British Film Institute (BFI) Discussion Thread

[Yami]

Les enfants du paradis - May 7th

[djvaso]

Originally Posted by Yami

Les enfants du paradis - May 7th

It may not be BFI release .

[Yami]

Yeah, it appears it was a mistake. Second Sight are releasing it I believe.

[TJS_Blu]

Poached from the Criterion forum:

Widely considered to be one of Britain's greatest filmmakers, Humphrey Jennings has long been celebrated as the director of works which beautifully capture the everyday heroism in times of war and peace.

This, the second of three volumes which collect together Jennings' entire output, gathers 5 films from 1941 -1943 and shows Jennings at the pinnacle of his career. It features his masterpieces Listen to Britain and Fires Were Started and the rousing Words for Battle as well as some previously neglected works and alternative versions, many of which are made available for the first time since their original release.

Specs;

- Region 0
- Contents: Listen To Britain (1941)
- Words for Battle (1941)
- The Heart of Britain (1941)
- Fires Were Started (1943)
- The Silent Village (1943)
- All films presented in both High Definition and Standard Definition
- This Is England (1941): alternate cut of The Heart of Britain
- I Was a Fireman (1943): Jennings' original cut of Fires Were Started
- Illustrated booklet with newly commissioned essays, film notes, and biography

Pre-order up at play.com (April 23 ship)

[BigNickUK]

Originally Posted by TJS_Blu

Poached from the Criterion forum:



Pre-order up at play.com (April 23 ship)

Awesome been waiting for volume 2. Ordered. Thanks for the heads up

[djvaso]

Originally Posted by BigNickUK

Awesome been waiting for volume 2. Ordered. Thanks for the heads up

Preordered but at Zavvi.com .

[mattyl149]

I've got £156.53 due to come out over the next few months for BFI on:

Upgrades of Bill Douglas Trilogy, Comrades and Winstanley
Dual formats of Humphrey Jennings-Volume 2, Faces, Shadows and The Black Panther
DVDs of COI-Volume 7, Roll Out The Barrel and A Royal Occasion

Plus I have also a number of other titles also on pre-order

Overall, some really good announcements there, with COI-Volume 8, Humphrey Jennings-Volume 3, Revolution and Belly Of An Architect also coming soon

My BFI blu-rays already take up two shelves and the DVDs take up three. I am going to have to move them all to their own special area

There are still some dual format upgrades I am waiting on including The Innocents, The Other Side Of The Underneath, The Edge Of The World and Prostitute

[BigNickUK]

its great news for the jennings releases.....lovin the documentary movement. The Day In The Life John Krish blu is one of my most prized

[Yami]

I'm looking forward to the Cassavetes releases, I've never seen any of his work

[pro-bassoonist]

Hugh Hudson's Revolution (1985), starring Al Pacino, Donald Sutherland, Nastassja Kinski, Joan Plowright, and Annie Lennox. Street date: June 18th.

Standard Definition and High Definition presentation of The Director¿s Cut (DVD & Blu-ray)
Optional High Definition presentation of Original Theatrical Cut (Blu-ray only)
Revisiting Revolution (2008, 23 mins): Al Pacino and Hugh Hudson in conversation (DVD only)
Original theatrical trailer (DVD only)
Revisiting Revolution (2012, 13 mins TBC): Hugh Hudson talks about the making of Revolution accompanied by production stills by celebrated photographers David Bailey and Don McCullum
Deleted scenes: Re-cutting Revolution (21 mins TBC): a look at the differences between the different versions of the film

Pro-B

[djvaso]

New title in Flipside series THE BLACK PANTHER gets release date on May 14.

Directed by Ian Merrick, this intelligent crime drama charts the infamous killing spree which Donald Neilson, aka The Black Panther, perpetrated across England during the mid-70s, culminating in the kidnapping and murder of a 17-year old girl. Told with uncommon accuracy and refraining from any measure of sensationalism, this fascinating and disturbing film fell foul of a media-driven campaign upon its original cinema release which resulted in an effective ban.
Now newly mastered from original film elements preserved at the BFI National Archive, this impressive and powerful film is at long last made available for new audiences. The Dual Format Edition also includes Bob Bentley's intelligent 1981 short film, Recluse, which is based on reports of another real life crime, as an extra, as well as an extensive booklet with contextualising essays, full credits and original promotional materials.

Specs:

- Region 0
- Presented in both High Definition and Standard Definition
- Director approved transfer
- Alternative French language soundtrack, with optional English subtitles
- Recluse (1981, 30 mins): Bob Bentley's arresting short film based on real events, starring Maurice Denham and edited by David Gladwell (editor of If.... and O Lucky Man!)
- Comprehensive booklet with newly commissioned essays and contributions from James Oliver, Ian Merrick and Michael Armstrong
- original promotional artwork
- full credits

[NoirFan]

From Play.com:

The BFI presents three films by Japanese master director Yasujiro Ozu.

Melodrama is not a word usually associated with Ozu's quietly poetic oeuvre but his post-war Early Spring (1956) and Tokyo Twilight (1957) combine darker elements with his idiosyncratic style to create powerful dramas.

Also available for the first time on DVD in the UK is Ozu's rare silent Woman of Tokyo (1933), a tragic tale of misunderstood sacrifice. Woman of Tokyo features a newly commissioned score by Ed Hughes.

I'm hoping we get at least a couple of Blu-rays this year. Perhaps a Floating Weeds double-feature?

[Yami]

Floating Weeds was previously Artificial Eye but hopefully the BFI have managed to get the rights. Other than that, this is quite a frustrating announcement as Tokyo Twilight is my favourite post-war Ozu and judging from previous releases, the elements are in good enough shape for a Blu-Ray.

[rkish]

Originally Posted by Yami

Floating Weeds was previously Artificial Eye but hopefully the BFI have managed to get the rights. Other than that, this is quite a frustrating announcement as Tokyo Twilight is my favourite post-war Ozu and judging from previous releases, the elements are in good enough shape for a Blu-Ray.

Well...from what I've been led to believe...BFI has gotten all their Ozu transfers from Criterion. Until I see this listed on either the BFI website or Amazon UK, I won't give up hope on either of these films getting a blu release. I mean, we're only getting the latest release on Tuesday.

[bizarre_eye]

My copy of Her Private Hell is on the way, hopefully it'll arrive tomorrow.

Also, I'm not sure whether it has been mentioned already, but Peter Greenaway's Belly of an Architect is due for release in June.

Play.com pre-order

[Yami]

Originally Posted by rkish

Well...from what I've been led to believe...BFI has gotten all their Ozu transfers from Criterion. Until I see this listed on either the BFI website or Amazon UK, I won't give up hope on either of these films getting a blu release. I mean, we're only getting the latest release on Tuesday.

Well the BVA only has a DVD entry for it so unless they're going to release the titles separately on Blu-Ray and make the boxset DVD only it's not looking good I believe that the BFI sourced the Good Morning transfer elsewhere because the Criterion wasn't up to snuff.

[rkish]

Originally Posted by Yami

Well the BVA only has a DVD entry for it so unless they're going to release the titles separately on Blu-Ray and make the boxset DVD only it's not looking good I believe that the BFI sourced the Good Morning transfer elsewhere because the Criterion wasn't up to snuff.

You are correct about Good Morning...the Criterion transfer has a greenish tint to it and they tried to compensate by pushing the red end of the color scale. The BFI transfer looks better.

I fear that you are correct about "The Melodrama Collection" as it's listed on Amazon UK as a two DVD set...I preordered it, as I plan to buy all of the BFI Ozu releases...

Speaking of which...I received my copy of "The Student Comedies" in the mail today...and they only shipped it last Friday...got to Upstate New York pretty quickly. I hope my MoC shipments come just as fast...I'll be diving into it this weekend!

[Fellini912]

I just bought my first two BFI blu rays "L'age d'Or" and "Alice (1988)" I am sold. Amazing P/A quality. I live in the US, so I mainly have two options in getting some classic foreign films, criterion or kino. Any other recommendations for region free blu rays from BFI. Thanks

[Arkadin]

The Valley; More; Herostratus; Anti-clock; the other side of underneath; GAZWRX--films of jeff keene;
(more important recommendation is to get a region free player asap; you'll never look back and wonder why you waited so long)

[Yami]

The Bill Douglas titles are the best the BFI have ever released in my opinion and I think they're region free