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Posted: **Mon May 02, 2016 10:41 am**

Posted: **Mon May 02, 2016 7:08 pm**

John Doe wrote:Sept. 19

Blu-ray?

Posted: **Mon May 02, 2016 9:31 pm**

Posted: **Fri May 27, 2016 5:07 pm**

Specs:

- New 2K restoration by the BFI National Archive
- Original theatrical trailer
- Audio commentary with director Ken Russell
- Audio commentary with writer and producer Larry Kramer
- Second Best (Stephen Dartnell, 1972, 25 mins): rare, unreleased short film starring Alan Bates based on the short story by D H Lawrence
- The Guardian Lecture: Glenda Jackson interviewed at the National Film Theatre (1982, 90 mins, audio only)
- The Pacemakers 14: Glenda Jackson (1974, 14 mins): profile and interview with Glenda Jackson which includes post-production work on Women in Love
- Stills and Collections gallery
- Fully illustrated booklet with credits and newly commissioned essays

Posted: **Thu Jun 02, 2016 4:44 pm**

Posted: **Thu Jun 02, 2016 4:46 pm**

I am at a loss for words regarding the cover.

Posted: **Thu Jun 02, 2016 5:09 pm**

Big Ben wrote:I am at a loss for words regarding the cover.

In a good way or a bad way? It's basically the original poster, so make of that what you will.

Amazing to see this passed with a 12-certificate, considering the controversy it caused in it's heyday

Posted: **Thu Jun 02, 2016 5:09 pm**

...although its original X certificate only barred under-sixteens back then, so it's not quite as radical a shift as it might seem.

Posted: **Thu Jun 02, 2016 5:25 pm**

I was just shocked at the openness is all (I wasn't aware that it was one of the original posters.). The BFI is certainly more open with their covers than American distributors are!

I've only ever seen a very poor version of The Devils so my familiarity with Russell's work is very small. How does Women in Love stack up?

Posted: **Thu Jun 02, 2016 5:29 pm**

It's quite good if more conservatively styled then a lot of his other work (including The Devils). It's pretty comparable to some of the stuff Tony Richardson was coming out with at the time.

Posted: **Thu Jun 02, 2016 5:56 pm**

Big Ben wrote:I was just shocked at the openness is all (I wasn't aware that it was one of the original posters.). The BFI is certainly more open with their covers than American distributors are!

You're not familiar with the BFI's Deep End cover, I take it? Or their 1990 quad poster for In the Realm of the Senses?

(Possibly NSFW, although both have been displayed in public.)

Posted: **Thu Jun 02, 2016 6:39 pm**

Nagisa Oshima is the only filmmaker I can lay claim to having quite a bit of knowledge of so I'm familiar with In the Realm of the Senses' many posters. As for Deep End I've seen that too. I just thought it was a one off sort of thing. Call me twice surprised!

knives wrote:It's quite good if more conservatively styled then a lot of his other work (including The Devils). It's pretty comparable to some of the stuff Tony Richardson was coming out with at the time.

I'm only familiar for the most part with his supposed penchant for excess which I must admit I have a fondness for. I'll be looking into this too though.

Posted: **Wed Jul 27, 2016 12:43 pm**

Full specs announced:

Women in Love
A film by Ken Russell
Alan Bates, Oliver Reed, Glenda Jackson and Jennie Linden

Ken Russell's lauded D H Lawrence adaptation is a sophisticated meditation on the complexities of human relationships and the shifting social mores of a country shell-shocked by the First World War.

Now newly restored by the BFI National Archive and premiered at the 2015 BFI London Film Festival, it will be released on Blu-ray for the first time on 22 August 2016. An array of special features include commentaries, interviews and short films.

Women in Love was hailed upon its release, earning four Academy Award nominations, and the Best Actress Oscar® for Glenda Jackson. Audiences flocked to see its famous, erotically-charged naked wrestling scene, and critics celebrated the film’s opulent design, handsome cinematography and the compelling ensemble performances of Alan Bates, Jennie Linden, Oliver Reed and Glenda Jackson. Often regarded as Ken Russell’s masterpiece, Women in Love endures as one of British cinema’s finest achievements.

Special features
• New 4K restoration by the BFI National Archive
• Original theatrical trailer
• Billy Williams OBE BSC in conversation with Phil Méheux BSC (2015, 49 mins): in-depth interview with the Oscar®-winning cinematographer
• Audio commentary with director Ken Russell
• Audio commentary with writer and producer Larry Kramer
• Second Best (Stephen Dartnell, 1972, 27 mins): previously unreleased short film starring Alan Bates, based on the short story by D H Lawrence
• The Guardian Lecture: Glenda Jackson interviewed at the National Film Theatre (1982, 77 mins, audio only)
• The Pacemakers: Glenda Jackson (1971, 14 mins): a documentary profile in which the actress speaks of her performance in Women in Love
• Stills and Collection Gallery
• Illustrated booklet with new writing by Michael Brooke, Paul Sutton and Vic Pratt, and full film credits

Product details
RRP: £19.99/ Cat. no. BFIB1254 / Cert 15
UK / 1969 / 131 mins / colour / English language, with optional hard-of-hearing subtitles / BD50 / 1080p / original aspect ratio 1.75:1 / PCM mono audio (48k/24-bit)

Posted: **Wed Jul 27, 2016 4:30 pm**

Any reason that this is being presented in 1.75:1 instead of 1.66:1?

Regardless, this seems like an excellent release, and I will certainly be indulging. Hopefully the BFI have plans for more Russell -- can they get the rights to The Music Lovers?

Posted: **Wed Jul 27, 2016 4:42 pm**

Because I imagine 1.75:1 was the actual OAR. The BFI National Archive doesn't generally get these things wrong.

Posted: **Wed Jul 27, 2016 5:04 pm**

Yes, it's definitely supposed to be 1.75:1 - it's confirmed in the bonus content.

Posted: **Wed Jul 27, 2016 5:10 pm**

1.66:1 was the dominant widescreen ratio in mainland Europe, but in the 1960s a fair number of British films were framed in 1.75:1 - A Hard Day's Night being another well-known example.

It may well have been an expedient decision that would allow British films to be playable in both Europe (at 1.66:1) and the US (at 1.85:1) with minimal compromises.

Posted: **Thu Jul 28, 2016 8:19 pm**

Good to hear this is the original aspect ratio. The MGM DVD was 1.66, so I just assumed that's what it should be.

The inclusion of the doc on Billy Williams also seems like a great last-minute inclusion.

Posted: **Thu Jul 28, 2016 10:04 pm**

1.75:1 was the rule rather than the exception, and a great many films released at 1.66:1 on disc should in fact be the slightly wider ratio. On Eureka's release of If.... I understand there is an interview with the camera operator who states the film was shot at 1.75:1, despite the disc presenting it at 1.66:1.

Here is a breakdown of the listed ratios for all UK films recorded in the trade magazine Kine Weekly between 1957 and 1970:

Posted: **Thu Aug 11, 2016 3:13 pm**

I think Mondo Digital quite likes it:

Anyone who's been waiting for a respectable edition of one of the most vital films of the late '60s should be ecstatic with this release from start to finish.

Posted: **Sun Aug 21, 2016 2:35 pm**

Beaver...Looks great.

Posted: **Sat Oct 29, 2016 6:55 am**

Watched it a couple of times. Never enjoyed it so much until now. Such a sensual film, made with such a strong focus on the physical. Russell is so rigorous in juxtaposing body and environment (Bates rolling around in the bushes after being attacked by Hermione, Reed struggling in the water and in the snow - finally absorbed into the mise en scene), creating a truly sensual and cinematic experience. This is pin sharp and the colours look as good as the best of '60s Blu Ray transfers such as Accident by Studio Canal. Detail is wonderful especially in the nude wrestling scene, the play on candlelight and shadows is very rich. There's a nine minute stretch where an inferior, SD? source is used, before they go to the Alps and the early stages of the holiday. But it picks up again, bringing out especially well the blues of the shadows in the snow. Love the performances, all of them, and Russell's energy and spontaneity really is infectious. At times it goes abruptly from musical and the scene in which Hermione attacks Bates' character is filmed as a horror movie. This BFI release is a very strong one, maybe the best of a Russell film - it looks, for 95% of the film, so FRESH - on Blu ray although Warners' Altered States is also exceptional and Arrow & BFI did a very good job with the materials available for Crimes of Passion and Valentino.

Posted: **Thu May 08, 2025 12:28 pm**

4K UHD upgrade confirmed for 14 July.

Posted: **Thu May 08, 2025 12:31 pm**

Oh my god.

Posted: **Thu May 08, 2025 12:34 pm**

I assume this is the same BFI National Archive 4K restoration that fuelled the BD - not much point in reinventing the wheel, as it looked absolutely fine in 1080p.

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