Journey To The Unknown (1968/1969)

I’m sure everyone reading this article has a mental list of favourite TV shows they can return to time and time again, and enjoy just as they did when they first saw them. The easy availability of whole TV series on DVD (a rarity on VHS tape, unless they were wildly successful) or on the many digital, cable or satellite channels means that we can see them all over again. But there are some that never seem to be given an airing by any of the TV channels, that have not appeared on any recorded medium and which we fear may have been victims of the Grim Wiper. I thought that Journey To The Unknown may have fallen prey to the latter, to the best of my knowledge and belief, it was already in the first two. I am delighted to report that I was wrong.

‘JTTU’ was a tense, mysterious show that had a different story to tell each episode, usually about ordinary people who stray into an extraordinary situation or meet a very unusual person. The ‘Unknown’ referred to in the title was the human mind, and its reactions to these strange experiences. Made by our friends at Hammer, and shot on film in the late 60’s, its British locations and actors, with the star role going to an American actor each time, ensure it will be of great interest to lovers of that delirious decade.

The Flipside Presents... Witchcraft Night at the NFT

Apologies for the poor picture, a lack of stills is an indication of how rare the movies showing at The Flipside Presents... Witchcraft Night at the NFT really are.

The date is Saturday 31st October from 18:20 at NFT1 at the BFI Southbank, the movies on show being:
 
Secret Rites (1971)
Don’t miss this ultra rare witchcraft documentary by notorious British exploitation veteran Derek Ford.  Hairdresser Penny is curious about paganism and meets Alex Saunders, the infamous ‘King of Witches’, for a pint at her local.  She is soon initiated – undergoing the mysterious rites of the First Degree – and attends a pagan wedding, complete with groovy post-ceremony ‘free expressive dance’.  Saunders, dressed as Anubis, then leads his circle in the climatic Egyptian Rites of Ra.  Obscure prog band The Spindle provide the evocative and intense soundtrack to this quirky but respectful film.

Can You Dig It? Black Action Films 1969-1975

Soul Jazz is always worth keeping an eye on for some interesting tunes, but movie fans are getting in on the act with Can You Dig It? Black Action Films 1969-1975, which is out today.

Available as a two CD set or limited edition double album set, it charts the rise of black action flicks from the late 60s onwards, throwing in a 100-page booklet, a limited-edition mini-film poster, cards and stickers. There's some very cool soul and funk on-board too, from the likes of James Brown, Curtis Mayfield, Willie Hutch and Roy Ayers, helped along by some big arrangement from Quincy Jones, Johnny Pate and JJ Johnson.

Want to see the tracklisting? Check it out over the page. or buy via Amazon now for £9.88. The two vinyl releases are available from Soul Jazz itself, more details here.

Find out more at the Amazon website

Win The Avengers Series One and Two DVD boxset

As we reported earlier, not everything has survived, but the remaining episodes of the first series of The Avengers, along with the second series, have been reissued on an eight-disc DVD boxset, courtesy of Optimum - and we have one of these superb boxes to give away.

Just two and a half first series episodes survive, but thankfully all of series 2 is still around, all fully restored (for the first time) and of course with Patrick Macnee playing Steed, Honor Blackman doing the partner thing as Catherine/Cathy Gale. The entire eight-disc set has a running time of 1,520 minutes, augmented by extras including a 132-page book covering series one, a series one scrapbook, scripts, materials, stills, promotional brochures, audio commentaries and an Honor Blackman interview - most of that new for this release.

It's available from this week (5th October 2009) and priced around £79.99, but if you want one for nothing, we have a box to give away. Just follow the link to the competiton page on our Modculture site.

Enter The Avengers DVD boxset competition at Modculture