Radio On (BFI Video | 17th May 2021)

[James78]

Mark Kermode reviews Radio On (1979) | BFI Player - YouTube

Chris Petit's cult classic Radio On is one of the most striking feature debuts in British cinema – a haunting blend of edgy mystery story and existential road movie, crammed with eerie evocations of English landscape and weather.

Stunningly photographed in monochrome by Wim Wenders' assistant cameraman Martin Schäfer, Radio On is driven by a startling new wave soundtrack featuring David Bowie, Kraftwerk, Lene Lovich, Ian Dury, Wreckless Eric, Robert Fripp and Devo, and reveals an early screen performance by Sting.

Following a young London DJ on the road to Bristol to investigate the mysterious death of his brother, Radio On offers a unique, compelling and even mythic vision of a late 1970s England, stalled between failed hopes of cultural and social change and the imminent upheavals of Thatcherism.

Special Features

• Newly restored in 4K by the BFI from the original camera negative
• A Little bit Kitsch, But Ice Cold: Retro-futurism in Focus (2021, 52 mins, audio only): in conversation with BFI Video Publishing's Vic Pratt, Chris Petit, writer and director of Radio On revisits the film, recalls key scenes in detail and reconsiders the film's legacy and continued influence
• Cinematic Windscreen: Jason Wood on Radio On (2021, 54 mins): newly recorded interview with Creative Director of Film & Culture at Manchester's HOME
• Interview with Chris Petit and producer Keith Griffiths (2008, 42 mins)
• radio on (remix), (1998, 24 mins): a stunning digital video essay with radical disruption of the original soundtrack by Wire's Bruce Gilbert
• Coping with Cupid (1991, 18 mins): three blondes from another planet land on Earth in order to conduct research into romantic love in this short film directed by musician and author Viv Albertine
• On the Road (1972 + 1975, 47 mins): a pair of public information films including L For Logic providing a flashback to driving tests in the 70s and The Motorway File, directed by Ferdinand Fairfax (Jeeves and Wooster, Danger UXB) on the dangers of motorway driving
• Original trailer
• Image gallery
• **FIRST PRESSING ONLY** Illustrated booklet featuring a new essay by Jason Wood, Jane Giles and Viv Albertine and archival essays by Geoffrey Nowell-Smith, Ian Penman, Chris Petit, Sukhdev Sandhu, and Rudy Wurlitzer

[HotRats]

At last. One of the titles I most want on blu. The photography is striking and the opening sequence with the German version of Heroes is brilliant. A great soundtrack, too

"We are the children of Fritz Lang and Wernher von Braun."

Here's an old Guardian piece

https://www.theguardian.com/books/20...ardianreview13

[Si Parallel Universe]

I will be retiring my DVD of this unless any of the extras on that are being missed off the Blu.

oh and a 4K Transfer ? Rather!

[James78]

Updated Special Features

• Newly restored by the BFI in 4K from the original camera negative
• Newly recorded video essay in which director Chris Petit revisits key scenes in Radio On
• Newly recorded interview with Jason Wood (2021)
• Interview with Chris Petit and producer Keith Griffiths (2008, 42 mins)
• radio on (remix), (1998, 24 mins): a stunning digital video essay with radical disruption of the original soundtrack by Wire's Bruce Gilbert
• Coping with Cupid (1991, 18 mins): three blondes from another planet land on Earth in order to conduct research into romantic love in this short film directed by musician and author Viv Albertine
• On the Road (1972 + 1975, 47 mins): a pair of public information films including L For Logic providing a flashback to driving tests in the 70s and The Motorway File, directed by Ferdinand Fairfax (Jeeves and Wooster, Danger UXB) on the dangers of motorway driving
• Original trailer
• **FIRST PRESSING ONLY** illustrated booklet featuring a new essay by Jason Wood and archival essays by Geoffrey Nowell-Smith, John Patterson, Ian Penman, Chris Petit, Sukhdev Sandhu, Jason Wood and Rudy Wurlitzer

BFI Shop Offer

Pre-orders will be shipped with a strictly limited edition Radio On tote bag. These are only available while stocks last, so pre-order today to get yours!

https://shop.bfi.org.uk/pre-order-radio-on-blu-ray.html

[James78]

Radio On (1979) clip - on BFI Blu-ray from 17 May 2021 | BFI - YouTube

• Newly restored in 4K by the BFI from the original camera negative
• A Little bit Kitsch, But Ice Cold: Retro-futurism in Focus (2021, 52 mins, audio only): in conversation with BFI Video Publishing's Vic Pratt, Chris Petit, writer and director of Radio On revisits the film, recalls key scenes in detail and reconsiders the film's legacy and continued influence
• Cinematic Windscreen: Jason Wood on Radio On (2021, 54 mins): newly recorded interview with Creative Director of Film & Culture at Manchester's HOME
• Interview with Chris Petit and producer Keith Griffiths (2008, 42 mins)
• radio on (remix), (1998, 24 mins): a stunning digital video essay with radical disruption of the original soundtrack by Wire's Bruce Gilbert
• Coping with Cupid (1991, 18 mins): three blondes from another planet land on Earth in order to conduct research into romantic love in this short film directed by musician and author Viv Albertine
• On the Road (1972 + 1975, 47 mins): a pair of public information films including L For Logic providing a flashback to driving tests in the 70s and The Motorway File, directed by Ferdinand Fairfax (Jeeves and Wooster, Danger UXB) on the dangers of motorway driving
• Original trailer
• Image gallery
• **FIRST PRESSING ONLY** Illustrated booklet featuring a new essay by Jason Wood, Jane Giles and Viv Albertine and archival essays by Geoffrey Nowell-Smith, Ian Penman, Chris Petit, Sukhdev Sandhu, and Rudy Wurlitzer

[Si Parallel Universe]

Day one purchase

[bigshot]

Where can this be ordered from the US? BFI won't ship it here. Don't see it on Zaavi.

[mmarczi]

It seems to let you if you order it with something else.

[LAPrice]

Originally Posted by bigshot

Where can this be ordered from the US? BFI won't ship it here. Don't see it on Zaavi.

Fun City Editions are putting it out in the states, and it’s meant to be the exact same master/extras, if you wanted to save the hassle of importing it from the UK.

[jah13]

Yes, we're going to release RADIO ON theatrically and on Blu-ray later this year. We have North America and our disc will be Region A.

Originally Posted by LAPrice

Fun City Editions are putting it out in the states, and it’s meant to be the exact same master/extras, if you wanted to save the hassle of importing it from the UK.

[Foggy]

Really looking forward to this, every shot I’ve seen looks phenomenal and the whole vibe is perfectly my thing.

[James78]

Radio On is presented in High Definition in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1. The original 35mm black-and-white negative and original 35mm black-and-white fine grain duplicating positive elements were cleaned and scanned at 4K resolution by the BFI National Archive, with grading and remastering taking place at Silver Salt Restoration. The audio was transferred from the original magnetic master tapes and is presented in its original mono.

Technical production: Douglas Weir, Peter Stanley (BFI)
Scanning: David Gurney (BFI)
Grading: Ray King (Silver Salt Restoration)
Picture Restoration: Anthony Badger (Silver Salt Restoration)

[AlexMcL]

Did anyone get this?

[bowie72]

Originally Posted by AlexMcL

Did anyone get this?

Yes - it’s a fantastic release. Film might not be to everyone’s taste however

[LAPrice]

Originally Posted by AlexMcL

Did anyone get this?

I got it too, and its a corker. If you enjoy Wim Wenders or read Iain Sinclair books, this'll be right up your alley.
Extras and print/encode seem to be on point also.

[Steedeel]

Buying this for sure.

[Aunt Peg]

Originally Posted by AlexMcL

Did anyone get this?

Yes. I saw it back in 1980 and very much liked it. Was such an interesting film to revisit. Hopofully more Christoper Petit films find a release in particular Chinese Boxes.

[bigshot]

Amazon sent me ten pounds off, so I ordered this and another disk. To hell with waiting for the US version. It'll probably cost more anyway.

[bigshot]

I received this and screened it tonight. PHENOMINAL disk! The B&W photography is gorgeous. It wasn't the movie I was expecting. The music was more atmospheric than rock video style. In fact, the film put the music into environments and selected bits of the music that evoked a mood, rather than playing the whole song. The film is well made and thought provoking. Very glad I got this. BFI did a fantastic job. Lots of extras I haven't looked at yet. Well worth ordering this, even with expensive shipping to the US.

[Olmo]

I double dipped on this with the Fun City Edition, primarily for the packaging.

But be warned, the dialogue is shockingly out of sync. Unforgivable really