antnield wrote:...or simply a way of tying in with the Shadows of Progress set and possibly gaining a few extra sales. Shadows is, effectively, a sequel to Land of Promise so it makes sense.
That's absolutely spot on - it is indeed a tie-in reprint/reissue given that it's hard to imagine reviews of Shadows of Progress not mentioning Land of Promise.
A full list of titles is imminent - I'll try to get something up within the next 24 hours.
I'm getting this for Xmas - the 2010 cheaper release. Unfortunately my mate in the UK who sent it to me didn't do giftwrap, so when I opened it, I had to put it aside for the wife to wrap. Oh sweet torture!
Its a digipak in a slipcover with the book - I'm a bit surprised, because I thought the initial package was like this, and that the new re-release might have gone for a cheaper plastic case or something.
What's the difference between the two versions? I read some comments that the original release came in a sturdy package. This version's slipcover looks pretty thin - did the original have a better box? Any other differences? Just curious.
I don't have a copy of the reissued version, but my understanding is that it's now a perfect physical match for Shadows of Progress - on my shelves, the old Land of Promise is clearly physically bigger, despite containing more or less exactly the same amount of material (in fact, Shadows of Progress has a longer cumulative running time).
Thanks, Michael. I did a bit of reading since my post, and it sounds like the original external box is heftier and hence as you say, bigger. Probably very nice, but I'll be more than happy with the new version. And if I get Shadows of Progress next, they'll match!
Next week on BBC4 (and BBC iPlayer) they're showing Britain Through A Lens: The Documentary Film Mob. 60 minutes dedicated to Grierson et al from 1929 to 1945, ie. the period covered in Land of Promise and no doubt with plenty of reference to some of the titles on the set (and the BFI GPO collections too).
It certainly shouldn't be, though I daresay they had stock issues as a by-product of the Sony DADC fire. But it's one of the BFI's flagship releases, and there's no copyright reason I can think of for it to go OOP after less than four years.
