The Soviet Influence: Battleship Potemkin/Drifters

[antnield]

[Calvin]

Delayed until November 5th

[MichaelB]

Yes, it has indeed been delayed.

But the good news is that there'll be more films included than just Potemkin and Drifters - as with volume 1 in this series, there'll be a handful of shorter items too.

I'd best not jinx the project by naming any at this stage (not least because one of the prematurely-announced titles dropped off the Turksib disc between planning and authoring!), but they're all 1930s British documentaries by some of the bigger names of the era, and I don't think any of them have been released in 1080p before.

[NABOB OF NOWHERE]

Yes, it has indeed been delayed.

But the good news is that there'll be more films included than just Potemkin and Drifters - as with volume 1 in this series, there'll be a handful of shorter items too.

I'd best not jinx the project by naming any at this stage (not least because one of the prematurely-announced titles dropped off the Turksib disc between planning and authoring!), but they're all 1930s British documentaries by some of the bigger names of the era, and I don't think any of them have been released in 1080p before.

Be great to see some Cavalcanti blued up. Coal Face and Pett and Pott for example. Song of Ceylon should figure sometime soon as well I'd have thought.

[Calvin]

Song of Ceylon was recently on Sky Arts HD so it's definitely HD-ready.

[MichaelB]

As with Turksib, the primary rationale behind their selection is that the films should have a strong connection to the Soviet film being showcased.

[NABOB OF NOWHERE]

As with Turksib, the primary rationale behind their selection is that the films should have a strong connection to the Soviet film being showcased.

You mean like... Boats.

[antnield]

As with Turksib, the primary rationale behind their selection is that the films should have a strong connection to the Soviet film being showcased.

You mean like... Boats.

Which would suggest Grierson's Granton Trawler and Watts' North Sea as likely candidates.

[Calvin]

I suppose it could mean anything from subject matter to techniques (montage, so I wouldn't be surprised to see Coal Face)

Michael, any idea of this documentary will be included as an extra?

[swo17]

Granton Trawler is hypnotic and amazing. I might actually prefer it to Potemkin!

[antnield]

Michael, any idea of this documentary will be included as an extra?

The whole thing can be watched online on the National Film Board of Canada's website.

[Calvin]

Michael, any idea of this documentary will be included as an extra?

The whole thing can be watched online on the National Film Board of Canada's website.

Thanks!

[imhotep]

I loved the soundtrack for Turksib. They should have the same guy do the one for Potemkin as well if they're gonna do the correct frame rate.

[MichaelB]

I understand it will definitely have the Edmond Meisel score.

[Wu.Qinghua]

As with Turksib, the primary rationale behind their selection is that the films should have a strong connection to the Soviet film being showcased.

I'd actually love to see some minor 30s activist films restored and added. That is, films which weren't produced by the Griersonians, but by bodies such as the Workers' Film and Photo League, Progressive Film or Kino. Just sayin' in the hope somebody from the BFI accidentially visiting this thread might register.

[Calvin]

Michael, are you able to reveal the other films that will be included yet?

[MichaelB]

Michael, are you able to reveal the other films that will be included yet?

Well, they recently authorised their revelation in the next MovieMail catalogue, so...

• Battleship Potemkin (Sergei Eisenstein, 1925)
• Drifters (John Grierson, 1929)
• Granton Trawler (John Grierson, 1934)
• Trade Tattoo (Len Lye, 1937)
• North Sea (Harry Watt, 1938)

(Links are to Screenonline entries, where available)

As far as I'm aware, all will be presented in 1080p on the Blu-ray - and I believe Potemkin will have Russian intertitles, English subtitles and the Meisel score (in other words, the same master as the one that fuelled Kino's release - hardly surprising given BFI involvement in the restoration).

Given that the Maîtresse press release was issued today, I suspect full specs will be confirmed any day now.

[swo17]

Wow, Lye on Blu!

[antnield]

Wow, Lye on Blu!

Lye's The Birth of a Robot is on the first BFI Humphrey Jennings volume too.

[swo17]

Well then, even more Lye on Blu!

[knives]

Wow, Lye on Blu!

Yeah that plus the two Grierson's is enough to make me douple dip on Battleship now. This is beginning to sound essential.

[MichaelB]

Delayed until November 5th

I've just realised why: it's because every November 5 release has some connection with the parallel BFI Southbank Uncut! season of films that caused major problems with the BBFC - like Maîtresse, Sick, the films on the What the Silent Censor Saw collection... and of course Battleship Potemkin.

[zedz]

Is that a convoluted Guy Fawkes thing?

[MichaelB]

Full specs announced:

The Soviet Influence:
Battleship Potemkin: A film by Sergei Eisenstein
Drifters: A film by John Grierson

In the 1920s and 30s, Soviet propaganda films profoundly influenced the emerging luminaries of British documentary filmmaking, shaping their ideas about film as an art form. Eisenstein’s ground-breaking Battleship Potemkin (1925) wasn’t seen in the UK until 1929 when it was double-billed with Grierson’s Drifters (1929). On 5 November 2012 the films will be brought together again in a Dual Format Edition featuring a new restoration of Battleship Potemkin and the High Definition debut of Drifters.

The London Film Society’s screening of Battleship Potemkin and Drifters on Sunday 10 November 1929, at the Tivoli cinema in the Strand, is the most celebrated double-bill in film history. The BBFC had banned Battleship Potemkin and did not officially classify it (with an ‘X’ certificate) until 1954, almost 30 years after it was made.

Drifters heralded the birth of a movement that dominated British film culture for decades. Commissioned by the Empire Marketing Board, the film followed a herring drifter from departure in Scotland to market in East Anglia. John Grierson had previously overseen an English language version of Battleship Potemkin for its American release and Eisenstein’s influence is clearly shown, both in his own film and in many of those that followed under his watchful eye at the GPO Film Unit.

The restoration of Battleship Potemkin is presented with the 1926 Edmund Meisel score. For Drifters, the BFI commissioned the innovative British composer/performer Jason Singh. All of the sounds and textures in this evocative new score have been created vocally by Singh and manipulated using effects, hardware samplers and software. He comments:

‘It was a real challenge to create a sound and music score to a silent film that already felt complete in every way. After much thought (and fear) I decided to watch and absorb the narrative and respond creatively when it felt right to do so. What transpired was the feeling to mimic and draw out the natural and abstract melodies and rhythms of the everyday routine and also create sounds that would enhance the emotion, fear and struggle for survival underwater. In all cases I was mindful not to take away from the magnificence of the original silent film but to complement it using innovation and sensitivity.’

Also included in this edition are three classic films made by the GPO Film Unit: Granton Trawler (John Grierson, 1934), Trade Tattoo (Len Lye, 1937) and North Sea (Harry Watt, 1938).

The Soviet Influence is an occasional BFI strand that explores the impact that Soviet films had on British directors by presenting key Soviet works along with the British films which they inspired, in specially curated editions.

Special features
• All films presented in both High Definition and Standard Definition;
• Battleship Potemkin presented in a new restoration by Film Museum Berlin and partners, accompanied by the 1926 Edmund Merisel score;
• Drifters presented in new HD transfer, tinted and toned as originally intended, with a score by Jason Singh;
• Granton Trawler (John Grierson, 1934, 11 mines): Grierson’s follow up to Drifters, one of the GPO Film Unit’s first experiments with sound;
• Trade Tattoo (Len Lye, 1937, 6 mins): celebratory animation made from off-cuts of EMB and GPO Film Unit films, including Drifters and Night Mail;
• North Sea (Harry Watt, 1938, 32 mins): dramatic reconstruction of sea farers’ battle with the elements, produced by the GPO Film Unit;
• Illustrated booklet with extensive film and restoration credits and essays by Henry K Miller, Patrick Russell and Michael Brooke

Product details
RRP: £19.99 / cat. No. BFIB1058 / Cert PG
USSR + UK / 1925 + 1929 / black & white, with hand-coloured details + tinting and toning /
silent, with Russian intertitles and English subtitles + English intertitles / 69 mins + 41 mins / Original aspect ratios 1.33:1 /
Disc 1: BD50 / 1080p / PCM 5.1 surround and 2.0 stereo audio /
Disc 2: DVD9 / PAL / Dolby Digital 5.1 surround (448 kbps) and 2.0 stereo audio (320 kbps)

[TMDaines]

Guess I can say goodbye to the Kino then, even if it does have that documentary. Those shorts and a proper booklet is too much to turn down. Glad I got my pre-order in a while back with that HMV code!