British Film Institute (BFI) Discussion Thread

[rapta]

Originally Posted by theprestige85

Thinking of getting this Everest blu ray that's come out recently. Sounds interesting.

If you haven't already got The Great White Silence I'd recommend getting the double-pack! Got it today for £17.99 at HMV. Not bad!

(I already had The Great White Silence but wanted the set...sold my copy on).

[theprestige85]

Originally Posted by rapta

If you haven't already got The Great White Silence I'd recommend getting the double-pack! Got it today for £17.99 at HMV. Not bad!

(I already had The Great White Silence but wanted the set...sold my copy on).

I'll have a look at a review. I must admit, these types of films are a bit outside my comfort zone, but i'm looking to support the BFI a bit more and discover interesting work. Thanks for recommendation.

[huntauk]

Originally Posted by theprestige85

I'll have a look at a review. I must admit, these types of films are a bit outside my comfort zone, but i'm looking to support the BFI a bit more and discover interesting work. Thanks for recommendation.

You should certainly check it out, I only saw it for the first time last Thursday. A couple who are good friends of mine decided to set up a "home cinema" night in Autumn, started off being quite generic and I missed most of December but then their true tastes have finally shone through recently with Great White Silence, and a La Jetee and Sans Soleil double bill.

[rapta]

Originally Posted by huntauk

You should certainly check it out, I only saw it for the first time last Thursday. A couple who are good friends of mine decided to set up a "home cinema" night in Autumn, started off being quite generic and I missed most of December but then their true tastes have finally shone through recently with Great White Silence, and a La Jetee and Sans Soleil double bill.

Yeah this kind of stuff is excellent - first-hand exploration of the unknown is pretty incredible to witness. I also recommend MoC's For All Mankind if you want some excellent space footage (though that is more of a modern documentary, but fits well with Eno's score).

La Jetée and Sans Soleil are both excellent...hope somebody over here picks them up for release at some point as I'd love to own them in HD. Noticed there was a recent re-release with decent presentation for once but I still have the old DVD set. Chris Marker is a fascinating artist.

[huntauk]

Originally Posted by rapta

Yeah this kind of stuff is excellent - first-hand exploration of the unknown is pretty incredible to witness. I also recommend MoC's For All Mankind if you want some excellent space footage (though that is more of a modern documentary, but fits well with Eno's score).

La Jetée and Sans Soleil are both excellent...hope somebody over here picks them up for release at some point as I'd love to own them in HD. Noticed there was a recent re-release with decent presentation for once but I still have the old DVD set. Chris Marker is a fascinating artist.

Agreed; and For All Mankind is on my 'to watch' list, so will try to get round the watching soon... if not certainly this year at least!

I'm sure it must be common knowledge but was interesting for me how much 12 Monkey's was inspired by La Jetee!

[theprestige85]

Originally Posted by MichaelB

My (then) six-year-old daughter didn't find The Great White Silence outside her comfort zone in the slightest.

?"

Guess theres hope for me then

These blind buys will hopefully prove to be as good as you lot say. If not, well, hopefully CEX have a good exchange rate going.

[rock, stone]

Originally Posted by MichaelB

What's heartbreaking is the number of films by Švankmajer's compatriots that aren't available in any format!

I'm pretty sure he's the only Czech director to have had all of his work released on a UK video label at some point (off the top of my head, only Faust never got beyond VHS, but it's easy enough to import the subtitled Czech DVD) - even Miloš Forman never managed that, and some unarguable Czech giants, like Švankmajer's great predecessor Jiří Trnka, have barely had a decent English-friendly video release at all.

(Three UK labels were sniffing around Trnka with a view to doing something for 2012, his centenary year, but the state of the existing SD masters made this a complete non-starter.)

I feel comfortable saying that both unfortunate situations are heartbreaking for fans of the genre.

[rapta]

Originally Posted by huntauk

Agreed; and For All Mankind is on my 'to watch' list, so will try to get round the watching soon... if not certainly this year at least!

I'm sure it must be common knowledge but was interesting for me how much 12 Monkey's was inspired by La Jetee!

Yeah there wouldn't have been a 12 Monkeys without La Jetée first! I still feel Gilliam is an underrated genius...maybe he hasn't made a really good film in a while but he's put more effort into each of his films than some directors put into their whole filmography! I also noticed in the recent blockbuster Oblivion a lot of quite obvious references to La Jetée...shame it just felt cobbled together from influential films of the genre.

[samdvd1]

Finally got round to watching All the Right Noises today. Love the extra interview with Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting and it's such a shame the idea behind the "Now and Then" interviews never came through (Baden interviewed over 300 celebs about where they see themselves in the years to come with a view to interviewing them again several years later). Surprised how a 15-year old Hussey is just sat there smoking away though. Different times though I guess!

[samdvd1]

Originally Posted by MichaelB

A great many of the people that Bernard Braden interviewed weren't celebrities - he wanted to capture an entire cross-section of the British public. For instance, one of the earlier Flipside BDs features interviews with a stripper and a nightclub manager.

Okay. Sounds great, and I'm glad that they are all with the BFI.

I'm going to watch on of the Adelphi Collection releases today.

[DukeOfPrunes]

Originally Posted by rock, stone

I feel comfortable saying that both unfortunate situations are heartbreaking for fans of the genre.

Yeah... Luckily there are other Czech films on Blu out there. Just viewed the Karel Zeman collection, well worth the import! PQ is not that great but overall surprisingly good for such a "rare" package. I hope the Blu-Ray sells well so that the Karla Zemana museum can offer other stuff from the director!

[Buffalo66]

Originally Posted by MichaelB

My (then) six-year-old daughter didn't find The Great White Silence outside her comfort zone in the slightest.

In fact, when we caught a matinee of Hugo a few weeks later, she nudged me when she saw a hand-cranked camera being operated on screen and asked "Is that Captain Scott's camera?"

That's so sweet.

[samdvd1]

Any recommendations for films with similarities to Man of Violence?

[Arkadin]

wow, I just noticed the bd that has a banner proclaiming "Strictly Limited".
now that sounds pretty limited. Anybody seen the film "Riddles of the Sphinx" and can comment on whether it would be a good blind buy?
I know nothing about it, but certainly hate the idea of missing out on something cool because of a "strictly limited" situation.

[mondomedia]

Originally Posted by Arkadin

wow, I just noticed the bd that has a banner proclaiming "Strictly Limited".
now that sounds pretty limited.

what bd are you talking about?

[ravenus]

Originally Posted by mondomedia

what bd are you talking about?

He means this:

[samdvd1]

Sounds like it may only be strictly limited as a dual format release before a standard blu-ray release?

[ravenus]

I suspect it's more likely to mean that it will not be re-issued if it goes OOS.

[Funktion]

Originally Posted by samdvd1

Sounds like it may only be strictly limited as a dual format release before a standard blu-ray release?

It's the other way around.

I read somewhere (I believe it was on facebook) a BFI representative saying this title will get a single pressing, and after that it will be available as a DVD-only release.
They weren't expecting it to be a big seller, hence this approach.

[samdvd1]

Originally Posted by Funktion

It's the other way around.

I read somewhere (I believe it was on facebook) a BFI representative saying this title will get a single pressing, and after that it will be available as a DVD-only release.
They weren't expecting it to be a big seller, hence this approach.

Crap. I'll order my copy today then.