British Film Institute (BFI) Discussion Thread

[rapta]

Originally Posted by Windcott

black girl came today, sadly the case was smashed in the top left. the discs are held in fine and it closes fine, so i didnt replace with amazon as it's oop atm. could someone point me how to fix this

My advice would be to either return it for a replacement or talk to them on chat and demand a partial refund so you can buy a replacement case on eBay. It's not Out Of Print, just Out Of Stock and I've been complaining about my own pre-order because it still hasn't even been dispatched despite pre-ordering it on day one.

Seems BFI titles have had some trouble of late over at Amazon and some other retailers too - I believe people were waiting on copies of Night and the City the other week (though mine arrived on time), and the same happened for some other new titles as well (Otto Preminger Collection I think). Sounds like they just randomly send out the stock they were initially given and are waiting on more stock to arrive, but no idea why BFI's distributor hadn't sent enough to even cover pre-orders in the first place...can't figure out if it's the fault of Amazon, BFI, or someone in between (Sony DADC or whoever manufactures and distributes the product for BFI).

Pretty crappy of Amazon not to prioritise pre-orders though (i.e. surely they should despatch earlier pre-orders first in first-come-first-serve priority).

[Judex]

Spotted this on Twitter.

[rapta]

Pretty cool! I like this new direction for box sets...let's hope they keep it up. Only frustrations are the thin outer box, obviously used to keep costs down (might push the RRP up to use a hard box...then again, if Eureka and Arrow can manage it). I had to replace my Dreyer set because the first was battered to pieces.

[Sifox211]

I posted this in its dedicated thread but thought it worth adding here - the Rossellini War Trilogy is currently £23.49 over at Zavvi:

The Rossellini Collection: The War Trilogy Limited Edition Blu-ray

Get it for even less with the ZVC5 coupon!

[stepeanut]

Originally Posted by Judex

Spotted this on Twitter.

Strange hotch-potch of English and French titles on the individual covers, with only Teorema in Italian. Presumably based on original theatrical posters, but you'd think they'd go for all-English (as per the standalone releases), or all-Italian, for the sake of consistency.

I'm happy to stick with the individual dual-format releases. The only one I don't own is Salò, and there is good reason for that.

[gap]

Originally Posted by stepeanut

Strange hotch-potch of English and French titles on the individual covers, with only Teorema in Italian. Presumably based on original theatrical posters, but you'd think they'd go for all-English (as per the standalone releases), or all-Italian, for the sake of consistency.



I'm happy to stick with the individual dual-format releases. The only one I don't own is Salò, and there is good reason for that.

It is a strange looking set alright - seemingly no design consistency.

I'm glad I cancelled my preorder. I'll pick up the original individual releases at some point.

[jhird2007]

Unfortunately, the release date for the item(s) listed below was changed by the supplier, and we need to provide you with a new estimated delivery date based on the new release date:

"The Wages of Fear (Limited Edition Dual Format) [DVD] [1953]"
Estimated arrival date: October 26 2016 - October 28 2016

[rapta]

Originally Posted by jhird2007

Unfortunately, the release date for the item(s) listed below was changed by the supplier, and we need to provide you with a new estimated delivery date based on the new release date:

"The Wages of Fear (Limited Edition Dual Format) [DVD] [1953]"
Estimated arrival date: October 26 2016 - October 28 2016

Nooooo! Do we have a contender for this year's Eyes Without A Face?

[Myshkin]

I misread the email and thought it meant this year, thinking it was only days away! That is quite a wait.

[rapta]

I just hope it isn't delayed indefinitely or cancelled. That would suck (especially I'm locked in at under £6, after using an Amazon discount code against it). Just tweeted BFI to find out some answers...

STILL haven't received Black Girl. BFI taking the piss with stock combined with Amazon's inability to put something in the post (says 'In Stock' but hasn't been dispatched) means it'll arrive whilst I'm away. Not impressed either way.

[kidc]

Originally Posted by gap

It is a strange looking set alright - seemingly no design consistency.

I'm glad I cancelled my preorder. I'll pick up the original individual releases at some point.

Isn't the consistency that they're using original theatrical posters? I think it looks great.

[stepeanut]

Originally Posted by kidc

Isn't the consistency that they're using original theatrical posters? I think it looks great.

But why posters in three different languages? The three titles in French are particularly incongruous, I feel.

The outer box is ugly, IMO. I could accept it if there were a unifying aesthetic from the box design through the booklet to the covers, but they are all over the place.

[gap]

Originally Posted by kidc

Isn't the consistency that they're using original theatrical posters? I think it looks great.

But they AREN'T consistent with each other - some are English, some French and one Italian.

[huntauk]

Let us know how they respond Rapta. I'm also looking forward to Wages of Fear. Hopefully amazon's new date is just a placeholder until BFI give them a new date, ideally early 2016, not October 2016.

[rapta]

Originally Posted by huntauk

Let us know how they respond Rapta. I'm also looking forward to Wages of Fear. Hopefully amazon's new date is just a placeholder until BFI give them a new date, ideally early 2016, not October 2016.

Still no word I'm afraid. Might try them on Facebook, or even try and email them.

In other news, there's a Beaver review of the new Nosferatu disc: http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film5/blu-r...tu_blu-ray.htm

Looks to be an alternative worth picking up at some point, but I can happily wait it out!

EDIT: okay I just remembered I did contact one of the BFI team once so gave them a try and they got back to me pretty promptly about The Wages of Fear.

In short, the good news is that they're still definitely releasing it. The bad news is, the delay is very real - they couldn't go into detail because there are "various reasons" but they did say that they "hope that this delay will mean that [they] can make it the quality of release that the film deserves." In my opinion, that's a good enough reason to delay it, however frustrating an entire calendar year might be.

So yes, this is indeed this year's Eyes Without A Face...but seeing as that is now arguably the most definitive release of that film, as well as one of the best releases from the BFI this year, I think the same will be the case with The Wages of Fear in 2016.

[nitin]

anyone who hasnt got the Rosellini War trilogy, that is a great price from zavvi!

Also, Nosefratu seems to be a bit of a waste of a release IMHO, the MoC clearly looks better. I guess it's all about the different score.

[Dr. Humbert]

Yeah there really doesn't seem to be any reason the buy the BFI Nosferatu. Oh well.

[tenia]

To be honest, I'm interested by the shorts included with the movie, but in the end, it'd be a bit slim for £15.

[ravenus]

Originally Posted by MichaelB

I also suspect quite a few people will prefer the fully English intertitles, given that I recall quite a few complaints that this wasn't an option on the MoC.

I got the Kino version first, specifically for this option. Later, I picked up Eureka's release.

[kidc]

The BFI have announced a monthly streaming subscription service called BFI Player Plus for £5 pm.

It's not Fandor, but it's still a pretty interesting collection of films. Almost 20 Kurosawa, most of (not all?) their Flipside releases, collections of Herzog, Cassavetes, Powell and Pressburger, Lean, Naruse and early Hitchcock, along with other odds and sods like a Mieville/Godard doc, Scorsese's PERSONAL JOURNEY, NIGHT HAWKS, the Billy Wilder EMIL AND THE DETECTIVES, GODZILLA and THE MYSTERIANS, etc.