BFI releases for 2009

[Giles]

well that was extemely quick - all the Pasolini's arrived from Amazon.co.uk today in the mail - that's a first, two days after the UK street date.

[NoirFan]

Glad to hear at least someone in the US is able to enjoy the Pasolini discs!

Blu-ray.com on Arabian Nights

[MichaelB]

Originally Posted by Giles

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

I'm not privy to the BBFC's thought processes, but they do tend to make more of a distinction between harmlessly comedic nudity and graphically sexualised nudity than does the MPAA, which seems to regard ALL nudity as morally objectionable in some way.

My favourite example is A Room With A View - a film that was PG or equivalent throughout Europe (and quite rightly), but which I believe had to be released unrated in the US because the MPAA just couldn't get its head around the notion that it was possible to make a film with prolonged frontal male nudity which nonetheless was more (intentionally) hilarious than depraving and corrupting.

[NoirFan]

DVD Outsider on Of Time and the City

[NoirFan]

DVD Beaver on Of Time and the City

[NoirFan]

DVD Beaver on The Decameron

[NoirFan]

The Bill Douglas Trilogy comes to Blu-ray (region B) on 7/27, and Douglas' Comrades also gets a Blu-ray (region B) and SD release on the same day.

[Giles]

Originally Posted by MichaelB

I'm not privy to the BBFC's thought processes, but they do tend to make more of a distinction between harmlessly comedic nudity and graphically sexualised nudity than does the MPAA, which seems to regard ALL nudity as morally objectionable in some way.

My favourite example is A Room With A View - a film that was PG or equivalent throughout Europe (and quite rightly), but which I believe had to be released unrated in the US because the MPAA just couldn't get its head around the notion that it was possible to make a film with prolonged frontal male nudity which nonetheless was more (intentionally) hilarious than depraving and corrupting.

well for the most part, the MPAA are prudes.

straight men (of which I would assume make up the CARA "Classification and Ratings Adminstration' screeners) are highly offended by the sight of penises - that's its the one time, they can enact a form of censorship, jeesh just hand them a hammer and a fig leaf.

[NoirFan]

This comment from DVD Outsider's review of London in the Raw bodes quite well for the transfer quality of the Flipside Blu-rays:

Upscaling it on a PS3 to a 42 inch plasma I was so struck by the image quality that I ejected the disc to make sure I'd been sent the DVD rather than the Blu-ray. Really, it's that good.

[NoirFan]

DVD Times on London in the Raw and Primitive London Blu-rays

[droogie]

Im in an odd situation. I have a lot of arthouse films which i love. I have some exploitation and i have some 'cult' classics. Obviously i have other films but for the sake of this thread i will just mention those. The only BFI blu ray i have is Salo. One which i kind of want is the Red Desert. From reviews i now know its a bleak film and maybe isnt the best to show off the true capabilities of HD. But one thing that i dont understand is why it wasnt given the same packaging as Salo. A nice cardboard sleeve with a nice booklet. I know all BFI blu rays have booklets but they cant be that good if they fit them in those thin little cases.


So the curious side of me would like to see these films, the collector in me wants them to look nice on my shelf, the film buff inside me thinks its good to see them and OWN them and another part of me thinks........its an awful lot of money. Even the Red Desert im not sure. The only other Antonioni film ive ever seen is The Passenger, which i love and looks stunning and would look amazing in HD. But that could be to do with the fact Jack Nicholson is my favourite actor.

It must great working there Michael. Id love to have a look through their archives to see what film prints they own.

[NoirFan]

DVD Beaver on The Bed Sitting Room Blu-ray

[NoirFan]

DVD Beaver on Primitive London Blu-ray

[droogie]

Pretty good reviews so far.

[NoirFan]

Giles, you should definitely check out the Kenneth Anger Blu-ray, I think it would be right up your alley.

[John Hodson]

Several people are reporting lip-synch problems with The Bed Sitting Room, mentioned in this review.

[NoirFan]

From DVD Times:

BFI have announced the UK Region 2 DVD release of This Filthy Earth on 22nd June 2009 priced at £19.99 RRP. A tragic tale of rural passion and survival, Andrew Kötting’s film is inspired by Emile Zola’s novel The Earth and John Berger’s Pig Earth and is co-written by Andrew Kötting and comedian Sean Lock.

This Filthy Earth is the tragic story of sisters Kath and Francine whose lives are disrupted by two men – a brutal villager greedy for the girls’ land and a gentle stranger who offers the possibility of escape. Amidst a landscape of rural hardship and a community consumed with superstition, events unfurl which threaten their sibling bond.

Features include:

* Anamorphic Widescreen
* Optional English HOH subtitles
* This Filthy Earth installation (31 mins) - This single screen presentation is a reworking of a three-screen installation first presented at the LAC Gallery in Sigean, France.
* This Filthy Earth trailer
* Shadows Across Baked Earth (An investigation into the Local Heritage through Contemporary Art) (20 mins) - Made during a year when Andrew Kötting was Artist in Residence at Cat'Art in Sainte Colombe sur l'Hers.
* Illustrated booklet

BFI have announced the UK Region 2 DVD release of Anchoress on 22nd June 2009 priced at £19.99 RRP. Christopher Eccleston, Pete Postlethwaite and Toyah Willcox star in this sensual tale of religious conflict, in which a young girl's transcendental vision threatens to upset the foundations of her community.

Inspired by records of the real Anchoress of Shere (near Guildford, Surrey), who was voluntarily walled up in a tiny cell adjoining a church, Anchoress is directed by Chris Newby and features cinematography by Michel Baudour. The film has been re-mastered for this release from the original negative under the supervision of the director.

Features include:

* Anamorphic Widescreen
* Optional English HOH subtitles
* The Old Man of the Sea (1989, 21 mins) - Newby's short film on the ancient relationship between man, nature and the supernatural.
* Flicker (2001, 4 mins) - Newby's study of the Guy Fawkes Night celebrations at Lewes
* Stromboli (1998, 11 mins) - Newby's portrait of the Aeolian island known for its violent volcanic eruptions
* Illustrated booklet

[John Hodson]

Originally Posted by John Hodson

Several people are reporting lip-synch problems with The Bed Sitting Room, mentioned in this review.

Got my BD copy today and was expecting the worst. Oddly, not a problem; no evidence of lip-synch problems whatsoever. I wonder if this is a player, or a player/amp/hookup related problem?

[NoirFan]

DVD Beaver on Kenneth Anger. I'm in heaven! They've fixed the judder on Kustom Kar Kommandos as well.

[NoirFan]

Originally Posted by NoirFan

Douglas' Comrades also gets a Blu-ray (region B) and SD release on the same day.

This will actually be region-free!
Here's DVD Beaver's review of Nighthawks/Strip Jack Naked on Blu-ray. The extras on this set are worth checking out - I found the Edward Hopper documentary to be quite interesting.

[cgray]

Originally Posted by NoirFan

DVD Beaver on Kenneth Anger. I'm in heaven! They've fixed the judder on Kustom Kar Kommandos as well.

Gary says the Blu-ray itself is region free. The extras on that disc are 1080p, so still playable (no SD extras on the blu ray disc, right?), and then one SD pal disc with a documentary.

So, with a PS3 and region-free DVD (not Blu-ray) player, I should be able to watch everything, correct?

[NoirFan]

Originally Posted by cgray

So, with a PS3 and region-free DVD (not Blu-ray) player, I should be able to watch everything, correct?

I would assume so, yes, but don't quote me on it! My copy won't be arriving for a couple of weeks, otherwise I'd confirm it for you now.

[NoirFan]

From DVD Times:

BFI have announced the UK Region 2 DVD release of Parade on 22nd June 2009 priced at £19.99 RRP. Released on DVD for the first time in the UK, Jacques Tati’s last – and least known – film Parade sees his return to the boisterous music hall world in which he began his career as a mime artist in the 1930s.

Features include:

* 1.33:1
* French with English subtitles
* Previously unseen interview with Jacques Tati, filmed in London in 1977 (19 mins)
* Illustrated booklet with essays by Philip Kemp and Jonathan Rosenbaum; director biography and credits

[NoirFan]

DVD Beaver on Parade

[NoirFan]

From DVD Times:

BFI have announced the UK DVD and Blu-ray Disc release of three ‘lost’ British films by Jane Arden and Jack Bond. Newly restored by the BFI, Separation (Jack Bond, 1968), The Other Side of the Underneath (Jane Arden, 1972) and Anti-Clock (Arden and Bond, 1979) will be available from 13th July 2009. Unseen since just after Arden's suicide in 1982, the films genuinely represent completely ‘lost’ works of recent British cinema history.

Separation - Scripted by and starring Jane Arden, Separation concerns the inner life of a woman during a period of breakdown – marital, and possibly mental.

Extras include:

* New full-feature audio commentary with Jack Bond
* Beyond Image (Mark Boyle & Joan Hills, 1969, 14 minutes) – a rare liquid light film co-created by leading British artist Mark Boyle, whose visual effects are used throughout Separation. With music by The Soft Machine
* Trailer for Anti-Clock (Jane Arden/Jack Bond, 1979)
* Illustrated booklet with essays by William Fowler, Claire Monk, Amy Simmons, Maria Walsh; biographies and credits


The Other Side of the Underneath - Arden’s violent and powerful adaptation of her work with The Holocaust women’s theatre troupe looks into the mind of a woman labelled schizophrenic – and finds not madness, but tortured sexual guilt created by the taboos of society.

Extras include:

* ‘Workprint’ version of feature (Blu-ray only)
* Extended sequences
* Filmed interviews with Sheila Allen (2008) and Natasha Morgan (2007)
* Trailer for Anti-Clock (Jane Arden/Jack Bond, 1979)
* Illustrated booklet with essays by Susan Croft, Sophie Mayer, Amy Simmons, Penny Slinger; reviews, biographies and credits


Anti-Clock - A complex and fascinating experimental exploration of time and identity.

Extras include:

* Jack Bond’s 2005 re-edit of feature
* Vibration (1974, 36 minutes): Arden and Bond’s experimental Super-8 visual ‘tone poem’
* Original trailer
* Illustrated booklet with contributions by Jack Bond, Chris Darke, and Penny Slinger; reviews, biographies and credits


RRP is £19.99 each on DVD and £24.99 each on Blu-ray Disc. English HOH subtitles are included on all three films. The DVDs are Region 0 coded while the Blu-rays are Region All. Anti-Clock is a 2-Disc set.