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June the 2nd sees the release of 'La Regle du jeu' (probably the most perfectly made film of all time) and Jean Genet's controversial 'Un Chant d'amour'. The latter features commentary by Jane Giles (who had previously written a monograph on the short published by the BFI) and sees the launch of a new range of "Short Film Classics." Forthcoming releases should include 'Une Partie de campagne' and 'Un Chien andalou.' Maybe I'm a little over-excited but for me this is the best DVD news so far this year.
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Too right!!!
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I'd never seen it before - surreal cinema isn't really my thing - but I caught a little of Un Chien andalou the other night in the extras of Criterion's excellent disk of Spellbound.
I nearly jumped out of my skin (if you've seen it, you'll know what I mean); it looked, erm, interesting...
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So many films, so little time...
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Considering how many directors started making shorts, work exclusively in that arena, or just occasionally dabble, the mind boggles at what could be released: works by Maya Deren? Andy Warhol? 'Night and Fog'? Zbigniew Rybczynski? Man Ray? Hans Richter? Norman McLaren? and (especially) the Lumiere Brothers?
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Night and Fog is coming out on a Criterion (http://www.criterionco.com/asp/release.asp?id=197) disk in June.
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Just received this lovely e-mail from James White at the BFI, so I'll just summarise the main points.
Other films in the Shorts series (no date or specs yet) will be Bunuel and Dali's legendary Un Chien Andalou and Jean Renoir's exquisite Une Partie de Campagne (that's all that's planned for now).
Later in the year, you can expect:
Maitresse (Barbet Schroeder, 1976)
More (Barbet Schroeder, 1969)
Pakeezah (Kamal Amrohi, 1971)
Name of a River (Anup Singh - details (www.hollywood.com/movies/detail/movie/1614879) - appears to be an accompaniment to their Ritwik Ghatak films)
Cathy Come Home (Ken Loach, 1965)
Red Beard (Akira Kurosawa, 1965)
Ikuru (Akira Kurosawa, 1952)
Sanjuro (Akira Kurosawa, 1962)
M. Hulot's Holiday (Jacques Tati, 1953)
Jour de Fete (Jacques Tati, 1947)
Playtime (Jacques Tati, 1967)
Mon Oncle (Jacques Tati, 1958)
Orphee (Jean Cocteau, 1949)
Le Circle Rouge (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1970)
Le Doulos (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1961)
Leon Morin Pretre (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1961)
The Leopard (Luschino Visconti, 1963)
British Transport Films DVD Series Volume 1
They're going to try and include optional English subtitles wherever possible, but occasionally international rights agreements mean they have to have the subtitles appear. They regret it as much as the rest of us, but it's that or nothing.
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I'm surprised that the Tati shorts ('Ecole de Facteurs' etc.) aren't included. Equally surprised that there are some films I haven't heard of: 'More' and 'Le Circle Rouge'.
However, an exceptional list and maybe we'll finally be able to see 'Maitresse' uncut (there's some details on the Melon Farmers site about this one).
Also, no 'The Charge of the Light Brigade' (which they mentioned as forthcoming in last years DVD catalogue) or 'Sixth Happiness' (which they classified by the BBFC a while back).
There's also a little about 'Name of a River' amongst the Ritwik Ghatak releases on the BFI site.
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The Tati shorts will probably be included as extras on each disc (like with the Criterion discs and the BFI's own Peter Watkins releases).
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Yeah, never thought of that. I've just looked up 'More' and 'Le Cercle rouge' on the IMDb...interesting.
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I am quite excited about the Melville DVD's. I have only just recently discovered the films of this chap and brought Bob Le Flambeur, Le Samourai, and Un Flic on DVD all were excellent. I hope the others are just as good.
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If they're releasing the Melville stuff and Cocteau's 'Orphee', then I wouldn't be surprised if 'Les Enfants Terribles' (written by Cocteau, directed by Melville) also surfaces at some point, they've already released it on video a few years back.
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Le Circle Rouge for me. Interesting to see what they do with the Kurosawa and Tati titles.
But like anield, I'm very disappointed not to see Tony Richardson's Charge of the Light Brigade; a restored print and a sublime tranfer would have been enough.
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So many films, so little time...
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Good to see More listed - apparently HVe are planning on releasing it on R1 in the next year or so; they already have the same director's La Vallée out on R1.
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According to their website, the BFI also plan to release some early Chaplin films (the Essanay period - 1914-16) as part of the 'Charlie Chaplin Research Project'. Warner Bros. will also be releasing (amongst others) a restored print of 'The Great Dictator'.
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I'm delighted this list has finally leaked out - I've known about it for months now, but for contractual reasons (i.e. not possessing the authority to speak for the video/DVD department) I've had to keep schtum!
On the subject of the Lumière Brothers titles - and indeed most other things from 1895-1905 - I thoroughly recommend Kino's five-disc <I>The Movies Begin</I> box set, which covers pretty much all the bases (virtually all the key French, British and American pioneers), transfers and prints are as good as the often ropey original materials will permit, and extras include reasonably comprehensive programme notes for each title.
And on the subject of great shorts, Image Entertainment are distributing two DVDs of Jan Svankmajer's collected shorts in early June - the first two volumes seem to cover fourteen out of twenty-six in total, so hopefully there'll be another two at some point in the future.
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Although I freely admit to buying way too many Region 1 DVD for someone living in a European country, it does seem like the Region 2 releases, and in particular those issued by the BFI, are getting better and better.
While I own tons of titles released by Connoisseur Video and BFI Films on VHS, I’m somewhat ashamed to say, however, that out of the 424 discs I own, only 2 are from the BFI, so far – Lotte Reiniger’s THE ADVENTURES OF PRINCE ACHMED (1926) and Ken Russell’s DELIUS - SONG OF SUMMER (1968; TV). If I were to incorporate the newly “announced” upcoming titles on the BFI label mentioned in this thread, my “Wanted” DVD list would look something like this:
1. MAD LOVE - THREE FILMS BY EVGENII BAUER: TWILIGHT OF A WOMAN’S SOUL (1913)/AFTER DEATH (1915)/THE DYING SWAN (1917)
2. SOUTH (1919)
3. NOSFERATU (1922)
4. THE IRON HORSE (1924)
5. UN CHIEN ANDALOU (1928)
6. MAN WITH A MOVIE CAMERA (1929)
7. UNE PARTIE DE CAMPAGNE (1936)
8. OSSESSIONE (1942)
9. LA TERRA TREMA (1948)
10. SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY MORNING (1960)
11. A TASTE OF HONEY (1961)
12. ELGAR (1962; TV)
13. THE LONELINESS OF THE LONG DISTANCE RUNNER (1962)
14. AN ACTOR’S REVENGE (1963)
15. THE CARETAKER (1963)
16. THE LEOPARD (1963)
17. CULLODEN (1964; TV – with bonus Short THE FORGOTTEN FACES [1961])
18. THE WAR GAME (1965; TV – with bonus Short THE DIARY OF AN UNKNOWN SOLDIER [1959])
19. ALICE IN WONDERLAND (1966; TV – with bonus Short ALICE IN WONDERLAND [1903])
20. WHISTLE AND I’LL COME TO YOU (1968; TV)
21. THE YEAR OF THE SEX OLYMPICS (1968; TV)
22. MORE (1969)
23. THE STONE TAPE (1972; TV)
24. A WARNING TO THE CURIOUS (1972; TV)
25. MAITRESSE (1976)
26. THE SIGNALMAN (1976; TV)
27. GHOSTWATCH (1992; TV)
Quite an impressive list of titles I must say, even though some of them would not have caught my attention (especially the Archive TV discs) were it not for the praise heaped upon them on various online Discussion Boards by the likes of Narshty and others, not to mention the sheer amount of supplements included on most of them. It is more of a pity, therefore, that, for example, THE IRON HORSE, LA TERRA TREMA and AN ACTOR’S REVENGE are virtually bare-bones releases. I have LA TERRA TREMA on VHS and I’ve already watched AN ANCTOR’S REVENGE twice (both at the NFT), but I’ve never seen THE IRON HORSE, by all accounts a milestone in both John Ford’s career and the Western genre.
You must have surely noticed several egregious omissions from that list and that’s because A LOT of these BFI DVDs have been (or are rumored to be) given a Region 1 Special Edition via the esteemed Criterion Collection. I am not a Criterion elitist in any way but I think it would be wiser for me to get those Criterions which are better than their BFI counterparts as well as wait until the rumored titles materialize. As can be seen from the following list of titles, Criterion and the BFI have crossed each other’s paths (or should be doing so in the future) on several occasions:
· LA REGLE DU JEU (1939)
· LA BELLE ET LA BETE (1946)
· ORPHEE` (1949)
· STRAY DOG (1949)
· RASHOMON (1950)
· IKIRU (1952)
· MR. HULOT'S HOLIDAY (1953; which had SOIGNE TON GAUCHE [1936] in tow on the Criterion DVD)
· SEVEN SAMURAI (1954)
· THRONE OF BLOOD (1957)
· THE HIDDEN FORTRESS (1958)
· MON ONCLE (1958; accompanied by L'ECOLE DU FACTEURS [1947] on the Criterion DVD)
· LEON MORIN, PRETRE (1961)
· YOJIMBO (1961)
· LE DOULOS (1962)
· SANJURO (1962)
· BANDE A` PART (1964)
· RED BEARD (1965)
· PLAYTIME (1967; with COURS DU SOIR [1967] as a bonus Short on the Criterion DVD)
· LE CERCLE ROUGE (1970)
· SALO` (1975)
From all of these, I already own (or have “on order”) LA BELLE ET LA BETE (1946), ORPHEE` (1949; available as part of Criterion’s 3-Disc Set of Jean Cocteau’s “The Orphic Trilogy”), RASHOMON (1950), SEVEN SAMURAI (1954), THRONE OF BLOOD (1957), BANDE A` PART (1964) and RED BEARD (1965). In most cases I’m glad I went for the Criterions due to the extensive supplements included on them, but then the BFI’s upcoming disc of BANDE A` PART has an exclusive Audio Commentary apart from much of the same supplements already available on the Criterion. And who can say what ORPHEE` (taken on its own merits, a disappointingly slim edition from Criterion for Cocteau’s masterpiece) will have to offer in the extras department once it gets released by the BFI? All the same, I would decidedly leap at the chance of owning another DVD edition of this classic if it were to include the elusive full-length 112-minute version of the film - rather than the 95-minute cut featured on both the Criterion disc and the BFI’s “Connoisseur Video” VHS!
After all, I have already “suffered” a few practices of double-dipping in my time, owning both the Image and Kino R1 DVD editions of THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI (1919) and NOSFERATU, as well as Warner’s THE EXORCIST: 25th Anniversary Edition (on R1) and THE EXORCIST: THE VERSION YOU’VE NEVER SEEN (on R2)! Now NOSFERATU must surely be the most headache-inducing title on DVD for its die-hard fans: not only are both the Image and Kino editions BOTH essential if one is to get the complete picture (both literally - featuring as they do different cuts of the film, as it were – and metaphorically – since they feature distinctly different and equally interesting supplements), but the Eureka Video 2-Disc Set features yet again several exclusive extras including a full-length Audio Commentary (which, at least, my friendly local video shop owner has so generously made me a copy of on VHS, together with the one on Eureka’s R2 DVD of FAUST [1926]!), as does the BFI edition (soon to be released also in the US via The Milestone Collection and distributed yet again through Image Entertainment!) including that devilishly tempting (judging for his previous work) James Bernard music score! It’s mind-boggling stuff, I tell you!!
But these examples of “double-dipping” hardly seem to be exceptional cases judging from the following list which gives on the right-hand side the version I currently own against the “other” tantalizing one on the left:
· BIOGRAPH SHORTS [2-Disc Set] (Kino – R1) vs. D.W. GRIFFITH: YEARS OF DISCOVERY 1909-1913 [2-Disc Set] (Image – R1)
· THE THIEF OF BAGHDAD (1924) [Image R1 vs. Eureka R2 vs. upcoming Kino R1)
· THE GOLD RUSH (1925) [Image R1 vs. upcoming 2-Disc Set from Warner R1]
· THE CIRCUS (1928) [Image R1 vs. upcoming 2-Disc Set from Warner on R1]
· CITY LIGHTS (1931) [Image R1 vs. upcoming 2-Disc Set from Warner on R1]
· MODERN TIMES (1936) [Image R1 vs. upcoming 2-Disc Set from Warner on R1]
· THE GREAT DICTATOR (1940) [Image R1 vs. upcoming 2-Disc Set from Warner on R1]
· CITIZEN KANE (1941) [Warner R1 vs. upcoming The Laureate Collection R2 - both 2-Disc Sets]
· CASABLANCA (1942) [Warner R1 vs. upcoming 2-Disc Set from Warner again on R1]
· LIMELIGHT (1952) [Image R1 vs. upcoming 2-Disc Set from Warner on R1]
· A KING IN NEW YORK (1957)/A WOMAN OF PARIS (1923) [Image R1 vs. upcoming 2-Disc Set from Warner on R1]
· THE VAMPIRE (1957) [Mondo Macabro R2] vs. upcoming THE VAMPIRE/THE VAMPIRE’S COFFIN (1958) [Something Weird/Image R1]
· CHARADE (1963) [Criterion R1 vs. The Laureate Collection R2]
· ANDREI RUBLEV (1966) [Criterion R1 vs. The RusCiCo/Artificial Eye R2 2-Disc Set]
· STRAW DOGS (1971) [Fremantle Media R2 vs. The Criterion R1 2-Disc LE Set]
· SOLARIS (1972) [Criterion R1 vs. The RusCiCo/Artificial Eye R2 – both 2-Disc Sets]
· THE WICKER MAN (1973) [Anchor Bay R1 LE vs. The Studio Canal/Warner R2 – both 2-Disc Sets]
Excuse me for the extremely long-winded digression but allow me to get back on track by contratulating the BFI for their extremely promising slate of DVD releases for 2003.
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It's no coincidence that there's a fair degree of overlap between the BFI and Criterion - Criterion often turn to the BFI when sourcing the best prints, which are often sitting in the National Film and Television Archive (run by the BFI).
This can create anomalies, though - the BFI undoubtedly owns the best prints of the great Powell & Pressburger films (having expensively restored them over the last couple of decades), they don't own the distribution rights - and Carlton (who do) seem happier to release their own prints - understandably, because there's far less hassle involved.
So instead the BFI ends up licencing their prints to Criterion (who have the US distribution rights) which creates a situation whereby classic British films are released in the best British-sourced prints on DVD... outside Britain!
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Just thought I'd resurrect this thread as this months Empire magazine lists a couple of additions to the list: Peter Greenaway's 'The Draughtman's Contract' and Michael Powell's 'Edge of the World'. No word on the release dates yet, although perhaps we could see the recently discovered Powell short 'Smith' as an extra on 'Edge of the World'. (I've e-mailed the BFI concerning this, and will post the info when I get a response.)
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Originally posted by anield
Just thought I'd resurrect this thread as this months Empire magazine lists a couple of additions to the list: Peter Greenaway's 'The Draughtman's Contract' and Michael Powell's 'Edge of the World'. No word on the release dates yet, although perhaps we could see the recently discovered Powell short 'Smith' as an extra on 'Edge of the World'. (I've e-mailed the BFI concerning this, and will post the info when I get a response.)
Better and better...hope it's the start of some decent Greenaway releases; Michael Nyman's score on TDC is scintillating.
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So many films, so little time...
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Originally posted by John Hodson
Better and better...hope it's the start of some decent Greenaway releases; Michael Nyman's score on TDC is scintillating.
Sadly PG is only represents in the UK by 'The Pillow Book' and his wonderful short 'Dear Phone' on the Cinema 16 compilation. Although, I believe that '8 and a half Women' is getting a £5.99 release from Pathe next month.
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[QUOTE]Originally posted by Narshty
[B]Just received this lovely e-mail from James White at the BFI, so I'll just summarise the main points.
Other films in the Shorts series (no date or specs yet) will be Bunuel and Dali's legendary Un Chien Andalou and Jean Renoir's exquisite Une Partie de Campagne (that's all that's planned for now).
Later in the year, you can expect:
Maitresse (Barbet Schroeder, 1976)
More (Barbet Schroeder, 1969)
Pakeezah (Kamal Amrohi, 1971)
Name of a River (Anup Singh - details (www.hollywood.com/movies/detail/movie/1614879) - appears to be an accompaniment to their Ritwik Ghatak films)
Cathy Come Home (Ken Loach, 1965)
Red Beard (Akira Kurosawa, 1965)
Ikuru (Akira Kurosawa, 1952)
Sanjuro (Akira Kurosawa, 1962)
M. Hulot's Holiday (Jacques Tati, 1953)
Jour de Fete (Jacques Tati, 1947)
Playtime (Jacques Tati, 1967)
Mon Oncle (Jacques Tati, 1958)
Orphee (Jean Cocteau, 1949)
Le Circle Rouge (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1970)
Le Doulos (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1961)
Leon Morin Pretre (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1961)
The Leopard (Luschino Visconti, 1963)
British Transport Films DVD Series Volume 1
Surely this is a mistake! One of these films is actually British!!!!:D
I wonder how far the French Film Institute have progressed with their Michael Caine season?
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Originally posted by The German
Surely this is a mistake! One of these films is actually British!!!!:D
You've surely heard the old joke about BFI standing for "British Films Ignored"...? :D :p
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Originally posted by Michael Brooke
It's no coincidence that there's a fair degree of overlap between the BFI and Criterion - Criterion often turn to the BFI when sourcing the best prints, which are often sitting in the National Film and Television Archive (run by the BFI).
This can create anomalies, though - the BFI undoubtedly owns the best prints of the great Powell & Pressburger films (having expensively restored them over the last couple of decades), they don't own the distribution rights - and Carlton (who do) seem happier to release their own prints - understandably, because there's far less hassle involved.
So instead the BFI ends up licencing their prints to Criterion (who have the US distribution rights) which creates a situation whereby classic British films are released in the best British-sourced prints on DVD... outside Britain! Hmmn, the Carlton prints of both 'The Life & Death of Colonel Blimp' and 'The Red Shoes' appear to be superior to those used by Criterion, judging by the comparative reviews here (http://www.celtoslavica.de/chiaroscuro/films/lifeblimp/blimp.html) and here (http://207.136.67.23/film/dvdcompare/redshoes.htm).
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Anyone have a release date for Maitresse?
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Originally posted by agnetha
Anyone have a release date for Maitresse?
July 28th. (Also released on the same day: 'More', 'Une Partie de campagne' and 'Name of the River'.)
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Following speculation as to whether or not it was happening, I'm delighted to confirm that <I>The Leopard</I> will be the BFI's big Christmas 2003 DVD release - and while content has yet to be confirmed, it's unlikely to be bare-bones:
(a) because the theatrical reissue is well on course to being the BFI's biggest hit ever;
(b) because I lent the head of BFI Video my two-disc Italian edition a few months ago, and he promised that the BFI would use it as a benchmark… and improve on it!
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Excellent news Michael, I can't wait.
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It appears English-speaking Visconti fans will have two options, as apparently Criterion are preparing their own extensive edition for some time next year. Stay tuned...