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Dissent and Disruption: Alan Clarke at the BBC (1969-1989) - Limited Edition
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray B - United Kingdom - British Film Institute Review written by and copyright: James-Masaki Ryan (14th September 2016). |
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The Film
 BFI is releasing the highly ambitious and anticipated Dissent and Disruption: Alan Clarke at the BBC. There is a choice of the following: - Dissent and Disruption: Alan Clarke at the BBC (1969-1989) - a 13 disc set of 11 Blu-rays and 2 DVDs. - Alan Clarke at the BBC Volume 1: Dissent (1969-1977) - a 6 DVD set. - Alan Clarke at the BBC Volume 2: Disruption (1978-1989) - a 6 DVD set. Focusing on director Alan Clarke's 20 year career working as a celebrated and controversial director of television productions, this definitive boxset release has been reviewed through 13 reviews - one per disc. This review collects all the reviews into a singular page with a few minor edits and additions made for continuity and condensing. DISC ONE (Blu-ray) “George’s Room” (1967) (24:10) A mannered gentlemen (played by John Neville) visits the home of a young widow (played by Geraldine Moffat) answering about a room for rent. The room in question is her late husband’s study room, where she hasn’t entered at all since her husband passed a year ago, and only the maid who periodically cleans it enters. What seems like a simple story of real estate transaction is something more than meets the eye. The young widow at times seems to be slightly off center - she frequently repeats herself, she doesn’t seem to hear the man’s questions or comments well, and yet when he says something as slight as “Ahh”, she misinterprets his reactions completely. The man plays it straight as a gentleman. Though he thinks she is slightly strange in her mannerisms, he is polite and does not show any form of frustration - he is more intrigued by her quirkiness rather than irritated by it. “George’s Room” starts off as an awkward comedy with many portions filled with laughs. But later on when the man starts questioning her real reasons behind not entering the room herself, and what her husband and the marriage meant to her, deeper and darker suppressed emotions start to unravel. It’s a brilliant piece of writing from Alun Owen, and like his other “Half Hour Story” episodes directed by Clarke, it’s a simple one on one in a single setting. Though this time there is no battle of the sexes - it is about the woman’s awakening and realization. “George’s Room” was first broadcast on September 30th 1967 as an episode for “Half Hour Story”. Clarke’s direction of the episode is actually not the highlight of the piece. The framing is pretty standard with close-ups, the operators sometimes have trouble keeping the figures in focus leading to awkwardly framed shots and editing-wise, the timing is off paced in cutting. The performances however, are the highlights. “Half Hour Story” was an 38 episode anthology television series that was first broadcast between 1967 and 1968, produced by Rediffusion. Each episode was an individual piece of work - different stories, different characters, different settings, without weekly continuity. Alan Clarke directed 10 episodes of the series with only 7 of them currently surviving. Of the 7 episodes, the 6 surviving black and white episodes are presented on DISC THIRTEEN (DVD) while the single remaining color episode “George’s Room” is presented on DISC ONE (Blu-ray). “The Last Train Through Harecastle Tunnel” (1969) (76:03) It’s the weekend and Fowler (played by Richard O’Callaghan), a young man who is a trainspotter is using the time to take the last train scheduled to pass through Harecastle Tunnel, which is scheduled to close. While on the train, he meets an assortment of people taking the same journey, but not for the same purpose. Some find his hobby as dumb, like his coworkers. Some find his hobby fascinating such as Mrs. Dyson (played by Noel Dyson) and her husband (played by Victor Platt. Although Fowler originally envisioned his journey to be a one-man trip, it becomes a journey filled with people from all walks of life. Originally broadcast on October 1st 1969 as an episode of “The Wednesday Play”, “The Last Train Through Harecastle Tunnel” is drastically different from Clarke’s previous television productions with “Half Hour Story”, with the length and scale increased. The cast of characters are of a theatrical film’s worth, with the main character of Fowler encountering a large number of people throughout - with each of them being slightly offbeat. The soldiers he encounters are more interested in arguing and making fun of their commander than anything else. Retired train engineer Mr. Coulson (played by Joe Gladwin) is a train fanboy’s dream come true to meet, but he is bitter with comments toward black people as well as being disappointed with his flamboyantly gay son Jackie (played by Griffith Davies). Fowler is also in awe meeting Judge Grayson (played by John Le Mesurier), but awkwardly confused by his hippie daughter Beatrice (played by Angela Pleasance). But with a full 76 minutes to show, the characters get enough room to shine in their scenes, leaving a memorable mark. There is much in common with the tone of Wes Anderson films with their strangely off-center characters. His films such as ”The Darjeeling Limited” (2007) also mostly takes place on a train, and ”Rushmore” (1998) deals with a loner that is in his own little world. Clarke also worked in a differing format for “The Last Train Through Harecastle Tunnel” - on video. Most of the production was shot on PAL video format - the studio norm for many BBC productions at the time (though minor exterior shots were shot on film). Visually the format may look different but the qualities and techniques of his previous television productions with extreme close-ups and low angle shots being there, but as it was shot on video cameras which didn’t have the freeing movements available with film cameras, shots are quite still for the most part - something that would change with his following production for ”The Wednesday Play”. “Sovereign’s Company” (1970) (76:34) Andrew Cantfield (played by Gareth Forwood) and other young recruits enter a military academy and are ready for training. The young recruits are put to the test everything from details such as shoe polishing and shower washing, as well as getting along together in the barracks. But what seems to be a standard fare in militarism is everything but that - with fellow cadets starting arguments, fights breaking out, and very little in terms of camaraderie. Unlike Clarke’s previous films which were filled with occasional humor that led to emotional outbursts, “Sovereign’s Company” has very little humor and is more about the breaking point between people. It essentially becomes a war film but without the war. The intensity between the cadets leads to intensely uncomfortable situations, and sometimes leads to terrible violence. The production includes a vast array of at-the-time young actors including Forwood, Clive Francis, Larry Dann, and Oliver Cotton, and Clarke directs the production in the color film format with handheld cameras, rather than the stilted video cameras in his previous production. With it, the intensity of the freeflowing camera movements and in some scenes a documentary-like quality are reproduced. The characters are rather flat compared to the characters in previous Clarke productions, but overall the production’s theme is not about the characters but criticism on class differences, generational expectations, and a change in the youth view of war in a post- WWII and Korean War environment bordering on the increased negative reactions toward the Vietnam War. The three productions featured on DISC ONE are as different as you can get - with “George’s Room” being a short production with one man and one woman, “The Last Train Through Harecastle Tunnel” being a work of one young man meeting an array of slightly weird characters, and “Sovereign’s Company” being a serious and critical production, foreshadowing what Clarke was to explore in depth a lot more in the years to come. DISC TWO (Blu-ray) “The Hallelujah Handshake” (1970) (75:18) At an evening church gathering, Minister Geoff Evans (played by Jeremy Wilkin) is approached by a man who is new to the area interested in joining the church. Introducing himself as Henry Tobias Jones (played by Tony Calvin), he says he has helped church youth groups in the past at other places including abroad, and is interested in continuing with church youth activities. The church welcomes him with open arms, but some patrons and Evans start to find him slightly odd. Henry constantly talks about wanting to help young churchgoers to Evans, he follows Evans all the way home with a walking conversation, and he doesn’t seem to listen very well to people that talk to him. When he gives his first lecture to the church teens, he gives a lecture about the beautiful resort islands of the Bahamas, confusing the adult patrons. When he speaks to young children of the church during Sunday school, he gives a slightly disturbing speech - albeit they are words from the Bible. Evans is concerned about Henry Jones and his behavior but what are his real intentions? “The Hallelujah Handshake” was first broadcast on the 17th of December 1970 for the series “Play for Today”. Clarke directed the production on film with handheld cameras rather than the stilted video productions, taking place in various locations both inside and outside. The town and the townspeople are interesting characters especially through the opening scenes in the church - where we can hear their thoughts during the sermon - with almost all of them thinking of something other than the sermon. Starting off slightly comically with the patrons and the slightly strange character of Henry, things start to feel creepy and unsettling as we are to think the man is a possible pedophile. He constantly talks about working with youth in the past and wanting to continue his work, which does sound quite disturbing. Written by Colin Welland, the production comes as a slight disappointment due to expectations. This is not “Spotlight” or “Sleepers”, but the real intentions of Henry (though we learn that is not his real name) is not as disturbing which makes the audience a bit confused and disappointed. It may be because of the disturbing true incidents of churches and child abuse that have plagued the news that we have preconceived notions that anything dealing with a man wanting to help church youth would lead to sex abuse. It is sad to think that religion - which the intentions were to create a moral compass and stories to help guide people - have also been used to destroy, control, and cause hatred. But because of the overwhelming negatives, this also causes people to question churches, churchgoers, and religion itself. Initially I felt the payoff of “The Hallelujah Handshake” was weak. It could have been more disturbing, more critical of religious organizations, and more punishing, but that is not what the story was about - it was about the lack of trust, the dangers of trust, and the gullibility of people and that is something that doesn’t need disturbing content to show. In an additional note, one of Henry’s aliases was “John Rys-Davies”. I wonder if actor John Rhys-Davies has seen this? ”To Encourage the Others” (1972) (103:45) November 2nd, 1952 - 16 year old Christopher Craig and 19 year old Derek Bentley’s attempted robbery of a confectionary warehouse is thwarted by the police. On the rooftop of the warehouse, Derek is arrested and captured by the police while Christopher who has a gun is still on the loose. Christopher fires his weapon multiple times to scare off the officers, but one bullet fatally strikes Constable Sidney Miles. Soonafter, Christopher jumps off the rooftop in an attempted suicide though survives the fall. The trial of the murder of the officer turns to national news, especially with the final verdict - the underage Christopher Craig who shot the officer was sentenced to prison while Derek Bentley who did not fire a single bullet was sentenced to death. Broadcast on March 28th 1972, Alan Clarke’s television production of “To Encourage the Others” was based on the true crime of Christopher Craig and Derek Bentley which was also turned into a book by the same name by David Yallop in 1971, with Yallop also writing the teleplay. Opening with the intense rooftop scene of the night of November 2nd, the first hour of the production is a straight courtroom drama, with the testimonials of the police officers and the boys and the lawyers questioning both sides. The latter hour of the production is far more critical of what was just seen. Not exactly “Rashomon” but closer to that of “The Thin Blue Line” (though this production predated the Errol Morris film by a decade), the narrator of the piece critiques some of the important details that were overlooked in the courtroom scene - evidence that could have been better presented, content that was questionably brushed aside by the judge, and how justice was wrongfully served. “Let him have it!” - the words that will forever be connected to the case. When Derek (played by Charles Bolton) yelled this out to Christopher (played by Billy Hamon), did he mean that he should give up the gun? Or did he mean that he should keep firing the gun. Derek’s mental deficiency was never mentioned in court and he seemed quite unsure of the events himself, seeming confused in trial. Clarke’s direction is quite conventional in the sense that the facts are presented straightforward for the first hour, but the second hour it is all about reexamining what the audience had just seen and also what the audience possibly hadn’t seen or noticed. The latter portion also has the more disturbing content such as non-supporters of the young boys on trial sending hanging nooses to the families as “presents”, and the death by hanging scene at the end. By pacing standards it is not the most effective, but it certainly is one that makes for a second viewing. Shot on standard PAL videotape, the production is mostly indoors, whether in the courtroom or in the homes of the boys’ families, while there are some minor outdoor shots such as the shooting at the beginning. It wasn’t until 1993 that a royal pardon was granted to Derek Bentley - a full 40 years after his death. It also was given three years after the death of director Alan Clarke. DISC THREE (Blu-ray) “Under the Age” (1972) (31:18) Pouring rain outside, a pub tended by Susie (played by Paul Angelis) taking time by putting on make-up while waiting for patrons to arrive. Two men, Mike (played by Paul’s real-life younger brother Mike Angelis) and Jack (played by Stephen Bent) come in from the rain, but are not immediately served as Susie is still putting on eye shadow. The other person behind the counter who is only referred to as “Boy” (played by David Lincoln) helps with the drinks to be served to the customers instead. The two men make some comments about Susie, as Susie is obviously a man and “Susie” is obviously not his real name. Even with a little banter back and forth, Susie keeps ground - head strong and gives witty comebacks with a stern sense of self acknowledgement. “Under the Age” was first broadcast on March 20th, 1972 as part of the TV series “Thirty-Minute Theater” and takes place entirely inside the pub setting, with a multicamera setup for the continuous dialogue in the 30 minute runtime. Essentially a stage play with an entire cast of five people - Susie, the boy, the male patrons Mike and Jake, along with the later appearing two female patrons Alice and Sandra (played by Rosalind Elliot and Sylvia Brayshay respectively), the title comes directly from the two female patrons who Susie calls out for being too young for booze. Susie’s character is a true centerpiece of the production and is interestingly a proud, righteous, and headstrong gay individual - quite different from the stereotypical sissy homosexual characters including the Jackie character in director Alan Clarke’s “The Last Train Through Harecastle Tunnel” made a few years prior. Susie is not afraid to say “sod off!” or “get out, you dirty bitches!” to customers, or scolding and physically abusing the employed boy. Susie is the pub-master and the bar-missus rolled into one, and any patron of either gender would be intimidated. Susie does not fit into the societal terms in gender and sexuality of the time of the early 1970s, and it will take a lot longer for major acceptance of homosexual characters on British television which can be argued is still not completely accepted. The notion that the story had a crossdressing lead but did not make that the biggest issue of the story is one of the strong points of the production. It is not about one character being outside the societal norm - but it is accepting the disorderly behavior of the so-called “straight” people - underage drinking, carefree sexual encounters, and disregard for manners in general. Susie may be the “straightest” of them all! “Horace” (1972) (90:13) Horace (played by Barry Jackson) is an adult male that lives at home with his mother, gets daily injections for his diabetes, and is a little slow compared to the average adult. He cannot read, was once institutionalized, but still is able to find happiness by working at a joke factory - making gag related toys and goods that make him laugh and give him a little bit of income. He can only work part time for three days a week, and when he is at home he tends the chickens on the farm. Then one day he meets Gordon. Gordon (played by Stephen Tantum) is a young boy who is not the best student in school. He frequently daydreams, does not care for the school system, and does not have things well in his home life. His mother is more interested in her next date with a man more than spending time with her son, and he pretty much lives as a loner - no friends or family that cares about him. Rebellious at heart, but imaginative, sporting a cape which he believes or likes to think it can protect him via magic. After meeting Horace, the two spark a very unlikely friendship. First broadcast on March 21st 1972, “Horace” is equally a story about Horace and also about Gordon, and apparently was originally conceived as a piece centering on Gordon and with Horace as a supporting figure. Gordon is a kid but acts like an adult - taking care of himself while his mum is away but at the same time he likes comics and fantasy, and is a kid at heart. Horace is an adult but acts like a child - the way he speaks, the way he acts, his playful attitude, and cautiousness toward what his mother tells him. The two complement each other but it is not a happy smiley mutual friendship. Horace likes to laugh and joke around but Gordon does not laugh, does not smile, and has trust issues. But he sees Horace as someone that is innocent and not the usual adult figure that he has come to dislike, such as his mother (played by Christine Hargreaves, his absent father, his teacher and the headmaster, Dick the crazy balding man (played by Talfryn Thomas). Alan Clarke’s production is quite conventional in terms of storytelling and directing in “Horace”, without fancy editing or techniques that truly show a sense of style and substance, but this is where the performances shine stronger, as with “Under the Age”. While that was shot on a soundstage in a single location, “Horace” was shot on location in Leeds and Halifax with many interior and exterior locations on a bigger scale and a longer 1.5 hour runtime. Barry Jackson plays the part with innocence that is like a precursor to Forrest Gump though obviously without the chocolates, and went on to continue portraying the character in the ”Horace” series which lasted six episodes in 1982, but largely forgotten. For Stephen Tantum, “Horace” was his first and last appearance in an acting production sadly. He certainly had a great actor’s face even at such a young age, but did not continue in the field and stepped away from the limelight. DISC FOUR (Blu-ray) “The Love-Girl and the Innocent” (1973) (127:09) Taking place in a prison camp post WWII 1945 in the Soviet Union, three truckloads of new prisoners are brought in. In the camp, prisoners are each assigned to various jobs for both men and women, in which most of the people are imprisoned under Article 58 of the Russian SFSR Penal Code - promoting anti-Soviet remarks or propaganda. Nemov (played by David Leland) is a prisoner working as the production chief. He is ordered very strictly and uncaringly by the prison guard superiors, but he does what he can to make sure the mistreated and malnourished prisoners are taken care of, even if it's just little that he can do. He is frequently visited by fellow prisoners who offer bribes or other advances for better placement, but he is a man of honesty and works to be fair to everyone, even if it means frustrating some of the prisoners and some of the superiors. He then meets Lyuba (played by Gabrielle Lloyd), a new female prisoner who slowly captures his heart. But circumstances of the prison start to change with the new arrival Khomich (played by Richard Durden), who is not kind hearted but is willing to take risks to make sure he gets trusted by the prison superiors, threatening Nemov’s position. “The Love-Girl and the Innocent” was written by Russian author Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn as a four-act play. Based on his real imprisonment in a labor camp due to derogatory comments about Josef Stalin written in a private letter, he was sentenced to serve 8 years from 1945. Following his sentence he was exiled to Kazakhstan in 1953 where he started to write poems, short stories, and plays freely but unpublished. With “Khrushchev's Secret Speech” in 1956, Solzhenitsyn was exonerated and was able to work as a teacher. His written works were published in the 1960s - with the play “The Love-Girl and the Innocent” in 1969. This was not an easy play to perform - a large cast of 50 performers, a three-story structure for one of the setpieces, and most dangerously, molten iron being poured in a foundry setpiece. The BBC “Play of the Month” episode of “The Love-Girl and the Innocent” was adapted by Alan Clarke who had to work under the challenge of adapting the epic play into a television production with a limited budget. First to cut costs were the elimination of characters - the fifty speaking parts were significantly decreased to about twenty, cutting various subplots. The production was shot entirely on videotape with multiple cameras simultaneously, cutting film processing costs. Many exterior scenes were shot at night to hide what was supposed to be the massive prison camp. But there was attention to detail with the costuming, the set design, and the foundry with real molten iron used in the production. There are many familiar names to be mentioned in the casting of the production. David Leland plays the lead in his first of many productions with Clarke directing. Gabrielle Lloyd as the “Love-Girl”, the instantly recognizable Patrick Stewart as the boss of the foundry Gurvich, and John Kane playing Chegenyov - all appear in their one and only Alan Clarke directed production, but have gone on to have lengthy acting careers. Barry Johnson who played as the title character in Clarke’s previous production of “Horace” also makes an appearance as Gai. The production was first broadcast on September 16th, 1973. With other prison dramas such as the male-dominated “The Great Escape” or “Stalag 17”, “The Love-Girl and the Innocent” sets itself apart by centralizing on a love story rather than male camaraderie. Even with the cutting down of the original play, it somehow still feels overlong with the two hour plus runtime. But then again some of the stories feel a little incomplete with the cuts. On a positive note the production has a great cast of characters and very well directed scenes which should not come as a surprise. “Penda’s Fen” (1974) (88:32) Stephen (played by Spencer Banks) is a teenager attending a military academy. Brought up in a Protestant household with his father (played by John Atkinson) being a pastor, Stephen is going through a time of awakening and questioning of everything he knows and believes. He loves his classical records and believes that composer Elgar’s 1900 composition “The Dream of Gerontius” is the greatest piece of music ever made, and tries to deconstruct the composition by studying the notes and the melodies. As a cadet, he is scrawny and not a sportsman, sitting out from PE. With his wimpiness in physical stature, he is made fun of not only by classmates but by the milkman Joel (played by Ron Smerczak) who jokes about the future of England to be made of weakling soldiers. Stephen also has confusion about his own sexuality - worrying whether he is homosexual or not, as he suddenly starts having fantasies of boys. His religion also comes into question in a series of bizarre events with nightmares of devils and Pagan rituals. His confusion leads toward his madness and self doubt… “Penda’s Fen” was made for the BBC series “Play for Today” and broadcast on March 21st, 1974. Many consider it one of Clarke’s deepest and best works, but Clarke himself has stated that he was completely unsure with doubt as to understanding the story himself. Written by David Rudkin, Clarke asked Rudkin about the source materials - Penda, King of Mercia, Sir Edward Elgar, Manichaeism, etc. and how much research he would have to do to fully study before production. Rudkin replied that his own script is the only thing necessary and everything else would naturally follow. The story of the main character is truly filled with almost everything that comes along puberty - the sexual awakening, questioning about knowledge - from religion, family, science, history, and society. Shot on film in various locations of mostly outdoors, the production is has many incredibly unusual scenes - dream sequences, hallucinations and nightmares make significant portions of the story. The suggestive encounter with the Joel character, the throwing of dirt (or is it supposed to be feces?) against Stephen, the Pagan ritual with the hands of children being chopped off, the encounter with Elgar in the wheelchair, and the scenes with a devil following Stephen, like a precursor to "Donnie Darko" - another story dealing with a teen's sexual awakening, religious awakening, and the questioning of reality and society. “Penda’s Fen” may be the closest thing to the horror genre that Clarke had directed. Some have written that “Penda’s Fen” is a story dealing with homosexuality directly, but the story is much more than that and is a culmination of many life changing experiences stacked on top of each other - and to single out the other portions would be unfair. It is dense, deep, thought provoking, and altogether quite bizarre, showcasing how amazing creative talent could produce such works for television back in the 1970s. For many years ”Penda’s Fen” was incredibly difficult to watch, being rebroadcast only a few times, and this Blu-ray and DVD editions being the first officially released editions of the production on home video. DISC FIVE (Blu-ray) “A Follower For Emily” (1974) (63:39) Emily (played by Betty Woolfe) talks about how in her youth she had many “followers” - male suitors here and there, something to brag about but the years have passed on. She got married, had kids, and now a few decades later she lives along many other nursing home residents and among them is Harry (played by Herbert Ramskill). Emily and Harry occasionally sneak a bit of whiskey, have small talk, and are the talk of the nursing home to the other residents there. The two of them decide to take their innocent and quaint relationship one step further - by getting married which makes everyone in the nursing home - residents and nurses alike, extremely delighted. “A Follower For Emily” was shot in an actual nursing home with a large cast of characters, with Alan Clarke directing and written by Brian Clark. The production plays like a Steven Soderbergh multi-angle movie on a miniscule scale - there are multiple subplot stories of the many residents of the nursing home - talking of their past, their families, and some losing their minds to dementia such as poor Mrs. Brown (played by Jeanne Doree). But the production is one that surprisingly falls flat due to its realistic stance. Playing like a documentary, nothing especially exciting or dramatic plays out in the production and while the audience waits for increased drama, there is not much to be had. Did we cut into a feed of the CCTV of a nursing home? The static cameras and standard lighting makes it seem so. With other geriatric themed films such as Pixar’s “Up” (2009) or the underrated animated film “Wrinkles” (2011), where the essence of aging alone and the friendship bond of the elderly are very central to the emotional core, “A Follower For Emily” is too much surface and not enough core. You barely feel for the characters as they cut back and forth every few minutes to other characters in unnecessary and uninteresting plots - possibly to pad out the runtime. In a positive note, there is a sense of sadness that this is where the audience will eventually lead their lives to - and it’s not pretty, exciting, and quite scary to think in realistic terms. But other productions like the aforementioned “Wrinkles” do a much better job with real heart and soul (even if it is animated). “A Follower For Emily” aired as part of the “Play for Today” series on BBC on July 4th, 1974, and reactions were quite mixed. Audiences felt that it was more like a documentary and not a drama at all. Some felt it was simply boring or uninteresting. Considering the career of Alan Clarke and his work, it is an interesting point to see him doing work completely different from the last in terms of storytelling and visual style - in which this production had not much at all in visuals. It certainly is a creatively low production, and a lower point for the collection. “Diane” (1975) (96:31) Diane Weaver (played by Janine Duvitski) is a teenage girl living with her single father. She is an awkward girl with is picked on a bit by the local boys, though there is one particular boy who sees her through romantic eyes. Jim (played by Paul Copley) is nice to her, innocently asks her for kisses, but is a church youth who does not want to take things further because of his faith. He asks Diane to watch him play soccer with his team and also to go the church with him, but she is not keen on him as much as he is to her. Diane’s father (played by Frank Mills) is a stern, angry, and bitter old man with a bad combover. He often yells at the boys in the area and he is very stern with his only daughter. Diane has a deep secret in which she doesn’t know how to reveal or who to reveal to, but in turn would change many of the lives around her. “Diane” was originally a two-part production but was condensed into a single production due to a strike and with production schedules. Although much of the dialogue and central elements were kept by director Alan Clarke, the writer Jonathan Hales was displeased with the result to have his name removed from the final credits and replaced with “David Agnew” - the “Alan Smithee” of BBC productions. “Diane” was a production that dealt with a very disturbing subject rarely mentioned or thought of in filmed productions. (Warning that it is impossible to discuss the rest of “Diane” without a major spoiler point and the rest of this paragraph will be with spoilers throughout.) “Diane” deals with the disturbing topic of incest. The image of Diane and her father having a relationship beyond that of a traditional parent and child is horrifying to say the least, and to add to that is she becomes pregnant with his child whom she gives birth in secret, but the baby is stillborn. The reveal is not like a modern Lifetime Movie of the Week, but is done in a very restrained way that it makes you question the previous scenes just watched. Why was the father so mean towards other boys? Why did Diane get so angry at Jim calling him names? What did she throw away in the dumpster? - The answer to the last question is disturbingly obvious. Nothing is shown in graphic detail, and when Diane describes about what happened to the pastor Terry (played by Tim Preese), she is absolutely innocently nonchalant. She is not disturbed, she is not angry. She is more confused that something seemed wrong to the eyes of others. She is a young girl with a messed up moral compass due to her upbringing and like many other real victims, is not sure because that is how they were raised. “Diane” was first broadcast on July 9th, 1975 as part of the “BBC2 Playhouse” series. Even if the writer wanted his name off the credits, “Diane” was a fascinating, disturbing, and amazing piece of work. Janine Duvitski was 22 during the production while playing a teenager, and even if she did look a little older, she does an amazing job with a girl going through unfathomable circumstances. Paul Copley was 30 and looked his age, so playing a love interest to a teenager is a bit disturbing on the physical side, but leave that to suspension of disbelief. Besides the great performances, it was Alan Clarke’s direction that started to mature further. Being shot on film, the camera had freedom with movement, but Clarke used both moving camera shots along with still shots - for extremely long periods. Some static shot scenes last for a very long 5 minutes or so with the actors continuously playing, like on stage. “Diane” is one of the more disturbing and upsetting productions in Clarke’s works and that is fascinating considering how non-graphic it is visually and with only the implied facts. Very fascinating to see that the two Clarke productions on this disc present a mirror opposite - one being a creatively low video production dealing with the disenchanted elderly and the other being an amazing emotional film production dealing with a broken youth. DISC SIX (Blu-ray) “Funny Farm” (1975) (92:40) Alan Welbeck (played by Tim Preece) has been working at a mental institution as a nurse for the last three years. The patients come in many forms. Alan (played by Allan Surtees) is a patron who is aware of his mental illness and frequently comments on the surroundings and other patients. Jeffrey (played by John Locke) is a young teen who thinks he’s Elvis. Walter (played by Terence Davies - not the director) claims he has died once before. Mr. Chadd (played by Wally Thomas) loves to sing. Alan is the head nurse taking care of the male patients in the understaffed institution throughout the days, but he has made a serious decision that will affect the entire place - to quit his job. “Funny Farm” by title, but it is definitely not a comedy. There are occasional humorous moments from the cast of characters and their interactions, but for most of the time the moments that could be funny in any other location becomes a more serious matter considering the institutional setting. With films such as “12 Monkeys” (1995) showing mental institutions as places where wackos are placed, “Funny Farm” is closer to “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” (1975) in which there are some patrons that are not completely insane, with even some being aware that they are a bit on the “non-normal” side of society. The production shows that mental illness was a serious issue at the time that not many discussed or knew about. Writer Roy Minton actually went to institutions to observe and study the daily routines of the staff and the mannerisms of the patients to carefully illustrate the difficulties and constraints. Due to realism more than sensationalism, it is not built on weirdness and laughs but some scenes are heartbreaking such as the single shot uncut monologue by Sid (played by Michael Bilton), or the seriousness of what would happen to the place if nurse Alan were to leave - as they are understaffed and struggling as it is. “Funny Farm” was broadcast as part of “Play for Today” on February 27th, 1975. Shot on videotape, Clarke’s directing is done in a very observational style - with long shots with long takes during the scenes with nurse Alan with the patients, while scenes of Alan with other staff members are with more closeups and medium shots. It’s very well directed, well acted, and not overly flashy, making the content stand out much more than the style. The production received positive reactions including BBC mental care experts who recommended it to be shown as training and as examples for mental care nursing staff. “Scum” (1977) (74:37) Carlin (played by Ray Winstone), Davis (played by Martin Phillips) and Angel (played by Davidson Knight) are newly placed in a borstal - a reform school for juvenile delinquents. In essence it is a prison where the boys are under constant surveillance in strict and torturous conditions by the adult staff. Carlin is headstrong and wants to be left alone and serve his time without trouble. But that is not to be the case as he learns that the “Daddy” of the institution’s wing is Pongo Banks (played by John Blundell) and he along with Richards (played by Phil Daniels) give Carlin a beatdown to show who is boss. Angel being black has some racial hatred encountered, and Davis being a scrawny fellow is constantly fearing bullying. Though not all the juveniles are considered dangerous or violent. Archer (played by David Threlfall) is a vegetarian, an atheist, and an individual freethinker. He respects authority by smiling and feeling positive, but he does antagonize and question the adults behavior and tactics without undermining their positions. Carlin respects ones like Archer, but knows the only way to make it through the sentence is to show who is the real boss - through violent methods. The television production of “Scum” was made for broadcast by the BBC in 1977 with a script written by Roy Minton and directed by Alan Clarke but it was pulled from schedules - as the BBC found it overly violent and disturbing to be shown on television. It was widely publicized in the media that the finished production was unusually banned by the broadcasters themselves. A select few critics were able to see the production illegally, after producer Margaret Matheson organized a special screening and there was considerable debate on whether it could or couldn’t be shown. The BBC had final call and decided not to air it, which called for outside producers to consider buying the rights to the finished film to show theatrically, but that did not transpire. Instead, financers were able to “remake” the production as a feature film with Clarke directing and most of the cast returning for the film, eventually completed and released in 1979. Some scenes deleted from the television production were reinstated and additional changes were made, with none of the original BBC footage used for the new production. It’s a very interesting case of two versions of the same story filmed two years apart with most of the same cast and crew. Alan Clarke pulled out all the stops for “Scum”, with its bloody physical violence shown on screen, from the razor blade cutting, racial violence, severe beatings, and the horrendous male rape scene - though there were a few pre-censorship cuts with an additional suicide scene and a few shots of onscreen violence cut. The production was very critical of borstals as reform schools in the UK - which were eventually abolished with The Criminal Justice Act of 1982. The adult staff treated the boys like …. ”scum” offensively beating the kids without care, doing little to make the kids reform for the future. The production was shot on 16mm film stock, with many handheld shots filled with tracking shots to convey a sense of uncontrolled environment. It was one of Clarke’s most impressive casts assembled with the young kids - Ray Winstone in one of his earliest film performances is undeniably strong, Phil Daniels would eventually play another iconic teen role in “Quadrophenia” two years later and also costarring with Winstone, and David Threlfall gives an outstanding early performance as the unlikely “inmate” who says the most eloquent lines with full confidence while relaxed - just to name a few of the many amazing young talent whose careers went much further. “Scum” is undeniably bleak - there is no happy ending and the ending itself only seems like the beginning of worse things to come. It was not until 1991, a year after Clarke’s death that the BBC finally lifted the ban and broadcast the original version of “Scum” on television to very positive reactions. It would have been interesting to compare the television and the theatrical versions of “Scum” together for this set, but this is essentially “Alan Clarke at the BBC” and the theatrical version was made independently. For people interested, the 1979 theatrical version of “Scum” is available on DVD and Blu-ray separately, with the Blu-ray editions coming from a 2K restoration. Like the previous disc, this also celebrates two productions of mirror opposites of two productions set in institutions - shot on video vs shot on film, elderly vs youth, the main viewpoint from the staff vs the main viewpoint from the incarcerated. Two more fascinating work from a fascinating filmmaker. DISC SEVEN (Blu-ray) “Bukovsky” (1977) Soviet activist Vladimir Bukovsky was an opponent of his own country’s regime. Frequently arrested for spreading anti-communist propaganda around the country as well as trying to inform the western world about the ongoings in the Soviet Union, he famously criticized the government of labeling independent anti-communist thinkers as “insane” by inept psychiatrists, imprisoning them, drugging them, and suppressing them. As freethinkers and activists outside of the Soviet Union started to gather for increasing protests and demonstrations with his name, freedom came for Bukovsky in 1976 when he was forcibly deported to the UK under huge media hype with his arrival. One particular figure that was helpful in voicing concerns for his freedom and for human rights issues was English actor David Markham who helped Bukovsky settle in the UK. Alan Clarke was dating Markham’s daughter Jehane Markham at the time, and set out to document the release, arrival, and settling of Bukovsky intercut with interviews - Bukovsky talking about his experiences, David Markham talking about political and moral views, along with words from protesters at Trafalgar Square and David’s wife Olive in the kitchen at the cottage. Clarke had unprecedented access, as he was able to film with his tiny three person crew a moment that was very strong in the public eye. Although titled “Bukovsky” the film is equally about Vladimir Bukovsky and about David Markham. Markham was always about doing what was right - he famously refused to fight in World War II and was imprisoned for a year. He was part of CAPA (Campaign Against Psychiatric Abuse) to raise awareness of misuses of psychiatry for political purposes, being exactly what Bukovsky went through. The documentary doesn’t trace a linear line from start to finish and is not a complete story of what the men went through or what lengths, so audiences not familiar with the background of Bukovsky or Soviet imprisonments of political activists might have a little issue catching up and puzzling the pieces together. The finished documentary of “Bukovsky” was never shown on television and was screened only a handful of times to a small groups of people. As the film had long gone into obscurity, it was only in 2015 that Clarke’s daughter Molly Clarke uncovered a 16mm print of the film for inclusion for the boxset. The print was complete, in color, and in a watchable state, but unfortunately there was no soundtrack available. Cameraman Grenville Middleton was able to find rushes, outtakes, and soundtrack elements through his own archive of materials, but the soundtrack was still incomplete. Luckily, just two weeks before finalized masters a full soundtrack was discovered and was quickly resynched to the footage. Audiences should be very fortunate that the film can finally be seen after many years in obscurity. “Nina” (1978) Nina (played by Eleanor Bron) is a nurse at a psychiatric hospital in the Soviet Union. One of the patients is Yuri (played by Jack Shepherd) is a political activist who has been arrested by the government and declared “insane” by government psychiatrists, as was often the case for anyone “anti-communist”. Nina knows that there are many people in western countries that are supporting for Yuri’s freedom and for changes to happen. Nina becomes helpful in Yuri’s steps toward freedom, as she also believes in him and the cause for political change. Living an unhappy life in an unhappy marriage in an unhappy country, they plan for personal changes as well - Nina decides to get a divorce, get married to Yuri and so she and her son could start a new life outside of The Soviet Union. But will they be able to find true freedom? Or will the effects of a new marriage tear things down? If the outline of “Nina” sounds echoingly familiar to ”Bukovsky”, it should be no surprise. David Markham’s daughter Jehane Markham wrote the screenplay for “Nina” based on the experiences of Soviet dissidents she knew and had talked with. Vladimir Bukovsky’s arrival in the UK was filled with time in front of cameras, interviewed by the media, and being made aware by the public making “freedom” an extremely busy and pressuring time. Dr. Marina Voikhanskaya who was also featured in “Bukovsky” had a very similar experience to the character of Nina - marrying an activist also named Yuri and having a son detained in The Soviet Union while she was able to experience “freedom”. Whether she had an unhappy and troubling marriage was up to the fiction writer. “Nina” is more about a man and a woman and the troubling effects of environment and circumstances on marriage. Rather than a political film about injustice, the film is closer to a John Cassavetes directed drama with crumbling realism displayed - arguments, intense drama, and emotional breakdowns are devastating to watch. There are still comedic elements to lighten the mood such as when Yuri puts on Nina’s panties unknowingly, but overall this is a breakdown of a marriage from start to finish with an ambiguous ending. In the end what really is freedom when you feel trapped inside? ”Nina” first aired as part of the “Play for Today” series on October 17th, 1978. “Bukovsky” and ”Nina” are a perfect pairing of a double feature on the seventh disc of this set even if “Bukovsky” is more like a supplementary feature of “Nina”. Both features are equally fascinating in differing ways. DISC EIGHT (Blu-ray) “Danton’s Death” (1978) (94:41) Georges Jacques Danton, a leading figure of the French Revolution was executed by the guillotine on April 5th, 1794. Equally powerful and controversial, Danton’s life has been the subject of many books, plays, and films through the last few hundred years. German writer Georg Büchner wrote ”Danton’s Death” in 1835, when he was just 21 years old albeit in a censored form with removal of sexual innuendo and some softening of political issues. Though Büchner died at the young age of 23 due to Typhus and was not able to see his works such as “Danton’s Death” performed, the plays resonated years later with the re-publications of his landmarks such as the unfinished masterwork “Woyzeck”. Director Alan Clarke had thoughts of making “Woyzeck” into a production for the BBC but instead he turned to Büchner ‘s “Danton’s Death” for adaptation instead. Norman Rodway played Danton with a towering presence and empowering voice. It has been said in historical reports that Danton was a very tall man with a strong voice so the casting was a fitting one. Maximilien Robespierre was played by Ian Richardson with conviction as a rival to Danton. For production work it was treated more or less as a stageplay - cameras were mostly fixed positions with very little in room for movement from actors. The multiple stages were very largely built with long lenses capturing the performances for both wide shots and closeups of faces. Ideas seem to be places, but unfortunately the end result of the production was lacking. The performances for the most part were stoic and restrained with the exception of the vocal performances. As a radio play this would have been a winner. But visually it was boring and wasted. The large sets seemed smaller than they actually were with limited set dressings and limited cast of characters. Danton being a leader was overshadowed by Danton the whorehouse loving sexual liberal and which leads to Robespierre’s character seemingly like a eunuch or sexually repressed character instead. Was this the plan? If so it succeeded. There wasn’t much for who to root for and the final caption of the additional deaths seemed like they didn’t know how else to end the production altogether. ”Danton’s Death” aired as part of the BBC series ”Play of the Month” on the 23rd of April, 1978. For a better insight and biographical film, the 1983 film “Danton” directed by Andrzej Wadja starring Gerard Depardieu as Danton is more recommended. “Beloved Enemy” (1981) (68:53) The British tire company UKM is in negotiations to expand their business across the iron curtain - to have factories established in the Soviet Union. As the UK heads meet with Soviet businessmen in the London offices, they try to finalize the deals which could lead to positive business growth and business relations. But when UKM offer a deal of 50/50 - with half of the profits for the UK and half to the Soviet side, the Russian businessmen have extreme objections which could terminate the entire deal… In the late 1970s, the Cold War was seemingly in the lukewarm state, with no particularly serious dangers of nuclear war between the West and Soviet, but always with an underlying point of near eruption like a semi-active volcano. Politically there was a large sense of distrust, but businesses were eager to make a mark even if political ties were still questionable. Pepsi-cola was the first American businesses to make a direct deal with the Soviet Union back in 1972 with sales of their beverage in The USSR in exchange for the western distribution of Soviet vodka. Charles Levinson’s book “Vodka-Cola” (1980) chronicled the event and was the partial basis of Alan Clarke’s production of “Beloved Enemy”, written by David Leland. The production was initially written as a straightforward look at the process in documentary form with no particular characterization or drama between characters. BBC was not particularly crazy about the drama relying on business negotiation rather than characters, so Leland try to add subplots dealing with family, though ultimately they were not filmed. Clarke was not interested in additional subplots but rather about the procedure of the negotiations. “Beloved Enemy” did come right at the cusp of political change - Reagan, Thatcher, Gorbachev, so there was an underlying present-ness to the production. Stylistically it was quite interesting that there were documentary-like aspects of the film camera following the actions, such as the walk-and-talk of characters like in < a href=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0815070/>Aaron Sorkin TV productions in many scenes or the eavesdropping in on the men’s room discussions (or disgust) against the Russians and their ways. But without the additional drama between characters or with basic characterizations, the whole production is colder than…. The Cold War. If “Mad Men” had no “characters” but was only about how the negotiations took place, the show may be instructive but an utter bore to watch. There are some fascinating points to find in “Beloved Enemy” but overall it is a bore. The eighth disc of the “Dissent and Disruption” set is a combination of two duds - Clarke had an amazing eye but these two productions are not prime examples of his greatness. Though they are both interesting examples of the diverse nature of Clarke’s filmography. DISC NINE (DVD) “Psy-Warriors” (1981) (73:08) Three people are brought into a military prison following a bombing that killed six people. Stone (played by John Duttine), Turner (played by Rosalind Ayres) and Richards (played by Derek O’Connor) are the suspects that go through torturous interrogation and humiliation and not given any basic rights the average prisoner would receive. They are constantly yelled at by the guards during every little step, barely given time for sleep, their heads frequently covered with a black cloth bag, and constantly in bright white environments. The prisoners are reluctant to give out information to the guards who do not tell them much information - as to where they are and what would happen to them. But when a breaking point comes near, a huge revelation comes that they are not in fact suspects for the bombing at all… “Psy-Warriors” was written by David Leland in his second writing collaboration with director Alan Clarke. Partially a critical look at military interrogation from the stories of interrogation in the Vietnam War as well as the IRA in Northern Ireland, the production was visceral, unflinching, and shocking. The white-walled area is not the usual dirty prison but similar to that of a hospital setting, and the cleanliness and brightness make a stark clash with the horrifying torturous acts. Spoilers are to follow from here It’s hard to discuss “Psy-Warriors” without revealing the twist halfway through - that the prisoners are not in fact prisoners but they are fellow soldiers having been put through an experiment in psychological warfare. The “The Manchurian Candidate” twist is not a complete surprise, but how the soldiers interrogate using techniques seen or heard about at Guantanamo Bay and Abu-Ghraib are absolutely disturbing, especially for a television production. Even footage of the public execution of Nguyễn Văn Lém being shot in the head is also shown in full. It’s very strange to think that Clarke’s “Scum” was banned by the BBC in 1977 but “Psy-Warriors” which was way more violent and disturbing was allowed to air. To add to the controversy, the production aired on October 12th, 1981 as part of the “Play for Today” series the day IRA prisoner Francis Hughes died following a hunger strike. He was the second of the prisoners to die - the first being Bobby Sands following a 66 day hunger strike a week before. Whether good or bad timing, the production did receive fair attention from critics praising the work and viewers disturbed with the content being so timely. It’s one of Clarke’s most visceral works and one that will give nightmares. ”Baal” (1982) (63:34) Baal (played by David Bowie) is an artist, a poet, a musician, a womanizer - a man of “anti-society”. Though he rejects the bourgeois society, it is they who want to publish his work. But fuck that! Baal does not care for the rich to get richer from his work, but instead he lives his life the way he wants and acts accordingly. Constantly with a scruffy bears, yellowed teeth, dirty clothes, and raggedy hair, he finds happiness by performing his poetry and music for the commoners of the town at the local pub and getting trashed more than anything else. Though many find his lifestyle morally decrepit and disgusting, he also feels that he has not had a true brush with happiness… Based on the play written by German writer Bertoldt Brecht in 1918, Clarke’s English language rendition of “Baal” was an experiment in theater and television. The sets are designed like stage plays - the rich bourgeois homes are decorated with beautifully fine details while the home of Baal and the pub are grimy and nasty with its details. The visuals are mostly static but the standout portions of the production are the splitscreen interstitials. Clarke had discussed using splitscreen for his production of “Danton’s Death”, but only came fully realized with “Baal”. But rather than the visual style, the most talked about point of the production was the casting of David Bowie as the titular character. Bowie was at a crossroads in his career. As a musician Bowie’s last studio album was 1980’s “Scary Monsters”, which was commercially and artistically fairly successful. At the time Bowie’s manager was Tony Defries, who sneakily made Bowie sign a contract that would give management 50% of the royalties. In an order of defiance, Bowie made albums that were artistically creative but commercially unviable. His biggest hit at the time was the collaboration with Queen “Under Pressure” (1981), in which he didn’t make a penny as he gave up all his rights to the song (for spite against Defries?). For acting, he was also not looking for commercial viability but an artistic one, which comes to “Baal”. As there were similarities to Bowie’s real life as a musician that went against convention, the substance abuse that led to a personal downfall, and his standard for anti-commerciality are like mirror images. But as for the play and the language, Bowie owns it. His performance as Baal is dirty, sexy, and soulful while being able to use his vocal chops for song performances and interstitials. Though real life would prove much different later - as the character of Baal would die alone in the woods unknown while Bowie would die at the age of 69 earlier this year with millions mourning his passing. In addition to the production airing on March 2nd, 1982 on BBC, Bowie also released an EP of compositions entitled “David Bowie in Bertolt Brecht's Baal” a month prior, with very good reviews for both the televised production and for the 5-track EP, even though the EP had no particular “hits”. Bowie was able to add yet another uncommercial disc to his discography, and it almost seemed like this was planned. The following year in 1983, his contract with manager Defries expired, which gave him the option to move to a better recording contract. He settled with EMI records and released “Let’s Dance” that year, which became Bowie’s biggest selling album to date with multiple hit singles and resurgence in his career finding a new pop audience. Some called it “selling out to the masses” while Bowie probably saw it as a big middle finger to his former manager thinking “You’re not getting any of this!” For years “Baal” was one of the rarest pieces in Clarke’s and Bowie’s filmographies. The EP was easily obtainable but most people who bought the record were not familiar with the television play that accompanied it. Thankfully with rights negotiated it is finally able to be seen on home video with the release of the ”Dissent and Disruption” collection. Following the disappointing works on the previous disc, the ninth disc in the set contains some of Clarke’s best works, and least seen. DISC TEN (Blu-ray) “Stars of the Roller State Disco” (1984) (71:56) Taking place in an alternate 1984, teens acquire work skills and receive job placement news at a roller skate disco / juvenile center. Television monitors frequently update the teens throughout the day from day to night while the teens wait for their number to be called by a job placement officer. In the meantime, the young folks play arcade games, acquire physical skills such as construction or carpentry, and of course roller skate around the rink. In the middle of the rink are bunkbeds - for the teens that are permanently there until a job placement comes. The people there are carefully watched and monitored by government standards - they cannot just roam the streets freely. They are allowed to leave the premises if they have parental permission to return home. If they are homeless or have a juvenile delinquent background they are not allowed to leave. Carly (played by Perry Benson) has been at the roller state disco for three months and is not willing to return home until he finds a good job requiring his skills - furniture building is his talent. His parents want him to return home but he refuses. His good natured girlfriend Paulette (played by Cathy Murphy) willingly enters the place on her own, pretending to be in need of a job so she could talk some sense into Carly. Others include Derek and Sharon (played by Gary Beadle and Suzette Llewellyn) are a young black couple who are staying there together looking for a better opportunity. Margaret (played by Kate Hardie) has a tragic and sad background and her friend Janice (played by Catherine Clarke) is there to help her through the rough times. The retro-future of the 1980s is memorably tacky, cheesy, and got many things of the future “wrong” in hindsight - from the fashion, the tech, the lingo, and more. “Escape from New York” (1982) predicted New York in 1997 would become a prison island. “Back to the Future Part II” (1989) predicted flying cars for 2015 but that didn’t happen either. “Akira” (1988) predicted the 2020 Olympics would be held in Tokyo… oh wait... That’s actually happening! Getting back on topic, “Stars of the Roller State Disco” may or may not fall into that category. It is never mentioned the year that the story takes place. It could easily be in an alternate near future. But most likely it is an alternate “present” - the year of production being 1984. The George Orwell penned dystopian novel was published in 1949 and has been on conscious minds for many years with people actually wondering if the controlled world would actually become reality by that year. It didn’t, but that never stopped art and entertainment to capitalize on it. The film adaptation of the novel “1984” was released that year. Apple Computers produced a television commercial directed by Ridley Scott that used the theme of controlled oppression of Big Brother. “Stars of the Roller State Disco” is very much inspired by “1984” - Big Brother is always watching over everyone - or in this case Big Sister: “Voicespeak” played by Christina Greatrex on the television monitors. Written by Michael Hastings and directed by Alan Clarke, this production is one of the least talked about works in Clarke’s filmography as most call it a minor work. True it is cheesy, the acting is not the best, and it is more geared as a high school video production with its cast and setting. But personally speaking, I loved it and it is an underappreciated gem. First of all, Clarke’s filmography can be divided into two camps - Pre-SteadiCam productions and SteadiCam productions. Clarke had always been interested in the moving camera, as productions such as many of his film productions made use of a moving camera rather than the static television works. He had seen director Stephen Frears editing a production in which he used SteadiCam shots for smooth motion. After seeing the footage, he knew he had to use the technology to its fullest for his future productions. “Stars of the Roller State Disco” was a video production shot in standard definition, which for previous Clarke productions almost always used a fairly steady camera without movement. Taking place in a roller disco, it seems like the camera operator was on skates as well. Crisscrossing through the roller rink in extremely long takes with action constantly in the frame, it’s amazing the camera operator didn’t bump into rollerskaters or anything else during some of those long takes. Although I imagine there were outtakes of people bumping in to each other. The choreography in many scenes are absolutely stunning, like a dance between the camera, the actors, and the roller skating extras in a 360 degree environment. “Skatetown USA” mixed with “1984” directed by Paul Thomas Anderson on videotape is one way to describe it. By the mid-1980s, there were high unemployment figures in Britain under Prime Minister Thatcher’s tough conservative regime. “Stars of the Roller State Disco” did parallel that with real life, and it’s easy to compare the “Voicespeak” to Thatcher herself and watch the disillusioned youth on screen with real disillusioned youth in the real world. The production dealt with other issues such as homelessness, drug use, abandonment by society, suicide, and overall cold bureaucratic structure between government vs citizens. Like many other Clarke productions, it is one that does not shy away from controversial topics even in the playful environment, and the ending is not exactly a happy one. The story takes place in a single day from morning to night and entirely takes place within the establishment with the only glimpse of outdoors being a distant door that feeds in sunlight when opened. Even with the limited setting, it never looks or feels boring with the 72 minute runtime. “Contact” (1985) (66:35) Based on the book “Contact” written by A.F.N. (Tony) Clarke which was an autobiographical account of a military regiment in Northern Ireland in 1976 during the Troubles, the Alan Clarke directed adaptation could easily be mistaken for a documentary feature. Dialogue is very sparse with mostly commands or reports being the focus, the notion of who is fighting who and what the entire battle is about is not discussed. Instead the audience is given an account of what it is like in war through observant eyes. There are no backstories of the soldiers, no drama between the men, and no time for laughs or cries. As to give a better sense of realism the production was not shot with SteadiCams but with handheld film cameras as a real war photographer would have. The 16mm film camera follows the military regiment in distant telescopic shots outdoors, closeup moving cameras in the barracks, and even nightvision shots of the soldiers in the forests. The film starts off with one of the more shocking and violent openings in any of Clarke’s directed works with a scene of soldiers stopping a car and shooting the driver in the head in cold blood. It does not give a sense of who is who and what is going on, and the rest of the film never answers the questions of where, when, who, or why - similar to that of his later work “Elephant” which also dealt with The Troubles in Northern Ireland. Writer A.F.N. Clarke tried to flesh out the novel by including additional dialogue, backstories, and more for the filmed adaptation but Alan Clarke disagreed with the additions and decided to keep it stripped bare, to add to the intensity of battle and war rather than the individuals. It does not glamorize war at all, as the film shows that at times war is absolutely boring with characters dozing off waiting for something to happen. It’s not about things being fast paced, as some instances like the car inspection scene which seems to go on forever due to the carefulness of characters NOT wanting to get blown up. But when things go down, it’s all hell broken loose. “Contact” was aired on January 6th 1985 as an episode of Screen Two on BBC, with controversy attached to the violence but critically became one of Clarke’s more highly regarded productions, and rightfully so. The tenth disc in the set is a very interesting pairing of productions - with one highly underappreciated and one highly regarded. “Contact” is the one of the productions that many have been anticipating for in this set, but do yourself a favor and give “Stars of the Roller State Disco” a spin as well. DISC ELEVEN (Blu-ray) ”Christine” (1987) (51:18) Christine (played by Vicky Murdock), Eddie (played by Kelly George), Ben (played by Mark Harvey), Jessie (played by Joanne Mapp), and Eric (played by Anthony Smith) are average teens living in English suburbia. They get together, watch TV, listen to music, shoot up heroin, and talk about the usual and the casual. Wait… heroin? As nonchalantly described above, the kids do drugs on a normal basis just as casually as anything else and the film is an unflinching look at the behavior - the scenes of drug use are shown in detail: the boiling, the tapping of needles, the injections into the arms - nothing is left off screen. The most shocking aspect of “Christine” is that it doesn’t do anything particular to shock. Other drug films like “Requiem for a Dream”, “Trainspotting”, and “The Panic in Needle Park” show the mental, physical, and emotional downfalls of the characters and consequences, with some visceral scenes using special effects, editing techniques, and disturbing audio envelop and shock audiences. “Christine” does nothing of the sort. There is never any serious drama between the characters and without consequence. Parents are never seen but mentioned on one or two occasions. Editing is very minimal with Steadicam shots lasting incredibly lengthy periods without cuts. Music is only used as background on whatever is playing on the kids’ stereos. Visually “Christine” is an incredible piece with freedom of the 360 degree movement of the camera, following characters inside and outside of their homes, showing both technical skill and a sense of true environment in the suburban town. The actors play their parts with minimal dialogue that only concerns with their thoughts of then rather than a structural story, like a documentary rather than a scripted teleplay. Alan Clarke directed the production and co-wrote with Arthur Ellis and certainly has a similar feel to his later production “Elephant” (1989) - with long tracking shots and minimal dialogue, and also with his previous production of “Stars of the Roller State Disco” (1984) - with again long tracking shots and the youth atmosphere. The production does not give explanation or answers. Where are the kids getting the drugs? Where are the parents? Why isn’t anything being done? These are not things the short production preaches, but it is something that is embedded into the minds of viewers. Drug use by the middle class was rising in the 1980s and “Christine” reflects it head on. The main characters are not given enough background for audiences to particularly know or care for them, but like in reality if we don’t really know these kids - do we really care what happens to them? It may only be a telefilm, but it’s equally a wakeup call to society. “Christine” first aired on BBC as part of the anthology series ”Screenplay” on September 23rd, 1987. ”Road” (1987) (62:30) Dramatist/writer Jim Cartwright’s first stage play “Road” was produced in 1986 - a story of various underprivileged people in an unnamed northern English town. It was an unflinching look into a life of poverty, drug use, depression, yet with a hint of hope for the characters. The production seemingly had a neverending cast of characters but in actuality they were played by actors in multiple roles, with the story flowing from one environment to another. An interesting mix of argumentative confronting dialogue and inner thought monologues, the play was a critical success winning various awards and subsequently adapted into a telefilm by director Alan Clarke the following year. Rather than filming on soundstages or in a theatrical environment, “Road” was shot on location giving a realistic look at the environment and characters, along with something that the theatrical version could not employ - the use of space with Steadicam shots. The production is almost entirely shot on constantly moving Steadicam, following characters inside and outside in 360 degree freeflowing shots with many of them lasting for extremely long periods of time in one shot one take. The Steadicam shots also had a multitude of walking shots following characters for long distances while they spoke to each other, or spoke directly into the camera by monologue. The fourth wall is constantly being broken, with characters speaking their thoughts directly into camera - things that they truly feel but not able to directly to the people that surround them. The cast assembled was truly astounding with many of them continuing on in the acting world including Mossie Smith, David Thewlis, Jane Horrocks, and Lesley Sharp, with some of them having experience with the source material from the original stage production. As for the music, what seems like coincidence more than anything, many of the musicians featured on the soundtrack died at a far young age. Gene Vincent died at the age of 36 from a stomach ulcer. Mel Appleby of the sister duo Mel & Kim died at the age of 23 from pneumonia. Bernie Nolan, lead singer of the sister group The Nolans died of cancer at 52. With director Alan Clarke’s death from cancer at the quite young age of 54, it really is nothing but a coincidence, but that’s life. Shit happens. Artists will one day pass away but their art lives on. “Road” was broadcast as part of the anthology series “Screenplay” on October 7th 1987 to critical acclaim, commenting on visuals, the acting, the adaptation, and the originality. There were negative reactions from people with the use of language, the disturbing visuals like the puking, the starvation scene, and its depiction of the poor. Regardless, the production was for Clarke yet another controversial work that caused discussion between people and including many memorable moments through artistic integrity. The two productions of “Christine” and “Road” are a fascinating double feature - one of highly privileged young people destroying themselves intentionally without care while the other is of underprivileged young people destroying themselves because they seemingly have no other choice. DISC TWELVE (Blu-ray) “The Firm” (1989) (Director’s Cut - 68:06 / Broadcast Version - 66:59) First broadcast on BBC on February 26th, 1989, “The Firm” was a look at football hooligans and rivalries. Gary Oldman plays Clive “Bex” Bissell, the leader of the ICC firm (Inter City Crew). His wife Sue (played by Oldman’s real-life wife at the time Lesley Manville) is against the activities of her husband and his so-called friends, as he is putting more effort into his football supporting activities than being a husband and father. Bex’s rivals include the yuppie-looking bleach blonde haired white suit wearing “Yeti” (played by Phil Davis) and the tall and lanky “Oboe” (played by Andrew Wilde), but rivalries are not football matches or dissing by wordplay, but absolute violence. What first seems like petty vandalism of spraypainting or driving a car through a rival’s football field seems childishly stupid for adults in their 20s and 30s doing, progresses to unthinkable acts. Cars set on fire, brawls with bloody knifings, the progression of the violence is a regression in common sense. Alan Clarke was a football fan but was absolutely sickened by football hooliganism, as hooligan firms were destroying the fun image of the sport and turning it into a reason for gang warfare. Since the 1970s onward, football hooliganism gained momentum in Britain to the point of continuous arrests, violent actions at games, and public disturbance. But it was not only the UK that had hooligans as other countries around the world also had similar groups inciting violence via sports teams (especially football). But almost as an embarrassment, the English hooligans are the ones most referenced, especially since the English word “hooligan” is used in many other languages for the meaning of sports supporters who incite violence. An interesting point about “The Firm” is that a football is never actually seen in the entire piece. There are scenes of the ICC members playing football at the start and there is a shot of a football stadium with players on the field and possibly a ball in the distance, but there is never a ball to be clearly seen. Clarke intended to make it about the hooligans and not about the sport, though one could easily mistake thinking of seeing a soccer ball somewhere in the finished product - instead there are more scenes with weapons than anything else. Also ambitious with the shooting was the use of Steadicam shots and long takes for many scenes throughout. A few of the scenes inside Bex’s house are highlights, with the entire first floor used in a 360 degree set, with the camera circling around the actors while the drama unfolds with no cuts inbetween. Clarke liked to cast unknowns in productions so it is surprising that someone more established as Gary Oldman was cast in “The Firm”, but the two hit it off and Oldman took the part to a higher yet darker level. Regardless that it was a television production, it was certainly shots with ambition, and was sadly to be Clarke’s final film before his death in 1992. “The Firm” caused controversy both before and after the television broadcast. BBC felt the finished product was too violent and had strong sexual content that had to be cut. Violence such as closeups of face slashing, eyeball slicing, and beatings with bats were shortened or removed. Sexual content including an aggressive scene between Oldman and Manville were also shortened or removed. In addition, certain scenes that were deleted were reinserted such as the opening of Bex at work as a real estate agent and the scene of the police arriving to talk to Sue near the end. Clarke could not oversee the changes made since he was in Los Angeles at the time, but the finished edited version was broadcast on television and even with the violence and sex toned down, there were still heated negative reactions to the violence shown and the negativity relating to football and the fanatics. It was one of the first times in television or cinema that showed the effects of hooliganism being essentially a sort of terrorism and a way to let out bent up frustration and anger with an excuse. Later productions such as ”I.D.” and ”Rise of the Footsoldier” brought prominence to the violent acts of hooliganism to cinemas. Whether it’s religious followers, political party followers, or sports followers, there’s not that much difference - petty reasons for fighting against people that are not part of your “firm”. “Elephant” (1989) (37:40) “Elephant” was Alan Clarke’s second to last film, and one of his most controversial to ever be shown on television. Starting off with the quote on screen “For some of us ‘The Troubles’ is the elephant in our living room”, the film shows 18 gun murders in 18 sequences, with almost no dialogue or backstory whatsoever. The audience has no idea who the people are that are killing and no idea who the people are that are being killed. The killings are done in seemingly planned gun deaths rather than random or group killings, like hitmen. They walk up to the targeted person, pull out a gun, eliminate the target, and walk away. It’s horrific, it’s senseless, yet you cannot turn away from it. For people not familiar with “The Troubles” or the Northern Ireland Conflict, in the late 20th century a political conflict went beyond talks and led to civilian warfare, with more than 3,500 people being killed over the course of 30 years, with more than half being civilians. To explain and to analyze the years of violence and conflict in Northern Ireland was not the particular purpose of the film. It is about witnessing the horrific acts of seemingly pointless violence and knowing that these kinds of killings were happening a lot in the area for years and years while the higher powers in politics did seemingly nothing, as people were living in fear for more than a generation. The film doesn’t say who is right or wrong, which party is doing which killing, or does it even say particularly that it is supposed to be Northern Ireland. The only clue given is the sole scene nearly halfway in that a character says some incidental dialogue in a Belfast accent. Young producer of BBC Northern Ireland Danny Boyle (who would later become an influential director in his own right) was a big fan of Clarke and was able to collaborate on a television project set and filmed in Northern Ireland. For the film, it was entirely shot with a Steadicam with a wide angle lens, following killers go in and out of places, taking the audience into the violence like a documentary. Even more disturbing than the killing is the shots that are kept on the bloody victims - feeling like an eternity that the audience must stare at the lifeless body on the ground. With the graceful Steadicam movements and the visceral effects of violence, Clarke essentially made a controversial art film of gun violence later seen in films such as “Fallen Angels” (Wong Kar-Wai) and the same-titled “Elephant” (Gus Van Sant). But this led to a lot of controversy after being broadcast on BBC on January 25th 1989, with viewers calling in to complain about the subject matter, with many Northern Irish callers saying that it was offensive and made the violence look trivial. Others were very positive saying that it truly showed the violence and the threat constantly felt that the rest of the UK seemingly didn’t care about after the conflict seemed never ending. It’s very interesting to see the film since the 1998 Belfast Good Friday Agreement which somewhat officially ended the conflict. It’s clear that future generations will have trouble grasping that it is supposed to depict the events that took place in Northern Ireland at the time, but audiences can easily place it in other modern places where senseless violence against civilians are still happening to mirror those events. DISC THIRTEEN (DVD) “Half Hour Story” (1967-1968) “Half Hour Story” was an 38 episode anthology television series that was first broadcast between 1967 and 1968, produced by Rediffusion. Each episode was an individual piece of work - different stories, different characters, different settings, without weekly continuity. Alan Clarke directed 10 episodes of the series with only 7 of them currently surviving. Of the 7 episodes, the 6 surviving black and white episodes are presented on DISC THIRTEEN (DVD) while the single remaining color episode “George’s Room” is presented on DISC ONE (Blu-ray). “Shelter” (1967) (26:48) was broadcast on the 16th of May, 1967. Pouring rain outside, a woman walks into a conservatory to dry off for the time, where the only other patron is a man looking for some conversation. She is not interested at all in chatting, while he finds her intriguing that she is not willing to speak in light conversation. But when the conversation starts to take form, what seemed to have started as friendly chit chat becomes an intense confrontation of words, class, gender, and secrets. ”The Gentleman Caller” (1967) (24:55) was broadcast on the 13th of June, 1967. Two brothers are visited by a social security inspector who is checking their status for unemployment. The younger brother just wants to get his money to pay off the older brother, but the inspector sees the younger brother’s unemployment issue being plain laziness rather than someone looking for actual work. With the inspector about to leave saying that they will not get any money from social security, the brothers try to convince the inspector to change his mind - through brute force. ”Goodnight Albert” (1968) (25:57) was broadcast on the 3rd of April, 1968. Young adult Albert works as a miner and lives with his gran. He likes going out with his mates to the pub, chasing girls, and staying out late. She is very conservative, doesn’t even turn on the TV since the licence hasn’t been paid, and is concerned about Albert’s safety both at work and that he stays out very late. As different as they are in generation and way of thinking, there is a family bond that is strong between them, which they express to each other verbally all through the night. “Stella” (1968) (25:10) was first broadcast on the 19th of June, 1968. Stella is now living the single life after a two year relationship, cutting off ties with her ex-boyfriend completely. But when he shows up at her flat unexpectedly begging for her to come back, things become awkward, embarrassing, and also threatening. “The Fifty Seventh Saturday” (1968) (25:57) was broadcast on the 3rd of July, 1968. A middle aged man has an affair with a young girl in her twenties. Every Saturday, he goes to her place, they have a fling, and this weekend is their 57th meeting together. Always indoors at her place, never outside where other people can see. The girl wishes one day to have an actual date with him in the West End, though he wishes to keep things indoors, saying he doesn’t want his wife to have any suspicion. With differing ideals, how much longer can they last together? “Thief” (1968) (26:11) was broadcast on the 24th of July, 1968. A professional thief does something very unlikely by thieving standards - returning something stolen. He tells the woman he stole from that he was captivated by her and came to her place. But what are his real intentions? Of the 6 productions directed by Alan Clarke presented here, three were written by Alun Owen (“Shelter”, “Stella”, and ”Thief”, two were by Roy Minton (“The Gentleman Caller” and “Goodnight Albert”) and one by William Trevor (“The Fifty Seventh Saturday”). In addition, Owen also wrote the episode “George’s Room” (available on DISC ONE). The Owen written pieces all share similar themes - there are only two characters in each, and they are always one male and one female character. Within the 30 minute time spans, the role of sadist and masochist is continuously flip-flopped. In “Shelter” the man (played by Colin Blakely) annoys and bothers the woman (played by Wendy Craig) which causes her to become emotionally distraught. But when he asks for a cigarette and she refuses to give him one, the power is in her hands while the man has to beg like a dog for a fag - and she enjoys getting her vengeance. “Stella” starts with the woman (played by Geraldine Moffat) is absolutel in power while her ex (played by Ray Smith) begs and pleads like a fussy child to try to win her back, but is only more powerful than her when he has to use physical force. In all of Owen’s plays presented here, it’s always left ambiguous to who is the real “winner” of the arguments. Is there really a winner? Should there be? The two plays by Minton are very different in tone and style - with “The Gentleman Caller” starting off as quite comical with the interaction between the tough older brother Clack (played by Mike Pratt) and dumb younger brother Ged (played by Tony Selby). When the inspector (played by George Cole) arrives it is like a comedic trio with the inspector being the straight man trying to make sense of the laziness of Ged and the stubbornness of Clack. But once Clack starts to physically threaten the inspector it becomes no laughing matter, and the tone completely shifts in the second half. ”Goodnight Albert” on the other hand is quite a heartwarming story between a concerned grandmother (played by Gwen Nelson) and her grandson Albert (played by Victor Henry. Each story has a similar theme - separation. Whether it’s separation by social class, by gender, by generation, by ideals, or by morality, the tension caused by the themes foreshadow much of the later Clarke directed works. Even with different actors and differing writers for the individual episodes, Clarke’s visual style is very distinctive. Extreme close-ups are consistently used in intense dialogue scenes while extremely low camera angles are used in threatening scenes. Unlike many other televised stage productions using singular camera setups with many two shots to focus on actors reacting, Clarke uses extreme close-ups of faces of the talker, rarely cutting to the listener, and with the rapid fire dialogue spoken the editing is extremely fast paced to go along with the talking. “Half Hour Story” is a type of television series that is not commonly seen anymore. Anthology series can be expensive and time consuming to make, having to cast stars for each episode and not being able to rely on past storylines. The simplicity of ”Half Hour Story” - using a single set, two or three actors, and a short runtime saved a lot on the budget but considering modern audiences, may not intrigue the masses for the 21st century. But for ones interested in vintage television as well as the early career of Clarke, these teleplays are must-see productions. For the 30 year span of television productions made at the BBC, director Alan Clarke has challenged conventions, caused controversy, and pushed artistic freedom to the fullest. Clarke's reputation outside of the UK was quite limited since his televised work was not entirely broadcast outside of the UK and he had only made a handful of films during his career. This superb and definitive collection from the BFI should cement Clarke as one of the most important British directors, whose life was tragically cut short to cancer. Clarke passed away on July 24th, 1990. Note DISCS ONE - EIGHT and TEN - TWELVE in this set are region B Blu-rays which can only be played on region B or region free Blu-ray players, and DISCS NINE and THIRTEEN are region 2 PAL DVDs which can only be played on region 2 or region free DVD/Blu-ray players.
Video
BFI presents the productions in 1080i 50hz in the original televised aspect ratio of 1.33:1 in the AVC MPEG-4 codec on the Blu-rays and in the original televised aspect ratio of 1.33:1 in the PAL format for the DVDs. As these were UK TV productions broadcast in the 25fps PAL format, the films are transferred in the 50hz signal to preserve the PAL runtime on the Blu-rays while the DVD retain the native 25fps standard definition PAL format. “George’s Room” was restored from the 35mm color negative. The color photography is very heavy on pinks and browns with no particular deep or detailed color, most likely due to the stock used. Skintones are pale and colors such as blues and reds are not reproduced well. On the other hand the film has been cleaned up and there are no troubles of dust, specs, or debris in the image. The image is always stable and clear - with the exception of the aforementioned out of focus moments. “The Last Train Through Harecastle Tunnel” was restored from two sources - the videotape portions were mastered from the telerecording 16mm negative, and the film portions were mastered from the 16mm original negative. For the most part the production looks very good. The telerecording negative looks much better than the “Half Hour Story” telerecording prints, with no major problems of videotape error, and no major problems of film artifacts such as dust or specs. The 16mm film portions look great with the black and white photography looking pin sharp. “Sovereign’s Company” was restored from the re-run 1971 16mm transmission print - the better element as the original 1970 16mm transmission print was much more faded, though the original credits were taken from the 1970 print as the 1971 rerun had differing credits. Like ”George’s Room” the colors look a bit faded with pinks and browns looking fine but other colors such as the green uniforms lacking. Film grain is much more visible being a 16mm source, but in terms of image quality, it looks very good with the image cleaned and errors corrected. “The Hallelujah Handshake” was transferred from the original 16mm transmission print to high definition and looks fair for the most part. There are no problematic elements such as dust and scratches, but the colors are very pale with skintones and backgrounds. Clarity is always clear and there is no trouble with stability. ”To Encourage the Others” was transferred from a digibeta tape from the original 2” PAL videotape transmission master. The opening scene was shot on 16mm film but unfortunately seems lost, so the opening scenes are lacking in clarity compared to a direct film transfer. The video master looks good but not great - as there are minor videotape errors and color bleeding, minor as they are. When on text screen is shown, videotape shimmering can be seen toward the center of the frame, though it is mostly unnoticeable in standard scenes. “Under the Age” was transferred from a digibeta copy of the original 2” PAL transmission tape. Colors look fine considering the age with some video tape errors such as color bleeding. On a positive note the transfer is free from blurring or tracking errors. ”Horace” was originally shot on film. The transfer comes from the 16mm transmission print mastered in HD. Colors are especially weak with everything looking rather pink or brown. Greens and blues look especially flat and washed out. The print is quite clean of specs and dust while grain is left intact, and the image is always stable and clear. “The Love-Girl and the Innocent” was shot on PAL video and the transfer comes from the original 2” master PAL broadcast tape. With it being a video source, there are the usual problems of shimmering and color reproduction. With most of the colors being dull greys and browns of the prison camp, video is still able to reproduce the dull colors well. There are no problems of video tape errors or tracking errors in the transfer. ”Penda’s Fen” was shot on film. The transfer comes from the original 16mm A/B roll negatives, transferred in HD. There are no signs of film damage or errors while grain is still visible. The digital cleanup looks very good, but there are some portions in which digital tools were utilized to remove gate hairs - and unfortunately some of them were not removed very well. The hairs appear and disappear sporadically in the scene when Stephen goes off on the closed road. Though it is incredibly minor. More of a major point is in the 59 minute mark some major damage that affects the entire frame is visible - with digital cleanup applied, the damage to the frame seemed too big to have it completely removed. Compared to previous film sourced works in the Clarke set, the colors are very good on this production, with green grass looking beautifully green. “A Follower For Emily” was transferred from a digibeta copy of the original 2” PAL transmission tape and it is one of the worst looking productions in the set. True the production looks incredibly plain with flat colors and production values, the video source has its problems. There is constant analogue snow on the image and the video source seems a generation removed compared to some of the other video transfers. The usual problems of video are evident, with color bleeding, faded colors, and limited clarity. “Diane” was transferred in HD from the 16mm transmission print and looks good. Granted it was not a very colorful production with lots of browns and greys mirroring the bleak subject, there are no problems with dust, specs, or scratches on the print. Gatehairs are non existent and film grain is always present. A very good transfer of the film. “Funny Farm” was transferred from a digibeta copy of the original 2” PAL transmission tape. As it was originally shot and edited on video, there are the usual minor tape errors such as analog video snow and off balance colors. Overall, the remastered transfer looks quite good with very few errors. ”Scum” was transferred in HD from the 16mm transmission print and the transfer is very good. Considering that the film was in the vaults for so long, it was gladly not destroyed after the BBC ban. Colors are reproduced well with greys and blues dominating the screen as well as the frequent red blood being violently red. Film grain is visible with dust and specs being completely eliminated. An excellent transfer by BFI. “Bukovsky” was transferred in HD from a 16mm color print from Alan Clarke’s private collection. As the print was not kept in ideal conditions, there are scratches, dust, specs, and other damage all over the print with the most common portions being the beginning and end reels. Colors are good with very minor issues with color fluctuation and clarity is quite good with shots in focus and detail very clear. It’s obvious that this film hasn’t gone through a restoration process like the other productions in the set, but we should be lucky to have the film at all. “Nina” was transferred in HD from the 16mm A/B roll negatives and this transfer looks gorgeous. I was very sure this was a 35mm production with the transfer on this disc - gorgeous colors, minimal grain - I was a bit surprised to see that the credits list the original elements as 16mm. As stated, reds, greens, browns look beautiful and bold. There is very minimal damage on the image and you’ll need to look incredibly carefully to spot them out. One of the best looking films in the set by far. ”Danton’s Death” was shot on PAL video and was transferred from a digibeta copy of the original 2” PAL transmission tape. The original production on the soundstages looked pretty dull and dark in the first place and PAL videotape just didn’t do the reproduction justice. There are no major errors in the transfer but overall it just looks… bland. ”Beloved Enemy” was shot on film and was was transferred in HD from the 16mm transmission print. The colors especially the greens outdoors look very good and the interiors also look fine. It’s not a particular standout film in terms of color as it is shot like a documentary. The image has been remastered with no major errors left in the master while still maintaining film grain. “Psy-Warriors” and ”Baal” were both transferred from digibeta copies of the original 2” PAL transmission tapes. There are the usual video tape troubles of color bleeding and minor errors. The white walls of “Psy-Warriors”“Baal” look very good considering the sources. ”Baal” is ever so slightly windowboxed with think black lines on the top and bottom. “Stars of the Roller State Disco” being a video production was transferred from a digibeta copy of the original 1” PAL transmission tape. The standard definition source has its usual issues, but colors are reproduced well, the image is always clear, and there is no damage to the tape source. “Contact” was shot on film, and was transferred in HD from the 16mm transmission print. The restored image looks great with greens of the forests and Northern Irish landscapes looking very good. Damage such as scratches, specs, and dust have been removed for the most part, but there are some damage marks still remaining. Thankfully they are not too distracting. “Christine” was transferred in HD from the 16mm transmission print. Colors are quite bright and pale in palette, damage is extremely minimal, and grain is visible throughout yet not distracting. Overall it looks great. “Road” was transferred in HD from the 16mm A/B roll negatives. The opening credits look a little soft with the overlayed credits but soonafter looks clearer and better with colors and depth. There is one particular scene near the end which the colors look like it was bleached out, which does not look intentional but possibly with damaged materials. There is no mention on it in the transfer credits in the booklet. There is slightly more damage visible in this production than the last, but still looks very good. “The Firm” and “Elephant” were both shot on 16 mm film and were restored from the original A/B roll negatives in high definition. “The Firm - Broadcast Version” looks very good with a clean image free of dirt, specs, and scratches, with film grain still visible. There was a specific scene indoors which a gatehair is visible and not removed, but other than that the image most likely looks much better than the original PAL television broadcast. “The Firm - Director’s Cut” was made with a combination of the original negative and Clarke’s ungraded workprint version of the film. The director’s cut shots are digitally spliced in making it extremely obvious which scenes are from the director’s cut. The scenes are extremely washed out in color, lacking in depth and clarity but free of scratches or debris. It is not the smoothest way to watch the production, but it is a fascinating look into seeing Clarke’s original version - which makes its debut here, as it was never broadcast in this form. “Elephant” also looks very good with a nice clean image. Film grain is visible and there are no instances of scratches or marks on the print. Colors are quite dull, seemingly reflecting the bleakness of the film’s tone, and clarity is precise. "Half Hour Story" episodes in black and white are not going to set any restoration standards as they are not coming from original source materials. Early television broadcasts were not recorded and stored on videotape for the most part - but instead used a process of pointing a film camera to a television monitor directly. The “Tele-recording” process was the method used for PAL recordings, filming at the same speed of 25 frames per second - identical to the PAL video signal. (Kinescope was used for NTSC). “Shelter”, “The Gentleman Caller”, and “Stella” were transferred to HD from the 16mm tele-recording prints, while “Goodnight Albert” and “The Fifty Seventh Saturday” were transferred to HD from the 16mm tele-recording negatives. The film always looks ever so slightly askew especially while watching the credit sequences where names are not fully centered - due to the calibration of the tele-recording camera and the monitor not aligned exactly. There are other errors such as dust, debris, slightly out of focus shots, and overall weakness in quality. “Thief” was a further generation down, coming from a videotape of the tele-recording, so there are video errors such as the bottom area of the frame having distortion, and looking the weakest in definition compared to the rest of the productions here. Though imperfect, knowing these are the only sources known to exist and that three of the Clarke directed episodes are considered lost, we should be grateful that the works are in a pretty watchable state. There is one issue with the episode of “Shelter” - it seems there may be a missing element. Right around the 11:42 mark when Wendy Craig cries out after Colin Blakely talks about her husband, Blakely’s character is suddenly out of his chair looking out the window and Craig’s crying stops. All other episodes have a “part 1”, “part 2” title card, but “Shelter” doesn’t. Possibly was supposed to be placed there but was missing from the tele-recording print? Overall the restorations are far and beyond amazing, with the filmed productions looking even better and sharper than their original televised broadcasts. The videotaped productions are not going to look much better than how it was originally shot, but for the most part look great. BFI put in an amazing amount of restoration work on these productions and fans and newcomers will surely be delighted with the results overall.
Audio
English LPCM 2.0 mono (for Blu-rays) English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono (for DVDs) The original mono tracks on all productions are presented in mono sound, in lossless LPCM on the Blu-rays and Dolby Digital on the DVDs. For the most part the audio sounds very good with no troubling instances of hisses or pops. Dialogue is quite clean and clear, but considering the low budget sources of all the productions, there are the usual echoey sounds and limited definition, some more than others. “To Encourage the Others” does have some electronic hiss in portions which to certain ears can be very distracting - like having an old tube television on. “A Follower For Emily” has some fidelity issues and tinny audio in scenes but there are no major issues with clarity of dialogue. “Diane” has some background noise prevalent in almost all scenes, but this is essentially how the audio sounded on location. “Funny Farm” has good clean dialogue with some minor issues with microphone pickups in certain scenes. Some may lament that David Bowie’s voice is not available in lossless audio as "Baal" is on a DVD, but the Dolby Digital track actually sound quite fine, if nothing special. “Road” has a lot of dialogue and monologues and lots of music used throughout. The music cues sound great, but sometimes the location recorded dialogue has some hiss that apparently could not be removed. But most of the dialogue sounds fine. The broadcast version sounds great, but the director’s cut inserts for “The Firm” does sound a little weak compared to the rest of the film, sometimes missing sound effects which could not be recovered. As for more positive examples of audio, the jaunty guitar score of “Horace” sounds quite clean and clear with no troubling instances of hisses or pops, but considering the low budget sources, there are the usual echoey sounds and limited fidelity. For ”Penda’s Fen” the music and effects were transferred from the original tapes, and have much better fidelity than most other productions featured here. “Scum” sounds excellent with clear dialogue and sound, with the riot scene sounding very loud and powerful, even for a mono track. The soundtrack for ”Nina” sounds just as good as the image with no issues of damage and dialogue sounding clear throughout. The video production of “Danton’s Death” and the film production of ”Beloved Enemy” are wordy productions with very little in terms of music or sound effects and the dialogue is reproduced very well. “Stars of the Roller State Disco” has music blaring throughout but it is always in a muffled state, making the dialogue the more clear to understand portion of the audio. “Contact” is not an audio heavy piece with minimal dialogue and minimal sound, but everything is reproduced well. Gunshots are clear, dialogue is easy to hear, and there are no issues of hisses or damage to the audio. “Christine” is almost entirely dialogue based with minimal amounts of music for background and sounds very clear with no damage to the soundtrack. One particular miracle was with “Bukovsky”, which had the serious issue of the 16 mm print having no sound. The soundtrack was meticulously reconstructed and synched with magnetic audio tracks provided by cameraman Grenville Middleton and additional missing portions were taken from a recently discovered VHS copy from the private collection of Corin Campbell Hill. The image has its issues but the sound is actually quite good with no major issues of audio errors or hard to understand portions. There are optional English HoH subtitles in a white font for all the productions.
Extras
DISC ONE “Alan Clarke at the Questor’s Theatre” (1962-1966) image gallery (33 pages) In this manual gallery, programs and stills of Clarke's early stage productions are available. “Alan Clarke: Out of His Own Light” documentary (Part 1) (30:59) The newly created 270-minute documentary on Alan Clarke has been divided into 12 parts with each part covering the productions reflected on the first 12 discs of the “Dissent and Disruption” boxset. Each part covers the productions presented on the corresponding disc. DISC ONE includes information about the three productions on the disc as well as Clarke's early life and his work in theatre. The entire 270 minute documentary is comprised of interviews with 50 people who worked with Clarke, knew Clarke, and looked up to Clarke. The interviews come from wildly differing sources. Some are slighty old 1.33:1 standard def video, some are hi-def 1.78:1 video. Some are lit too brightly, some are a bit dark. Some have clear dialogue, some sound echoey. It’s very inconsistent in how it looks and sounds edited together, but presentation wise, it is top notch. in 1080i 50hz AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in English LPCM 2.0 with no subtitles DISC TWO Optional David Leland Introduction on “To Encourage the Others” (2:33) Introductions by Clarke collaborator David Leland were broadcast on BBC2 in 1991, a year after Clarke’s passing. Leland introduces the production and the true story behind it, as well as a few notes about Clarke himself. The audio like the main feature is a bit on the electronically hissy side. in 1080i 50hz AVC MPEG-4, in 1.33:1, in English LPCM 2.0 with no subtitles “Alan Clarke: Out of His Own Light” documentary (Part 2) (13:33) Part 2 covers collaborators’ memories of Clarke as well as the production of “To Encourage the Others”. Strangely, “The Hallelujah Handshake” is not covered at all! What happened here? Did no one have anything to say about it? in 1080i 50hz AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in English LPCM 2.0 with no subtitles DISC THREE “Alan Clarke: Out of His Own Light” documentary (Part 3) (9:12) Part 3 covers the sad state of British cinema of the 1970s and how the most exciting time for directors and actors was on television. The documentary does not touch directly on “Under the Age” or “Horace” particularly. in 1080i 50hz AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in English LPCM 2.0 with no subtitles DISC FOUR “Alan Clarke: Out of His Own Light” documentary (Part 4) (18:37) Part 4 covers the two productions on DISC FOUR. ”The Love-Girl and the Innocent” is only talked about for an entire 2 minutes before the rest of the interviews are about “Penda’s Fen”. It doesn’t seem as evenly divided as it should be but there are fascinating remarks from the various contributors. in 1080i 50hz AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in English LPCM 2.0 with no subtitles DISC FIVE Audio commentary on “Diane” with Janine Duvitski and Richard Kelly Writer Richard Kelly moderates actress Janine Duvitski in this newly recorded commentary. Duvitsky talks about how she was much older than the character, the rehearsal process, the long takes used, and how she loved working with Clarke. Duvistski never got to play in another Clarke production, but when Clarke needed a young boy in “The Firm” (1988), they called Duvitski who had a young son, and he was cast as little Sammy. in English Dolby Digital 2.0 with no subtitles “Alan Clarke: Out of His Own Light” documentary (Part 5) (8:13) In part 5, it is discussed is how filmmakers - both directors and actors were able to make productions of differing genres and styles very easily. Duvitski is also interviewed on camera about “Diane”, though much of the information is already partially covered in the commentary track. in 1080i 50hz AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in English LPCM 2.0 with no subtitles DISC SIX Audio commentary on “Scum” with David Threlfall, Margaret Matheson, Phil Daniels, and Nigel Floyd This commentary was recorded for the previously issues DVD release and features actors Threlfall and Daniels with producer Matheson, and moderated by critic Nigel Floyd. Issues talked about are the casting, the filming conditions, some differences between the original and the 1979 version, and the controversy. The participants didn’t do much homework or brushing up as there are many mentions of “I don’t remember” in the commentary. in English Dolby Digital 2.0 with no subtitles Optional David Leland Introduction on “Scum” (2:53) This introduction was made as part of the Alan Clarke retrospective in 1991, and preceded the first ever broadcast of “Scum” on television. Leland shows the film canister marked “Restricted” and discusses why it was banned by the BBC. in 1080i 50hz AVC MPEG-4, in 1.33:1, in English LPCM 2.0 with no subtitles “Tonight: Scum Discussion” 1978 news broadcast (10:51) On January 23rd 1978, Alisdair Milne, the Managing Director of BBC and Peter Fiddick, columnist for the Guardian went on BBC news to discuss the banning of the production, with Milne defending the BBC’s decision and Fiddick - one of the few critics who was able to watch the production, talks about why it shouldn’t be banned. in 1080i 50hz AVC MPEG-4, in 1.33:1, in English LPCM 2.0 with no subtitles “Arena: When Is a Play Not a Play?” 1978 TV documentary (46:02) This 1978 BBC documentary discusses some of the more controversial BBC productions that were blurring the lines between documentary realism and dramatic realism. “Cathy Come Home” by Ken Loach and ”A Life at Stake” are a few productions talked about in addition to “Scum” clips of many productions are shown, though obviously ”Scum” is only mentioned. Originally shot on film then transferred to tape, the picture quality is lacking but is still watchable. in 1080i 50hz AVC MPEG-4, in 1.33:1, in English LPCM 2.0 with no subtitles “Alan Clarke: Out of His Own Light” documentary (Part 6) (25:37) In part 6 covers, ”Funny Farm” is only discussed for 3 minutes, with Roy Minton talking about the research put into the production and it is much too short. On further discussion ”Scum” is given the most time on its own, with Ray Winstone interviewed about the early role as well as others discussing the production, eventual ban, and how it led to the 1979 remake film. in 1080i 50hz AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in English LPCM 2.0 with no subtitles DISC SEVEN Audio commentary on “Bukovsky” with Jehane Markham, Grenville Middleton, and Sam Dunn Newly recorded for this set, Sam Dunn from BFI hosts this commentary with David’s daughter Markham and production cameraman Middleton. Topics such as David Markham’s involvement, Clarke’s involvement, the technical issues, and the issues of Middleton being Alan Clarke’s landlord are all covered. During the commentary it’s mentioned that they are watching it without sound so it’s apparent that it was recorded prior to the discovery of the full audio elements to film. in English Dolby Digital 2.0 with no subtitles “Bukovsky” Outtakes (50:55) Taken from Middleton’s archives, the outtakes are as long as the finished documentary. There is unedited black and white footage at Trafalgar Square, with picture running out while sound remaining on some shots, extra footage at the Markham family cottage, and footage of Clarke as well. in 1080i 50hz AVC MPEG-4, in 1.33:1, in English LPCM 2.0 with no subtitles David Markham Interviewed by Alan Clarke (19:23) This is an audio interview by Clarke during the making of the film. Whether this was audio with picture missing or if this was meant to be an audio-only interview for reference or voice over use is not certain. The audio track was taken from Middleton’s archives. Some of the dialogue is hard to hear and unfortunately there are no subtitles to caption the audio. in 1080i 50hz AVC MPEG-4, in English LPCM 2.0 with no subtitles “Alan Clarke’s Letters to the Markhams” featurette (6:29) Two letters from Clarke to the Markham family are read out loud by Jehane Markham while the letters are shown on the screen. They are both handwritten by Clarke, with the first letter addressed to David about piecing “Bukovsky” together and the second is his experience and disillusionment of being in Los Angeles in 1979. in 1080i 50hz AVC MPEG-4, in English LPCM 2.0 with no subtitles “Alan Clarke: Out of His Own Light” documentary (Part 7) (18:12) In part 7, personal stories of Clarke and his legendary drunken behavior is talked about: the illegal drugs involved, as well as Jehane Markham talking about their short relationship and eventual breakup, and in addition to the two films and the production. in 1080i 50hz AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in English LPCM 2.0 with no subtitles DISC EIGHT “Alan Clarke: Out of His Own Light” documentary (Part 8) (19:46) In part 8, Stuart Walker who did production work on ”Danton’s Death” recalls the experience and how Clarke was very particular of the large sets and lenses. One of Walker’s ideas of using splitscreen was ultimately rejected, which may have made the production visually a little more interesting. David Leland talks about ”Beloved Enemy” for the second half, detailing the difficulties as well as the reception of the production. in 1080i 50hz AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in English LPCM 2.0 with no subtitles DISC NINE “Alan Clarke: Out of His Own Light” documentary (Part 9) (19:08) In part 9, David Leland gives some insight into the ”Psy-Warriors” and the controversy while playwright Simon Stephens gives his thoughts on ”Baal”/ Stephens claims that Clarke’s rendition of the Brecht play is arguably the best version he has seen, with the hard-to-translate dialogue being done very poetically with the impeccable performance by Bowie in the lead. in PAL, in 1.78:1, in English Dolby Digital 2.0 with no subtitles DISC TEN Audio commentary on “Contact” Sean Chapman and Allan Bairstow In this newly recorded commentary, writer/film programmer Allan Bairstow moderates a discussion with actor Sean Chapman about the production. Topics about Clarke’s method and works, The Troubles, and reactions from real soldiers are discussed. in English Dolby Digital 2.0 with no subtitles Optional David Leland Introduction on “Contact” (1:32) Another entry in the series of introductions by Leland made for the Clarke retrospective on BBC2. Interesting how he compares the production to “Predator”, which is seemingly a very differing film but does have a bit of similarity. in 1080i 50hz, in 1.78:1, in English Dolby Digital 2.0 with no subtitles “A.F.N. Clarke on Contact” featurette (22:16) The writer of ”Contact” A.F.N. Clarke is interviewed by Krystyna Clarke, widow of Alan Clarke. They talk about the genesis of the book, his first time writing a screenplay, the differences between the page and screen, sending the actors to boot camp and much more. The two are never on screen at the same time and it cuts back and forth between them between question and answers. It’s almost as if the two talked separately and then cut together later… It is a little awkwardly edited without a third camera setup of an overall wide shot of the two together, but it’s the content that matters more than the shooting. in 1080i 50hz, in 1.78:1, in English Dolby Digital 2.0 with no subtitles “Alan Clarke: Out of His Own Light” documentary (Part 10) (12:34) The use of walking shots is discussed in part 10, as well as Chapman talking about his role in ”Contact”. Clarke told him that "It's a film about the army, but it's not about the army" which doesn’t seem to make sense but after watching the production, it certainly does. in 1080i 50hz AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in English LPCM 2.0 with no subtitles “Contact” gets a lot of love in the extras department but the other production, “Stars of the Roller State Disco” get none at all, which is a shame. But since it is a minor work compared to others in the set, it is expected. DISC ELEVEN Audio commentary on “Christine” with Corin Campbell Hill and Sam Dunn First assistant director Corin Campbell Hill is joined by the producer of the boxset Sam Dunn for the commentary track. Hill talks about the making of the production, from the use of Steadicams, the background, the realism presented, along with the removal of heavy drama expected from a narrative work. He also talks about the man himself Alan Clarke and the involvement in the posthumous retrospective airings of his work on television. in English Dolby Digital 2.0 with no subtitles Audio commentary on “Road” with Corin Campbell Hill, Stuart Walker, and Sam Dunn First assistant director Corin Campbell Hill and designer Stuart Walker are moderated by Sam Dunn for this commentary. Again, the use of the Steadicam is discussed along about the use of music, colors, minimal editing, plus some tidbits on Clarke. in English Dolby Digital 2.0 with no subtitles Optional David Leland Introduction on “Road” (2:31) David Leland’s introduction for “Road” for the television broadcast post Clarke’s death is not only an intro to the production but also a plea from the public to support BBC programming for original and daring work that was starting to disappear from the tube. in 1080i 50hz AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in English Dolby Digital 2.0 with no subtitles “Open Air: Road Discussion” TV broadcast (26:28) In this BBC One broadcast from October 7th 1987 following the broadcast premiere of “Road”, host Eamonn Rhodes of BBC moderates calls between viewers phoning in along with actress Mossie Smith, director Alan Clarke, co producer Andrée Molyneux, and two young viewers. Calls have positives and negatives leading to very interesting discussions. in 1080i 50hz AVC MPEG-4, in 1.33:1, in English Dolby Digital 2.0 with no subtitles Deleted Scene from “Road” (2:11) It’s a shame that the audio is lost during Moya Davis and David Thewlis’ deleted scene. I’m wondering why they couldn’t provide captions via script pages. in 1080i 50hz AVC MPEG-4, in 1.33:1, in English Dolby Digital 2.0 with no subtitles “Alan Clarke on Location” image gallery (159 pages) A large stills gallery in HD with location photos of “Christine”, “Road” and “The Firm”. “Alan Clarke: Out of His Own Light” documentary (Part 11) (22:15) Highlights in part 11 include actress Vicky Murdock recalls her experience on “Christine” playing the title role and gives some tidbits on production such as how the realistic effects of the injection scenes were done, actress Lesley Sharp talks about the extremely long walking and talking scene done for ”Road”, and more. in 1080i 50hz AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in English LPCM 2.0 with no subtitles Both productions on this disc get a wealth of extras including informative commentaries for each. One of the better set of extras in the entire set. DISC TWELVE Audio commentary on “The Firm” Director’s Cut with Gary Oldman Newly recorded for the “Dissent and Disruption” release, lead actor Gary Oldman provides a solo audio commentary that should have been the highlight of the set. Unfortunately, he merely points out what is happening on screen and who the people are for the most part and gets especially spotty and quiet in the second half. I honestly thought he left the recording booth for a while. Some positives are that he points out the improvised moments, having to act along his wife, and also playing a role in which he used his natural accent. It may have been an improved commentary if a moderator had been available. in English Dolby Digital 2.0 with no subtitles Audio commentary on “The Firm” Broadcast Version with Lesley Manville, Phil Davis, David Rolinson, and Dick Fiddy Recored in 2007 for the DVD release, TV archivist Dick Fiddy moderates this commentary with actors Manville and Davis along with film and television lecturer David Rolinson. They talk about Clarke and his methods of research, the effects of hooliganism and spots, and some interesting trivia such as how Manville was pregnant with Oldman’s child at the time of filming which was kept secret from Clarke. in English Dolby Digital 2.0 with no subtitles Audio commentary on “Elephant” with Danny Boyle and Mark Kermode Recorded in 2004 for the DVD release, this commentary moderated by critic Mark Kermode, Boyle revisits one of his first major television productions. They talk about how Boyle got the project off the ground, the great deal of controversy it attracted, and more. in English Dolby Digital 2.0 with no subtitles Optional David Leland Introduction on “The Firm” Broadcast Version (2:25) This 1991 introduction before the rerun of “The Firm” includes an introductory statement by Leland with a short clip of an Alan Clarke interview defending football but criticizing hooliganism. in 1080i 50hz AVC MPEG-4, in 1.33:1, in English LPCM 2.0 with no subtitles Alan Clarke Interview (1989) (10:05) Shot in Los Angeles while preparing for a future production that never came to fruition, Clarke explains the violence and themes of ”Elephant” and “The Firm”, how they are not films glorifying violence but showing violence as is in its purest form. in 1080i 50hz AVC MPEG-4, in 1.33:1, in English LPCM 2.0 with no subtitles “Open Air: Elephant Discussion” 1989 TV broadcast (21:00) This BBC TV special was broadcast a day after the airing of ”Elephant”, on January 26th 1989. Viewers could call and ask questions or relay comments to Alan Clarke via phone from Los Angeles and with Danny Boyle in studio. Most were appalled viewers that were disturbing with the content while there were some that were more positive about the results. in 1080i 50hz AVC MPEG-4, in 1.33:1, in English LPCM 2.0 with no subtitles “Alan Clarke: Out of His Own Light” documentary (Part 12) (36:20) Part 12 covers chronologically ”Elephant” and ”The Firm” featuring interviews from various cast and crew as well as the filmmakers that Clarke later influenced. in 1080i 50hz AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in English LPCM 2.0 with no subtitles
Packaging
The ”Dissent and Disruption” 13 disc set includes a 200 page booklet with essays, photos, credits, and film information. First is a foreword by Clarke’s daughter Molly Clark, followed by an introduction to Clarke’s work by novelist and journalist Danny Leigh. There are essays for each production, written by (in alphabetical order) Kaleem Aftab (film writer and producer), Allan Bairstow (producer of "Out of His Own Light"), Ashley Clark (film critic), Alex Davidson (BFI web producer), Mark Duguid (BFI senior curator), Sam Dunn (head of BFI Video Publishing), Lizzie Francke (Senior Production and Development Executive at the BFI's Film Fund), Richard T Kelly (writer of "Alan Clarke"), Lisa Kerrigan (BFI curator), David Rolinson (Lecturer in Film and Television in the division of Communications, Media and Culture at the University of Stirling), Sukhdev Sandhu (director of the Colloquium for Unpopular Culture at New York University), and Nick Wrigley (The Masters of Cinema Series co-creator). The essays are well written and for almost all full of spoilers, so reading is recommended following the individual viewings. Absolutely comprehensive and absolutely essential.
Overall
BFI’s work on the thirteen disc “Dissent and Disruption” (1969-1989) set is nothing less than an amazing collection of works by one of the most controversial and influential directors who pushed the boundaries of broadcast television. Television has changed over the years and it’s rare that filmmakers such as Alan Clarke, Ken Russell, or Ken Loach could have worked in such a medium is unthinkable in today’s broadcast world. BFI’s release features excellent video and audio with stellar extras that will be unrivaled in future releases. Absolutely recommended as one of the best and most important television boxsets of the year so far. Overall ratings:
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