British Film Institute (BFI) Discussion Thread

[buffetfroid]

Originally Posted by Arkadin

just read some reviews of the Powell film and "The Innocents"
the wait for that one has been pretty epic with all the delays.
so happy it is finally coming out.
time to place another UK order.

The Innocents is fantastic. Already got rid of my SD DVD copy. Still not sure if I will upgrade on The Edge of the World

[McCrutchy]

Interesting tidbit from the The Digital Fix (formerly DVDTimes) review of The Innocents BD:

The BFI have declared that "The Innocents was transferred in High Definition and supplied for this release by Twentieth Century Fox. The picture was further restored by the BFI using HD-DVNR and MTI systems, removing dirt, scratches, warps, torn frames or replacing torn or missing frames and improving stability issues"...

Interesting that Fox did the HD transfer and didn't leave everything entirely up to the BFI (as I had assumed), so perhaps we will see a Region A release sooner than most would have thought...

[Zen_Amako]

Originally Posted by buffetfroid

The Innocents is fantastic. Already got rid of my SD DVD copy. Still not sure if I will upgrade on The Edge of the World

Amazon shipped my copy of The Innocents today. I used to own the SD DVD but I never got around to watching it. I regretted that, so I'm looking forward to finally watching the film on Blu-ray.

[Mr. Brightside]

My copy of The Innocents shipped jesterday. This will look awesome in HD, and it's one of my favourite ghost stories on film.

[cool hand bluke]

Hi,

has anyone noticed that dvdbeaver has posted these on his upcoming section

Playtime

Les Vacances de M. Hulot

amazon.co.uk has release date listed as November 15, 2010.

Pity I don't really like M. Tati

[johndoyle123]

didn't bfi just restore dracula ( christopher lee )

any chance of a blu-ray release ?

[Yami]

Is Seven Samurai still coming at the end of October?

[nametag]

Saw my copy of The Innocents last night - excellent film and transfer! I'd seen it before, and I studied the novella it was based upon as my first English lit degree text, and thought they did a really great job with the movie.

[bgart13]

Originally Posted by johndoyle123

didn't bfi just restore dracula ( christopher lee )

any chance of a blu-ray release ?

I've written BFI about this and was specifically told they desperately want to release DRACULA. However, WB is dragging their feet and holding it up. A real shame, as I'm sure it'd look simply AMAZING on blu-ray.

[pro-bassoonist]

On 18 October the BFI brings the award-winning film Silent Scream (1990), directed by Scottish film and television actor and director David Hayman, to DVD for the first time.

Based on a true story, with exceptional performances from both Iain Glen and Robert Carlyle, this brutal, mind-bending journey into the damaged mind of a violent killer is as uncompromising as it is unforgettable.

1963: When Larry Winters violently murders a Soho barman in cold blood he is sentenced to life imprisonment. Within ten years he is addicted to prescription drugs and feared as Scotland's most violent inmate.

After being transferred to the experimental Barlinnie Special Unit, Winters finds new and creative ways to express himself, but continues to self-destructively explore drugs as a means to escape the confines of his prison cell.

Lauded as one of the best films ever made in Scotland, Silent Scream was a co-production by the BFI, Film Four and The Scottish Film Production Fund and won several awards including two for Iain Glen as Best Actor.

This BFI release will be on sale with an RRP of just £12.99.

Pro-B

[Dubstar]

Originally Posted by bgart13

I've written BFI about this and was specifically told they desperately want to release DRACULA. However, WB is dragging their feet and holding it up. A real shame, as I'm sure it'd look simply AMAZING on blu-ray.

'Horror of Dracula' - right, cause actually its available through Netflix Instant Watch - and wow, the color's specifically the red's just jump off the rest of the image.

[Dubstar]

Originally Posted by McCrutchy

Interesting tidbit from the The Digital Fix (formerly DVDTimes) review of The Innocents BD:



Interesting that Fox did the HD transfer and didn't leave everything entirely up to the BFI (as I had assumed), so perhaps we will see a Region A release sooner than most would have thought...

my fingers are crossed that it will be a Criterion/Fox release

[Dubstar]

Originally Posted by cool hand bluke

Hi,

has anyone noticed that dvdbeaver has posted these on his upcoming section

Playtime

Les Vacances de M. Hulot

amazon.co.uk has release date listed as November 15, 2010.

Pity I don't really like M. Tati

I'm assuming since Criterion release 'Playtime' stateside, BFI's edition will be region B locked. I've yet to get a region free BD player, but I really like to hear the commentary track on this edition. There's also been no news on the hidef transfer itself, Criterion's been sited as doing a less than stellar 35mm transfer, when other studios releases of 70mm films on bluray have looked really great.

[kndy]

For those collecting the BFI Blu's, which are your top 3 that you recommend thus far?

Oh man...I told myself I wasn't going to get any of the BFI DVD's but with the current prices so low, I had to pick up "Lost World of Mitchell and Kenyon", "Silent Britain" and "Picadilly". If anyone has purchased RW Paul the Collected Films 1895-1908 and recommends it, please let me know.

[Aristide Massaccesi]

I'm guessing you already own Criterion's The Leopard, so:

1. Salò (as well as Trilogy of Life)
2. The Innocents
3. Institute Benjamenta

[charnier]

Oh man...I told myself I wasn't going to get any of the BFI DVD's but with the current prices so low, I had to pick up "Lost World of Mitchell and Kenyon", "Silent Britain" and "Picadilly". If anyone has purchased RW Paul the Collected Films 1895-1908 and recommends it, please let me know.

Kndy,

I'm not sure if this would interest you, but the BFI dvd documentaries are really good - I really like the COI and the GPO collections; great prices too.

As for the blu-rays, I'm not sure as I really do not have enough BFI ones, but I will be checking out The Innocents and The End of the World; I'll let you know what I think. You could give the Flipside a go - try "Here we go around the Mulberry bush".

I have to say one thing about the Trilogy of Life blu - they are really good films (particularly Arabian Nights) but I got the Decameron about a year ago and I have to say I was not impressed with the PQ. The colours were certainly vibrant, but there were snowy flecks in the picture. Initially, I thought it was grain, but whatever it was, it was so distracting to the extent that I would rather re-watch Decameron on dvd with faded colours. And I chose to stick with my dvds of the other two.

[kndy]

Originally Posted by charnier

Kndy,

I'm not sure if this would interest you, but the BFI dvd documentaries are really good - I really like the COI and the GPO collections; great prices too.

Thanks everyone. Charnier, thanks for recommending COI and GPO collections. Prices for those are pretty good too. If you had to pick one of each volume, which one do you recommend?

[charnier]

Thanks everyone. Charnier, thanks for recommending COI and GPO collections. Prices for those are pretty good too. If you had to pick one of each volume, which one do you recommend?

COI - I think definitely begin with Police and Thieves, Volume 1. It contains a series of short public services film and drama documentaries looking at the criminal justice system and how the police operated a few decades ago.

If you like this, then go for They Stand Ready, Volume 3 which looks Britain's armed forces, and then Design for Today, Volume 2 which deals with design and architecture.

GPO - I recently ploughed through We Live in Two Worlds, Volume 2, which I really enjoyed - they are some interesting curios there like Fairy of the Phone and Night Train. And I have to say I thought Rainbow Dance was a pretty cool 5 minute opening especially when you realized what the message at the end of the film was and how early it was made.

I've got Addressing the Nation, Vol 1, which I'll be watching soon. I have yet to get Vol 3, If War Should Come, but I will soon.

I have to say that these GPO are beautifully packaged - they housed in a strong cardboard box and contain a well detailed, designed booklet.

These are the sort of the projects the BFI excels at and apparently, there's more where they came from.

If you get thought these Kdny, you could then try Land of Promise and the soon-to-be released Shadows of Progress - the former looks at life in Britain in 30's and 40's, while the latter looks at the post war years - 50s-70s.

[kndy]

Thank you Charnier! There are so many titles from BFI that I would love to get and those sets are definitely on my queue. I do have an interest in the architecture set but I do have an interest to see the earlier films on law enforcement.

I was thinking about picking this one up but I am hoping BFI releases this on Blu-ray:



Just a side note for those in the US, I bought "Silent Britain" ala BFI...but just realized that this was included on the KINO DVD release of "A Cottage on Dartmoor" (which I have but have yet to watch).

[MortenR.]

I have heard from a reliable source that BFI are planning a new Ozu batch in January with the following titles: They are Good Morning / I was born but... and Equinox Flower / There was a Father....