Flipside 029: That Sinking Feeling

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MichaelB
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Flipside 029: That Sinking Feeling

#1 Post by MichaelB » Fri Jan 31, 2014 10:46 am

Bill Forsyth's first feature confirmed as the next Flipside release.

More news on specs when I get it.

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antnield
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Re: Flipside 029: That Sinking Feeling

#2 Post by antnield » Fri Jan 31, 2014 10:52 am

Some hints and details on the specs from the press release...
Newly remastered in High Definition, this inventive low-budget masterpiece can be experienced with its original Glaswegian dialogue track and in its correct aspect ratio. Among the disc’s extensive extra features are a full-length audiocommentary with Bill Forsyth and Mark Kermode, a number of rarely seen short films and documentaries and a dryly funny BAFTA Lifetime Achievement Award acceptance film made by Forsyth in 2009.

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MichaelB
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Re: Flipside 029: That Sinking Feeling

#3 Post by MichaelB » Fri Jan 31, 2014 1:54 pm

And some more specs: this looks like a fabulous release!
• New Audio Commentary with Bill Forsyth and Mark Kermode;
• Interview with actor Robert Buchanan (Douglas Weir, 2014, 20 mins)
• Kermode Uncut (2012, 9 mins): film critic Mark Kermode discusses the budget for That Sinking Feeling with Bill Forsyth;
• KH-4 (John Schorstein, 1969, 13 mins): a young artist (Forsyth) struggles to seek inspiration from a slowly crumbing cityscape;
• Mirror (John Schorstein, 1970, 30 mins): a young would-be writer (Forsyth) searches the street of Glasgow for his missing girlfriend;
• Glasgow 1980 (Oscar Marzaroli, 1971, 30 mins): documentary, edited by Bill Forsyth, promoting the proposed development of Glasgow in the 1970s;
• Islands of the West (Bill Forsyth, 1972, 30 mins): promoting the scenic beauty of the Scottish Hebrides;
Bill Forsyth's Lifetime Achievement Film (Bill Forsyth, 2009, 7 mins): short acceptance film made for BAFTA;
• Optional alternative dubbed dialogue track;
• Fully illustrated booklet.
What with this and what looks set to be a similarly stacked Blu-ray of Gregory's Girl, courtesy of Second Sight, we're getting a major and wholly unexpected (and wholly welcome) Bill Forsyth revival this year.

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Re: Flipside 029: That Sinking Feeling

#4 Post by colinr0380 » Fri Jan 31, 2014 5:01 pm

Here's Kermode Uncut blog video showing behind the scenes of the commentary track recording sessions for both films.. (EDIT: And the 'budget' video on the disc is likely going to be this video!)

Those shorts films, as usual for a Flipside release, sound just as exciting as the main feature! (I do hope with this revival that they said Forsyth didn't have to revisit Gregory's Two Girls though! =; )
Last edited by colinr0380 on Fri Jan 31, 2014 5:18 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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htshell
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Re: Flipside 029: That Sinking Feeling

#5 Post by htshell » Fri Jan 31, 2014 5:05 pm

Was just thinking we were due for another Flipside release. Glad it's still chugging along!

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Re: Flipside 029: That Sinking Feeling

#6 Post by Calvin » Thu Feb 27, 2014 11:37 am


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MichaelB
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Re: Flipside 029: That Sinking Feeling

#7 Post by MichaelB » Thu Mar 06, 2014 11:28 am

Full specs announced:
BFI Flipside presents
That Sinking Feeling
The debut feature by Bill Forsyth


The 29th title on the BFI’s collectible Flipside label is celebrated Scottish director Bill Forsyth’s (Gregory's Girl, Local Hero) zero-budget debut. Hilarious and inventive, That Sinking Feeling (1979) is presented in a new High Definition transfer, complete with the original Glaswegian dialogue track.

Released on 21 April 2014, this definitive Dual Format Edition (DVD and Blu-ray) is loaded with special features including previously unreleased short films, a newly recorded audio commentary and much more.

Unemployed teenager Ronnie (Robert Buchanan, Gregory’s Girl) and his hapless pals spend their time hanging around the rainy parks and dingy cafes of Glasgow, but their world is about to change when Ronnie hatches a plan to make them all rich by stealing a job-lot of stainless steel sinks.

Filmed entirely on location around Glasgow, the cast was largely drawn from members of the Glasgow Youth Theatre and included a small part for John Gordon Sinclair, who went on to star in Gregory’s Girl.

To raise the money to get the film off the ground, Bill Forsyth wrote to local businesses for help and That Sinking Feeling became the first fiction feature film to be both financed and made in Scotland – for the record-breaking amount of £5,000.

The BFI has worked closely with Bill Forsyth to bring the film back into circulation, finally reinstating the original Glaswegian dialogue track and presenting it in its correct aspect ratio.

Amongst the extensive extras are a full-length audio commentary with Bill Forsyth and Mark Kermode, one of the film’s most ardent high profile fans, a number of rarely-seen short films, and a dryly funny BAFTA Lifetime Achievement Award acceptance film made by Forsyth in 2009.

Special features
• Presented in both High Definition and Standard Definition;
• New audio commentary with Bill Forsyth and Mark Kermode;
• New interview with actor Robert Buchanan (2014, 14 mins);
KH-4 (John Schorstein, 1969, 13 mins): a young artist (Forsyth) struggles to seek inspiration from a slowly crumbling cityscape;
Mirror (John Schorstein, 1970, 33 mins): a young writer (Forsyth) searches the streets of Glasgow for his missing girlfriend;
Glasgow 1980 (Oscar Marzaroli, 1971, 30 mins): documentary, edited by Bill Forsyth, promoting the proposed development of Glasgow in the 1970s;
Islands of the West (Bill Forsyth, 1972, 30 mins): promoting the scenic beauty of the Scottish Hebrides;
Bill Forsyth BAFTA Film (Bill Forsyth, 2009, 7 mins): short acceptance film made for BAFTA;
Kermode Uncut (2012, 9 mins): film critic Mark Kermode discusses the budget for That Sinking Feeling with Bill Forsyth;
• Optional alternative dubbed dialogue track;
• Illustrated booklet with new essays and credits.

Product details
RRP: £19.99 / cat. no. BFIB1189 / Cert 12 / Flipside cat no: 029
UK / 1979 / colour / English with optional hard-of-hearing subtitles / 93 mins / Original aspect ratio 1.33:1
Disc 1: BD50 / 1080p / 24fps / PCM mono audio (48k/24-bit)
Disc 2: DVD9 / PAL / Dolby Digital mono audio (320 kbps)

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What A Disgrace
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Re: Flipside 029: That Sinking Feeling

#8 Post by What A Disgrace » Thu Mar 06, 2014 11:31 am

Region free?

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MichaelB
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Flipside 029: That Sinking Feeling

#9 Post by MichaelB » Thu Mar 06, 2014 11:32 am

I would imagine so, but I'll check.

UPDATE: Yes!

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Re: Flipside 029: That Sinking Feeling

#10 Post by David M. » Thu Mar 06, 2014 6:08 pm

Yup, Region free! Understandable anywhere in the world, just like a Glaswegian accent.

(No, seriously, it's region free though).

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Re: Flipside 029: That Sinking Feeling

#11 Post by Forrest Taft » Mon Mar 10, 2014 5:09 pm

What are the odds BFI will also put out Bill Forsyth's Andrina?

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antnield
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Re: Flipside 029: That Sinking Feeling

#12 Post by antnield » Tue Apr 08, 2014 6:01 am


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Re: Flipside 029: That Sinking Feeling

#13 Post by manicsounds » Thu May 01, 2014 10:26 pm


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hearthesilence
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Re: Flipside 029: That Sinking Feeling

#14 Post by hearthesilence » Sat Jun 26, 2021 10:18 pm

What a charming film, and the booklet is outstanding - I didn't realize that Glasgow references were also replaced when they re-dubbed the soundtrack for American release. The one I would have missed most is Irn-Bru - there are a few places near and around Chicago that import it. (IIRC it's never been bottled in the U.S. due to an issue with the food coloring.)

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Re: Flipside 029: That Sinking Feeling

#15 Post by pistolwink » Sun Jul 04, 2021 1:00 am

...I'll put a word in for Al's Deli, an astonishingly good and long-lived sandwich shop in Evanston, Illinois that carries Irn-Bru among other Scottish and French delicacies.

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Re: Flipside 029: That Sinking Feeling

#16 Post by colinr0380 » Sun Jul 11, 2021 5:47 am

I was never the biggest fan of Irn-Bru but it does have a classic 90s advert associated with it that completely captures the way that the drink is the equivalent of a Glaswegian Kiss in liquid form!

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hearthesilence
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Re: Flipside 029: That Sinking Feeling

#17 Post by hearthesilence » Sun Jul 11, 2021 1:12 pm

pistolwink wrote:
Sun Jul 04, 2021 1:00 am
...I'll put a word in for Al's Deli, an astonishingly good and long-lived sandwich shop in Evanston, Illinois that carries Irn-Bru among other Scottish and French delicacies.
I've been to Al's! Are they still around post-pandemic? I had friends who loved going there for their sandwiches (IIRC I highly enjoyed the roast beef sandwich with blue cheese that I had when I was first there) and yes, the butter cookies are amazing. I think they even keep them in the fridge to keep their integrity since they're so rich?
colinr0380 wrote:
Sun Jul 11, 2021 5:47 am
I was never the biggest fan of Irn-Bru but it does have a classic 90s advert associated with it that completely captures the way that the drink is the equivalent of a Glaswegian Kiss in liquid form!
"Made from Girders," hah!

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knives
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Re: Flipside 029: That Sinking Feeling

#18 Post by knives » Tue Nov 14, 2023 5:06 pm

This was quite fun if handicapped in the way most first features are. For those better in the know what has Forsyth been up to the last twenty years?

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Peacock
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Re: Flipside 029: That Sinking Feeling

#19 Post by Peacock » Tue Nov 14, 2023 7:38 pm

This may be out of date now but I’m not sure he’s officially retired; he still writes in the hope of making another film if something jumps out at him. But from personal connections I have he is known to be fairly reclusive these days. And I mean to be fair he is a decent age so probably enjoying taking it easy.

Here’s an interview from a few years ago which goes into some detail.

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hearthesilence
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Re: Flipside 029: That Sinking Feeling

#20 Post by hearthesilence » Tue Nov 14, 2023 8:01 pm

I've seen him a couple of times at screenings - the first time was at Film Forum for a brand-new 35mm print of Housekeeping (which wasn't available for home viewing at the time) and it was kind of touching that Peter Riegert was part of the audience. That was 2010, but while he's still articulate and mentally sharp, he's definitely looking more frail nowadays.

Unfortunately, what he's been told is that the kind of work he's been known for rarely gets funded anymore. By that I mean arthouse feature films, or at least modest budget films that aren't as easily as marketable as genre pictures. Obviously it still happens - see Terence Davies - but he says it's been a struggle getting any of his scripts funded - see Mike Leigh. He's been urged to pitch a series, but he admits that's a struggle because he's simply much more of a feature filmmaker, not a television show runner.

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Re: Flipside 029: That Sinking Feeling

#21 Post by beamish14 » Tue Nov 14, 2023 8:44 pm

I believe he’s active as an arts patron/collector in Glasgow. I’m still dying to know whether his original cut of Being Human was preserved in some way; hell, even reissuing it without the atrocious narration would be a massive improvement

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