BFI announces DVD releases for early 2013

The BFI’s DVD releases for the first three months of 2013 have been revealed to include From the Sea to the Land Beyond – a unique collaboration between the BFI National Archive, filmmaker Penny Woolcock and the indie band British Sea Power; the high definition premiere of Roman Polanski’s classic Tess; and the second volume of films from the archive of the much-loved Children’s Film Foundation, including highly sought-after cult favourite Sammy’s Super T-Shirt. The full line-up is:

• From the Sea to the Land Beyond – renowned filmmaker Penny Woolcock creates a lyrical portrait of Britain’s coastline and seaside resorts, with rich and varied archive footage and a specially-recorded soundtrack by Mercury Music prize nominees, British Sea Power.
• The MR James Collection: Tales from the Master of the Ghost Story – nine chilling BBC TV adaptations of MR James’ ghost stories, originally shown at Christmas time during the 1970s, are collected together in a 4-disc box set.
• Steel: A Century of Steelmaking on Film – following on from the coal and shipbuilding industries previously examined, the focus turns to Britain’s steel industry with this selection of rare documentaries and shorts. Includes legendary cinematographer Jack Cardiff’s 1945 Technicolor film, Steel.
• The Children’s Film Foundation Collection Volume 2: The Race is On (Sammy’s Super T-Shirt / The Sky-Bike / Soapbox Derby) – a new volume of vintage British children’s films from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s features Sammy’s Super T-Shirt and a teenage Michael Crawford in Soapbox Derby.
• Tess – Roman Polanski’s definitive, Academy Award-winning, 1979 adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s novel – starring Nastassia Kinski – has been beautifully restored for release in High Definition for the first time worldwide, in a Dual Format Edition.
• The Ozu Collection: The Gangster Films – the next volume in this continuing series brings together some of Japanese master Yasujiro Ozu’s rare gangster films: Walk Cheerfully (1930), That Night’s Wife (1930) and Dragnet Girl (1933).