The British Film Institute (BFI), a cinematic sanctuary nestled on the banks of the Thames, is more than an institution; it is a guardian of celluloid dreams and a curator of the ever-evolving tapestry of British cinema. Since its inception in 1933, the BFI has been a lighthouse in the mist, illuminating the path to understanding and appreciating the art of film. The BFI takes a discerning approach to its home entertainment releases, often selecting films of historical, cultural, or artistic significance. These carefully curated collections showcase the depth and breadth of British and international cinema, providing cinephiles with an opportunity to explore cinematic gems that might not be readily available elsewhere. Their commitment to releasing films on physical media aligns with its dedication to preserving and promoting the cultural heritage of cinema.

Let’s delve into some of the incredible titles in the sale…

---

human traffic

format: 4k UHD

 

Looking for an escape from boring 9-5 jobs, bad relationships, and dysfunctional families, five Cardiff friends plan a night out to remember, where all that exists is clubs, drugs, pubs and parties. Journey with them through the highs and lows of the weekend, substance-induced and otherwise, for wild escapades and unexpected epiphanies. 

Hailed as ‘the last great film of the nineties’ by The Guardian this cult classic of the ‘Cool Cymru’ era has been newly restored in 4K. Boasting Danny Dyer in a full-on feature debut, Human Traffic is an unapologetic celebration of 90s club culture and youthful hedonism with an unparallelled soundtrack, featuring Matthew Herbert, Fatboy Slim, Brainbug and Orbital. The weekend has landed.

 

• 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)

• New audio commentary by film critic Mark Searby 

• Nice one Bruvva (2025, 14 mins): film critic, broadcaster, author, ex-DJ and old skool raver Mark Searby revisits Human Traffic in this celebration of everything that makes it so unique

• Show Me the Money (2025, 19 mins): executive producer Renata S. Aly looks back on the making of Human Traffic

• Danny Dyer in Conversation (2023, 69 mins): interviewed as part of the BFI’s Acting Hard season, the actor discusses his career with the season’s curator Nia Childs

• Rave (1997, 12 mins): Partying like it’s 1997. We follow DJ Manic rigging up decks in abandoned warehouses, a nosebleed ‘techno tourist’ who chases the hardcore around Europe and a girl addicted to… partying

• Deleted scenes (1999, 22 mins): a selection of outtakes and scenes that hit the cutting room floor

---

bhaji on the beach

format: blu-ray

 

A day trip to Blackpool to see the lights offers a harmless break from the routine for a minibus full of women from the Saheli Asian Women’s Centre.

It all seems innocent enough but as the minibus trundles along to a Punjabi rendition of Cliff Richard’s Summer Holiday, problems quickly become apparent. Ginder is fleeing her violent husband with her five-year-old son. Hashida is eighteen, about to start medical school and has just discovered that she is pregnant by her boyfriend. Teenage sisters Madhu and Ladhu, with no parent in sight, are on the rampage… for a man! Asha is to discover that there is life and, indeed, romance beyond the confines of the shop counter. And the judgmental Pushpa faces her day of reckoning when she encounters some male strippers.  Gurinder Chadha’s directorial feature debut of Meera Syal’s witty and observant script is an empowering comedy and celebration of the enduring bond between women.

 

• Presented in High Definition

• I’m British But… (1989, 29 mins): a short film by Gurinder Chadha uncovering a defiant culture of British Asian sisters and brothers against the rhythms of Bhangra and Bangla music. Includes optional introduction by activist and broadcaster Shani Dhanda

• A Nice Arrangement (1991, 11 mins): a short comedy directed by Gurinder Chadha and written by Meera Syal about the pre-ceremony rituals of an arranged marriage

• First film of Blackpool (c1898, 1 min): early footage of Blackpool from the BFI National Archive

• Holiday (1957, 18 mins): the delights of 1950s Blackpool holidays are vibrantly revisited in John Taylor’s fondly remembered travelogue, produced for British Transport Films

• London Me Bharat (1972, 20 mins): the first Hindi-language film made in Britain, presenting a distinctive and sometimes surprising view of 1970s Britain

---

seven samurai

format: 4k UHD

 

One of the greatest films of all time, Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai has influenced the work of directors from George Lucas to Steven Spielberg, and spawned remakes, most notably John Sturges’ acclaimed The Magnificent Seven. When 16th-century farmers whose village is repeatedly attacked by merciless bandits ask an elderly, masterless samurai (Takashi Shimura) for help, offering nothing but food in return, he hesitantly agrees and assembles a band of warriors to defend and train the villagers. Boasting terrific performances (with Shimura and Toshiro Mifune – as a peasant masquerading as a samurai – particularly memorable), superb camerawork, and expertly mounted battle sequences, Seven Samurai is undoubtedly one of the greatest action movies ever made.

 

• 2-disc set 4K (2106p) UHD Blu-ray disc (presented in Dolby Vision, HDR10 compatible) and a Blu-ray disc featuring an array of special features

• Audio commentary by film critic Adrian Martin

• Akira Kurosawa: It is Wonderful to Create – Seven Samurai (2002, 49 mins): part of the Toho Masterworks series featuring interviews with Kurosawa, script supervisor Teruyo Nogami, Writer Shinobu Hashimoto, actors Seiji Miyaguchi and Yoshio Tsuchiya, and others

• Philip Kemp selected scenes commentary (1999, 20 mins): film critic and writer Philip Kemp analyses key scenes from the film. Recorded for the BFI’s 1999 DVD release

• The Art of Akira Kurosawa (2013, 49 mins): Asian-cinema expert Tony Rayns discusses Kurosawa’s career and influence

• My Life in Cinema (1993, 116 mins): a conversation between filmmakers Akira Kurosawa and Nagisa Oshima filmed for the Directors Guild of Japan in 1993 – the two legendary directors discuss Kurosawa’s life, career and legacy

---

brother

format: blu-ray

 

Takeshi ‘Beat’ Kitano directs and stars in this brutal crime thriller about a Japanese yakuza forced to flee to Los Angelesafter the death of his boss. In the wake of a failed gang war, Yamamoto ‘Aniki’ (Kitano) arrives in Los Angeles with nothing but a new name and a bag of cash.  Re-uniting with his younger brother, he uses his extensive experience as a hardened gangster, to grow a small-time drug operation into an far-reaching criminal brotherhood, attracting the attention of rival gangs with bloodthirsty consequences. Widely considered to be Japan’s most important and influential director since Akira Kurosawa, Brother marks Takeshi Kitano’s English language debut.

 

• Presented in High Definition

• The Green Flash (1988, 23 mins): Adam Davis’s short film about an encounter between a homeless orphan and an injured gangster, featuring a young Omar Epps in his first screen role

• Scenes by the Sea: The Life and Cinema of ‘Beat’ Takeshi Kitano (2000, 48 mins): documentary profile of the Japanese actor and director, Takeshi Kitano. Featuring interviews with many of his regular contributors and colleagues.

• Featurette (2000, 2 mins): behind the scenes footage and on-set interviews

• Cast and crew interviews (2000, 15 mins): with director/actor Takeshi Kitano, producers Masayuki Mori and Jeremy Thomas, and actor Omar Epps

• Behind the scenes footage (2000, 4 mins): on-set footage of Kitano at work with his crew

• **FIRST PRESSING ONLY** Illustrated booklet featuring new essays by Jennifer Coates, Adam Bingham and James-Masaki Ryan, an archival interview with Takeshi Kitano by Tony Rayns and writing on The Green Flash by its director Adam Davis

---

slade in flame

format: blu-ray

 

Described as ‘the Citizen Kane of British pop movies’ by critic Mark Kermode, Slade in Flame both confounded and delighted audiences when it was released in 1975, at the height of the legendary glam-rock band’s success. Starring the band themselves, this was a music film like no other. Charting the rise and fall of a pop group at the end of the 1960s – from bold beginnings in seedy clubs to booze-addled endings in spectacular stadiums – this darkly cynical, warts-and-all portrait of a band in freefall amidst the music-industry suits who want a piece of the pie, was not what anybody was expecting.

Acclaimed as a stone-cold bona-fide cult classic over subsequent decades, and boasting a razor-sharp screenplay, superb performances and a power-packed foot-stomping soundtrack, Slade in Flame has been newly remastered by the BFI from the best available 35mm materials for its first ever release on Blu-ray.

 

• Newly remastered by the BFI and presented in High Definition and Standard Definition

• Newly recorded audio commentary with director Richard Loncraine and film critic Mark Kermode

• Make Way For Noddy(2025, 9 mins): actor Tom Conti discusses the making of Slade in Flame

• Noddy Holder Interview (2002, 54 mins): Noddy speaks to broadcaster Gary Crowley in the uncut, full-length version of an interview that later featured in The Making of Slade in Flame

• The Making of Slade in Flame (2007, 58 mins): recorded for the film’s original DVD release and featuring interviews with all four members of Slade, director Richard Loncraine and actor Tom Conti, this documentary tells the story of Slade in Flame from its inception to its London premiere.

• This Week: Men’s Fashions (1973, 5 mins): meet Tommy Nutter, the rebel tailor of Savile Row, as flamboyant fashions get thoroughly road-tested in this glam 1970s fashion short

---

cooking price-wise

format: blu-ray

 

You don’t need to be a master chef to join cinema’s master of terror Vincent Price in the kitchen for this brilliantly bizarre crash-course in very-1970s cookery! Early in that delicious decade, while he was on a sojourn in England, the legendary screen-star and fine-dining aficionado took an unlikely break from the macabre movies to rustle up this long-sought-after labour-of-love six part television series, encouraging bored British housewives to serve up something different. From melon monsters to crocodile cucumbers, not forgetting the perfect soufflé, the marvellous Mr Price is your genial and garrulous host amid the paisley-patterned saucepans, as he demonstrates favourites recipes from around the world – in this fantastic full-fat celebrity cookery show unlike any other!

 

• Presented on Blu-ray in both HD and SD from a standard definition source

• Until We Eat Again (2024, 18 mins):Vincent Price’s daughter, writer and inspirational speaker Victoria Price, reflects upon her father’s love of the finer things in life

• Monster Munch (2024, 25 mins): Queen of the Kitchen Jenny Hammerton – of silverscreensuppers.com – demonstrates how you too can prepare a classic Vincent Price dish in this all-new kitchen caper

• Kitchenfinder General (2024, 21 mins): Jenny Hammerton celebrates Vincent Price’s writing on cookery and his love of all things edible

• Audio commentaries on selected episodes: Episode 1: Potatoes (Vic Pratt and William Fowler), Episode 3: Bacon (Lisa Kerrigan and Dr Josephine Botting), and Episode 4: Cheese(Jenny Hammerton and Peter Fuller)

• A selection of food related films made by the Central Office of Information (1940-1949, 30 mins total): Oatmeal Porridge, Potatoes, When the Pie was Opened, How to Cook Cabbage and The “Good Housewife” in Her Kitchen

---

watership down

format: 4k uhd & blu-ray

 

An apocalyptic vision pushes a group of rabbits to abandon their warren in search of a new home, in this landmark British animation. Richard Adams’ timeless novel is brought brilliantly to life as Hazel, Fiver and Bigwig tackle the brutal realities of the rural world – and mankind’s devastating impact on it – as they lead their colony to the utopian Watership Down. Featuring an acclaimed voice cast (including John Hurt and Denholm Elliott), a powerful score by composer Angela Morley and the hit single ‘Bright Eyes’ by Art Garfunkel, Watership Down is a thrilling tale of adventure, courage and resilience that continues to enthral new and old audiences alike.

 

• Audio commentary by film and animation scholars Catherine Lester and Sam Summers (2024)

• Audio commentary by director Martin Rosen and writer and filmmaker Chris Gore (2003)

• A Conversation With the Filmmakers (2005, 17 mins): director Martin Rosen and editor Terry Rawlings discuss the production history of the film

• Defining a Style (2005, 12 mins): key animators and background artists discuss their work

• Storyboard comparison (2024, 15 mins): four scenes with accompanying original storyboards

• Super 8 version (1978, 28 mins): original UK Super 8 digest release

• Nepenthe Super 8 footage (c1977, 3 mins) shot by Arthur Humberstone, a senior animator

• Designing Watership Down (2024, 4 mins): a film of materials related to Watership Down courtesy of The Arthur Humberstone Animation Archive

• Treasures from the BFI National Archive (1942-1969, 48 mins): a selection of archive gems, including films by Mary Field and Halas & Batchelor, related to the themes or personnel of Watership Down

• Trailers and TV spots
  

---

women in love

format: 4k uhd

 

Ken Russell’s lauded D H Lawrence adaptation is a sophisticated meditation on the complexities of human relationships and the shifting social mores of a country shell-shocked by World War One. Women in Love was hailed upon its release, earning four Academy Award nominations, and the Best Actress Oscar for Glenda Jackson. Audiences flocked to see its famous, erotically charged naked wrestling scene, and critics celebrated the film’s opulent design, handsome cinematography and the compelling ensemble performances of Alan Bates, Jennie Linden, Oliver Reed and Glenda Jackson. Often regarded as Russell’s masterpiece, Women in Love endures as one of British cinema’s finest achievements.

 

• 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)

• A British Picture: Portrait of an Enfant Terrible (1989, 49 mins): Ken Russell’s documentary on his life and career

• Human Relations – Alexander Verney-Elliott discusses Women in Love (2025, 17 mins): a newly recorded interview with Ken Russell’s son

• ATV Today (1968, 10 mins): interviews with writer and producer Larry Kramer and actors Alan Bates and Jennie Linden on the set of Women in Love

• Billy Williams OBE BSC in conversation with Phil Méheux BSC (2015, 49 mins): in-depth interview with the Oscar winning cinematographer

• Audio commentary with director Ken Russell (2003)

• Audio commentary with writer and producer Larry Kramer (2003)

• Second Best (1972, 27 mins): short film starring Alan Bates based on the short story by D H Lawrence

---

getting it back: the story of cymande

format: blu-ray

 

In the racially turbulent UK of the early 70s, a group of black musicians came together in South London with a common love of rhythms and a message of peace. Cymande – with the dove as their symbol – combined jazz, funk, soul and Caribbean grooves to form a unique sound. Despite success in the United States, they faced indifference in their native Britain, becoming disillusioned and disbanding in 1975.

But the music lived on, as new generations of artists imbibed and reworked their pioneering sounds in fresh ways. From Soul II Soul to De La Soul, MC Solaar to The Fugees, the Dove had spread Cymande’s message far and wide, prompting their return after forty years. This is their story.

 

• Presented in High Definition

• A selection of extended clips chosen by director Tim MacKenzie-Smith (2022, 13 mins total): The genesis of Bra, Cut Chemist listens to Cymande, DJ Hollywood Bra rap, Jazzy Jay Cymande mix, Ruthless Rap Assassins 

• Deleted scene: Cymande school days (2022, 2 mins)

• Steve Scipio and Patrick Patterson Q&A (2023, 34 mins): two members of Cymande are interviewed by journalist Jason Solomons 

• Black Music Parrty(7 mins): rare footage of Cymande performing in the 1970s 

• UK Trailer

---

stray dog

format: blu-ray

 

A masterful mix of film noir and police thriller set on the sweltering mean streets of occupied Tokyo. When rookie detective Murakami (Toshiro Mifune) has his pistol stolen from his pocket while on a bus, his frantic attempts to track down the thief lead him to an illegal weapons market in the Tokyo underworld. But the gun has already passed from the pickpocket to a young gangster, and Murakami’s gun is identified as the weapon in the shooting of a woman. Murakami, overwhelmed with remorse, turns for help to his older and more experienced senior, Sato (a superb performance by Takashi Shimura). The race is on to find the shooter before he can strike again…

 

• Presented in High Definition

• Newly recorded interview with Japanese film expert Jasper Sharp

• Newly recorded audio commentary by Kenta McGrath

• Akira Kurosawa: It is Wonderful to Create – Stray Dog (2002, 32 mins)

• **FIRST PRESSING ONLY** Illustrated booklet with new writing on the film by Barry Forshaw, archive essay by Philip Kemp and original review

---

cronos

format: 4k uhd

 

Oscar-winner Guillermo del Toro’s (Pan’s Labyrinth, The Shape of Water) directorial debut offers a unique take on the classic vampire story and went on to win the Critics’ Week award at the Cannes Film Festival in 1993. When antiques dealer Jesús Gris (Federico Luppi) discovers an ancient artifact, in the form of a golden mechanical scarab, he is unaware of the power it holds. Whilst the parasite inside the device grants eternal life to its new host, it also causes an extreme aversion to daylight and an unquenchable thirst for human blood. Desperate to claim the device for himself, a dying mil lionaire (played by Claudio Brook) and his brutish nephew (Ron Perlman, Hellboy) are in hot pursuit.

 

• Newly recorded audio commentary by Jason Wood

• Audio commentary with Guillermo del Toro (2002)

• Audio commentary with producers Arthur H Gorson and Bertha Navarro and co-producer Alejandro Springall (in English and Spanish with optional English subtitles)

• Optional original Spanish-language voice-over introduction

• Cronos – An Introduction (2024, 34 mins): director Guillermo del Toro in conversation with the former head of the Directors’ Fortnight at the Cannes film festival and current managing director of Arte France Cinéma, Olivier Père (2024, 34 mins)

• BFI Screen Talk: Guillermo del Toro (2017, 74 mins): filmed around the release of The Shape of Water, the writer and director discusses his career with journalist, author and screenwriter Mark Salisbury and the BFI London Film Festival

• Fold-out poster featuring the new artwork by Clément Deneu

---

high and low

format: blu-ray

 

Based on an Ed McBain novel, High and Low is a gripping police thriller starring Toshiro Mifune. Wealthy industrialist Kingo Gondo (Mifune) faces an agonising choice when a ruthless kidnapper, aiming to snatch his young son, takes the chauffeur’s boy by mistake – but still demands the ransom, leaving Gondo facing ruin if he pays up. An anatomy of the inequalities in modern Japanese society, High and Low is a complex film noir, where the intense police hunt for the kidnapper is accompanied by penetrating insight into the kidnapper’s state of mind. Kurosawa’s virtuoso direction provides no easy answers, and in short, the police and the criminal are equally brutal, but nonetheless human.

 

• Presented in High Definition

• Newly recorded audio commentary by Japanese film expert Jasper Sharp

• Akira Kurosawa: It is Wonderful to Create – High and Low (2002, 38 mins): the director discusses how High and Low came to exist, and how specific sequences were filmed. Also features interviews with actors Tatsuya Nakadai, Kyoko Kagawa, Takeshi Kato, and Tatsuya Mihashi, as well as cameraman Takao Saito and Masaharu Ueda and script supervisor Teruyo Nogami

---

funeral parade of roses

format: blu-ray

 

Trans actor Peter gives an astonishing performance as Eddie, hostess at Bar Genet – where she’s ignited a violent love-triangle with reigning drag queen Leda for the attentions of club owner Gonda. One of Japan’s leading experimental filmmakers, Matsumoto bends and distorts time, and freely mixes documentary interviews, Brechtian film-within-a-film asides, Oedipal premonitions of disaster, his own avant-garde shorts, and even on-screen cartoon balloons. Funeral Parade of Roses is a celebration of youth and subcultures, a condemnation of intolerance, and a one-of-kind cinematic experience. A kaleidoscopic masterpiece, and one of the most subversive, intoxicating films of the 60s.

 

• Released in High Definition for the first time in the UK

• Audio commentary by author and film historian Chris Desjardins (Outlaw Masters of Japanese Film)

• Eight restored avant-garde short films from director Toshio Matsumoto, Nishijin (1961, 25 mins), The Song of Stone (1963, 24 mins), Ecstasis (1969, 11 mins), Metastasis (1971, 8 mins), Expansion (1972, 14 mins), Mona Lisa (1973, 3 mins), Siki Soku Z Ku (1975, 8 mins), Atman (1975, 11 mins), Original theatrical trailer (1969), Restoration trailer (2017)

---

all we imagine as light

format: blu-ray

 

Prabha, Anu and Parvaty are employees at a hospital in Mumbai. They grapple daily with the opportunities and hardships of existence in the city. Balancing an immersive verité style with a touch of the surreal, Payal Kapadia’s Cannes Grand Prix-winning drama captures the many shades of working-class life in Mumbai. The result is a profound and deeply humanist meditation on urban migration and dislocation.

 

• • • Presented in High Definition and Standard Definition

    • Introduction by Payal Kapadia (2024, 1 min)

    • An Alternative Family (2024, 22 mins): director Payal Kapadia discusses her education, film and the role of women in Indian cinema

    • Trying to Survive (2024, 21 mins): actress Kani Kusruti discusses her upbringing, career, and collaboration on All We Imagine as Light

    • Afternoon Clouds (2017, 13 mins): 70-year old widow Kati and her Nepali maid Mati cook together while beholding a flower which only blooms for two days

    • And What is the Summer Saying? (2018, 23 mins): a poetic and dreamlike story set in a forest village where women whisper the secrets of their lost loves

    • Theatrical trailer (2024, 2 mins)

    • **FIRST PRESSING ONLY** Illustrated booklet featuring a new essay on the film by Elhum Shakerifar, writing by Isabel Stevens, new writing on the short films by Rachel Pronger, an original review by Arjun Sajip and film credits

---

tokyo story

format: blu-ray

 

A constant fixture in critic’s polls, Yasujiro Ozu’s most enduring masterpiece, Tokyo Story, is a beautifully nuanced exploration of filial duty, expectation and regret. From the simple tale of an elderly husband and wife’s visit to Tokyo to see their grown-up children, Ozu draws a compelling contrast between the measured dignity of age and the hurried insensitivity of a younger generation. The BFI is proud to release a brand new 4K restoration of this classic film, for audiences old and new to discover.

 

• • • • Remastered in 4K with an uncompressed monaural soundtrack

      • An introduction to Tokyo Story (2020, 26 mins): Asian-cinema expert Tony Rayns provides an introduction to Ozu’s most acclaimed film

      • Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family (1941, 105 mins): following the death of her husband, Mrs Toda realises she has been left with sizeable debts and an extended family reluctant to support her

      • Talking with Ozu (1993, 40 mins): a tribute to the legendary director featuring filmmakers Lindsay Anderson, Claire Denis, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Aki Kaurismäki, Stanley Kwan, Paul Schradar and Wim Wenders

      • Furnival and Son (1948, 19 mins): recounts the difficult choice a recently demobbed serviceman has to make between an unexpected job offer elsewhere, and resuming his pre-war position as his father’s cutlery firm, Furnival and Son

      • image gallery

---

la haine

format: 4k uhd and blu-ray

 

Turning the camera away from iconic Paris to the concrete banlieue, Mathieu Kassovitz’s second feature as a director changed the cultural landscape of French cinema when it landed at the Cannes Film Festival in 1995, winning the Best Director prize. The film takes place over 24 hours following the police shooting of a young man from a deprived housing estate and shows the world through the eyes of three friends – one North African, one Jewish and one Black – who are frustrated with politicians, the media and police brutality. Black-and-white visuals, a thumping hip-hop soundtrack and graffiti-daubed streets underscore the urgency and rebellion at the heart of this game-changing classic.

 

• • • • • Audio commentary by Mathieu Kassovitz (2004)

        • Redefining Rebellion (2020, 5 mins): film critic Kaleem Aftab explores the spirit of revolution in La Haine

        • Screen Epiphany: Riz Ahmed introduces La Haine (2020, 14 mins): the award-winning actor talks about his connection to the film

        • Interview with Mathieu Kassovitz (2020, 35 mins): interview with the actor, writer and director

        • Three short films by Mathieu Kassovitz: Fierrot le pou (1990, 7 mins), Cauchemar Blanc (1991, 10 mins), Assassins (1992, 12 mins)

        • 10 Years of La Haine (2005, 84 mins): feature-length documentary marking the 10th anniversary of Mathieu Kassovitz’s award-winning film

        • Casting and rehearsals (1995, 19 mins)

        • Anatomy of a Scene (1995, 7 mins): a look at the shooting of a particularly challenging scene

        • Behind the scenes (1995, 6 mins): Kassovitz, his cast and crew prepare to embark on making La Haine

---

the 400 blows

format: blu-ray

 

François Truffaut’s directorial debut introduces his enduring alter ego, Antoine Doinel (Jean-Pierre Léaud) – a misunderstood 12-year-old, neglected by his parents and mistreated by repressive schoolteachers, who seeks refuge in truancy, petty crime and, above all, cinema.

Truffaut’s most autobiographical film is widely regarded as one of the all-time great coming-of-age movies. A cinematic landmark that heralded the French New Wave, this rebellious, award-winning milestone is presented here on Blu-ray, from a new 4K restoration.

 

• Presented in High Definition from a new 4K restoration

• Audio commentary by Robert Lachenay (2002)

• Audition footage (7 mins): Jean-Pierre Léaud, Patrick Auffay and Richard Kanayan in screen tests for The 400 Blows

• Les Mistons (1957, 18 mins): Truffaut develops his distinctive style in this early short

• Truffaut, Bazin, Renoir: A Love Story (2022, 20 mins): film academic Catherine Wheatley’s illustrated presentation, recorded at ‘François Truffaut’s Cinematic and Literary Influences Study Day’, BFI Southbank

• Images of Paris: documentary gems from the BFI National Archive, including Panorama Around the Eiffel Tower (1900, 1 min), Metropolitan Railway of Paris (1913, 6 mins), and Lunch on the Eiffel Tower (1914, 1 min)

• Original theatrical trailer

• 2022 theatrical trailer

• Stills gallery

---

get carter

format: 4k uhd and blu-ray

 

Michael Caine is Jack Carter, the London gangland enforcer who returns to his hometown of Newcastle to investigate his brother’s death. Rarely has the criminal underworld been so realistically portrayed as in this 1971 masterpiece. Shot on location, resulting in a devastatingly authentic snapshot of life in the north east of England, Get Carter remains arguably the grittiest and greatest of all British crime films.

 

• The Sound of Roy Budd (2022)

• Roy Budd Plays ‘Get Carter’ (1971)

• Don’t Trust Boys (2022)

• Klinger on Klinger (2022)

• Mike Hodges (director) in conversation

• Isolated Score

• Introduction by Michael Caine

• BBC Look North location report (1970)

• The Ship Hotel – Tyne Main (1967) – Philip Trevelyan’s short film

• Michael Caine’s message to premiere attendees (1971)

• Script gallery

• Trailers

---

jules et jim

 

Starting just before the Great War and spanning three decades, François Truffaut’s hugely popular classic depicts one of cinema’s most captivating love triangles, between two best friends – the Austrian Jules (Oskar Werner) and the French Jim (Henri Serre) – and the object of their mutual desire, the enigmatic and alluring Catherine, played with verve and sensitivity by Jeanne Moreau.

Fast, funny and stylish, Jules et Jim is a deeply affecting and engaging testament to love, loyalty and freedom, and remains a highly influential landmark of world cinema.

 

• Presented in High Definition from a new 2K restoration

• Audio commentary with Jeanne Moreau in conversation with film critic Serge Toubiana (2000)

• François Truffaut panel discussion (2022, 54 mins): film scholars Pasquale Iannone, Marilyn Mallia, Sonali Joshi, Ginette Vincendeau and Catherine Wheatley discuss key themes and influences in Truffaut’s work

• The John Player Lecture: François Truffaut (53 mins, audio): the director discusses his films

• Jeanne Moreau in Conversation (1982, 83 mins, audio): the Jules et Jim star talks with Don Allen about her life and career

• Screen Epiphanies: John Hurt on Jules et Jim (2010, 8 mins): the actor on his first viewing of the film and the lasting impression it left on him

• Original theatrical trailer

• 2022 theatrical trailer

• Stills gallery

---

the wages of fear

format: 4k uhd

 

Based on the 1950 French novel Le Salaire de la peur and critically hailed upon its original release, The Wages of Fear propelled its director Henri-Georges Clouzot (Les Diaboliques) to international fame, and is rightly considered a classic of world cinema.

In a squalid South American village, four desperate men are hired by a US oil company to embark on a treacherous journey, transporting a volatile cargo of nitro-glycerine to a massive oil well fire. Friendships and courage are pushed to the limit in this nail-biting thriller by a director who would go on to be dubbed the ‘French Hitchcock’.

 

• 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)

• A Road Trip Out of Hell? Or Into It? – Purgatory and The Wages of Fear (2023, 13 mins): a new video essay by filmmaker and photographer Nic Wassell

• Audio commentary by film critic Adrian Martin (2017)

• Interview with assistant director Michel Romanoff (2005, 23 mins)

• Interview with Clouzot biographer Marc Godin (2005, 10 mins)

• Interview with Professor Lucy Mazdon (2017, 35 mins): an in-depth interview about Henri-Georges Clouzot and The Wages of Fear

• The Guardian Lecture: Yves Montand in conversation with Don Allen (1989, 99 mins, audio only): the star discusses his distinguished career

• Treasures form the BFI National Archive (1920-1960, 6 mins: a selection of archive gems, exploring some of the themes and iconography featured in The Wages of Fear

• Original theatrical trailer

---

la belle et la bele

format: blu-ray

 

 

• Booklet

• Bonus Footage

• Commentary with cultural historian Sir Christopher Frayling

• Deleted Scenes

• Documentaries:

• Dreams of Cocteau: The Adventure of Beauty and the Beast (2013);

• Christian Berard’s and Jean Cocteau, Two Magicians (2013)

---

the trial of joan of arc

format: blu-ray

 

The legendary story of Joan of Arc’s trial and conviction is powerfully retold in Robert Bresson’s minimalist masterpiece. Working from the official transcript of the 15th century trial, Bresson shoots Joan’s ordeal with a serene simplicity that reveals her vulnerability and her resilient faith. A transcendent and moving evocation of human suffering and spiritual liberation, The Trial of Joan of Arc remains a powerful exploration of religious virtue with one of cinema’s most haunting and poignant finales.

 

• Presented in High Definition

• An Introduction to Robert Bresson (2022, 29 mins): film writer and programmer Geoff Andrew discusses Bresson’s oeuvre in this talk presented at BFI Southbank

• Newly recorded audio commentary by filmmaker and writer Kat Ellinger

• Women’s Work in Wartime (1918, 8 mins): a propaganda short looking at the acceptable roles for women at a time of war

• Masculinity in Modes (1931, 1 mins): a cinemagazine item showcasing the more masculine trends in Parisian couture

• The Legend of Joan of Arc ballet (1958, 2 mins, extract): an item from the cinemagazine USSR Today showing a Nikolai Peiko’s ballet performed in Moscow

• Original theatrical trailer

• Stills gallery

---

Gregory’s Girl

format: 4k uhd and blu-ray

 

Newly restored from the original camera negative the BFI are excited to announce a new 4K release of Bill Forsyth’s much-loved coming-of-age comedy Gregory’s Girl. 

Gregory (John Gordon Sinclair) and his friends are starting to notice girls – particularly Dorothy (Dee Hepburn), not least because she’s on the football team and is a better player than all the boys. With counselling from his younger sister, Gregory finally asks Dorothy out, but turns up to the date only to discover that the girls at school have other plans for him.  A huge breakout hit on its original release in 1981, Gregory’s Girl was nominated for four Bafta’s, winning for Best Original Screenplay. Bill Forsyth’s classic comedy remains to this day the ultimate depiction of coming-of-age awkwardness and an enduring favourite of Scottish cinema. 

 

• The Strathclyde Tapes: Bill Forsyth (1992): the writer and director discusses his career and film craft with an audience of schoolchildren. He talks about the filmmaking process, themes and representations in his films and the prospect of Scotland attaining its own ‘film industry’

• Newly recorded audio commentary with Robert Buchanan, Douglas Sannachan and Caroline Guthrie

• Audio commentary with Bill Forsyth and Mark Kermode (2014)

• Bill Forsyth: The Early Years – an interview with the director (2014, 20 mins)

• Gregory’s Girl Memories – an interview with Clare Grogan (2014, 11 mins)

• Dee Hepburn, Clare Grogan and John Gordon Sinclair in Conversation (2015, 31 mins): the stars of Gregory’s Girl are interviewed on stage by Sue Harris to mark the film’s 25th anniversary

• Soundtrack gallery (2023, 13 mins): a selection of images from the BFI National Archive accompanied by composer Colin Tully’s music for Gregory’s Girl

• Alternative US audio soundtrack

---

beautiful thing

format: blu-ray

 

During a long hot summer in south London Jamie is bunking off school more than usual, scurrying back to the TV and the flat in the Thamesmead estate where he lives with his mother Sandra. Whilst his neighbour Leah,who’s been kicked out of school, spends her days listening to Mama Cass records.

In the same block is Jamie’s sporty classmate Ste, whose home life is punctuated by the regular beatings he receives from both his father and brother. One night, in a bid to escape the violence, Ste takes refuge in Sandra’s flat and sleeps head to toe with Jamie. As Sandra struggles with a job promotion and her relationship with her hippy boyfriend Tony, Jamie and Ste gradually discover their affection for each other.

 

• Presented in High Definition

• Newly recorded audio commentary with director Hettie Macdonald, writer Jonathan Harvey and assistant director Susie Liggat

• Beautiful Thing Q&A (2023, 32mins): a post-screening Q&A with Jonathan Harvey, Hettie Macdonald, Susie Liggat and cast member Glen Berry

• Living at Thamesmead (1974, 25 mins): a short film produced and directed by Charmian and Jack Saward showing the architecture and landscaping of Thamesmead and everyday lives of the residents

• Crashing Waves (2018, 4 mins): a short film in which two young men connect, set against the backdrop of a high-rise housing estate

• Beautiful Thing Rainbow Plaque Unveiling (2023, 1 min): London LGBTQ+ Forums’ Network rainbow plaque unveiling at The Greenwich Tavern (formerly The Gloucester)

• Theatrical trailer

---

Billy Connolly: Big Banana Feet

format: blu-ray

 

Billy Connolly is at the peak of his powers in this newly restored and rediscovered film. Capturing ‘The Big Yin’ on and off stage during his 1975 tour of Ireland, Big Banana Feet is a captivating record of Connolly on the cusp of international stardom.

Inspired by the fly-on-the-wall style of DA Pennebaker’s Bob Dylan documentary Dont Look Back, director Murray Grigor and cinematographer David Peat present Connolly at his beguiling best, using humour and charm to successfully navigate the political tensions of 1970s Dublin and Belfast.

Featuring iconic stand-up material alongside fascinating behind-the-scenes glimpses, this previously elusive milestone of British comedy is now newly restored in 2K (from original 16mm materials), reaffirming the genius that has endeared Connolly to generations of fans.

 

• Newly restored by the BFI and presented on Blu-ray and DVD

• Murray Grigor and Billy Johnson in Conversation (2024, 18 mins): the director of Big Banana Feet and the road manager on  Connolly’s tour of Ireland, Billy Johnson, are interviewed after the film’s premiere at the Glasgow  Film Festival 

• Clydescope (1974, 31 mins): a panorama of the Clyde, from Biggar to Brodick, with Billy Connolly as your guide

• BLAST (1975, 24 mins): made for the Arts Council of Great Britain, Murray Grigor’s award-winning short film explores Vorticism, a radical art movement of the early 20th century

• Restoration demo (2023, 2 mins): a before and after look at the restoration of Big Banana Feet

• Rerelease trailer (2024)

---

Scala!!!

format: blu-ray

 

Archive footage, eye-popping movie clips, acid-crazed animation and some famous names collide to tell the story of London’s infamous, influential Scala cinema. With its cracked marble floors, resident cats and mysterious, extrasensory rumblings, the Scala was magic and a refuge from the violence of Thatcher’s Britain. Hilarious, irreverent, and ultimately heartbreaking with a fabulous original score by Barry Adamson, SCALA!!! is more than mere nostalgia, it’s an X-rated love letter and a universal shout-out to the power of cinemas to inspire impressionable young minds and create a sense of community for outsiders. A place where everyone is welcome.

 

• Presented in High Definition

• Audio commentary by directors Jane Giles and Ali Catterall

• Scala Interviews (2022, 60 mins): a selection of previously unseen footage shot for the film, chosen by the directors

• Scala (1990, 35 mins): a portrait of the cinema, originally made to be shown on the Cable London television channel, directed by Michael Clifford

• ScalaCinema (1992, 4 mins): a short student film, shot at the Scala cinema, directed by Ali Peck and Victor de Jesus

• London Film Festival introduction (2023, 13 mins): an introduction to the screening of the film, featuring the directors, the cast, the crew and audience participation, recorded at the London Film Festival in 2023

• Animations by Osbert Parker (2022-23, 4 mins total): artist Osbert Parker’s animations, made for the film

---

The Eternal Daughter

format: blu-ray

 

This beautifully composed drama centres on a middle-aged filmmaker and her mother, who spend a few nights in an old country hotel that holds meaning for them both. Featuring a towering, deeply moving performance by Tilda Swinton, The Eternal Daughter is an intricately layered piece about motherhood, memory and loss, dressed up as a gothic chiller. 

Swirling mist, looming shadows, a ghostly presence half-glanced in a window… embracing some of the heightened stylistic flourishes seen in The Souvenir Part II,The Eternal Daughter takes Hogg into exciting new territory, while retaining her distinctive naturalistic signature. The film exists entirely as its own deeply enthralling and moving drama, but fans of the filmmaker’s recent work will also find it a puzzle box of metatextual delights.

• Presented in High Definition

• Audio commentary by Joanna Hogg and production designer Stéphane Collonge

• Présages (2023, 11 mins): a short film by Joanna Hogg produced in 2023 for  the Centre Pompidou’s ‘Où en êtes-vous?’ collection

• Joanna Hogg in conversation (2023, 76 mins): the acclaimed filmmaker discusses her career so far with Jason Wood. Recorded at BFI Southbank as part of the season, Internal Reflections: The Films of Joanna Hogg.

• Q&A with Joanna Hogg and Tilda Swinton (2023, 35 mins): the writer-director and star of The Eternal Daughter talk to Francine Stock about their latest collaboration

• Original UK trailer

• Audio description for the blind and visually impaired

---

chocolat

format: blu-ray

 

A young woman named France (Mireille Perrier) returns to Cameroon to visit the former colonial outpost she grew up in during the last days of French rule. Upon arrival, she recalls her childhood in Mindif. The only child of a sole white family, the Dalens, France forms a strong connection with their ‘houseboy’ Protée (Isaach de Bankolé). A quiet and observant child but still too innocent to fully understand the simmering sexual and racial tensions in the adults around her, France finds her idyl shattered when a plane full of strangers makes an emergency landing nearby.

Claire Denis’ quasi-autobiographical exploration of the colonial power struggle in Cameroon is the first in a series of her films exploring French colonialism and racism in West Africa. A Palme D’Or nominee, Chocolat is a remarkably assured directorial debut featuring all the tension, subtlety and sophistication that characterise Claire Denis’ films, brought to life in a dazzling new 4K restoration.

 

• Newly restored and approved by director Claire Denis

• Audio commentary by film scholar and critic Kate Rennebohm

• Claire Denis à propos de Chocolat (2023, 18 mins): Claire Denis discusses Chocolat and its new restoration

• Claire Denis in Conversation (2019, 49 mins): the filmmaker looks back over her career

• Childhood Memories(Mary Martins, 2018, 4 mins): a multilayered autobiographical animation exploring memories of a childhood visit to Lagos, Nigeria

• Original theatrical trailer

• 2023 trailer

---

hidden city

format: blu-ray

 

After establishing a fine reputation in British television drama, Stephen Poliakoff directed his first feature film in 1987. A mystery wrapped in conspiracy and secrets, Hidden City tells the story of James Richards (Charles Dance), a writer sucked into a search for a lost piece of film by Sharon Newton (Cassie Stewart), a video librarian. What they stumble upon are cover-ups, tense searches, and possible danger. 

With the help of Witold Stoks’ excellentcinematography, Poliakoff has crafted a rich look into London’s dark history, with disusedtram-tunnelsand long-forgotten subterranean chambers serving as the backdrop toexplore the depths ofthe British pre-occupation with secrecy. Featuring a sensational cast of stellar British talent including Richard E. Grant and Bill Paterson, Stephen Poliakoff’s rarely seendirectorial debut is a stylish thriller ripe for rediscovery.

 

• Presented in High Definition

• Newly recorded audio commentary with writer and director Stephen Poliakoff and film critic Michael Brooke

• Treasures from the BFI National Archive (1903-1947, 58 mins): a selection of archive gems, exploring some of the themes featured in Hidden City. The films: Cheese Mites (1903), Barging Through London (1924), Hop Gardens of Kent (1933), The City (1939) and Shown by Request (1947)

• Inside the BFI National Archive (2023, 1 min): a behind-the-scenes look at the work of the BFI National Archive

---

mary, queen of scots

format: blu-ray

 

The historical rivalry between two of Britain’s most fascinating monarchs is brought brilliantly to life in this thrilling period drama.

When the Catholic Mary, Queen of Scots (Vanessa Redgrave) returns to her homeland to claim her throne, the court of her cousin, the Protestant Elizabeth I (Glenda Jackson) in neighbouring England, is thrown into turmoil, as the question of succession becomes an ever-pressing concern to the ‘Virgin Queen’. Political machinations and intrigue abound as the competing camps jostle for dominance, with the threat of the executioner’s axe looming large.

Stunning performances by Vanessa Redgrave and Glenda Jackson are supported by a stellar ensemble cast including Trevor Howard, Ian Holm and Timothy Dalton.

 

• Presented in High Definition

• Audio commentary by film historian and critic Sergio Mims (2020)

• Isolated John Barry score with commentary from film historians Nick Redman and Jon Burlingame

• Riding High (2022, 6 mins): actor Frances White recalls a fewof her most memorable experiences on location

• The Guardian Lecture: Glenda Jackson (1982, 77 mins, audio only): the actor interviewed at the National Film Theatre

• Now and Then: Vanessa Redgrave (1968, 30 mins):the actor is interviewed by Bernard Braden for his never broadcast series

• Promotional trailer (1971, 4 mins)

• Image gallery

---

wild strawberries

format: blu-ray

 

Opening with a starkly symbolic and unsettling dream sequence, Wild Strawberries sets a reflective tone for the journey of Professor Isak Borg, a distinguished yet emotionally detached doctor travelling by car with his daughter-in-law to receive an honorary award from his former university. As they drive, Borg’s memories and daydreams come to life, causing him to confront scenes from his youth and revisit his failures, including an unfulfilled marriage and lost friendships. Through these encounters, he faces his lifelong fears of loneliness and mortality, recognising the emotional coldness that has isolated him from those closest to him.

Ingmar Bergman’s film is an exploration of self-examination, drawing upon surreal, often haunting imagery. He honours cinematic tradition by casting Victor Sjöström, one of Sweden’s most acclaimed silent filmmakers, as Borg. Bergman, however, expands into fresh territory, pioneering a new kind of intellectual cinema that fearlessly delves into the existential questions of life, memory, and redemption.

 

• Presented in High Definition

• Fully illustrated booklet featuring an essay by Geoff Andrew, original review and full film credits

---

Nosferatu

format: blu-ray

 

F W Murnau’s horror classic was the first screen adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. As potent and disturbing now as ever, it paved the way for the future of gothic cinema. Max Schreck’s Count Orlok, bald, bat-eared and rabbit-toothed, is at once terrifying and pitiable, his need for blood, for living warmth is palpable to the point of agony.

Featuring some of the most iconic images in cinema, Murnau’s interpretation of this great vampire tale has been much imitated not least by Werner Herzog, whose Nosferatu the Vampyre is an admiring tribute.

Nosferatu is newly restored and remastered and accompanied by James Bernard’s acclaimed score.

 

• Newly restored and remastered , presented in High Definition

• Christopher Frayling on Nosferatu (Lynne Wake, 2002, 24 mins): video essay on Nosferatu and F W Murnau and Albin Grau’s backgrounds and influences

• Le Vampire (Jean Painlevé, 1945, 9 mins): Painlevé’s study of the South American vampire bat, an allegory for the Nazism that was sweeping throughout Europe at the time

• The Mistletoe Bough (Percy Stow, 1904, 5 mins): the oldest film version of a classic Christmas ghost story recently restored by the BFI, featuring a new score by Saint Eitenne’s Pete Wiggs

• Image Gallery plus a fully illustrated booklet featuring credits and film notes.

---

targets

format: blu-ray

 

Byron Orlok (Boris Karloff) is a retiring horror-star bidding farewell to the limelight. Bobby Thompson (Tim O’Kelly) is an unassuming but disturbed Vietnam veteran who suddenly embarks on a murderous shooting rampage. As Byron makes one final public appearance, the two’s worlds collide as Bobby brings carnage to a suburban Los Angeles drive-in cinema.  Both a comment on the terrors of contemporary America and homage to the horror films of Roger Corman, this thrilling crime drama launched the career of its director Peter Bogdanovich and is rightly hailed as one of the most powerful films of the late 1960s.

 

• New restoration supervised by director Peter Bogdanovich and presented in High Definition

• Audio commentary by Peter Bogdanovich (2003)

• New audio commentary by author and film critic Peter Tonguette

• Targets: An Introduction by Peter Bogdanovich (2003, 14 mins)

• Hitting Targets: Sara Karloff on her Father, Boris (2022, 40 mins): Boris Karloff’s daughter looks back on the life, career and legend of her famous father

• On Target: Boris Karloff in the 1960s (2023, 17 mins): Stephen Jacobs, author of Boris Karloff: More Than a Monster, considers the great man’s final decade

• Gentleman of Horror (2023, 8 mins): a video essay on Boris Karloff by the BFI’s Vic Pratt

• The Guardian Interview: Peter Bogdanovich (1972, 42 mins): the director of Targets recounts tales of films and filmmaking at the National Film Theatre

• The Guardian Interview: Roger Corman (1970, 64 mins): the filmmaking legend who gave Peter Bogdanovich the opportunity to make Targets discusses his work 

---

I am Weekender

format: blu-ray

 

Initially banned on its release, Weekender –the film of Flowered Up’s classic acid house cri de cœur –is today hailed as one of the most innovative music films ever made. Now WIZ’s pioneering meditation on the British rave experience is celebrated in I Am Weekender, Chloé Raunet’s documentary about the film’s making, impact and legacy, with contributions from Irvine Welsh, Jeremy Deller, Lynne Ramsay, Bobby Gillespie, Clive Langer, Mark Moore, Róisín Murphy, Annie Nightingale, Shaun Ryder, David Holmes, Roy the Roach and more. Once described as ‘the Citizen Kane of acid house’, Weekender, the film that started it all, is also included here in a brand new 2K restoration. 

 

• Weekender (1992, 19 mins): the film itself, remastered from the original camera negative and presented in a new 2K restoration

• New audio commentary by director WIZ, recorded and produced by Adam Dunlop

• Take It (1991, 4 mins): Flowered Up promotional video directed by WIZ

• Phobia (1990, 4 mins): Flowered Uppromotional video directed by Paul Cannell

• It’s On (1990, 4 mins): Flowered Up promotional video directed by Pinko

• Raise (1990, 4 mins): Bocca Juniors promotional video directed by WIZ and featuring Anna Haigh

• Nish (1991, 4 mins): a short film about early acid house culture by WIZ

• Turn It Up (2023, 27 mins):Chloé Raunet discusses the making of her documentary in this newly recorded interview

• Rushes Revisited (Adam Dunlop, 2023, 9 mins): four sketches made from unseen rushes featuring previously unheard isolated tracks from the original recordings

---

Enys Men

format: blu-ray

 

From visionary filmmaker Mark Jenkin, the Bafta award-winning director of Bait. Enys Men is a mind-bending Cornish folk horror set in 1973 that unfolds on an uninhabited island off the Cornish coast. A wildlife volunteer’s (Mary Woodvine) daily observations of a rare flower take a dark turn into the strange and metaphysical, forcing both her and viewers to question what is real and what is nightmare. Is the landscape not only alive but sentient? Shot by Jenkin on grainy 16mm colour film stock and with his trademark post-synched sound, the form feels both innovative and authentic to the period. Filmed on location around the disused tin mines of West Penwith, it is also an ode to Cornwall’s rich folklore and natural beauty.

 

• Presented in High Definition and Standard Definition

• Audio commentary with director Mark Jenkin and film critic Mark Kermode

• Audio Diaries (2020, 106 mins, audio only): Mark Jenkins’s lockdown diaries

• On-stage interview with Mark Jenkin and Mary Woodvine by film critic Mark Kermode at BFI Southbank (2022, 29 mins)

• Film Sounds with Mark Jenkin and Peter Strickland (2022, 86 mins): the director of Enys Men in conversation with filmmaker Peter Strickland (Berberian Sound Studio, Flux Gourmet) as they discuss the subtleties of sound in film

• Recording the Score (2022, 6 mins): a short clip of Mark Jenkin at work

• Haunters of the Deep (1984, 61 mins): a Children’s Film Foundation adventure that shares many of the same West Cornwall locations as Enys Men, and made quite an impression on its director

• The Duchy of Cornwall (1938, 15 mins): a rapid survey of early Cornish history looks at the county’s language, landscape and industries

• Trailer

---

La Règle du jeu

format: blu-ray

 

On the surface, Jean Renoir’s brilliant satire is a series of interlinked romantic intrigues that take place during a weekend shooting party in a country château. But the film is, in fact, a study of the corruption and decay at the top of French society on the eve of the Second World War.

Denigrated by the public, vilified by the critics, re-cut at the insistence of its producers and ultimately banned by the French government as demoralising and unpatriotic, La Règle du jeu is today widely recognised as one of the greatest films ever made.

 

• Restored in 4K in 2021 by La Cinémathèque française and Les Grands Films Classiques and presented on Blu-ray

• Newly commissioned commentary by film writers David Jenkins and Trevor Johnston

• Image par image: La Règle du jeu (1987, 42 mins): Jean Douchet and Pierre Oscar Lévy provide a detailed analysis of La Règle du jeu

• Leslie Caron on La Règle du jeu (2016, 18 mins): the actor introduces Renoir’s classic as part of the Screen Epiphanies series at BFI Southbank

• La Vie est à nous (1936, 64 mins): French Communist Party election film depicting political turmoil and the threat of fascism, with creative input from Jean Renoir and Henri Cartier-Bresson, among others

• Pheasant Shooting (1913, 1 min): newsreel item on the start of the shooting season in a Norfolk game reserve

• Society on the Moors (1921, 1 min): newsreel footage of Lord and Lady Savile’s shooting party on the Yorkshire Moors near Hebden Bridge

• Stills gallery

---

Dance Craze

format: blu-ray

 

The Dance Craze film, shot throughout 1980 and released in cinemas the following year, brilliantly captures the cultural phenomenon that was the 2Tone movement and represents an important social document of the times. Directed by Joe Massot (The Song Remains the Same) and filmed by Bafta award-winning cinematographer Joe Dunton, it showcases the very best of the British Ska phenomenon, with exclusive live performances from The Specials, Madness, The Selecter, The Beat, Bad Manners and The Bodysnatchers. Newly remastered in 4K from original film materials, Dance Craze is presented here by the BFI and Chrysalis Records on Blu-ray and DVD for the first time, more than 40 years on from its theatrical release.

 

• Newly remastered from original 70mm materials and approved by cinematographer Joe Dunton

• Rudies Come Back (1980, 34 mins): in this episode of the long-running BBC series Arena, music journalist Adrian Thrills explores the rise of 2Tone. Featuring interviews with The Specials and The Selecter

• Outtakes (1980, 22 mins): a collection of outtakes and alternative versions features footage that was ultimately left out of the final cut of Dance Craze, but has been recovered from various sources

• Restoration demo (2023, 2 mins): a before and after look at the restoration of Dance Craze

• Original stereo and surround sound mixes by Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley remastered for this release, plus a new Dolby Atmos surround sound mix approved by Jerry Dammers

• Newly created English subtitles for the Deaf and partial hearing

---

The Driver’s Seat

format: blu-ray

 

Elizabeth Taylor stars as a troubled woman who, upon arriving in Rome, finds a city fragmented by autocratic law, leftist violence and her own increasingly unhinged mission to find the most dangerous liaison of all.

Never before released in the UK, The Driver’s Seat (aka Identikit) remains the most obscure, bizarre and wildly misunderstood film of Taylor’s illustrious career. Adapted froman unnerving novella by Muriel Spark (The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie), the film marked a wild step into the unknown for the screen icon, as she cast off the shackles of the US studio system in the shadow of her tumultuous personal life.Co-starring Ian Bannen, Mona Washbourne and Andy Warhol, The Driver’s Seat stunned critics and audiences alike upon its premiere in 1974 but failed to secure a UK release – until now.Directed by Giuseppe PatroniGriffi(‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore) and featuring cinematography by three-time Oscar® winner Vittorio Storaro (Apocalypse Now), this much-sought after cult classic is presented in a new4K restoration by Cineteca di Bologna and Severin Films.

 

• Restored in 4K by Cineteca di Bologna and Severin Films and presented in High Definition

• Introduction By Kier-La Janisse, author of House of Psychotic Women (2022, 6 mins)

• Audio Commentary with curator and programmer Millie De Chirico (2022)

• A Lack of Absence (2022, 22 mins): writer and literary historian Chandra Mayor on Muriel Spark and The Driver’s Seat

• The Driver’s Seat credit sequences (1974, 4 mins)

• Darling, Do You Love Me? (1968, 4 mins) in a hugely entertaining parody of her media persona, Germaine Greer stars as a terrifyingly amorous woman who pursues a man relentlessly

• Waiting For… (1970, 11 mins): a young woman embarks on a filmmaking project when some mysterious men give her a camera and tell her to capture her everyday reality

---

EO

format: blu-ray

 

EO, a grey donkey with melancholic eyes and a curious spirit, begins his life as a circus performer before escaping on a trek across the Polish and Italian countryside. During his travels, he encounters an eclectic cast of characters, including a countess, a young Italian priest and a riotous Polish football team. EO’s journey speaks to the world around us, an equine hero boldly pointing out societal ills and serving as warning to the dangers of neglect and inaction, all while on a quest for freedom.

Directed by the veteran Polish director (Deep End, The Shout), EO won the Jury Prize at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, before being nominated for Best International Feature at the 2023 Academy Awards®. 

 

• Jerzy Skolimowski & Ewa Piaskowska on the making of EO(2022, 27 mins): director Jerzy Skolimowski and co-writer Ewa Piaskowska discuss the making of EO at the New York Film Festival. 

• Skolimowski A to Ż (2023, 53 mins, audio only): an alphabetical journey through the work of Jerzy Skolimowski with writer Michael Brooke

• High Rise Donkey (1980, 56 mins): in this Children’s Film Foundation adventure, three children who live in a high-rise tower block try to save a donkey from two small-time crooks

• The Clown and His Donkey (1910, 4 mins): this rare silhouette animation by Charles Armstrongdepicts a clown doing tricks with his donkey

• UK trailer and assorted teasers

---