James R | On 11, Jun 2016

Heard of BFI Player? Well, there’s also BFI Player+, a subscription service that offers an all-you-can-eat selection of hand-picked classics.

Every Friday, Mark Kermode highlights one of the collection’s titles with a video introduction. This week, it’s Battleship Potemkin. One of the most influential films of all time, Sergei Eisenstein’s seminal Soviet depiction of a mutiny by the crew of the titular vessel is a masterful experimentation of montage that still packs a huge emotional punch. “So incendiary was its force that the BBFC banned it outright,” notes Kermode, who also charts his own journey to visit The Odessa Steps.

What else is available to stream? Every week, we bring you a round-up of the latest titles on BFI Player+:

Distant Voices Still Lives

Terence Davies’ 1988 debut goes back to his working-class autobiographical roots by chronicling a family’s life in Liverpool in the 1940s.

Skinflicker

This 1972 film is a radical found-footage recording of a revolutionary act: three dissidents kidnapping and trotting a cabinet minister.

Radio On

Chris Petit’s blend of mystery and existential road movie follows a young London DJ heading to Bristol to investigate the death of his brother. Depicting a Britain on the cusp of Thatcherism and cultural change, with a soundtrack that includes Bowie, Kraftwerk and Ian Dury, Radio On has become a cult classic since its 1979 release. Not bad for a directorial debut.

Caught Looking

A gay man turns to virtual reality to satisfy his sexual fantasies in Constantine Giannaris’ short film – which, incredibly, was made all the way back in 1991.

The Shout

A man claims to be able to kill others with a shout learned from an Aboriginal shaman in this 1978 Cannes Grand Jury Prize winner, which stars John Hurt, Susannah York and a healthy serving of Devon coastline.

A Cottage on Dartmoor

Anthony Asquith’s 1929 melodrama, which unfolds against the bleak backdrop of Dartmoor, is one of the last silent films to be made in Britain.

Red Beard

BFI Player+ continues to build its Kurosawa collection with his 1965 drama about a 19th-century doctor (played by Toshiro Mifune – the director and actor’s last collaboration), who works in a clinic for the pool, and his friendship with an ambitious young intern.

 

A BFI Player+ subscription costs £4.99 a month with a 30-day free trial. For more information, visit http://player.bfi.org.uk.

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