Severin Films

[therewillbeblus]

Though the American Cinematheque did recently show all of Watkins' films from what appear to be new DCPs so maybe there's more good news to come.

I'm holding my breath for a re-release of Edvard Munch from some label

[Grand Wazoo]

Someone on Kier-La Janisse's instagram commented that they should just license Watkins entire filmography, to which she replied "workin' on it!"

[beamish14]

Someone on Kier-La Janisse's instagram commented that they should just license Watkins entire filmography, to which she replied "workin' on it!"

Not a huge surprise. I hope she’s got a book on him in the pipeline, too

Privilege is still Universal, and as such is a real outlier in his work

[DeprongMori]

If the BBC are open to sublicensing, then I'm hoping that we see a Mike Leigh set with his TV films

In meantime, I should probably catch those films on the Criterion Channel before they disappear, since the UK DVD set seems to be out of print.

[beamish14]

If the BBC are open to sublicensing, then I'm hoping that we see a Mike Leigh set with his TV films

In meantime, I should probably catch those films on the Criterion Channel before they disappear, since the UK DVD set seems to be out of print.

Get a VPN! You can stream tons of great stuff from the BBC and Channel 4, including classic Leigh works

[MichaelB]

Get a VPN! You can stream tons of great stuff from the BBC and Channel 4, including classic Leigh works

Is that based on first-hand experience or mere theory?

I only ask because I gather the BBC's VPN detection system is second to none, and I know plenty of compatriots who've tried and failed to access it from abroad. Indeed, I believe the efficacy of their VPN detection may well form a plank of their case for the defence, if Donald Trump's ludicrous lawsuit against them actually goes ahead, as it will enable them to demonstrate that the number of people based in Florida who could conceivably have watched the contentious Panorama documentary is likely to be so negligible as to make the demand for billions of dollars in damages completely unjustifiable.

[beamish14]

Get a VPN! You can stream tons of great stuff from the BBC and Channel 4, including classic Leigh works

Is that based on first-hand experience or mere theory?

I only ask because I gather the BBC's VPN detection system is second to none, and I know plenty of compatriots who've tried and failed to access it from abroad. Indeed, I believe the efficacy of their VPN detection may well form a plank of their case for the defence, if Donald Trump's ludicrous lawsuit against them actually goes ahead, as it will enable them to demonstrate that the number of people based in Florida who could conceivably have watched the contentious Panorama documentary is likely to be so negligible as to make the demand for billions of dollars in damages completely unjustifiable.

Oh, I use it all the time. I’m always toggling between British and Canadian content that I cannot access otherwise

[BoltzmannBrain]

If the BBC are open to sublicensing, then I'm hoping that we see a Mike Leigh set with his TV films

Severin is working on their second Mike Leigh film, they revealed this last year but didn't give any hints as to which film it is. Maybe it's one of his TV works.

[denti alligator]

Severin got back to me on The War Game frame rate. To my query whether it will be presented in 25fps:

No, the film scan that the BFI did of the original camera negative is 24fps.

PAL is 25fps and was a common framerate for home video in the UK, but that is pretty much gone now. The film was compared to all previous releases and all versions of the film (even if they were 25fps) matched our master.

Back in the day of telecine and such they'd just capture the film from it's native framerate to be whatever framerate they needed --- so sometimes a 25fps master has the same exact timing as the original 24fps film.

I'm not totally sure I understand this, honestly. So the BFI scanned the film at 24fps, but encoded it as 25fps? How could that encode match their 24fps version?

[MichaelB]

That doesn’t make much technical sense.

Still, I’ve ordered it anyway.

[denti alligator]

I doubt the BFI would have scanned it at 24fps.

[MichaelB]

It doesn’t matter what rate they scanned it at; they can present the final encoded version at any framerate they like.

[andyli]

This doesn't make sense at all. You don't scan the negative at any specific frame rate. Since it's clear now it's a BFI scan I'll wait for the inevitable BFI release even if they chose only to release it in HD (à la Out of the Blue). I trust BFI can sort the technicality out without an issue.

[nitin]

haven't the BFI already released it on blu?

[andyli]

Yes, but a new scan has been performed by them.

[nitin]

I dont think they have ever done a blu to blu upgrade though

[andyli]

They did release Tokyo Story twice on Blu-ray, the second time with a newer 4K restoration. I would love to think BFI doing a UHD from this new scan, but given their policy, it might as well just be a Blu-ray.

[tenia]

This doesn't make sense at all. You don't scan the negative at any specific frame rate.

Exactly. The film scan "frame rate" is a technical one, it's the speed of the scanner, and it depends on the scanner technology and how you set it up. Arriscan-like scanners are scanning 35mm stock at roughly 1-2 frames per second, independantly of the intended framerate of what you're scanning.

I suppose though that what Severin means is that the BFI supplied them with a 24fps file of the raw scan, which is something completely different, and something that indeed can later be manipulated anyway.

[MichaelB]

It's not a particularly big deal; I suspect far more people saw it in 24fps in its first two decades, if only because the BBC famously never broadcast it and it had to make do with cinemas instead. And it's not the kind of film where you're going to be distracted by pitch-shift issues; there's far too much else going on to worry about!

[denti alligator]

Threads available for pre-order at Orbit but not War Game. I wonder why.

[therewillbeblus]

Threads available for pre-order at Orbit but not War Game. I wonder why.

It just took a few more days, it's up now

Any chance Severin releases a solo edition of Innocence down the line, or do they usually not break up box sets?

[denti alligator]

Not the version with the book. Weird.

[Zot!]

I suppose though that what Severin means is that the BFI supplied them with a 24fps file of the raw scan, which is something completely different, and something that indeed can later be manipulated anyway.

Yeah I think the response came from somebody who doesn't get it...it should be mentioned, that while you can "manipulate it' (like pitch correct), you will never truly be able to get 25fps native footage to appear identical to 24fps footage...the math just doesn't add up. However, as MichaelB mentions the difference for most people is negligible, and US viewers have always consumed everything from Monty Python to Dr. Who at a slightly altered speed. The biggest tell is usually music's pitch.

[Adam X]

Not the version with the book. Weird.

Not really. It’s exclusive to their webstore.

[denti alligator]

Ah, I didn’t catch that. Makes perfect sense then.