British Film Institute (BFI) Discussion Thread

[Mansinthe]

i donk think they can beat the criterion release (digipack with all that bonus content) , but maybe they start releasing some kurosawa movies not yet released by criterion.

[Yami]

The wording is dodgy but I'd be confident in saying that Seven Samurai will be available at all retailers. Perhaps Zavvi have it exclusively for a certain time period but I can't see it happening indefinitely

[beadelf]

ive pre-orded as I like the steel, shame I have to get it through zavvi!!!!

although to be hones they sent my roger rabbit steel in a padded box , so no damage and it came early!

[BarnDoor]

This BFI Gothic season could be very fruitful!

Eight new BFI DVD releases with DVD and Blu-ray premieres including the much-wanted BBC TV adaptation of Sheridan Le Fanu’s Schalcken the Painter. For younger viewers there will be Bumps in the Night; three scary stories from The Children’s Film Foundation film library

The screaming starts with M R James’ Classic Ghost Stories (1986), narrated by Robert Powell, which include The Mezzotint and O, Whistle and I’ll Come to You, My Lad. Children’s Film Foundation films will bring a creepier note to Hallowe’en with a DVD volume featuring James Hill’s The Man from Nowhere (1975) and John Krish’s Out of the Darkness (1985). Two long-unseen archive TV titles, guaranteed to scare and delight in equal measure are the 1970 Play for Today entry Robin Redbreast and the surviving, terrifying episodes of 1972’s Dead of Night. 18 November sees Rupert Julian’s newly restored silent classic Phantom of the Opera (1925) and the BFI National Archive digital re-mastering of Thorold Dickinson’s Gaslight (1940) come out in Dual Format and the much sought-after 1979 TV adaptation of Sheridan Le Fanu’s Schalcken the Painter and the star-studded vintage ghost story series Supernatural (1977), featuring Billie Whitelaw, Denholm Elliott, Jeremy Brett, Ian Hendry and Robert Hardy, return to haunt the screens of anyone daring enough to watch them.

Schalcken the Painter is rather excellent, and a great companion to the Ghost Stories for Christmas. Ditto Supernatural and Dead of Night. Perhaps BFI could release West Country Tales at some point? Some are weak but there's a rather strong one I can remember.

I wonder if there is ANY chance at all we might get the superior TV adaptation of The Woman in Black? Sounds like we might also be getting Night of the Demon and Herzog's Nosferatu at some point.

[pro-bassoonist]

Hello guys (and girls).

A quick comment regarding the upcoming Seven Samurai release:

The BFI has NOT officially announced that Akira Kurosawa's film will have a one-off Limited Edition SteelBook run. More importantly, the BFI has NOT officially announced that the film will not arrive as a standard edition Blu-ray at a later date, or at the same time the SteelBook is released.

I know that there was some info posted on Facebook, but this is not an official press release. So before you get upset at the folks that are working hard at the BFI, you should wait for an official press release that clarifies when and how Seven Samurai will be sold. When this official information arrives, as usual Blu-ray.com will report it.

However, as of today, Thursday, June 27th, the site has not received such an official announcement.

I mention all of the above because there are people at the BFI that very much care about their customers as well as the films they bring to Blu-ray. Let's respect their work and judge it only when there is sufficient factual information.

Thank you everyone

Pro-B

[pro-bassoonist]

Chronicle of a Summer Blu-ray REVIEW



This release (or the Criterion release if you are in North America) should be an essential addition to every serious film collection

Pro-B

[tenia]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

So before you get upset at the folks that are working hard at the BFI, you should wait for an official press release that clarifies when and how Seven Samurai will be sold. When this official information arrives, as usual Blu-ray.com will report it.

From critierionforum.org : Michael Brooke asked BFI Video Dept how it would be sold, and they confirmed only the Steelbook is Zavvi exclusive. There will be a regular non-exclusive release.

[mattyl149]

Originally Posted by BarnDoor

This BFI Gothic season could be very fruitful!





Schalcken the Painter is rather excellent, and a great companion to the Ghost Stories for Christmas. Ditto Supernatural and Dead of Night. Perhaps BFI could release West Country Tales at some point? Some are weak but there's a rather strong one I can remember.

I wonder if there is ANY chance at all we might get the superior TV adaptation of The Woman in Black? Sounds like we might also be getting Night of the Demon and Herzog's Nosferatu at some point.

Park Circus released the 1925 version of Phantom Of The Opera on Blu-ray not that long ago. If BFI do indeed release it, I wonder what the difference will be?

[rapta]

Just read through this announcement of the Gothic season at BFI:

http://bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-...ark-heart-film

Looks to me like we will get Herzog's Nosferatu the Vampyre on Dual Format at some point...if it's out in November though we won't get it 'til next year - I believe this is true from their previous press release for the Werner Hezog Season, Aguirre, Wrath Of God and The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser mentioning a Dual Format edition of Aguirre, some sort of release for Kaspar Hauser (probably a Dual Format, if not a DVD) and a home video (hopefully blu-ray) release of the Werner Herzog Collection (whether that's bit-by-bit or as a boxset it remains to be seen), and the fact that there's a big fat picture of Kinski as Nosferatu right next to the "DVD and Blu-ray" part of the newsletter...

I was still hoping for a release of the US cut of The Shining, and some more Polanski but that's looking more and more unlikely. One thing I noticed on the above link though is in the 'Partners and Support' section they mention Eureka - this might be because of the new 1919 Nosferatu release that they will likely be showing as part of the Gothic season, or it may be a signifier that Eureka are going to be releasing another film with a Gothic film. Just speculation of course, it's more likely that's just to do with the Murnau film.

[spanky87]

Any of you check out the Rita Hayworth films at the BFI southbank in London this month? Would have been great to attend, but I'm all the way in Canada.

[FaceInTheLeaves]

Originally Posted by Vakulinchuk

It will have the best extra I can possibly hope for, though: region "B"



Maybe that's why I love them so much - and I think that also is reflected in their excellent catalog choices.

I agree with you, actually. The BFI is the only organisation that can still sell me DVDs. I adore their Flipside label, Humphrey Jennings series and transport film compilations.

But I still think the Seven Samurai steelbook is hideous and that they should avoid Zavvi like the plague and I agree with the person who said they should offer exclusives through their own website, not evil Zavvi's.

I bought a multiregion blu-ray player because I was wary of switching to a new format and thought, in for a penny, in for a pound. If I didn't have the option of buying US releases of David Lynch, Powell & Pressburger and David Lean films, which are nearly always better than the UK releases, I probably wouldn't have bothered with blu-ray. I'm not a Criterion snob but their DVD of A Canterbury Tale and Lean Directs Coward box set were enough to bag my loyalty for life.

[BAKA]

Was very excited reading about a Dual Format Gaslight from BFI, until I found out it is not the 1944 George Cukor version, with Ingrid Bergman and Joseph Cotten, but the 1940 version . That's not to say I dislike the 1940 version, but Cukor's Gaslight is one of my favourite films of all time.

[Judex]

Originally Posted by tenia

From critierionforum.org : Michael Brooke asked BFI Video Dept how it would be sold, and they confirmed only the Steelbook is Zavvi exclusive. There will be a regular non-exclusive release.

I hope it'll be released the same day as the Zavvi exclusive. Otherwise It'll be a poor move from BFI. I'll probably skip this release unless theres some impressive extras unique to England or the PQ is better than the Criterion edition.

It looks like Amazon have sold their pre-order allocation of Killing of a Chinese Bookie LTD.

[Mansinthe]

i cancelt my steelbook preorder.. it just looks not special enough for such a movie. might get the amaray if there are new bonus features or better PQ. but i dont think BFI will beat criterion here.

[rapta]

Originally Posted by Mansinthe

i cancelt my steelbook preorder.. it just looks not special enough for such a movie. might get the amaray if there are new bonus features or better PQ. but i dont think BFI will beat criterion here.

I will only cancel if the amaray is cheaper or has more special features or something. Am alone in thinking it's quite a nice design?

[Cinemach]

Originally Posted by rapta

I will only cancel if the amaray is cheaper or has more special features or something. Am alone in thinking it's quite a nice design?

The amaray - while sure to retail for cheaper - should probably contain the same special features, unless the steelbook has plans to come with an extra disk or a poster or something.

As to the bolded sentence, with all the hate it's getting it may seem so, but I kinda like the design myself. Though I do see what people mean by preferring a white instead of the silver.

(I'll add that it would've been pretty neat - going along with the flag appropriation on the cover - if the title on the cover was written in Japanese characters, with the title in English appearing on the spine).

[kristoffer]

Yes! Finally Seven Samurai on BD. I hope it lives up to how good I remember it!

[Patient-X]

Originally Posted by rapta

....Am alone in thinking it's quite a nice design?

You're not alone, I like the design too.

[Mansinthe]

Originally Posted by kristoffer

Yes! Finally Seven Samurai on BD. I hope it lives up to how good I remember it!

yeah finally..3 years after the criterion relesase

[Judex]

Originally Posted by Mansinthe

i cancelt my steelbook preorder.. it just looks not special enough for such a movie. might get the amaray if there are new bonus features or better PQ. but i dont think BFI will beat criterion here.

I think you're underestimating the BFI team. They have more than enough talent to produce an equal or superior quality release of Seven Samurai.