Powell and Pressburger on blu-ray

[drush9999]

Originally Posted by Rachael1919

Does anyone know why so few of their films are available? I'm particularly shocked by the unavailability of A Canterbury Tale, I Know Where I'm Going, The Small Back Room and Gone to Earth, as imo they're all right up there with their best work. Hopefully at least IKWIG will get a blu release soon, since it's recently had a beautiful and high-profile restoration.

Definitely frustrating, just the main big guns on BD, also see ITV owned David Lean movies. Only hope is Criterion who have ITV connections now.

[fatboyslim142]

Originally Posted by Rachael1919

So I'm a huge Powell and Pressburger fan, and have recently been enjoying a retrospective on their work at the BFI. I own a large DVD set with many of their films, but have realised that many of their films never seem to have received a UK blu-ray release. It's shocking to me, as they're among our greatest and most acclaimed and beloved filmmakers. The season has been a great success, so it's disappointing that they're aren't any plans to do a proper boxset that really does them justice.

To the best of my knowledge, the only films of theirs to have received a UK blu-ray release are the ones in bold below.

Does anyone know why so few of their films are available? I'm particularly shocked by the unavailability of A Canterbury Tale, I Know Where I'm Going, The Small Back Room and Gone to Earth, as imo they're all right up there with their best work. Hopefully at least IKWIG will get a blu release soon, since it's recently had a beautiful and high-profile restoration.

• The Spy in Black (1939)
• Contraband (1940)
• 49th Parallel (1941)
• One of Our Aircraft Is Missing (1942)
• The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943)
• A Canterbury Tale (1944)
• I Know Where I'm Going! (1945)
• A Matter of Life and Death (1946)
• Black Narcissus (1947)
• The Red Shoes (1948)
• The Small Back Room (1949)
• The Elusive Pimpernel (1950)
• Gone to Earth (1950)
• The Tales of Hoffmann (1951)
• Oh... Rosalinda!! (1955) (Network blu-ray now OOP)
• The Battle of the River Plate (1956)
• Ill Met by Moonlight (1957)
• They're a Weird Mob (1966)
• The Boy Who Turned Yellow (1972) (extra on the Age of Consent blu-ray)

This list is missing The Volunteer (Short) (1943) which came before the Colonel Blimp film.

[fatboyslim142]

Originally Posted by Rachael1919

So I'm a huge Powell and Pressburger fan, and have recently been enjoying a retrospective on their work at the BFI. I own a large DVD set with many of their films, but have realised that many of their films never seem to have received a UK blu-ray release. It's shocking to me, as they're among our greatest and most acclaimed and beloved filmmakers. The season has been a great success, so it's disappointing that they're aren't any plans to do a proper boxset that really does them justice.

To the best of my knowledge, the only films of theirs to have received a UK blu-ray release are the ones in bold below.

Does anyone know why so few of their films are available? I'm particularly shocked by the unavailability of A Canterbury Tale, I Know Where I'm Going, The Small Back Room and Gone to Earth, as imo they're all right up there with their best work. Hopefully at least IKWIG will get a blu release soon, since it's recently had a beautiful and high-profile restoration.

• The Spy in Black (1939)
• Contraband (1940)
• 49th Parallel (1941)
• One of Our Aircraft Is Missing (1942)
• The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943)
• A Canterbury Tale (1944)
• I Know Where I'm Going! (1945)
• A Matter of Life and Death (1946)
• Black Narcissus (1947)
• The Red Shoes (1948)
• The Small Back Room (1949)
• The Elusive Pimpernel (1950)
• Gone to Earth (1950)
• The Tales of Hoffmann (1951)
• Oh... Rosalinda!! (1955) (Network blu-ray now OOP)
• The Battle of the River Plate (1956)
• Ill Met by Moonlight (1957)
• They're a Weird Mob (1966)
• The Boy Who Turned Yellow (1972) (extra on the Age of Consent blu-ray)

Non-UK BD releases:

The Spy in Black (Elephant Films, France - Region Free) - Not that the disc is ONLY 1080i50.

49th Parallel (Carlotta, France - Region B)

I Know Where I'm Going! (Elephant Films, France - Region Free)

Gone to Earth (Kino Lorber - Region A) - Contains both the original & US Roadshow versions.

The Battle of the River Plate (KSM, Germany - Region B) - CUT by 2 mins & missing the following:

1. at 25:34 missing a portion of the 'Christmas' scene (1:10)
2. at 111:34 missing some shots of sailors cheering between 2 ships (0:14)
3. at 112:00 missing some shots of sailors cheering and talking on a ship (0:16)
4. at 115:30 missing shot of radio announcer character 'Mike Fowler' talking while sitting at a bar (0:16)
5. at 115:50 missing shot of radio announcer character 'Mike Fowler' talking while sitting at a bar (0:13)
(Runtimes taken from Spanish bootleg, most likely using the German KSM transfer).

[CelestialAgent]

Picturehouse are belatedly doing a Powell and Pressburger season beginning next month. Don’t know why they couldn’t do it last year at the same time as independent cinemas.

[rapta]

Originally Posted by latehong

The Small Back Room 4K(!) and Oh... Rosalinda!! from Studio Canal this year!



The Small Back Room is a noirish psychological thriller about an alcoholic bomb disposal expert. It's one of the lesser-known masterpieces Powell and Pressburger made. I love the film (thanks to the Criterion DVD) but never imagined seeing a 4K release, let alone a Blu-ray!

(* Which doesn't mean SC will upgrade The Tales of Hoffman to UHD this year. That film was released on Blu-ray under the Studio Canal Vintage Classics label in 2015, using the then-new 4K restoration by The Film Foundation and the BFI National Archive.)

Excellent news! Glad to see StudioCanal stepping up and getting The Small Back Room out on HD finally (I already have Network's Oh Rosalinda, so doubt I'll have to double-dip).

Originally Posted by drush9999

Definitely frustrating, just the main big guns on BD, also see ITV owned David Lean movies. Only hope is Criterion who have ITV connections now.

Seeing as even BFI can't get them to budge, it does seem like Criterion are the only hope since ITV don't seem that fussed about releasing the P&P titles themselves (other than A Matter of Life and Death).

[Nitroes]

Off ebay:

[fatboyslim142]

Does anyone know if The Volunteer (Short) (1943) has had any BD release at all?

[ukpaul]

Originally Posted by fatboyslim142

Does anyone know if The Volunteer (Short) (1943) has had any BD release at all?

It's an extra on the BFI release of 'One of Our Aircraft is Missing'.

[CelestialAgent]

Originally Posted by CelestialAgent

Picturehouse are belatedly doing a Powell and Pressburger season beginning next month. Don’t know why they couldn’t do it last year at the same time as independent cinemas.

Films in the Picturehouse season: A Matter of Life and Death, Black Narcissus, The Red Shoes, I Know Where I’m Going, A Canterbury Tale. So focusing on the most well known ones.

[Sifox211]

Wow - a chance to see A Canterbury Tale in the cinema

Tragically, we no longer have a PictureHouse in Aberdeen

[CelestialAgent]

The Scorsese narrated documentary Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger is premiering at the Berlinale next month. Wonder if the BFI or Janus Contemporaries might pick this up?

https://deadline.com/2024/01/berlin-...rt-1235791678/

[fatboyslim142]

Originally Posted by CelestialAgent

The Scorsese narrated documentary Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger is premiering at the Berlinale next month. Wonder if the BFI or Janus Contemporaries might pick this up?

https://deadline.com/2024/01/berlin-...rt-1235791678/

Try asking in the BFI Facebook group.

[chas speed]

I noticed TCM in the U.S. is showing "I Know Where I'm Going" soon. I don't suppose this could be the remastered version of that film?

[latehong]

Originally Posted by chas speed

I noticed TCM in the U.S. is showing "I Know Where I'm Going" soon. I don't suppose this could be the remastered version of that film?

Of course I can't guarantee anything, but why not?

The Film Foundation/BFI restoration of I Know Where I'm Going was shown as early as 2021 at the Cannes Film Festival.

TCM Classic Film Festival also screened it the same year, with Thelma Schoonmaker Powell's introduction.

Thelma Schoonmaker on Powell and Pressburger - YouTube

The Film Foundation also streamed this new 4K restoration on their online restoration screening room in May 2022.

And of course, we know BFI screened it in cinemas last October.

I Know Where I'm Going! 4K restoration trailer - in cinemas from 20 October 2023 | BFI - YouTube

So I guess while it has never been out on disc, the restoration is readily available.

And given Scorsese's recent involvement with TCM, I'd be surprised if he didn't try to show this new 4K restoration. (According to The Extras podcast interview with Eddie Muller of TCM Noir Alley last month, Scorsese, Spielberg, and Paul Thomas Anderson are deeply involved in what’s programmed on the channel now.)

[Rachael1919]

Originally Posted by latehong

The Small Back Room 4K(!) and Oh... Rosalinda!! from Studio Canal this year!



The Small Back Room is a noirish psychological thriller about an alcoholic bomb disposal expert. It's one of the lesser-known masterpieces Powell and Pressburger made. I love the film (thanks to the Criterion DVD) but never imagined seeing a 4K release, let alone a Blu-ray!

(* Which doesn't mean SC will upgrade The Tales of Hoffman to UHD this year. That film was released on Blu-ray under the Studio Canal Vintage Classics label in 2015, using the then-new 4K restoration by The Film Foundation and the BFI National Archive.)

That's fantastic news! The Powell and Pressburger season at the BFI was a massive success so hopefully that has moved the dial in pushing distributors to release more of their films. Fingers crossed for I Know Where I'm Going next, since the restored version is ready to go.

[CelestialAgent]

Worth mentioning some of the US DVDs like The Thief of Bagdad, 49th Parallel, I Know Where I’m Going and A Canterbury Tale have extras but most are barebones and deserve more love.

I might settle for the DVD of Gone to Earth if I can’t get the Kino.

The Criterion BDs of A Matter of Life and Death, The Tales of Hoffmann have different extras to the UK, The Red Shoes only has a US UHD, Black Narcissus has pretty much everything but Colonel Blimp has an additional commentary.

Western Approaches is tangentially related through being shot by Jack Cardiff just prior to his work with the Archers, while the documentary Camerman only has a DVD (BD in the US).

Just watched One of Our Aircraft is Missing, not as good as some of the postwar films, but still a thrilling wartime adventure and I appreciate the commitment to documentary aesthetics and bilingual dialogue. With Occupied City hitting cinemas next month, it’s difficult to think what the Netherlands went through in the years to come after 1942, especially for its Jewish population. I also watched the short on Bluebeard’s Castle, shame that Powell’s version of Earthsea never went anywhere (and was also thinking of his marriage to Thelma Schoonmaker a few years after.)

[Rayjg]

Powell doing Le Guin? That would've been amazing.

[dr727]

Originally Posted by CouncilSpectre

The German release of THE BATTLE OF THE RIVER PLATE is dirt cheap at the moment:



https://www.amazon.de/The-Battle-of-...&th=1&psc=1&m=

Even with a hefty shipping fee it's still less than £8 delivered. It's a lovely transfer, and English-friendly too.

Belated thanks for this—one of the only that I’ve never picked up. A third-party seller had 1 new left at €3 (10 USD w/ intl shipping)! I understand it’s not perfect but it works out with that price point.

Thanks also to everyone sharing intel in this thread! I’ve picked up most every P and/or P Blu as they’ve come out but missed some of the DVDs (wasn’t active in that era).

[CelestialAgent]

Per FDA, the documentary will be released theatrically by Altitude on 10th May. So like the Noel Coward documentary, maybe it will appear on iPlayer but pretty much no chance of a disc.

[chas speed]

Originally Posted by latehong

Of course I can't guarantee anything, but why not?

The Film Foundation/BFI restoration of I Know Where I'm Going was shown as early as 2021 at the Cannes Film Festival.

TCM Classic Film Festival also screened it the same year, with Thelma Schoonmaker Powell's introduction.

Thelma Schoonmaker on Powell and Pressburger - YouTube

The Film Foundation also streamed this new 4K restoration on their online restoration screening room in May 2022.

And of course, we know BFI screened it in cinemas last October.

I Know Where I'm Going! 4K restoration trailer - in cinemas from 20 October 2023 | BFI - YouTube

So I guess while it has never been out on disc, the restoration is readily available.

And given Scorsese's recent involvement with TCM, I'd be surprised if he didn't try to show this new 4K restoration. (According to The Extras podcast interview with Eddie Muller of TCM Noir Alley last month, Scorsese, Spielberg, and Paul Thomas Anderson are deeply involved in what’s programmed on the channel now.)

It was the remastered version and thank goodness because who knows when they will release the new version on Blu-ray?