British Film Institute (BFI) Discussion Thread

[CelestialAgent]

Ben on Bluebeard’s Castle on the Facebook group

The first pressing with booklet of this (2,000 copies) is selling quite well. If you want it, I would buy it this month. In stock with all retailers to my knowledge...

[T4ffer]

My August pre-order still hasn't shipped... I thought either Bluebeard's Castle or Ghost Stories for Christmas Vol 2 was delayed until some time in December?

Just checked, all 4 releases in my BFI shop direct pre-order are in stock in Amazon UK: Short Sharp Shocks Vol 3, Christmas Vol 2, Bluebeards Castle, 3 by Ozu. Getting really anxious that mine still hasn't shipped, with all the kerfuffle with shipping delays some time ago is the BFI liable to just forget orders?

[edit] I'm not too worried yet, will write BFI if it hasn't shipped mid next week or so. Given the popularity it could be that even pre-orders ship later than expected...?

[FantasticMrFox]

My post isn’t related to BFI and discs, but since they do Ozu I post it here. On the Criterion Channel is a whopping 35 film collection of Ozu since today. Plus three documentaries and one conversation included. I’m super excited for this!

These movies are included:

[Show spoiler]
I Graduated, But . . . (1929)
A Straightforward Boy (1929)
I Flunked, But . . . (1930)
That Night’s Wife (1930)
Walk Cheerfully (1930)
The Lady and the Beard (1931)
Tokyo Chorus (1931)
I Was Born, But . . . (1932)
Where Now Are the Dreams of Youth? (1932)
Dragnet Girl (1933)
Passing Fancy (1933)
Woman of Tokyo (1933)
A Mother Should Be Loved (1934)
A Story of Floating Weeds (1934)
An Inn in Tokyo (1935)
The Only Son (1936)
What Did the Lady Forget? (1937)
Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family (1941)
There Was a Father (1942)
Record of a Tenement Gentleman (1947)
A Hen in the Wind (1948)
Late Spring (1949)
The Munekata Sisters (1950)
Early Summer (1951)
The Flavor of Green Tea over Rice (1952)
Tokyo Story (1953)
Early Spring (1956)
Tokyo Twilight (1957)
Equinox Flower (1958)
Floating Weeds (1959)
Good Morning (1959)
Late Autumn (1960)
The End of Summer (1961)
An Autumn Afternoon (1962)

[CelestialAgent]

My pickups from the HMV offer.



Western Approaches will be a treat after watching The Red Shoes in the cinema the other week.

Will need to pick up the other Bresson titles sometime - extras are different to the Criterions.

Some actors in the porn industry have been dismissive of Kamikaze Hearts, so will be interesting to see where the truth lies (probably both perspectives are right.)

Happy so many Arbelos titles have been ported to the UK.

Enys Men is mostly for CFF and the commentary/Q&As as I saw it in the cinema in January.

Unsure whether to shelve I Am Weekender as 1992 or 2023, it’s the first 2023 film I’ve picked up on disc.

Call it sacrilegious, but I just picked them up in store and didn’t bother with double stacking codes.

[T4ffer]

Maybe useful for someone else, I got an automated reply from BFI containing some useful information about the delays that are also probably affecting my pre-order:

Originally Posted by BFI Shop

Thank you for your email. Our team has been experiencing a high volume of emails lately, and we are doing our best to respond to all enquiries as quickly as possible.

You may also find answers to some of your questions below:

Black Friday:
We are a very small team at the BFI Shop and have experienced a high volume of orders and are processing them as swiftly as we are able to.

This has also caused a backlog of processing dispatch notifications. It is possible that your items are already on their way to you but you haven’t received notification from our system, and we are working through these notifications as a matter of priority.

If you have not received a dispatch notification from us by the end of next week (10th Dec) please contact us again.

Ghost Stories Volume 2:

We are currently working our way through a backlog of pre-orders and daily orders. Your order will be sent out as quickly as possible. A shipping notification will be sent out as soon as your order has been collected.

23 Seconds to Eternity:

We received an unprecedented amount of orders for this title and are busy packing these up for our customers. We apologise for the delay and will send out shipping notifications as soon as your order has been processed.

BFI Offer Update: November 2023

Due to some warehouse issues affecting our distribution partner, the BFI Shop recently experienced severe delays in receiving stock of many back catalogue DVDs and Blu-ray titles, including BFI releases. These delays have also affected a number of other UK labels and retailers.

This caused a delay in the fulfilment of some orders, including some from our recent 3 for £20 and Ozu special offers. However we have worked with our supplier to resolve these issues and the vast majority of affected orders have now been shipped.

We are very sorry for any disappointment and inconvenience caused by this disruption. Please note that complete orders will be shipped only once all the products in the order are in stock.

Thank you for your understanding,

BFI Shop Team

[Member-422926]

Originally Posted by CelestialAgent

Ben on Bluebeard’s Castle on the Facebook group

Great. I hope this will encourage the BFI to do something about Parsifal.

[trobrianders]

The BFI shop lists no booklet in its extras for Bait, first pressing or otherwise. Is that right, there's no booklet?

[rapta]

Originally Posted by trobrianders

The BFI shop lists no booklet in its extras for Bait, first pressing or otherwise. Is that right, there's no booklet?

As has been mentioned a number of times, the booklet for Bait sold out surprisingly quickly. So quickly, in fact, that many people who preordered it didn’t get one.

[trobrianders]

Originally Posted by rapta

As has been mentioned a number of times, the booklet for Bait sold out surprisingly quickly. So quickly, in fact, that many people who preordered it didn’t get one.

Let's hope Martin Ward got his booklet or there'll be Cornish hell to pay.

[grahams76]

Originally Posted by CelestialAgent

I'd recommend turning your TV's picture setting down to 'cool' for this. It is an extremely yellow transfer - actually a very underlying good transfer that's had a revisionist yellow slathered all over it. After quickly adjusting my TV setting five-10 minutes in it looked great.

[jackranderson]

Originally Posted by grahams76

I'd recommend turning your TV's picture setting down to 'cool' for this. It is an extremely yellow transfer - actually a very underlying good transfer that's had a revisionist yellow slathered all over it. After quickly adjusting my TV setting five-10 minutes in it looked great.

Would a simple switch from cinema mode to standard do the trick?

[floor pie]

Originally Posted by FantasticMrFox

My post isn’t related to BFI and discs, but since they do Ozu I post it here. On the Criterion Channel is a whopping 35 film collection of Ozu since today. Plus three documentaries and one conversation included. I’m super excited for this!

These movies are included:

[Show spoiler]
I Graduated, But . . . (1929)
A Straightforward Boy (1929)
I Flunked, But . . . (1930)
That Night’s Wife (1930)
Walk Cheerfully (1930)
The Lady and the Beard (1931)
Tokyo Chorus (1931)
I Was Born, But . . . (1932)
Where Now Are the Dreams of Youth? (1932)
Dragnet Girl (1933)
Passing Fancy (1933)
Woman of Tokyo (1933)
A Mother Should Be Loved (1934)
A Story of Floating Weeds (1934)
An Inn in Tokyo (1935)
The Only Son (1936)
What Did the Lady Forget? (1937)
Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family (1941)
There Was a Father (1942)
Record of a Tenement Gentleman (1947)
A Hen in the Wind (1948)
Late Spring (1949)
The Munekata Sisters (1950)
Early Summer (1951)
The Flavor of Green Tea over Rice (1952)
Tokyo Story (1953)
Early Spring (1956)
Tokyo Twilight (1957)
Equinox Flower (1958)
Floating Weeds (1959)
Good Morning (1959)
Late Autumn (1960)
The End of Summer (1961)
An Autumn Afternoon (1962)

All but one of the films were actually available there before December. Criterion Channel has a great selection of classic Japanese cinema, they just rarely seem to bother promoting them with collections like this.

[grahams76]

Originally Posted by jackranderson

Would a simple switch from cinema mode to standard do the trick?

Perhaps. I don't know as it depends on your TV. I have a Sony OLED and switching from Expert 1 down to the Cool or whatever the 'coldest' option was 'fixed' it.

[TheHistorian]

Originally Posted by floor pie

All but one of the films were actually available there before December. Criterion Channel has a great selection of classic Japanese cinema, they just rarely seem to bother promoting them with collections like this.

That one is important though. The Munekata Sisters is one of two that aren't available on US/UK discs. As you said, An Inn in Tokyo, the other one, was already available.

[OceanBlue]

Thinking of getting the BFI's Blu-ray release of The Spoilers, after seeing a clip from it on a TV programme during the past week (can't remember the channel it was on either). I know there is also a US Blu-ray release by Kino and I have checked the DVD Compare comparison page.

[Dogwood]

Originally Posted by OceanBlue

Thinking of getting the BFI's Blu-ray release of The Spoilers, after seeing a clip from it on a TV programme during the past week (can't remember the channel it was on either). I know there is also a US Blu-ray release by Kino and I have checked the DVD Compare comparison page.

I'd say it's a decent 6/7 out of 10, the Alaska setting makes for a nice change of pace, but there's some pretty obnoxious blackface stuff in it, specifically an absolutely toe-curling comedy bit with John Wayne that (no pun intended) kind of spoiled the movie for me. Your mileage may vary; I'm not particularly sensitive to outdated attitudes in older media, but I personally found this one a bit grim.

[trobrianders]

Originally Posted by OceanBlue

Thinking of getting the BFI's Blu-ray release of The Spoilers, after seeing a clip from it on a TV programme during the past week (can't remember the channel it was on either). I know there is also a US Blu-ray release by Kino and I have checked the DVD Compare comparison page.

The 4 film BFI Dietrich set it's from is on sale at ridiculously low prices these days. Currently £12.73 on amz. If you're a fan of Dietrich it's worth considering. I have the set. It's nicely packaged and all four films are good 'uns.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08M8GWS...&condition=new

[MillyD]

L'Argent was a more depressing film than was anticipating. Really runs with the idea that money is the route of all evil.
Wondering how grim "The trial of Joan of Arc" is going to be now...

[alexrinse]

[Show spoiler]Don't worry, she gets acquitted... great lawyer

[trobrianders]

Originally Posted by MillyD

Wondering how grim "The trial of Joan of Arc" is going to be now...

I bet they'll invent some grusome death at the end. Never true to life, these films.