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The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (R2/UK BD) in March
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11-02-2009 16:59 | 2823 views | Dave Foster | My Other Content

BFI have announced the UK DVD and Blu-ray Disc release of The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner on 23rd March 2009. Tom Courtenay stars as a defiant teenager rebelling against the system who discovers a talent for cross-country running. This British New Wave film directed by Tony Richardson also stars Michael Redgrave.

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner is re-issued on DVD (£17.99 RRP) and released on Blu-ray (£22.99 RRP) in new High-Definition transfers, alongside Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (Karel Reisz, 1960).

Features include:

1.78:1 aspect ratio
Subtitles for the hearing impaired
Commentary by film historian Robert Murphy, with lead actor Tom Courtenay and writer Alan Sillitoe
Video essay by cinematographer Walter Lassally (19mins)
Momma Don’t Allow (1956), Tony Richardson’s Free Cinema documentary shot by Walter Lassally (22mins)
Illustrated booklet including essays and biographies

The Blu-ray Disc is coded for Region B and all extras are in HD (1080/24).

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#1 Posted: 11-02-2009 19:34
Paul WJM Member Posts: 6	Forgive me but I suspect that 1.78:1 is not the 'original aspect ratio' in this case!

#2 Posted: 11-02-2009 20:10
jroadley Member Posts: 135	Forgive me but I suspect that 1.78:1 is not the 'original aspect ratio' in this case! Yep, the copy I have is 1.66:1

#3 Posted: 11-02-2009 20:24
Michael Brooke Member Posts: 650	For the record, the reason the aspect ratio is 1.78:1 is that the source for this Blu-ray was an HD transfer created by Warner Bros. Although the BFI cleaned up the picture and sound prior to final encoding, they were unable to do anything about the aspect ratio - the only viable alternative would be to go back to basics and create another brand new HD transfer from scratch, which would be unrealistically expensive for such a small difference given that the transfer is otherwise fine. To see how small a difference, this DVD Beaver review compares the old BFI version with the Warner DVDs. In fact, the reviewer counter-intuitively concludes that he actually prefers the 1.78:1 version, even though he knows it's technically "incorrect". http://www.DVDBeaver.com/film/DVDReview2/lonelinesofthelongdistnacerunner.htm I can also confirm that the entire Blu-ray disc is in HD - i.e. including the extras.

#4 Posted: 11-02-2009 20:31
John Hodson Member Posts: 358	As I understand it, the BFI is using the HD restoration from Warners, who transferred it in 1.78:1 in R1 last year. I suppose it could have been shown theatrically in that ratio (or thereabouts), but I agree 1.66:1 would have been preferable. EDIT; I see Michael's explained it better than I... ------ My Film Journal Blog

#5 Posted: 12-02-2009 19:07
hexenductionhour Member Posts: 80	Heartbreaking that this is Region B, since it's not likely to be released here in America on BD anytime soon.

#6 Posted: 12-02-2009 19:44
Michael Brooke Member Posts: 650	Unavoidable contractual obligation set by the rightsholder, I'm afraid - there's no way round this short of not distributing it at all. Just to prove that it isn't BFI policy to region-code Blu-rays across the board, the Jeff Keen Blu-ray set is region-free, but it admittedly doesn't have much in common with The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner!

#7 Posted: 12-02-2009 22:29
Rossyross Member Posts: 185	Heartbreaking that this is Region B, since it's not likely to be released here in America on BD anytime soon. I feel the same about Region A locked Criterion BD's. Bloody annoying, but hopefully multiregion players will soon be affordable.

#8 Posted: 14-02-2009 16:54
Paul WJM Member Posts: 6	It's not so much the fact that it's 1.78:1 that I'm complaining about - I project with zero overscan and recognise that the difference is small (though I'd still rather have 1.66:1 in relevant cases with small bars at the sides given an option). What I was more bothered about was the fact that it's marketed as 'original aspect ratio', which is plainly untrue. Still, I think if the BD transfer turns out to be excellent I'll probably pick this up as the film's one of Britain's greats I reckon.

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