Labels
/
BFI

BFI

156 films on Best Blurays

Based in United KingdomFounded 1933shop.bfi.org.uk ↗

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.

Aliases: bfi

Page 6 of 8

Director: Werner Herzog

Video format: 1080p Blu-ray

Best English-Friendly:

Shout! Factory vs BFI?

Best Video:

US Shout! Factory vs BFI vs StudioCanal Germany

Video Notes:

No comparison

Director: Ingmar Bergman

Best English-Friendly:

TV Cut: Criterion Blu-ray

Theatrical Cut: BFI Blu-ray

Best Video:

TV Cut: Japan Blu-ray

Theatrical Cut: BFI Blu-ray

Best Audio:

?

Director: John Cassavetes

Best English-Friendly:

Criterion Blu-ray or BFI Blu-ray

Sources: DVDBeaver (opens in a new tab)

Best Video:

Criterion = BFI, both HD resto: source

Director: Pier Paolo Pasolini

Best English-Friendly & Video:

2019 BFI Blu-ray

Video Notes:

> Criterion > 2009/2011 BFI. Unsure on Carlotta

Director: Pier Paolo Pasolini

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly:

Wicked Vision 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)

Upcoming Release:

BFI 4K Blu-ray scheduled for October 2026 release

Best Video:

Wicked Vision 4K Blu-ray see caps

Additional Info:

2019 BFI Blu-ray is the older master but better encode + extra footage than Criterion Blu-ray

Italy CG Entertainment Blu-ray is 4K resto, but horrible colours.

Director: Chantal Akerman

Best English-Friendly & Video:

2025 BFI Blu-ray

Sources: 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.

Directors: Kevin Brownlow & Andrew Mollo

Best English-Friendly & Video:

BFI Blu-ray

Director: Chantal Akerman

Best English-Friendly & Video:

BFI Blu-ray

Director: Carlos Saura

Best English-Friendly:

BFI Blu-ray

Best Video:

BFI

Director: John Cassavetes

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Criterion Blu-ray

Sources: DVDBeaver (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

Criterion is warmer and more lifelike than BFI. See DVDBeaver review for more caps

BFI suffers from Quicktime Gamma Bug

Criterion has better encoding and doesn't have the bug so that's preferable.

Best Audio:

BFI

Audio Notes:

BFI looks to be more untouched, not sure about Criterion

Director: Werner Herzog

Video format: 1080p Blu-ray

Best English-Friendly:

Shout! Factory vs BFI?

Best Video:

Shout! Factory US vs BFI UK Herzog collection, no comparison

Director: Ingmar Bergman

Best English-Friendly & Video:

BFI Blu-ray

Video Notes:

> Criterion Blu-ray (slightly)

Best Audio:

BFI/Criterion Blu-ray

Director: Martin Rosen

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

BFI 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

2002 R2 WB DVD

Director: Richard Loncraine

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

BFI UK 4K Blu-ray

Director: Dennis Hopper

4K · Disappointing
Best English-Friendly & Video:

BFI Blu-ray

Video Notes:

BFI Blu-ray renders grain structure better than Severin 4K Blu-ray’s disappointing encode, although Severin does feature an HDR grading with Dolby Vision. Furthermore, Severin’s soundtrack is worse due to the noise reduction applied.

Additional Info:

Severin 4K Blu-ray has very good extras that are more relevant to the film

Director: Bill Forsyth

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

BFI 4K Blu-ray

Director: Ingmar Bergman

Best English-Friendly:

BFI Blu-ray

English-Friendly Notes:

(box set and standalone are identical)

Best Video:

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

Theatrical Cut: BFI Blu-ray

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

Director: Werner Herzog

Best English-Friendly & Video:

BFI vs Shout! Factory Blu-ray

Director: Chantal Akerman

Best English-Friendly & Video:

BFI Chantal Akerman: Volume 2 Blu-ray

Director: Robert Bresson

Best English-Friendly & Video:

BFI Blu-ray

Sources: DVDBeaver (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

BFI Blu-ray is better than Criterion, see DVDBeaver comparison. 4K transfer, but has the eclair teal tint

Missing a BFI film? Suggest it