The Mike Leigh Feature Film Collection back in stock!

[MarcDavidJacobs]

For those who didn't get a chance to pick up a copy the first time around, the goregous 11-disc Mike Leigh Feature Film Collection looks to be back in stock, at least on a few sites. Best of all, it appears to be the exact same release as the last time, complete with 44-page booklet (extracts from the Amy Raphael's book Mike Leigh On Mike Leigh), bonus disc with interviews and South Bank Show episode, and, of course, the ten feature films by Leigh from Bleak Moments (1971) to Vera Drake (2004), with a few healthy additions of commentaries and makings-of documentaries.



After waiting quite a while, and painfully contemplating the extortionist prices that were being offered for even used copies (starting around £180 and up to £250 for new sets), I finally got mine yesterday, and I can definately say it was well worth the wait! Especially at £42.99 at amazon.co.uk. So take that, resale vultures!



This said, anyone interested might want to pick up their copy sooner than later, as who knows how long it might be in stock this time around.... I think these sets often run into problems with limited licensing, since the discs are usually compiled from existing releases from a number of different distributors. I would guess it is for this very reason that, most regrettably, the two volumes of the utterly brilliant Ken Loach Collection have just gone out of print, even from the website at Sixteen Films. And already I can see the prices doubling for some copies....



—Marc-David

[didi-5]

Good news. Happily I got the second Loach volume for £15 at HMV which was a no-brainer. I'll certainly compare prices on the Leigh film set.

[wellendcanons]

Excellent news. He's a superb film director. I only enjoyed watching Happy Go Lucky for the first time today. Marvellous film.



wec

[MarcDavidJacobs]

name='wellendcanons' timestamp='1285277169' post='476792']

Excellent news. He's a superb film director. I only enjoyed watching Happy Go Lucky for the first time today. Marvellous film.

Not to start sounding like a hawker, but I'd say that, on the chance you haven't seen it already (as enthusiastic as you are about his work), I would also unreservedly recommend a look at the Mike Leigh At The BBC set, in addition to the feature films one. At the complete other end of the timeline (if not the spectrum) from Happy-Go-Lucky, I was just yesterday watching the first film in it, Hard Labour (1973), and I was absolutely floored. Similar to its predecessor, Bleak Moments, it does so well with its subtle mixing in of humour to its stories of often-painfully-inarticulate characters, but the technique in Hard Labour is just incomparably more refined...and deadly in its accomplished accuracy. It really is astonishing just how much was achieved with so little — and I mean little in terms of dialogue, plot and what one would commonly define as storyline; certainly not referring to the talent involved.



And not only was it Leigh's second film altogether, as well as lead actress Liz Smith's (her first also being Bleak Moments), but I was astonished to find it was also the first film for its soon-to-be-legendary cinematographer, Tony Pierce-Roberts (later of, amongst so many others, Days Of Hope; Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy; A Room With A View and Howards End), and his talent is certainly shown off to its best effect in a film so much about prolonged looks and silent sufferings.



And, as you probably already know, Leigh's work just gets better and better from there.

[didi-5]

Yes, I have the Mike Leigh at the BBC set and would definitely recommend it. A very nice package in itself which looks great on the shelf and is full of goodies when you come to play it.

[wellendcanons]

name='MarcDavidJacobs' timestamp='1285372727' post='477170']

Not to start sounding like a hawker, but I'd say that, on the chance you haven't seen it already (as enthusiastic as you are about his work), I would also unreservedly recommend a look at the Mike Leigh At The BBC set, in addition to the feature films one. At the complete other end of the timeline (if not the spectrum) from Happy-Go-Lucky, I was just yesterday watching the first film in it, Hard Labour (1973), and I was absolutely floored. Similar to its predecessor, Bleak Moments, it does so well with its subtle mixing in of humour to its stories of often-painfully-inarticulate characters, but the technique in Hard Labour is just incomparably more refined...and deadly in its accomplished accuracy. It really is astonishing just how much was achieved with so little — and I mean little in terms of dialogue, plot and what one would commonly define as storyline; certainly not referring to the talent involved.



And not only was it Leigh's second film altogether, as well as lead actress Liz Smith's (her first also being Bleak Moments), but I was astonished to find it was also the first film for its soon-to-be-legendary cinematographer, Tony Pierce-Roberts (later of, amongst so many others, Days Of Hope; Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy; A Room With A View and Howards End), and his talent is certainly shown off to its best effect in a film so much about prolonged looks and silent sufferings.



And, as you probably already know, Leigh's work just gets better and better from there.

Thanks for the information Mark. I will look out for those titles. Mike Leigh is a superb director. He seems to have the ability of bringing the very best out of actors. I bet he won't have had to try too hard with Sally Hawkins. I've never seen her in a bad performance yet.



wec