Some movies go to Blu-ray and you just think 'whatever'. That's not going to be the case with the Blu-ray arrival of The Man Who Fell to Earth.
Optimum is releasing Nic Roeg's science-fiction cult classic for the first time in high-definition in April, a movie with stunning visuals and David Bowie in his 'think white duke' pomp as the lead character, Thomas Jerome Newton. Your TV is probably salivating at the prospect right now.
Some movies gain a reputation by being seen, others, like Peter Watkins' Privilege, are noted for exactiy the opposite reason. Thankfully we can now view this 60s cult classic for all the right reasons with the BFI offshoot Flipside kicking off 2010 with a long-overdue reissue.
It got a right old kicking from the critics in '67, but time has been kind to Privilege since. As has the world we live in. Set at a time of a coalition government (Labour and Conservative polices are so similar, they simply run the country together), we discover that the biggest name in the country is pop star Steven Shorter (Paul Jones). His stage act, which sees him imprisoned and abused onstage, is designed to create anger amongst his audience - taking away their anger from the wider world around them and indeed, the government.
It's been anticipated for years, but now, at long last, Privilege is coming to both DVD and Blu-ray as part of the Flipside series of releases through the BFI on January 25th 2010.
Steve Shorter (Paul Jones) is the biggest pop star of his day and loved by millions - his approval or endorsement can guide the choices and actions of the masses. But, in reality, he is a puppet whose popularity is carefully managed by government-backed handlers keen to keep the country’s youth under control. Only an act of complete rebellion can set him free.
Following the launch of the BFI’s Flipside DVD & Blu-ray strand in May (with The Bed Sitting Room, London in the Raw and Primitive London), the BFI has informed us of the next three titles in the cult movie series - Herostratus, All the Right Noises and Man of Violence, all of which are released on 24th August 2009. So first up, let's look at Herostratus.
When Max, a young poet (played by Michael Gothard - The Devils, La Vallée) hires a marketing company to turn his suicide into a mass-media spectacle, he finds that his subversive intentions are quickly diluted into a reactionary gesture, and his motivations are revealed as a desperate attempt to seek attention through celebrity.
Something a little different for the last of the Flipside releases (in association with the BFI), Richard Lester's The Bed Sitting Room from 1969.
It's actually not just a little different - it's a lot different. In the hazy aftermath of World War III, the fallout from a ‘nuclear misunderstanding’ (which lasted two minutes and twenty eight seconds, including the signing of the peace treaty) is producing strange mutations amongst the survivors, and the noble Lord Fortnum finds himself transforming into a bed sitting room. Told you it was odd.
