BFI launch new "Flipside" label

[Marc Morris]

How cool is this?

Discover The Flipside - A new DVD and Blu-ray strand from the BFI

[Mark C.]

These look cool, Ive alays wanted to see PRIMITIVE LONDON.
So these will be BLU-RAY and SD-DVD releases for all films?
Have to wait and see if they are code free for the Blurays

[Marc Morris]

Yes, luckily I sold my old UK pre-cert video release a few weeks ago.

[Dusty B]

This is pretty damn cool. It reminds me of those rumors where everyone thought Criterion was going to start up a "cult" line. Looking forward to these.

[Michael Brooke]

Region coding will depend on the source - if it's a major rightsowner, the discs probably will be locked to Region B as an unavoidable licensing condition (I can already confirm that this is true of The Bed-Sitting Room and Privilege, originally made by United Artists and Universal), but if they're sourced from an independent, or owned by the BFI outright, this is much less likely - and I can confirm that Primitive London and London in the Raw are region-free.

I'm maintaining a list of the region status of BFI Blu-ray discs here - it'll be updated the moment I get any additional information about particular releases. This will always be sourced direct from BFI DVD Publishing or the BFI's Rights & Contracts department, so it should be the most reliable such list available anywhere online.

[Mark C.]

Originally Posted by Michael Brooke

Region coding will depend on the source - if it's a major rightsowner, the discs probably will be locked to Region B as an unavoidable licensing condition (I can already confirm that this is true of The Bed-Sitting Room and Privilege, originally made by United Artists and Universal), but if they're sourced from an independent, or owned by the BFI outright, this is much less likely - and I can confirm that Primitive London and London in the Raw are region-free.

I'm maintaining a list of the region status of BFI Blu-ray discs here - it'll be updated the moment I get any additional information about particular releases. This will always be sourced direct from BFI DVD Publishing or the BFI's Rights & Contracts department, so it should be the most reliable such list available anywhere online.

Thanks for the info, Im going to go ahead and order both London films.

[Aaron G]

THE BFI itself was the coolest thing in London when I was there, well the bookstore anyway

[M Sanderson]

In that article is suggests one of the films they are releasing is about nuclear war.

re-release of Peter Watkins' THE WAR GAME?

Watkins' PRIVILEGE is one of the first 3 releases, interestingly.

[Nick Schwartz]

Nice! I'll be cool to get some nice UK cult classics over here.

[Ian Jane]

They have been doing a fucking AWESOME job so far. I couldn't believe how good the two mondo titles looked and the extras were killer. I hope this line continues to do well for them. I'll be sitting down with The Bedsitting Room this weekend.

[Michael Brooke]

I've just posted the specs for the next three Flipside releases on the Criterion Forums.

Flipside 4: Herostratus (Don Levy, 1967)
Flipside 5: All The Right Noises (Gerry O'Hara, 1969)
Flipside 6: Man of Violence (Pete Walker, 1970)

Transfers are all brand new HD telecines from original film elements (negatives in some cases), and apparently look stunning - as the technical supervisor told me, the great thing about materials that have barely been touched in 40 years is that they're in terrific shape. Extras are as generous as on previous Flipside releases, with Man of Violence even including an entire supporting feature in Pete Walker's 1968 The Big Switch (aka Strip Poker) - and on the Blu-ray this is presented in separate UK and export cuts.

Oh, and the Blu-rays are all region-free, and I believe they're 1080p throughout, so compatible with any player worldwide.

[Mark C.]

Originally Posted by Michael Brooke

I've just posted the specs for the next three Flipside releases on the Criterion Forums.

Flipside 4: Herostratus (Don Levy, 1967)
Flipside 5: All The Right Noises (Gerry O'Hara, 1969)
Flipside 6: Man of Violence (Pete Walker, 1970)

Transfers are all brand new HD telecines from original film elements (negatives in some cases), and apparently look stunning - as the technical supervisor told me, the great thing about materials that have barely been touched in 40 years is that they're in terrific shape. Extras are as generous as on previous Flipside releases, with Man of Violence even including an entire supporting feature in Pete Walker's 1968 The Big Switch (aka Strip Poker) - and on the Blu-ray this is presented in separate UK and export cuts.

Oh, and the Blu-rays are all region-free, and I believe they're 1080p throughout, so compatible with any player worldwide.

Wow MAN OF VIOLENCE!!!

[Lars Jacobsson]

THE BEDSITTING ROOM and the upcoming HEROSTRATUS are must-buys... but how about those brit mondo titles? Are they fun... even if you're not brittish?

[Mark C.]

Originally Posted by Lars Jacobsson

THE BEDSITTING ROOM and the upcoming HEROSTRATUS are must-buys... but how about those brit mondo titles? Are they fun... even if you're not brittish?

Im excited to see what else is store for this line.

[Aaron G]

Be nice if they release the unreleased ALAN CLARKE movies.