I'll be surprised if it doesn't use the same source as the Spanish Blu-Ray.

[Class316]

I have a question about the BFI Birth of a Nation. I've read that it is superior to the KINO release in every way.

I saw some screenshots online and they looked like they all had a greenish tint. Are all the scenes with screen tint?

[kidc]

There are various tints used throughout the BFI disc. The Kino/MoC releases use a different tint scheme.

It might also be worth reading through the controversy that the BFI release caused.

[Class316]

Originally Posted by kidc

There are various tints used throughout the BFI disc. The Kino/MoC releases use a different tint scheme.

It might also be worth reading through the controversy that the BFI release caused.

Thanks for the link. Yea looks like BFI is far superior to me. I'll still keep the KINO release due to the Civil War shorts not in the BFI release. But for viewing it seems the BFI is the way to go.

[TheRingshifter]

Originally Posted by kidc

There are various tints used throughout the BFI disc. The Kino/MoC releases use a different tint scheme.

It might also be worth reading through the controversy that the BFI release caused.

One question: how common is the use of vignettes in the film? I feel like macroblocking on the vignettes isn't such a big deal really because you're not looking at them anyway... it's almost like if the letterboxing or pillarboxing bars are macroblocked, isn't it?

Maybe I'm mistaken here. Haven't watched many silent films.

[John_Drake]

Originally Posted by Class316

Thanks for the link. Yea looks like BFI is far superior to me. I'll still keep the KINO release due to the Civil War shorts not in the BFI release. But for viewing it seems the BFI is the way to go.

I find that the BFI is clearly superior in motion.

I sold the Kino version but kept the MoC for the extras.

[oddbox83]

Originally Posted by John_Drake

I find that the BFI is clearly superior in motion.

I sold the Kino version but kept the MoC for the extras.

I sold my MoC disc, after first deciding to keep it for the same reason. The documentary was incredibly dry so I'd never watch it again, and I don't think I could bear 2 hours of ropey standard def Birth of a Nation-mini, let's be honest.