British Film Institute (BFI) Discussion Thread

[Funktion]

Originally Posted by rapta

Final nail in the coffin for Amazon - not only did my copy of the Brothers Quay set only just arrive, it's been bashed to hell in the post. Guess I'm going to have to order it from HMV instead! Insufficient packaging, £20 minimum, late deliveries...why did I even keep my pre-order?

I received my copy today from Amazon, and like yours, it was completely crushed.

Whoever thought using the packaging they used was appropriate to ship this release is out of their mind. It barely fit inside it (in fact, I think they only managed to close the packaging by crushing the item inside it).

Very poor job from Amazon.

[rapta]

Originally Posted by Funktion

I received my copy today from Amazon, and like yours, it was completely crushed.

Whoever thought using the packaging they used was appropriate to ship this release is out of their mind. It barely fit inside it (in fact, I think they only managed to close the packaging by crushing the item inside it).

Very poor job from Amazon.

Yeah! I reckon they now ship things based on how cheap they are (under £15 or something), and it's a shame they've begun to cut corners like this. Maybe they treat non-Prime customers differently as well?

My copy from HMV arrived in mint condition, and the day after ordering it, so I'll be going with them for pre-orders from now on (especially if it has a slipcover/slipbox like this one, but also because they're generally the cheapest). I literally cancelled 3 more Amazon pre-orders yesterday, and don't think I'll be keeping my others unless they happen to be a bit cheaper on release (I doubt it). I was using Amazon all the time for pre-orders and they've really dropped the ball this year, both in pricing and P&P, so I rarely go with them now.

As for the set, it looks great and I'll have to dip into it sometime. Hours of stuff to get through!

[IronFingaz]

Originally Posted by rapta

Yeah! I reckon they now ship things based on how cheap they are (under £15 or something), and it's a shame they've begun to cut corners like this. Maybe they treat non-Prime customers differently as well?

My copy from HMV arrived in mint condition, and the day after ordering it, so I'll be going with them for pre-orders from now on (especially if it has a slipcover/slipbox like this one, but also because they're generally the cheapest). I literally cancelled 3 more Amazon pre-orders yesterday, and don't think I'll be keeping my others unless they happen to be a bit cheaper on release (I doubt it). I was using Amazon all the time for pre-orders and they've really dropped the ball this year, both in pricing and P&P, so I rarely go with them now.

As for the set, it looks great and I'll have to dip into it sometime. Hours of stuff to get through!

I don't know. They shipped a £185 (with PP and VAT), 21 lbs Star Wars book to me like it was a cheap paperback

[AlexIlDottore]

The restored The Wages of Fear (along with The Mystery of Picasso) will be screened at Cannes next year, and the Clouzot retrospective at the Cinémathèque will begin in November.

I hope we don't have to wait too long after May for a restored BD of Wages, and I'm looking forward to restored versions of Les Diaboliques, Le Corbeau and Quai des Orfèvres.

[rapta]

Originally Posted by AlexIlDottore

The restored The Wages of Fear (along with The Mystery of Picasso) will be screened at Cannes next year, and the Clouzot retrospective at the Cinémathèque will begin in November.

I hope we don't have to wait too long after May for a restored BD of Wages, and I'm looking forward to restored versions of Les Diaboliques, Le Corbeau and Quai des Orfèvres.

Dunno if you read the thread about The Wages of Fear - where I posted earlier today - but according to a source on the Criterion Forum, we might be getting the BFI release as early as January. Doesn't really add up with these screenings though if they're only just ready for May (unless that film in particular is ready and the BFI release just happens to come out before Cannes 2017).

Oh, and there will be an Adrian Martin commentary.

[AlexIlDottore]

Originally Posted by rapta

Dunno if you read the thread about The Wages of Fear - where I posted earlier today - but according to a source on the Criterion Forum, we might be getting the BFI release as early as January. Doesn't really add up with these screenings though if they're only just ready for May (unless that film in particular is ready and the BFI release just happens to come out before Cannes 2017).

Oh, and there will be an Adrian Martin commentary.

I wasn't aware of that thread. I'm going to subscribe to it now. Thanks

Hmm. I just saw your post. I hope that the BFI release is from the new restoration, otherwise it would be a little pointless.

I need to know beforehand, in case if I need to cancel my order.

[Funktion]

Originally Posted by rapta

Yeah! I reckon they now ship things based on how cheap they are (under £15 or something), and it's a shame they've begun to cut corners like this. Maybe they treat non-Prime customers differently as well?

My copy from HMV arrived in mint condition, and the day after ordering it, so I'll be going with them for pre-orders from now on (especially if it has a slipcover/slipbox like this one, but also because they're generally the cheapest). I literally cancelled 3 more Amazon pre-orders yesterday, and don't think I'll be keeping my others unless they happen to be a bit cheaper on release (I doubt it). I was using Amazon all the time for pre-orders and they've really dropped the ball this year, both in pricing and P&P, so I rarely go with them now.

As for the set, it looks great and I'll have to dip into it sometime. Hours of stuff to get through!

Originally Posted by IronFingaz

I don't know. They shipped a £185 (with PP and VAT), 21 lbs Star Wars book to me like it was a cheap paperback

You wanna hear a sadly hilarious thing: I complained to Amazon about the way the item arrived, and they've sent me a replacement using UPS.
I asked if they could please add some sort of protection to the packaging, and was assured they would pack it properly.

Guess what: they shipped it THE EXACT SAME WAY. Once again, it arrived looking like a pancake.
Instead of adding a small amount of bubblewrap, and ship it in a bigger package, which would cost them next to nothing, they spend surely far more to send me a replacement using express mail, for nothing.

If anyone is looking to order Inner Sanctums, I highly recommend you shop elsewhere, since Amazon seems incapable of sending it out, and having it arrive in one piece.

[fdm]

Isn't this the point where somebody who never has any problem with Amazon chimes in? (That would not be me.)

Guess it was a good thing it got limited to Prime customers. And why I hesitated in the first place. (Along with a couple other things I'll probably never bother trying to get, from them anyway: Edvard Munch, the Clarke box set, although the latter I just might wait for a big price drop and just suck it up unless it really gets massacred.)

[MacEachaidh]

Originally Posted by Funktion

If anyone is looking to order Inner Sanctums, I highly recommend you shop elsewhere, since Amazon seems incapable of sending it out, and having it arrive in one piece.

For those of us outside the UK, Amazon isn't an option for the Quay Brothers anyway, since Ammy's seen fit to flag it as for Prime members only. It's been that way for several weeks now. And I've no doubt that the day it's put back on general availability, the price will double or more.

[polsk_aus90]

That's odd - I had it preordered, got it for the cheap price, and it arrived Down Under with no damage. I was, however, burned on the Prime only pricing of the Olive Signature series edition of High Noon

[MacEachaidh]

Yeah, Inner Sanctums was £10.99 as a pre-order at first, then suddenly shot up to something in the high £20s for a wee while (but from a third party, I believe), and then dropped back to £10.99 but as a Prime-only.

Amazon's playing silly-buggers with third party suppliers in general -- I think they may be deliberately tossing some business their way. I had an order in recently, including an Amazon-supplied copy of a title (confirmed by my order notification), but that title suddenly changed in my shipping notification to a higher price and higher shipping fee and coming from a third-party. I raised the issue, and showed the two conflicting notifications, and Amazon said it was "impossible", before it declined to respond further -- the same response pattern it gives when it's sent you an opened, clearly-second-hand copy of something you've bought new.

That sound you can hear is knives being sharpened as a golden goose waits on the side.

[ghornett]

I never noticed that Prime doesn't carry over to other regions. Bummer.

[Funktion]

Originally Posted by MacEachaidh

For those of us outside the UK, Amazon isn't an option for the Quay Brothers anyway, since Ammy's seen fit to flag it as for Prime members only. It's been that way for several weeks now. And I've no doubt that the day it's put back on general availability, the price will double or more.

Weird, I'm located outside the UK, and when I pre-ordered the item it was available to non-Prime members, such as myself (and at least until very recently it was available as well).

I noticed they've been making several BFI releases listed as available for Prime members only (the Dissent & Disruption boxset was also listed as Prime members only for several days).

It's such a ridiculous practice. Considering I don't think Prime is available to non-UK customers, they effectively are stopping sales on several items for international customers.

[MacEachaidh]

Originally Posted by Funktion

It's such a ridiculous practice. Considering I don't think Prime is available to non-UK customers, they effectively are stopping sales on several items for international customers.

I think I'm technically able to join, it's just I'd be excluded from almost any of the benefits -- so I would essentially be paying solely for access to Prime-flagged releases. Not exactly a bargain!

I did write to customer service (more than once now) and asked if they'd be willing to let non-UK customers buy Prime-flagged releases without being Prime members, and they've never actually given a direct answer. With Inner Sanctums, they merely told me I was "welcome" (their word) to buy from a third-party seller, which at the time had prices on this around £30. I said no; I wonder why?

Anyway, sorry, I didn't mean to derail the thread. But it does, as you mentioned, seem to happen to BFI releases quite a bit, especially during their post-release "honeymoon" low prices.

[NoirFan]

What are the odds against Odds Against Tomorrow tomorrow? My pre-order still hasn't shipped, and the disc is listing as out of stock on Amazon's site.

[tenia]

Originally Posted by NoirFan

What are the odds against Odds Against Tomorrow tomorrow? My pre-order still hasn't shipped, and the disc is listing as out of stock on Amazon's site.

Nice one.

Mine is stuck with Christine, so I'm left with an order containing 2 products that should be in but are instead weirdly out of stock.

I don't know what's happening with Amazon.co.uk, but it has suddenly gotten worse these past weeks regarding getting enough stocks to honor their pre-orders in a timel fashion.

[rapta]

Probably Sony DADC's fault with these Indicator and BFI titles, but in my experience Amazon can be terrible with getting pre-orders out to me if their stock is delayed. I remember when Black Girl was released I had to wait 2 weeks for them to dispatch it (and after several complaints).

[Yami]

The BFI may be releasing Lino Brocka's Manila in the Claws of Light

[Knaldskalle]

Originally Posted by Yami

The BFI may be releasing Lino Brocka's Manila in the Claws of Light

Worth seeing for sure, it has a great ending.

When I saw it (a BFI print screened at the Pacific Film Archives), we were told that all known prints were in a bad shape and since Brocka's movies were suppressed by the Marcos regime there might not be access to good materials (the climate in the Philippines doesn't help). I hope it'll be fantastic, but people should probably mentally prepare for it not being the case.

[mattyl149]

Originally Posted by ghornett

I never noticed that Prime doesn't carry over to other regions. Bummer.

I signed up for a free US trial as I wanted the 3D Blu-ray of House Of Wax cheap. I already pay for the UK version but like others here I'm going to start moving more orders over to HMV. I'm still saving my Pure Points up and have about 570,000. I want to get to at least a million