Priest

[yoloswegmaster]

First time on Blu-ray for this award-winning British 1990’s drama, directed by Antonia Bird and written by Jimmy McGovern.

At his new parish in inner-city Liverpool, eager young priest Father Greg (Linus Roache) clashes with his colleague Father Matthew (Tom Wilkinson) over his progressive politics and disregard for his vow of celibacy. But soon, Father Greg’s harsh judgement is directed inwards as he grapples with his attraction to a man, and his faith is tested when he learns of a young girl’s abuse in the confessional.

On its release, the film was widely condemned by the Church for its depiction of Catholicism, with calls to ban its theatrical release and boycotts of theatres screening the film. While some saw it as blasphemous, others praised it for its bold and confronting lens on the scandals and contradictions within the Catholic institution.

Extras:
The BAFTA & BFI Screenwriters’ Lecture Series: Jimmy McGovern (2016, 27 mins): The award-winning writer in conversation with journalist Miranda Sawyer
The Guardian Interview: Antonia Bird (1995, 70 mins)
The Priest (1953, 22 mins): amateur documentary outlining the work of Catholic priests in the Brentwood and Romford area. The film's tone, though pious, ranges from gentle humour to deadly earnest
Other extras tbc
**FIRST PRESSING ONLY** Illustrated booklet with new writing on the film

[beamish14]

I wish some of Antonia Bird’s television works could’ve been packaged with this. Her passing on the cusp of a major career was so tragic

[The Curious Sofa]

I'm not sure this has ever even been out on DVD, I held on to a VHS for ages which I'd taped off TV. Anyway, this is a very welcome release. I haven't seen this since the 90s and remember it to be an absolute heartbreaker of a movie.

[beamish14]

I'm not sure this has ever even been out on DVD, I held on to a VHS for ages which I'd taped off TV. Anyway, this is a very welcome release. I haven't seen this since the 90s and remember it to be an absolute heartbreaker of a movie.

Yep, it had an R1 release from Miramax. I love the door-to-door community outreach that Tom Wilkinson tags along on. The bit with them running into Jehovah’s Witnesses is hysterical

[Lowry_Sam]

Yeah! Guessed this 2x this year (for Criterion) as a twofer with Ravenous, maybe the other (drama) half of my other most wanted twofer, Heavenly Creatures & Braindead will also come soon (but on UHD), particularly with the talk of 4k restoration screenings. Glad to see BFI picking up 80s/90s titles that have seemed to fallen through the cracks & never released on blu-ray despite decent reviews.

If I remember correctly the US dvd of Priest was letterboxed and looked rather poor.

[MichaelB]

I wish some of Antonia Bird’s television works could’ve been packaged with this. Her passing on the cusp of a major career was so tragic

Although happily Jimmy McGovern is still alive and active and indeed his latest has just been released on the iPlayer.

Films like this really underscore how weird it is that in Britain when it comes to television we prioritise the writer as the main creative contributor, whereas with a film the writer gets forgotten and it becomes un film de Antonia Bird - even if the writer and director worked just as often in both media. Which is why Alan Clarke took so long to be recognised as a major directing talent, as he mainly worked in television so was sidelined.

But Priest is very much a writer's film, and it's far, far easier to discern McGovern's fingerprints all over this than it is to distinguish Bird's - all you have to do is watch the rivetingly nauseating mid-point confessional scene with the father and it's pretty much quintessential McGovern.

(This is the example I cite when demonstrating why I think McGovern is a far better writer than Ken Loach's favourite screenwriter Paul Laverty - because Laverty invariably pulls his punches and preaches to the already converted, no doubt with Loach's approval. In their hands, the father would simply be a one-note caricature representing pure untrammelled evil, whereas in McGovern's hands... well, this aspect arguably comes across even more powerfully because McGovern gives him a complex and articulate viewpoint, so he's not just evil but genuinely terrifying with it.)

[The Curious Sofa]

The main reason I went to see Priest at the time was because I was a huge fan of Jimmy McGovern's Cracker. The three-episode 'To Be Somebody' storyline with Robert Carlyle is up there with the best TV ever written. In terms of complexity and nuance it whipes the floor with anything Loach has done with Laverty (and so does Priest).

[GaryC]

I wish some of Antonia Bird’s television works could’ve been packaged with this. Her passing on the cusp of a major career was so tragic

Most of them would need licensing from the BBC, which is difficult at the best of times. If the Guardian Interview on this disc is the one I went to (I suspect it is), there will be discussion of Safe, which is something I would like to see again. It wasn't repeated when the BBC did an Antonia BIrd tribute night in 2016, which did include the only episode of Eastenders I've ever watched. The documentary for that night, From Eastenders to Hollywood, would be a good extra, but I'd imagine the cost of licensing the film and TV extracts it includes makes it unviable.

[Close The Door, Raymond]

I'm glad to see an uncut version. Miramax cut 7 minutes for the US release.

[The Curious Sofa]

I would have thought it very strange if the BFI released a version of a British film that was only cut for the US.

[MichaelB]

Well, that can happen if there's no alternative - I believe the only surviving version of Hammer's second film The Mystery of the Mary Celeste (1935) is the significantly shorter US version retitled The Phantom Ship - but that obviously doesn't apply here.

We've only ever had the full uncut version of Priest in Britain - thankfully, the Miramax deal didn't include the UK rights, which presumably had already been accounted for.

[domino harvey]

Too bad they couldn’t include some contextual clips of hysterical news coverage like on Maniac— there was a lot of outrage when the film was released stateside (no doubt inflamed and juiced up to some degree by the savvy Weinstein ala John Goodman in Matinee), I remember hearing about this film daily when it was released

[MichaelB]

There wasn't any hysterical news coverage in the UK - in fact, I recall being genuinely baffled when I heard about its reception on the other side of the Atlantic - and I suspect the cost of licensing US TV clips would be prohibitive.

(Most labels would go ahead anyway and claim "fair dealing" under the 1988 Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, something that probably would stand up in court if challenged, but the BFI has a policy of clearing everything upfront - they're sticklers for that, because their entire business model depends on them maintaining good ongoing relationships with rightsholders.)

[The Curious Sofa]

There was some hoopla, because the catholic church in Ireland also tried to get it banned (as we all know, there never has been gay catholic priest ever) but thankfully times had moved on a little since The Life of Brian.

[MichaelB]

Full specs announced:

PRIEST
Written by Jimmy McGovern, Directed by Antonia Bird
Starring Linus Roache, Tom Wilkinson, Robert Carlyle, Cathy Tyson, Lesley Sharp

Released on BFI Blu-ray, Apple TV and Amazon Prime on 17 November 2025

Priest is an award-winning British drama from 1994, directed by Antonia Bird (Face, Ravenous) and written by Jimmy McGovern (The Street, Time, Cracker). Met with controversy on its release, it tells the story of a young Roman Catholic priest torn between his faith and his struggles with the Church. On 17 November the BFI brings Priest to Blu-ray for the first time, with special features including newly filmed interviews with Linus Roache and Jimmy McGovern and a Guardian Interview with Antonia Bird from 1995.

At his new parish in inner-city Liverpool, eager young priest Father Greg Pilkington (Linus Roache, My Policeman) clashes with his colleague Father Matthew Thomas (Tom Wilkinson, In the Bedroom) over the older cleric’s progressive left-wing politics and disregard for the vow of celibacy. But soon, Father Greg’s harsh judgement is directed inwards as he grapples with his attraction to a man, and his faith is tested when he learns of a young girl’s abuse in the confessional.

Special features
• Presented in High Definition
• I Miss Those Days: An Interview With Linus Roache (2025, 18 mins): the actor remembers his childhood influences, professional training and early career
• The Bafta & BFI Screenwriters’ Lecture Series: Jimmy McGovern (2016, 27 mins): the screenwriter discusses his passion for people, his politics and what makes a great screenplay
• Jimmy McGovern Remembers… Priest (2025, 14 mins): Jimmy McGovern looks back on his acclaimed but controversial drama
• The Guardian Interview: Antonia Bird (1995, 72 mins): the director discusses her career leading up to Priest and how she became involved in the project
• The Take: Priest (1999, 4 mins): Simon O’Brien considers how McGovern’s Catholic education and personal experiences influenced his writing on Priest
• The Priest (1953, 22 mins): an amateur documentary about the priesthood and Catholicism moving from the margins to the mainstream
• **FIRST PRESSING ONLY** Illustrated booklet with new writing on the film by Lillian Crawford, a new essay on Antonia Bird by Rachel Pronger; new writing on Jimmy McGovern by Mark Duguid, notes on the special features and credits

Product details
RRP: £19.99 / Cat. no. BFIB1553 / 15
UK / 1994 / colour / 111 minutes / English language with optional descriptive subtitles / aspect ratio 1.66:1 / BD50: 1080p, 24fps, LPCM 2.0 stereo audio (48kHz/24-bit)