Hidden City

[MichaelB]

Full specs announced:

HIDDEN CITY
A film by Stephen Poliakoff
Charles Dance, Cassie Stuart, Bill Paterson, Richard E Grant

Released on BFI Blu-ray, iTunes and Amazon Prime on 13 May 2024

After establishing a fine reputation in British television drama, Stephen Poliakoff (Close My Eyes, Perfect Strangers) 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 Stuart), a video librarian. What they stumble upon are cover-ups, tense searches and possible danger. Released on Blu-ray and digitally by the BFI on 13 May, special features on the Blu-ray include a new director commentary.

With the help of Witold Stok’s excellent cinematography, Poliakoff has crafted a rich look into London’s dark history, with disused tram-tunnels and long-forgotten subterranean chambers serving as the backdrop to explore the depths of the British preoccupation with secrecy. Featuring a cast of stellar British talent including Richard E Grant and Bill Paterson, Stephen Poliakoff’s rarely seen directorial debut is a stylish thriller ripe for rediscovery.

Special features
• 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
• ***First pressing only*** Illustrated booklet including Poliakoff's original introduction to his screenplay, a new essay on the film by John Wyver, a new interview with Stephen Poliakoff by Michael Brooke, new writing on Barging Through London and Hop Gardens of Kent by Ellen Cheshire and an essay on Public Information films and the National Archives by Sarah Castagnetti and Patrick Russell

Product details
RRP: £19.99 / Cat. no. BFIB1510/ 15
UK / 1987 / colour / 108 minutes / English language with optional descriptive subtitles / original aspect ratio 1.66:1 // BD50: 1080p, 24fps, LPCM 2.0 mono audio (48kHz/24-bit)

[MichaelB]

I can't speak for the rest of the package, but I was very happy with how the commentary recording session went - there was tons of stuff to talk about (Poliakoff cheerfully admitted that it was a classic case of a feature debut with rather too many ideas than it knew what to do with), and of course the film has become a fascinating historical artefact in its own right, capturing London at a certain point in time (pretty much the commentary's first observation is that the skyline looks totally different now) and indeed an era when archival research required serious legwork - you couldn't just sit in front of a computer screen (or take out your phone in the middle of the street) and call up tons of stuff instantly.

Although, of course - and we discuss this in some detail - this has led to the widespread myth that everything is now available online, which could hardly be less true, especially in the context of the kind of long-buried secrets at the heart of the film's narrative; this is precisely the sort of material that wouldn't have been digitised.

Oh, and I distinctly recall that Poliakoff did 90-95% of the talking, which is exactly how I hoped things would pan out (and I suspect this isn't a minority opinion!). In fact, he could easily have handled the whole thing solo, but I gather he likes having someone in the room with him to bounce stuff off and give him occasional prompts, and I was very happy to oblige. In fact, it went so smoothly that we finished well ahead of schedule.