British Film Institute (BFI) Discussion Thread

[Yami]

Originally Posted by greenrose

When you say released on blu ray this year, do you mean in France or the UK?

France, but it'll almost certainly have English subtitles as Gaumont's recent release of Lancelot du Lac does

[greenrose]

Originally Posted by Yami

France, but it'll almost certainly have English subtitles as Gaumont's recent release of Lancelot du Lac does

That's amazing. Thank you. I got the German version of Lancelot du Lac as I didn't realise the French version had English subtitles. But will get the French version.

[CrockettandTubbs]

Short Sharp Shocks vol 2:

It will be interesting to see Lennard Pearce (grandad from Only Fools) in a dramatic role - he's on the 2nd disc in The Face of Darkness.

That Jack the Ripper music video starring Screaming Lord Sutch is a fun 3 minutes.

[billlythekid]

Any word on if there's going to be a fourth volume of play for today? I've enjoyed collecting the sets and watching some classic drama.

[StLouisRibs]

Originally Posted by billlythekid

Any word on if there's going to be a fourth volume of play for today? I've enjoyed collecting the sets and watching some classic drama.

They have indicated the sets are all that are planned for now and that sales don’t at the moment really suggest there’s enough interest to sustain more volumes. Could change but I don’t expect we will be seeing another one at least within a year of the most recent set.

[billlythekid]

Originally Posted by StLouisRibs

They have indicated the sets are all that are planned for now and that sales don’t at the moment really suggest there’s enough interest to sustain more volumes. Could change but I don’t expect we will be seeing another one at least within a year of the most recent set.

That's a shame, will have to make do with the three volumes then 😕

[grahams76]

Originally Posted by StLouisRibs

They have indicated the sets are all that are planned for now and that sales don’t at the moment really suggest there’s enough interest to sustain more volumes. Could change but I don’t expect we will be seeing another one at least within a year of the most recent set.

Yes, I've watched the first two films in the third set and it's so disappointing to think the series may not continue. I do think they are priced slightly on the high side though. And I'm also unsure why there need to be two full-width Amaray cases in there when one case holding the three discs would easily do (and save on shelf space).

[oddbox83]

Originally Posted by grahams76

Yes, I've watched the first two films in the third set and it's so disappointing to think the series may not continue. I do think they are priced slightly on the high side though. And I'm also unsure why there need to be two full-width Amaray cases in there when one case holding the three discs would easily do (and save on shelf space).

BBC content is known to be costly to license, which is why so few labels do BBC-owned material with regularity. Then added into that is the cost of new film transfers. If they could price them cheaper on day one, they would. They want to sell them after all.

That said, I don't think these would be big sellers even if they were cheaper. They're niche stuff in the current market even if culturally very important pieces of work.

[grahams76]

Originally Posted by oddbox83

BBC content is known to be costly to license, which is why so few labels do BBC-owned material with regularity. Then added into that is the cost of new film transfers. If they could price them cheaper on day one, they would. They want to sell them after all.

That said, I don't think these would be big sellers even if they were cheaper. They're niche stuff in the current market even if culturally very important pieces of work.

True. I get/know that and bought all three sets on day one. However, the price is relatively on the high side - justifiably so or not - so I suspect this plays into weaker-than-expected sales. Perhaps. Just speculating.

[oddbox83]

Originally Posted by grahams76

True. I get/know that and bought all three sets on day one. However, the price is relatively on the high side - justifiably so or not - so I suspect this plays into weaker-than-expected sales. Perhaps. Just speculating.

Oh definitely, a cheaper price would gain a few more sales here and there, but even if it were possible I don't think it would be a magical number that would make these sell significantly better.

We've also got lessening returns factor at play here. I'm speculating vol. 1 was obviously popular enough for 2, and ditto 2 for 3. With 3 sales have slowed enough that we aren't yet at the stage a vol. 4 is guaranteed. There probably a few reasons for this - people haven't enjoyed them as much as they thought, people haven't watched them all yet so aren't buying the latest volume yet, etc. It's a pattern seen frequently with volumed releases where sales drop off over time.

[Wendell Armbruster]

I've found Volume 3 to be the best for me so far, with plays I'm happy to return to again; then Volume 1 and less so Volume 2, which apart from one or two is filled with plays I was happy to see once but maybe not repeat viewing.

I've been picking up various DVDs of plays that have been released elsewhere that I missed (like Soft Targets in the US Helen Mirren at the BBC set), so I've still got several to watch, but hope the BFI can manage one more volume next year, there's still so much potential. I also suspect they've been hamstrung by not being able to clear big names - wasn't Dennis Potter's Traitor originally planned for Volume 1? Sure i read that.

[fatboyslim142]

Originally Posted by Wendell Armbruster

I've found Volume 3 to be the best for me so far, with plays I'm happy to return to again; then Volume 1 and less so Volume 2, which apart from one or two is filled with plays I was happy to see once but maybe not repeat viewing.

I've been picking up various DVDs of plays that have been released elsewhere that I missed (like Soft Targets in the US Helen Mirren at the BBC set), so I've still got several to watch, but hope the BFI can manage one more volume next year, there's still so much potential. I also suspect they've been hamstrung by not being able to clear big names - wasn't Dennis Potter's Traitor originally planned for Volume 1? Sure i read that.

Is there a complete list of Play for Today episode releases?

[TheRingshifter]

Originally Posted by fatboyslim142

Is there a complete list of Play for Today episode releases?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Play_f...ay#Productions

[fatboyslim142]

Originally Posted by TheRingshifter

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Play_f...ay#Productions

Thanks but it STILL doesn''t answer my question.

[wabrit]

I thought vol 3 was mostly excellent, only let down by The Mayor's Charity which felt like a lower-league radio 4 afternoon play. If there isn't going to be a v4, it's a shame that a better play couldn't have filled this slot.

[TheRingshifter]

Originally Posted by fatboyslim142

Thanks but it STILL doesn''t answer my question.

Ah, I misunderstood your question. Doing a bit of scouring I do reckon that Wikipedia page has all DVD and Blu-ray releases of the Plays for Today (in the "Home Media" column). It's hard to prove a negative, but I can't see any that came out that aren't included. There are some TV rips / VHS recordings but I'm not sure anything else official.

[grahams76]

Originally Posted by wabrit

I thought vol 3 was mostly excellent, only let down by The Mayor's Charity which felt like a lower-league radio 4 afternoon play. If there isn't going to be a v4, it's a shame that a better play couldn't have filled this slot.

Yes, I watched this last night and thought it was pretty bad. It had so much promise in terms of personnel - directed by Mike Newell and starring Phil Davis and Roy Kinnear seemed too good to be true. But I found it both confusing and incredibly dull.

[BarnDoor]

Well that cheap Targets pre-order at Amazon was nice while it lasted

[grahams76]

Originally Posted by BarnDoor

Well that cheap Targets pre-order at Amazon was nice while it lasted

My pre-order is still hanging in there.

EDIT: Spoke too soon.

[fatboyslim142]

Originally Posted by TheRingshifter

Ah, I misunderstood your question. Doing a bit of scouring I do reckon that Wikipedia page has all DVD and Blu-ray releases of the Plays for Today (in the "Home Media" column). It's hard to prove a negative, but I can't see any that came out that aren't included. There are some TV rips / VHS recordings but I'm not sure anything else official.

That bit of said page lists some but NOT all. Near the bottom of said part of the page it lists some that have DVD releases & says something like "& others" without specifying what the others are.