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Not watched Moulin Rouge yet, but can't imagine you will pick up many restored silents at that sort of price.

Some very cheap titles direct from Network at the moment, including:

Moulin Rouge (£2)
The Belstone Fox (£2)
Sabotage (£2)
The Man Who Knew Too Much (£2)
The Red Balloon/The White Mane (£2)
The One That Got Away (£2)
2 Days in New York (£3)
Made (£3)
The Man with the Golden Arm (£3)
Wolcott: The Complete Series (£3)
Young and Innocent (£3)
Victim (£4)

Add Warn That Man and Tower of Terror to the list too -- I happily switched my order from Amazon to their website.

I guess this might be to tie in with the 50th anniversary celebration of the Pythons going on this year

domino harvey wrote: Fri Jun 28, 2019 2:56 am Network has restored and will release the entire TV run of Monty Python’s Flying Circus on Blu-ray

I'm astonished any of the original elements still exist since even the video masters were reportedly going to be wiped by the BBC at some point before members of the troupe intervened. There's a fair amount of animation and skits shot on film (16mm) per episode to warrant an HD release, but I'm curious to see what can be done with the predominant video-sourced material.

Roger Ryan wrote: Fri Jun 28, 2019 1:05 pmI'm astonished any of the original elements still exist since even the video masters were reportedly going to be wiped by the BBC at some point before members of the troupe intervened. There's a fair amount of animation and skits shot on film (16mm) per episode to warrant an HD release, but I'm curious to see what can be done with the predominant video-sourced material.

A few years ago "The Monty Python Museum" uploaded a treasure trove of studio outtakes to Youtube, including flubbed takes and behind-the-scenes stuff like somebody getting the credits roll cued up. Unfortunately they were all removed pretty quickly on copyright grounds, but it suggests the video material at least has been well preserved and bodes well for a remastered release, even if the bulk of the series is obviously going to be constrained by the SD format.

domino harvey wrote: Fri Jun 28, 2019 2:56 am Network has restored and will release the entire TV run of Monty Python’s Flying Circus on Blu-ray

Releases in early October, according to the latest Network newsletter.

Its Python time.

https://networkonair.com/all-products/3 ... ay-edition

Note that it’ll be region free, provided your TV can handle 1080i/50

domino harvey wrote: Tue Jul 30, 2019 6:34 am Note that it’ll be region free, provided your TV can handle 1080i/50

This Blu-ray edition is available in both 50i and 60i versions. You will be automatically supplied with the Blu-ray that is appropriate for your region. See FAQ for details.

https://networkonair.com/info/terms-and-conditions/

From a technical perspective, is one of 50i or 60i better, if your player can handle both?

The show was shot on a combination of 50i video and 25fps film that was subsequently transferred to 50i video. The 60i edition will necessarily be a conversion, so 50i is preferable here. I've got an email out to Network asking if it's possible for a U.S. customer like myself to request the 50i version; hopefully they'll be able to accommodate that.

In a nutshell, the 60i version will be more universally compatible, the 50i version more technically purist but with a definite risk of incompatibility outside Europe. And full marks to Network for catering for both.

One of the best BDs for establishing whether or not you can handle 50i material is the BFI’s The Great White Silence, as the main feature will play on any system but a couple of the extras (the Discovery Channel docs) might not.

MichaelB wrote: Wed Jul 31, 2019 9:54 amOne of the best BDs for establishing whether or not you can handle 50i material is the BFI’s The Great White Silence, as the main feature will play on any system but a couple of the extras (the Discovery Channel docs) might not.

I can confirm. My $60 imported Sony BD player I used for region A locked discs some years ago definitely did not play those extras on The Great White Silence.

Finally heard back from Network about whether it's possible to order the 50i version from a 60i country—they said no and suggested I use a shipping address in a 50i country, because I guess it's that common for Americans to have second homes in Europe? Oh well, I'll probably get this anyway.

Can''t you just buy it on Amazon.co.uk?

It's a Network exclusive. I think a standard version will be available eventually through normal retail channels, but I'm enough of a fan to want the extra stuff and the ridiculous packaging.

I think I read somewhere that the eventual standard edition’ll be released as single season sets.

It’s a bit silly about the video standard response, though I suppose it’s simpler on their end. Still, I have come across the reverse for a DVD (of what, I can’t recall) where the company wouldn’t ship the NTSC version to countries they’d decided were stuck with PAL (despite the fact that I believe most countries using PAL as a standard have been bipartisan in regard to home video standards for decades - at least Australia has anyway).

January releases (all Blu-Ray):

Cottage to Let
The Square Ring
The Love Ban
Play it Cool
The League of Gentlemen
Seance on a Wet Afternoon

The last two are both in the 'surprisingly not released before' category (and a couple may well be in the 'surprisingly released' one) - but this seems an amusingly eclectic selection.

The Woman in Black, TV version, restored and announced for Bluray:
http://www.cineoutsider.com/news/storie ... 00701.html

Upcoming:
The Man in Grey
Way to the Stars
The Constant Husband
Invasion (Alan Bridges, 1965)
and more titles:
https://networkonair.com/129-coming-soon

Some recent releases:
The Card (1952)
Home at Seven
The Mind Benders
https://networkonair.com/138-new

Invasion is a really interesting low (more like no) budget British SF film - essential watching for the upcoming lists project.

I watched my Blu-ray of The Woman in Black last night and it's a contender of release of the year for me. I've been a fan of the film ever since I saw it on ITV on Christmas 1989. It's always a revelation when you see a TV film or show looking far better than it did at its original broadcast. After having watched this as a VHS quality DVD for years, its a revelation how beautiful the film actually looks.

I think it still is one of the best ghost stories ever committed to screen and this also is the best version of the story. Nigel Kneale's screenplay improves on the Susan Hill novel, which I found a little disappointment when I read it after first watching the TV movie. I also wasn't a fan of the long running West End play or the 2012 remake. There are traces of The Stone Tape here, as the horse and carriage accident becomes likes a looping recording. It chills me even more than that famous scare, which btw also still works. The sparseness and naturalism of the art direction here ends up being far more sinister than the gothic overkill the 2012 remake went for. Here the supernatural intrudes into and disturbs the real world, while the remake appears to take place in a haunted house theme park attraction. The bleak ending is so much more powerful than the embarrassingly sentimental ending of the 2012 take. The only thing which I would change about the film is the first close-up of the woman in black, which occurs about 15 minutes into the film. It isn't helped by the improved resolution, now that we can make out her ghostly make-up more. She is more powerful when kept at a distance and that famous scare would have been even better,

Spoiler

had that been the first time we see her in close-up.

I watched the 4:3 version which includes pauses for the commercial breaks. It does disrupt the flow slightly, especially after the famous jump scare, where the broadcaster must have thought audiences needed a breather. Having had a look at the 16:9 version, I will watch that next time. It removes the pauses for the commercial breaks and appears to have been done with care, the reframed compositions look very good.

I didn't even realise Network put this out! I watched it on YouTube three years ago and all the DVDs had been out of print by then. Thank you for your write up!