Upcoming BFI Blu-ray Releases
HomeUpcoming BFI Blu-ray Releases
Posted February 3, 2022 11:13 PM by Webmaster
The British Film Institute has announced ten new Blu-ray releases, which will be made available for purchase between April and June. Amongst them are: Nineteen Eighty-Four (1954), The 400 Blows (1959), and The Appointment (1981).
The Appointment
An evil and enigmatic entity throws a family into turmoil in Lindsey C. Vickers' much sought-after cult horror. Unable to attend his daughter's violin recital, suburban father Ian – played by Edward Woodward (The Wicker Man) – is haunted by a series of prophetic nightmares that seem to foresee a looming tragedy. Are dark forces gathering to be unleashed upon him?
An unsettling journey into the world of the supernatural guaranteed to give you sleepless nights, The Appointment is this latest addition to the popular BFI Flipside collection. It is with the director's blessing (and extensive involvement) that the BFI have decided to make this much requested title available, using the best materials as yet discovered.
BFI Flipside is dedicated to rediscovering the margins of British film, reclaiming a space for forgotten movies and filmmakers who would otherwise be in danger of disappearing from our screens forever. It is a home for UK cinematic oddities, offering everything from exploitation documentaries to B-movies, countercultural curios and obscure classics, If it's weird, British and forgotten, then it's Flipside.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
Nineteen Eighty-Four
George Orwell's enduring dystopian masterpiece is brought vividly to life in this celebrated BBC production. Adapted by Nigel Kneale (The Quatermass Experiment), Nineteen Eighty-Four broke new ground for television drama when first broadcast in 1954. Featuring a stunning central performance from Peter Cushing as the doomed Winston Smith, this highly influential small screen landmark has been newly restored by the BFI using original film materials from the BBC archive.
One of the most requested BBC productions it's presented here for the very first time on Blu-ray and DVD and released to coincide with Kneale's centenary. Experience Orwell's haunting vision of a world dictated by tyranny and propaganda; Big Brother is watching.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
Faithless
An aging director conjures a tale of adultery, betrayal and grief, in this powerful meditation on love and art based on a loosely autobiographical script by Ingmar Bergman.
Directed by Liv Ullmann - Bergman's former muse and actress - Faithless is a lyrical, passionate and enigmatic work of outstanding depth; an emotional mystery story that reflects on the desire and torment of an intense romantic affair.
Sensitively depicted via Ullmann's assured direction and featuring a stunning central performance by Lena Endre, this modern classic is presented on Blu-ray for the first time.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
The 400 Blows
Misunderstood and mistreated by his neglectful parents and repressive schoolteachers, 12-year-old Antoine Doinel (Jean-Pierre Léaud) seeks refuge in truancy, petty crime and the cinema.
A true landmark of world cinema that heralded the start of the French New Wave, The 400 Blows is universally regarded as one of the all-time great coming-of-age movies.
The directorial debut of François Truffaut – and the most autobiographical of his films – this rebellious, award-winning milestone is presented in a new 4K restoration.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
Jules & Jim
Set just before the outbreak of World War One, François Truffaut's hugely popular classic sees Jeanne Moreau at her most ebullient as Catherine, a Parisian beauty caught up in a complex ménage à trois.
Fast, funny and stylish, this romantic rollercoaster – presented in a new 2K restoration – is deeply affecting and engaging, and confirmed Truffaut's status as a key director of the French New Wave.
Featuring ground-breaking artistic innovations and iconic imagery galore, Jules et Jim remains a highly influential landmark of world cinema.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
The Men
Struggling to come to terms with his injuries, a paraplegic war veteran turns to his doctor, fiancé and former comrades as he adjusts to a new way of life.
Featuring a powerhouse performance from Marlon Brando in his first feature film, The Men is a poignant reflection on the life-changing impact of paraplegia and the support networks that help those affected rehabilitate and integrate back into society.
Directed by Fred Zinnemann and starring a stellar supporting cast – including Teresa Wright (Shadow of a Doubt) and Everett Sloane (Citizen Kane), this Hollywood landmark is presented on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
The Soft Skin
A successful academic's life is changed forever when a whirlwind affair throws his life into disarray, in François Truffaut's celebrated romantic drama.
Strongly influenced by the work of Jean Renoir and Alfred Hitchcock, La Peau douce is one of Truffaut's most subtle and engaging films - an exhilarating and suspenseful vision of masculinity in crisis.
Featuring a trio of exceptional lead performances and bold Raoul Coutard camerawork, this underrated masterpiece thrills and beguiles all the way until its shocking conclusion.
STREET DATE: MAY 30.
The Last Metro
In occupied Paris an actress hides her Jewish, theatre director husband to protect him against Nazi persecution, in this enthralling exploration of humanity at its best and worst.
Featuring mesmerising performance from French cinema icons Catherine Deneuve and Gérard Depardieu, The Last Metro is a powerful character study set against the backdrop of fascist tyranny.
An award-winning, late-career masterpiece from director François Truffaut, this thrilling tale of resistance and tolerance is presented in a new 2K restoration.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
Lawrence of Belgravia
As lead singer of the much-loved bands Felt, Denim and Go-Kart Mozart, Lawrence is one of true cult artists of the British indie music scene, without really ever troubling the charts over his 40 year career. First released in 2012, Paul Kelly's (Saint Etienne's The London Trilogy, Dexys' Nowhere is Home) intimate portrait was a labour of love which was eight years in the making. It follows Lawrence between Go Kart Mozart albums, weighed down by the chips on his shoulders while still dreaming of being a pop star who rides in limousines and dates supermodels.
Previously only available on a long-deleted DVD, this new BFI edition presents Lawrence of Belgravia – one of the most outstanding music documentaries of the last 10 years – on Blu-ray for the very first time.
STREET DATE: JUNE 13.
Dissent & Disruption: Alan Clarke at the BBC 1969-1989
Although probably best remembered for the controversial and groundbreaking dramas Scum, Made in Britain and The Firm, the breadth of Alan Clarke's radical, political, innovative, inspirational work, along with his influence on generations of filmmakers, such as Gus Van Sant, Paul Greengrass, Andrea Arnold, Harmony Korine, Clio Barnard, Shane Meadows, should see him rightly regarded as one of Britain's greatest ever filmmaking talents.
This collection brings together twenty-two stand-alone BBC TV dramas that Alan Clarke directed between 1969 and 1989, including such neglected classics as To Encourage the Others, Horace, Penda's Fen, Diane, Contact, Christine and Elephant, and also includes Scum and Clarke's original Director's Cut of The Firm, assembled from his personal answer print, discovered in 2015.
This 12-Disc Box Set also includes a raft of additional materials, including David Leland introductions, extracts from BBC discussion shows Open Air and Tonight, and recently-produced documentaries and audio commentaries.
CONTENT:
The Last Train through Harecastle Tunnel (1969)
Sovereign's Company (1970)
The Hallelujah Handshake (1970)
To Encourage the Others (1972)
Under the Age (1972)
Horace (1972)
The Love Girl and the Innocent (1973)
Penda's Fen (1974)
A Follower for Emily (1974)
Diane (1975)
Funny Farm (1975)
Scum (1977)
Nina (1978)
Danton's Death (1978)
Beloved Enemy (1981)
Psy-Warriors (1981)
Baal (1982)
Stars of the Roller State Disco (1984)
Contact (1985)
Christine (1987)
The Firm: Director's Cut (1989)
The Firm: Broadcast Version (1989)
Elephant (1989)
Note: This 2022 reissue does not feature Road (1987) or the collection of Half Hour Stories (1967-68) that were included in the 2016 limited edition box set.
STREET DATE: JUNE 13.
The Appointment
An evil and enigmatic entity throws a family into turmoil in Lindsey C. Vickers' much sought-after cult horror. Unable to attend his daughter's violin recital, suburban father Ian – played by Edward Woodward (The Wicker Man) – is haunted by a series of prophetic nightmares that seem to foresee a looming tragedy. Are dark forces gathering to be unleashed upon him?
An unsettling journey into the world of the supernatural guaranteed to give you sleepless nights, The Appointment is this latest addition to the popular BFI Flipside collection. It is with the director's blessing (and extensive involvement) that the BFI have decided to make this much requested title available, using the best materials as yet discovered.
BFI Flipside is dedicated to rediscovering the margins of British film, reclaiming a space for forgotten movies and filmmakers who would otherwise be in danger of disappearing from our screens forever. It is a home for UK cinematic oddities, offering everything from exploitation documentaries to B-movies, countercultural curios and obscure classics, If it's weird, British and forgotten, then it's Flipside.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
- Standard Definition (presented on Blu-ray)
- Newly recorded audio commentary on The Appointment by director Lindsey C. Vickers
- Introduction to the film by the director
- Interview with Lindsey C. Vickers (2021)
- Interview with Jane Merrow (2022): the actress recalls her experience of making The Appointment
- The Lake (Lindsey C. Vickers, 1978, 33 mins): a romantic picnic for young lovers Tony and Barbara is threatened by echoes of the horrific violence that happened nearby in this hauntingly effective ghost story
- Newly recorded audio commentary on The Lake by Lindsey C. Vickers
- Extensive galleries featuring rare stills and production materials kindly donated by the director
- Illustrated booklet featuring new writing on the film
- Newly commissioned sleeve art by Matt Needle
Nineteen Eighty-Four
George Orwell's enduring dystopian masterpiece is brought vividly to life in this celebrated BBC production. Adapted by Nigel Kneale (The Quatermass Experiment), Nineteen Eighty-Four broke new ground for television drama when first broadcast in 1954. Featuring a stunning central performance from Peter Cushing as the doomed Winston Smith, this highly influential small screen landmark has been newly restored by the BFI using original film materials from the BBC archive.
One of the most requested BBC productions it's presented here for the very first time on Blu-ray and DVD and released to coincide with Kneale's centenary. Experience Orwell's haunting vision of a world dictated by tyranny and propaganda; Big Brother is watching.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
- Presented in High Definition and Standard Definition
- Newly recorded commentary by Jon Dear, also featuring Toby Hadoke and Andy Murray
- Nigel Kneale: Into the Unknown (2022): writer, actor and stand-up comedian Toby Hadoke in conversation with Kneale biographer and programmer Andy Murray. Together they try to unpick who Nigel Kneale was, what he did and why his work still matters in 2022
- Late Night Line-Up (1965, 25 mins): excerpt from a rarely seen episode of the BBC series featuring Nigel Kneale, Peter Cushing, Yvonne Mitchell, Andre Morell and Rudolph Cartier
- Ministry of Truth (2022): Oliver Wake is interviewed by the BFI's Dick Fiddy as he dispels some of the myths surrounding the production and looks at the controversy it caused
- Illustrated booklet with new writing by Oliver Wake and David Ryan
- Newly commissioned sleeve art by Matt Needle
Faithless
An aging director conjures a tale of adultery, betrayal and grief, in this powerful meditation on love and art based on a loosely autobiographical script by Ingmar Bergman.
Directed by Liv Ullmann - Bergman's former muse and actress - Faithless is a lyrical, passionate and enigmatic work of outstanding depth; an emotional mystery story that reflects on the desire and torment of an intense romantic affair.
Sensitively depicted via Ullmann's assured direction and featuring a stunning central performance by Lena Endre, this modern classic is presented on Blu-ray for the first time.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
- Newly recorded audio commentary by film critic Adrian Martin
- Interview with Liv Ullmann (2000, 31 mins): archive interview with the acclaimed actress and director
- The Guardian Interview: Liv Ullmann (2001, 66 mins): the actress and director in conversation with film critic and writer Shane Danielson
- In Conversation with Liv Ullman (2018, 60 mins): the actress interviewed on stage by Geoff Andrew at BFI Southbank
- Original trailer
- Illustrated booklet including a new essay by Sarah Lutton, and contemporary articles by Philip Strick and Geoffrey Macnab
The 400 Blows
Misunderstood and mistreated by his neglectful parents and repressive schoolteachers, 12-year-old Antoine Doinel (Jean-Pierre Léaud) seeks refuge in truancy, petty crime and the cinema.
A true landmark of world cinema that heralded the start of the French New Wave, The 400 Blows is universally regarded as one of the all-time great coming-of-age movies.
The directorial debut of François Truffaut – and the most autobiographical of his films – this rebellious, award-winning milestone is presented in a new 4K restoration.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
- BRAND NEW 4K RESTORATION OF THE FILM
- Trailer
- AND MORE...
Jules & Jim
Set just before the outbreak of World War One, François Truffaut's hugely popular classic sees Jeanne Moreau at her most ebullient as Catherine, a Parisian beauty caught up in a complex ménage à trois.
Fast, funny and stylish, this romantic rollercoaster – presented in a new 2K restoration – is deeply affecting and engaging, and confirmed Truffaut's status as a key director of the French New Wave.
Featuring ground-breaking artistic innovations and iconic imagery galore, Jules et Jim remains a highly influential landmark of world cinema.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
- BRAND NEW 4K RESTORATION OF THE FILM
- Trailer
- AND MORE...
The Men
Struggling to come to terms with his injuries, a paraplegic war veteran turns to his doctor, fiancé and former comrades as he adjusts to a new way of life.
Featuring a powerhouse performance from Marlon Brando in his first feature film, The Men is a poignant reflection on the life-changing impact of paraplegia and the support networks that help those affected rehabilitate and integrate back into society.
Directed by Fred Zinnemann and starring a stellar supporting cast – including Teresa Wright (Shadow of a Doubt) and Everett Sloane (Citizen Kane), this Hollywood landmark is presented on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
- Audio commentary by filmmaker and film historian Jim Hemphill
- Illustrated booklet with new essays by Philip Kemp, Scott Harrison and Victoria Millington
- Newly commissioned sleeve art by Jennifer Dionisio
- AND MORE...
The Soft Skin
A successful academic's life is changed forever when a whirlwind affair throws his life into disarray, in François Truffaut's celebrated romantic drama.
Strongly influenced by the work of Jean Renoir and Alfred Hitchcock, La Peau douce is one of Truffaut's most subtle and engaging films - an exhilarating and suspenseful vision of masculinity in crisis.
Featuring a trio of exceptional lead performances and bold Raoul Coutard camerawork, this underrated masterpiece thrills and beguiles all the way until its shocking conclusion.
STREET DATE: MAY 30.
The Last Metro
In occupied Paris an actress hides her Jewish, theatre director husband to protect him against Nazi persecution, in this enthralling exploration of humanity at its best and worst.
Featuring mesmerising performance from French cinema icons Catherine Deneuve and Gérard Depardieu, The Last Metro is a powerful character study set against the backdrop of fascist tyranny.
An award-winning, late-career masterpiece from director François Truffaut, this thrilling tale of resistance and tolerance is presented in a new 2K restoration.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
- BRAND NEW 2K RESTORATION OF THE FILM
- Trailer
- AND MORE...
Lawrence of Belgravia
As lead singer of the much-loved bands Felt, Denim and Go-Kart Mozart, Lawrence is one of true cult artists of the British indie music scene, without really ever troubling the charts over his 40 year career. First released in 2012, Paul Kelly's (Saint Etienne's The London Trilogy, Dexys' Nowhere is Home) intimate portrait was a labour of love which was eight years in the making. It follows Lawrence between Go Kart Mozart albums, weighed down by the chips on his shoulders while still dreaming of being a pop star who rides in limousines and dates supermodels.
Previously only available on a long-deleted DVD, this new BFI edition presents Lawrence of Belgravia – one of the most outstanding music documentaries of the last 10 years – on Blu-ray for the very first time.
STREET DATE: JUNE 13.
Dissent & Disruption: Alan Clarke at the BBC 1969-1989
Although probably best remembered for the controversial and groundbreaking dramas Scum, Made in Britain and The Firm, the breadth of Alan Clarke's radical, political, innovative, inspirational work, along with his influence on generations of filmmakers, such as Gus Van Sant, Paul Greengrass, Andrea Arnold, Harmony Korine, Clio Barnard, Shane Meadows, should see him rightly regarded as one of Britain's greatest ever filmmaking talents.
This collection brings together twenty-two stand-alone BBC TV dramas that Alan Clarke directed between 1969 and 1989, including such neglected classics as To Encourage the Others, Horace, Penda's Fen, Diane, Contact, Christine and Elephant, and also includes Scum and Clarke's original Director's Cut of The Firm, assembled from his personal answer print, discovered in 2015.
This 12-Disc Box Set also includes a raft of additional materials, including David Leland introductions, extracts from BBC discussion shows Open Air and Tonight, and recently-produced documentaries and audio commentaries.
CONTENT:
The Last Train through Harecastle Tunnel (1969)
Sovereign's Company (1970)
The Hallelujah Handshake (1970)
To Encourage the Others (1972)
Under the Age (1972)
Horace (1972)
The Love Girl and the Innocent (1973)
Penda's Fen (1974)
A Follower for Emily (1974)
Diane (1975)
Funny Farm (1975)
Scum (1977)
Nina (1978)
Danton's Death (1978)
Beloved Enemy (1981)
Psy-Warriors (1981)
Baal (1982)
Stars of the Roller State Disco (1984)
Contact (1985)
Christine (1987)
The Firm: Director's Cut (1989)
The Firm: Broadcast Version (1989)
Elephant (1989)
Note: This 2022 reissue does not feature Road (1987) or the collection of Half Hour Stories (1967-68) that were included in the 2016 limited edition box set.
STREET DATE: JUNE 13.
