British Film Institute (BFI) Discussion Thread

[DaveStone]

Hey all. I was planning on buying Rashomon on blu-ray from Amazon uk but remembered that BFI had a 4K screening at some cinemas a while back and I was wondering if they were planning to do a 4K restoration Blu-ray release based on those showings?

[dwk]

Originally Posted by DaveStone

Hey all. I was planning on buying Rashomon on blu-ray from Amazon uk but remembered that BFI had a 4K screening at some cinemas a while back and I was wondering if they were planning to do a 4K restoration Blu-ray release based on those showings?

Unless it has been recently redone, Rashomon was scanned in 4K but the work was done in 2K.

[rapta]

I reckon if we get any more Kurosawa from BFI in the near future, it'll be licensed from Toho like Ikiru was (so perhaps Stray Dog and/or High and Low next, and then hopefully upgrades of Seven Samurai, Yojimbo and Sanjuro as well).

Rashomon would've been from Kadokawa, and as dwk says, it sounds unlikely it'd be fit for UHD. Apparently BFI isn't confident these Toho 4K restorations are UHD-worthy, if Ikiru is anything to go by, but hopefully that's not the case for Seven Samurai (certainly the Janus trailers boast an impressive transfer).

[DaveStone]

Originally Posted by dwk

Unless it has been recently redone, Rashomon was scanned in 4K but the work was done in 2K.

I see. Since it was scanned in 4K but done in 2k, wouldn’t it still be an improvement over the current Blu-ray release? they could release it as an upgraded Blu-ray.

Originally Posted by rapta

I reckon if we get any more Kurosawa from BFI in the near future, it'll be licensed from Toho like Ikiru was (so perhaps Stray Dog and/or High and Low next, and then hopefully upgrades of Seven Samurai, Yojimbo and Sanjuro as well).

Rashomon would've been from Kadokawa, and as dwk says, it sounds unlikely it'd be fit for UHD. Apparently BFI isn't confident these Toho 4K restorations are UHD-worthy, if Ikiru is anything to go by, but hopefully that's not the case for Seven Samurai (certainly the Janus trailers boast an impressive transfer).

Having more Kurosawa releases is always a good thing. I would buy those upgraded versions (Seven Samurai, Yojimbo and Sanjuro) in a heartbeat.

[rapta]

Originally Posted by DaveStone

I see. Since it was scanned in 4K but done in 2k, wouldn’t it still be an improvement over the current Blu-ray release? they could release it as an upgraded Blu-ray.

I think he's saying that is the current Blu-ray release. It won't be released on 4K UHD because it's not a full 4K restoration, so therefore suitable for 2K (aka HD).

So in short, the current Blu-ray is as good as it's going to look unless they were to do an even newer restoration, which may never actually happen (might be certain limits to the source materials). You may as well get the BFI disc, or the Criterion if you prefer!

[DaveStone]

Originally Posted by rapta

I think he's saying that is the current Blu-ray release. It won't be released on 4K UHD because it's not a full 4K restoration, so therefore suitable for 2K (aka HD).

So in short, the current Blu-ray is as good as it's going to look unless they were to do an even newer restoration, which may never actually happen (might be certain limits to the source materials). You may as well get the BFI disc, or the Criterion if you prefer!

Ohh okay. I’ll go with the BFI disk. Thanks

[shimmy]

Originally Posted by rapta

so perhaps Stray Dog and/or High and Low next

[CelestialAgent]

Seven Samurai would be an obvious choice considering it had UK screenings in 2021 and 2023 (of the older master) and with Janus currently screening the 4K remaster in the US. Ikiru is out in August, so maybe during the autumn?

[rapta]

Originally Posted by CelestialAgent

Seven Samurai would be an obvious choice considering it had UK screenings in 2021 and 2024 (of the older master) and with Janus currently screening the 4K remaster in the US. Ikiru is out in August, so maybe during the autumn?

Yes, it's the 70th Anniversary so you'd think a 4K disc would be on the cards. BFI probably keeping cards close to their chest as much as Criterion.

Heck, I'd buy any more Kurosawa on Blu-ray and so would most people reading this thread. They'd be silly not to! Whilst I'd prefer to see some new-to-UK-Blu-ray upgrades from the previous BFI DVDs, I'd still welcome a fresh 4K and/or Blu-ray for Seven Samurai as much as I welcomed the Tokyo Story bump a few years back (not forgetting Yojimbo and Sanjuro too of course, which also might be upgraded).

[Cinematt]

Originally Posted by rapta

I reckon if we get any more Kurosawa from BFI in the near future, it'll be licensed from Toho like Ikiru was (so perhaps Stray Dog and/or High and Low next, and then hopefully upgrades of Seven Samurai, Yojimbo and Sanjuro as well).

Rashomon would've been from Kadokawa, and as dwk says, it sounds unlikely it'd be fit for UHD. Apparently BFI isn't confident these Toho 4K restorations are UHD-worthy, if Ikiru is anything to go by, but hopefully that's not the case for Seven Samurai (certainly the Janus trailers boast an impressive transfer).

Sorry to repeat myself for those that caught this earlier in the thread, but basically the negative for Ikiru is lost so the 4K master can only ever look so go, and there isn't much difference between viewing the BD on equipment that does a good upscaling job and viewing the 4K release. I wouldn't take that as an indication about the BFI's feelings for the whole lot of recent 4K releases, with others they were able to go back to the negative, so hopefully it's a good sign that they won't be just putting out 4Ks for the sake of it and any that they do select for the treatment will be worth the purchase.

[rapta]

Originally Posted by Cinematt

Sorry to repeat myself for those that caught this earlier in the thread, but basically the negative for Ikiru is lost so the 4K master can only ever look so go, and there isn't much difference between viewing the BD on equipment that does a good upscaling job and viewing the 4K release. I wouldn't take that as an indication about the BFI's feelings for the whole lot of recent 4K releases, with others they were able to go back to the negative, so hopefully it's a good sign that they won't be just putting out 4Ks for the sake of it and any that they do select for the treatment will be worth the purchase.

Yes, I trust BFI's judgement with these things more than Criterion - as was the case with The Rules of the Game, for example. BFI would jump at the chance to release a Kurosawa or Renoir in 4K, but not if it wasn't right for the format.

[BudBaxter]

A number of BFI / Flipside titles have been added to the '2 for £15' offer at HMV.

https://hmv.com/store/promotions/2for_15blu-ray?page=1

[orfy]

Originally Posted by BudBaxter

A number of BFI / Flipside titles have been added to the '2 for £15' offer at HMV.

https://hmv.com/store/promotions/2for_15blu-ray?page=1

Thanks, just nabbed Short Sharp Shocks v3 - feels like a steal!

[fatboyslim142]

Originally Posted by orfy

Thanks, just nabbed Short Sharp Shocks v3 - feels like a steal!

Is there a list of what BFI titles are in the offer? Would help in the long run.

[BudBaxter]

Originally Posted by fatboyslim142

Is there a list of what BFI titles are in the offer? Would help in the long run.

Or you could just click on the link.

[fatboyslim142]

Originally Posted by BudBaxter

Or you could just click on the link.

There's NO filter to sort by label.

[Gerby]

Originally Posted by fatboyslim142

There's NO filter to sort by label.

You've got 2 pages to scroll through if you change the amount of products to 72 per page & all the BFI's are on the 2nd page.

[orfy]

Originally Posted by fatboyslim142

There's NO filter to sort by label.

If you sort by price high to low, it looks like the BFI titles are listed first (40 in total)

[fatboyslim142]

Originally Posted by orfy

If you sort by price high to low, it looks like the BFI titles are listed first (40 in total)

Thanks. There has been filter by label in the past though.

[hdbsaichxknwelqa]

https://hmv.com/store/film-tv-studio...A315%2BBlu-ray