BFI Film Release News

I am sure there is a conspiracy. But a good conspiracy. The moment I post film news the next day something new appears.

This time it's the BFI's opportunity to announce two new releases for April and May.

April 21st will bring us a Blu-Ray release of of Takeshi Kitano's LA set Brother:

Takeshi 'Beat' Kitano directs and stars in this brutal crime thriller about a Japanese yakuza forced to flee to Los Angeles after the death of his boss.   

In the wake of a failed gang war, Yamamoto ‘Aniki’ (Kitano) arrives in Los Angeles with nothing but a new name and a bag of cash.  Re-uniting with his younger brother, he uses his extensive experience as a hardened gangster, to grow a small-time drug operation into an far-reaching criminal brotherhood, attracting the attention of rival gangs with bloodthirsty consequences.

May (19th) gives us both a blu-ray and 4K restoration of one of Akira Kurosawa's greatest films (and perhaps my favourite): Throne of Blood.

A truly remarkable film, Throne of Blood manages to combine beauty and terror to produce a mood of truly haunting power. Starring the irrepressible Toshiro Mifune as the doomed warlord Washizu and a wonderfully creepy turn by Isuzu Yamada as the Lady Macbeth-inspired Asaji, the film shows Kurosawa's familiar mastery of atmosphere and action combined with the savagery of war.