Monday, August 10, 2009
Bill Douglas' Comrades is released on DVD and Blu-ray, comrades.
Well Comrades, something happened on the 27th July that we thought we'd never ever see happen, Bill Douglas' great lost (and last) film Comrades was released on DVD in the UK.
The films own history was something on an epic, and since its very brief cinematic release in 1987, one showing on TV and an incredibly brief sporadic international VHS release, nothiog had been heard of the film since. That was until February 2009, when Film4 announced it would be showing the movie on its free movie channel. This is what we wrote at the time: -
"Comrades is a cinematic account of the Tolpuddle Martyrs, a group of Dorset labourers who in the early 19th century took a collective stand against the unfair treatment meated out by their land owner. The land owner and the judiciary sought to crush any dissent amongst the peasant classes and the labourers were transported to Australia for their 'crimes'. The film had a terrific cast that includes James Fox, Michael Horden, Freddie Jones, Robert Stephens, Immelda Staunton, Keith Allen and Philip Davis, and was finally finished in 1987 (after endless production problems), and nearly 10 years after Bill Douglas had completed his life trilogy (My Ain Folk etc). Comrades received a limited cinematic release (no doubt in part due to its unfashionable theme and its 3 hr plus running time), and subsequently received only a couple of plays on television on Channel 4 (who co-funded the project) . It also received a very low key and brief VHS issue, but it has been long out of print and impossible to find.In the wake of Bill Douglas' death the BFI released the Trilogy on DVD, here is hoping that the premiere of Comrades on FILM4 is the first step to seeing this lost classic released on DVD very soon. " Comrades, was dutifully played in its uncut glory and it didn't dissapoint. With such a fantastic film I can only assume the delay in getting it back on TV was due the myriad of owners the film is rumoured to have had.
Then came news of not only a full DVD release, but also a blu-ray edition (for those that do). Both editions came with a treasure trove of additional features:
Lanterna Magicka – Bill Douglas & the Secret History of Cinema (2009, 60 mins), an insightful new documentary on Douglas’s life and work
Visions of: Comrades (2009, 15 mins), cast-members recall making the film
Bill Douglas interviews (1978, 33 mins), exclusive presentation of a remarkable interview in which Douglas discusses his method and creating approach to writing and directing
Home and Away (Michael Alexander, 1974, 30 mins), charming short film co-scripted by Douglas
Original Comrades trailer
On-set report from the set of Comrades
Illustrated booklet with essays, production material and credits.
Visions of: Comrades (2009, 15 mins), cast-members recall making the film
Bill Douglas interviews (1978, 33 mins), exclusive presentation of a remarkable interview in which Douglas discusses his method and creating approach to writing and directing
Home and Away (Michael Alexander, 1974, 30 mins), charming short film co-scripted by Douglas
Original Comrades trailer
On-set report from the set of Comrades
Illustrated booklet with essays, production material and credits.
Due to summer holidays, I only managed to watch the DVD right the way through on Saturday. The extras on the DVD are absolutely superb. I would say that this along with the release of Winstanley is our DVD highlight of the year so far.
Labels: Bill Douglas, Comrades, The Bill Douglas Trilogy
Monday, September 22, 2008
New DVD releases round up 22nd / 23rd September
Sifting through this weeks crop of contemporary DVD releases, we've come up with some recommendations for you.
In the UK, our pick of the DVD releases on 22nd September 2008 are:
Jean-Luc Godard's place in cinematic history is already assured with a long list of stunning and challenging movies such as Weekend, Made In USA and Breathless to name but three, but his eight episode series of histories of the cinema may well be his crowning glory. Made over a period of 10 years, this series is a truly mammoth critical meditation on 20th century cinema its glory and failings and taken in so much more. All done is a godard stylee it is a truly remarkable piece of work.
Bullet Boy. This film about the mean streets of London from 2005 is even more relevant given the escalation in the media profile of knife crime in the capital in the last year, and so this fine film is given a timely re-release. The story expands on themes of loyalty, kinship, courage, and escapism against the tough realities of surviving in a pressure cooker urban environment where doing the right thing is rarely a straight forward judgement call.
The Red Balloon / Flight of the Red Balloon. AKA Le Voyage Du Ballon Rouge/Le Ballon Rouge. Cult DVD label Network continues to build on its excellent repertoire of TV releases with its growing roster of film DVDs. They have now released The Red Ballon (1954) a 34 film minute with minimal dialogue, and an almost balletic story of a boy and his balloon meandering through the streets and rooftops of a changing Paris. Absolutely beautifully photographed it was also the winner of that years Oscar for best screenplay (even though it was only classed as a short film).
In the USA, the pick of the DVD releases on 23rd September 2008 are:
Bill Douglas was something of a lost name in British cinema, but his trilogy of films My Childhood, My Ain Folk and My Way Home are some of the most strongly autobiographical stories ever brought to life in Cinema. With those personal stories the joy and crushing lows of being brought up in a poverty stricken mining town in Scotland, and the 'escape' from home cut into the viewer like a knife. We here at alt-flix are dying to see Douglas' truly lost classic Comrades an extremely rarely shown epic about the Tolpuddle Martyrs.
The Singing Detective . A re-telling of Dennis Potter's classic 1980s TV serial. Surprisingly for a Hollywood produced movie, the retelling only loses a small amount of the charm and the darkly bitten spite of the original series. Robert Downey Jr gives his finest performance so far in the film, and the rest of the cast are pretty good too. Having said all that I would strongly recommend that anyone who enjoys watching this film should track down the DVD of the original series as it is an absolute masterpiece.
Aki Kaurismaki's Proletariat Trilogy (Shadows in Paradise / Ariel / The Match Factory Girl). Switching disarmingly and constantly rotating somewhere between tragedy and comedy, these social-realist comedies beautifully trevail the trials of the working-class of Kaurismaki's native Finland. A uniquely talented film maker whose work deserves a much wider audience.
Cinematographer Style. A truly fascinating and beautiful documentary focusing on the art and artists involved in cinematography. Includes inllumintaion from such cinematographers as Roger Deakins (the Coen brother's cinematographer) and Vittorio Storaro (whose stunning cinematography graced Apocalypse Now).
Other recommended new DVD releases can be found on our site at alt-flix.co.uk DVD releases.
In the UK, our pick of the DVD releases on 22nd September 2008 are:
Jean-Luc Godard's place in cinematic history is already assured with a long list of stunning and challenging movies such as Weekend, Made In USA and Breathless to name but three, but his eight episode series of histories of the cinema may well be his crowning glory. Made over a period of 10 years, this series is a truly mammoth critical meditation on 20th century cinema its glory and failings and taken in so much more. All done is a godard stylee it is a truly remarkable piece of work.
Bullet Boy. This film about the mean streets of London from 2005 is even more relevant given the escalation in the media profile of knife crime in the capital in the last year, and so this fine film is given a timely re-release. The story expands on themes of loyalty, kinship, courage, and escapism against the tough realities of surviving in a pressure cooker urban environment where doing the right thing is rarely a straight forward judgement call.
The Red Balloon / Flight of the Red Balloon. AKA Le Voyage Du Ballon Rouge/Le Ballon Rouge. Cult DVD label Network continues to build on its excellent repertoire of TV releases with its growing roster of film DVDs. They have now released The Red Ballon (1954) a 34 film minute with minimal dialogue, and an almost balletic story of a boy and his balloon meandering through the streets and rooftops of a changing Paris. Absolutely beautifully photographed it was also the winner of that years Oscar for best screenplay (even though it was only classed as a short film).
In the USA, the pick of the DVD releases on 23rd September 2008 are:
Bill Douglas was something of a lost name in British cinema, but his trilogy of films My Childhood, My Ain Folk and My Way Home are some of the most strongly autobiographical stories ever brought to life in Cinema. With those personal stories the joy and crushing lows of being brought up in a poverty stricken mining town in Scotland, and the 'escape' from home cut into the viewer like a knife. We here at alt-flix are dying to see Douglas' truly lost classic Comrades an extremely rarely shown epic about the Tolpuddle Martyrs.
The Singing Detective . A re-telling of Dennis Potter's classic 1980s TV serial. Surprisingly for a Hollywood produced movie, the retelling only loses a small amount of the charm and the darkly bitten spite of the original series. Robert Downey Jr gives his finest performance so far in the film, and the rest of the cast are pretty good too. Having said all that I would strongly recommend that anyone who enjoys watching this film should track down the DVD of the original series as it is an absolute masterpiece.
Aki Kaurismaki's Proletariat Trilogy (Shadows in Paradise / Ariel / The Match Factory Girl). Switching disarmingly and constantly rotating somewhere between tragedy and comedy, these social-realist comedies beautifully trevail the trials of the working-class of Kaurismaki's native Finland. A uniquely talented film maker whose work deserves a much wider audience.
Cinematographer Style. A truly fascinating and beautiful documentary focusing on the art and artists involved in cinematography. Includes inllumintaion from such cinematographers as Roger Deakins (the Coen brother's cinematographer) and Vittorio Storaro (whose stunning cinematography graced Apocalypse Now).
Other recommended new DVD releases can be found on our site at alt-flix.co.uk DVD releases.
Labels: Histoire Du Cinema, The Bill Douglas Trilogy
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