British Film Institute (BFI) Discussion Thread

[rapta]

Originally Posted by huntauk

On a boring site admin note - I tried creating a listing for Wages of Fear, but all the metadata I created has strangely been put to the Japanese release. 99.9% positive I created a new listing from scratch - anyhow if someone wants to try again and get it up there.

Was going to ask Pro-B about that one as I noticed it hasn't been listed yet, so I'll message him now

[pro-bassoonist]

The Wages of Fear Blu-ray



Here's the profile you requested, Rapta.

Have a wonderful weekend

Pro-B

[oddbox83]

Originally Posted by Fnord Prefect

Warning to anyone taking advantage of this sale:

Ordered 2 items and despite choosing second class delivery at check out I have still been charged £7+ for next day delivery. Incredibly annoying and something to watch out for, especially as Odeon have proved impossible to contact.

First and last direct purchase from Odeon I guess.

Have a bit of patience, they have the weekend off, old skool style! They'll likely get back to you on Monday. They also have a Facebook presence if you want to contact them there.

[Vakulinchuk]

Originally Posted by Eureka Entertainment

The 4k was only finished just before Cannes

And I remember some very excited tweets/facebook posts from Eureka in regard to the new restoration not too long ago

[rapta]

Originally Posted by Vakulinchuk

And I remember some very excited tweets/facebook posts from Eureka in regard to the new restoration not too long ago

I wonder if Eureka will release this alongside their deluxe edition of the fully-restored Man With A Movie Camera as a nudge-nudge to recent BFI releases? Either way, I hope we do still get Rocco soon...was looking forward to getting it in November!

[Yami]

Interview with the BFI's Sam Dunn (in French) on Retro-HD (from this forum's very own tenia!)

Google Translate struggles on some bits, but you get the gist of it. I thought these extracts were especially interesting (I've tried to improve on Google a bit - please tell me if I've got it wrong!):

"New, unavailable British films will be added to the Flipside collection in the near future, but we are focusing on more ambitious TV projects that will finally give new life to important series and TV works on DVD and Blu-Ray."

"I'd prefer to keep silent for the moment on plans for the Flipside collection. However, without revealing too much, I must say that I am particularly excited about what we've secured from the BBC. For me, the director concerned is one of the most important directors in the UK and the world has too long been deprived of the opportunity to see his films."

Which all sounds very exciting regardless of what it is, but - wishful thinking or not - I cannot imagine that he's talking about anyone other than Alan Clarke.

Retro-HD has got an ongoing series of interviews with labels that are all well worth a read - even through Google Translate and a French-English dictionary!

[tenia]

Here are the original answers from Sam. That'd be better than a double translation with their own approximations ! (but I'm happy to see I'm not to far off the original wording)

There will be more little-seen British feature films from the Flipside in the near future, but we’re increasingly setting our sites on more and more ambitious TV-related projects which are finally giving important series and one-off plays a new lease of life on DVD and Blu-ray.

There are no immediate COI editions planned, and I’d prefer to keep Flipside plans quiet for now, but – without revealing precise details at this stage – I have to say that I am extremely thrilled about what we’re currently licensing from the BBC. For me, the filmmaker in question is without doubt one of Britain’s most important filmmakers, and the world has been deprived of the chance to see his films for far too long.

Unfortunately, I wasn't aware at the time about the Alan Clarke rumors. Otherwise, I would have asked more specifically about it.

[BarnDoor]

Well given that a good bit of Ken Russell's BBC stuff is available in the US, I'd be surprised if the comment applied to him. Who exactly does that realistically leave but Alan Clarke?

The comment about 'series' being planned is also interesting. I suppose there is still some BBC genre stuff they could release - the surviving episodes of Doomwatch, Leap in the Dark, Playhouse: The Mind Beyond. If the horror stuff did well for them I wouldn't mind West Country Tales either.

[rapta]

Clarke would be great, but I wouldn't mind Frears, Leigh or Joffé - especially the latter whose films The Killing Fields and The Mission I am a fan of. Would be great to see his TV works, but I don't know if he's as prolific as Clarke, Russell or Leigh.

[BarnDoor]

Originally Posted by MichaelB

Less of Ken Russell's TV work is available than you're suggesting - the US BBC edition merely cherry-picks half a dozen or so of the best known titles.

But between 1959 and 1970 alone he made over thirty films for the BBC (including other feature-length ones not included in the BBC box - Béla Bartók is a particular favourite of mine), and although I was instrumental in getting some of them published in the BFI Mediatheques, there are still plenty that have barely been seen since their original broadcast.

And unusually for a BBC filmmaker working in the 1960s, virtually all of Russell's output still survives - there's just one piece (Cranks at Work, a short Monitor item about choreographer John Cranko) that's believed missing.

There are also other important small-screen directors besides Alan Clarke - Stephen Frears, Mike Leigh, Roland Joffé and many others worked almost exclusively in TV in the 1970s and early 1980s, and I personally prefer Frears's work from this period to the later, more anonymous big-screen features. Obviously, I'd be thrilled if it was an Alan Clarke project - but I'd caution against fixating on it for now: as far as I can see, this "rumour" has come about from little more than someone speculating out loud, and someone else saying "wouldn't it be great if...".

Cheers Michael, clearly I wasn't aware how much of Russell's BBC work was still unavailable. He would obviously be a major candidate then. With regard to the others, Frears is another one looking at his output. I know there is a reasonable Mike Leigh BBC collection DVD, so I don't imagine he has too much not yet released looking at IMDB.

Speaking of BBC works, I'd love to see Peter McDougall's Shoot for the Sun released. Fortunately most of his other works are available on DVD, but this one is sorely lacking.

[Yami]

I'll admit that the Clarke 'rumour' (though I wouldn't call it that - just 'speculation' or 'guesswork') is probably of my creation - based on the response that tenia kindly posted above, the BFI's unusually receptive response to this tweet ('Stay tuned') and the fact that Flipside's absence probably means that they're working on a bigger project than usual.

It's certainly not evidence in favour, but it would surprise me if the BFI weren't working on something Clarke related for the reason that Dunn said above - he's "without doubt one of Britain’s most important filmmakers, and the world has been deprived of the chance to see his films for far too long."

I'd also be equally surprised if the BFI hadn't at least made enquiries about the BBC's Ken Russell films - after all, they saw fit to release Elgar and Song of Summer on DVD and the BBC bizarrely didn't release their 'Ken Russell at the BBC' set in the UK. And I'd love a Ken Russell set just as much as an Alan Clarke one, if anyone from the BFI is reading...

[Si Parallel Universe]

I think that Jim Allen and Ken Loach are being over-looked and we've been deprived of their Television output for far too long as well. Aside from Loach's Up The Junction & Cathy Come Home he has been largely ignored as a contemporary.

A Flipside range featuring these acquisitions especially Wednesday and Play For Today would be very welcome.

[rapta]

Packshots for some upcoming BFI (and Eureka) titles, from Twitter:



Anxiously waiting for a review from Pro-B and/or DVDBeaver for BFI's Vivre sa vie (as well as MoC's Cruel Story of Youth and Medium Cool), but I think we should be fine - the same BFI employee who uploaded those pics above said that the upcoming transfers for Vivre Sa Vie, Night and the City and The Wages of Fear are licensed from elsewhere, so not produced in-house like Rashomon will be (or Man With A Movie Camera, Nosferatu, The Birth of a Nation).

Anyway, I'm happy to skip the Welles set (and The Town That Dreaded Sundown) for the time being and will pick up both somewhere down the line. Safe to say both labels are releasing consistently brilliant titles this year and at very fair prices for the most part - it's nice to see the Welles set has a slipcover/slipbox, but I don't see how that's entirely necessary considering it's only a 1-disc set, unless there's a hefty booklet going with it or something (to further justify the £14.99+ asking price).

[Yami]

Originally Posted by Si Parallel Universe

I think that Jim Allen and Ken Loach are being over-looked and we've been deprived of their Television output for far too long as well. Aside from Loach's Up The Junction & Cathy Come Home he has been largely ignored as a contemporary.

A Flipside range featuring these acquisitions especially Wednesday and Play For Today would be very welcome.

It's not his entire output, but there is a 6 disc Ken Loach at the BBC box set

[CouncilSpectre]

Night and the City has dropped to £11.84 on Amazon

[Dvd Aficionado]

Anyone know anything about this release?

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Nosfe...lu-ray/137442/

Extras? Anything different with the Eureka release?

[malakaheso]

If Pasolini has features I'll pick it up. If not I'll probably skip it because I doubt it's the kind of film that has much replay value.

[hustlermane]

Originally Posted by malakaheso

If Pasolini has features I'll pick it up. If not I'll probably skip it because I doubt it's the kind of film that has much replay value.

For what it's worth, it's the only film I've ever seen twice in the same Film Festival (Sydney). It's very, very special and I could totally see myself revisiting it fairly often.

[malakaheso]

What did you think was so great about it? It depends on the level of baggage you bring with you I suppose.

I caught it at the Melbourne Film Festival btw.

[rezpekt]

Originally Posted by Dvd Aficionado

Anyone know anything about this release?

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Nosfe...lu-ray/137442/

Extras? Anything different with the Eureka release?

We know that it will be sourced from a different (inferior) master as the Murnau Foundation restoration is exclusive to Eureka. It will use James Bernard's score and extras include "a selection of silent chillers".

Eureka's release will remain the winner in terms of video quality and cover artwork.