Good and Bad News Re: Upcoming R2 DVD Releases (1 Viewer)

[Roderick Gauci]

I came upon the following by clicking the ‘Specials’ icon on the “Movie Mail” website:


Alice In Wonderland (DVD)

RRP £19.99 MovieMail Price £17.99
Directed by: Miller, Jonathan
BFI BFIVD519
UK 1966
72+8 mins | DVD | Cert PG
With: Peter Sellers, Peter Cook, Michael Redgrave, Alan Bennett, John Gielgud, Leo McKern, Wilfrid Brambell
Released: Apr 21st 2003

DVD Extras: Audio Commentary by Jonathan Miller and a 1903 silent version of Alice in Wonderland from the BFI Archive.


Bande A` Part (DVD)

RRP £19.99 MovieMail Price £17.99
Directed by: Godard, Jean-Luc
BFI BFIVD549
France 1964
92 mins | DVD | Cert
With: Anna Karina, Claude Brasseur, Sami Frey
Released: Apr 21st 2003

DVD Extras: Interactive A-Z Guide featuring Anna Karina, Quentin Tarantino, clips, stills, on-set footage and informative narration; Interview with cinematographer Raoul Coutard; Audio Commentary by Dr Roland-Francois Lack; Theatrical Trailer.


Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner, The (DVD)

RRP £19.99 MovieMail Price £17.99
Directed by: Richardson, Tony
BFI BFIVD511
UK 1962
100+18 mins | DVD | Cert 12
With: Tom Courtenay, Michael Redgrave, James Bolam, John Thaw
Released: Apr 7th 2003

DVD Extras: Audio Commentary with Alan Sillitoe, Tom Courtenay and Robert Murphy; Video Essay by cinematographer Walter Lassally.


Mark Of Zorro, The (1940) (DVD)

RRP £15.99 MovieMail Price £14.39
Directed by: Mamoulian, Rouben
20CFX 01663DVD
USA 1940
90 mins | DVD | Cert U
With: Basil Rathbone, Tyrone Power
Released: Apr 7th 2003


Persona (DVD)

RRP £19.99 MovieMail Price £17.99
Directed by: Bergman, Ingmar
TARTN TVD3418
SWEDEN 1966
80 mins | DVD | Cert 15
With: Bibi Andersson, Liv Ullmann, Margaretha Krook, Gunnar Bjornstrand
Released: Apr 28th 2003

DVD Extras: Original US Theatrical Trailer; Fully uncut and with newly created, uncensored subtitles.


Rififi (aka Du Rififi Chez Les Hommes) (DVD)

RRP £17.99 MovieMail Price £16.19
Directed by: Dassin, Jules
ARROW FCD127
FRANCE 1955
118 mins | DVD | Cert 12
With: Jean Servais, Carl Mohner, Robert Manuel
Released: Apr 14th 2003


Saturday Night And Sunday Morning (DVD)

RRP £19.99 MovieMail Price £17.99
Directed by: Reisz, Karel
BFI BFIVD512
UK 1960
85 mins | DVD | Cert PG
With: Albert Finney, Shirley Ann Field, Hylda Baker, Rachel Roberts
Released: Apr 7th 2003

Extras: Audio Commentary with Alan Sillitoe, Freddie Francis and Robert Murphy; Excerpt from interview with Albert Finney.


Viva Zapata (DVD)

RRP £15.99 MovieMail Price £14.39
Directed by: Kazan, Elia
20CFX 01352DVD
USA 1952
108 mins | DVD | Cert PG
With: Anthony Quinn, Marlon Brando, Jean Peters
Released: Apr 7th 2003


Year of the Sex Olympics, The (DVD)

RRP £19.99 MovieMail Price £17.99
Directed by: Michael Elliott
BFI BFIVD552
UK 1968
103 mins | DVD | Cert 15
With: Leonard Rossiter, Brian Cox, Suzanne Neve
Released: Apr 21st 2003

DVD Extras: Introduction by Kim Newman (also on VHS); Audio Commentary by Brian Cox, DVD-ROM content of original script.


Well, mostly it’s good news – particularly the BFI stuff - but for anyone who has bought the recently-released Criterion DVD of BANDE A` PART (aka: BAND OF OUTSIDERS), the inclusion here of a full-length Audio Commentary sticks out like a sore thumb! The same thing happened to me when I purchased the R2 DVD of Godard’s A` BOUT DE SOUFFLÉ (1959), which I was very pleased with – until the R1 edition (albeit of a reportedly substandard quality) came along, which was accompanied by a Commentary track!

And, of course, RIFIFI (1955) was also released by Criterion on R1 (and which I just purchased) with few supplements, though the lack of any info regarding extras on the R2 edition doesn’t bode well for it – thankfully, I might add.

I’m also disappointed by the lack of any substantial features on the much-anticipated Tartan release of PERSONA; I hope Movie Mail is mistaken in its details, and likewise for THE MARK OF ZORRO - which in the US is coming out in October as part of Fox's “Studio Classics” line of releases – and VIVA ZAPATA!

As for the BFI releases, I’ll surely be picking up SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY MORNING and THE LONELINESS OF THE LONG-DISTANCE RUNNER – along with other classic British films like A TASTE OF HONEY (1961) and THE CARETAKER (1963), both of which the BFI recently released, and the R1 edition of BILLY LIAR (1963), released by Criterion. The only DVD I’ve purchased so far in the BFI’s line of “Archive Television” releases was Ken Russell’s DELIUS – SONG OF SUMMER (1968). I’ve been contemplating whether or not to get ELGAR (1962), CULLODEN (1964), THE WAR GAME (1965), WHISTLE AND I’LL COME TO YOU (1968), THE STONE TAPE (1972), A WARNING TO THE CURIOUS (1972) and THE SIGNALMAN (1976) for months now and, perhaps this announcement, which includes another two releases that interest me - and which have been highly praised - should definitely do it for me! Another BFI title I have my eyes on is John Ford’s Silent Western classic THE IRON HORSE (1924).

 

[andrew markworthy]

If 'Persona' follows the other Bergman releases on Tartan, then the extras, though spartan, are useful. In particular, there is typically a good length extract from a Bergman biography which gives the necessary background to the film. However, I'm curious in this case about the precise content of 'Persona'. In the newspapers about a month ago there was an advert for a screening of 'Persona - the Director's Cut' that was being done by Tartan. I wonder if a SE is in the offing in the future?

I'd love to get a good copy of Satuday Night, Sunday Morning - my uncle did some lighting work on that movie.

 

[oscar_merkx]

Roderick

BFI's The Iron Horse is simply beautiful and marvellous to watch
Play has it in stock as far as I am aware

Cheers

 

[Jason*O]

I believe the director's cut of Persona just has a few split second splices in the opening seconds and more (sexually) explicit dialogue during the "casual sex on the beach" monologue. I saw it about a year back at the LA Museum of Art, and it didn't make a huge difference... but it sure will be nice to have it on dvd.

Jason
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