British Film Institute (BFI) Discussion Thread

[Jerry2345]

Originally Posted by shimmy

The one film I would really like to see get a western release is The End of Summer, Toho released a blu ray in Japan but it doesnt list English subs sadly.

I cannot immediately find anything on a Japanese release of The End of Summer by Toho. However, the film was released on blu-ray by Carlotta in France, but only with French subtitles:



The image does seem like a nice upgrade over the DVD:
https://www.dvdclassik.com/comparais...nier-caprice-6
(They compare with the ARTE DVD, which at first glance seems similar to the AE DVD…)

[shimmy]

Originally Posted by Jerry2345

I cannot immediately find anything on a Japanese release of The End of Summer by Toho. However, the film was released on blu-ray by Carlotta in France, but only with French subtitles:



The image does seem like a nice upgrade over the DVD:
https://www.dvdclassik.com/comparais...nier-caprice-6
(They compare with the ARTE DVD, which at first glance seems similar to the AE DVD…)

I might have been mistaken or maybe its not in print anymore but I remember seeing it on the Japanese version of Amazon when I was looking up Ozu, this would have been a year ago give or take.

I know about Carlotta, I have some of their stuff but sadly I dont know French so all the Japanese films in their catalogue are just there to tease me.

[tmjhur]

Sooooooooo I just got my Red Desert blu ray delivered by Amazon which I had back ordered. It came in a slim blu ray case with dual format on the cover and there is a Verbatim CD-R inside. What the actual ****!

Update: got onto Amazon immediately about this. Eventually got a refund after they were trying to get me to send it back. I emailed BFI about this as well because I didn't buy it from a third party as far as I'm aware.

[The Hornets]

Originally Posted by tmjhur

Sooooooooo I just got my Red Desert blu ray delivered by Amazon which I had back ordered. It came in a slim blu ray case with dual format on the cover and there is a Verbatim CD-R inside. What the actual ****!

Update: got onto Amazon immediately about this. Eventually got a refund after they were trying to get me to send it back. I emailed BFI about this as well because I didn't buy it from a third party as far as I'm aware.

Looks like a previous customer has conned Amazon by swapping out the genuine disc for a burnt bootleg before returning it for refund which Amazon have then sold on to you as new.

My dad had this for an electrical item where my dad had to get a refund as someone had swapped out the U.K. spec item for a French one with worse spec. Came in French language box and two pin European plug. Obviously they had either sourced wrong stock or it was a return sold on to my dad. Had to fight but in the end got refund. At least being in U.K. got a free post return at Post Office.

[tmjhur]

Originally Posted by The Hornets

Looks like a previous customer has conned Amazon by swapping out the genuine disc for a burnt bootleg before returning it for refund which Amazon have then sold on to you as new.

My dad had this for an electrical item where my dad had to get a refund as someone had swapped out the U.K. spec item for a French one with worse spec. Came in French language box and two pin European plug. Obviously they had either sourced wrong stock or it was a return sold on to my dad. Had to fight but in the end got refund. At least being in U.K. got a free post return at Post Office.

It wasn't even a burnt bootleg, it was a verbatim CD-R upside down in the case. If it was a con (and your theory is good), why not put it in a proper sized blu ray case instead of a thin one so that the artwork fit correctly?

Also there was a product number sticker on the outside of the factory seal plastic, if BFI get back to me they might say whether that number is correct or not.

[fatboyslim142]

Anyone after the OOP Limited Edition of this can get it from here (Ben Stoddart managed to get his hands on 15 copies of the LE):

https://shop.bfi.org.uk/spetters-lim...JDL16XJ3Dn5XPw

[trobrianders]

The two hours of extra content on the Bonus DVD are a great accompaniment to the main film. Worth getting.

[Rutger Lundgren]

It looks like it's already gone, however.

[fatboyslim142]

Originally Posted by Rutger Lundgren

It looks like it's already gone, however.

I only noticed it in the Facebook group 5hrs after Ben had posted it.

[CrockettandTubbs]

Not actually looked at the titles, but Zavvi have a 30% off on selected BFI titles:

BFI30

Short Sharp Shocks vol 3 is £13.99, for example.

[SilverBlueSnow]

Originally Posted by shimmy

I think that with these two new Ozu sets out that just leaves Tokyo Twilight and Early Springs as the movies that Shochiku put out on blu ray in Japan that dont have a BFI counterpart. Unless there are some licensing issues with these particular two movies I would think its only a matter of time before BFI releases them as well.

The one film I would really like to see get a western release is The End of Summer, Toho released a blu ray in Japan but it doesnt list English subs sadly.

Like you say, importing from Japan isnt cheap, I finally got Tokyo Twilight a year or so ago because its one of my favorite Ozu films and I think one of his most underrated, its only the second time I imported a movie from Japan. As an aside Im a huge fan of Japanese blu ray cases. They are slim but they are not flimsy like the ones we get in the west. The plastic is thick and they feel even more sturdy than our regular blu ray cases, I wish this was the industry standard.

Tokyo Twilight is excellent.

Great observation - I hope BFI give us Early Spring and Tokyo Twilight to wrap up the Shochiku releases!

[fatboyslim142]

Originally Posted by Rutger Lundgren

It looks like it's already gone, however.

There are about 3 Limited Edition ones on sale on Ebay with the ONLY sealed one costing about £40 (including P+P). The cheapest of the 2 pre-owned ones is £30 (free P+P).

[fatboyslim142]

Originally Posted by CrockettandTubbs

Not actually looked at the titles, but Zavvi have a 30% off on selected BFI titles:

BFI30

Short Sharp Shocks vol 3 is £13.99, for example.

The Kenneth Anger Magic Lantern Cycle is the cheapest of the titles on offer £10 (£22.99) before 30% off & the also the Play for Today sets work out at about just over £2 cheaper (after 30% off) each than the HMV/Fopp BFI sale price.

[rapta]

Someone just pointed out that Thundercrack! has just been submitted to the BBFC by BFI Video for streaming...I wonder if they'll do this on disc as well? The Synapse release is Region B friendly, but a BFI release might add different extras and be much cheaper for UK collectors too.

https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/thund...jpwwc0zntcynjc

[fatboyslim142]

Originally Posted by rapta

Someone just pointed out that Thundercrack! has just been submitted to the BBFC by BFI Video for streaming...I wonder if they'll do this on disc as well? The Synapse release is Region B friendly, but a BFI release might add different extras and be much cheaper for UK collectors too.

https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/thund...jpwwc0zntcynjc

As confirmed by Ben Stoddart:

BFI Player only. No disc release planned

[CelestialAgent]

It wouldn’t make sense to do a BFI release anyway, the Synapse release is definitive, affordable and region free, there’s only a small number of surviving elements so no chance of another remaster (though I think some of the shorts had HD scans more recently), and it’s a hard sell for anyone who isn’t already into hardcore/queer cinema/Scala oddities. The best they could add would be a commentary or booklet, there’s not really anyone still around to interview. Maybe a decade ago it would have been more likely, outside of hardcore or shorts it would be nice to see Sparkle’s Tavern restored.

[Rayjg]

Dammit, ordered Bluebeard's Castle from one of the boutique sellers here in the US and it came without a booklet, even though it was still listed as the limited edition Hasn't even been out half a year yet. What a horrible decision by the BFI to copy one of Arrow's worse policies: booklet roulette. I guess if I can't pre-order one of their titles I'll just check the used marketplace in the future.

[trobrianders]

Originally Posted by Rayjg

Dammit, ordered Bluebeard's Castle from one of the boutique sellers here in the US and it came without a booklet, even though it was still listed as the limited edition Hasn't even been out half a year yet. What a horrible decision by the BFI to copy one of Arrow's worse policies: booklet roulette. I guess if I can't pre-order one of their titles I'll just check the used marketplace in the future.

I sympathise with that. I recently bought 20 BFI titles from HMV and only 5 of the older titles came without booklets. I got lucky. My solution was to sell those 5 unopened on ebay for less than their market value and that pays toward buying pre-owned copies with booklets.

[CelestialAgent]

Originally Posted by Rayjg

Dammit, ordered Bluebeard's Castle from one of the boutique sellers here in the US and it came without a booklet, even though it was still listed as the limited edition Hasn't even been out half a year yet. What a horrible decision by the BFI to copy one of Arrow's worse policies: booklet roulette. I guess if I can't pre-order one of their titles I'll just check the used marketplace in the future.

I would definitely recommend keeping an eye on the Facebook group as Ben tends to post when booklets are low with the copies being sent out (which of course doesn’t preclude other retailers still having booklet copies.) Otherwise it’s a case of taking a chance or seeing if anyone has used copies. I don’t think it’s a surprise considering the film’s lack of availability on disc (or even digitally, given its obscurity in the Powell canon outside of the odd screening) and how it’s of crossover interest to Bartók and opera fans too. As a Film Foundation title, I would be surprised if Criterion don’t release it in future.

Extras are pretty light, but seeing Powell as a tutor to a younger generation of students on a version of Earthsea that never came to pass is incredibly valuable, and Ian Christie is great for biographical information. It’s also quite a strong booklet with an excerpt from his autobiography, a Christie essay with different information to his interview, and informative biographies on the cast and crew by Lillian Crawford. I found with the film I connected more with the English track, even if the German track is technically more authentic to its original broadcast and matches the mouth movements more (though both were dubbed before filming at the same time, and I never had any issues with the pronunciation by a non-English speaker, and neither is in Hungarian.) The artificial visuals are really stunning and I appreciated the horror/fable tinged exploration of power and gender.

Occasionally sellers will list booklets on their own.

[Mr. Thomsen]

Got lucky today. A local shop had 20% off as a Birthday celebration thing, which meant their prices just about matches the other shops in the country (they are usually VERY expensive). Got my hands on Short Sharp Shocks, Vol. 1 with the booklet for about the same it would have cost me to order one without the booklet from AMZ.