Tommy screening plus Ken Russell Q&A; at the BFI - plus a whole weekend of cool Vintage movies

As part of the Vintage event taking at the Embankment in London over 29th, 30th and 31st July, there's a programme of rather cool movies screenings by the BFI, headed up by Ken Russell himself.

The headline act is, as we type (although not 100 per cent confirmed), Ken Russell presenting a screening of his 1975 adaptation of Tommy at the BFI. Not only that, the screening on Sunday 31st July will also feature a Q&A with the eccentric director too, right after the big screen showing.

If that's not enough, other movies are showing too, the likes of The Party's Over, The Damned, The Lavender Hill mob and so on. Full details over the page.

BFI website

DVD Review: Black Joy (1977)

I'd ever heard of Black Joy before the advance notice came through from Odeon, but I'm certainly glad I made the effort to secure a copy.

It's an obscure movie, but with some familiar faces - Norman Beaton and Floella Benjamin for example - featuring in this play-turned-film that endeavours to show the gritty streets of mid-70s Brixton through the eyes of someone alien to it, Guyanan immigrant Ben, played by Trevor Thomas.

Cult clip: Deep End (1970) trailer

Following on from our recent review, check out this newly-restored trailer for the (newly-restored) big screen version of Deep End from 1970. Check out the BFI site for details of screenings in May.

 

Review: Deep End (1970)

Creeping about the West End in search of film obscurities being something of a hobby of mine, your pal Scenester fair leapt out of his office at 5.30 one chilly Monday evening, throwing his coat on as he did, to make his way once more to BFI Stephen Street, for a screening of Deep End, a forgotten gem from 1970. I confess to not having heard of this film before, although I am at a loss to say why, in view of the gritty subject matter, year of production, authentic London locations and strong cast.

The list of films dealing with society's changing sexual mores, young and older people and their contrasting attitudes to sex is a particularly lengthy one, but I can safely say that this one is a real oddity, even by the standards of the time.

Joanna (1968) gets a dual-format release by BFI and Flipside

The second of the releases from BFI and Flipside for April is Joanna, a former big-screen presentation from the Flipside and reviewed by us here when it was on that big screen.

17-year-old Joanna (Genevieve Waite) is cool, stylish, and determined to start a new life as an art student in swinging sixties London. She indulges in the pleasures of casual sexual encounters, colourful daydreams and an impromptu trip to Morocco with the wise and debonair Lord Peter Sanderson (Donald Sutherland). But when Joanna falls in love with Gordon (Calvin Lockhart), from Sierra Leone, her life begins to get complicated.

BFI and Flipside release Lunch Hour (1962) on dual-format disc

We're always happy to see some new discs incoming from the BFI offshoot Flipside, with Lunch Hour being the first of the new releases for April.

Based on a John Mortimer play, Lunch Hour, from 1962, stars Shirley Anne Field (Saturday Night and Sunday Morning) as a young designer on the brink of an affair with a married male executive (Robert Stephens) at the company where she works. This story of an illicit lunch-hour rendezvous is shot in 'real-time' and is described as a 'stylish and highly-charged story of subterfuge, simmering tensions and sexual conflict'.

Remake of cult classic And Soon The Darkness heads to DVD

Regular reader will know that the original version of And Soon The Darkness is one of our favourite films. The work of the team behind The Avengers and set in rural France in 1970, the film has been remade, with much the same scenario, in Argentina. That version is getting a reissue on DVD this month.

In the remake, best friends Stephanie and Ellie decide to head off on their own for the final days of the trip hoping to find a bit more fun before having to head back home to the US. They wind up in a pretty rural village and spend the evening getting drunk in a bar, where Ellie picks up a handsome local while Stephanie heads back to their hotel alone intending to get a good night’s sleep. Stephanie is soon awoken by a booze-fuelled altercation between Ellie and her new 'friend', which is eventually broken up by an American ex-pat called Michael, who is also staying at the hotel.

Black Joy (1977) heads to DVD in remastered form

I'll be honest, I've never even heard of this one, let alone seen it. But Black Joy sounds like it's well worth seeking out.

Black Joy is described as an 'insightful if seedy' story of an innocent and unsophisticated Guyanan immigrant, Ben (Trevor Thomas), who is exposed to the hustle of the Brixton ghetto. Arriving with his cardboard suitcase and a piece of paper with the address of a relative on it, he loses his wallet and is forced to sleep rough. He meets Dave (Norman Beaton), a 'conniving hustler' who lives off the earnings of girlfriend Miriam (Floella Benjamin) and spends his days and money in gambling clubs and brothels. Dave at first sees the innocent Ben as an easy target, and offers to show him the ropes, meet girls and learn the ways of the big city; but ultimately the two men forge a unique friendship based on the corruption of the innocent and the survival of the underdogs.

Soul/reggae soundtrack sounds decent too, featuring the likes of Jimmy Helm, Johnny Nash, Shirley & Co, Billy Paul, Aretha Franklin, The Cimarons, Gladys Knight, The Drifters and The Three Degrees. Out on 4th April complete with a new film and audio transfer, it's selling for £9.70.

Find out more about the DVD at the Amazon website

Win a set of Retro Action! cult TV Blu-ray discs

If you like the idea of watching some cult TV from the 1960s and 1970s in glorious high definition, you'll want to own the forthcoming Retro Action! Blu-ray discs, which are available from Network from 28th February 2011. or better still, you can be in with a chance of winning one of three sets of Blu-ray discs in our latest competition.

The three discs showcase a selection of ITC from those years, each one restored for these releases. Volume one features The Persuaders!, Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), Department S, The Champions and The Strange Report, volume two has The Saint, Danger Man, The Prisoner, Gideon's Way and Man In A Suitcase and on volume three, you'll find The Adventures of Robin Hood, Shirley's World, The Invisible Man, The Baron, Return of the Saint and The Zoo Gang. For episode details of each, or to buy, check out the Network DVD website http://www.networkdvd.net

Want to get in the draw? Just head to the competition page, which is hosted on our Modculture site, enter your details and you'll be in the 'hat'. Want to see a trailer? See over the page for the trailers for both volume one and volume two.

Enter the Retro Action! competition at the Modculture website

Witchfinder General (1968) heading to Blu-ray by Odeon

It's a British horror classic, with Vincent Price at his menacing best in Michael Reeves' Witchfinder General. It's coming out on Blu-ray for the very first time, with Odeon doing the honours.

If you've not seen it, Price plats Matthew Hopkins, exploiting the power vacuum during the English Civil War by becoming the Witchfinder General, torturing and killing local village folk for cash with the help of his assistant, John Stearne (Robert Russell). But he goes a step too far when he kills a priest. Military hero Richard Marshall (Ian Ogilvy) who is engaged to the priest's niece, hunts him down amongst the English countryside, with the inevitable explosive ending.

The movie has undergone a full restoration for the high definition release, with extras also thrown in, including a new documentary on witchcraft and the persecution of woman by Witchfinder Generals, material on witchcraft and the English Civil war plus an interview with Vincent Price. You can pre-order now ahead of the June 13th release date, £14.93 is the price.

Find out more about the Blu-ray release at the Amazon website

DVD Review: Virgin Witch (1971)

It's not the most shocking British exploitation movie ever made, it's not the best either. Yet Virgin Witch still comes with a reputation. Perhaps because Virgin Witch makes no pretence at being anything other than exploitation. So much so that half the people connected to it still don't want anything to do with it 40 years on.

One of our writers reviewed this first back in 2007, but there's a new edition on the market, via Odeon, although there's nothing added to tempt you to buy again I suspect. A trailer, more trailers for other movies and a clean-up of the imagery and sound. Mind you, that means nothing if the movie stinks. Does it? Read on…

Review: Brighton Rock (2011)

Rushing in where angels fear to tread, I found myself in the lobby of the Curzon Soho, awaiting the arrival of Mme. Scenester for an appointment with what may be this year's most anticipated film. Almost 65 years have elapsed since Graham Greene's masterly novel Brighton Rock was made into an excellent film, and where the action was set firmly in the inter-war years the book was set in.

It was therefore with some trepidation that I greeted the news trailed throughout the latter part of last year, that the action had been advanced to the 1960s, although I can report that the setting is secondary to the plot here, with a few omissions and some liberties being taken here and there, it remains largely intact.

Watch 1960s cult classic Beat Girl free and legally online

It probably had parents running to lock up their daughters 50 years ago, but in 2011, Beat Girl is simply an entertaining and amusing cult classic. A very British take on teen rebellion. Oh yes, it's also free to watch online.

By online, we mean YouTube, which seems to have a glut of old black and white flicks on the video site in full, courtesy of Craze Classics. So if that's your bag, fill your boots.

But back to Beat Girl, the classic tale of a man, a stepmother and a daughter seemingly scorned - taking refuge in London's beatnik scene at the dawn of the 1960s and going all-out to shock the folks. Watch it below (but be warned, there are ads in it).

 

Chelsea Girls movie print by Siggi Eggertsson

The original poster was an iconic 60s design but the Chelsea Girls movie poster gets a new look courtesy of this print by Siggi Eggertsson.

Andy Warhol's 1966 film is often remembered more for its poster by Alan Aldridge than for the film itself, which followed some of the residents in New York's Chelsea Hotel. That cast included Nico and the film then inspired her debut album the following year. Probably because of that, Nico is the star of this poster, depicted in a bright and colourful manner that reflects the Pop art associated with Warhol. Add to that some other nice details too - such as the cast list worked into the main design - and you've got a nice piece of original art work for your walls. 

The giclee print is available in two sizes at two prices: either A2 for £85 or 60cm x 84cm for £145. 

Buy it from the Occupy Gallery

The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976) heads to Blu-ray

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.