The John Cassavetes Collection

[cdnchris]

It really looks great. They took a hands off approach to it and it's rendered perfectly. I think you'll be more than thrilled with it.

[Calvin]

The BFI have been doing a terrific job with the transfers. Hopefully, they can licence Husbands, Gloria and Love Streams, which are unavailable on DVD here in the UK.

[antnield]

The BFI have been doing a terrific job with the transfers. Hopefully, they can licence Husbands, Gloria and Love Streams, which are unavailable on DVD here in the UK.

Husbands is getting a theatrical re-release via Park Circus in a couple of weeks' time. No word yet on a follow-up DVD or Blu-ray, but we can certainly hope so.

[manicsounds]

BlurayDefinition on "A Woman Under The Influence"

[razumovsky]

Husbands is getting a theatrical re-release via Park Circus in a couple of weeks' time. No word yet on a follow-up DVD or Blu-ray, but we can certainly hope so.

Just saw this at the BFI, and I hate to be a downer but it is the expurgated version, so you don't get Red singing "Brother, Can You Spare A Dime". Damned shame, since it's one of the most powerful scenes in the film, and frustrating since I saw the 140 minute version at the BFI in 2004, and it has received DVD releases in the US and France. On the other hand, the film does look magnificent.

[antnield]

The Telegraph on A Woman Under the Influence.

[Ozu Teapot]

A Woman Under the Influence is currently only £8.25 on Amazon.co.uk...

[MichaelB]

Opening Night confirmed as Region B.

[antnield]

New artwork for Opening Night:

[MichaelB]

Full specs announced:

The John Cassavetes Collection
Opening Night
Starring Gena Rowlands, John Cassavetes, Ben Gazzara

The latest release in the BFI's John Cassavetes Collection, out on 27 May 2013, is 1977's award-winning Opening Night. Released on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK, it is presented in a Dual Format Edition (also contains a DVD disc). Numerous extras include an audio commentary, a documentary – Memories of John - and Peter Falk (Columbo) talking about John Cassavetes.

Broadway actress Myrtle Gordon (Gena Rowlands) rehearses for her latest play about a woman in denial at the onset of her autumn years. When Myrtle witnesses the accidental death of an adoring young fan, it leads to a crisis of confidence in both her professional and her personal life which threatens to undermine the whole production.

Featuring a startling and compelling performance by Gena Rowlands, which won her the Silver Bear for Best Actress in 1978, Opening Night is arguably one of John Cassavetes’ most self-reflexive works and offers an insightful and intriguing evocation of the theatrical experience from both sides of the proscenium.

Special Features
• Presented in both High Definition and Standard Definition;
• Audio commentary by Tom Charity, Mike Ferris and Bo Harwood;
• Memories of John (DVD only, 29 mins);
• Falk on Cassavetes: the later years (DVD only, 14 mins);
• Illustrated booklet featuring interviews and essays from Tom Charity, Al Ruban and Peter Bogdanovich.

Product Details
RRP: £19.99 / cat. no. BFIB1129 / Cert 15
USA / 1977 / colour / English language, with optional English hard-of-hearing subtitles / 144 mins / Original aspect ratio 1.85:1
Disc 1: BD50 / 1080p / 24fps / PCM mono audio (48k/16-bit)
Disc 2: DVD9 / PAL / Dolby Digital mono audio (320 kbps)

The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976) will be released in July.

[MichaelB]

The Killing of a Chinese Bookie has been described as "a three-disc limited edition presentation, featuring two different cuts of the feature".

[hearthesilence]

Hope they changed their mind about doing only the shorter cut in HD - I'd pay the extra cash to get it all in HD.

[MichaelB]

Beaver on Opening Night:

A magnificent transfer on the new 1080P BFI. The higher resolution advances the detail and the visuals show some instances of depth. There is a shade of background grain. The 2.5 hour film is housed on a dual-layered disc and has a max'ed out bitrate. It supports the colors of the Criterion/Optimum SD transfer with the true skin tones, but contrast rises notably improving the image. In toggling back and forth with the Criterion DVD - it is quite a visible difference. The BFI is clean and provides a marvelous video presentation.

[antnield]

Two-disc and limited three-disc editions. From Amazon...

This strictly limited edition (of 1,000 units) contains a bonus DVD with the 1993 documentary feature Anything for John, the 1981 short The Haircut, starring Cassavetes, and an interview with The Haircut director Tamar Hoffs.

Special Features

- Presented in both High Definition and Standard Definition
- Includes both the 135 minute and 108 minute re-cut versions
- Selected scene commentary by Al Rubin and Peter Bogdanovich on long version
- Anything for John (1993, 90 mins, limited edition DVD only): feature documentary featuring interviews with Cassavetes' collaborators Gena Rowlands, Peter Falk and Al Rubin
- The Haircut (1981, 24 mins, limited edition DVD only): rare 1981 short starring John Cassavetes
- Tamar Toffs Interview (1993, 6 mins, limited edition DVD only): the director of The Haircut discusses her film and working with Cassavates
- Extensive booklet with essays and film credits
- Strictly limited to 1,000 units

[antnield]

The Haircut, incidentally, was only previously available on the US Anchor Bay disc of The Allnighter. The role was originally to be taken by Ben Gazzara, but Cassavetes stepped in as a last-minute replacement.

[Donald Brown]

Anyone know if this German Cassavetes Blu-ray set features the same transfers used by the BFI?

[sidetracked]

I just A/B'd the German and BFI version of "Faces". They certainly look just about identical.
Interestingly, on the German set, "Faces" is on the same disc as "Shadows", which worried
me at first. Yet the German disc shows a generally higher bit-rate on my Oppo. So I
can only assume the German is a BD 50, vs. a BD 25 for the UK version.

The other difference is that the German soundtrack is in DTS-MA Mono, and the
BFI in LPCM stereo.

Both play fine as 'region A'.

[manicsounds]

BlurayDefinition on "Opening Night"

[tenia]

Yet the German disc shows a generally higher bit-rate on my Oppo. So I can only assume the German is a BD 50, vs. a BD 25 for the UK version.

Actually, what you witnessed is very likely to be only spikes in video bitrate, since the BFI BD, with 42 Gbs allocated for the movie, and an average video bitrate of 35 Mbps, can't really be beat on this side.

[MichaelB]

Full specs announced:

The John Cassavetes Collection
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
Starring Ben Gazzara, Seymour Cassel

The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, released on 15 July 2013, is the fifth and final title in the BFI's John Cassavetes Collection. Presented on Blu-ray for the first time, it is released in a Dual Format Edition (containing both DVD and Blu-ray) in both its original 1976 cut and Cassavetes’ re-edited shorter 1978 version. Also available on the same date will be a Limited 3-Disc Collector’s Edition which has a bonus DVD containing the documentary Anything for John (1993), the short film The Haircut (1982), and an interview with Tamar Hoffs, director of The Haircut.

In an absorbing performance, Ben Gazzara plays small-time Sunset Strip entrepreneur Cosmo Vitelli, owner of the Crazy Horse West night spot. An obsessive showman, Cosmo navigates a murky world of loan sharks and crooks to keep his club afloat, but, when a gambling debt spirals out of control, he is blackmailed into accepting a murderous commission.

Featuring standout turns by Seymour Cassel and Timothy Agoglia Carey as the underworld racketeers out to fleece Cosmo, John Cassavetes' portrayal of one man's hubristic descent subverts the conventions of its plot to explore the darker regions of the American dream.

Arguably the most plot-driven of all his films, Cassavetes withdrew The Killing of a Chinese Bookie shortly after the initial release and subsequently cut a new version which features different scenes.

Special features
• Presented in both High Definition and Standard Definition;
• Includes the original 1976 cut of The Killing of a Chinese Bookie;
• Selected scenes commentary on 1976 version by Al Ruban and Peter Bogdanovich;
• Illustrated booklet with a newly commissioned essay by Tom Charity.

Limited 3-Disc Collector's Edition - Dual Format - As above, plus:
• The Haircut (Tamar Simon Hoffs, 1982, bonus DVD only): John Cassavetes stars as a busy music executive sidetracked by a haircut in Hoffs' delightful directorial debut;
• Anything for John (Doug Headline, 1993, 91 mins, bonus DVD only): feature length documentary tribute to John Cassavetes, featuring interviews with Peter Falk, Gena Rowlands and Al Ruban;
• Tamar Hoffs interview (Doug Headline, 1993, 6 mins, bonus DVD only).

Product details
Standard Edition: RRP: £19.99 / cat. no. BFIB1177 / Cert 15
USA / 1976 + 1978 / colour / English language (optional hard of hearing subtitles) / 134 mins + 109 mins / Original aspect ratio 1.85:1
Disc 1: BD50 / 1080p / 24fps / PCM mono 2.0 audio (48k/16-bit)
Disc 2: DVD9 / Dolby Digital mono audio (256kbps)

Special Edition: RRP £24.99 / cat. no. BFIB1128 / Cert 15
Disc 3: DVD9 / Dolby Digital mono audio (320kbps)

...and I contacted the production team to confirm whether this definitely means that both cuts of the film are presented in 1080p, contrary to what was announced earlier, and the answer is a firm YES.

[manicsounds]

...and I contacted the production team to confirm whether this definitely means that both cuts of the film are presented in 1080p, contrary to what was announced earlier, and the answer is a firm YES.

Wouldn't have expected any less from the BFI. Since BFI seems to have the rights for the old Optimum Cassavetes DVD titles, does this mean "A child is waiting" is also coming from BFI?

[neilist]

Since BFI seems to have the rights for the old Optimum Cassavetes DVD titles, does this mean "A child is waiting" is also coming from BFI?

Sadly, the above press release does say that this will be 'the fifth and final title in the BFI's John Cassavetes Collection', so presumably not.

[MichaelB]

I suspect Optimum got A Child is Waiting from a different route - these five titles are the ones that Cassavetes owned himself.

[knives]

I'm too lazy to take out my copy, but it's an old studio title that they got. I think MGM owns it.

[Matt]

Yes, MGM/UA.