British Film Institute (BFI) Discussion Thread

[mattyl149]

If anybody is interested I've updated my BFI page on Wikipedia which lists all the releases. I want to do it in a table format and include release dates, directors and other information, but it will take a little bit longer. I do have a template at the top which I will fill in when I get the chance. I have had this page a while, but only got round to updating it today

I may have missed some titles so please feel free to let me know

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...itute_Releases

[Ctzalman]

does anybody know how to see the difference between the original an autumn afternoon and the replacement disc? i ordered it from amazon.uk, was wondering if there was a way to spot the replacement w/o actually looking at the disc size. it won't load in my mac, and i don't think there is a way to look at the feature size on my ps3 or blu-ray player.

[Judex]

If im right press select on the PS3 remote/controller whilst the film is playing, it'll bring the info up if it plays at 13.79 Mbps it's the incorrect disc if it plays at 24.14 Mbps it's correct.

You can't tell any difference in the P/Q.

[nitin]

not quite true, compression is slightly better. It's only slight but its noticeable.

[Ctzalman]

Originally Posted by Drakath

If im right press select on the PS3 remote/controller whilst the film is playing, it'll bring the info up if it plays at 13.79 Mbps it's the incorrect disc if it plays at 24.14 Mbps it's correct.

You can't tell any difference in the P/Q.

hmm. i have a region A ps3. I can see the disc on the ps3 menu, but i can't play it. all i get is the region error screen.

[pro-bassoonist]

First post updated with reviews/covers/links....

Pro-B

[James78]

The first four DVD volumes of BBC Ghost Stories are now available to pre-order. The fifth and final disc will be released in October, as will a complete box-set. I know what I'm asking for this Christmas!

http://www.find-dvd.co.uk/search.asp...st+stories+vol

[rkish]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

First post updated with reviews/covers/links....

Pro-B

Thanks for all your hard work on this Dr. Svet! I'm a network specialist and know how difficult a time you and your crew are going through in dealing with this catastrophe.

[MacEachaidh]

Originally Posted by jmo78

The first four volumes of BBC Ghost Stories are now available to pre-order. The fifth and final disc will be released in October, as will a complete box-set. I know what I'm asking for this Christmas!

http://www.find-dvd.co.uk/search.asp...st+stories+vol

Ahh, fabbo!!! Thanks for the heads-up on these, jmo!

[James78]

Originally Posted by MacEachaidh

Ahh, fabbo!!! Thanks for the heads-up on these, jmo!

Don't you already have a DVD release of these in Australia, MacEachaidh? They're not Blu-rays, unfortunately. I think that the BFI will release the Blu-rays next year to make more money.

[MacEachaidh]

Originally Posted by jmo78

Don't you already have a DVD release of these in Australia, MacEachaidh?

Possibly. I've never gone looking for them before -- I love M.R.James' stories, and I've seen a few of these productions replayed on TV, but didn't realise they had had DVD transfers made until you posted this here.

(Huh. Now that I look, yes we do. How about that. In a 5-disc boxed set, for $70. Never seen it on the shelves, but it's available on-line. Seems to include volumes 1-3 of these new UK releases, not volume 4, but also some other titles — View From a Hill, Number 13 and Christopher Lee's Ghost Stories for Christmas — maybe they're in the yet-to-come volume 5?)

(Edited to add: I've just realised the stories in Vol 4 aren't by M.R. James, so it's not surprising they don't appear in a collection titled The Complete Ghost Stories of M.R. James !! )

They're not Blu-rays, unfortunately. I think that the BFI will release the Blu-rays next year to make more money.

Do they have originals in good enough nick and resolution to do HD transfers of them? I had an idea a lot of them were shot on early video?

[James78]

Originally Posted by MacEachaidh

Do they have originals in good enough nick and resolution to do HD transfers of them? I had an idea a lot of them were shot on early video?

The BBC Television Archive has kept almost everything since the 1950's, so the negatives are almost definitely available. The films were shot on 16mm, so I see no reason why they shouldn't be released in HD.

[rock, stone]

Originally Posted by jmo78

The BBC Television Archive has kept almost everything since the 1950's, so the negatives are almost definitely available. The films were shot on 16mm, so I see no reason why they shouldn't be released in HD.

What? The BBC had a policy to actively destroy old programs until 1978 because they couldn't fathom that there would be a way to make money off them after their initial repeat. Outside of things deemed culturally important enough to warrant shelf space, British television's historical record (such as it is) exists primarily because of private collectors and copies of programs licensed to other territories that were never returned for destruction.

[James78]

Originally Posted by rock, stone

What? The BBC had a policy to actively destroy old programs until 1978 because they couldn't fathom that there would be a way to make money off them after their initial repeat. Outside of things deemed culturally important enough to warrant shelf space, British television's historical record (such as it is) exists primarily because of private collectors and copies of programs licensed to other territories that were never returned for destruction.

Here is a link to the archive website if you are interested:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/archive/tv_archive.shtml

[rkish]

Amazon shipped my Ozu set on Saturday...fingers crossed to get it by the weekend...

[rock, stone]

Originally Posted by jmo78

Here is a link to the archive website if you are interested:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/archive/tv_archive.shtml

Well, there is a pretty big difference between keeping "almost everything since the 1950's" and by the mid 70s they had started to stop burning things.

I actually find that website a bit disingenuous, suggesting that everyone in the world was junking their videotape but the BBC gets a bad wrap for it. The BBC gets a bad wrap because they earned it.

[MacEachaidh]

Originally Posted by rock, stone

I actually find that website a bit disingenuous, suggesting that everyone in the world was junking their videotape but the BBC gets a bad wrap for it. The BBC gets a bad wrap because they earned it.

It's extraordinary in hindsight that they would do this, isn't it? Even allowing for the lack of clear signals that there would in the future be a revenue-raising market for such recordings, it still seems ... wanton.

[James78]

Originally Posted by MacEachaidh

It's extraordinary in hindsight that they would do this, isn't it? Even allowing for the lack of clear signals that there would in the future be a revenue-raising market for such recordings, it still seems ... wanton.

The BFI compiled a list of the best British television programmes and they are predominantly made by the BBC. So regardless of what we may not have, the BBC have still contributed an enormous amount to British television:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BFI_TV_100

[Yami]

Originally Posted by jmo78

The BFI compiled a list of the best British television programmes and they are predominantly made by the BBC. So regardless of what we may not have, the BBC have still contributed an enormous amount to British television:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BFI_TV_100

I don't think anyone was implying that they haven't.

[James78]

Originally Posted by Yami

I don't think anyone was implying that they haven't.

I wasn't making a point to anyone in particular, Yami. I was just balancing out the fact that despite the loss of some programmes, the BBC have a lot for us to enjoy. I'm sure we'll have lots of good BFI releases because of this!