British Film Institute (BFI) Discussion Thread

[drb124]

Originally Posted by Ronnie67

The Pioneers of African-American Cinema is back up at £19.99 on Amazon, just grabbed one.

That is the blu-ray version at 19.99? I missed it this morning, but I will definitely pick it up if it drops again.

Also, I finally got around to watching Schalcken the Painter from the Flipside series last night. I watch a lot of horror, and although there were no jump scares or anything truly frightening, it was very effective at creating a sense of unease, and John Justin was perfect for the role as he was quite off-putting with a little makeup work. This and Sleepwalker from BFI are two very good sort of forgotten horror films/short films. The releases are very good as well with extras including short films and interviews on both. Probably my two favorite flipside releases, though Symptoms is very good as well.

[Ronnie67]

Originally Posted by drb124

That is the blu-ray version at 19.99? I missed it this morning, but I will definitely pick it up if it drops again.

Also, I finally got around to watching Schalcken the Painter from the Flipside series last night. I watch a lot of horror, and although there were no jump scares or anything truly frightening, it was very effective at creating a sense of unease, and John Justin was perfect for the role as he was quite off-putting with a little makeup work. This and Sleepwalker from BFI are two very good sort of forgotten horror films/short films. The releases are very good as well with extras including short films and interviews on both. Probably my two favorite flipside releases, though Symptoms is very good as well.

It was the Blu-ray version.

[ravenus]

Originally Posted by drb124

Also, I finally got around to watching Schalcken the Painter from the Flipside series last night. I watch a lot of horror, and although there were no jump scares or anything truly frightening, it was very effective at creating a sense of unease, and John Justin was perfect for the role as he was quite off-putting with a little makeup work.

I quite enjoyed Schalken as well, it was a nice companion to the Ghost Stories for Christmas DVD set, which features chillers from MR James and Dickens..

[Odradek]

Hallo, I just found out that apparently BFI's Rossellini War Trilogy boxset is sold out?! I am located in Germany and I am not really able or willing to pay a premium price on ebay for it at the moment. Any recommendations? Will the movies be reissued in another edition? Any suggestions?

[Sifox211]

Are you region free? There is a Criterion version; be around £45 at the next sale (which thinking about it is probably more than you'd pay on eBay for the BFI)!

[nitin]

Originally Posted by Sifox211

Are you region free? There is a Criterion version; be around £45 at the next sale (which thinking about it is probably more than you'd pay on eBay for the BFI)!

That's the Rossellini/Bergman set not the Rosellini war trilogy which so far has only been released by the BFI.

[deepbreathsanddeath]

Originally Posted by nitin

That's the Rossellini/Bergman set not the Rosellini war trilogy which so far has only been released by the BFI.

The Rossellini/Bergman Blu-ray sets are different between BFI and Criterion. Different set of movies, different transfers, different extras.

The Rossellini War Trilogy has been released by Criterion, but is DVD only until an upgrade is announced. I think it's inevitable due to the status and the fact that there's very good looking HD transfers out there.

[nitin]

Originally Posted by deepbreathsanddeath

The Rossellini/Bergman Blu-ray sets are different between BFI and Criterion. Different set of movies, different transfers, different extras.

The Rossellini War Trilogy has been released by Criterion, but is DVD only until an upgrade is announced. I think it's inevitable due to the status and the fact that there's very good looking HD transfers out there.

That's true, but I thought the original poster was asking about the War trilogy which as you say Criterion hasn't released on blu ray. And they have been quite slow with upgrades even when masters have been available (eg Thieves' Highway, Pickup on South Street) so yeah it may come but it also may not for a while.

Also, the BFI and Criterion Bergman/Rosellini sets do share two films though, but Criterion has additional versions of those two films using its own masters (and BFI stuffed up the encode for Journey to Italy).

[CrockettandTubbs]

The BFI Bergman/Rosselini boxset v Criterion's:

http://www.dvdcompare.net/comparison....php?fid=24741

Stromboli cut by 12 secs on the BFI set. Animal cruelty, as explained in compare's notes at bottom of page.

[tenia]

Pioneers of African-American Cinema (5 X Blu-ray Set)
Sold by: Home Entertainment Online
£19.99
Preparing for Dispatch



Thanks again Smithee !

[TomN245]

Amazon have the Lino Brocka set down to £19.68.

Looks like Home Entertainment Online mispriced, and Amazon price-matched .

[Fnord Prefect]

Apologies if this has already been mentioned but stumbled across this new release for June while browsing the BFI online store:

Minute Bodies: The Intimate World of F. Percy Smith

The fact it appears the BFI have to spend around £1,000 to be informed that a "silent" compilation of 100 year old experimental nature documentary footage is "suitable for all" and "contains no material likely to harm or offend" is a sad indictment of the state UK home video regulation.

As for the programme itself, I've a feeling this'll be much like the more abstract, often timelapsed, footage contained in Arrow Academy's recent The Creeping Garden documentary release compiled into a now seemingly annual contemporary composer or band soundtracks themed footage raided from the BFI archive affair. And considering both "C.O.I.: Misinformation" and "From the Sea to the Land Beyond" are borderline inspired ("Love Is All", "The Miner's Hymns" and "The Big Melt" though often visually striking don't really engage me musically) I'm quietly hopeful I'll enjoy this release.

[ravenus]

^Thanks for the heads-up. With just 2 months to release I wonder why it has not showed up as an Amazon pre-order. Should be a very interesting film.

[tenia]

Jim O'Rourke certainly isnt a bland contemporary composer for The Creeping Garden.

[Fnord Prefect]

Originally Posted by tenia

Jim O'Rourke certainly isnt a bland contemporary composer for The Creeping Garden.

Never said he was. That said I found the soundtrack CD to be not very interesting when isolated from the documentary itself.

[tenia]

I misunderstood your sentence, then. My bad.

[BarnDoor]

Not sure what's going on with BFI's announcements. Since moving to the monthly announcement format, they revealed April's titles on 14th January, then May's titles exactly four weeks later on 16th February, but here we are two months on and they haven't revealed June's announcements yet (other than Minute Bodies, which was confirmed elsewhere).

[rapta]

Originally Posted by BarnDoor

Not sure what's going on with BFI's announcements. Since moving to the monthly announcement format, they revealed April's titles on 14th January, then May's titles exactly four weeks later on 16th February, but here we are two months on and they haven't revealed June's announcements yet (other than Minute Bodies, which was confirmed elsewhere).

Daughters of the Dust is another June title, weirdly mentioned in a couple of press releases and listed on the HMV site, but otherwise no official announcement.

You're right, their announcements have been inconsistent, but I assume they're still readjusting after their shake-up some months back.

Originally Posted by TomN245

Amazon have the Lino Brocka set down to £19.68.

Looks like Home Entertainment Online mispriced, and Amazon price-matched .

I saw that, and might order from Amazon as it's more likely to arrive mint direct from them (even if it is a few pence more). Less than a tenner per film is an easier sell, though they could go even lower in a few months (i.e. by the time I actually sit down and watch them). I'll think about it...

[rapta]

Oh, noticed the June titles have been listed on Amazon and they've also added Mark Cousins' debut feature film Stockholm My Love starring Neneh Cherry.

Another one I already knew they were releasing but nice to see it announced nonetheless. Certain we'll get details soon (probably tomorrow).

EDIT: I also noticed BBFC submissions for two films - Long Shot (1978) and Sean Connery's Edinburgh (1983). Could be wrong but the latter could be an extra for the former...no? Might also be an upcoming Flipside title, I dunno.

[jcmw98]

Has anyone got the Alan Clarke boxset? If so, is it worth dropping 90 quid on it or should I wait for some sort of sale?