BFI releases for 2009

[pro-bassoonist]

Originally Posted by Giles

I heard a little rumour that the upcoming Oppo bluray disc will have codes to unlock other regions, is that only applicable for standard DVD or (fingers crossed) bluray discs too???

My advise to you is to invest in a Region-B player (there are plenty of them now with excellent price tags). This being said, Oppo are being monitored very closely (for the time being), so the rumor you've heard is definitely off.

Pro-B

[NoirFan]

According to the disc's Criterion Forum thread, Nighthawks/Strip Jack Naked will include a 76-page booklet.

[NoirFan]

From MovieMail:

Winstanley
Kevin Brownlow, Andrew Mollo, 1975
SD RRP: £19.99
Blu-ray RRP: £24.99
Release date: 4/27/09
DVD/Blu-ray Extras:

* It Happened Here Again (Mival, 1976)
* New 39 min interview with Kevin Brownlow and Andrew Mollo
* Booklet written by Marina Lewycka
* Kevin Brownlow's short film about the last Glasgow Tram.

No word yet on region coding for the Blu-ray.

[John Hodson]

Official announcement from another forum;

Discover The Flipside
A new DVD and Blu-ray strand from the BFI

On 25 May the BFI launches Flipside, a new strand presenting weird and wonderful British films in new high-quality editions on DVD and Blu-ray. The first three releases are Richard Lester’s darkly comic The Bed Sitting Room (1969) and Arnold Louis Miller’s pioneering Mondo-influenced ‘shockumentaries’ London in the Raw (1964) and Primitive London (1965).

Developed from its popular monthly screening slot at BFI Southbank, the BFI’s Flipside series on DVD and Blu-ray is designed to revisit and reappraise British films that have slipped through the cracks of cinema history – films that were overlooked, marginalised, or undervalued at the original time of release, or sit outside the established canon of recognised classics. Subject matter will vary widely (and will encompass everything from nuclear war to Soho striptease, from forbidden love to international intrigue) and is likely to appeal to a diverse range of film fans, many of whom may be unfamiliar with the BFI’s more traditional DVD and Blu-ray output.

All Flipside releases, newly-mastered in HD from original film elements, are presented with a wide array of special features and extensive illustrated booklets containing informative notes and thought-provoking essays. Initial contributors include respected writers Stewart Home and Iain Sinclair. They are priced at £17.99 on DVD and £22.99 on Blu-ray.

Three new Flipside titles will appear approximately every three months. Future releases include long-unavailable British cult titles such as Peter Watkins’ Privilege (1967), Clive Donner's Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush (1967) and Gerry O’Hara’s That Kind of Girl (1963).

[NoirFan]

And here are the Bed-Sitting Room specs, from the Criterion Forum:

The Bed Sitting Room
(Richard Lester, 1969)

In the hazy aftermath of World War III, the fallout from a ‘nuclear misunderstanding’ (which lasted two minutes and twenty eight seconds, including the signing of the peace treaty) is producing strange mutations amongst the survivors, and the noble Lord Fortnum finds himself transforming into a bed sitting room…

This vividly imagined, darkly satirical filmic vision of a post apocalyptic England, directed by Richard Lester (A Hard Day’s Night, How I Won the War, The Knack), is based on the highly-regarded play by Spike Milligan and John Antrobus. It also boasts great performances by the cream of ‘60s British comedy and acting talent: Rita Tushingham, Ralph Richardson, Peter Cook, Harry Secombe, Dudley Moore, Spike Milligan, Michael Horden, Roy Kinnear, Arthur Lowe, Dandy Nichols and Marty Feldman.

Sam Dunn, Head of BFI Video Publishing, comments: ‘Lots of people talk about “lost classics”, but The Bed Sitting Room is a film that truly deserves that description. It beggars belief that such a startling piece of British cinema could have remained hidden away for so long.’

Special features

Archival interviews with Richard Lester (1967, 17 mins), Spike Milligan (1967, 40 mins) and Peter Cook (1967, 30 mins)
Original trailer
Illustrated booklet with essay by Michael Brooke (BFI Sight and Sound contributor) and original review and promotional material.


UK / colour / Cert tbc / 91 mins + 90 mins extra material / ratio 1.85:1 / optional subtitles for hearing-impaired / DVD cat no: BFIVD834 / BD cat no: BFIB1019

[NoirFan]

Originally Posted by NoirFan

From this thread on the Criterion Forum:

If this is Region B, I'm going to have to buy one of those LG BH200's from Ebay.

According to the Criterion Forum, this will be region-free, which absolutely makes my year! Kenneth Anger was number one with a bullet on my HD wishlist.

[NoirFan]

Blu-ray.com on Nighthawks / Strip Jack Naked

[NoirFan]

DVD Times on Of Time and the City

[seymouru]

Info on a new region-free Blu-Ray player by Momitsu here. I own one and it works as advertised.

[NoirFan]

I'm pleased to see that a half-dozen of the BFI Blu-rays announced and/or released so far are region-free - after the first four were all announced as Region B, I assumed they all would be coded as such.

[NoirFan]

DVD Times on The Decameron Blu-ray

[Giles]

^ frick!!, my windows internet explorer keeps crashing with that link - I hope DVDBeaver reviews the discs soon.

[Giles]

DVDTimes also has a review for 'Canterbury Tales' up as well. Can someone cut and paste the video/audio review portion of the reviews here since I'm having trouble accessing/reading it.

Arabian Nights is now up, but be warned it includes the famous NSFW (not safe for work) photo still of the bow/arrow/phallus scene

[NoirFan]

DVD Times on The Canterbury Tales and Arabian Nights

Originally Posted by Giles

Can someone cut and paste the video/audio review portion of the reviews here since I'm having trouble accessing/reading it.

Spoiler:

Video
Of the three Pasolini ‘Trilogy of Life’ films released by the BFI in these High-Definition editions, The Canterbury Tales has the best transfer and is therefore also the one most markedly improved from the BFI’s previous Standard Definition DVD editions. The qualities of the HD transfer are clear to see, the newly struck transfer from the original 35mm negative revealing excellent detail, fine colouration, strong blacks and reasonably good shadow detail - even interiors look impressive with an almost 3-D-like quality in places. There are one or two tiny stray flecks that have escaped the digital restoration, but literally no more than that, and only the rare instance of some flutter of aliasing brought out in camera pans. The other obvious benefit of the HD transfer is the fluidity and stability of the moving image, though some telecine bumps might be detected at transitions between cuts.

Audio
Although the English dub (see Extras below) is a viable option, particularly considering the nature of the post-synch dubbing of both soundtracks, the disc defaults to the original Italian soundtrack. This is presented in 48 kHz PCM 2.0. It’s a little bit rough around the edges, sounding loud and harsh to the ear with a faint underlying buzz noticeable only at a few quieter passages. Generally however it’s reasonably fine and the tone is clear throughout.

Video
First of all, it has to be said that the new transfer that the BFI have sourced from the original 35mm negative film elements is light-years ahead of their previous standard definition release of Arabian Nights. There are however still problems that seem to have been picked up during the film’s digital restoration and transfer. Most obviously, blacks are very flat, shadow detail is poor, there is strong contrast and there may even be less detail available in dark interior scenes than the old DVD edition. There is much less grain visible than in the previous release of the film and only one or two minor flecks, but it seems to have come at the cost of HD-DVDNR filtering. Due to the nature of the rather shaky camera movements that are characteristic of the film, the noise reduction also seems to have a side effect of introducing some blurring and very minor morphing or shifting of objects during movements, which I didn’t detect in the transfers of The Decameron or The Canterbury Tales. While it might not be as impressive then as the other two ‘Trilogy of Life’ films, the benefits of the HD transfer are certainly evident elsewhere, particularly in the colours and skin tones, all of which show excellent detail and definition. When it looks good it’s great and sometimes even rather impressive, but it’s not consistently strong enough.

Audio
The film’s original Italian soundtrack is presented in 48 kHz PCM 2.0 and the tone is clear throughout. Ennio Morricone’s orchestral arrangements come across with excellent warmth of tone, dialogue and sound effects are all fine, and there are no problems with background noise, hiss or distortion. Problems with lip-syncing are down to how the film was made, it being synchronised in post-production.

[Giles]

^ thanks Noir

[MichaelB]

Originally Posted by NoirFan

I'm pleased to see that a half-dozen of the BFI Blu-rays announced and/or released so far are region-free - after the first four were all announced as Region B, I assumed they all would be coded as such.

The intention is to release Blu-rays as region-free unless there's a contractual obligation to region-code.

Unfortunately, the first batch of titles - the Pasolinis and British New Wave films - all came from the old United Artists back catalogue (as does the upcoming The Bed-Sitting Room), so you can guarantee that anything else from that source will be Region B. I can also confirm that Privilege will be Region B, for much the same reason (it's licensed from Universal). On the whole, the majors tend to favour region-coding when sub-licensing their material to independent distributors, and there's nothing the BFI or anyone else can do about it, except not release these titles at all.

However, by the end of May 43% of the BFI Blu-ray catalogue will be region-free (up from 0% as recently as early February), and I wouldn't be at all surprised if this topped 50% before too long.

This forum won't let me post the URL to my constantly-updated BFI region-status list on the Criterion Forum (I haven't made the minimum 30 posts here yet), but here's the current situation, based on information sourced directly from private emails from the Head of BFI DVD Publishing:

Region-free

GAZWRX - The Films of Jeff Keen
London in the Raw
Magick Lantern Cycle (Kenneth Anger)
Nighthawks
Primitive London
Winstanley

Region B

Arabian Nights
The Bed-Sitting Room
The Canterbury Tales
The Decameron
The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner
Privilege
Red Desert
Salo - The 120 Days of Sodom
Saturday Night and Sunday Morning

I'm also pretty sure that all the material on the Blu-ray discs is HD - in other words, the region-free discs should play on any player without running into PAL/NTSC complications.

[NoirFan]

Welcome to the forum Michael! I always enjoy reading your posts over at Criterion. I actually provided a link to your BFI region status list on the previous page of this thread, but here it is again. Keep up the good work, your efforts are much appreciated!

[NoirFan]

Specs for Central Bazaar, courtesy of the Criterion Forum:

Central Bazaar
A film by Stephen Dwoskin

Director, artist and advocate of independent film, Stephen Dwoskin gathered a group of strangers together for five weeks in 1974 and filmed them as they explored their fantasies within a single room. The results of this experiment are seen in this extraordinary and gorgeous looking experimental epic, released for the first time on 25 May.

Inspired by the post-hippy encounter groups that developed on America’s West Coast, this poetic precursor to TV’s Big Brother explores the relationship between intimacy and performance, often to extreme effect. Men and women don make-up, stockings and ceremonial gowns while emotional and physical interactions form and rupture, pushing some participants to their very limits.

Through his involving camerawork and dynamic use of sound – including a compelling drone score by celebrated composer Gavin Bryars – Dwoskin creates a truly unique film that drives us to examine our own sense of ‘fantasy’ and to question our relationships to both the people around us and the film itself.

As well as the DVD release, the BFI is offering a rare opportunity to see the distinctive work of Stephen Dwoskin at BFI Southbank in An Intimate Cinema: The Films of Stephen Dwoskin – a season of films, workshops and a special in conversation event all taking place from 1 – 31 May.

Working initially as a graphic designer and art director for CBS Records in New York, Dwoskin began making films in 1961, a few years before Andy Warhol, an artist with whom he is often compared. He left the underground US film scene in the mid-Sixties and, on moving to England, quickly became involved in the foundation of the London Filmmakers’ Co-op. His reputation as a bold and distinctive filmmaker was established in this early period and, to this day, remains one of the most visually rich and emotionally intense filmmakers in British cinema.

Special features
- New high definition transfer created from new film elements
- Laboured Party (1974, 20 mins), Dwoskin’s on-set companion piece to Central Bazaar. An unsuspecting Labour Party canvasser calls at the house and falls under the provocative and playful influence of the feature film’s participants
- Illustrated booklet with contributions from Jonas Mekas, Paul Willemen and William Fowler

Release date: 25 May 2009
RRP: £19.99 / cat. no. BFIVD817 / cert 15
UK / 1975 / colour / English / 142 mins / DVD-9 / original aspect ratio 1.33:1 / Dolby Digital mono audio (320 kbps)

[NoirFan]

From DVD Times:

The BFI have announced the UK DVD and Blu-ray Disc release of Magick Lantern Cycle on 25th May 2009. This collection of ten experimental short films by Kenneth Anger is priced at £22.99 RRP on DVD and £24.99 RRP on Blu-ray Disc.

The Magick Lantern Cycle, released in a 2-disc set, contains the following films: Fireworks (1947); Puce Moment (1949); Rabbit's Moon (1950/1971, the rarely seen 16 mins version); Eaux d'Artifice (1953); Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome (1954); Scorpio Rising (1964); Kustom Kar Kommandos (1965); Invocation of My Demon Brother (1969); Rabbit's Moon (1979); Lucifer Rising (1981).

Features include:

* Newly recorded commentaries by Kenneth Anger
* The Man We Want to Hang (2002) – Anger’s film on the art of Aleister Crowley
* Restoration work demo
* Anger Me (2006) – Elio Gelmini’s portrait of Kenneth Anger
* Illustrated booklet containing Modesty and the Art of Film (1951), an original article by Kenneth Anger; The Crowned and Conquering Child (2008), a newly commissioned essay by author Gary Lachman; and film credits


The content is spread across a DVD9 + DVD5 on DVD and a BD50 + DVD5 on Blu-ray.

I wonder if these are, indeed, newly recorded commentaries, or simply ports of the Zeitgeist commentaries. The Anger Me documentary is a mostly unilluminating, low-budget affair, consisting entirely of Anger reminiscing in front of blue-screen images, but it's still nice of the BFI to include it.

[Giles]

blu-ray.com has a review up for 'The Decameron' with screen captures - and granted DVDTimes raved about the image/video quality of 'Canterbury Tales' - can't wait to see those pics!

[NoirFan]

From Criterion Forum:

(Anchoress is) confirmed as a June release in the current BFI DVD/Blu-ray catalogue. Here's the entry:

Quote:
Directed by Chris Newby (Madagascar Skin) and starring Pete Postlethwaite and Christopher Eccleston, Anchoress is a visually arresting story of religious conflict set in the Middle Ages, in which a young girl's transcendental vision threatens to upset the foundations of her community. Mastered from original negatives with special features including short films by Chris Newby.

[NoirFan]

Originally Posted by Giles

blu-ray.com has a review up for 'The Decameron' with screen captures

Review

[mrowley]

Was there ever a 'Trilogy' set of the Pasolinis available?

Amazon have it listed as no longer available.

[NoirFan]

Originally Posted by mrowley

Was there ever a 'Trilogy' set of the Pasolinis available?

Amazon have it listed as no longer available.

They're only available separately.

[Giles]

The Trilogy as a whole was released in Region 4, I had a copy but sold it off on Amazon marketplace.

here's blu-ray.com's review of Canterbury Tales

I find it rather interesting that the BBFC found this to be the least offensive/objectionable of the films, and gave it a 15 certificate and not the higher 18, regardless that the nudity is more extreme than the others.

whereas in the states, The Decameron was given a R-rating and the other two films NC-17's