British Film Institute (BFI) Discussion Thread

[tenia]

Originally Posted by Cinemach

...and speaking of swell, I wrapped up my The Day the Earth Caught Fire disk recently, and what a release. I hadn't heard of this sci-fi film before (definitely a B-side of British Cinema picture, which I've been having a blast exploring), but I appreciate how the science fiction doesn't overwhelm what is essentially a news(paper) picture.

I thought it would be more sci-fi than it is, but it still remains highly enjoyable / thrilling.

[djvaso]

https://twitter.com/BlackHoleMovies/...95610283315200
Is this true?
I can not find anything at the official site.

[Yami]

Originally Posted by djvaso

https://twitter.com/BlackHoleMovies/...95610283315200
Is this true?
I can not find anything at the official site.

The BFI usually reveal their programme in paper form before putting it online (but I don't have a copy to check).

[rapta]

Amazon are saying April 20th for Rashomon:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rashomon-Blu.../dp/B00T05OAQ6

Can't wait! One of my all-time favourite films.

[Judex]

Also a separate DVD listing for it.
Disappointing that BFI appear to be ditching dual format.

[rapta]

So BFI have announced their titles for April-May:

http://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/n...april-may-2015

Can't wait to get my hands on RASHOMON as well as the CARL TH. DREYER COLLECTION (1925-1964) and a nice surprise with CHARLIE CHAPLIN: THE MUTUAL FILMS 1916-1917 too. No release dates yet though...probably a vague acknowledgement of not being able to stick to them!

The others I don't know about but sound intriguing too. Seems the BFI are starting to lean towards more HD content which is great!

Originally Posted by Judex

Also a separate DVD listing for it.
Disappointing that BFI appear to be ditching dual format.

Yeah they seem to be phasing it out, other than the forthcoming Eyes Without A Face.

[EddieLarkin]

Originally Posted by rapta

Seems the BFI are starting to lean towards more HD content which is great!

The kicker being that a lot of the HD releases are limited. The Dreyer set, The Chaplin Mutuals and the Bill Morrison set will all be risky to wait for a price fall. Thankfully Amazon seems to get BFI box sets pretty cheap; I'll be pre-ordering the lot!

[rapta]

Originally Posted by EddieLarkin

The kicker being that a lot of the HD releases are limited. The Dreyer set, The Chaplin Mutuals and the Bill Morrison set will all be risky to wait for a price fall. Thankfully Amazon seems to get BFI box sets pretty cheap; I'll be pre-ordering the lot!

That's true, as is the Rossellini set...but I'm not sure how quickly these things are actually gonna sell out, even if they're limited to 3000 (that's the Rossellini set, the others don't say how many).

Did they describe the Herzog and Kurosawa sets as limited? I got the Herzog set on day one and the Kurosawa set for £30 around Christmas...and they've both since dropped quite a bit in price and don't really look to be selling out...

[EddieLarkin]

I don't believe either of those were limited. Gazwrx and Riddles of the Sphinx were though, and the former is impossible to get at a decent price these days (despite it being a very niche product).

[rapta]

Originally Posted by EddieLarkin

I don't believe either of those were limited. Gazwrx and Riddles of the Sphinx were though, and the former is impossible to get at a decent price these days (despite it being a very niche product).

Yeah I noticed that you can only get Gazwrx on DVD, which is a shame as I was interested in that (was just late to the party, only switched to Blu-ray a couple of years ago). Bill Morrison set looks interesting and quite up my alley but I doubt that would sell out that quickly...I wonder if BFI would tell us how many these sets are limited to - I'd imagine something like that would be as little as 2000 (as it's so niche) but the other sets more (3000 or even 4000).

[adamhopelies]

Originally Posted by rapta

Yeah I noticed that you can only get Gazwrx on DVD, which is a shame as I was interested in that (was just late to the party, only switched to Blu-ray a couple of years ago). Bill Morrison set looks interesting and quite up my alley but I doubt that would sell out that quickly...I wonder if BFI would tell us how many these sets are limited to - I'd imagine something like that would be as little as 2000 (as it's so niche) but the other sets more (3000 or even 4000).

No idea about these releases but the limited edition version of The Killing Of A Chinese Bookie was limited to 1000 copies.

[rapta]

Originally Posted by adamhopelies

No idea about these releases but the limited edition version of The Killing Of A Chinese Bookie was limited to 1000 copies.

As was Deep End too, I assume? Those were slipcovered editions with a bonus disc though (i.e. not box sets).

[tenia]

Originally Posted by rapta

As was Deep End too, I assume? Those were slipcovered editions with a bonus disc though (i.e. not box sets).

Yes they were both 1000 copies and both had slipcovers.
But they were released at the same time than the regular non-limited editions, so I don't see full boxsets being limited to so few copies if BFI doesn't have a regular edition on the side.

The best comparison would rather be Riddles of the Sphinx : limited DF edition, which should be replaced (once OOP) by a DVD-only set.
I think it is limited to 2000 copies (maybe 3000 ?)... which are still not sold out.

And yes, you can also have a look at the Rossellini War Trilogy which might not sell out before quite some time (and it's more appealling to mass market than Bill Morrison I guess).

[rapta]

So if listings on Amazon and Base are anything to go by, the following are the release dates for some of the upcoming BFI releases:

CARL TH. DREYER COLLECTION - April 20th
RASHOMON - April 20th
BILL MORRISON: SELECTED FILMS - April 20th
CHARLIE CHAPLIN: THE MUTUAL FILMS - May 18th
GERMANY, PALE MOTHER - May 18th

Seems a bit odd to have three releases out the same day so that may just be preliminary - at least half of them will probably be delayed anyway, knowing BFI's recent track record (not to complain too much...I'm still really glad they are handling work from some of the best directors in the world).

Also, Base have the Dreyer set listed at £49.99 (RRP: £59.99), and the Morrison set at £34.99 (RRP: £49.99). If that's the case for Morrison I'll skip it, and it also seems a bit high for Dreyer seeing as it's not as comprehensive as the Herzog set...I'd have imagined it to be about £35-£45 for the Dreyer one. Perhaps Base just set the listing high for the time being? I hope so!

EDIT: just noticed they also have the Chaplin set up, but only for DVD (for £18.99, RRP: £24.99). Can't find a blu-ray listing for that one yet...hope they don't go for a retailer exclusive on the blu-ray or something, considering it'll be a limited set!

[EddieLarkin]

Can you provide links for all of the Amazon listings? Never sure how to find these!

[Hintermann]

Rashomon is a certain pre-order for me.

[rapta]

Originally Posted by EddieLarkin

Can you provide links for all of the Amazon listings? Never sure how to find these!

No links for the Dreyer and Morrison sets on Amazon yet but here are the links available so far (Amazon and Base):

Carl Th. Dreyer Collection
http://www.base.com/buy/product/the-...c-bfib1208.htm

Rashomon
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rashomon-Blu.../dp/B00T05OAQ6

Bill Morrison: Selected Films
http://www.base.com/buy/product/the-...c-bfib1204.htm

Germany, Pale Mother
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Germany-Moth.../dp/B00T05OB6K
http://www.base.com/buy/product/germ...c-bfib1205.htm

No links for the Chaplin set on Blu-ray...only the DVD set so far (listed on both Amazon and Base).

[smudge616]

Originally Posted by rapta

No links for the Dreyer and Morrison sets on Amazon yet but here are the links available so far (Amazon and Base):

Carl Th. Dreyer Collection
http://www.base.com/buy/product/the-...c-bfib1208.htm

Rashomon
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rashomon-Blu.../dp/B00T05OAQ6

Bill Morrison: Selected Films
http://www.base.com/buy/product/the-...c-bfib1204.htm

Germany, Pale Mother
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Germany-Moth.../dp/B00T05OB6K
http://www.base.com/buy/product/germ...c-bfib1205.htm

No links for the Chaplin set on Blu-ray...only the DVD set so far (listed on both Amazon and Base).

The blu-ray chaplin boxset on base - http://www.base.com/DVD/Charlie-Chap...10/product.htm

[rapta]

Originally Posted by smudge616

The blu-ray chaplin boxset on base - http://www.base.com/DVD/Charlie-Chap...10/product.htm

How'd you find that? I used the search function...you would think that would do the trick! Only brings up the DVD version for me...

BTW, the Dreyer set down to £39.99 on Base. Gonna pre-order that for the time being I think, but would prefer to go with Amazon (though the packaging from Base on the last set I got from them was decent enough).

[SolidBlu]

I'm in for Carl Th. Dreyer Collection and Rashomon