British Film Institute (BFI) Discussion Thread

[DefLeppard]

Originally Posted by Jason Abbey

It would appear that BFI are succumbing to the trend of issuing booklets on the first pressing of new releases only according to the latest press release. I can understand the need to maximise their revenue this way but its still an annoyance.

This leaves us only Eureka's MOC line which still retains booklet..

[Dollar Colonel]

Originally Posted by justwannaboogie

Really hate this trend, understandably cuts costs but when you pay a premium price you expect a premium release without something missing. Essentially means those who can't pre-order everything they want will have to make do. I hope Eureka don't follow this route.

I don't mind as long as they're transparent about stock numbers.

[Killer Meteor]

Originally Posted by Dollar Colonel

I don't mind as long as they're transparent about stock numbers.

I prefer the Indicator method where you know if it's got a booklet before you buy it.

[rapta]

Originally Posted by DefLeppard

This leaves us only Eureka's MOC line which still retains booklet..

And Criterion, no?

It's a shame BFI have started doing this, but I guess that's because people aren't buying stuff early enough, as much as it's about saving costs.

To be fair for me that's recently been because of HMV not receiving new stock - for example I would've bought Orphée and would probably grab The Caretaker and Room at the Top if they were in the 2 for £25 offer. Otherwise I'm paying between £15 and £20 per title, which means I'll be more restrictive which ones I'll pre-order (especially when I tend to avoid Amazon).

[Dollar Colonel]

Originally Posted by Killer Meteor

I prefer the Indicator method where you know if it's got a booklet before you buy it.

Yeah, it definitely needs a different UPC.

[DefLeppard]

Originally Posted by Killer Meteor

I prefer the Indicator method where you know if it's got a booklet before you buy it.

Yeah! same here ..: I don't mind this either as long as it is not a TT's strictly 'its now or never 3000 copies' business model.

Originally Posted by rapta

And Criterion, no?

It's a shame BFI have started doing this, but I guess that's because people aren't buying stuff early enough, as much as it's about saving costs.

To be fair for me that's recently been because of HMV not receiving new stock - for example I would've bought Orphée and would probably grab The Caretaker and Room at the Top if they were in the 2 for £25 offer. Otherwise I'm paying between £15 and £20 per title, which means I'll be more restrictive which ones I'll pre-order (especially when I tend to avoid Amazon).

Yeah,Criterion too.

For 2019 ,at least we can say that Amz is taking advantage of HMV situation on price matching pre-orders but BFI has not offered any big sale in 2018 like they did in 2017 (Jul-Oct on Amz) and IIRC ,sale was only limited to 20-30 titles in HMV and Base (? or was it Zoom?) .

Also I'm worried if the re-print of those existing titles may also going to be without booklets.

[Knaldskalle]

Originally Posted by BarnDoor

And evidently the Early Kore-eda set has been delayed.

There's a joke in here somewhere. Let's see...

Early Kore-eda is Late?

Better Late Kore-eda than Never Kore-eda?

(He also made that movie that takes place in the afterlife, but I can't think of how to tie that into the rest).

[s-hell]

Originally Posted by rapta

It's a shame BFI have started doing this, but I guess that's because people aren't buying stuff early enough, as much as it's about saving costs.
To be fair for me that's recently been because of HMV not receiving new stock - for example I would've bought Orphée and would probably grab The Caretaker and Room at the Top if they were in the 2 for £25 offer. Otherwise I'm paying between £15 and £20 per title, which means I'll be more restrictive which ones I'll pre-order (especially when I tend to avoid Amazon)

I would pre-order quite a lot of BFI titles if they were in a 2 for £25 offer (HMV is UK-only). Even £15 aren't really expensive for the quality editions they usually do. But with the BFI you never know if the film you've just bought for £15 will be available for £12 or even cheaper than that a bit later - so one is likely to wait some time. And if you wait long enough you can pick it up for £6 somewhere in London... Such a strategy will obviously not increase early sales figures, but I wonder if the inclusion of a booklet will change much about that.

And I wouldn't mind if the BFI shop itself was a bit more competitive. They always ask a few pounds more and try to make feel customers better with the friendly reminder "Every purchase supports the work of the BFI".

[billy35]

Originally Posted by s-hell

I would pre-order quite a lot of BFI titles if they were in a 2 for £25 offer (HMV is UK-only). Even £15 aren't really expensive for the quality editions they usually do. But with the BFI you never know if the film you've just bought for £15 will be available for £12 or even cheaper than that a bit later - so one is likely to wait some time. And if you wait long enough you can pick it up for £6 somewhere in London... Such a strategy will obviously not increase early sales figures, but I wonder if the inclusion of a booklet will change much about that.

And I wouldn't mind if the BFI shop itself was a bit more competitive. They always ask a few pounds more and try to make feel customers better with the friendly reminder "Every purchase supports the work of the BFI".

International shipping prices in their shop are also pretty high.. Even if there is a sale going on, you dont save that much.

[Jospef]

Got reply about Kore-eda Box Set:

Unfortunately the wording they’ve used to highlight the release does suggest it’s coming out in May. It’s in fact not planned for release until July. We can’t therefore confirm any details about its release at the current time.

[crazybeats]

I noticed quite a few £3 DVDs in Fopp today but still the lowest the Ghost Stories releases go for is £10. Blu rays are £6 which is good too but I think for most I'd be happy with the DVD. I was looking at the Day The Earth Caught Fire and there was another release I can't remember the name of it but it was like the Ghost Stories releases, it was a ghost story I think from 1979 from TV and that looked quite good. I'll have another look tomorrow. I think they are quite recent releases so I don't think there would be a massive jump from DVD to blu ray because a lot of DVD releases now are taken from higher quality sources so they tend to look better than DVDs of yesteryear.

[rapta]

Originally Posted by crazybeats

I noticed quite a few £3 DVDs in Fopp today but still the lowest the Ghost Stories releases go for is £10. Blu rays are £6 which is good too but I think for most I'd be happy with the DVD. I was looking at the Day The Earth Caught Fire and there was another release I can't remember the name of it but it was like the Ghost Stories releases, it was a ghost story I think from 1979 from TV and that looked quite good. I'll have another look tomorrow. I think they are quite recent releases so I don't think there would be a massive jump from DVD to blu ray because a lot of DVD releases now are taken from higher quality sources so they tend to look better than DVDs of yesteryear.

Do you mean Schalcken the Painter? I was going to grab that at some point, no idea why I haven't yet.

[crazybeats]

Yeah it's that one. I think it's £5 but £3 with any purchase.

[rapta]

Originally Posted by crazybeats

Yeah it's that one. I think it's £5 but £3 with any purchase.

On Blu-ray or DVD? Decent price if it's the former (and still a decent price for the latter tbh).

[crazybeats]

The £3 ones were all DVDs but they seemed to have blu ray versions of most of them for £6.

[lexx2.0]

Is there a list of films that are part of the BFI Flipside collection? I just heard about this and am curious as to what is all part of it. I ordered 2, Nightbirds and Her Private Hell.

[sjt]

Originally Posted by lexx2.0

Is there a list of films that are part of the BFI Flipside collection? I just heard about this and am curious as to what is all part of it. I ordered 2, Nightbirds and Her Private Hell.

The most cursory of web searches available to anyone produces the following: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BFI_Flipside

[stepeanut]

Originally Posted by sjt

The most cursory of web searches available to anyone produces the following: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BFI_Flipside

Since that list was last updated, the following titles have been added:

036 Red, White and Zero
037 Stranger in the House (to be released 25/02/19)

Love the Flipside series. I have them all.

[Spiderwalk]

I contacted the BFI shop recently to ask them about their current stock of La Belle et la Bête. I just wanted to know if they were selling the fixed discs now. I had a reply stating that if I ordered it through their online store I would be guaranteed to receive the correct version.

However... I received my copy this morning, and its the shitty version with the terrible macroblocking!

I've sent an email.

[Jr7936]

For anyone who got jarman volume 2. Is it the quality and the presentation similar or the same to volune one