BFI

149 films on Best BluraysBest video release: 19 in 4K125 in HD4 in SD1 with no official release3 more for audio only2 more announced

Best 4K release by tier:

Excellent
13
Solid
3
Disappointing
2

Based in United KingdomFounded 1933shop.bfi.org.uk (opens in a new tab)

Films where BFI's release is the pick. How picks are made

Founded in 1933, the British Film Institute is a London charity that runs the BFI National Archive and publishes Blu-rays for the UK market. Releases lean on archive restorations of British cinema, silent film, documentary and world classics, usually with booklets and short films as extras. The BFI Flipside line, launched in 2009, revives overlooked British films, and UHD discs began with The Seventh Seal in 2021.

125 of 149 films match · Page 1 of 7

By format

List

Films where BFI's release is the pick. How picks are made

Tokyo Story (1953)

Director: Yasujirō Ozu

Best English-Friendly & Video:

2020 BFI Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Best Audio:

2005 Raro DVD

4.4

Persona (1966)

Director: Ingmar Bergman

Best English-Friendly & Video:

2022 BFI Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Best Audio:

2003 Tartan UK DVD

4.4

Fanny and Alexander (1982)

Director: Ingmar Bergman

Best English-Friendly:

BFI Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Best Video:

TV Cut: BFI Blu-ray. Japan Blu-ray likely better, no caps.

Theatrical Cut: BFI Blu-ray

Video Notes:

(box set and standalone are identical)

Best Audio:

TV Cut: 2011 Criterion Blu-ray (the 2018 Criterion and 2023 BFI box set have signs of applying a limiter)

Theatrical Cut: Criterion LaserDisc, DVD

4.4

A Woman Under the Influence (1974)

Director: John Cassavetes

Best English-Friendly:

Criterion Blu-ray or BFI Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · DVDBeaver (opens in a new tab)

Best Video:

Criterion = BFI, both HD resto: source

4.4

Scenes from a Marriage (1974)

Director: Ingmar Bergman

Best English-Friendly:

TV Cut: Criterion Blu-ray

Theatrical Cut: BFI Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Best Video:

TV Cut: Japan Blu-ray

Theatrical Cut: BFI Blu-ray

Best Audio:

4.4

Red Beard (1965)

Director: Akira Kurosawa

Best English-Friendly, Video & Audio:

BFI UK Blu-ray

4.4

Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)

Director: Chantal Akerman

Best English-Friendly & Video:

2025 BFI Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · slow.pics (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

> Criterion Blu-ray, much better encoding (caps)
Criterion seems to have done additional adjustment to the original grading

Both France Capricci and Japan Blu-ray are worse than Criterion and BFI.

Best Audio:

Criterion Blu-ray

Audio Notes:

Criterion Blu-ray largely sounds better, but attentuates away some low-frequency ambient noises.
BFI Blu-ray has hum, dropouts, pops, noticable patching and beeping, but has extra low-end detail in a few spots.

4.3