British Film Institute (BFI) Discussion Thread

[tenia]

It was a material issue. There are no HD masters and Warner didn't leave the possibility to create some or have some created. It's all the more surprising considering Scorsese's involvment in movies' preservation in general. I guess he's the shoemaker in this one.

[Yami]

Alice is available in HD on VoD platforms though. I haven't checked it out myself, but generally those aren't upscales - they'd just make it SD-only, like Who's That Knocking. It might be that the HD master is so poor that there wasn't much point, as it would seem likely that these will be restored/released by Warner eventually

[NoirFan]

From the Criterion Forum:

Originally Posted by MichaelB

Full specs announced:

See a clip

here

[rapta]

Assuming it drops down to £10.99, I'll be keeping my pre-order for that. Only seen one Ophuls film to date (Letter From an Unknown Woman) but he's definitely one to cherish and I can't wait to see more on Blu-ray (was temped to get Screenbound's La Ronde, but there's a chance someone else may pick it up and add some extras).

[NoirFan]

Originally Posted by rapta

Assuming it drops down to £10.99, I'll be keeping my pre-order for that.

I'm not sure it will - my pre-order of The Informer only went down to £16.52 by the time it shipped.

(..And now it is £12.99 and Amazon wouldn't refund me the difference.)

Edit 2: ...And it was £11.49 on release date and I still got nowhere with customer service. I may have to stop placing pre-orders if this becomes the norm.

[nitin]

Originally Posted by rapta

Assuming it drops down to £10.99, I'll be keeping my pre-order for that. Only seen one Ophuls film to date (Letter From an Unknown Woman) but he's definitely one to cherish and I can't wait to see more on Blu-ray (was temped to get Screenbound's La Ronde, but there's a chance someone else may pick it up and add some extras).

I found Madame De way better than Letter from an Unknown Woman personally (although I am due for a rewatch of Letter to reassess).

Extras sound good, but transfer will be make or break for me really.

[tenia]

Originally Posted by NoirFan

Edit 2: ...And it was £11.49 on release date and I still got nowhere with customer service. I may have to stop placing pre-orders if this becomes the norm.

I did so myself. Got tired with Amazon's policy for pre-order refunds getting stricter and stricter.

It used to be "up to 7 days after release date", then it was a couple of days when the package was still on transit, then just on release day, and now it seems even more difficult than that (at this point, it will soon stop being a pre-order policy !).

Not really a "consumer-centric" direction. But hey, our wallets, their losses.

[fdm]

Originally Posted by Yami

Alice is available in HD on VoD platforms though. I haven't checked it out myself, but generally those aren't upscales - they'd just make it SD-only, like Who's That Knocking. It might be that the HD master is so poor that there wasn't much point, as it would seem likely that these will be restored/released by Warner eventually

I still have Alice sitting unwatched on my dvr. It's allegedly HD from a TCM "broadcast" in February, quality unknown. Eventually will get to it, just waiting for the right mood to come along.

[fdm]

Originally Posted by nitin

I found Madame De way better than Letter from an Unknown Woman personally (although I am due for a rewatch of Letter to reassess).

Extras sound good, but transfer will be make or break for me really.

Madame de... I first watched it last year, think it was, and it's now one of my favorite films. (May dip on it yet again, depending.)

Only other Ophüls I've seen is Lola Montès, which didn't do a lot for me at the time. Probably should give it another chance. And also need to get cracking on the others of his I have on hand.

[rapta]

Originally Posted by nitin

I found Madame De way better than Letter from an Unknown Woman personally (although I am due for a rewatch of Letter to reassess).

Extras sound good, but transfer will be make or break for me really.

Well that's good to know. I did enjoy Letter from an Unknown Woman, mostly due to Joan Fontaine, but must admit I didn't love it (on first viewing anyway). However, the way it was technically directed made me want to see more Ophuls, as he clearly has a way with the camera. Also it had a strange balance of emotion to it, somewhere between melancholy and melodrama.

How does the clip on YouTube compare to previous discs I wonder? It does sound like Gaumont have finally corrected their restoration since it's being shown at this year's Cannes.

Originally Posted by NoirFan

I'm not sure it will - my pre-order of The Informer only went down to £16.52 by the time it shipped.

(..And now it is £12.99 and Amazon wouldn't refund me the difference.)

Edit 2: ...And it was £11.49 on release date and I still got nowhere with customer service. I may have to stop placing pre-orders if this becomes the norm.

Originally Posted by tenia

I did so myself. Got tired with Amazon's policy for pre-order refunds getting stricter and stricter.

It used to be "up to 7 days after release date", then it was a couple of days when the package was still on transit, then just on release day, and now it seems even more difficult than that (at this point, it will soon stop being a pre-order policy !).

Not really a "consumer-centric" direction. But hey, our wallets, their losses.

I would rather return something to Amazon and demand a refund than pay more than I should be doing. If you pre-order, you should get the lowest price it falls to by the week it's released, or at the very least the day it's released - Amazon supposedly pride themselves on this, so to flip-flop on that front is to turn your back on what your entire brand is about.

The customer is not in control of when the order is dispatched, so I simply don't buy that kind of answer. I don't understand why they would be so difficult with people who are willing to order with them time and time again, placing orders months before something is even due for release. I still pre-order with Amazon but I quite often cancel and go with HMV instead, not so much due to their shipping times, but more to due to better packaging and lower prices (plus Pure points, which amass to a decent amount of store credit over time...though can only be spent in-store, annoyingly).

[NoirFan]

Originally Posted by rapta

If you pre-order, you should get the lowest price it falls to by the week it's released, or at the very least the day it's released - Amazon supposedly pride themselves on this, so to flip-flop on that front is to turn your back on what your entire brand is about.

I wouldn't have grumbled if it were only a pound or two, and/or after release date, but 5 pounds on release date is a pretty pricey pill to swallow (especially when I haven't even received the darn thing here in the US yet). I sent a huffy email, so we'll see.

[Knaldskalle]

Originally Posted by rapta

Well that's good to know. I did enjoy Letter from an Unknown Woman, mostly due to Joan Fontaine, but must admit I didn't love it (on first viewing anyway). However, the way it was technically directed made me want to see more Ophuls, as he clearly has a way with the camera. Also it had a strange balance of emotion to it, somewhere between melancholy and melodrama.

Ophuls definitely had "a way" with the camera, he was a master of the tracking shot. I often find his romantic movies slightly boring, but they're inevitably incredibly beautifully shot. Madame de... is one of his better ones (along with The Reckless Moment), but even his "lesser movies" are worth watching at least once due to their equilibristic visuals and details.

[Gerby]

I decided to watch Madame D last week rather than just blind buying the blu ray. Glad i did as i won't be buying it now, it was good (still my least favourite of his) but i doubt i would watch it again.

[rapta]

I noticed today my Amazon pre-order has dropped to £14.99. I therefore assume it'll be in the 2 for £25 offer at HMV, so might cancel that pre-order and may jus pick it up in the near future - next time there's another title in that offer I'm after. Not being stingy, but already have a lot of 'definite' pre-orders arriving the same week as this (Daughter of the Nile, Hardcore, Housekeeping).

Talking of Ophuls, I wonder if Eureka are considering getting one of his Columbia titles - either The Reckless Moment or Le Plaisir (or alternatively, Caught from MGM)? I understand Indicator will be releasing Sidney Lumet's The Deadly Affair starring James Mason, so may be interested in The Reckless Moment themselves...or may already have it! Guess we'll find out soon enough.

[GaryCouzens]

I'd like to see someone release more of Ophuls's pre-WW2 European work. Apart from La Signora di Tutti (now OOP Masters of Cinema DVD) and Liebelei (which had a TV showing then a VHS release) I don't think I've had a chance to see any of the others in the UK. He made seventeen features between 1932 and 1940.

From his later American films, is The Exile available anywhere?

[javi92]

So does anyone know yet if the BFI Madame de... disc is any different from the second French issue?

[CrockettandTubbs]

Originally Posted by javi92

So does anyone know yet if the BFI Madame de... disc is any different from the second French issue?

I don't know about this, but dvdcompare have these 3 comparisons:

http://www.dvdcompare.net/comparison....php?fid=24154

(the dvdbeaver link doesn't feature the BFI release: the French blu-ray from 2014 does feature)

Madame De, The Informer, Rita, Sue and Bob Too and letter to Brezhnev are in HMV's 2 for £25 offer now.

[manicsounds]

BFI "Madame de" transfer notes:

("Madame de" was) supplied as HD ProRes files and were made available for this release by Gaumont

So most likely the same transfer as the French release.

[nitin]

Originally Posted by manicsounds

BFI "Madame de" transfer notes:


So most likely the same transfer as the French release.

The problem with the French release wasn't the master but the incorrect levels encoding so hopefully the BFI rectify that.

[Se.Vero]

Just a heads-up for the PASOLINI 6-Film Collection,
looks to me like it's going OOP, or is already, it's not available
in the BFI shop, also out of stock in many other stores like zavvi,
copies from 3rd party sellers are getting more
expensive over the last few months, and are diminishing...

probably last few copies on other amazon sites right now, cheapest is
amazon.es @ €32,05.

https://www.amazon.es/gp/product/B012X1Y9NW/

get it while you can.