British Film Institute (BFI) Discussion Thread

[trobrianders]

Interest in Slade is about kitsch value, right? Even as a child I was embarrassed for them when I saw them on Top of the Pops.

[Sifox211]

Originally Posted by trobrianders

Interest in Slade is about kitsch value, right? Even as a child I was embarrassed for them when I saw them on Top of the Pops.

A bit harsh - although I know what you mean. Early 70s was my formative musical period and I remember this excellent headline in the (at the time) finger-on-the-pulse NME writing about Sweet: "It's a long climb up Credibility Mountain when your base camp is Top of the Pops"

But actually, especially compared to the utter garbage that is contemporary pop, a lot of those kiddy bopper bands of the period were good. And the final confirmation was when Oasis did a Slade cover, which was a pale imitation of the original.

[Sifox211]

Originally Posted by CelestialAgent

... Ben posted on the FB group that the Akerman set (limited to 2000) is unlikely to get a standard edition sans booklet...

But thanks for the heads up - prompted me to pre-order this set, having passed on the Criterion due to reports of poor PQ. Got to beat that FOMO

[darrellmaclaine]

Originally Posted by trobrianders

Interest in Slade is about kitsch value, right? Even as a child I was embarrassed for them when I saw them on Top of the Pops.

Slade In Flame is genuinely one of the best British films of the 70s. If you don't know the film it's not like A Hard Day's Night starring Slade, it's a gritty kitchen sink drama about the music industry, with songs.

[JVM30]

The BFI picked up Dea Kulumbegashvili's Venice award winner April and have it pencilled for a 25 April release date. Guess this means a Blu-ray release is highly likely as they gave the similar treatment to All We Imagine As Light.

[trobrianders]

Originally Posted by Sifox211

"It's a long climb up Credibility Mountain when your base camp is Top of the Pops"

I might have sounded a bit of a snob about it. It's not like there was anything else even a slightly bit racy on offer for a boy to get excited about back then

[trobrianders]

Originally Posted by darrellmaclaine

with songs.

... and Brummie accents, ouch!

[MolasarX]

Originally Posted by trobrianders

... and Brummie accents, ouch!

Dude, that's racist.

[OnlyJapantown]

Originally Posted by MolasarX

Dude, that's roycist.

Corrected your pronunciation

[Le Grande Blu]

Slade's legacy, a direct influence on Punk and later on US bands like Nirvana, was immense. Jim Lea and Noddy Holder were one of the most successful writing partnerships this country has produced. Can't wait for this release.

[Harffyn Teuport]

I love Slade, I love this film, and it's in good hands with the folks at BFI. Looking forward to what they do with it.

[trobrianders]

The film sounds like it's good for sure. But given Slade's whole schtick it should be fine to poke gentle fun at them. They seem like guys who can laugh at themselves.

[darrellmaclaine]

Originally Posted by Le Grande Blu

Slade's legacy, a direct influence on Punk and later on US bands like Nirvana, was immense. Jim Lea and Noddy Holder were one of the most successful writing partnerships this country has produced. Can't wait for this release.

They have a much more 'credible' reputation outside of the UK, particularly in Japan where they are seen as a major part of the British rock canon. Because they were a serious rock band who were equally happy to be part of the light entertainment scene, who didn't mind sharing a stage with the bubblegum acts and were just as happy playing for the kids and the mums as the rock dads (no different to all the great 60s groups, Beatles included), they will never convince modern journalists of their credibility. It's the same with Mike Batt, Roy Wood, Status Quo, Neil Innes etc. ELO were in the same bracket too until their rediscovery in the 2000s. Only a few 70s acts survived the 90s music press and their lofty standards, and those labels have stuck.

Weirdly things changed a bit from the early 80s onwards - thanks to TISWAS and The Young Ones - and it flipped so the way to gain credibility was to be present and available and a good sport on kids/LE shows. Looking at Madness or The Damned, similarly anything-for-a-laugh, accessible acts who would be regarded as naff had they done the exact same stuff in the 70s but are cool because they did it a few years later. And in the 90s, whole pop careers were launched or sunk depending on how much chemistry they had with Trevor and Simon!

[trobrianders]

Originally Posted by darrellmaclaine

They have a much more 'credible' reputation outside of the UK, particularly in Japan where they are seen as a major part of the British rock canon. Because they were a serious rock band who were equally happy to be part of the light entertainment scene, who didn't mind sharing a stage with the bubblegum acts and were just as happy playing for the kids and the mums as the rock dads (no different to all the great 60s groups, Beatles included), they will never convince modern journalists of their credibility. It's the same with Mike Batt, Roy Wood, Status Quo, Neil Innes etc. ELO were in the same bracket too until their rediscovery in the 2000s. Only a few 70s acts survived the 90s music press and their lofty standards, and those labels have stuck.

Weirdly things changed a bit from the early 80s onwards - thanks to TISWAS and The Young Ones - and it flipped so the way to gain credibility was to be present and available and a good sport on kids/LE shows. Looking at Madness or The Damned, similarly anything-for-a-laugh, accessible acts who would be regarded as naff had they done the exact same stuff in the 70s but are cool because they did it a few years later. And in the 90s, whole pop careers were launched or sunk depending on how much chemistry they had with Trevor and Simon!

That tallies with my memories growing up in that period. I came at it a little from the outside. I'm a British born migrants' son. I grew up in a slightly parochial Britain which was a little eccentric but entirely non-threatening. All the acts you mentioned were all a part of that environment. Between ages 14-16 Madness were my favourite band so I was in and out of that environment. I remember as an 8 year old entertaining my parents with a silly dance along with Slade on the telly.

[MifuneFan]

Standard Editions for Watership Down now available for pre-order at BFI. Release date is March 17th.

4K
Blu-ray

The Limited Edition is still available, but I wouldn't wait too long to pick it up.

[Harffyn Teuport]

Originally Posted by darrellmaclaine

They have a much more 'credible' reputation outside of the UK, particularly in Japan where they are seen as a major part of the British rock canon. Because they were a serious rock band who were equally happy to be part of the light entertainment scene, who didn't mind sharing a stage with the bubblegum acts and were just as happy playing for the kids and the mums as the rock dads (no different to all the great 60s groups, Beatles included), they will never convince modern journalists of their credibility. It's the same with Mike Batt, Roy Wood, Status Quo, Neil Innes etc. ELO were in the same bracket too until their rediscovery in the 2000s. Only a few 70s acts survived the 90s music press and their lofty standards, and those labels have stuck.

Spot on, Darrell. It's a shame that the likes of Slade and The Sweet are still seen here as disposable harmless pop. One of the few things that make me proud to be British is the fact that a good chunk of people I know outside of the UK absolutely love them (US and Japanese pals in particular). To them, there's no "mindless pop pap" baggage and all they hear are a string of heavy and rocking albums with tons of catchy hooks and attitude - it's all worth wearing your stylus out for.

Slade In Flame is a great document of early 70's British grime and filth, plenty of great location footage and Alan Lake. It's up there with the likes of Permissive and even Confessions Of A Pop Performer. You can practically smell the mixture of room temperature Party Seven, undeodorised armpits and overflowing ashtrays.

[Member-422926]

The seventh seal, Wild strawberries and Fanny och Alexander got a standard release, is it posible we can also get Persona in the future?

[Cremildo]

As far as Bergman goes, I'd kill for standalone releases of The Passion of Anna and Hour of the Wolf, which remain available only on boxsets in the UK and the US.

[GaryCouzens]

Originally Posted by Cremildo

As far as Bergman goes, I'd kill for standalone releases of The Passion of Anna and Hour of the Wolf, which remain available only on boxsets in the UK and the US.

The Passion of Anna is as far as I know, the only Bergman still cut by the BBFC, on animal cruelty grounds:

[Show spoiler]a shot of a dog hanging by the neck from its lead, spinning round. It looks like a model dog to me.

. It would have to be resubmitted and the BBFC would require proof that the cruelty is faked (it looks like it to me) so there's a possibility it would remain cut.

These two films have different rightsholders to the ones that the BFI released in their four box sets. Shame is another one, and I believe The Serpent's Egg is also one. The (US) DVD box set I have has these four, plus Persona, which was released by the BFI. So if rights need to be sorted out, I would certainly be up for these being released.

[Doomhunter]

Yeah, Slade were great and had it’s resident singing / songwriting genius in Noddy Holder one of the all-time great voices in rock. An interesting thing about the film is that is has the alt version of their song This Girl, different backing / lyrics in the film version (when Noddy sings while in the coffin). Them Monkeys Can’t Swing is another great track from the film.