British Film Institute (BFI) Discussion Thread

[The Hornets]

Originally Posted by CelestialAgent

The BFI will release a documentary about the Scala cinema, featuring interviews with John Waters, Ben Wheatley, Mary Harron, Peter Strickland, Isaac Julien and Stephen Woolley, among others.

https://www.screendaily.com/news/uk-...183348.article

This documentary has been kicking around for some time as there was a Kickstarter for it last year.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...ema-the-movie?

Crazy prices though as you didn’t get the BD until the £100 reward level where it’s numbered and signed so they will need to do that independently of any retail BD unless the LE is a numbered slipcase which is signed with the retail BD inside.

Was way too rich for me as would only have considered if the £25 reward gave you the BD but that only has an online screening of the documentary.

[Deadend45]

Originally Posted by randian

For US residents what's the best/least expensive way to buy BFI titles? BFI's Get Carter 4k looks like a real nice edition to have.

The rarewaves.com site is the cheapest way to get BFI titles but they use regular royal mail without tracking and will take around a month to get to you.

[OceanBlue]

The Driver's Seat aside, out of the last few batches of BFI physical media title announcements, off the top of my head Enys Men is the only other title I've been interested in getting in the last few months (Brannigan will depend on what extras/bonus features there will be). Have checked the Blu-ray.com database and there is no review up yet for Enys Men. Interested to know how the transfer and audio are on the BFI's Blu-ray release.

[mande2013]

I’m sure this has been discussed already, but does the fourth Bergman box have the theatrical and television versions of both Scenes From a Marriage and Fanny and Alexander?

[fatboyslim142]

Originally Posted by mande2013

I’m sure this has been discussed already, but does the fourth Bergman box have the theatrical and television versions of both Scenes From a Marriage and Fanny and Alexander?

ONLY the latter has both versions due to the TV version of former having different rights holders.

[trobrianders]

Originally Posted by mande2013

I’m sure this has been discussed already, but does the fourth Bergman box have the theatrical and television versions of both Scenes From a Marriage and Fanny and Alexander?

The runtimes are as follows:
* "Cries and Whispers" (1972) (91:15)
* "Scenes from a Marriage" theatrical version (1973) (169:56)
* "Autumn Sonata" (1978) (92:35)
* "Fårö Document 1979" (1979) (103:44)
* "From the Life of Marionettes" (1980) (103:48)
* "After the Rehearsal" (1984) (73:01)
* "Fanny and Alexander" theatrical version (1982) (188:47)
* "Fanny and Alexander" TV version (1982) (with Play All) (320:57)
- Episode One (95:44)
- Episode Two (78:12)
- Episode Three (60:06)
- Episode Four (86:54)

All films are in their original uncut form, except "Scenes from a Marriage" which is only available here in the shortened international theatrical version. Both versions of "Fanny and Alexander" are available here, with the original theatrical version and later re-edited television version.

[Cosmo Valdemar]

Originally Posted by OceanBlue

The Driver's Seat aside, out of the last few batches of BFI physical media title announcements, off the top of my head Enys Men is the only other title I've been interested in getting in the last few months (Brannigan will depend on what extras/bonus features there will be). Have checked the Blu-ray.com database and there is no review up yet for Enys Men. Interested to know how the transfer and audio are on the BFI's Blu-ray release.

There's a review of Enys Men at rewind:

http://dvdcompare.net/review.php?rid=7486

However, the screenshots are from the dvd disc.

[mande2013]

Well I ordered Truffaut's La Peau Douce the other day. I hope I get a booklet. I also pulled the trigger on the fourth Bergman set, since I don't own any of those films physically, even if I was hoping it also included Passion of Anna and Saraband.

[trobrianders]

Originally Posted by mande2013

Well I ordered Truffaut's La Peau Douce the other day. I hope I get a booklet. I also pulled the trigger on the fourth Bergman set, since I don't own any of those films physically, even if I was hoping it also included Passion of Anna and Saraband.

Have you not considered Criterion's region free Ingmar Bergman's Cinema? It contains all the films you're after including Scenes of a Marriage, TV and theatrical. £153 on amazon inc. delivery. Amazing value. 30 films in a beautifully presented set.

[mande2013]

Meh, I'm scared of getting scratched discs, which seems to be a common occurrence with North American releases. I'll just be patient and wait for UK or French releases of the other films. Also, I already have several standalone Bergman Criterions.

[Yami]

BFI unveils Cinema Unbound: The Creative Worlds of Powell and Pressburger

As part of the season, the BFI will release their restoration of Powell's Bluebeard's Castle on Blu-Ray

[CelestialAgent]

The Eternal Daughter belatedly hits UK cinemas on 27th October, alongside a Hogg Southbank retrospective running from 16th October-30th November, with a Blu-ray and BFI Player to follow on 22nd January.

https://www.bfi.org.uk/news/joanna-h...sh-cinemas-bfi

[darrellmaclaine]

Originally Posted by Yami

BFI unveils Cinema Unbound: The Creative Worlds of Powell and Pressburger

As part of the season, the BFI will release their restoration of Powell's Bluebeard's Castle on Blu-Ray

I saw that before but my biggest concern is whether the new restoration of I Know Where I'm Going will get a physical release. Never had a Bluray as far as I know!

[Yami]

Originally Posted by darrellmaclaine

I saw that before but my biggest concern is whether the new restoration of I Know Where I'm Going will get a physical release. Never had a Bluray as far as I know!

Criterion will probably put it out in the States and there's a chance that ITV will put it out themselves in the UK (they've released the P&P restorations pretty reliably). There's no chance of any other UK label doing it

[CelestialAgent]

The BFI will release a collection of films by the Free Cinema adjacent Italian filmmaker Lorenza Mazzetti, who made three films in London (The Country Doctor, K, Together) after surviving the Holocaust.

https://shop.bfi.org.uk/pre-order-th...ollection.html

[OceanBlue]

Originally Posted by Cosmo Valdemar

There's a review of Enys Men at rewind:

http://dvdcompare.net/review.php?rid=7486

However, the screenshots are from the dvd disc.

Many thanks for the prompt and helpful reply. Have had a quick look through the DVD Compare (Rewind) review of Enys Men. It makes me want to get a copy of the film even more now.

[Markgway]

Does anyone think the 1984 release might have been edited?

https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/varie...jpwwc0zmtyxndc

[Cecil B. DeMille]

BFI's Ben Stoddart had the following to say on Facebook when asked about the future possibility of DVD only releases of titles without an HD master:

Based on the sales of the [Mikio Naruse] DVD set we had available for a long time, it’s not something I can currently prioritise. The DVD market has dropped like a stone - customers increasingly only want Blu-ray (or UHD), which is why we do vastly less dual format releases. People would rather not own something than buy a DVD. Sometimes hard to believe, but I’ve got the sales data to prove it.

Many on this forum still quote the overall home video sales figures which show that DVD is still the most popular medium. But from what I can see, this is mainly due to old people and country folks still buying a lot of DVDs. Ben's statement shows something that many of us already know, which is that the collector's market is primarily a Blu-ray/UHD market.

[manicsounds]

It's also due to the fact that instructional videos, educational videos, religious content, etc. are all on DVD only and are a fair contributing factor to the numbers. For boutique labels, it really is all about Blu-ray or UHD now. Even Criterion has almost entirely abandoned DVD editions of new titles (though there are a few), and when the BFI did announce DVD only titles, the fanfare seems very low compared to the others, even if the titles are very good (Like the Children's Film Foundation boxsets).

[fatboyslim142]

Originally Posted by manicsounds

It's also due to the fact that instructional videos, educational videos, religious content, etc. are all on DVD only and are a fair contributing factor to the numbers. For boutique labels, it really is all about Blu-ray or UHD now. Even Criterion has almost entirely abandoned DVD editions of new titles (though there are a few), and when the BFI did announce DVD only titles, the fanfare seems very low compared to the others, even if the titles are very good (Like the Children's Film Foundation boxsets).

Some of the films in the Children's Film Foundation collections/releases have got BD upgrades but not as many as people might want but it's still better than nothing. Dual format releases should be UHD/BD ones like what Severin & Vinegar Syndrome do. The ONLY time it shouldn't be dual format is when the rights holders specify it being ONLY DVD, BD or UHD e.g. Ken Russell's The Devils being the big example.