BFI Film Classics & Modern Classic Series

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Cinephrenic
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BFI Film Classics & Modern Classic Series

#1 Post by Cinephrenic » Tue Nov 09, 2004 4:45 pm

Well BFI may be the Criterion collection when it comes to film books. Their series of classic and modern critiques from leading writers are becoming more elactic and exciting. These books make great companions with the films in your collection. Take a look at their new line of goodies if you haven't already:

November
Andrei Rublev
Viridiana

April
Fear Eats the Soul (Laura Cottingham)
On the Waterfront (Leo Braudy)
Vampyr (David Rudkin)
Bombay (Lalitha Gopalan)
10 (Geoff Andrew)

BFI Modern Classic
BFI Film Classics
Last edited by Cinephrenic on Wed Nov 10, 2004 3:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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ellipsis7
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#2 Post by ellipsis7 » Tue Nov 09, 2004 5:52 pm

Forthcoming BFI publication 'Wong Kar Wai' by Stephen Teo will now include an extra chapter on 2046, bringing it right up to date. This will push its release back to January 2005. Not too long to wait!

rlendog
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#3 Post by rlendog » Tue Nov 09, 2004 5:56 pm

I love the BFI books. I do wish they'd publish more of them. And I am still waiting for the copy of Rules of the Game that I ordered months ago.

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Matt
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#4 Post by Matt » Tue Nov 09, 2004 7:17 pm

Neither the Andrei Rublev nor Viridiana books are reprints; they're both new. Also, Viridiana has been delayed until January.

Stephen Heath also has a volume on Pagnol's Cesar due this month and Peter Swaab has one forthcoming on Bringing Up Baby in April.

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Andre Jurieu
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#5 Post by Andre Jurieu » Wed Nov 10, 2004 2:38 am

rlendog wrote: And I am still waiting for the copy of Rules of the Game that I ordered months ago.
Keep waiting. Perkins has yet to hand in the manuscript and has missed multiple deadlines. BFI took the title off their website a couple of months ago and have since stated that it's on-hold while Perkins continues to work on it.

two mules
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#6 Post by two mules » Wed Nov 10, 2004 5:02 am

10 (Geoff Andrew)
Would that be Blake Edwards' "10", with Dudley Moore? BFI are broadening their range somewhat.

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ellipsis7
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#7 Post by ellipsis7 » Wed Nov 10, 2004 5:07 am

Ummmmm!.... Abbas Kiarostami's '10'.... If you haven't checked out the MK2 R2 release, look to the upcoming Zeitgeist R1 DVD similarly including the self authored docu on AK's methodology 'Ten by Ten'...
Last edited by ellipsis7 on Wed Nov 10, 2004 12:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.

iangj
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#8 Post by iangj » Wed Nov 10, 2004 10:50 am

cinephrenic wrote:Bombay (Lalitha Gopalan)
What's Bombay?

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Fletch F. Fletch
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#9 Post by Fletch F. Fletch » Wed Nov 10, 2004 12:49 pm

cinephrenic wrote:Well BFI may be the Criterion collection when it comes to film books. Their series of classic and modern critiques from leading writers are becoming more elactic and exciting. These books make great companions with the films in your collection.
Definitely. Their books on The Right Stuff and Dead Man are excellent supplements to their respective films. Up until the new special edition that came out, the BFI book on the former film was the next best thing to DVD extras--fantastic insight into how the film was made. Jonathan Rosenbaum's take on Dead Man is very insightful and more than makes up for the disappointing lack of extras on the Miramax DVD.

I am really looking forward to checking out Michel Chion's take on The Thin Red Line.

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Subbuteo
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#10 Post by Subbuteo » Wed Nov 10, 2004 12:59 pm

Fletch F. Fletch wrote:I am really looking forward to checking out Michel Chion's take on The Thin Red Line.
Surely not Michel Chion the great elecroacoustic/musique concrete composer :shock: Christ I think it is...

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Cinephrenic
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#11 Post by Cinephrenic » Wed Nov 10, 2004 1:46 pm

Neither the Andrei Rublev nor Viridiana books are reprints; they're both new
They were previously released years ago.
Last edited by Cinephrenic on Wed Nov 10, 2004 3:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Andre Jurieu
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#12 Post by Andre Jurieu » Wed Nov 10, 2004 3:41 pm

One disappointment in the series was Dana Polan's book on Pulp Fiction. I was expecting at least some treatment of Tarantino's relationship with Godard, but instead it went on at length about some of the more bizarre aspects of fandom the film inspired. It was an irrelevant and silly piece of criticism of a significant film.
I'll back that up. I thought Polan really missed a great opportunity to analyze the film as its own distinct text, instead of discussing at length its position within pop-culture. I can get thousands of articles about what a pop-culture phenomenon Tarantino's film became, and even more about the over-reaction to the film itself, and the hatred of Tarantino's method. Unfortunately, I still have yet to read a piece that treats the film as anything more than a catalogue of influences.

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Matt
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#13 Post by Matt » Wed Nov 10, 2004 4:30 pm

cinephrenic wrote:
Neither the Andrei Rublev nor Viridiana books are reprints; they're both new
They were previously released years ago.
Alright. I won't argue with you. Just thought it was odd that no library in the western hemisphere has either one of these books (both with a registered copyright date of 2004).

Forgot to mention, Mark Sinker has a volume on Lindsay Anderson's ...if out soon as well. It promises to be one of the good ones.

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Fletch F. Fletch
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#14 Post by Fletch F. Fletch » Wed Nov 10, 2004 5:39 pm

Andre Jurieu wrote:I'll back that up. I thought Polan really missed a great opportunity to analyze the film as its own distinct text, instead of discussing at length its position within pop-culture. I can get thousands of articles about what a pop-culture phenomenon Tarantino's film became, and even more about the over-reaction to the film itself, and the hatred of Tarantino's method. Unfortunately, I still have yet to read a piece that treats the film as anything more than a catalogue of influences.
the best piece I ever read on QT and Pulp Fiction was Gavin Smith's analysis and subsequent interview with QT in Film Comment the year it came out. Smith really nailed what made the film work so well and even compared to Altman's Short Cuts. I haven't read anything as good on the subject since and the fact that Polan didn't cite it or the interview in her book is yet another short-coming of it.

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Cinephrenic
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#15 Post by Cinephrenic » Wed Nov 10, 2004 8:33 pm

Alright. I won't argue with you. Just thought it was odd that no library in the western hemisphere has either one of these books (both with a registered copyright date of 2004).
I'm taking your words for this since you work around a library (If i'm correct). Several years ago, before these were ever announced, I had a catalog of these titles in it for some reason. They were out-of-print and i'm been thinking they are just being reprinted. Oh well, it not a big deal. Great to see these in print.
Last edited by Cinephrenic on Thu Nov 11, 2004 6:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Gregory
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#16 Post by Gregory » Thu Nov 11, 2004 5:04 pm

By the way, the films selected for BFI film classics series are chosen from the BFI's list of 360 classic feature films, of which they are assembling a library of perfect show-prints for regular screening at the Museum of the Moving Image in London.
Below is the list of films for which they haven't announced books -- so, all those they announce and publish in the future will be from this list.
(The way they select titles for the BFI modern classics books is totally different, of course. Overall, I really do not agree with their list of selections for that series. The Matrix? Thelma and Louise? Titanic?)

Cabiria (1914)
The Birth Of A Nation (1915)
The Vampires (1916)
Intolerance (1916)
Joan The Woman (1916)
Judex (1916)
J'Accuse (1918)
Tih Minh (1918)
Karin Ingmarsdottir (1919)
True Heart Susie (1919)
The Oyster Princess (1919)
La Roue (1921)
Foolish Wives (1922)
Gunnar Hedes Saga (1923)
Die Niebelungen (1923-4)
The Last Laugh (1924)
The Navigator (1924)
Inhumaine (1924)
Extraordinary Adventures Of Mr West In The Land Of The Bolsheviks, 1924
Strike (1925)
The Gold Rush (1925)
The Freshman (1925)
Faces Of Children (1925)
The Unholy Three (1925)
Variete/Vaudeville (1925)
Tumbleweeds (1925)
Battleship Potemkin (1925)
Mother (1926)
Dura Lex (1926)
Hands Up! (1926)
Flesh And The Devil (1926)
The Lodger (1926)
The Strong Man (1926)
Secrets Of A Soul (1926)
Faust (1926)
A Page Of Madness (1926)
An Italian Straw Hat (1927)
Berlin, Symphony Of A City (1927)
The Crowd (1927)
Love (1927)
La Passion De Jeanne D'Arc (1927)
The Man Who Laughs (1927)
The Docks Of New York (1928)
Steamboat Bill Jr. (1928)
The House On Trubnaya Square (1928)
The Wind (1928)
Queen Kelly (1928)
Heimkehr (1928)
Pandora's Box (1928)
The Man With A Movie Camera (1928)
L'Argent (1928)
Spione (1928)
Die Wunderbare Luge Der Nina Petrowna (1929)
Piccadilly (1929)
People On Sunday (1929)
Applause (1929)
The Big Trail (1930)
Earth (1930)
Little Caesar (1930)
All Quiet On The Western Front (1930)
Ariane (1931)
The Threepenny Opera (German Version, 1930)
Frankenstein (1931)
The Public Enemy (1931)
La Chienne (1931)
City Lights (1931)
Le Million (1931)
Marius (1931)
Love Me Tonight (1932)
Tavaszi Zapor / Marie, Legende Hongroise (1932)
Scarface (1932)
The Most Dangerous Game (1932)
Liebelei (1932)
King Kong (1933)
Spring Silkworms (1933)
Daybreak (1933)
Hallelujah, I'm A Bum (1933)
Zoo In Budapest (1933)
Duck Soup (1933)
La Signora Di Tutti (1934)
It Happened One Night (1934)
The Scarlet Empress (1934)
The Goddess (1934)
Toni (1935)
New Gulliver (1935)
Carnival In Flanders (1935)
First A Girl (1935)
A Night At The Opera (1935)
Wife, Be Like A Rose (1935)
Bride Of Frankenstein (1935)
La Belle Equipe (1936)
Triumph Of The Will (1936)
Modern Times (1936)
Diary Of A Cheat (1936)
Rembrandt (1936)
Swing Time (1936)
Way Out West (1936)
Nothing Sacred (1937)
La Grande Illusion (1937)
Street Angel (1937)
The Pearls Of The Crown (1937)
Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs (1937)
Un Carnet De Bal (1937)
Oh, Mr. Porter! (1937)
Jezebel (1938)
La Bete Humaine (1938)
Quai Des Brumes (1938)
Alexander Nevski (1938)
Stolen Death (1938)
Only Angels Have Wings (1939)
Le Jour Se Leve (1939)
The Story Of Late Chrysantemums (1939)
The Grapes Of Wrath (1940)
The Thief Of Baghdad (1940)
Fantasia (1940)
Remorques (1941)
Sullivan's Travels (1941)
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
La Nuit Fantastique (1942)
Aniki Bobo (1942)
Ossessione (1942)
Casablanca (1942)
Le Corbeau (1943)
Douce (1943)
I Walked With A Zombie (1943)
Millions Like Us (1943)
Henry V (1944)
Laura (1944)
A Walk In The Sun (1945)
Les Dames Du Bois De Boulogne (1945)
G.I. Joe (1945)
Beauty And The Beast (1946)
My Darling Clementine (1946)
The Best Years Of Our Lives (1946)
Leave Her To Heaven (1946)
Great Expectations (1946)
Quai Des Orfevres (1947)
Black Narcissus (1947)
The Spring River Flows East (1947)
Holiday (1947)
Bicycle Thieves (1948)
Letter From An Unknown Woman (1948)
Fort Apache (1948)
The Red Shoes (1948)
Moonrise (1948)
Une Si Joli Petite Plage (1948)
White Heat (1949)
Crows And Sparrows (1949)
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon (1949)
Les Enfants Terribles (1949)
La Beaute Du Diable (1949)
Cyrano De Bergerac (1950)
The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
Los Olvidados (1950)
Orphee (1950)
Rio Grande (1950)
Wagon Master (1950)
Sunset Boulevard (1950)
Rashomon (1950)
La Ronde (1950)
Miss Julie (1950)
The Medium (1951)
Strangers On A Train (1951)
The Thing From Another World (1951)
Les Vacances De M. Hulot (1952)
Ikiru (1952)
The Quiet Man (1952)
Forbidden Games (1952)
Casques D'Or (1952)
El (1952)
The Band Wagon (1953)
From Here To Eternity (1953)
Tokyo Story (1953)
The Sun Shines Bright (1953)
I Vitelloni (1953)
A Generation (1954)
A Star Is Born (1954)
Lola Montes (1955)
Richard III (1955)
French Cancan (1955)
Bob Le Flambeur (1955)
Invasion Of The Bodysnatchers (1955)
Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
The Man From Laramie (1955)
Shin Heike Monogatori (1955)
Pather Panchali (1955)
Aparajito (1956)
A Man Escaped (1956)
Written On The Wind (1956)
The Tall T (1957)
Kanal (1957)
City Without Night (1957)
Sweet Smell Of Success (1957)
Paths Of Glory (1957)
Throne Of Blood (1957)
The House Of The Angel (1957)
Forty Guns (1957)
World Of Apu (1958)
Ashes And Diamonds (1958)
Eroica (1958)
Enjo (1958)
Touch Of Evil (1958)
The Music Room (1958)
The Human Condition I : No Greater Love (1958)
Paris Nous Appartient (1958)
The Human Condition II : Road To Eternity (1959)
Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959)
Les Cousins (1959)
Some Like It Hot (1959)
Pickpocket (1959)
Breathless (1959)
Peeping Tom (1960)
The Human Condition III : A Soldier's Prayer (1960)
Psycho (1960)
Lola (1960)
One-Eyed Jacks (1960)
The Lady With The Little Dog (1960)
Accatone (1961)
Il Posto (1961)
Jules And Jim (1961)
Cleo From 5 To 7 (1962)
Knife In The Water (1962)
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
Lawrence Of Arabia (1962)
The Nutty Professor (1963)
The Servant (1963)
Le Feu Follet (1963)
Le Mepris (1963)
Judex (1963)
8 1/2 (1963)
Vidas Secas (1964)
Marnie (1964)
Charulata (1964)
Umbrellas Of Cherbourg (1964)
Two Stage Sisters (1964)
The Round-Up (1965)
Repulsion (1965)
Pierrot Le Fou (1965)
A Fist In The Pocket (1965)
Abschied von Gestern (1966)
Le Deuxieme Souffle (1966)
Mouchette (1966)
Le Samourai (1967)
The Fireman's Ball (1967)
The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1967)
Night Of The Living Dead (1968)
2001 : A Space Odyssey (1968)
Hour Of The Furnaces (1968)
Once Upon A Time In The West (1968)
Memories Of Underdevelopment (1968)
The Wild Bunch (1969)
A Touch Of Zen (1969)
M*A*S*H (1969)
Four Moods (1970)
Spider's Stratagem (1970)
Le Boucher (1970)
The Conformist (1970)
Blanche (1971)
Intimate Confessions Of A Chinese Courtesan (1972)
Cries And Whispers (1972)
Tout Va Bien (1972)
The Godfather (1972)
Mean Streets (1973)
Spirit Of The Beehive (1973)
Alice In The Cities (1974)
The Godfather Part II (1974)
Manila : In The Claws Of Neon (1975)
The Travelling Players (1975)
The Shootist (1976)
Assault On Precinct 13 (1976)
Illustrious Corpses (1976)
The Ascent (1976)
Close Encounters Of The Third Kind (1977)
Annie Hall (1977)
The Scar (1978)
The Tree Of Wooden Clogs (1978)
Apocalypse Now (1979)
The Herd (1979)
Raging Bull (1980)
Mad Max 2 (1981)
Last edited by Gregory on Fri Nov 12, 2004 2:35 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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ellipsis7
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#17 Post by ellipsis7 » Thu Nov 11, 2004 6:08 pm

'Vampyr '(1932) by David Rudkin will be published in spring 2005, so that can be knocked off the list.

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Cinephrenic
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#18 Post by Cinephrenic » Thu Nov 11, 2004 6:28 pm

Thanks Gregory, I always wondered about that list. Great list, but they are moving slowely publishing them out.

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ellipsis7
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#19 Post by ellipsis7 » Thu Nov 11, 2004 6:32 pm

Don't follow that one (it was here and now is gone)... April 'is the cruellest month, breeding lilacs into the dead land...' TSE etc... Spring is sprung in March and April...

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devlinnn
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#20 Post by devlinnn » Thu Nov 11, 2004 7:19 pm

Annie Hall (1977)
Been done, by Peter Cowie of all people. Currently oop.

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Cinephrenic
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#21 Post by Cinephrenic » Thu Nov 11, 2004 7:32 pm

So has L'Argent and Olympia (OOP).

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Godot
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#22 Post by Godot » Thu Nov 11, 2004 8:40 pm

and
42nd St.
Stagecoach
Odd Man Out
Seventh Seal

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Gregory
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#23 Post by Gregory » Fri Nov 12, 2004 2:49 pm

Thanks for the corrections. I had left a few of the out-of-print books on the list because they're candidates for future publication (as second editions). But it does make sense to have a separate list of the out-of-print volumes, if someone wants to do that.
Also, the L'Argent book is a modern classics volume about the Bresson film, not the 1929 film on the BFI 360 list.

Back to the discussion, I've read several of the books from this series and have liked all of them, more or less. The ones I've enjoyed the most are those about films that I haven't already read a great deal about, such as an Actor's Revenge, Palm Beach Story, and Queen Christina.

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exte
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#24 Post by exte » Fri Nov 12, 2004 7:03 pm

the best piece I ever read on QT and Pulp Fiction was Gavin Smith's analysis and subsequent interview with QT in Film Comment the year it came out. Smith really nailed what made the film work so well and even compared to Altman's Short Cuts. I haven't read anything as good on the subject since and the fact that Polan didn't cite it or the interview in her book is yet another short-coming of it.
You can now read these articles here.

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ellipsis7
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#25 Post by ellipsis7 » Thu Feb 10, 2005 5:20 am

As I've mentioned in other strands, I highly recommend Stephen Teo's new BFI book on WONG KAR WAI... Really excellent, with a ranging overview, as well as penetrating insights... There are chapters on each his 8 features right up to 2046, bookended by an introduction to his early work, and concluding with a look at his mini-projects and other activities... Points to some interesting and surprisingly literary references... It's the first book length study of WKW and is well worth looking in to...

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