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NATIONAL CINEMA DAY HAS RECORD TURNOUT…
INDEPENDENT VIDEO STORE DAY IS STILL A THING
ERA CELEBRATES RETAIL CHAMPIONS
AOK FOR 4K
SCIENCE AND JCVD LEAD THE CHARGE
AMAZON: UK LEADS THE WAY IN 4K
MORE FROM ALTITUDE
CRITERION HAS THE RIGHT SPIRIT
BFI KICKS OUT THE JAMS…
…AND GETS ITSELF TOGETHER
EUREKA UNVEILS NOVEMBER TITLES
SMOKING CAUSES LAUGHING
BBFC REPORT ANALYSED BY THE RAYGUN
MAIL FORGETS ITS NASTY DAYS…
…AS VRA ANNIVERSARY LOOMS
WEST GOES TO WEST END FOR PREMIERE
PAST LIVES A MUST
TRAILERS OF THE WEEK
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It was a good week for… National Cinema Day putting bums on seats and 4K getting them going at home…
It’s been a bad week for… the Daily Mail forgetting its role in the Nasties debacle…
We’ve been watching… Loads since our last missive, including the very enjoyable Haunted Mansion which was a lot of fun, the excellent and hugely successful indies Talk To Me and Scrapper and a big mention for the excellent Klokkenluider. And we're still recovering from Past Lives (see below…)
Last Saturday, September 2, was National Cinema Day, as assorted bodies and companies involved in distribution pooled resources for the event, which first launched with a record breaking event back in 1997 through and was revived last year in a successful post-COVID attempt to woo audiences back into cinemas. And it has been hailed as a huge success, generating cash for cinemas and enticing people back into multiplexes and indie venues. Some 713 venues took part, up on last year’s 643, while there were more than 1.7 million admissions as people took advantage of the £3 a seat offer, up on 2022’s 1.6m. A statement from the organisers, cross-industry group Cinema First, working with the Film Distributors’ Association and the UK Cinema Association, added: “Admissions reached three times the equivalent day of the pre-pandemic era with many operators reporting multiple sold out shows across the day.” The event came on the back of a strong summer at cinemas and was aiming to keep punters brought back by the twin thrust of Barbie and Oppenheimer among others, coming back for more. Iain Jacob, Chair of Cinema First, said: “After the success of last year’s inaugural event, to see this second edition prove even more successful shows beyond doubt that the cinema experience offers the most enriching and positive form of escapism. We are delighted to have been able to welcome so many people back to the Big Screen. Thank you to everybody who came.” Before the event, Jacob had said: “There seems no better time than now to celebrate UK cinema-going, one of the nation’s favourite out- of-home leisure activities. Coming off of the back of recent box office successes and the huge profile they have given to the sector, we wanted to give everyone a chance to enjoy the big screen experience. While all the evidence confirms that cinema-going is amongst the most low-cost, best value-for-money leisure opportunities, we also of course recognise that many households are still experiencing significant impacts on their finances and wanted to do our bit to make a trip to the cinema even more affordable for the whole family.”
And before you ask or even wonder, why can’t we have a similar event for home entertainment, there is still an International Independent Video Store Day. It takes place in October and the 2023 event will be the 13th. More information here https://www.videostoreday.com. In its statement, the organisers noted: In an attempt to consolidate the power of the thousands of independently owned video stores still in operation across the continent and worldwide, we created VIDEO STORE DAY! This international event is celebrated and observed the third Saturday of October each year. It’s purpose is to promote the idea of supporting your local, independent video stores. Stores owned and staffed by human beings who can be relied upon for reviews and recommendations and who truly love what they do – otherwise, why else would they still be doing it?Film fans, Directors, actors, producers, screen writers, distributors, labels and anyone in the home entertainment film industry who has a vested interest in working together to promote this industry from the bottom up, should take this day to join with us as independently owned video stores across the world act together, unified in purpose to take a stand and to celebrate the rich history and potential future of Independent Video Shops.”
To Eastcheap Records in the heart of the city of London (it’s not a record shop, more of a vinyl-themed bar and venue), where ERA, the Entertainment Retailers’ Association, was hosting its Retail Champion awards at an event attended by numerous retailers and more. As ERA CEO Kim Bayley noted: “In a business which is not short of awards ceremonies, it has long been an anomaly that there we no awards for the sector which engages directly with music fans. We finally fixed it – and we’re glad we did. We are the most significant sector in the business not to have awards and we wanted to highlight the individuals who make a difference not just for their own company but for ERA, its membership and the All of the award-winners were nominated by their peers – and in a sense it’s the Ivor Novello Awards of retail. The winners were selected by our Executive Board – and it was a tough choice as we had lots of worthy nominations.” Those awarded included BBC Radio London’s Jess Iszatt who presents the ERA and Official Charts initiative the Record Club; Proper Distribution’s Graham Jones, who penned the excellent Last Shop Standing about indie record stores; Natasha Youngs, Resident Music, Brighton; Ian Sims, Amazon; Steve Roper, from indie sales specialist 369; Rich Clarke, War Child and a special award to the family of former ERA chair and indie record store owner Paul Quirke, who died in 2020. It was presented by former HMV MD Steve Knott. Bayley added: “The feedback has been amazingly positive. People loved how we honoured real people. The Retail Champion Awards have put a spotlight on the greatest unsung heroes and heroines of the music business. We are already planning next year’s event.”
We’ve long been singing the praises of assorted boutique labels and the great work done by assorted imprints and after recent successes trade organisation BASE has noted the successes of labels such as Arrow as well as Altitude, in bringing restored and revived versions of classic fare to market, with on Blu-ray and latterly 4K (the latter grew almost 15 per cent last year), and making huge successes of it. The catalysts for this were as brace of releases on 4K, Altitude’s collaboration with Capelight Pictures for a first 4K of Bloodsport, the classic Jean-Claude Van Damme outing, attained number one in its week of release, selling almost 3,000 units in its first week at a premium price point. Altitude’s head of home ent Adam said, “‘We have been delighted to see Bloodsport move to the top of the charts on release. We have been spending some time recently delving into our catalogue to see what is possible with 4K HDR on specific titles, and we have also been working very closely with some key partners on titles such as Bloodsport and All Quiet On The Western Front. It’s fascinating to see deep catalogues now being given another lease of life on physical; consumers also seem to be responding to these higher-end products, be them 2-Disc Editions or Steelbooks/Mediabooks. Matt Kemp, from Spirit Entertainment said: “We were over the moon to see the JCVD fans (and the 4K collectors) turn out in force to support our release of Bloodsport. The film has long been a cult classic amongst action fans, and we were pleased to reward them with the best possible version, with some great artwork options as a bonus. A big thanks to our retail partners who really got behind the release, driving significant sales at a high-value price point, to great success.” Steffen Gerlach, CEO – Capelight Pictures, further echoed this saying, “Bloodsport was Capelight’s first 4K UHD/Blu-ray SteelBook release in the UK, and we are excited about its success. With Mediabooks and SteelBooks in our lineup, collectors can pick their preferred choice of packaging for titles like Bloodsport. And there is more coming up. Mediabooks, with their 24-page booklets, are extremely popular in the German collector’s market, and we are happy to introduce these beautiful products to Blu-ray and 4K UHD collectors in the UK.”
And there was also Arrow’s very own Weird Science, nestling in behind Bloodsport at number two and shifting more than 1,000 units in its first few days on sale. Home ent head of sales at the company Dean Lawson said: “Weird Science is the latest 4K UHD release from Arrow Video, and we’re delighted to see it perform so well in the market in its opening week; the film is a classic that continues to resonate with audiences, and we are thrilled to bring it to home entertainment in the UK and North America in the best possible quality. The format continues to be a significant growth area for Arrow, and we’re excited to see it flourish as we have more than 10 4K UHD releases to come in the remainder of 2023.”
More 4K comment from from Amazon’s senior vendor manager (EU movies) Paul Subirana, who noted: “The UK is our most resilient market within the 4K segment for Amazon, outperforming our EU average growth by 20 per cent in 2022. We setup a dedicated 4K store for each EU country in 2022 and are seeing increased traffic in 2023, contrasting with the category decline and showing the increased interest of customers. We are welcoming the increased appetite of our partners to launch 4K editions of classic catalogue titles often getting sold out in the pre-order phase and pleasing collectors.” Official Charts Company commercial director Becca Monahan said: “It’s great to see the success of the 4K format impacting the chart. It’s a testament to the strength of the 4K format which, with the right titles, clearly resonates with consumers.”
Back to Altitude and it’s interesting to note that the indie, currently enjoying one of its biggest releases ever – and one that’s still shocking audiences around the country – in the shape of Talk To Me (we’re still recovering from seeing it recently) is spreading its wings beyond new release theatrical and DTV fare and dipping its toes into bringing classic catalogue titles and old favourites back to shelves in sumptuous new, smartly packaged physical releases in partnership with Capelight. There’s more to come too: a new 4K of The Misfits, with the classic line-up of Clark Gable, Montgomery Clift and Marilyn Monroe looking sharper than ever in high definition, and its Arthur Miller script and John Huston direction also looking better than ever. It’s due on September 18 in a mediabook with booklet. These follow on the back of the excellent edition pulled together for All Quiet On The Western Front, the best foreign language winner at the last Oscars and there are further titles due too.
Sticking with boutique labels and some six years ago, Criterion – then in operation in the UK for a year in partnership with Sony, told The Raygun: “The market hasn’t got 18 months left, it’s a lot more than that. We’re going to do what we do and forge ahead with releases. The level of films available to us now has really increased.” And now after the end of its deal with Sony, the Criterion Collection has a new home, The UK operations for the legendary imprint, one of the forerunners of today’s collector market and boutique label business, are now being handled in the UK by Spirit Entertainment. The deal comes some seven years after the label launched its operations in the UK, with its impressive catalogue on these shores being handled by Sony over here. The new deal will not only see the label continuing to bring its state of the art titles to the shores, but also marks the first time it is releasing Ultra High Definition titles over here, for, as the release announcement noted: “Fans will also be excited to know that they will be able to own special 4K Ultra HD editions, previously unavailable in the UK.” The deal kicks off in October, with Martin Scorsese classic After Hours first out of the traps on the 9th, with classic black and white cult title Freaks following two weeks later. Comment came from Spirit’s Rob Callow, who said: “Spirit remains dedicated to the long-term future of the physical visual formats as do the Criterion team with their best-in-class special editions; we really look forward to collaborating on many exciting projects to further enhance the continued growth in this sector of the physical market over the coming years. The full Criterion Collection back catalogue is available from Spirit now, with new releases coming this Q4. We are excited to launch our partnership with the introduction of 4k UHD which will be available in the UK for the first time. We kick off on 9th October with Martin Scorsese’s cult classic After Hours (available on Blu-ray and Director-approved 4K UHD) shortly followed by 1932 pre-Code horror collection Freaks / The Unknown / The Mystic: Tod Browning’s Sideshow Shockers (available on Blu-ray) on the 23rd October.
The BFI has already announced its Q4 slate but the past week or two has further unveiled a clutch of additions, all of which further highlight the diverse nature of the organisation’s game entertainment output. Chief among them was the stunning news revealed over the past few days of a collection pulling together the the entire filmed output of legendary pop pranksters the KLF. The news was announced on August 23, to be precise, with the number 23 being the kind of mystical number that figures largely in the band’s history. The KLF rode into the charts in the early 1990s on the back of the acid house phenomenon and the duo of on August 23, to be specific, which saw them getting up to all kinds of nonsense, ending in the burning of £1 million in cash, by way of a raft of to 10 singles and output with everyone from Tammy Wynette to Extreme Noise Terror and Deep Purple. 23 Seconds TO Eternity, out on November 6, features KLF pop promos (one of which was shot on the James Bond stage at Pinewood and comes complete with a viking ship), as well as short films detailing their assorted escapades and those of the JAMS, the preceding band from situationists and artists Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty, the figures behind the KLF and assorted pseudonyms. Much of it has been unseen for years – if ever - and the release wil also be timed alongside a screening at the BFI.
Comment on there lease of 23 Seconds To Eternity came from the BFI’s John Ramchandani, who told `The Raygun: "It’s an absolute pleasure and privilege to work with director Bill Butt and The KLF to bring their new feature, 23 SECONDS TO ETERNITY to cinemas, DVD and Blu-ray from 6th November. The film takes viewers on a journey through the collected films featuring Jimmy Cauty and Bill Drummond in their various guises as The Timelords, The JAMs and The KLF and includes the newly remastered THE WHITE ROOM, THE RITES OF MU narrated by Martin Sheen, KRASH and several music videos for hit singles Kylie Said to Jason, 3 A.M. Eternal, What Time is Love? and Justified & Ancient featuring lead vocals by ‘The First Lady of Country’ Tammy Wynette. The physical release will be accompanied by a launch screening and Q&A at BFI Southbank on 6 November and special features include a new interview with Bill Butt by Mick Houghton - publicist for The KLF, a making-of documentary about the music videos filmed at Pinewood Studio’s 007 stage with commentary by director Robert Milton Wallace, a short film about the Stadium House Trilogy, trailers and an image gallery. Disc pre-sales have already exceeded our optimistic expectations and the online buzz has taken on a life of its own throughout the KLF community which proves ice cream vans aren’t just for summer – they make for great Q4 gifting too!”
Also from the BFI and slated for release ion September 25, is a title featuring the collected works of little known but important filmmaker Lorenza Mazzetti, who saw much of her family killed by Nazis before arriving in Britain in 1951. Here she made a trio of acclaimed shorts, collected here together alongside a documentary tracing her life and work. Like the aforementioned 23 Seconds To Eternity, it coincides with a BFI screening. Mazzetti was part of the Free Cinema movement in the UK, the only woman alongside renowned filmmakers such as Tony Richardson, Lindsay Anderson and Karel Reisz. Will Fowler, BFI National Archive curator of artist moving image said; “The BFI National Archive's newly remastered versions of her three London films, which includes the significant rediscovery of Mazzetti’s long-lost film The Country Doctor, are a revelation, demonstrating her to be a special filmmaker with a remarkable life story and a singular, modernist if haunting vision.” Brighid Lowe, director of Together With Lorenza Mazzetti added: "Lorenza was 90, when Henry K. Miller promised that we would "hunt down" The Country Doctor, a film unknown even to her family and thought lost: it was a promise that Henry and I were able to keep. Before her death in 2020, Lorenza was reunited with her extraordinary film, completing her trilogy of Kafka films."
More from the specialist sector and Eureka has revealed its titles for November, Here, as ever, is key accounts manager Marcus Garwood on its slate. He said: “"For the month of November we a providing two superb limited edition collectors sets for your Q4 Christmas gifting consideration. We begin with multi-award-winning actor, producer and martial arts legend Jet Li (Fearless, Mulan, Once Upon A Time In China). The set is entitled Heroes & Villains and brings together three of Jet Li’s most beloved action films on Blu-ray for the first time ever in the UK, namely The Enforcer (aka My Father is a Hero), Dr Wai in The Scripture with No Words and Hitman (aka Contract Killer). Each film is presented on its own disc and each of those discs is loaded with extras. The three-disc set is wrapped in a limited edition O-card slipcase featuring new artwork by Sam Gilbey and also includes a limited edition collectors booklet featuring new essays by Simon Abrams and David Desser. Next up we bring you The Royal Tramp Collection of two films by Jing Wong. Starring multi-award-winning King of Comedy Stephen Chow (Kung Fu Hustle, Shaolin Soccer) Royal Tramp is an epic two-part wuxia-comedy based on the writings of acclaimed Chinese novelist Jin Yong. The on screen action is enhanced by incredible choreography by Ching Siu-tung (A Chinese Ghost Story, Duel to the Death). It’s a two-disc set with brand new 4K restorations of both films, presented in 1080p HD. The limited edition release will have an O-card slipcase featuring new artwork by Darren Wheeling, plus a limited edition collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the films. And As a bonus in November we are also releasing standard editions of the following previously available (and now sold out) limited edition titles, namely Das Cabinet Des Dr Caligari 4K UHD and our Joseph Kuo directed Cinematic Vengeance eight-film boxset, which we have now split into two separate bite-size standard edition two-disc / four-film sets entitled Deadly Masters! and Fearless Shaolin!."
In stores this week is the latest from Picturehouse’s home entertainment arm and, after the wonderful Deerskin, it’s another from French director Quentin Dupleux, a director who truly deserves the “wacky” epithet. It lands following a high profile theatrical bow and thanks to what the Guardian called being “refreshingly immature”, it’s the kind of out-there comedy that will go down a treat with audiences and is among Dupieux’s finest. . Commenting on the release, Alice Werdine from Picturehouse Entertainment said "It's brilliant to be working with Quentin Dupieux again. His films are truly unique and Smoking Causes Coughing is a hilarious take on superhero movies. Get ready to meet Tobacco Force before the planet goes up in smoke!"
“5,527 – the number of video releases submitted to the BBFC in 2022. It was the highest figure for five years. 1,968 – the number of those 5527 given a 15 certificate, the most popular at video too. There were 1573 at 12, followed by PG (902), U (784) and 18 (just over 200).” The BBFC report was published recently and The Raygun’s very own Tim Murray has been writing at length about this year’s round-up of everything classification-related and pulling out a whole bunch of relevant facts and figures for a feature for our pals at the ever-excellent Film Stories magazine. You can read there it over here.
There’s a line from a Clash song – Death Or Glory off London Calling, that includes the line "But I believe in this and it's been tested by research, He who f*cks nuns will later join the church” (expletive asterisked for firewall purposes), and it sprung to mind after seeing the Daily Mail – which led the campaign against video nasties in the 80s with its “Ban the Sadist Videos” slogan, running a news piece about video nasties. And, irony of ironies, it said “so how many have you seen?. “ The Mail also handily embedded trailers, stills and sleeve art just to hammer home the message. The piece also noted: "Considering that today's society is more permissive than in the 70s or 80s and because of the availability of all sorts of salacious footage on the internet, the idea that low-budget horror movies could create such controversy seems antiquated.” It also highlighted Mary Whitehouse’s efforts to have films banned, but neglected to mention its own newspaper’s part in the sorry tale. See here.
Speaking of video nasties, next year is the 40th anniversary of the infamous 1984 Video Recordings Act. And our old pals at Nucleus Films, Marc Morris and Jake West, who between them know as much if not more than anyone else about obscure VHS horror films, will be updating their superlative documentaries on the subject released a few years back. Morris said this week: “We’re currently completing our massive Blu-ray revamp of the two Video Nasties: The Definitive Guide DVD sets which will be released next year (the 40th anniversary of the VRA) as a three-disc Blu-ray set.” Also due from Nucleus are more Euro cult fare, as Morris added: “We’re also putting the finishing touches to our upcoming Blu-rays of Education Angaise and Dressage, for our European Cult Cinema range.”
Nucleus’ Jake West, meanwhile, had his latest directorial outing premiering at FrightFest this year. Here he is on his latest outing. West said: “Mancunian Man: The Legendary Life Of Cliff Twemlow from Severin Films its world premiere at London’s FrightFest on Sunday, August 27 It takes us back to the 1980s to take a deep dive of the work of polymath Cliff Twemlow: bouncer. novelist, composer, screenwriter, producer, star. Perhaps best known for 1983’s G.B.H. Grievous Bodily Harm, which was banned as one of UK’s notorious Video Nasties. Cliff Twemlow’s unbelievably true story ranges from from a killer robot pike to a panther-transforming devil’s disciple who bafflingly drives a Sale Van Hire transit van and is told through exclusive interviews, insane film clips, rare behind-the-scenes footage and more! It played gangbusters to fantastic reviews in a sold-out screening in the main Imax screen at the Empire Leicester Square with a number of Cliff’s close collaborators in an emotional Q&A joining myself and producer David Gregory on stage. FrightFest was the world premiere that kicks off the festival run, the film next plays at Fantastic Fest in Austin Texas on September 24 then Monster Fest in Melbourne, Australia mid October and many more to be announced soon. Severin Films will be releasing this on Blu-ray next year and are putting together a special set of the Twemlow films (tba)."
Keep an eye out for Past Lives, due to open at cinemas this week. It’s been building a head of steam since its first airing at the start of the year at Sundance in the US, and the directorial debut of playwright Celine Song really does live up to the buzz. Spanning 24 years, it’s a tale across two countries, South Korea and the US, and lost love and, as the title suggests, past lives. It seems set to breakout to a wider audience, given that it comes from US powerhouse A24, which will also help entice people who wouldn’t normally go rot see a drama such as this, and works both as a classic slice of romance, and yet feels very now and in the moment. As the Guardian noted recently: "Since its debut at Sundance in January, Past Lives has accrued slow-rolling, deserved hype – as the year’s first great movie, as an achingly effective love story, as a rare emotionally mature adult film somewhere between the romantic and the platonic.”
TRAILERS OF THE WEEK
Need a promo t-shirt for this…
https://youtu.be/utVaF4ovZy8 Nandos it better…
https://youtu.be/icfv_T5pkdI?si=Z_e3_6GZEobT1lzH Boys spin-off…
The Bolan boogie…
Sandler's back…
“Gareth’s vision” for The Creator…
THE OBLIGATORY GDPR BIT
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