Beat the Devil (1953)
We kick off our winter slate with the 40th release in the long-standing BFI Flipside strand. One of the first films to receive an X certificate in the UK, Cosh Boy (1953) is a classic British crime noir from director Lewis Gilbert (Alfie, You Only Live Twice). Available on Blu-ray for the first time, the release will be launched at a special Flipside event at BFI Southbank, celebrating the origins and legacy of this essential collection.
Nominated for 11 Academy Awards and featuring an all-star cast – including an Oscar-nominated Judy Garland – Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) is a classic of Hollywood cinema set at the Nuremberg military tribunals in the aftermath of the Second World War. Out on Blu-ray in January 2020, the release marks the first time Stanley Kramer’s courtroom drama has received a high definition release in the UK.
Following a highly successful theatrical run, Mark Jenkin’s Bait (2019) receives a dual format edition in January. Nominated for four British Independent Film Awards (BIFAs) – including best British independent film and best director – and described by Mark Kermode as “a genuine modern masterpiece”, the film will be supplemented by extras including a newly recorded commentary by Jenkin and Kermode, plus some of the director’s early shorts.
As previously announced, Michael Caton-Jones’s acclaimed interpretation of the Profumo affair, Scandal (1988), receives a dual format edition in February. Starring John Hurt, Ian McKellen and Joanne Whalley, the film makes its worldwide Blu-ray debut featuring a new 4K scan from original film materials.
Gerard Depardieu will burst onto screens in February in the UK Blu-ray premiere of the iconic Cyrano de Bergerac (1990). The hugely popular, multi award-winning adaptation celebrates its 30th anniversary in the New Year, with the release also coinciding with a new West End production.
March sees the landmark British drama Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971) receive its UK Blu-ray premiere. Directed by John Schlesinger (Midnight Cowboy, Marathon Man), this piercing and brilliantly observed suburban drama is one of the finest British films of the 1970s. Its depiction of bisexuality changed the landscape of LGBTQ+ representation on screen, and the release will coincide with the 2020 BFI Flare: London LGBTQ+ Film Festival.
Also available in time for BFI Flare, Marlon T. Riggs’ Tongues Untied (1989) receives a dual format edition. This acclaimed, experimental documentary exploring the experiences of gay black men – which screened at the 2018 edition of the festival – will be available on Blu-ray in the UK for the first time.
March also sees the return of the Children’s Film Foundation (CFF), with nine previously unreleased CFF favourites being released in the Bumper Box Vol.2. Unavailable for years, newly remastered editions of these much-loved films, including the often requested Sky Pirates and Friend or Foe, will be released in a three-disc DVD box set.
And finally, John Huston’s classic adventure comedy Beat the Devil (1953) receives a dual format edition in March. Presented in a new 4K restoration, this wry send-up of noir classics – including Huston’s own The Maltese Falcon – features an all-star cast including Humphrey Bogart, Jennifer Jones, Gina Lollobrigida and Peter Lorre.
