UK: Jane Arden films coming to DVD & Blu-ray from BFI

[claire]

... a week on Monday (20th July):

The Other Side Of Underneath

Blu-ray: amazon.co.uk | play.com
DVD: amazon.co.uk | play.com

Anti-Clock

Blu-ray: amazon.co.uk | play.com
DVD: amazon.co.uk | play.com

Separation

Blu-ray: amazon.co.uk | play.com
DVD: amazon.co.uk | play.com

They're also being released on DVD, on the same date. Does anyone have additional info on these releases?

[chrisoneill99]

I have advance review copies of the standard edition discs. The BFI have really pushed the boat out, the SEPARATION discs was remastered in HD with almost all traces of ageing, damage, etc. cleaned up. There's also an audio commentary with director Jack Bold. Haven't delved into the other discs yet but they all seem to have nice extras (ANTI-CLOCK also includes a new 2005 re-edit, as well as the original 1979 version).

[MarcMorris]

The Other Side of the Underneath

Jane Arden's violent and powerful adaptation of her work with The Holocaust women's theatre troupe looks into the mind of a woman labelled schizophrenic and finds, not madness, but tortured sexual guilt created by the taboos of society.

'I don't know of anyone in cinema who has penetrated the psyche to the extent she has or evolved visual language of such richness and strength to convey what she has to say' (Molly Plowright, Glasgow Herald)

Extras
* Brand new restoration
* Extended sequences (33 minutes)
* Filmed interviews with Sheila Allen (2008, 27 minutes) and Natasha Morgan (2007, 9 minutes)
* Trailer for Anti-Clock (Jane Arden/Jack Bond, 1979, 3 minutes)
* Fully illustrated booklet with essays by Susan Croft, Sophie Mayer, Amy Simmons, Penny Slinger; reviews, biographies and credits.

Anti-Clock

'A complex and fascinating experimental exploration of time and identity. 'Anti-Clock' is a film of authentic, startling originality. Brilliantly mixing cinema and video techniques, Arden and Bond have created a movie that captures the anxiety and sense of danger that has infiltrated the consciousness of so many people in western society. Filled with high tension and high intelligence, Anti-Clock is mysterious, disturbing, fascinating and exciting'. (Jack Kroll, Newsweek)

'Anti-Clock... is great!' Andy Warhol
'A futuristic masterpiece' Claude Chabrol

Extras
* Newly restored from original negative
* Anti-Clock: Jack Bonds re-edit (2005, 87 minutes)
* Vibration (1975, 36 minutes): Arden and Bonds experimental Super-8 video/ film
* Original trailer (3 minutes)
* Fully illustrated booklet with contributions by Jack Bond, Chris Darke, and Penny Slinger: reviews, biographies and credits
* PCM mono audio (48k/16-bit)

Separation

Separation, scripted and starring Jane Arden, concerns the inner life of a woman during a period of breakdown - marital, and possibly mental. Her past and (possible?) future are revealed through a fragmented but brilliantly achieved and often humorous narrative, in which dreams and desires are as real as the 'swinging' London (complete with Procol Harum music and Mark Boyle light show) of the film's setting.

'Astonishingly distressing and perceptive' - The Observer

Extras
* Brand new restoration.
* New full-feature audio commentary by Jack Bond and Sam Dunn.
* Beyond Image (Mark Boyle & Joan Hills, 1969, 14 minutes) - a rare liquid light film co-created by leading British artist.
* Mark Boyle, whose visual effects are used throughout Separation. With music by The Soft Machine.
* Trailer for Anti-Clock (Jane Arden/Jack Bond, 1979, 3 minutes).
* Fully illustrated booklet with essays by William Fowler, Claire Monk, Maria Walsh: biographies and credits.

[claire]

Can anyone on these boards offer their opinion on "The Other Side Of Underneath"?

I'm on the verge of ordering it after weeks of debate. Incredibly mixed reviews have left me uncertain, but I am tempted - largely due to the reviews that promise a 'disturbing' film, and in particular the comparisons by some to the films of Dusan Makavejev.

Can anyone give me more to go on, a more personal account of the film perhaps?

[Timmy Lea]

I'm waiting to see if the BFI can send me some review copies of these. I particularly want to see SEPARATION, which sounds very prog rock indeed.

I wonder what an arden-t (ha!) feminist like Jane would have thought of my love of Robin Askwith and Barry Evans?

[claire]

I'd be interested in your thoughts on "Separation" if/when you get hold of it, Timmy.

I fancy it too, but have decided to order "Underneath" first. I ended up taking the plunge and ordered it yesterday, so hopefully I'll be watching it over the weekend.

[Harold Monroe]

ive just ordered all 3 of these.

id never heard of them before, but after reading a bit about them they sounded well worth a gamble.

really looking forward them, especially anti-clock

[claire]

ive just ordered all 3 of these.

id never heard of them before, but after reading a bit about them they sounded well worth a gamble.

really looking foward them, especially anti-clock

Brilliant. Likewise, I'd really appreciate your comments on Anti-Clock and Separation Mr Monroe, as they're titles I'm currently contemplating myself.

[Toten Corps]

Can anyone on these boards offer their opinion on "The Other Side Of Underneath"?

Can anyone give me more to go on, a more personal account of the film perhaps?

Other Side is a disturbing and shocking viewing experience...

Most of the film is made up of extreme and disturbing scenes depicting the protagonist's decent into madness posited alongside really harsh scenes of 'anti-psychiatry' therapy sessions where people (who seem pretty tripped out) are breaking down for real in front of the camera...

You really get the feeling that things got quite out of control during the production of the film, and the testimonies of the cast members seem to confirm this... people escaping form mental asylums... drugs, breakdowns, suicides... all that sort of stuff.

I would describe it as Jodorowsky meets Marat/Sade meets Riddle of the Sphinx... All in all a truly whacked out, bonafide British cult movie... with massive amounts of weirdness/obscurity appeal...

[claire]

Other Side is a disturbing and shocking viewing experience...

Most of the film is made up of extreme and disturbing scenes depicting the protagonist's decent into madness posited alongside really harsh scenes of 'anti-psychiatry' therapy sessions where people (who seem pretty tripped out) are breaking down for real in front of the camera...

You really get the feeling that things got quite out of control during the production of the film, and the testimonies of the cast members seem to confirm this... people escaping form mental asylums... drugs, breakdowns, suicides... all that sort of stuff.

I would describe it as Jodorowsky meets Marat/Sade meets Riddle of the Sphinx... All in all a truly whacked out, bonafide British cult movie... with massive amounts of weirdness/obscurity appeal...

Fantastic, cheers TC. Looking forward to receiving this even more now.

[claire]

Just watched "The Other Side Of The Underneath".

Very intense. Pretentious and overlong, but undeniably affecting. The whole film is like one long nightmare.

I appreciated it, but I'm not sure when I'll be ready to sit through it again.