Cinedelica

Konga (1961) - British B-movie monster flick heads to DVD via Network

King Kong has a lot to answer for. Like Konga for example, a 1960s b-movie, which just happens to be getting a reissue from Network.

Described as 'an alternative interpretation of the King Kong Story' and released on DVD on 13th May 2013, it stars Michael Gough as Dr Decker, a botanist and university professor, but also the sole survivor of a plane crash in Africa.

When he returns from the jungle he brings with him a baby chimpanzee (Konga). During the course of his experiments, Decker discovers a serum that causes Konga to grow to the size of a gorilla – and, eventually, to obey his will. Encountering both opposition to his experiments and following a love affair thwarted by a rival, he decides to put the super-sized ape to terrifying use by terrorising London.

Originally produced by Anglo-Amalgamated, it is finally available in a brand-new transfer from the original film elements in its as-exhibited cinema aspect ratio. Special features too, including the original theatrical trailer, an image gallery and press material PDFs.

If you want to pre-order, Amazon is doing it for £7.25.

Find out more at the Amazon website

Roman Polanski's Repulsion (1965) at the Manchester Cornerhouse

We featured it on here some years back, but if you want to see Roman Polanski's Repulsion in all its glory, you can later this month at Manchester's Cornerhouse.

It's part of the cinema's Matinee Classics season, which used to involve a free fry-up for your admission fee, but sadly no longer does. But you do get a really good movie, a very dark study of mental and emotional disintegration, specifically of Carole (Catherine Deneuve), in a Kensington flat.

Two screenings, Sunday 26th February at midday or Wednesday 29th February at 1:30pm. More details on the site.

Cornerhouse website

Peter Cook season at the BFI in March

Starting in March is a Peter Cook season at the BFI, featuring a couple of cracking movies, as well as some TV highlights.

Obviously, one of them is Bedazzled, which is showing twice. But there's also an outing for the (even better) satire The Rise And Rise of Michael Rimmer, which you can read about here.

On top of that, there's a selection of TV highlights showing on the big screen. The reason for all of this? Well, if he'd have lived, Peter Cook would have been 75 this year. Full details below…

BFI website

Beyond the Fringe
BBC 1964. Dir Duncan Wood. (Extended version) 116min.
This famous stage show launched the careers of four of the generation’s brightest humorists, as Jonathan Miller, Alan Bennett, Dudley Moore and Peter Cook combined their skills to present a scintillating series of sketches, skits and satirical shenanigans. The show proved a huge hit on both sides of the Atlantic and brought the new comedy of the emerging Oxbridge generation to a wider world. It almost single-handedly kick-started the satire boom that was to dominate TV comedy for much of the 1960s. The BBC originally screened only a 60-minute version of this historic tele-recording.
Thu 8 March 18:10 NFT1

Not Only But Also
BBC 1965-1966, 1970. Compilation c100min
The Cook and Moore double-act reached its zenith in this brilliant TV sketch show that was a big success for the newly launched BBC2. The pair played perfectly off one another, often seeming to stray off-script or to incorporate ad-libs in an attempt to faze each other. Moore’s near corpsing, as Cook fixed him with a laser-like stare following some deftly delivered comic time bomb, became a much-loved feature of the show. We are delighted that this evening’s bespoke compilation will be introduced by one of the show’s original producers, Joe McGrath.
Mon 12 March 20:40 NFT3

Peter Cook and Co
ITV 1980. Dir Paul Smith. With Peter Cook, Rowan Atkinson, John Cleese, Terry Jones, Beryl Reid, Paula Wilcox. 55min The dream supporting cast for this one-off special illustrated the high esteem in which Cook was held by his peers. Although critics at the time thought it patchy (a term perennially applied to sketch shows), it can now be viewed as a wonderful snapshot of Cook at the time, with the sketch spoofing Road Dahl’s Tales of the Unexpected particularly memorable. Plus a full supporting programme of Cook TV appearances (total r/t c100min).
Fri 16 March 20:40 NFT3

Oddities and Rarities
Sketches, interviews, adverts, chat show appearances and comedy monologues from the master himself. Tonight’s specially compiled pot pourri will bring together fascinating fragments from all periods and areas of Peter Cook’s career. Be warned – this screening will include adult material definitely unsuitable for those of a tender disposition, since within the programme we will be reacquainting ourselves with the notorious Derek and Clive! Wed 21 March 18:20 NFT2

Bedazzled
UK 1967. Dir Stanley Donen. With Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Eleanor Bron, Raquel Welch. 103min. 12A
Cook’s script crosses the Faust legend with the permissive society of the Swinging Sixties as hapless everyman Stanley Moon (Moore) falls under the spell of the Devil, in the guise of George Spiggott (Cook). Stanley is tempted to mortgage his soul to win Margaret (Bron), the girl of his dreams, but the Devil’s devious machinations constantly muddy the water. Great to see Cook and Moore on the big screen and they receive terrific support from the first lady of satire, Eleanor Bron.
Thu 1 March 20:40 NFT3 Sun 4 March 18:10 NFT3

The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer
UK 1970. Dir Kevin Billington. With Peter Cook, Denholm Elliott, Arthur Lowe, Harold Pinter, John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Ronnie Corbett. 102min. 15 A biting satire, underappreciated in its day, which has since gained cult status. The ruthless but charismatic Michael Rimmer (Cook) barnstorms his way through the world of advertising before setting his sights on higher office – running the country itself. Cleese and Chapman had the original idea, though the final screenplay also credits Cook and director Kevin Billington, and the result is a wild fantasy, with various comic vignettes linked by Rimmer’s irresistible charge to the top.
Sun 18 March 18:20 NFT2 Wed 21 March 20:40 NFT
Wed 21 March 20:40 NFT

A Taste of Honey screening and Q&A at the Cornerhouse in Manchester

Yesterday, we were incredibly sad to hear of the death of Shelagh Delaney, who died of cancer, aged 71. She was and is a northern icon, star and inspiration for The Smiths and noted playwright, writing the classic A Taste of Honey when she was just 19. If you've never seen it, there's a special screening of the movie at Manchester's Cornerhouse on Wednesday 30th November.

Special, because this one-off screening of the 1961 ony Richardson-directed kitchensink classic features a Q&A with one of the stars of the movie, Murray Melvin, who played Geoffrey Ingham. He'll be hanging around to take our questions after the screening of the film.

If you can't make that, check out the inspiration behind the woman behind the play and film. Shelagh Delaney's Salford is online and available to watch below. Just 15 minutes long, but this Ken Russell-directed BBC film pretty much sums up both Delaney and her city 'back in the day'.

Cornerhouse website

Swinging London flick Haunted House of Horror (1969) gets a DVD reissue

A movie we've raved about in the past gets a new DVD reissue courtesy of Odeon - Haunted House of Horror.

We could ramble on for some time about the movie, with facts like David Bowie being first choice for the lead, the movie being a 60s spotter's dream (see the Carnaby Street scenes) and the fact that it was actually filmed in Southport rather than London in the main. All true. In fact, the Haunted House of Horror is still around to view and will soon be made into apartments - you can find out more about that here.

But let's stick to the film, which has a cast of hipsters and the rather long in the tooth Frankie Avalon. These hipsters are bored at a party, so drive to an old mansion for kicks. But that laughter turns to fear when one of them is killed in a frenzied knife attack.

This new release includes a director's commentary, a set of trailers and a booklet written by the director. Released on November 28th and available to pre-order now, it's yours for £9.70.

Find out more at the Amazon website

Kids TV swings once more with the reissue of The Tyrant King (1968)

I'll be honest, this is a new one to me, but after reading the write-up, I'm desperate to see The Tyrant King, which is being issued on DVD for the first time by Network.

Why so good? Well, because it sounds so odd and very much of the swinging sixties. Directed by Mike Hodges (Get Carter) and written by Ace of Wands creator (and Sweeney writer) Trevor Preston, The Tyrant King follows three teenagers as they travel around London searching for an answer to a hidden secret. Or as the press release says:

A quest fraught with drama and danger takes them to some of the capital’s most iconic landmarks and beyond.

All of that backed up with a soundtrack that includes the likes of Pink Floyd, The Nice, Cream and The Moody Blues.

This six-part series was shown once, in black and white, in 1968, but this issue will show the series in colour, transferred from original 16mm film materials specifically for this release.

We don't have a clue what the end product will be like. Originally an adventure story published by London Transport, The Tyrant King is almost certainly going to be a slice of swinging London and perhaps a glimpse of a London that no longer exists.

We're hoping to do a review ahead of release (31st December 2011), but if you want to take a chance, it is being sold exclusively by Network itself and is available to pre-order now. £12 is the price.

Find out more at the Network DVD website

Blu-ray review: Regan - the original pilot for The Sweeney (1974)

Remember Armchair Cinema? No, me neither. I'm sure it was a pretty good series, but even if it wasn't, it spawned one classic episode and one classic TV series which is still on the box right now, The Sweeney. That episode was called Regan and it's just been issued by Network on Blu-ray for the very first time.

Regan might have been intended as a one-off episode, but you suspect that the writers already had one eye on a series, because this is very much the calling card for the entire run of the show. The characters, the background, the plot, the violence, the warts 'n' all portrayal of London and the police force - it's all here. Indeed, Regan's opening line in the episode is perhaps his most famous line from the series: 'Get our trousers on…you're nicked!'

Where it possibly lacks is the storyline, perhaps because of all that character building and partly because some of the episodes that followed were so damn good - none of which had to go into detail about Regan's marriage, his working methods, his relationship with Haskins and so on. 'Regan' had already done the legwork on that front.

But even allowing for that, this is a pretty impressive work, especially when you consider it was just another TV drama back in 1974. The story starts in a dockside pub, where an ambitious DS from the flying squad is sticking his nose in…he know something is going on. Unfortunately for him, he's spotted by the local villains he's tracking. When he follows them, he gets cornered in a warehouse, beaten, thrown out of the window and left to die.

…enter Detective Inspector Regan…

Regan (John Thaw) is the classic '70s 'tear up the rulebook' copper, a man who gets results, but makes a lot of enemies 'upstairs'. It's not his case, but he wants to find out who killed one of his team. Enlisting old DS George Carter (Dennis Waterman), who has experience 'south of the river', they go about digging around to find out who did the deed, whilst slowly discovering just why one of his team was really killed. Can Regan find the people behind it before his superiors put him under suspension from the job? I think you can guess…

As I said, it's a good watch, even if, at 77 minutes, it's a little short. The Blu-ray release is also a bit short of extras too - a commentary and an interview is all you get.

But it is in high-definition, which is more impressive than you might think. Bold orange Ford Escorts, dodgy psychedelic neck scarves, the dandruff on a seedy photographer's suit, the plastic wigs - the Blu-ray really does bring the glory and the grime of the era to life. It certainly whets my appetite for a full Sweeney Blu-ray outing, which I suspect is coming next year.

In the meantime, treat yourself to this. As I said, not the best episode and not the best package, but a glorious slice of cult TV and '70s crimefighting that's well worth digging out.

Find out more at the Amazon website

DVD Review: What's Good For The Goose (1969)

When it comes to Norman Wisdom, you expect pretty much all of his output to involve a jaunty flat cap and a cry of 'Mr Grimsdale!' Not a mid-life crisis, a bunch of hippies and the Pretty Things. Which is what you actually get with What's Good For The Goose.

It was Wisdom's last starring role and for Wisdom fans, by far his worst. But for some of us, this is by far his most interesting big screen outing. Essentially because it is so bizarre.

Wisdom is a middle-aged London banker called Timothy Bartlett, assistant manager at his branch, married with two children and living the middle class, middle-management life. Every day like the last. Then one day, everything changes.

The manager is struck down at work, with Bartlett forced to take his place at the banker's conference in Southport. He packs his bag (and his sandwiches) for the long drive, but just short of the town, he accidentally picks up two swinging teens, Nikki (Sally Geeson) and Meg (Sarah Atkinson), who manage to ruffle his feathers and get him pulled over for speeding. The first layer of his respectability has been chipped away. It won't be the last.

The conference starts, but all usually diligent banker can think about are the two girls in the car. The dour conference and post-conference dinner don't help, nor does being the 'outsider' at the event. There's only one thing for it - go where the action is!

Which just happens to be a nearby club (The Screaming Apple) where the mods and hippies hang out. Inside, it's a technicolor dream, with the sounds provided at ear-shattering volume by Electric Banana (played by The Pretty Things). One of the great 'swinging' club scenes ever committed to film. the other is later in the same movie.

Anyway, our Timothy meets up with the two girls and their hipster crowd, becomes a surprise hit on the dancefloor and manages to 'pull' Nikki too. After some knockabout antics, he gets her back to his room for a night of passion.

That's not the end of it either. With his head turned, Timothy skips the conference and has some fun on the town instead - the funfair, the bandstand, the sand dunes, even some swimming in the nude during a day/night session. The day after, he goes out to buy some hipster gear, as well as a new-build flat for his new-found girlfriend, before hitting the Screaming Apple once more, throwing some will shapes too, as it happens.

The turnaround is complete.

Or is it? Deep down, you know it's only a weekend of fun…and like all weekends, soon enough, it's back to the Monday to Friday grind. As Timothy finds out all too quickly. Still, at least there's a happy ending of sorts.

So there should be. Because essentially, What's Good For The Goose is a fun film. Yes, it might have an undercurrent of a midlife crisis, it might also be a poke at the 'establishment', but like Timothy's banking weekend, it's just a piece of escapism - about how you can learn to enjoy life once more if you get over yourself.

It might not work for the die hard Wisdom fans, but lovers of swinging sixties cinema really should grab a copy of this. On the downside, not a lot of restoration has gone into this release - this is still the 'cut' version, although you're only missing a bit of surrealism and nudity from the full version. Extras are a bit lacking too.

But the quality seems up on past video versions I've seen and at £7.99, it's not exactly a big outlay. Like a day out in Southport, it's better than you might expect.

Find out more about the DVD at the Amazon website

Blu-ray review: More (1969)

I've always been slightly fascinated with More. The first time I saw it was on late night Channel 4, its mix of Pink Floyd, 60s hippiedom and stunning Ibiza landscapes being the perfect post-club comedown. Now its here via the BFI on Blu-ray, Does it still cut it?

In a word 'yes' - although More's value today is more as a period piece than a cautionary drug tale.

Essentially, More is a love story - or two love stories if you like. The first of those is between Stefan (Klaus Grunberg) and Estelle (Mimsy Farmer). Stefan is a German student, fresh out of college and on the hunt for some excitement in his life. So he goes hitchhiking and ends up in late-60s Paris. Hanging out with the hippies there, he becomes friendly with Charlie (Michel Chanderli), a gambler and petty crook.

They both need cash, so after Charlie 'borrows' some money from the bag of Estelle at a party (unbeknown to Stefan), they secure a house breaking job and the money that comes from it. Stefan, who has fell under Estelle's spell at the party, takes the money back (plus interest), discovers drugs, discovers Pink Floyd, falls for Estelle, finds out she's a heroin user (or occasional user anyway) and vows to follow her to Ibiza, when he's completed the 'job' in Paris. What could possibly go wrong?

In a few short weeks, Stefan lands in an Ibiza untouched by mass tourism and rave music, an Ibiza populated by the locals, a gaggle of hippies and odd 'character'. Indeed, one of those is the man Estelle is staying with, Dr Ernesto Wolf, an ex-Nazi and generally shifty character.

Eventually, after necking down an absinthe with Wolf and a purple heart with a an oddball hippy, he finds Estelle, downbeat after 'a little trip' and generally acting differently to the way she was in Paris. Not that Stefan cares - he's in love and he's just happy she's around.

But problems are only just around the corner…

Unknown to Stefan (again), Estelle has stolen money and drugs off Wolf. The pair sneak off in the night from Wolf's hotel, finding a hideaway in the hidden depths of the island - or so they think. It's paradise, that's for sure. The beach, the blue skies, the clear blue sea - it's an escape from the world and the love story Stefan was perhaps dreaming off when he made the boat trip over.

But the slide downhill is about to begin…

First, it's the arrival of Katie, one of Estelle's drug buddies, breaking their peaceful isolation. Then another old friend enters Estelle's life once more - heroin.

Once she's back on it, she's desperate to bring Stefan into that relationship too. He tries it once, gets hooked and…well, everything changes. The love affair between the two is secondary to the love affair the pair have with the heroin.

It's not obvious at first, but things gradually start to crumble as the heroin doses crank up, made worse when Wolf's heavies finally catch up with Estelle. He wants his drugs back - or at least - he wants them to work off the 'debt' selling drugs on the island. There's no escape from the island, so there's no choice.

The relationship breaks down even more, but the drugs keep coming, despite attempt to get clean. It can only end one way - badly. You've probably guessed it does. I'll not spoil the ending with the detail.

As an anti-drugs movie, I'm not sure More completely works. It's just a little too glamorous. It stars Mimsy Farmer in her prime, looking stunning in just about every scene (despite playing a hardened heroin addict). But at the same time, it's not a pro-drugs flick either, it's a little too bleak for that too. In essence, writer / producer / director Barbet Schroeder pitches it about right.

I'm not sure the plot quite works either. The time in Paris is a little rushed and the relationship between the two lead characters at the start of the movie doesn't quite sit right either. The demise at the end is a little rushed too, almost as if Schroeder didn't know where to go next.

Yet despite all of that, I love More. All the more so (if you pardon the pun) in Blu-ray. It's a visual treat.

The high-definition version turns up those bright colours - the blue of the sea and the sky, the white of the houses, not to mention the brightness of the hippie gear. It's just a joy to watch.

Then there's that Pink Floyd soundtrack. Or should that be The Pink Floyd, with the band, just post-Barrett, knocking out some haunting grooves that fit the mood perfectly. That alone is worth the admission.

Some nice extras too, the usual hefty BFI booklet, trailers for other Schroeder flicks and a newly-commissioned documentary on the story behind More (which, annoyingly, wasn't on my advanced copy).

In short, a great thing to watch, even with its occasional shortcomings. And if you are going to watch it, watch the Blu-ray. It really is that impressive (just compare it to the rough 'n' ready trailer on the disc). It might not keep you away from drugs, but it'll probably tempt you into booking a holiday to Ibiza.

Find out more about the Blu-ray at the Amazon website

Norman Wisdom's psych-tastic What's Good For The Goose (1969) gets a DVD release

After a seriously long wait, there is now a confirmed UK DVD release for 1960s psychedelic classic What's Good For The Goose.

Odeon is releasing the film Norman Wisdom perhaps didn't want to talk up in his later life, the tale of a middle-aged banker called Timothy Bartlett. He's suffering from a mid-life crisis and during a banking conference in Southport, hooks up with the local hipsters, starting a relationship with teenager Nikki (Sally Geeson) as well as taking in The Pretty Things at the local psych hangout.

It's a film you have to see to believe. Odeon is releasing it on 26th September with trailers and a booklet, with a pre-order price of £9.70 on Amazon. See over the page for one of those Pretty Things club scenes that perhaps have kept the movie so notorious.

Find out more about the DVD at the Amazon website

Newly-restored Kes (1969) is back on the big screen

Some classic Ken Loach is heading back to the big screen - Kes - which originally dates back to 1969.

Over 40 years on and the movie has had a complete restoration, hitting the cinemas as part of the BFI celebration for the director's 75 birthday. More on that here.

So far, screenings have been confirmed as:
London BFI Southbank: Fri 9 - Fri 23 Sep 2011
Dublin Irish Film Institute: Fri 9 - Thu 15 Sep 2011
HMV Curzon Wimbledon: Sat 10 - Sun 11 Sep 2011

More are likely to be added. Check this site for additional screenings. If you've never had the pleasure of this tale of a boy, a bird and Barnsley, see the trailer over the page.

Tommy screening plus Ken Russell Q&A at the BFI - plus a whole weekend of cool Vintage movies

As part of the Vintage event taking at the Embankment in London over 29th, 30th and 31st July, there's a programme of rather cool movies screenings by the BFI, headed up by Ken Russell himself.

The headline act is, as we type (although not 100 per cent confirmed), Ken Russell presenting a screening of his 1975 adaptation of Tommy at the BFI. Not only that, the screening on Sunday 31st July will also feature a Q&A with the eccentric director too, right after the big screen showing.

If that's not enough, other movies are showing too, the likes of The Party's Over, The Damned, The Lavender Hill mob and so on. Full details over the page.

BFI website

Vintage screenings:

The Naked Truth
UK 1957. Dir Mario Zampi. With Terry-Thomas, Peggy Mount, Peter Sellers, Shirley Eaton. 92min. U
A great gallery of rogues here. A hypocritical TV host (Sellers), a plagiarising novelist (Mount), a philandering peer (Terry-Thomas) and a glamour model (Eaton) join forces to thwart a gutter press blackmailer (Price), the biggest rogue of them all. A lively-paced romp with all the leads on splendid form in Michael Pertwee’s constantly amusing satire.
Fri 29 July 20:45 NFT1

School for Scoundrels
UK 1960. Dir Robert Hamer. With Terry-Thomas, Alistair Sim, Ian Carmichael. 94min. U
A classic comedy tour de force which cunningly exploits its basic premise to great effect. Carmichael is the genial sap whose general niceness allows others to ride roughshod over him. When he encounters a roguish rival (Terry-Thomas in fine arch-cad form) for his dream girl’s affections, he
enlists the aid of the School of Lifemanship to learn how to cheat and scheme his way to his goal.
Fri 29 July 18:30 NFT1

Kind Hearts and Coronets
UK 1949. Dir Robert Hamer. With Alec Guinness, Dennis Price, Valerie Hobson. 106min. Digital. U
Dennis Price is again the biggest rogue here as the rakish Louis Mazzini, who embarks on a murderous spree to eliminate the eight D’Ascoyne family members (all played by the brilliant Alec Guinness) who stand between him and a huge inheritance.
Sat 30 July 16:00 NFT1
Optimum Releasing will release Kind Hearts and Coronets at BFI Southbank and in cinemas from 19 August

The Lavender Hill Mob
UK 1951. Dir Charles Crichton With Alec Guinness, Stanley Holloway, Sidney James 78min Digital U
Sympathetic rogues Henry Holland (Guinness) and Pendlebury (Holloway) plot an audacious bank robbery, their inexperience in the field counterbalanced by the veteran (but small-time) underworld accomplices Lackery (James) and Shorty (Bass) they enlist as help. A hugely enjoyable caper from the pen of one of the greatest Ealing scribes, TEB Clarke.
Sat 30 July 18:30 NFT1

The Party’s Over
UK 1963. Dir Guy Hamilton. With Oliver Reed, Eddie Albert, Anne Lynn. 95min. Blu-ray
Controversial in its day (and suffering a stringent censor’s cut at the time, but screening here in the uncensored version), The Party’s Over is a rarely seen, bitter and dark morality tale distinguished by a brilliant and charismatic central performance by Oliver Reed as atypical gang leader Moise. The wild parties that the gang members attend are suitably frenetic but a moral vacuity suffuses the atmosphere, painting the nascent Swinging London as a quick-fix hedonistic playland with dark
consequences awaiting just around the corner.
Sat 30 July 20:45 NFT1

The Damned aka These Are the Damned
UK 1963. Dir Joseph Losey. With Oliver Reed, Macdonald Carey, Shirley Ann Field. 87min
Reed again shines as ‘teddy boy’ gang leader King, a psychotic violent type, incestuously jealous over his sister Joan (Field). They become mixed up with wealthy American tourist Wells (Carey) and fall into a plot involving radioactive children with a poisonous touch. The blacklisted Losey’s first feature for Hammer (he had earlier made the short The Man on the Beach for the company) was finished in 1961 but shelved for two years by the nonplussed producers, released only after his reputation blossomed following his masterpiece The Servant.
Sun 31 July 15:20 NFT1

The Devils
UK 1971. Dir Ken Russell. With Vanessa Redgrave, Dudley Sutton, Gemma Jones. 111min. Video
Masterful art-rogue Russell cut his teeth on TV but it was the big screen that provided the most apt landscape for his outrageous vision, and The Devils represents a defining moment in his career. This fiery classic is a stunning account of a 17th-century French town beset by demonic possession – or is it political hysteria? Oliver Reed is the worldly priest who discovers his true religion in the face of satanic corruption. Thanks to Mark Kermode, Mike Bradsell and Ken Russell, sequences deemed too strong for public taste in the early 70s were restored for this high-quality video presentation, including the ‘rape of Christ’ scene.
Sun 31 July 17:30 NFT1

Tommy plus Ken Russell Q&A
UK 1975. Dir Ken Russell. With Roger Daltrey, Ann-Margret, Oliver Reed, Jack Nicholson. 108min. 15
Russell’s glorious OTT take on The Who’s groundbreaking concept album extends the scope of its source material to deliver a metaphysical, kaleidoscopic view of life in the 50s and 60s. The pulsating soundtrack resonates with memorable tunes – most realised via such stunning set-pieces as Elton John’s ‘Pinball Wizard’ sequence and the stunning bordello backdrop to Tina Turner’s explosive ‘Acid Queen’. Play loud.
Sun 31 July 20:20 NFT1

DVD Review: Black Joy (1977)

I'd ever heard of Black Joy before the advance notice came through from Odeon, but I'm certainly glad I made the effort to secure a copy.

It's an obscure movie, but with some familiar faces - Norman Beaton and Floella Benjamin for example - featuring in this play-turned-film that endeavours to show the gritty streets of mid-70s Brixton through the eyes of someone alien to it, Guyanan immigrant Ben, played by Trevor Thomas.

He's headed to London with some money, a cardboard suitcase and a piece of paper with a family address on it. His welcome to London is an intimate body search by customs, followed by a mugging from a small child and the discovery that his address doesn't exist. 'Grim' is probably the word that sums it up.

Forced to sleep in a hostel, with one eye open for thieves, he walks the streets by day, meeting up with hustler Dave (Norman Beaton), who sees him as easy prey. Fleecing him for money (but not before some others have fleeced him for rent for a house that doesn't exit), Dave also shows Ben 'the ropes' - how to survive in the city. But Ben's got more about him than the pimp realises, getting himself a job, a girl and eventually, some status on the mean streets. The tables are eventually turned.

It's an interesting movie. Low budget, rough around the edges and not without a good amount of poetic licence you suspect. But it's not afraid to pull its punches either, showing organised crime, prostitution, street survival and pretty much anything else that's used to generate a living outside the law. Every man for himself, that's for sure.

It's also a great period piece, showing the squalor and derelict housing of the day, as well as the nightlife that takes you away from it. The likes of Johnny Nash, Billy Paul, Aretha Franklin, The Cimarons, Gladys Knight, The Drifters and The Three Degrees soundtrack the movie, with vintage Brit-soulies The Real Thing even appearing on stage in one of the club scenes.

If there's a downside, it's perhaps the plot running out of steam, with a fairly unbelievable ending of convenience thrown in for good measure. It builds nicely, but just lacks that killer punch for me.

But it's worth seeking out for fans of 70s British cinema nonetheless. At times amusing, other times depressing, it's certainly like nothing else I've seen from this particular era. For that reason alone, this is a cracking find from Odeon. Interesting doc on black actors in the '70s thrown in too, which adds more value to the £9.99 price tag.

Find out more about the DVD at the Amazon website

Cult clip: Deep End (1970) trailer

Following on from our recent review, check out this newly-restored trailer for the (newly-restored) big screen version of Deep End from 1970. Check out the BFI site for details of screenings in May.

Review: Deep End (1970)

Creeping about the West End in search of film obscurities being something of a hobby of mine, your pal Scenester fair leapt out of his office at 5.30 one chilly Monday evening, throwing his coat on as he did, to make his way once more to BFI Stephen Street, for a screening of Deep End, a forgotten gem from 1970. I confess to not having heard of this film before, although I am at a loss to say why, in view of the gritty subject matter, year of production, authentic London locations and strong cast.

The list of films dealing with society's changing sexual mores, young and older people and their contrasting attitudes to sex is a particularly lengthy one, but I can safely say that this one is a real oddity, even by the standards of the time.

The story concerns Mike, (John Moulder-Brown) a young lad who has started work in his first job as a public baths attendant, in an age where the 'baths' were not simply for swimming, but were also to bathe in, there still being people who did not have the luxury of a bath in their own home. Mike is a pleasant sort, but very inept and shy with girls, and the fact that one of his co-workers is the sexy Susan, (Jane Asher) means his hormones are running crazy.

Susan introduces Mike to the seedier side of bath house life, where attendants can earn a few tips doing 'favours' for their customers. Mike's complete lack of experience leads to many embarrassing moments, including one with a notable cameo role for Diana Dors as a buxom matron, who projects all manner of football-related fantasies onto Mike whilst she paws him into submission.

The baths are frequented by a long succession of frustrated women, scruffy men and schoolchildren, the latter being of particular interest to a lecherous teacher (Karl-Michael Vogler) whose bottom-slapping and 'come hither' behaviour would earn him an appearance in court in these more protective times. Mike, of course, only has eyes for Susan, and has determined to disrupt her relationship with her soon-to-be fiance (Chris Sandford, a face no doubt familiar to almost everyone reading this article, such was his ubiquity in 60s and 70s films and TV). His farcical attempts to split the two lovers up only serve to make Mike more miserable and Susan more attached to her man.

The lengthy scenes where Mike follows the couple around town, first to a cinema showing a truly hilarious excuse for an adult film (little more than some poor quality dominatrix spouting pseudo-scientific babble in an elegant house), and later on to the inevitably expensive nightclub, well beyond Mike's modest means, are spellbinding for their shots of the streets, cafes and people in their late 60s/early 70s finery. Mike ends up eating more hot dogs than could ever be healthy for a body, served by the ever-present Burt Kwouk, during his long waits around Soho to catch a glimpse of the seductive Susan, always accompanied by her fiance.   If this is all beginning to sound like 'Here we go round the bike sheds' or 'Carry on up the S-Bend', I would stress that the scenes with Mike going through adolescent agony and frustration are handled with a great deal of sensitivity, even when Mike kidnaps a cardboard cut-out that looks like a scantily-clad Susan, from outside a strip joint. And is if to compound his misery, he is forced to hide out in a prostitute's 'workroom' to evade the strip-joint owner’s heavies. His awkwardness in front of the ageing pro, one of her legs in plaster, summons up pathos as well as hilarity in roughly equal measure.

As our hero tries and fails over and over again to get something more than Susan's attention, the film starts to take a surreal turn, with Susan losing the stone from her engagement ring in the snow. Their eccentric method of retrieval staggers the viewer, as does the fate of our two leads. To tell you any more of the plot would be plain cruel. I will however mention that the shots of London just after the glad-tide of the 1960s had receded are a joy of discovery, the clothes on the backs of our actors are a reminder of how good even everyday store clobber could be then, and I am sure I wasn't the only one whose eyes were on stalks throughout the film, at the ethereal beauty of Jane Asher, with or without her clothes.

This expertly-restored film will be getting a 'selected cinemas' release from 6th May, and I hear the Flipsiders have come up with a very special treat for us at their screening at the NFT on 4th May. We'll have to sit tight until July for the DVD/Blu-Ray release for this one, but I'm sure you’ll agree it’s worth it.

The Scenester