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Posted: **Wed Sep 05, 2018 4:33 pm**

Interview on the new Distant Voices, Still Lives re-issue. Some highlights:

How did you achieve the film’s rich brown hue?
Humphry’s Laboratory would take the silver oxide out of the film and then you could alter it with filters when you shoot it. I wasn’t the first to use it. Michael Radford did for “1984,” but the bias there was for blues, reds and deep greys. I didn’t want that look, I wanted it to be on the spectrum of brown and that can go from anything to pink to really dark brown. So we just did some tests and warmed up the image with coral filters just to give it that warmth. That’s how I remember our house being. In fact, when we were constructing the set they found this wallpaper and it was little roses against a sort of grey background. That was exactly the paper we had our parlor, which was incredible to walk in a room to see what it was like when I was a kid. But that was how we achieved the look. The BFI did a new digital restoration and they did a wonderful job. There were only two places where I asked if they could make it a little darker or lighter. It really looks lovely, if I do say so myself.

Are you working on any upcoming projects?
Yes, I am! I’ve written two scripts and trying to get money for them. One is about Siegfried Sassoon, who was one of the great World War I poets from England. Another one based on a lovely American novel called “Mother of Sorrows” by Richard McCann. We’re hoping to have those made in the next two years.

Posted: **Tue Sep 25, 2018 8:01 am**

Full specs announced:

Distant Voices, Still Lives
A film by Terence Davies

‘A visual tour de force unmatched in British cinema’ The Guardian

See the new BFI trailer here

Blu-ray release on 22 October 2018

In celebration of its 30th anniversary and following a theatrical release in August to renewed critical acclaim, the BFI now brings Terence Davies’ poetic, heart-breaking feature Distant Voices, Still Lives to Blu-ray in a stunning new 4K restoration. Released on 22 October 2018, the film is accompanied by many extra features including a new Q&A with Terence Davies, his own audio commentary, interviews, trailers and more.

Now that Eileen (Angela Walsh) and Maisie (Lorraine Ashbourne) and their brother Tony (Dean Williams) are adults, their childhood memories – and in particular those associated with their father – are inconsistent. While Eileen clings to happier times, her siblings remember his brutal violent nature, which has been a major influence on their growth and development. This troubled family must deal with the day-to-day alongside their past. Terence Davies creates a loving portrait with this partly autobiographical tale (shot in two sections), that features a superb soundtrack of songs. Distant Voices, Still Lives has been voted one of the greatest British films by Sight & Sound.

Special features
• New 4K digital restoration from the original 35mm camera negative, approved by director Terence Davies;
• Q&A with Terence Davies (2018, 32 mins): recorded after the UK premiere of the new restoration at the BFI Southbank;
• Audio commentary by Terence Davies: the director scrutinises his film in this commentary from 2007;
• Interview with Terence Davies (2007, 20 mins): director Terence Davies discusses his work with film critic Geoff Andrew;
• Interview with Miki van Zwanenberg (2007, 7 mins): the film's art director looks back on its making;
• Introduction by Mark Kermode (2016, 2 mins);
• Images of Liverpool in Archive Film (1939-42, 62 mins): three archive shorts depicting the city of Liverpool and its community;
• Original and 2018 trailers;
• Image gallery;
• Fully illustrated booklet with new writing on the film by critic Derek Malcolm and art director Miki van Zwanenberg, essays by Geoff Andrew and Adrian Danks, and full film credits.

Product details
RRP: £19.99/ Cat. no. BFIB1312 / Cert 15
UK / 1988 / colour / 83 mins / English language, with optional hard-of-hearing subtitles / original aspect ratio 1.78:1 / BD50: 1080p, 24fps, PCM stereo audio (48kHz/24-bit)

Posted: **Tue Sep 25, 2018 3:29 pm**

It looks amazing. Can’t wait. Not sure which version I’ll buy, BFI or Arrow’s US edition.

Posted: **Tue Sep 25, 2018 3:49 pm**

FrauBlucher wrote: ↑
Tue Sep 25, 2018 3:29 pm
It looks amazing. Can’t wait. Not sure which version I’ll buy, BFI or Arrow’s US edition.

Whichever's cheaper for you, I reckon. I'd be very very surprised indeed if there were any significant differences between the two releases, and the main feature encode may well be identical (as in literally the same file, down to the last byte).

Posted: **Tue Sep 25, 2018 3:56 pm**

Believe it or not the BFI as of right now is slightly cheaper.

Posted: **Tue Sep 25, 2018 4:08 pm**

FWIW, I asked Davies about a possible reissue in May 2016 and he told me he honestly had no idea as it was out of his hands and completely up to the distributors. (Said this in a very nice way, btw, after signing my BD of The Long Day Closes.) So I'm guessing the decision to restore this must've been a pleasant surprise for him?

Posted: **Tue Oct 16, 2018 7:25 pm**

Beaver Both...The Arrow (US) and the BFI.

Posted: **Tue Oct 16, 2018 7:31 pm**

...which confirms my suspicions that the BFI and Arrow discs don't merely showcase the same transfer but precisely the same encode down to the last byte.

And it sounds to me that as though the rest of the disc is identical too in terms of video files: it's only the branding and menus that are different.

So this is a nice easy one: just go for your preferred region - or, if you're multiregion, whichever is cheapest.

Posted: **Tue Oct 16, 2018 7:46 pm**

MichaelB wrote: ↑
Tue Oct 16, 2018 7:31 pm
or, if you're multiregion, whichever is cheapest.

That's exactly what I did. Went for the BFI which was at least $5 cheaper.

Posted: **Fri Nov 16, 2018 9:57 am**

Well, I watched DISTANT VOICES STILL LIVES and I can’t say enough of what a brilliant film this is. It deserves all the accolades for being considered one of Britians greatest films.

The bluray is magnificent. If there is ever a time subdued tones can be referred to as stunning, this is it. I’ve seen this film several times before but watching the bluray creates a feeling of first time viewing. The supplements are also very strong. Davies, himself is a wonderful speaker about his work. Hearing him relive the film and the real life moments he lived makes you feel like you’re taking the journey with him all over again. I’m currently reading the booklet, which I put down to write this post.

I wonder how the old guard British filmmakers received DVSL when it came out.

Well, back to the booklet.

Posted: **Fri Nov 16, 2018 11:09 am**

FrauBlucher wrote: ↑
Fri Nov 16, 2018 9:57 am
Well, I watched DISTANT VOICES STILL LIVES and I can’t say enough of what a brilliant film this is. It deserves all the accolades for being considered one of Britians greatest films.
I wonder how the old guard British filmmakers received DVSL when it came out.

I was at Film school when this was first released and I'm pretty sure it received accolades across the board. More formed in my brain is the evening at the BFI Southbank (I think it was still the NFT then) when he was awarded a Fellowship or maybe Dame of the BFI He was on top form reciting John Betjeman poems singing a couple of songs and even breaking into a little jig. This at time when he was in a 7 year long wilderness getting nowhere with finance for Sunset Song and having alienated a few in the industry with some caustic remarks about the state of the British film industry being run by a load of 25 year old girls who don't know their arse from their elbow, or at least something to that effect. I think it was perhaps the commission for the doc about Liverpool that healed some wounds and re-kicked start his career.

Posted: **Fri Nov 16, 2018 5:12 pm**

I certainly recall a more or less across-the-board ecstatic reception.

Posted: **Sat Nov 17, 2018 8:30 am**

Hopefully The Long Day Closes will be released sometime in the near future.

Posted: **Sat Nov 17, 2018 8:43 am**

With Indicator seemingly wedging a foot in the door at Film4 with Oleanna, I wonder if House of Mirth is a possibility. God knows who has the elements or what sort of nick they're in.

Posted: **Fri Nov 18, 2022 2:32 pm**

A quick heads-up - Terence Davies' Children is one of the extras on the BFI's new Blu-ray of Nil By Mouth.

Posted: **Fri Nov 18, 2022 5:35 pm**

A pity the rest of the trilogy isn't on the disc, along with the commentary. Hoping a complete set is forthcoming!

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