Ghost Stories for Christmas Vol 1 (BFI)

[James78]

[PGW]

I almost ordered this from BFI's site - but >$20 to ship a blu-ray to the U.S. is crazy.
Is there somewhere better people in the States are using to order this?

[pnaschy]

Originally Posted by PGW

I almost ordered this from BFI's site - but >$20 to ship a blu-ray to the U.S. is crazy.
Is there somewhere better people in the States are using to order this?

Try Here......

https://www.diabolikdvd.com/product/...on-b-preorder/

[McCrutchy]

Originally Posted by PGW

I almost ordered this from BFI's site - but >$20 to ship a blu-ray to the U.S. is crazy.
Is there somewhere better people in the States are using to order this?

The only two remaining major options now that Deff.com stopped shipping internationally are Amazon and Zavvi. Rarewaves is an online store I've used a few times which is generally reliable, but I've seen titles listed as unavailable for pre-order on their site. Their shipping is currently $5 flat rate, but despite this, they've sent every Blu-ray I've ordered individually, though sometimes the packaging is a bubble mailer.

[CelestialAgent]

Originally Posted by BarnDoor

If they do a Volume 3, it would include the revival run - Room with a View, Number 13, and the 4 Mark Gatiss ones to date. Doubt I'd bother with that though...

I can’t easily check as I think Ben deactivated his Facebook, but I remember it being said that the BBC won’t let the most recent ones be licensed. So maybe BFI can only license archival productions from the BBC?

[BarnDoor]

Originally Posted by CelestialAgent

I can’t easily check as I think Ben deactivated his Facebook, but I remember it being said that the BBC won’t let the most recent ones be licensed. So maybe BFI can only license archival productions from the BBC?

I too recall reading that, so unless something's changed, it may be that they just include A View from the Hill (shot in SD anyway) and Number 13 on the next set as extras.

[Murray Futterman]

Originally Posted by CelestialAgent

I can’t easily check as I think Ben deactivated his Facebook, but I remember it being said that the BBC won’t let the most recent ones be licensed. So maybe BFI can only license archival productions from the BBC?

Well, we were also told (by Ben) that Blu-ray's of the classic ones were unlikely, so hopefully as with that this is a case were things have changed.

[abudgell]

Like everyone else, I never expected to see these on Blu-ray, and I'm thrilled! Especially looking forward to seeing my favourite, The Stalls of Barchester, in HD. It's become a Christmas tradition for me to watch it every year, along with one or two of the others in the series.

[AnnThrope]

Originally Posted by James78

& Robin Redbreast

[James78]

Hi James,

Thank you for your email.

After more extensive investigation, all of the elements required were discovered in the BBC Archive. I can’t speak to you about how the materials have been remastered, because they are being worked on right now, but suffice to say the BFI has extensive experience of working on material like this.

I can’t comment much on the future volumes, apart from to say that currently we only have the same Ghost Stories under license that we’ve released on DVD. I know there is much desire for the recent ones to be released but as of right now, they aren’t available to license. I have raised the question with the right people here at the BFI but I can’t say I’m hugely confident of us ever doing them. If we were to, I can envisage it being at least a couple of years away.

I hope that helps.

Ben

[oddbox83]

Sad about the newer ones, but not without hope. After all, it wasn't so long ago we were told a Blu-ray set of the classic ones was unlikely to happen. I'm happy to wait and see, and just enjoy what we do get for now. I mean, just the classic ones on Blu-ray is amazing.

[Mr. Thomsen]

Does anyone have an idea how the new release looks extra-wise compared to the old DVD compilation - are we getting anything new or perhaps losing something (might be difficult to answer as we of course only have the details of volume 1)?

Can't wait to see what they are going to look like. To me the DVD box set was quite the revelation back in the day, though I will admit the transfers were probably far from stellar. Until then I had only been able to watch the episodes from pirated copies of copies.

[oddbox83]

Originally Posted by Mr. Thomsen

Does anyone have an idea how the new release looks extra-wise compared to the old DVD compilation - are we getting anything new or perhaps losing something (might be difficult to answer as we of course only have the details of volume 1)?

Can't wait to see what they are going to look like. To me the DVD box set was quite the revelation back in the day, though I will admit the transfers were probably far from stellar. Until then I had only been able to watch the episodes from pirated copies of copies.

Well, no one knows what isn't already said here right in the first post of the thread. Yes we get new stuff in addition to the legacy extras for these productions carried over. The only thing I can see missing is a Michael Hordern reading of the original story from the 2002 DVD of A Warning to the Curious, also absent on the more recent DVDs, but it's subject to final confirmation as that first post quoting the PR details says.

[Mr. Thomsen]

I was thinking I would also love to see an upgrade of The Stone Tape, too. But according to someone in the BFI group on FB, it was shot mostly on video, so there is probably not much to win by it.

The Stone Tape is great, though. I really should dig out the old DVD again this weekend.

[oddbox83]

The Stone Tape is currently with 101, who are doing a Ghostwatch upscale, so it's not impossible we'll see The Stone Tape on Blu.

[ikms]

Originally Posted by James78

This is honestly something I didn't expect. I have communicated twice with BFI's Ben Stoddart over the years about a possible Blu-ray release and he said the film elements didn't exist, so this is a really exciting announcement.

A strange response from Stoddart; I always assumed film elements were extant. According to the booklet from the six-disc DVD release only A Warning to the Curious was transferred in HD "using the original 16mm film element held by the BBC archive." Whistle and I'll Come to You (1968) was "transferred in SD from the best available film materials and made available to the BFI by the BBC" "The Stalls of Barchester was transferred in SD in its original 1.33:1 aspect ratio using the best available film elements. Master material was made available by the BBC." "Lost Hearts, The Treasure of Abbot Thomas and The Ash Tree were transferred in SD in their original 1.33:1 aspect ratio using the best available film elements. Master material was made available to the BFI by the BBC." "The Signalman, Stigma and The Ice House were transferred in SD in their original 1.33:1 aspect ratio using the best available film elements. Master material was made available to the BFI by the BBC."

Nothing there implies film materials were junked, if anything (and other releases imply) they would have gone out of their way to make a note where only a tape copy remains. The other thing to consider is that filmed productions by the BBC (including Kinescopes) have much better survival rates than video productions recorded on tape.

[Eidolon]

Looking at the list of related titles above, most of which I have; I am bought back to another one that seems to be A.W.O.L.
An early 80's BBC series called West Country Tales that would, in today's terms, be classified as Folk Horror. All based on allegedly true stories, some of the episodes float around the 'net in bad quality copies from time to time.
It has always been considered as a lost show, but Kaleidoscope (aka TV Brain), that place where 'rare' episodes of old TV shows go to be imprissioned where nobody can ever see them, claims that the entire series still exists. If they are correct, I'm baffled that nobody has released it as of yet.

You could aslo add Haunted and Dramarama Spooky to the list.

[Dickieduvet]

Originally Posted by Eidolon

Looking at the list of related titles above, most of which I have; I am bought back to another one that seems to be A.W.O.L.
An early 80's BBC series called West Country Tales that would, in today's terms, be classified as Folk Horror. All based on allegedly true stories, some of the episodes float around the 'net in bad quality copies from time to time.
It has always been considered as a lost show, but Kaleidoscope (aka TV Brain), that place where 'rare' episodes of old TV shows go to be imprissioned where nobody can ever see them, claims that the entire series still exists. If they are correct, I'm baffled that nobody has released it as of yet.

You could aslo add Haunted and Dramarama Spooky to the list.

There are some episodes of West Country Tales on YouTube, I've watched a bunch of them.

[Mark Meakin]

Originally Posted by Eidolon

Looking at the list of related titles above, most of which I have; I am bought back to another one that seems to be A.W.O.L.
An early 80's BBC series called West Country Tales that would, in today's terms, be classified as Folk Horror. All based on allegedly true stories, some of the episodes float around the 'net in bad quality copies from time to time.
It has always been considered as a lost show, but Kaleidoscope (aka TV Brain), that place where 'rare' episodes of old TV shows go to be imprissioned where nobody can ever see them, claims that the entire series still exists. If they are correct, I'm baffled that nobody has released it as of yet.

You could aslo add Haunted and Dramarama Spooky to the list.

I have Dramarama Spooky, but it's been OOP for a while.

[James78]

Running from 17 October – 31 December 2022, IN DREAMS ARE MONSTERS will be a major UK-wide film and events season, charting how the monsters of horror have made physical the anxieties of their times, and how we react when faced with the monster within. The full programme will be announced on 8 September and will feature:

• A headline season of films, discussions and immersive events at BFI Southbank
• Events and screenings around the UK in partnership with the BFI Film Audience Network (BFI FAN), including four special commissions by leading regional horror film festivals including:
• A "Night of the Cat" exploring the mythology behind the Bakeneko (monster-cat), presented by Mayhem (Nottingham)
• A nationwide event celebrating the Blaxploitation Horror genre, presented by Abertoir (Aberystwyth) in partnership with the Bristol Black Horror Club
• A ghostly, immersive live cinema experience, presented by Celluloid Screams (Sheffield) in partnership with Live Cinema
• A symposium revisiting monsters movies, and their makers, old and new, presented by Grimmfest (Manchester)
• A touring programme in partnership with Independent Cinema Office (ICO) and BFI FAN
• A major collection of films available to stream across the UK on BFI Player
• Re-release of a classic Horror title by BFI Distribution and BFI Home Entertainment

https://www.indreamsaremonsters.co.uk/