Some new dvd releases announced by the BFI for the Spring

RASHOMON (12) 1950 JAPAN B/W   KUROSAWA,  AKIRA  

      DVD – £19.99   BLU RAY – £19.99

Credited with bringing Japanese cinema to worldwide audiences, Rashômon was

filmmaking giant Akira Kurosawa’s breakthrough film and the one that cemented the

pairing of Kurosawa and Toshirô Mifune as the most prominent actor-director coupling in

Japanese Cinema.

Commercially successful on its original release, the film broke records for a subtitles film

at the box office, while also being hugely influential on a number of filmmakers, such as

George Lucas. Its ground breaking use of flashbacks which reveal events from subjective

viewpoints many times since.

Delving deep into the human psyche to investigate the philosophy of justice and truth,

Rashômon tells the story of a man’s murder and the rape of his wife from four conflicting

points of view.

Nominated for two Oscars, three BAFTAs and won the Silver Lion award at Venice Film

Festival in 1954. Won Academy Award for best foreign film.

Available on DVD and for the first time on Blu-ray

CARL THEODOR DREYER COLLECTION (12) DENMARK 1925 – 1964  BLU RAY – £59.99  Limited Blu-ray Box SetCarl Theodor Dreyer is one of world cinema’s most celebrated and enduringly praised filmmakers. His visually arresting, pared-down style has been a major influence on such contemporary directors as Carlos Reygadas and Lars von Trier. This strictly limited edition Blu-ray box set collects a number of his most revered, awardwinning films, some of his lesser-known works, and an extensive selection of extra features.

Alongside award-winning classics Day of Wrath (1943), Ordet (1955) and Gertrud (1964), the silent Master of the House (1925) is presented here for the first time in both its Danish and English inter-titles versions. In addition, seven of Dreyer’s short films – made between 1942 and 1955 – are presented in full High Definition for the first time.

Special features include Torben Skjødt Jensen’s fascinating 1995 documentary My Métier and extensive archival and outtake interview footage with those who knew and worked with the legendary director.

Special features:

• High Definition presentations

• Alternative English and Danish inter-title versions of Master of the House

• Seven short films by Dreyer (1943 – 1955)

• My Métier (Torben Skjødt Jensen, 1995, 90 mins, Standard Definition)

• My Métier – interview outtakes (Standard Definition)

• Archival footage and interviews (Standard Definition)

Venice film festival: Won – 1955 – Golden Lion for Ordet

Won – 1965 – FIPRESCI prize – Gertrud

DEUTSCHLAND BLEICHE MUTTER/GERMANY PALE MOTHER (15) 1980 GERMANY SANDERS-BRAHMS, SELMA DVD – £19.99  BLU RAY – £19.99

Set during the Third Reich and its aftermath, this lyrical, harrowing tale of love and war is a neglected classic of New German cinema. Hans and Lene scarcely have time to meet and marry before Hans is sent away to fight, leaving Lene to give birth during an air raid and struggle through the war with a baby daughter. Based on director and writer Helma Sanders-Brahms’ mother’s experience, the film explores the devastating impact of politics of family life. Eva Mates (Lene) gives a brilliant, fearless performance, with the film casting a powerful emotional spell which is intensified by a delicate, plaintive piano score. German critics savaged the film at its premier, baulking at its ‘subjective’ female take on recent history.

Cut by 30 minutes for cinema release, only now has it been restored to its impressive original form and released for the first time on Blu-ray.

Special features: • Germany Pale Mother: original director’s cut (Helma Sanders-Brahms, 1980, 151 minutes) • Germany Pale Mother: alternative theatrical cut (Helma Sanders-Brahms, 1980, 123 minutes) (Blu-ray Edition Only) • Hermann Mein Vater (Helma Sanders-Brahms, 1987, 52 min) • Extensive booklet with essays and complete film credits

CHARLIE CHAPLIN: THE MUTUAL COMEDIES (U) 1916-172-DISC DVD BOX SET – £24.99 BLU-RAY BOX SET – £29.99

Charlie Chaplin entered the film industry in 1914 and by 1916 was the highest paid entertainer in the world after signing a contract with the Mutual Film Corporation for a salary of $670,000. Mutual built Chaplin his very own studio and allowed him total freedom to make 12 two-reel films during a 12-month period, which have been brought together for the first time on this two-disc box set. Chaplin subsequently recognised this

period of film-making as the most inventive and liberating of his career.

These twelve films demonstrate the breadth of Chaplin’s abilities as both a physical slapstick actor and a subtle, endearing character actor. The collection includes the slapstick custard pie fights of Behind the Screen and his first minor masterpiece, The Vagabond, where he successfully combines pathos and comedy to create a lyrical love story.

This collection of Chaplin films has been fully restored and features music by acclaimed silent film composer Carl Davis.

Special features:

• 12 films (1916-1917) with Carl Davis scores, all presented in full High Definition: The Floorwalker | The

Fireman | The Vagabond | One AM | The Count | The Pawnshop | Behind the Screen | The Rink | Easy Street |

The Cure | The Immigrant | The Adventurer

• Alternative scores for each film by a range of composers

• Audio commentaries for selected films

• Newsreel shorts: Chaplin Signs the Mutual Contract (1916, 30 secs) | Charlie on the Ocean (1921, 5 mins)

• Carl David interview (9 mins)

• Extensive booklet with essays and full film credits

BILL MORRISON: SELECTED FILMS 1996-2014 (TBA) BLU RAY – £49.99Over the past twenty years, Bill Morrison has built a filmography of more than thirty striking and original works which have been presented in cinemas, museums, galleries and concert halls worldwide. Making use of rare archival footage, which has often been decayed by the passing of time, Morrison explores the power of film as a medium which is evocative of memory and gives rise to a sense of collective mythology, Morrison’s exquisite and timeless films are scored by the cream of the US underground / avant-garde music scene, including Dave Douglas, Henryk Górecki and Bill Frisell.

This extensive collection makes Morrison’s acclaimed films available in Europe for the first time. The set includes his renowned 2002 feature Decasia (67 mins) as well as the evocative Spark of Being (67 mins), The Great Flood (78 mins) Light is Calling (8 mins), The Mesmerist (16 mins), Ghost Trip (23 mins), Outerborough (9 mins), Who by Water (22 mins) and Just Ancient Loops (26 mins).

Special features:

• Presented in High Definition

• Interview with Bill Morrison (2013, 9 mins)

• Special packaging with extensive booklet

Decasia – won- National Film Preservation Board Award, 2013

SHERLOCK HOLMES (12) 1964-5 £39.99

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes: The Classic BBC TV Series

Regarded by many to be the best incarnation of the Baker Street sleuth, Douglas Wilmer gives a career-defining performance in this celebrated BBC series. Intelligent, quick on his heels, and bearing a striking resemblance to the original Sidney Paget illustrations, Wilmer’s portrayal is possibly the closest to Conan Doyle’s original vision that there has ever been. In 2012, his status as legend within the Sherlock pantheon was cemented when he was asked to make a cameo appearance in Sherlock with Benedict Cumberbatch.

The first story in the series, The Speckled Band, was originally produced as part of the BBC drama strand Detectives. Appearing alongside Wilmer, as Holmes’ loyal companion Dr John Watson, was the great Nigel Stock. Such was the success of the

adaptation that Wilmer and Stock were reunited a year later for a full 12-part series. With a supporting cast that included Clochemerle star Peter Madden as Inspector Lestrade, TV veteran Derek Francis as Mycroft Holmes, and guest stars such as

Peter Wyngarde (Department S, The Innocents) and Patrick Troughton (Doctor Who), the popularity of the series gave rise to a second series, in which the role of Sherlock was played by Peter Cushing. Presented for the first time on UK DVD, this long-awaited release also includes an array of fascinating special features, including two reconstructions of partially-surviving episodes, an alternative presentation of the Detectives pilot, an alternative title sequence, an interview with Douglas Wilmer and a number of newly-recorded audio commentaries.

Special features:

• Original 1964 Detectives pilot episode The Speckled Band

• All surviving episodes from the 1965 series

• Alternative Spanish audio presentation of The Speckled Band

• Alternative title sequence for The Illustrious Client

• The Abbey Grange episode reconstruction, featuring a newly-filmed sequence with Douglas Wilmer reading the first half of

the story, followed by all surviving original footage

• The Bruce-Partington Plans episode reconstruction, using all surviving original footage and original shooting scripts

• Douglas Wilmer… on Television (2012, Simon Harries, 22 mins): the iconic actor discusses his career in British Film and

Television.

• Five audio commentaries, including contributions from Douglas Wilmer and celebrated directors Peter Cregeen and Peter

Sasdy, all moderated by actor-comedian Toby Hadoke

• Fully illustrated booklet with essays and full episode credits