BFI (British Film Institute)

Discuss releases by the BFI and the films on them.

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ellipsis7
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 1:56 pm
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KIAROSTAMI

#26 Post by ellipsis7 » Fri Apr 08, 2005 5:09 am

Coinciding with the major major multi venue and artform London festival ABBAS KIAROSTAMI: VISIONS OF THE ARTISTS bfi films will release Kiarostami's FIVE for 'a two week run at the NFT, before being screened at other UK venues'

'... bfi Video will also release FIVE on DVD in summer 2005.'

As previously noted MK2 will be releasing FIVE on DVD at year end...

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4LOM
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Menschen am Sonntag / People on Sunday

#27 Post by 4LOM » Fri Apr 08, 2005 3:36 pm

On April 25th, the BFI will release on of my favorite silent films: "Menschen am Sonntag / People on Sunday" [Germany 1930, Curt Siodmak, Robert Siodmak, Edgar G. Ulmer, Fred Zinnemann]. One of the authors was Billy Wilder.

The DVD will feature these bonus materials:

- 'This Year - London' (UK, 1951) - a 25-minute film which follows the adventures of a Leicester-based shoe factory staff on their annual holiday outing
- Filmmakers' biographies
- 12-page booklet with film notes


Cover-Artwork at amazon.co.uk.

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Steven H
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 3:30 pm
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Beaver reviews

#28 Post by Steven H » Fri Apr 22, 2005 12:09 pm

DVDbeaver reviews are up for both People On Sunday and Tristana. Both easily buys, and what a great month for the Bfi.

artfilmfan
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 9:11 pm

#29 Post by artfilmfan » Wed May 04, 2005 9:45 pm

Steven H wrote: ... *much* praise for People on Sunday. What a wonderful film! I'm sure it will eventually rank among my most treasured films on DVD (though I have to say you're better off avoiding the soundtrack, it's terribly overblown and far too dramatic for the film... very small quibble). I can't wait to watch it again. Does anyone else have similar feelings about this movie?
I've already watched it twice. A wonderful film. It immediately got on my list of favorite films/DVDs. I like the soundtrack, though. It's so much fun to watch this film with its soundtrack (I regret to disagree on this, Steven H). I thought the soundtrack is very innovative. A DVD to treasure!

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Steven H
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#30 Post by Steven H » Thu May 12, 2005 3:36 pm

I watched People on Sunday again and take back what I said about the soundtrack. I remembered it incorrectly as being much more melodramatic. I really enjoyed it though, and I think it definitely adds to the enjoyment of the film.

Did anyone else notice that there's a striking resemblance between Bridgette Borchert (the blonde record shop girl) and Scarlett Johansson?

June Bfi titles are announced on amazon.co.uk:

Looking for Langston, by Isaac Julien (1988)

On and Off the Rails: British Transport Films Vol. 1 (1951) by various directors (I'm very excited about this one!

Geoffrey Jones: The Rhythm of Film (1956) which, according to the site will include: "'Snow', 'Rail', 'Locomotion', 'Trinidad And Tobago', 'Shell Spirit', 'This Is Shell', 'Seasons Project', 'Chair-a-plane Kwela' and 'Chair-a-plane Flamenco'. "

All sound interesting and in the vein of their "experimental/avant garde" DVDs.

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ola t
They call us neo-cinephiles
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#31 Post by ola t » Mon May 16, 2005 11:19 am

Here's the latest DVD newsletter from the BFI.

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Steven H
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London and Robinson in Space

#32 Post by Steven H » Wed May 18, 2005 11:17 am

I wonder if Night Mail or Song of Ceylon could be far behind? Peerpee, have you gotten hold of the Geoffrey Jones collection? I'd like to know more about his work or this set.

Anyone have any opinions to share about London/Robinson in Space? It hasn't been mentioned yet in this thread, and I'm definitely going to pick it up (thanks to the DVDBeaver.com review, mostly).

artfilmfan
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 9:11 pm

London and Robinson in Space

#33 Post by artfilmfan » Wed May 18, 2005 7:29 pm

"London/Robinson in Space": And what "mysteries" of the city are being investigated in "London" ? Can anyone who has seen it comment on this?

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zedz
Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2004 7:24 pm

London and Robinson in Space

#34 Post by zedz » Wed May 18, 2005 9:29 pm

If you're familiar with the early films of Greenaway (pre-Falls), these are in a similar vein: essay films in which a notional narrative is illustrated, not with the actions described, but with 'documentary' footage (specifically landscape footage). They're definitely an acquired taste - recondite, with a very dry humour - but I enjoyed them (then again, A Walk through H is one of my favourite films). The peregrinations of the narrator and Robinson are reasonably entertaining, and they're punctuated with generally interesting insights on the key topics (urbanisation, architecture, landscape, history etc.) Chris Marker is another, rather more remote, point of reference.

artfilmfan
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London and Robinson in Space

#35 Post by artfilmfan » Sun May 22, 2005 7:34 pm

"London" doesn't seem like a film for me, although I think I might like "Robinson In Space". I guess I'll skip this one and back-order "William Raban" instead. Thanks for your post, zedz.

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Nihonophile
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The Falls

#36 Post by Nihonophile » Mon May 23, 2005 10:43 pm

How is the transfer on BFI's disc of The Falls (early films vol. 2)?

kieslowski
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#37 Post by kieslowski » Tue May 24, 2005 10:09 am

How is the transfer on BFI's disc of The Falls (early films vol. 2)?
It's very good. You can tell it's from a 16mm source, but it's sharp and vibrant: I recommend it.

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antnield
Joined: Tue Jun 28, 2005 1:59 pm
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UPCOMING DVDS

#38 Post by antnield » Sat Jul 02, 2005 1:53 am

August releases (both due the 29th):

Fellini's 'Il Bidone' and 'Early Cinema : Primitives and Pioneers'

Regarding the latter, here's the blurb from MovieMail:

"A marvellous collection of fifty-nine films from the pre-1910 period of cinema that shows how many of today's film devices such as the close-up, the cut-away and editing were first used before the turn of the 19th century! Far too many films to list here but there are highlights from Lumière, Pathé, Méliès, G. A. Smith (Mary Jane's Mishap) and the Hepworth Manufacturing Company (Rescued by Rover) plus a newly restored and tinted version of Edwin S. Porter's The Great Train Robbery."

Extras include an optional commentary, plus there are newly commissioned scores to accompany each of the films.

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ellipsis7
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Early Cinema : Primitives and Pioneers

#39 Post by ellipsis7 » Sat Jul 02, 2005 4:51 am

'Early Cinema : Primitives and Pioneers' was previously released on 2 volumes of VHS by the BFI...
A two-part compilation of pre-1910 films prepared by the British Film Institute. Includes LUMIERE: Sortie d'usine (1895), Repas de Bebe (1895), Demolition d'un Mur (1896), La Jardinier et le petit espiegle (1895), Arrivee des Congressistes a Neuville-sur-Saone (1895), Arrivee d'un train en gare a La Ciotat (1895), Partie decarte (1895), Barque sortant du port (1895), Leaving Jerusalem by railway (1896), Bataille de Boules de Neige (1896), Pompiers a Lyon (c. 1896), Niagara (1897), Spanish Bullfight (1900); MELIES: Voyage a travers l'impossible (1904). ACRES: Rough Sea at Dover (1895); R.W.PAUL: Come along Do! (1898), The Derby (1896), The Countryman and the Cinematograph (1901), A Chess Dispute (1903), Extraordinary cab Accident (1903), Buy your Own Cherries (1904), The Motorist (1906); GEORGE ALBERT SMITH: The Miller and the Sweep (1898), The Kiss in the Tunnel (1899), Let me Dream Again (1900), Grandmas Reading Glass (1900), As Seen through a Telescope (1900), Sick Kitten (1903), Mary janes Mishap (1903); SHEFFIELD PHOTO COMPANY: Daring daylight Burglary (1903), Desperate Poaching affray (1903); BAMFORTH AND CO LTD: The Kiss in the Tunnel (1899), Ladies Skirts nailed to a Fence (c. 1900), The Biter Bit (1900), Rough Sea (c. 1900); WILLIAMSONS KINEMATOGRAPH: Attack on a China Mission (1900), The Big Swallow (1901?), Stop Thief! (1901), Fire! (1900), An Interesting Story (1905).

Second volume of pre-1910 films with piano accompaniment by Neil Brand and commentary by Barry Salt. Features HEPWORTH MANUFACTURING CO: How it feels to be Run Over (1900), Explosion of a Motor car (1900), Rescued by Rover (1905), The other Side of the Hedge (1905), That Fatal Sneeze (1907). CRICKS AND MARTIN: A Visit to Peek Freans Biscuit Works (1906). KINETO PRODCUTION: A day in the Life of a Coalminer (1910). PATHE FRERES: Par le trou de serrure (1901), Histoires dun Crime (1901), Ali Baba et les quarantes voleurs (1905), Reve et realite (1901), La Revoliution en Russie (1905), Aladin ou la lampe merveilleuse (1906), Le Chevel emballe (1907), The Physician of the Castle (1908), Magic Bricks (1908). EDISON MANUFACTURING CO: Dewars - its a Scotch (1898), The Gay Shoe Clerk (1903), The Great Train Robbery (1903), The Dream of a Rarebit Fiend (1906).

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antnield
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#40 Post by antnield » Sun Jul 10, 2005 4:47 am

My review for 'Early Cinema : Primitives and Pioneers' have just gone up at DVD Times

...and the last of my reviews of the BFI's June releases: Looking for Langston.

...and going back to the previous month, my review of The Mahabharata has just gone online at DVD Times.

Just had a look at the latest BFI DVD catalogue and there's a bunch of Media Magica titles listed that I can't find information about anywhere. They total five volumes, all directed by Werner Nekes including 'Film on Film' which the BFI had previously issued on VHS many years ago. Anyone know anything else? Are these out yet, or forthcoming?

BFI releases for September appear to quite an eclectic bunch:

'Pressure' - Horace Ove's underrated gem of British cinema which is paired with the director's earlier short 'Baldwin's Nigger'

'Danger-Love At Work' - early Otto Preminger comedy, only his second American picture in fact.

'What Price Glory' - John Ford/James Cagney collaboration from the early fifties.

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ellipsis7
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 1:56 pm
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#41 Post by ellipsis7 » Tue Jul 26, 2005 3:44 am

Suddenly a flurry of Ford.... Moc, bfi confirmed and CC expected... Nice development... And check out the new look bfi site...

Tim
Joined: Thu Nov 04, 2004 8:27 am

#42 Post by Tim » Sat Jul 30, 2005 1:30 pm

I don't know if this has been noted already, but the bfi catalogue lists as coming soon Frank Borzage's 7th Heaven, Street Angel, and Lucky Star.

Mestes
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 8:39 pm

Early Cinema : Primitives and Pioneers

#43 Post by Mestes » Wed Aug 31, 2005 5:54 pm

amateurist wrote:That volume seems to nearly replicate the contents of Kino's "European Pioneers" volume of their "The Movies Begin" set.
Yes, the first disc does, and disc two replicates "Experimentation and Discovery" from the same series while adding "The Great Train Robbery," also on "The Movies Begin" set.

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antnield
Joined: Tue Jun 28, 2005 1:59 pm
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Burning an Illusion

#44 Post by antnield » Fri Sep 02, 2005 3:51 am

DVD Times review for Burning an Illusion.

peerpee
not perpee
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 3:41 pm

Two Alex Cox double-bills

#45 Post by peerpee » Wed Sep 14, 2005 10:12 pm

Two Alex Cox double-bills from the bfi on Oct 31:

Straight to Hell/Death and the Compass and Three Businessmen/Highway Patrolman

...and Alex Cox talks on his blog about being served with a writ by Hamish "Tartan" McAlpine a few weeks ago.
return from LA to find a letter from the London distributor Hamish McTartan, who, in the most awesome and intimidating terms, threatens to sue me.

Why would a rich man like McTartan wish to sue an independent (and therefore impecunious) film director? Can this be the same McTartan who recently threatened to sue the director Michael Winterbottom, or who engaged in physical violence with another film director, Larry Clark, not long before that?

Watch this space for further details of The Case!
This can be found by Googling for "Hamish McTartan"

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antnield
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#46 Post by antnield » Fri Sep 30, 2005 3:35 am

Also out in October (again on the 31st) are Werner Nekes' 'Film Before Film' doc and the five titles in his 'Media Magica' series, each presented on an individual DVD.

Review of Preminger's 'Danger - Love at Work' now up at DVD Times.

Whole batch of releases in November:

British Transport Films Volume 2
Charlie Chaplin: The Mutual Films Volume 2
Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song
Baadassssss

and a Kurosawa boxed set which I can find no details on as yet.

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ellipsis7
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 1:56 pm
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#47 Post by ellipsis7 » Mon Oct 03, 2005 8:10 am

Looks like Kiarostami's FIVE on bfi DVD is delayed until 2006, as appears also are MK2's disc for this & for ABC AFRICA...

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antnield
Joined: Tue Jun 28, 2005 1:59 pm
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#48 Post by antnield » Tue Nov 08, 2005 5:24 am

DVD Times reviewof the 'Straight to Hell' and 'Death and the Compass' double-bill.

Review of 'Pressure' and 'Baldwin's Nigger' double bill (out on October 24th) now at DVD Times.

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Gordon
Joined: Thu Nov 11, 2004 8:03 am

DVD Beaver: BFI's Upcoming Winter DVD Releases

#49 Post by Gordon » Sat Nov 12, 2005 4:37 pm

DVD Beaver has this on the main page:
BFI's Upcoming Winter DVD Releases

1. Eija Liisa Ahtila, "The Cinematic Works of Eija Liisa Ahtila"
2. Hiroshi Teshigahara, "Woman of the Dunes"
3. Ishiro Honda, "Godzilla" & "The Mysterians";
4. Jules Dassin, "Night and the City"
5. Arnold Glassman, "Visions of Light"
6. Nicholas Ray, "Bigger than Life";
7. Henry Hathaway, "Kiss of Death";
8. Richard Siodmak, "Cry of the City";
9. Chris Wellsby
10. Frank Borzage, "7th Heaven", "Street Angel", & "Lucky Star"
11. Charles Musser, "Before the Nickelodeon: The Cinema of Edwin S. Porter".
I take it that "Winter" includes up to March? An amazing batch of titles. Almost too good to be true! ;)

An anamorphic edition of Visions of Light would be most appreciated, but the clips themselves really need to be taken from better elements to begin with.

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antnield
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#50 Post by antnield » Tue Nov 15, 2005 7:49 am

They're not strictly "Winter releases", but those listed as "coming soon" in the BFI's Winter catalogue. (A PDF version can be found at the BFI's website.) Also, note the typos: should be Robert Siodmak and Chris Welsby.

Anyhow, review for 'Highway Patrolman'/'Three Businessmen' twin-pack at DVD Times.

Releases for the 30th of January:

'Godzilla', in its original 1954 Japanese form (i.e. no Raymond Burr) complete with commentary and a trio of featurettes amongst others, and 'The Mysterians'.

DVD Times review for 'Sweet Sweetback's Baad Asssss Song' and another DVD Times review for 'Baadasssss!'

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