Piccadilly (1929) R2 UK ADDED

[baggish]

Piccadilly (1929) R2 UK

New film for the database

Director: Ewald André Dupont
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0020269

R2 UK release by BFI

Sources:
i) I borrowed the DVD from the library
ii) http://shop.bfi.org.uk/piccadilly-dvd-bluray.html
iii) http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDReview3/piccadilly.htm

There's also a US dvd listed in dvd-basen which according to various sources including http://www.silentera.com/video/piccadillyHV.html is a licensed version of the BFI release. Judging by the runtime, the US dvd may be a PAL->NTSC conversion. On the other hand it seems to have two more extras: Video Excerpts of film panel on Anna May Wong and DVDRom extra: 5 Authors in Search of Anna May Wong

Presumably because of its age, there are a couple of things about this film that are quite difficult to discover and I don't think I did discover them definitively:
- the film was originally cut by the bbfc, and appears to have been cut again for the US market
- the film exists in both silent and talkie versions. Only the silent version is on the DVD (apart from the "Prologue" extra).
Unfortunately this release doesn't have one of the BFI's usually helpful booklets to tell us.

About the cuts:

Imdb has two durations: 92 and 109 mins. But the 92 mins might refer to the US version, not the bbfc cuts
- http://www.digitallyobsessed.com/displa ... hp?ID=7087: "The restoration by the British Film Institute adds another 16 or so minutes to the running time from the chopped-down version that was shipped off to America."
- http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/486639/: "To Wong's frustration, Shosho and Valentine's kiss was cut to appease the US censor."
- There is also a brief comment at http://www.nitrateville.com/viewtopic.php?t=7031, but I don't know if that is about US or bbfc cuts, I would guess US.
The bfi packaging doesn't refer directly to cuts, but it does mention "Beautifully restored by the bfi National Film and Television Archive" so I imagine everything that still exists is on the dvd. I don't know if that includes whatever it was that was cut by the bbfc.

About the talkie version:

http://www.allmovie.com/movie/piccadilly-v128199: "The talkie version of Piccadilly wasn't released in the U.S. until 1932."

Extras:
- Introduction to the music - Neil Brand (19:55)
- Prologue to the sound version of 'Piccadilly' (5:13)
- Text biographies of E.A. Dupont and Anna May Wong
- Production notes
Subtitles:
- none
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Picture Format: Non-anamorphic
TV System: PAL
Soundtrack(s):
- (music only) Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo (newly commissioned score by Neil Brand)
Case type: Amaray (Keep) Case
Duration: 109:32
Cuts: The original cinema release was cut.
- http://bbfc.co.uk/releases/piccadilly-1929
ASIN:
- B00027NW7O (cover art is not correct on this page)

[James-Masaki_Ryan]

Added the BFI, Milestone, and German releases. Thanks.
With the BFI resubmitting to the BBFC, does this mean a reissue on Blu-ray perhaps? I hope so.

[baggish]

Added the BFI, Milestone, and German releases. Thanks.
With the BFI resubmitting to the BBFC, does this mean a reissue on Blu-ray perhaps? I hope so.

Well, not an expert, but it looks to me that they have submitted it for cinema release rather than video . By coincidence they are showing it in their cinema this month.

Cheers!