Flipside 039: Legend of the Witches / Secret Rites

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MichaelB
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Flipside 039: Legend of the Witches / Secret Rites

#1 Post by MichaelB » Mon Sep 23, 2019 1:50 pm

Full specs announced:
BFI Flipside presents
Legend of the Witches
A film by Malcolm Leigh
Secret Rites
A film by Derek Ford


Dual Format Edition (Blu-ray/DVD), release on 14 October 2019, with simultaneous iTunes and Amazon release for Legend of the Witches and both films will be available on BFI Player

An eye-opening exploration of the occult, Malcolm Leigh’s X-rated quasi-documentary Legend of the Witches is an imaginative depiction of pagan rituals as they were supposedly practised at the dawn of the downer decade.

Part mondo movie, part counter-cultural artefact, Secret Rites is a side-step towards documentary territory by notorious exploitation stalwart Derek Ford that purports to lift the veil on witchcraft-as-lifestyle-choice in 1970s Notting Hill. On 14 October, BFI Flipside will presents these films together in a Dual Format Edition, packed with an array of brilliant extras.

Sharing the secrets of initiation into a coven, divination, ritual scrying, the casting of a ‘death spell’ and a chilling black mass, Legend of the Witches also visits Boscastle’s incredible Museum of Witchcraft, celebrates Britain’s pagan heritage and pays tribute to the perennial power of the witch.
In Secret Rites, mystery band The Spindle provide psychedelic sounds while groovy hairdresser and tentative occultist Penny is initiated into the coven of Alex Sanders, who features prominently in both films.

This release will be launched with a special event at BFI Southbank on Monday 14 October at 18:15. After a screening of Legend of the Witches, Doug Weir, BFI Technical Manager, who oversaw digital remastering, and witchcraft scholar Christina Oakley Harrington, PhD FRSA, director of Treadwells Books, will discuss the film with programmers William Fowler and Vic Pratt.

Special features

• Both films newly remastered in 2K;
• Presented in High Definition and Standard Definition;
• Newly recorded audio commentary on Secret Rites by BFI Flipside founders Vic Pratt and William Fowler;
The Witch’s Fiddle (1924, 7 mins): a silent film version of the eerie folk tale;
• Out of Step: Witchcraft (1957, 14 mins): investigative journalist Dan Farson interviews the ‘father of Wicca’ Gerald Gardner in this rare TV documentary;
• The Judgement of Albion (1968, 26 mins): bold Blakeian imagery populates this ode to resistance by the writer of Blood on Satan’s Claw;
• Getting It Straight in Notting Hill Gate (1970, 25 mins): spaced-out sitars, Blue Beat 45s and the prog-rock grooves of Quintessence soundtrack this up-close flashback to Notting Hill Gate in 1970;
• Image gallery: rare memorabilia and newspaper cuttings relating to the films, salvaged from the spooky ‘70s;
• Newly commissioned sleeve artwork by renowned illustrator Graham Humphreys;
• Illustrated booklet (***first pressing only***) with new essays by Christina Oakley Harrington, William Fowler, Vic Pratt, Mark Pilkington, Adrian Smith and Rob Young, notes on the special features and full film credits

Product details
RRP: £19.99 / Cat. no. BFIB1352 / BFI Flipside No. 039 / Cert 18
UK / 1970 and 1971 / black and white, colour / 85 mins + 47 mins / English language with optional hard-of-hearing subtitles / original aspect ratio 1.33:1 / BD50: 1080p, 24fps, LPCM 1.0 mono audio (48kHz/24-bit) DVD9: PAL, 25fps, Dolby Digital mono audio (192kbps)

jlnight
Joined: Tue Oct 22, 2013 10:49 am

Re: Flipside 039: Legend of the Witches / Secret Rites

#2 Post by jlnight » Mon Sep 23, 2019 5:02 pm

It's a pity that they couldn't pair up Legend of the Witches with Games That Lovers Play! (both of which have turned up on Talking Pictures TV).

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colinr0380
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Location: Chapel-en-le-Frith, Derbyshire, UK

Re: Flipside 039: Legend of the Witches / Secret Rites

#3 Post by colinr0380 » Sat Oct 19, 2019 7:29 am


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DeprongMori
Joined: Fri Apr 04, 2014 1:59 am
Location: San Francisco

Re: Flipside 039: Legend of the Witches / Secret Rites

#4 Post by DeprongMori » Wed Oct 27, 2021 1:39 am

NOTE: This title (Flipside 039: Legend of the Witches / Secret Rites) is no longer shipping with a booklet.

Glowingwabbit
Joined: Wed May 01, 2013 1:27 pm

Re: Flipside 039: Legend of the Witches / Secret Rites

#5 Post by Glowingwabbit » Wed Oct 27, 2021 8:47 am

DeprongMori wrote:
Wed Oct 27, 2021 1:39 am
NOTE: This title (Flipside 039: Legend of the Witches / Secret Rites) is no longer shipping with a booklet.
Are the booklets for Flipside releases always first pressing only?

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swo17
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Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2008 10:25 am
Location: SLC, UT

Re: Flipside 039: Legend of the Witches / Secret Rites

#6 Post by swo17 » Wed Oct 27, 2021 9:24 am

A few years ago all BFI releases started being this way

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