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Posted: **Wed Nov 01, 2006 1:21 am**

Gordon wrote:Intro and commentary by Frayling? Fantastic! In looking at Clayton's filmography the other day, I was intrigued by The Bespoke Overcoat as Tony Masters was the AD, Wolfgang Suschitzky was the DP and the music is by Georges Auric - a heckuva combo! A belter of a story, too.

I've never seen the Gogol adaptation, but I have high hopes for it. I once spoke with a couple of aging cineastes (probably in their late seventies) who, after living through the golden age of Bergman Bresson Bunuel blah blah blah, singled this out as the film they most wanted to see again before they died!

Posted: **Wed Nov 01, 2006 3:20 pm**

mario gauci wrote:Filmed introduction and commentary with Professor Christopher Frayling; Original trailer; "The Bespoke Overcoat" (1955, 33 mins) - Jack Clayton's directorial debut; Stills gallery; Booklet with film notes from Jeremy Dyson (The League Of Gentlemen).

Looks like a double-dip for me.

Posted: **Fri Nov 03, 2006 4:09 pm**

Any news on when the BFI Bigger Than Life DVD is coming out?

Posted: **Mon Nov 20, 2006 10:21 pm**

January bfi titles...

Caravaggio (Derek Jarman, UK / 1986)
Wittgenstein (Derek Jarman, UK 1993)
The Angelic Conversation (Derek Jarman, UK 1985)

Posted: **Wed Nov 29, 2006 7:10 pm**

Hot from the BBFC presses:

Cluny Brown

The Fan (Otto Preminger)

(Credit: the irreplaceable John Hodson at The DVD Forums)

Posted: **Wed Nov 29, 2006 8:32 pm**

Narshty wrote:Hot from the BBFC presses

I'm sorry this has nothing to do with the BFI, but this is the most hilarious run of text I've seen in ages:

BBFC wrote:

Code: Select all

THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR	Contains mild language and sex references
THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR	Contains mild language, innuendo and comic threat
THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR	Contains mild sex references
THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR	Contains mild sex references and comic violence
THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR	Contains mild sex references
THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR	Contains mild sex and drug references
THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR	Contains mild sex references
THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR	Contains mild sex references
THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR	Contains mild language and sex references
THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR	Contains mild sex references
THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR	Contains mild sex references and language
THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR	Contains mild sex references
THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR	Contains mild sex references
THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR	Contains mild sex references
THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR	Contains mild sex references
THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR	Contains mild sex references
THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR	Contains mild sex references
THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR	Contains mild sex references
THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR	Contains mild sex references
THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR	Contains mild sex references
THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR	Contains mild sex references
THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR	Contains mild innuendo
THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR	Contains mild sex references
THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR	Contains mild language and sex references
THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR	Contains mild sex references
THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR	Contains mild sex references
THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR	Contains mild emotional upset
THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR	Contains mild sex references
THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR	Contains mild sex references and innuendo
THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR	Contains mild sex references
THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR	Contains mild sex references
THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR	Contains mild innuendo
THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR	Contains mild comic sex references
THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR	Contains mild innuendo
THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR	Contains mild innuendo 
THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR	Contains mild sex references
I'M A FUCKING DIRTY CUNT!/STRECH MY ARSEHOLE	Consumer advice is not supplied for the R18 category

But the comic gem in the whole shebang is this little turn of phrase that's so easily missed:

BBFC wrote:
Code: Select all
THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR	Contains mild emotional upset

Posted: **Wed Nov 29, 2006 10:44 pm**

denti alligator wrote:The Brothers Quay set is the release of the year!

I'm only halfway through it, but you may be right. I can't imagine how this could have been better. The commentaries are indeed great - candid, funny and dense with information - beautiful transfers, imaginative extras, and one of the most sympathetic overall packages I've seen (I love the dictionary). Congratulations, Michael!

If the forthcoming Svankmajer set is even half as good as this, I'm going to be very happy indeed.

Posted: **Wed Nov 29, 2006 11:08 pm**

Thanks for that, but my colleague James White is the one who really deserves all the plaudits for the transfers. And he told me that Rehearsals was the toughest one to get right (all those thin black-and-white stripes make it almost a textbook encoding challenge), so I'm glad you noticed!

We're drawing up the final Svankmajer specs right now - I can't reveal anything concrete until all the contracts are locked in place, but it's shaping up to be a very exciting package. Especially the extras disc, which should include at least two-and-a-half hours of video material, most of which has never been previously released on any video format (and that's anywhere, not just in Britain). And the stuff that is available elsewhere will be getting English subtitles for the first time.

Posted: **Thu Nov 30, 2006 3:11 am**

MichaelB wrote:We're drawing up the final Svankmajer specs right now - I can't reveal anything concrete until all the contracts are locked in place, but it's shaping up to be a very exciting package. Especially the extras disc, which should include at least two-and-a-half hours of video material, most of which has never been previously released on any video format (and that's anywhere, not just in Britain). And the stuff that is available elsewhere will be getting English subtitles for the first time.

Is it too early to vote for the best release of 2007?

Posted: **Thu Nov 30, 2006 10:03 am**

oh man, Cluny Brown is the best news I've heard in a while!

Posted: **Thu Nov 30, 2006 5:14 pm**

And a possible new print could mean a Criterion release (both this and Heaven can Wait are Fox, right?)

Posted: **Thu Nov 30, 2006 7:30 pm**

Michael
Can you give us any news of a few titles that were mentioned here for BFI releases a while back, Siodmak's Cry of the City, and three Borzages, Seventh Heaven, Street Angel and another, though a friend of mine told me the Borzages had been forthcoming for a year or two. Anything you can tell us?

Posted: **Thu Nov 30, 2006 7:56 pm**

Sorry, but I can't comment on any release that I'm not personally involved with.

Appearances notwithstanding, I don't actually work for BFI Video as such - I'm merely producing two projects for them (the just-released Quay Brothers package and next year's Svankmajer box set) on a freelance basis. And as I'd quite like this relationship to continue, I'm not about to jeopardise it by spreading traceable rumours!

Posted: **Fri Dec 01, 2006 7:28 pm**

Felix wrote:Michael
Can you give us any news of a few titles that were mentioned here for BFI releases a while back, Siodmak's Cry of the City, and three Borzages, Seventh Heaven, Street Angel and another, though a friend of mine told me the Borzages had been forthcoming for a year or two. Anything you can tell us?

I asked yesterday the BFI about the three Borzage silents. The answer was.
"We're having production problems with that title, but will hopefully be
releasing it within the next year. Keep your eye on the national press and our
webiste for further information."
So there's still hope. CLUNY BROWN was released in Germany together with THAT LADY IN HERMINE. But THE FAN is very exciting news.

Posted: **Thu Dec 07, 2006 5:50 pm**

Science is Fiction: The Films of Jean Painlevé (Jean Painlevé, France 1927-1948) - 19 February from BFI

This?...

science is fiction: the films of jean painleve
Poetic pioneer of science films, Jean Painlevé (1902-1989) explored a twilight realm of vampire bats, seahorse, octopi, and liquid crystals. Painlevé made more than 200 films in collaboration with his life-partner, Genevieve Hamon - most of them in bug-eyed wonderment at the curiosities of natural history. Painlevé's astonishing documentaries witness a genuinely 'magic realism', which continues to enchant audiences around the world.

This program surveys the most incredible of all Painleve's films including:

mathusalem (1926 )
Painlevé's earliest completed film. Among its cast, Antonin Artaud appears in the unlikely role of a bishop! (10 mins)

the sea horse (1934)
Painlevé's most celebrated underwater documentary testifies to the delicate charm of this curious critter. Submarine surrealism, with dramatic footage of a pregnant male seahorse giving birth. (14 mins)

the fourth dimension (1937)
A rare showing of this visual extravaganza, with stunning special effects by Achilles Pierre Dufour. Like few others, this film demonstrates cinema's unique powers to illustrate - simply - some otherwise bewildering scientific theories. (10 mins)

bluebeard (1938)
A gorgeous Gasparcolour recreation of this classic fairy tale. Painlevé's solitary claymation (animated over 3 years by Rene Bertrand and his children), restored in 1995, is a transport of whimsy to rival contemporary works from the Disney Studio. (13 mins)

the vampire (1939-45)
A genial, proto-noir exploration of the vampire as biological archetype. Enlivened by a jaunty Duke Ellington soundtrack, this film is Painlevé's cheerfully morbid allegory for nazism! (9 mins)

love life of the octopus (1965)
The fluid grace of an eight-arm embrace, the silken glance of an inscrutably bulbous eye ... Among the most magical films ever made, this is Painlevé's affectionate portrait of another anomalous sea-creature. The startling soundtrack is by electronic music pioneer, Pierre Henry. (13 mins)

phase transformation in liquid crystals (1976)

Lysergic choreography of light and colour; a delirious abstraction created by microcinematography... (6 mins)

This screening will be introduced by Brigitte Berg, The Directrice of Les Documents Cinematographiques (Painlevé's Paris Archive), and co-editor of the principal study of Jean Painleve's life and work, Science is Fiction: The Films of Jean Painlevé

Ms Berg has previously screened this program for the Cannes Film Festival, and the Museum of Modern Art (New York)

Posted: **Sun Dec 10, 2006 11:49 am**

It seems that the BFI's excellent release of Nosferatu (the Photoplay restoration with the glorious James Bernard score) is now OOP, but still available for very reasonable prices from Amazon Marketplace and elsewhere.

Posted: **Sun Dec 10, 2006 1:44 pm**

There are actually new copies still in stock @ Moviemail...

Posted: **Sun Dec 10, 2006 3:13 pm**

porcupine2 wrote:review of the bfi's celine and julie disc:

foggy eyes wrote:I've heard that BFI are attempting to release Bill Douglas's wonderful My Childhood, My Ain Folk and My Way Home next year.

Just for the record, as of the past three months, it's not 'the bfi' or 'BFI', it's 'the BFI'. Definite article, capital B, F and I. In other words, exactly the same as 'the BBC', aside from the last two letters.

By pretty much unanimous agreement, the powers that be decided that the previous official typography (which should correctly have been written 'the bfi') simply wasn't working, especially in e-mails where the italics were often stripped out.

Posted: **Sun Dec 10, 2006 3:29 pm**

Strange had been lower case for simply ages, first the 'bfi' then the 'bfi' right back to the 1970's, so there's a piece of revisionism going on...

Posted: **Sun Dec 10, 2006 3:57 pm**

HerrSchreck wrote:the goddam BFI.

MichaelB, is it appropriate to put an adjective between the definite article and "BFI," as Schreck just did? Or maybe "goddam the BFI" or "the goddam the BFI" would be better?

So glad you discovered this film at last, Schreck. I'm a big fan as well. It also never ceases to amaze me as one of the premiere examples of literary adaptation. I'm looking forward to Frayling's commentary.

Posted: **Sun Dec 10, 2006 4:06 pm**

ellipsis7 wrote:Strange had been lower case for simply ages, first the 'bfi' then the 'bfi' right back to the 1970's

You're confusing the logo with the body text usage - the use of a lower-case, italicised 'bfi' actually dates from a late 1990s rebranding exercise. So this practice actually lasted less than a decade.

True, the BFI logo has been lower-case for longer, but it's not axiomatic that this is carried over into the typography - otherwise we'd all be writing about amazon, myspace and many other similar examples.

tryavna wrote:MichaelB, is it appropriate to put an adjective between the definite article and "BFI," as Schreck just did? Or maybe "goddam the BFI" or "the goddam the BFI" would be better?

Well, I'd personally spell 'goddamn' with an 'n', but otherwise Schreck's example is broadly correct.

Posted: **Sun Dec 10, 2006 10:31 pm**

Actually

Michael B wrote

You're confusing the logo with the body text usage - the use of a lower-case, italicised 'bfi' actually dates from a late 1990s rebranding exercise. So this practice actually lasted less than a decade.

The logos on

RIVETTE Texts and Interviews ed. Rosenbaum pub bfi 1977

MAY 68 and Film Culture/ Sylivia Harvey pub. bfi 1980

ABEL GANCE A Politics of Spectaclee/Norman King pub bfi 1984

All have bfi logos in different format but consistently lower case and unitalicised...

ANTONIONI/Rohdie pub bfi 1990 & indeed OZU AND THE POETICS OF CINEMA/Bordwell pub bfi 1988 have the italicised lower case logo, making it at least 18 years in use!

Posted: **Sun Dec 10, 2006 10:43 pm**

ellipsis7 wrote:ANTONIONI/Rohdie pub bfi 1990 & indeed OZU AND THE POETICS OF CINEMA/Bordwell pub bfi 1988 have the italicised lower case logo, making it at least 18 years in use!

Sorry, but you've completely missed my point.

I'll tactfully assume that this is because I wasn't being clear, and try again: since you presumably have the Rohdie book to hand, perhaps you could have a look at the title page (the one facing the full-page still of Antonioni) and tell me what text appears under the BFI logo, taking care to reproduce it exactly as printed there?

Posted: **Sun Dec 10, 2006 11:02 pm**

There's the lower case logo, as reproduced in my previous post, as well as the printed text BFI Publishing (ie upper Case but just as print)... In Bordwell/Ozu it has the same logo and the simple word Publishing below...

More importantly the previous 3 examples cited all preserve lower case...

Actually I assume market research has been done to show that the bfi/BFI has been impacting primarily with ageing/male/elitist audiences/readers/viewers and it should appeal to wider circle... Hence the relaunched sparkling and seductive website, and Sight and Sound competing with Empire to cover the the multiplex fare...

This gets slightly ridiculous when Renoir's THE RIVER is released on DVD with a series of unconnected contemporaneous shorts...

Politocal Correctness actually originated in academia, and I'm all for it, but it means equality of texts, in other words all texts have equal value...

Posted: **Sun Dec 10, 2006 11:56 pm**

ellipsis7 wrote:There's the lower case logo, as reproduced in my previous post, as well as the printed text BFI Publishing (ie upper Case but just as print)... In Bordwell/Ozu it has the same logo and the simple word Publishing below...

More importantly the previous 3 examples cited all preserve lower case...

No they don't. Forget the logo. I'm not talking about the logo. I'm talking about the fact that as of September 2006 it is no longer the case that the BFI refers to itself as 'the bfi' or 'the bfi' in body text.

And you won't find a single example of this usage in any of the books you cited (outside the logo itself) or indeed anywhere else, because this practice dates from the late 1990s. I'm sorry if you don't believe me, but facts are facts.

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