Flipside 016: Joanna (Mike Sarne, 1968)

[MichaelB]

Confirmed as an upcoming dual-format DVD/Blu-ray release in a recent BFI announcement.

[antnield]

The press release for Private Road and Duffer/Moon Over the Alley says this will be released in April 2011.

[ellipsis7]

Fascinating Q & A with Mike Sarne after Flipside theatrical screening of JOANNA... Film was funded by Fox out of profits from THE SOUND OF MUSIC apparently...

[antnield]

The BBFC have just classified Sarne's 1966 comedy short Road to St. Tropez (starring Udo Keir) so wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if it pops up as an extra on this disc.

[ellipsis7]

[MichaelB]

This won't come as a huge surprise, since it's been licensed from Fox, but I can now confirm that this will be Region B.

[ellipsis7]

Specs

Joanna

A Film by Mike Sarne

Billed on the film s original release as 'the female Alfie , seventeen-year-old Joanna is cool, stylish, and determined to start a new life as an art student in swinging London. Played with gusto by Geneviève Waïte, Joanna indulges in the pleasures of casual sexual encounters, colourful daydreams, and an impromptu trip to Morocco with the wise and debonair Lord Peter Sanderson (wonderfully played by Donald Sutherland). But when Joanna falls in love with Gordon, from Sierra Leone, her life begins to get complicated.

Extra Features:

Dual Format Edition: includes both Blu-ray and the DVD versions of the main feature. All films newly transferred to High Definition
Road to Saint Tropez (1966): Joanna director Mike Sarne s fictional travelogue, starring Udo Kier and Melissa Stribling
Death May Be Your Santa Claus (Frankie Dymon Jnr, 1969): Radical story of an interracial relationship in late-60s London
Fully illustrated booklet features newly commissioned sleeve notes
New and improved English subtitles

Just noticed, on the cover, in its present manifestation, no mention of Genevieve Waite, whereas Calvin Lockhart & Donald Sutherland are up there - strange....

[antnield]

Revised artwork:

[jamie_atp]

Have to say I much preferred the first art

[RossyG]

Me too.

Still, it's the contents that count.

[MichaelB]

The contents:

New from the BFI Flipside Collection
Dual Format Edition releases on 25 April 2011

‘Flipside is not just a dynamite DVD label, but a goldmine of great British cinema.’
Nicolas Winding Refn (Bronson, Valhalla Rising)

The BFI’s Flipside label continues on its mission to expose the hidden history of British cinema, presenting two rare and little seen films – both exploring changing attitudes towards sex and gender equality in 1960s Britain – for the first time on DVD and Blu-ray.
Released on 25 April, James Hill’s intimate two-hander, Lunch Hour (1962), stars Shirley Anne Field and Robert Stephens as a couple embarking on an illicit affair, while Mike Sarne’s freewheeling Joanna (1968) – often described as ‘the female Alfie’ – stars Genevieve Waite as a carefree modern girl out to have fun. Available in collectable Dual Format Editions (containing both DVD & Blu-ray discs), these world premiere releases also include rare film shorts, mastered from elements preserved in the BFI National Archive, and come with illustrated booklets containing new essays and original promotional materials.

Joanna

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

Director Mike Sarne began acting in the early 1960s and shot to fame when his 1962 debut single, ‘Come Outside’, went to No. 1. He turned to writing and directing in 1966 and, after Joanna, went on to direct the controversial sex change drama Myra Breckinridge (1970). This release also includes Sarne’s rarely-seen Road to Saint Tropez (1966), featuring Udo Kier in his first screen role, and the little-known Death May Be Your Santa Claus (1968) directed by Frankie Dymon Junior, who appeared as a Black Power militant in Godard’s Sympathy for the Devil, and went on to release the ultra-rare psychedelic album ‘Let It Out’ in 1971.

Special features

- Road to Saint Tropez (1966, 31 mins): Sarne’s debut film, an ‘anti-travelogue’ starring Udo Kier, Melissa Stribling and Gabriella Licudi
- Death May Be Your Santa Claus (Frankie Dymon Junior, 1968, 37 mins): an experimental examination of an interracial relationship in late 1960s London
- All films presented in both High Definition and Standard Definition
- New interview with Mike Sarne (2010, 16 mins, DVD only)
- Joanna, Mike Sarne’s novelisation of the film, presented as a downloadable PDF (DVD only)
- Illustrated booklet with essays and film notes by Chris Campion (writer and author who is currently working on a biography of John Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas) and an essay by Kodwo Eshun

Joanna (Flipside 0016) RRP £19.99 Cat no: BFIB1062 / UK, US / 1968 / Cert 18 / colour / English language / 113 mins / original aspect ratio 2.35:1 / Region 2 // Disc 1: BD50 / 1080p / 24fps / PCM mono audio (48k/24bit) // Disc 2: DVD9 / PAL / Dolby Digital mono audio (320 kbps)

The next BFI Flipside titles, released in July, will be Deep End (1971), starring Jane Asher, 1971) and Requiem for a Village (1975) by David Gladwell, editor of If…. and O Lucky Man!

As a trivial footnote, this is apparently the first BFI Flipside release on which all the footage - feature and extras - is framed at 2.35:1.

[kubelkind]

Looking forward to this - not so much for "Joanna" but for "Death May Be Your Santa Claus" which is a genuine oddity, as well as being (I think) the first UK film directed by a black guy. More a psychedelically-tinged series of late-60s vignettes than a formal narrative, it does deal predominantly with race, but in a far from straightforward way. Director Frankie Dymon also appeared in Godard's "One Plus One" and made a great proto-rap prog-funk album in Germany which is well worth checking out. I've heard some wild rumours about the making of the film - have the BFI had any direct dealings with Dymon? Is he even still around? Like I say, can't wait for this one - thanks.

[MichaelB]

as well as being (I think) the first UK film directed by a black guy.

Lionel Ngakane and Lloyd Reckord were making British films a few years earlier.

[max_cherry]

Does BFI provide english subtitles for Joanna' BR/DVD? They're not mentioned in special features...

[MichaelB]

Joanna will indeed have English HOH subtitles - I think this is true of all Flipside titles to date.

[max_cherry]

Joanna will indeed have English HOH subtitles - I think this is true of all Flipside titles to date.

Thank you! For me as non-English speaker question of subtitles is quite important. It's a pity that BFI hasn't added subs to Richard Woolley' collection (excl. german films) and Nighthawks-Nighthawks 2. I can only hope these're gonna be isolated cases...

[ellipsis7]

Cathode Ray Tube

[tenia]

Joanna will indeed have English HOH subtitles - I think this is true of all Flipside titles to date.

Thank you! For me as non-English speaker question of subtitles is quite important. It's a pity that BFI hasn't added subs to Richard Woolley' collection (excl. german films) and Nighthawks-Nighthawks 2. I can only hope these're gonna be isolated cases...

I just discovered the lack of subs for Nighthawks when putting it in my BR player. It is indeed a pity, especially for movies with a soundtrack not in spectacular good shape. For a non-native english speaker, it was really difficult to follow.
Anyway, the Kenneth Anger Magick Lantern disc-set also has no subs at all. But, here, it is less disturbing.

[MichaelB]

"The ultimate swinging London film", claims The Guardian.

[MichaelB]

The Digital Fix.
Mondo Digital.

I'm slightly baffled by this claim from the Mondo Digital review:

Joanna was the first directorial feature for Michael Sarne (or as the cover bills him, "Michael Mike Sarne")

...because it doesn't! At least not on my copy, which is a final retail version.

[ellipsis7]

Fascinating film this, a bit of retro fun, although a little uneven and probably too long... Donald Sutherland plays a stormer, walking away with the show, so there is a certain deflated air after he dies... Sarne seems to oscillate between a zeitgeist portrayal of the Swinging Sixties, and backwards nods to Fifties musicals and an hint of Audrey Hepburn in Waite's performance... Lassally's photography is also a standout... All in all a worthy addition to the Flipside strand...