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dda1996a wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 17, 2019 1:27 pm

This is massive. Out of curiosity, who the rights to Isaac Julien's documentary about Jarman?

It was originally a BFI release, so it's odd not to see it included. But it's a great portrait and well worth tracking down in its own right.

I’d be very surprised if the subject hadn’t come up. There’s usually a clear reason for an “obvious” omission.

But you don't happen to know it...?

It is all speculation but maybe they did not want Isaac Julien's documentary to be given the status of an extra feature (arguably 'demoted')? Especially since he has other BFI releases under his name in the catalogue with Looking For Langston and the Frantz Fanon film. Perhaps it was considered more related to Julien than Jarman? Or maybe there just was no more room on the set for a documentary that might not be as rigorously related to the films in the set as the chosen extras were?

Including previously separately-released feature films (and recent ones at that) as mere extras is often an insuperable contractual challenge unless you have a fair wodge of spare cash to offset the lack of royalties.

Assuming the BFI still have the rights, I'm hoping for a reissue - this would seem like a good opportunity if they felt the market was there. Indeed, wasn't the last release DVD only? Depending on the original materials, a Blu Ray would be nice...

Now is the perfect time to re-release it to be honest

The BFI no longer has the rights to Derek. They did try to include it (let's face it, if an omission seems really glaringly obvious, you can bet your bottom dollar that enquiries were made), but it didn't work out.

However, the extended interview between Colin MacCabe and Derek Jarman that's featured quite extensively in Derek is included in the box set, so there's at least some crossover.

Thanks Michael. Fortunately Derek is playing on Kanopy, as are all of Jarman's films so I'll catch it there.

When I was a child, Channel 4 screened several of Jarman's movies after his death and I stayed up late to watch The Tempest. I recall it being preceded with interviews with Toyah Wilcox and Elizabeth Welch. They sat smiling in slow motion in a room full of candles whilst the audio from their previously recorded interviews played.

Full specs for the separate release for Sebastiane announced:

Sebastiane
Directed by Derek Jarman & Paul Humfress

Score by Brian Eno

BFI Blu-ray and iTunes release on 18 March 2019

Derek Jarman’s first feature, Sebastiane, directed with Paul Humfress and released in 1976, presents the controversial, sensual and sexualised story of the 4th century Praetorian Guard whose human goodness leads to humiliation and martyrdom.

On 18 March 2019 Sebastiane comes to stand-alone Blu-ray for the first time in the UK, and iTunes, released by the BFI. Extras include Sebastiane: A Work in Progress (c1976) and The Making of Sebastiane (1975) and an illustrated booklet.

In Sebastiane, the heat of the Sardinian desert is powerfully captured on film – both cast and crew go through their paces, sweating it out Herzog-style – while Brian Eno’s distinctly moving score beautifully complements the superb framing and stunning slow-motion photography.

Sebastiane is a glorious hymn to the very real, living, breathing, male body and is presented here in a new digital version remastered from the original camera negative by the BFI National Archive.

Special features
• Presented in High Definition;
• Jazz Calendar (1968, 36 mins): footage of the Royal Ballet in rehearsal featuring scenery and costumes by Derek Jarman;
• Sebastiane: A Work in Progress (c1976, 62 mins): an incomplete, black and white and un-subtitled work-in-progress cut featuring alternative music;
• The Making of Sebastiane (1975, 23 mins): Super 8 making-of, shot by the feature’s sound assistant Hugh Smith, along with Jarman;
• John Scarlett-Davis Remembers Sebastiane (2018, 7 mins): artist filmmaker John Scarlett-Davis talks about his experiences on the set of Sebastiane;
• Stills Gallery;
• Illustrated booklet with writing on the film by BFI curator William Fowler, original review by Tony Rayns and full film credits

Product details
RRP: £19.99/ Cat. no. BFIB1320 / Cert 18
UK / 1976 / colour / 85 mins / Latin, with optional English subtitles / original aspect ratio 1.66:1 / BD50: 1080p, 24fps, PCM 2.0 mono audio (48kHz/24-bit)

To answer Orlac's question, this is not the same disc that's featured in Jarman Volume 1, and I understand a fair chunk of the contents of both volumes will remain exclusive to them.

zedz wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 11, 2019 3:24 pm

NABOB OF NOWHERE wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 11, 2019 1:01 pm

What a motherlode of riches! I can't wait for zedz to be a dissenting voice because Lee Drysdale only gets a 4 minute slot

4 + 8, I believe. Since I don't think he had much to do with this phase of Jarman's career, I'll regard this as a victory lap.

Having set myself the task of watching all the extras before diving into the films per se I can say that what Mr Drysdale lacks in screen-time is more than compensated for by his F-F-F- Flood of invective.

Jarman volume 1 is now officially OOP.

There are probably copies still floating around retailers, but once they're gone, they're gone - and the BFI confirms that much of the content will remain unique to the box sets.

I'm not used to having to rush to buy BFI Limited Editions, considering big hitters like the Herzog and Clarke sets are still hanging around.

Presumably this either had a smaller print run than normal or exceeded expectations?

Jarman is a much bigger name than Clarke, and there are alternative editions of the Herzog, so I'm not surprised.

Thank you for the heads up.

FYI, as of this morning it can still be purchased from the BFI store - priced at £39.99.

...and of course the Jarman box was always much cheaper than the Clarke box, right up to full RRP.

I blind-bought both volumes today given the above warning. I've never seen BFI publicly call out the quantity they'd be releasing like they did with this set, was that unique as well?

Is there anywhere this can be bought as a two volume set?

No

I've now made my way through all the extras on Volume 2, and it was a very satisfying watch.

Many of the interviews are briefer this time around, and there's also, naturally, a lot more contemporary material reflecting a time when Jarman was a public figure of considerable importance (TV interviews, documentary appearances, contributions to other filmmakers' short films). This gives the copious extras a friendly, scrapbooky feel, but one which builds up to a detailed portrait of Jarman, his place in public life, and his working process.

Simon Fisher Turner is the most valuable player this time around. He's a crucial collaborator on most of these films, and has lots of personal and working memories to share. He also contributes his own photos and sound recordings to the digital archive. MVP from Volume One, Lee Drysdale, only appears briefly, but he provides a spectacular capper to the box that counterbalances the general reverence and illustrates just how much care has gone into compiling all of this additional material (his anecdote has a cryptic set-up in a quite unrelated interview on an earlier disc, in which Jarman praises Stephen Frears' Bloody Kids). The interview with Sandy Powell is also excellent. And the forty minutes of location shooting footage for that Orange Juice video is an unexpected gem, as it's actually a record of Jarman and Edwyn Collins pottering about and nattering in Collins' little back garden (which accounts for its inclusion on the disc for The Garden).

The big unanswered question, however, is: where's Tilda Swinton? She's the key collaborator of this period of Jarman's work, and appears happily talking about their work together in earlier archival material (some as recent as ten years ago), but there's no new interview. Presumably she has a very good reason for this, but it would have been fantastic to have her unique insight on the different projects.

Looking at her recent/forthcoming filmography, I imagine she may've been busy acting. I've got both of these sets but still only managed to get through one film sadly - so much good stuff, so little hours in a day. These sets are probably my favourite archival work since the BFI's Alan Clarke box set, that won me over despite initial misgivings.

I think the emotional clout of the Unsent letters in the book and her presence as the voice / guide in 'Derek' may have possibly mitigated against her choosing to repeat these sentiments and be another talking head in an already over- stuffed extras menu . But hey WTF do I know? Maybe she didn't want to be upstaged by Lee Drysdale

It's the safest imaginable bet that she was approached. But if they say no, or it's logistically impractical for other reasons, there's nothing you can do.

Powerhouse tried to get Albert Finney involved with both Gumshoe and Charlie Bubbles, but no luck: he was aware that the projects were happening and wished them both well, but made it very clear that that was all they'd get out of him. And I remember a very silly comment on another forum to the effect that Arrow's Runaway Train was "sexist" for "ignoring" Rebecca De Mornay when they got the two male leads and the director on camera - the notion that maybe she had been approached and that her non-appearance was completely outside Arrow's control didn't seem to have occurred to him.