Forthcoming DVDs from the BFI....

[julian_craster]

Forthcoming DVDs from the BFI

The Adelphi Films Collection (all restored by the BFI)

The Crowded Day + Song of Paris March 2011

Fun at St Fannys + You Lucky People August 2011

The Great Game + Miss Tulip Stays the Night January 2012

Adelphi Films

But......Will the restored Stars in Your Eyes will issued during my lifetime ?
We Dorothy fans want to know !

I hope those who may be bootlegging the Sky Arts transmissions realise that they are only helping to put the BFI out of business....these restorations are costly.....!

[theuofc]

Forthcoming DVDs from the BFI

The Adelphi Films Collection (all restored by the BFI)

The Crowded Day + Song of Paris March 2011

Fun at St Fannys + You Lucky People August 2011

The Great Game + Miss Tulip Stays the Night January 2012

Adelphi Films

I hope those who may be bootlegging the Sky Arts transmissions realise that they are only helping to put the BFI out of business....these restorations are costly.....!

I haven't checked, Julian, but if any of the BFI discs have special features, that will help maintain sales despite any copying from Sky Arts.

[julian_craster]

Copying and selling on E-Bay is the major threat (rather than for individual use).......

BFI DVDs always have good booklets and extras (where possible...)

[Spasuit]

If DVD producers charged less than the rip off prices they do, people would buy them ...

[julian_craster]

No 'commercial' DVD company would ever spend thousands of £££ restoring minority interest titles like these - they would just use unrestored 'junk' 16mm prints, for which you might pay a bit less (as with Pegasus DVDs).

As BFI DVDs are generally discounted at Amazon and the like, I think they represent good value - certainly not 'rip off prices'....

You have a choice between 'cheaper and shoddy' AND a quality product !

[Brief Encounter]

As I've said elsewhere, the BFI should stop them being shown on TV first if they want to protect sales!

And yes... we friends of Dorothy do want to know

[Maurice]

The BFI overlooks VENUS PETER (1989) for DVD release. The film was last shown on TV in 1997 - when Channel 4's rights expired.

[orpheum2]

As I've said elsewhere, the BFI should stop them being shown on TV first if they want to protect sales!

And yes... we friends of Dorothy do want to know

I was rather miffed over qhristmas having paid out £15 for the GPO Information Films discs "We Live In Two Worlds" only to see them being shown on Sky Arts 2.All i can think is what is the point of buying BFI discs if they are going to be shown for free on tv.

[julian_craster]

Not sure that Sky Arts 2 is 'free' ! .......but I agree that the BFI should have waited a couple of years before selling them to Sky...Same goes for the Adelphi films collection.....

However the 100 page book the BFI issue with their documentary collections is almost worth £15 on its own....and you can always re-sell the DVD package on Amazon to recoup your costs, if cash is needed...

[CaptainWaggett]

The BFI overlooks VENUS PETER (1989) for DVD release. The film was last shown on TV in 1997 - when Channel 4's rights expired.

Do they own the rights?

[Bernardo]

No 'commercial' DVD company would ever spend thousands of £££ restoring minority interest titles like these - they would just use unrestored 'junk' 16mm prints, for which you might pay a bit less (as with Pegasus DVDs).

As BFI DVDs are generally discounted at Amazon and the like, I think they represent good value - certainly not 'rip off prices'....

You have a choice between 'cheaper and shoddy' AND a quality product !

Plus I do not begrudge supporting worthwhile causes as the BFI certainly is.

[Cheeky Bob]

Do they own the rights?

The BFI was one of five UK-based production companies, but there's no indication from the credits who'd have ended up with the video rights.

That said, the BFI does seem to be trawling through its own back catalogue - they recently put out Anchoress, Smalltime and Silent Scream.

[Cheeky Bob]

As I've said elsewhere, the BFI should stop them being shown on TV first if they want to protect sales!

I doubt the BFI has much choice in the matter, and I'm assuming they need the money from TV sales in order to fund the production of these releases in the first place.

Most distributors of catalogue titles just pull any available video master off the shelf (sometimes it's painfully obvious that even recent DVDs were sourced from ancient analogue video transfers made a decade or two ago), but the BFI works directly from the surviving film materials.

Which is why their Adelphi releases look so stunning compared with a typical Optimum release of an Ealing title - but the downside is that they're more expensive to produce. And I also presume the market is a fair bit smaller.

[Mr Pastry Time]

Thanks Julian for the info which is most welcome.
Not the greatest fan of the BFI inner workings, BUT what a superb job they did on Penny Points to Paradise, Let’s Go Crazy and Slappiest Days.. Three films on one Blu-ray and worth every penny!
Hats off to BFI and all the VOLUNTEERS who made the above happen...

[Chris B]

Just had my copy of The Crowded Day + Song of Paris, I have screened THE CROWDED DAY the blu ray transfer is absolutely stunning and the standard dvd is also excellent, well pleased.

[didi-5]

Thanks Julian for the info which is most welcome.
Not the greatest fan of the BFI inner workings, BUT what a superb job they did on Penny Points to Paradise, Let’s Go Crazy and Slappiest Days.. Three films on one Blu-ray and worth every penny!
Hats off to BFI and all the VOLUNTEERS who made the above happen...

They did - it was an excellent DVD.

[Maurice]

Do they own the rights?

Apologies, Captain, for this late reply.

In May, 2009, Channel 4 advised me that its rights to VENUS PETER expired in 1997.
The film was supplied by the BFI and shown in 1992 and 1997.

The BFI later told me: "The BFI is likely to hold rights to VENUS PETER.
"Unfortunately, the BFI has no definite plans at the present time to release a DVD of the film."

[mariocki]

Plenty of BFI Blu-rays at £5:95 in the Zavvi Mega Monday promotion, including Salo, Saturday Night Sunday Morning, Privilege, Man Of Violence, Bill Douglas Trilogy, Permissive, The Bed Sitting Room, Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner etc.

Blu-ray | Zavvi.com

[JamesM]

Plenty of BFI Blu-rays at £5:95 in the Zavvi Mega Monday promotion, including Salo, Saturday Night Sunday Morning, Privilege, Man Of Violence, Bill Douglas Trilogy, Permissive, The Bed Sitting Room, Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner etc.

Blu-ray | Zavvi.com

And That Kind of Girl, Winstanley, Comrades and All the Right Noises

Thanks for the tip off, I am going on a spending spree.

[JamesM]

Eight BFI Blu Rays ordered on Sunday night. None have shipped. How about anyone else?