British Film Institute (BFI) Discussion Thread

[Dailyan]

Originally Posted by jackranderson

Is that so? Every older BFI title I've bought has come as a dual format edition in the older cases with a booklet, but maybe I've just been lucky.

Originally Posted by TheHistorian

Do you recall where you heard that? I was operating on the belief that pre-2018ish would still have booklets.

I might be mis-remembering with Eureka’s booklet announcement.

[jackranderson]

Originally Posted by mande2013

Interesting, because I was under the impression the Criterion editions of Seven Samurai and Wages of Fear were considered superior to BFI's. That seems to be the consensus according to the threads on this site for those respective films.

You're probably right in regards to these 2 tbf and now knowing more about the subtitles re: Seven Samurai, I'm unsure what to lol

[Deadend45]

Originally Posted by Cinematt

I believe the general consensus on Seven Samurai was tipped by the subtitles, as Criterion have gone the extra mile and had some really good translations done for their Kurosawa releases. It's a fair position that the script is more important than slightly better encoding or master tweaks (though people argue over what's better on those anyway, it really is close.)

Well hey thanks for changing your story from your other BFI bashing post.
The encoding and grading on BFI's Kurosawa releases is far superior then the Criterion but thats a good example of stuff resellers say in the name of resale value.

If BFI's ''translations' were on the Criterion and the Criterion's ''translations' were on the BFI they would still be saying that for the Criterion.
They spread that kind of nonsense on every UK edition of a Criterion usa only released title.

[ophone]

I'd wish I owned the BFI version of Seven Samurai instead of the region A Criterion release I've got.
It's not like I hate Criterion, but the BFI version has a more beautiful cover and I could lend my friends the film. Nobody I know in person owns a multi-regional player, nor a 4K one.

[vieyra]

Originally Posted by Deadend45

Its a reseller 'consensus' just as they have a 'consensus' that FiM is 'nothing special'. Resellers of Shout and Twilight Time have the exact same 'consensus' about UK and other editions of the same title.

Maybe it's a stupid question, but for resellers are you meaning individual resellers of Criterion discs?

Sorry, but I really do not understand how much resale value ---in terms of really getting a good revenue--- of a Criterion disc they can get, due it's very likely, those releases will be fully available for many years and with constant good price in sales each 6 months in comparison with BFI first pressing that contains booklet, and you like it or not, it's more "exclusive"...

Dont get me wrong, I just do not understand the logic behind that argument to save Criterion's reputation, even if Criterion will be the best option, people would wait to buy it on sales -and will be "forever" available-, so the resale value doesn't seem very high.

Cheers,

[MifuneFan]

Finalized extras for Nosferatu: The Vampyre 4K are now up

Extras

• 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
• Includes both the German and English language versions of the film
• Audio commentary with Werner Herzog
• Additional audio commentary with Werner Herzog and producer Laurens Straub (in German with English subtitles)
• Introduction by Mark Kermode (2016, 3 mins)
• Contracting Vampirism: A Copyright History of Nosferatu (2025, 15 mins): a new video essay by filmmaker and photographer Nic Wassell
• Screen Talk: Werner Herzog (2016, 69 mins): Werner Herzog reflects on his career in this on-stage interview with broadcaster Francine Stock at the BFI London Film Festival
• Making of Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979, 13 mins): Herzog discusses the film and his philosophy of filmmaking alongside behind-the-scenes footage of the cast and crew
• Original theatrical trailer
• Stills gallery
• LPCM 1.0 mono audio (German and English)
• DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio (German version only)

[MaciejCichosz]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

Finalized extras for Nosferatu: The Vampyre 4K are now up

Would there be no booklet with this release? I remember "Aguirre" had the booklet mentioned as part of the first pressing.

[mande2013]

Originally Posted by vieyra

Maybe it's a stupid question, but for resellers are you meaning individual resellers of Criterion discs?

Sorry, but I really do not understand how much resale value ---in terms of really getting a good revenue--- of a Criterion disc they can get, due it's very likely, those releases will be fully available for many years and with constant good price in sales each 6 months in comparison with BFI first pressing that contains booklet, and you like it or not, it's more "exclusive"...

Dont get me wrong, I just do not understand the logic behind that argument to save Criterion's reputation, even if Criterion will be the best option, people would wait to buy it on sales -and will be "forever" available-, so the resale value doesn't seem very high.

Cheers,

You can still get decent money for used and in-print Criterion releases (roughly 40-45% of MSRP).

[Cinematt]

Originally Posted by Deadend45

Well hey thanks for changing your story from your other BFI bashing post.
The encoding and grading on BFI's Kurosawa releases is far superior then the Criterion but thats a good example of stuff resellers say in the name of resale value.

If BFI's ''translations' were on the Criterion and the Criterion's ''translations' were on the BFI they would still be saying that for the Criterion.
They spread that kind of nonsense on every UK edition of a Criterion usa only released title.

Sorry, I don't know what you're talking about? I've got the BFI 4K of Seven Samurai and I'm happy with it. I've not had a chance to compare the subs on the two (though I will likely pick up the Criterion 4K down the line) and I was just commenting on what I'd drawn from the discussion as the general reason because people seemed dissatisfied with some of the sections highlighted for comparison here. As far as the transfers go I've seen people pick and choose screenshots, argue over how different things look in motion, or on a different kind of display, or at different viewing distances, and so often there isn't a clear winner, it just comes down to preference, your equipment, and how good your eyes are. I've certainly not taken a stand and bashed the BFI release.
And if there are any resellers here that think a forum post is going to significantly alter what they get for an in-print movie they have more faith in the number of us nerds reading this stuff than I do. And I really couldn't care less what the resale value of a release I don't own is.

Not sure what you mean by your quotes around translations? I don't think the BFI release says where their translation is from so it may well not be theirs but it is a translation. From memory the Criterion one was done by Linda Hoagland (I may be mixing that up, but she definitely did a bunch of Kurosawas for Criterion) so they differ from other releases.

[vieyra]

Originally Posted by mande2013

You can still get decent money for used and in-print Criterion releases (roughly 40-45% of MSRP).

Thanks for answering and ah, ok, got it. I thought we're talking about scalpers or sellers with crazy expectations, hehe. But yep, you're right, at least in my case due I'm in Spain, and in last months I've bought a couple of times some used Criterion discs in Ebay, and that price (50% of original RRP) is indeed -being luckily- the cheapest I can get for in-print releases.

Cheers,

[vieyra]

Originally Posted by Cinematt

...And if there are any resellers here that think a forum post is going to significantly alter what they get for an in-print movie they have more faith in the number of us nerds reading this stuff than I do.

Yep, that was part of the reason about my previous question, really did not understand how much the resale value could be affected by the consensum if Criterion release is better than BFI one or not, especially if Criterion will be available and in constant sales for years. But if they want to sell them at 50%, that's something more or less "reasonable" and for sure, what we nerds discuss here won't really affect the price. Other thing would be if the release is OOP and they want to get 400% of benefits, but in that case it's very likely regular folks will pay for an OOP item, not really taking into account that consensum here as first thing in mind. My two cents...

[greenrose]

Any reason why we have never had a Woman In The Dunes blu ray update?

[ravenus]

Yesterday I saw Targets on the BFI blu.

I remember I had this on pre-order on Amz UK for the longest time, till it seemed like it would never come. During this period Amz UK changed their policy for shipping to India, and I was having difficulties getting my stuff. So I thought it better to drop the pre-order. Eventually the BFI got round to it again, and this came out in 2023. I picked it up from Rarewaves a month ago.

The plotline of Targets had me intrigued: Boris Karloff playing himself as an aging classic horror star in a decade that had discovered a new sort of horror. The new horror of course is the disillusionment of the USA's sense of security and moral rectitude by Vietnam and the death of JFK, a form of PTSD that seemed to infect even the general public. While not related, the Charles Whitman water tower shooting in some regard personifies this opening up of the dark underbelly of white bread America. Targets crosscuts Karloff announcing his retirement over fears of irrelevancy of his craft with that of the Whitman character (Tim O'Kelly) detachedly planning his massacre, while presenting a bland outer face to his family. It's a terrific idea, especially for one that arose from producer Roger Corman wanting to use up the remaining shooting time that Karloff owed him along with footage cadged from other Karloff films. To director-actor Peter Bogadnovich's credit, he doesn't fumble the ball with the tone of the film. Karloff gives one of the best performances in his career (alongside his sterling turns for Val Lewton) - his daughter Sarah says it was her father's favorite among his films. But equally good is O'Kelly as the psychopathic sniper who knows that he will be caught, and perhaps even begs to be.

The BFI presentation is very solid visually (I assume it comes from the same resto that was used by Criterion). The audio is limited and I was glad for the subtitles in some of the scenes. There is a laden cornucopia of extras, including multiple feature commentaries, and a load of featurettes, most of which deal with Karloff and his involvement. I'm hoping that some of the material will deal with Tim O'Kelly as well.

[slask]

Jeez, the shop on BFI website is still down?!

[DaveStone]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

Finalized extras for Nosferatu: The Vampyre 4K are now up

No booklet included? That’s surprising.

[Jonatan C.]

Originally Posted by DaveStone

No booklet included? That’s surprising.

It´s the next logical step for the shortage of those first pressings. This time they only print one booklet and they keep it in their office

[fabio_p]

Announcements tomorrow! One will be a 4K :-)

According to Ben on Facebook.

[RossyG]

Eyes Without a Face?

We shall see…

[rapta]

Possibly, as he did say "I can't confirm a 4K of Eyes Without a Face......yet." to me on Facebook a few weeks ago when I asked directly. I'd likely upgrade at some point as it's a favourite.

[BarnDoor]

I imagine Short Sharp Shocks Vol 4 will be among them, given we know it's coming.

I'd love a surprise like Screamtime, or something horror from the BBC archives (like West Country Tales), but I'm not holding my breath.