BFI Flipside is a series of Dual Format Editions (DVD and Blu-ray released together) which was launched in May 2009 and is published by the British Film Institute's Video label. The series so far features a total of 65 feature and short films,[1] as well as 10 archive interviews with the likes of Spike Milligan, Peter Cook and Richard Lester.
The BFI Flipside charts "the untold history of British film",[2] and includes performances by such celebrated actors as John Hurt, Jane Asher, Ian McNeice, Richard O'Brien, Tom Bell, Peter Cook, Barry Evans, Denholm Elliott and Judy Geeson in films directed by the likes of Clive Donner, Richard Lester, Barney Platts-Mills, John Irvin, Stuart Cooper, Guy Hamilton, Peter Watkins and James Hill. Each BFI Flipside edition includes a feature film presentation that is complemented by additional film content (sometimes a second feature film by the same director, or a selection of short films which are related to the main feature by subject, era, actor or director). Each release is packaged in distinctive artwork which carries the volume number on the spine and with a comprehensive booklet containing informative essays, full cast and credit information, original film reviews and reproductions of original promotional material.
The Flipside is dedicated to releasing British film titles which have never been available on any home video format before (though some exceptions have been noted by the label's founder and programmer[3]) and all films are newly mastered to High Definition from the best available film materials from the BFI National Archive or from the collections of filmmakers. Each title was originally released on both DVD and Blu-ray, but since The Pleasure Girls in a dual format release.
| # | Title | Director | Year | Release Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 001 | The Bed-Sitting Room | Richard Lester | 1969 | 25 May 2009 (Blu-ray) 24 October 2011 (Dual format) |
Includes original trailer and archival interviews with Richard Lester (1967, 17 minutes), Spike Milligan (1967, 40 minutes) and Peter Cook (1967, 30 minutes)[4]; booklet |
| 002 | London in the Raw | Arnold L. Miller | 1964 | 25 May 2009 (Blu-ray) 24 October 2011 (Dual format) |
Includes an alternative more explicit version of the feature, the original trailer and three 1960s "London Sketches": Pub (Peter Davis, 1962, 15 mins); Strip (Peter Davis, Staffan Lamm, Don DeFina, 1965, 26 mins); Chelsea Bridge Boys (Peter Davis, Staffan Lamm, 1966, 28 mins)[4]; booklet |
| 003 | Primitive London | Arnold L. Miller | 1965 | 25 May 2009 (Blu-ray) 24 October 2011 (Dual format) |
Includes English and French language versions of the feature and original trailer, Carousella (John Irvin, 1966, 26 mins): a dramatised documentary on the lives of a group of striptease artistes and interviews with Stuart McCabe (strip club owner) (1968, 15 mins), Shirley (stripper) (1968, 6 mins) and Al Burnett (nightclub owner) (1967, 17 mins)[4]; booklet |
| 004 | Herostratus | Don Levy | 1967 | 24 August 2009 (Blu-ray) 24 October 2011 (Dual format) |
Includes alternative 1.33:1 full frame presentation (Blu-ray only), a rare audio interview with Don Levy from 1973, Ten Thousand Talents (1960): Levy's student film, a wry look at Cambridge life, featuring the voice of Peter Cook, Time Is (1964): Levy's remarkable science documentary and Five Films (1967): Levy's hypnotic experiments in film editing techniques[5]; booklet |
| 005 | All the Right Noises | Gerry O'Hara | 1970 | 24 August 2009 (Blu-ray) 24 October 2011 (Dual format) |
Includes Bernard Braden's Now and Then interview from 1967 with Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting and O'Hara's The Spy's Wife (1972): a rare and little-seen short starring Tom Bell and Ann Lynn[5]; booklet |
| 006 | Man of Violence (aka Moon) | Pete Walker | 1969 | 24 August 2009 (Blu-ray) 24 October 2011 (Dual format) |
Includes additional 68-minute feature The Big Switch (aka Strip Poker) from 1968 (with a 77-minute alternative export cut on Blu-ray) and original trailers for both films[5]; booklet |
| 007 | Privilege | Peter Watkins | 1966 | 25 January 2010 (Blu-ray) 24 October 2011 (Dual format) |
Includes original trailer and The Diary of an Unknown Soldier (Peter Watkins, 1959, 17 mins), The Forgotten Faces (Peter Watkins, 1961, 19 mins); booklet |
| 008 | That Kind of Girl | Gerry O'Hara | 1962 | 25 January 2010 (Blu-ray) 24 October 2011 (Dual format) |
Includes The People at No. 19 (J.B. Holmes, 1948, 17 mins), No Place to Hide (Derrick Knight, 1959, 10 mins), A Sunday in September (James Hill, 1961, 27 mins), Robert Hartford-Davis interview (1968, 14 mins); booklet |
| 009 | Permissive | Lindsay Shonteff | 1970 | 25 January 2010 (Blu-ray) 24 October 2011 (Dual format) |
Includes original trailer; Bread (Stanley Long, 1971, 68 mins), Bread - mute outtakes (17 mins); 'Ave You Got a Male Assistant Please Miss? (Graham Jones, Jon Astley, 1973, 4 mins); booklet |
| 010 | The Pleasure Girls | Gerry O'Hara | 1965 | 17 May 2010 | Includes alternative export cut of the feature (Blu-ray only, 86 mins); alternative export sequences (DVD only, 13 mins); original theatrical trailer; The Rocking Horse (James Scott, 1962, 25 mins); The Meeting (Mamoun Hassan, 1964, 10 mins); booklet |
| 011 | The Party's Over | Guy Hamilton | 1963 | 17 May 2010 | Includes alternative theatrical release cut (Blu-ray only, 92 mins); alternative theatrical release sequences (DVD only, 18 mins); The Party (R.A. Ostwald, 1962, 16 mins); Emma (Anthony Perry, 1964, 12 mins); booklet |
| 012 | Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush | Clive Donner | 1967 | 13 September 2010 | Includes complete uncensored presentation of main feature (DVD and Blu-ray); alternative censored version (Blu-ray only, 96 mins); alternative censored sequences (DVD only, 10 mins); Because That Road is Trodden (Tim King, 1969, 23 mins): dream-like confessional concerning the fantasies of a public schoolboy; Stevenage (Gordon Ruttan, 1971, 21 mins): documentary celebration of Britain's first New Town and Fully illustrated booklet with contributions from Steve Chibnall, Hunter Davies, Vic Pratt and William Fowler; booklet |
| 013 | Bronco Bullfrog | Barney Platts-Mills | 1969 | 13 September 2010 | Includes Everybody's an Actor, Shakespeare Said (Platts-Mills, 1968, 29 mins): Bronco Bullfrog director Platts-Mills' documentary about Joan Littlewood's acting workshops with the teenagers who would star in his film; Joan Littlewood interview (1968, 21 mins): the formidable and outspoken theatre director discusses her career; Seven Green Bottles (Eric Marquis, 1975, 34 mins): a cautionary tale about young delinquents in London; booklet |
| 014 | Private Road | Barney Platts-Mills | 1970 | 17 January 2011 | Includes St Christopher (Platts-Mills, 1967, 48 mins): Barney Platts-Mills' affecting observational documentary about the education of mentally handicapped teenagers and The Last Chapter (David Tringham, 1974, 29 mins): dark tale in which a successful middle-aged writer (Denholm Elliott) is unbalanced by an assured young fan (Private Road's Susan Penhaligon); booklet |
| 015 | Duffer | Joseph Despins, William Dumaresq | 1971 | 17 January 2011 | Includes illustrated booklet with essays by Stephen Thrower and Rob Young, and Joseph Despins' personal recollections of making the two films |
| The Moon Over the Alley | Joseph Despins, William Dumaresq | 1975 | |||
| 016 | Joanna | Mike Sarne | 1968 | 25 April 2011 | Includes Road to Saint Tropez (Sarne, 1966, 31 mins): Sarne's debut film, an 'anti-travelogue' starring Udo Kier, Melissa Stribling, and Gabriella Licudi; Death May Be Your Santa Claus (Frankie Dymon Jnr, 1968, 37 mins): an experimental examination of an interracial relationship in late 1960s London; Interview with Michael Sarne (2010, 16 mins, DVD only); Joanna, Michael Sarne's novel based on the film, presented as a downloadable PDF (DVD only); booklet |
| 017 | Lunch Hour | James Hill | 1962 | 25 April 2011 | Includes Skyhook (Hill, 1958, 17 mins): the adventure of oil exploration, deep in the tropics of Papua New Guinea; Giuseppina (Hill, 1959, 32 mins): an Oscar-winning short in which a young girl observes the array of quirky characters who pass her father's rural petrol station; The Home-Made Car (Hill, 1963, 28 mins): a man restores his dilapidated Bullnose Morris, under the watchful eye of a curious neighbour; booklet |
| 018 | Requiem for a Village | David Gladwell | 1975 | 18 July 2011 | Includes A Summer Discord (Gladwell, 1955, 17 mins): a visionary drama centered around a young girl's argument with her mother; Miss Thompson Goes Shopping (Gladwell, 1958, 23 mins): a sensitive and inventive portrait of an elderly lady's shopping trip; The Great Steam Fair (David Gladwell, Derrick Knight, 1964, 18 mins): an assured, lyrical example of Gladwell's extensive work as editor and director of documentary shorts; An Untitled Film (Gladwell, 1964, 9 mins): an extraordinary piece of film art, exploring the power, beauty and violence contained in a single moment of time; booklet |
| 019 | Deep End | Jerzy Skolimowski | 1970 | 18 July 2011 | Includes Original Theatrical Trailer; Starting Out: The Making of Jerzy Skolimowski's Deep End (2011, 74 mins): a comprehensive new feature-length documentary; Deep End: The Deleted Scenes (2011, 12 mins): short documentary exploring the scenes that never made the grade; Careless Love (Francine Winham, 1976, 10 mins): rare and disturbing tale in which a woman (Deep End's Jane Asher) takes drastic action to keep the affections of the man she loves; booklet |
| 020 | Little Malcolm and His Struggle Against the Eunuchs | Stuart Cooper | 1974 | 24 October 2011 | Includes Original Little Malcolm trailer; Put Yourself in My Place (Francine Winham, 1974, 25 mins): fraught gender relations trigger a startling role reversal in this polemical comedy starring Judy Geeson; The Contraption (James Dearden, 1977, 7 mins): in a final act of defeat or defiance, a man (Richard O'Brien) builds a sinister contraption; Fully illustrated booklet with contributions by Yvonne Tasker, John Hurt, Stuart Cooper and Mike Leigh |
| 021 | Voice Over | Christopher Monger | 1981 | 24 October 2011 | Includes Repeater (Monger, 1979, 76 mins): deconstructed crime thriller, inspired by the French New Wave, in which a woman's confession of murder is not as simple as it seems; booklet |
| 022 | Her Private Hell | Norman J. Warren | 1967 | 20 February 2012[6] | Includes Original trailer; Alternative US sequences (1967, 3 mins): uncensored footage; Screen tests (4 mins, mute): including footage of Udo Kier; Inside Her Private Hell (2011, 15 mins): cast and crew interviews; Incident (Warren, 1959/2007, 13 mins): Warren's first film is an enigmatic tale of a young couple who meet at a fairground; Fragment (Warren, 1966, 11 mins): exquisite short about a woman's unhappiness after a failed love affair; The Anatomy of a Pin-up (David Cohen, 1971, 31 mins): modish documentary exploring attitudes to nude modelling in Britain; booklet |
| 023 | Nightbirds | Andy Milligan | 1970 | 21 May 2012[7] | Includes additional full feature The Body Beneath (Andy Milligan, 1970, 82 mins); Audio commentary with Berwick Kaler (2011); Optional dialogue-only tracks for Nightbirds and The Body Beneath; Original trailers for both films; booklet |
| 024 | The Black Panther | Ian Merrick | 1977 | 21 May 2012[8] | Includes 1980s video release trailer, French version, short film Recluse, Recluse: recce footage, booklet |
| 025 | You're Human Like the Rest of Them | B. S. Johnson | 1967 | 15 April 2013[9] | Includes booklet with contributions by Jonathan Coe, Bruce Beresford, Michael Bakewell, Carmen Callil, David Quantick, Julia Jordan and Dan Fox |
| 026 | Captured | John Krish | 1959 | 15 April 2013[10] | Includes Sewing Machine (Krish, 1973, 1 min): road safety "filler"; Searching (Krish, 1974, 1 min): shocking fire safety "filler"; HMP (Krish, 1976, 55 mins): compelling and humane recruitment film made for the prison services; The Finishing Line (Krish, 1977, 21 mins): violent public safety film made to discourage children from trespassing on the railway; Shooting the Message: The films of John Krish (2013, 35 mins): an extensive interview with the director about his life and work; booklet |
| 027 | Sleepwalker | Saxon Logan | 1984 | 23 September 2013[11] | Includes O Lucky Man: Saxon Logan in Conversation (2013, 69 mins): exclusive, feature-length interview with the director of Sleepwalker; The Insomniac (Rodney Giesler, 1971, 43 mins): a man experiences a night-time world that is part nightmare, part sexual fantasy; Stepping Out (Logan, 1977, 10 mins): short drama which originally supported Polanski's The Tenant in UK cinemas; Working Surface: A Short Study (with Actors) in 'the Ways' of a Bourgeois Writer (Logan, 1979, 15 mins): Bill Douglas plays a writer struggling with a script about two women (David and Page); booklet |
| 028 | Schalcken the Painter | Leslie Megahey | 1979 | 18 November 2013[12] | Includes The Pit (Edward Abraham, 1962, 27 mins): experimental gothic short, adapted from Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Pit and the Pendulum'; Original production sketches for The Pit; The Pledge (Digby Rumsey, 1981, 21 mins): three criminals pledge to free the soul of their friend from his gibbeted corpse in this short film based on 'The Highwaymen' by Lord Dunsany; Look Into the Dark (2013, 39 mins): interviews with director/writer/producer Leslie Megahey and director of photography John Hooper on the making of Schalcken the Painter; booklet |
| 029 | That Sinking Feeling | Bill Forsyth | 1979 | 21 April 2014[13] | Includes the Original Glaswegian Dialogue track as well as the alternative dubbed dialogue track; Audio Commentary by Bill Forsyth and critic Mark Kermode; Interview with actor Robert Buchanan; Kermode Uncut film from 2012 which Mark Kermode discusses the budget for That Sinking Feeling with Bill Forsyth; KH-4 (1969) and Mirror (1970), two short films directed by John Schorstein starring Forsyth; Glasgow 1980 (1971), a documentary by Oscar Marzaroli, edited by Forsyth; Islands of the West (1972) a promotional film directed by Forsyth; Bill Forsyth's Lifetime Achievement Film, the short acceptance film made for BAFTA |
| 030 | Beat Girl | Edmond T. Gréville | 1959 | 25 April 2016[14] | Newly remastered in 2K and presented in both High Definition and Standard Definition, Original theatrical version (87 mins): from the negatives preserved by the BFI National Archive, Alternative version (92 mins, Blu-ray only), Alternative sequences (3 mins, DVD only), An Interview with Gillian Hills (2016, 25 mins): the film's star recalls her experience of working on Beat Girl, Cross-Roads (John Fitchen, 1955, 20 mins): supernatural short starring Christopher Lee, Beauty in Brief (c.1955, 4 mins) & Goodnight with Sabrina (c.1958, 3 mins) |
| 031 | Expresso Bongo | Val Guest | 1959 | 25 April 2016[15] | Newly remastered in 2K and presented in both High Definition and Standard Definition, Full-length theatrical version (111 mins): DVD and Blu-ray premiere of the original long cut from 1959, 1962 re-issue version (106 mins, Blu-ray exclusive): shorter alternative cut which removed a number of songs, Audio commentary for the 1962 re-issue version featuring Val Guest, Yolande Donlan and film historian Marcus Hearn, Alternative sequences from the 1962 cut (2 mins, DVD only): the scenes which were added to replace cut songs, Expresso Bongo Gallery: a selection of promotional material, including stills, theatrical posters and lobby cards, Original theatrical trailer (3 mins), Youth Club (Norman Prouting, 1954, 17 mins): COI documentary about dealing with juvenile delinquency & The Square (Michael Winner, 1957, 16 mins): Michael Winner's debut, long-thought lost |
| 032 | Symptoms | José Ramón Larraz | 1973 | 25 April 2016[16] | Newly remastered in 2K and presented in both High Definition and Standard Definition, On Vampyres and other Symptoms (Celia Novis, 2011, 74 mins), From Barcelona to Tunbridge Wells: The Films of José Larraz (Andrew Starke & Pete Tombs, 1999, 24 mins), Interview with Angela Pleasence (2016): Interview with the film's star, Interview with Lorna Heilbron (2016): Interview with the film's co-star, Interview with Brian Smedley-Aston (2016): Interview with the film's editor, Original theatrical trailer |
| 033 | Psychomania | Don Sharp | 1972 | 26 September 2016[17] | Newly remastered in 2K from preservation negatives and presented in both High Definition and Standard Definition, Return of the Living Dead (2010, 25 mins): featuring interviews with stars Nicky Henson, Mary Larkin, Denis Gilmore, Roy Holder and Rocky Taylor, Sound of Psychomania (2010, 9 mins): interview with soundtrack composer John Cameron, Riding Free (2010, 7 mins): interview with 'Riding Free' singer Harvey Andrews, An interview with Nicky Henson (2016, 14 mins): the star of Psychomania recalls his time on the film, Hell for Leather (2016, 8 mins): documentary about the company who supplied the film's costumes, Remastering Psychomania (2016, 2 mins), Discovering Britain with John Betjeman: Avebury, Wiltshire (1955, 3 mins): the celebrated British poet narrates this travelogue about the Avebury stone circle and nearby burial grounds, Roger Wonders Why (1965, 19 mins): a church-made amateur film which sees two Christian biker youths visit the legendary 59 Club, where they meet its founder, Reverend Bill Shergold, Original theatrical trailer, Wilson Bros Trivia Track (2016, onscreen text): a newly produced subtitle trivia-track by the horror aficionado siblings |
| 034 | Long Shot | Maurice Hatton | 1978 | 26 June 2017 | Includes Scene Nun, Take One (Maurice Hatton, 1964, 26 mins): Comedy short film starring Susannah York; Hooray for Holyrood (Ross Wilson, 1986, 38 mins); Sean Connery's Edinburgh (1982, 28 mins) |
| 035 | The Orchard End Murder | Christian Marnham | 1980 | 24 July 2017 | Includes The Showman (Christian Marnham, 1970, 25 mins): Short documentary about fairground Wild West showman Wally Shufflebottom; Christian Marnham on The Orchard End Murder (2017, 38 mins); From Melody to Orchard End Murder: An Interview with Tracy Hyde (2017, 12 mins); An Interview with David Wilkinson (2017, 13 mins) |
| 036 | Red, White and Zero | Lindsay Anderson, Peter Brook, Tony Richardson | 1967 | 10 December 2018 | Includes About The White Bus (1968, 59 mins); Lindsay Anderson Introduction (1968, 5 mins; Behind the scenes of Red and Blue (1966, 7 mins); Kevin Brownlow on Red, White and Zero (2018, 15 mins); Billy Williams on Red and Blue (2018, 14 mins); No Arks (1969, 7 mins) |
| 037 | Stranger in the House | Pierre Rouve | 1966 | 25 February 2019 | Includes G.G. Passion (David Bailey, 1966, 25 mins); Good Strong Coffee (c1968, 2 mins); Tram Journey Through Southampton (c1990, 1 min); Charlie Chaplin Sails From Southampton (1921, 1 min); Southampton Docks (1964, 24 mins); Original theatrical trailer; James Mason in Conversation (1981, 86 mins, audio only) |
| 038 | Mr. Topaze | Peter Sellers | 1960 | 15 April 2019 | Includes Let's Go Crazy (1951, 33 mins); The Running Jumping & Standing Still Film (1960, 11 mins); Film Star: Peter Sellers (1967, 37 mins); Maurice Woodruff Interview (1967, 19 mins); John Boulting Interview (1967, 21 mins); Peter Sellers at the NFT (1960, 97 mins, audio only); Abigail McKern Interview (2019, 20 mins); The Poetry of Realism (2019, 13 mins) |
| 039 | Legend of the Witches | Malcolm Leigh | 1969 | 14 October 2019 | Includes |
| Secret Rites | Derek Ford | 1971 | |||
| 040 | Cosh Boy | Lewis Gilbert | 1952 | 10 January 2020 | Includes Stranger in the City (1961, 22 mins); Johnny on the Run (1953, 68 mins); The Ten Year Plan (1945, 17 mins); Harmony Lane (1954, 24 mins); Teddy Boys (1956, 8 mins); Interview with Ian Whittaker (2019, 9 mins); US title sequence (1952, 3 mins) |
| 041 | Short Sharp Shocks Vol 1 | Various | Various | 23 November 2020 | Featuring the following films:
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| 042 | I Start Counting | David Greene | 1969 | 19 April 2021 | Includes An Apprentice With a Master’s Ticket (2021, 40 mins): acclaimed screenwriter Richard Harris looks back over an eclectic career in television and film, ranging from The Avengers to A Touch of Frost; Worlds Within Worlds (2021, 33 mins): Jonny Trunk, founder of cult label Trunk Records, revisits the life and art of ambient music pioneer Basil Kirchin; I Start Building (1942-59, 26 mins): a selection of rare archive films recalling the ‘New Town’ dream; Danger on Dartmoor (1980, 57 mins): plucky kids face peril in this full-length Children’s Film Foundation bonus feature, written by Audrey Erskine Lindop; Don’t Be Like Brenda (1973, 8 mins): the perennial problem of teenage promiscuity is explored in this cautionary film designed for adolescent viewers; Audio commentary by film historian Samm Deighan; A Kickstart (2020, 20 mins): Jenny Agutter remembers I Start Counting; Loss of Innocence (2020, 8 mins): a video essay on I Start Counting by Chris O'Neill; Original theatrical trailer; Image gallery |
| 043 | Short Sharp Shocks Vol 2 | Various | Various | 25 October 2021 | Featuring the following films:
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| 044 | The Appointment | Lindsey C. Vickers | 1982 | 11 July 2022 | Includes newly recorded audio commentary by director Lindsey Vickers; Vickers on Vickers (2021, 41 mins): the director looks back on his life and career; Another Outing (2021, 16 mins): Jane Merrow recalls co-starring in The Appointment; Appointments Shared (2022, 7 mins): Lindsey and Jan Vickers remember the making of the ‘haunted film’; Framing The Appointment (2022, 19 mins): Lindsey Vickers recalls making the film; Remembering The Appointment (2022, 10 mins): assistant director Gregory Dark shares his recollections of the film; The Lake (1978, 33 mins): Lindsey Vickers’ eerie short finds young lovers choosing to picnic at a spot haunted by echoes of a violent event; Newly recorded audio commentary on The Lake by Lindsey Vickers; Splashing Around (2020, 18 mins): actor Julie Peasgood on making The Lake; Galleries featuring annotated scripts, storyboards, images and production materials |
A budget-priced DVD sampler entitled Kim Newman's Guide to The Flipside of British Cinema (2010), spine number "000", features a documentary in which the UK's leading cult film expert introduced and contextualized the first nine releases in the series and also included three complete short films as extras - John Irvin's Carousella (1966), Gerry O'Hara's The Spy's Wife (1972) and a short travelogue Tomorrow Night in London (1969, exclusive to the release).