British Film Institute (BFI) Discussion Thread

[filmlover22]

now if only Zavvi can get that Dietrich set in stock! it's been a week already!!

[djhig]

Originally Posted by fatboyslim142

Does anyone know what the following means & will I still recieve these 3 items, above, or not?

Authorised - Next to the first two titles above which are still OOS
Payment captured - Next to the bottom one which is now back in stock

Authorised will mean that they have cleared the payment with your card provider and ringfenced the funds (so it will appear as a pending transaction in your payment card's account summary) ready to either take when the titles come back in stock or release back to the card if they cancel (more likely the former).

Payment captured suggests the payment has actually been taken and the title will shortly be dispatched.

[fatboyslim142]

Originally Posted by djhig

Authorised will mean that they have cleared the payment with your card provider and ringfenced the funds (so it will appear as a pending transaction in your payment card's account summary) ready to either take when the titles come back in stock or release back to the card if they cancel (more likely the former).

Payment captured suggests the payment has actually been taken and the title will shortly be dispatched.

Thanks. Hopefully they'll turn up eventually.

[nitin]

I recently saw Symptoms which was a dazzling exercise in mood and atmosphere.

Shot in a beautifully hazy dream like manner, Symptoms is a slow burn thriller that ends up going exactly where and how you thought it would about 5-10 minutes into the movie but Larraz conjures up a mood and atmosphere that is hard to resist for the bulk of the runtime. It’s helped by Angela Pleasance’s pitiful and sympathetic performance and her own realisation throughout of the ‘symptoms’ she is displaying.

As an aside, I have read some comparisons to some of Polanski’s films from the same period but although there are some narrative similarities here with something like Repulsion, I think that’s about as far as you can take such a comparison before you start doing a disservice to both what Larraz was doing here and what Polanski did in Repulsion and other films. Polanski is clearly the more gifted filmmaker and especially has a more acute handle on the psychological state of the characters in his films. Larraz’s film is much straightforward narratively and psychologically but you can also tell that’s not what he was focussing his efforts on.

I saw it via the Mondo Macabro blu but the BFI disc is identical (save for company logos etc) and is a glorious presentation of a 2k restoration which, for a lost film, looks and sounds unbelievably good.

[Arrowheadrevisited]

Originally Posted by fatboyslim142

Thanks. Hopefully they'll turn up eventually.

They seem to be sending them out at random, had several individual titles despatched, plus a few batches of 2s and 3s.

No movement on quite a few of the titles with big price drops, but hopefully just a matter of waiting for stock to arrive.

[Spiderwalk]

Originally Posted by nitin

I recently saw Symptoms which was a dazzling exercise in mood and atmosphere.

If you liked Symptoms, you should check out The Duke of Burgundy if you haven't seen it yet. They have a very similar mood and style.

[fatboyslim142]

Originally Posted by Spiderwalk

If you liked Symptoms, you should check out The Duke of Burgundy if you haven't seen it yet. They have a very similar mood and style.

The Duke of Burgundy is an excellent erotic film that doesn't really show anything. E.G. the golden shower scene is just a shot of a closed bathroom door, that the 2 main characters have shut after entering, & you ONLY hearing the sound of what's happening. The film is Strickland's masterpiece though.

In Duke, Strickland mines the voyeuristic, psychedelic and lush films of Jess Franco. In fact, the movie began its life as a straight remake of Franco’s 1974 exploitation shocker Lorna the Exorcist. But Strickland — one of the most wonderfully unconventional filmmakers alive — got bored of the idea of a remake and instead took the project in another direction.

In the end he was able to cast Franco regular Monica Swinn in a small but significant role in the film.

This is one of the few films where the entire cast are female.

[nitin]

Originally Posted by Spiderwalk

If you liked Symptoms, you should check out The Duke of Burgundy if you haven't seen it yet. They have a very similar mood and style.

I do have that one but haven’t watched it yet. However, I am already sold on Strickland since I quite liked both Berberian Sound Studio and In Fabric and his recent short.

[D27]

Hi guys, anyone know of any restorations that have occured on Luis Bunuels Los Olvidados, 1951, its one of his best. But no blu ray. Surely ripe for BFI or MOC. I really hope Viridiana gets a proper release too. I had a Criterion dvd for this.

[djhig]

Originally Posted by D27

Hi guys, anyone know of any restorations that have occured on Luis Bunuels Los Olvidados, 1951, its one of his best. But no blu ray. Surely ripe for BFI or MOC. I really hope Viridiana gets a proper release too. I had a Criterion dvd for this.

A new restoration by World Cinema Project and L'immagine Ritrovata was premiered at NYFF and the BFI London Film Festival in 2019.

https://festival.ilcinemaritrovato.i...los-olvidados/

I've been waiting for an announcement of a Blu Ray since, but not sure who owns the rights.

[D27]

Thankyou very much. That gives me more hope. Damn i missed that at LFF.

[ravenus]

Originally Posted by Spiderwalk

If you liked Symptoms, you should check out The Duke of Burgundy if you haven't seen it yet. They have a very similar mood and style.

FWIW, I like DoB a whole lot more than Symptoms.

[ptb2010]

Originally Posted by nitin

I recently saw Symptoms which was a dazzling exercise in mood and atmosphere.

Shot in a beautifully hazy dream like manner, Symptoms is a slow burn thriller that ends up going exactly where and how you thought it would about 5-10 minutes into the movie but Larraz conjures up a mood and atmosphere that is hard to resist for the bulk of the runtime. It’s helped by Angela Pleasance’s pitiful and sympathetic performance and her own realisation throughout of the ‘symptoms’ she is displaying.

As an aside, I have read some comparisons to some of Polanski’s films from the same period but although there are some narrative similarities here with something like Repulsion, I think that’s about as far as you can take such a comparison before you start doing a disservice to both what Larraz was doing here and what Polanski did in Repulsion and other films. Polanski is clearly the more gifted filmmaker and especially has a more acute handle on the psychological state of the characters in his films. Larraz’s film is much straightforward narratively and psychologically but you can also tell that’s not what he was focussing his efforts on.

I saw it via the Mondo Macabro blu but the BFI disc is identical (save for company logos etc) and is a glorious presentation of a 2k restoration which, for a lost film, looks and sounds unbelievably good.

Lorna Heilbron is one of my closest friends, and I’ve met Anglea Pleasance a few times at Lorna’s. Angela is nutty as a fruit cake in a nice way!

[mep]

Originally Posted by malcy30

To me the packaging exactly mirrors recent Indicator boxsets.
If you have Fu Manchu or Columbia Noir 1 you know what to expect.

My Marlene BFI Set arrived today and yes, it’s a quite nice collectable Box Set release very similar to current Indicator releases. Hope this sells well and the BFI will keep releasing more sets like this one. With 88 films also releasing quality sets, Eureka - Arrow - Indicator are not the only cool guys for me anymore. Always nice to see other labels stepping up their game!

[rapta]

Originally Posted by D27

Hi guys, anyone know of any restorations that have occured on Luis Bunuels Los Olvidados, 1951, its one of his best. But no blu ray. Surely ripe for BFI or MOC. I really hope Viridiana gets a proper release too. I had a Criterion dvd for this.

I have Los Olvidados on DVD but it's via Fremantle Media so not sure who has the rights. Probably some obscure Mexican company, I'd imagine. There's a distinct lack of Buñuel on UK Blu-ray - Arrow did a few on DVD so I always thought they'd upgrade them for the Academy line, maybe even push for a box set. It's one of those weird blind-spots on UK BD, a bit like Melville's Le Samouraï or certain famous Welles or Ophuls titles.

[nitin]

Originally Posted by ptb2010

Lorna Heilbron is one of my closest friends, and I’ve met Anglea Pleasance a few times at Lorna’s. Angela is nutty as a fruit cake in a nice way!

Oh wow, did they have any interesting stories about working on this film?

[justwannaboogie]

Just received my Dietrich set from rarewaves and it's a definite improvement on BFI's part. I hope they keep this up rather than using flimsy card for their sets. Indicator have obviously inspired them to up their game accordingly and the fact that's it's limited to specific amount of copies also suggests BFI are taking notes from their business model.

[grahams76]

Originally Posted by justwannaboogie

Just received my Dietrich set from rarewaves and it's a definite improvement on BFI's part. I hope they keep this up rather than using flimsy card for their sets. Indicator have obviously inspired them to up their game accordingly and the fact that's it's limited to specific amount of copies also suggests BFI are taking notes from their business model.

True. I'm not one to normally comment on slipcases etc as I'm not often fussed, but the BFI's Play For Today Vol 1 has a sturdy, thick box that's built to last. Compare it to my miserable-looking Herzog box that is thin card and has worn corners despite being well looked after.

Having said that, the BFI's Alan Clarke boxset from a few years back is also solid card.

[fatboyslim142]

Originally Posted by grahams76

True. I'm not one to normally comment on slipcases etc as I'm not often fussed, but the BFI's Play For Today Vol 1 has a sturdy, thick box that's built to last. Compare it to my miserable-looking Herzog box that is thin card and has worn corners despite being well looked after.

Having said that, the BFI's Alan Clarke boxset from a few years back is also solid card.

Same with BOTH Derek Jarman sets.

[fatboyslim142]

How long does things take to arrive from HMV? 2 out of 5 items of my £5.99 (each) BFI order (made exactly a week ago) were dispatched last Saturday & they've not turned up yet.