Unman, Wittering and Zigo

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yoloswegmaster
Joined: Tue Nov 01, 2016 3:57 pm

Unman, Wittering and Zigo

#1 Post by yoloswegmaster » Fri May 26, 2023 10:11 am

Image

Boys will be boys in this scathing psychological thriller set within the hidebound but testosterone-charged confines of a remote coastal British private school, produced by and starring David Hemmings (Blow Up, Deep Red).

John Ebony is the idealistic young schoolmaster who arrives at Chantrey School for Boys on his first assignment, employed to fill the shoes of his predecessor Pelham who has recently been found dead at the bottom of a nearby cliff. Taking up residence in a cottage in the school’s grounds with his restless young wife Sylvia (Carolyn Seymour), Ebony is eager to make a good impression, but immediately gets off on the wrong foot with his assigned pupils, discovering the boys of class Lower 5b, minus the perpetually absent Zigo, to be unruly and defiant. However, they might possibly know more about Pelham’s demise than the school’s headmaster and his fellow staff are letting on.

Masterfully shot by cinematographer Geoffrey Unsworth (2001: A Space Odyssey) and directed by John Mackenzie (The Long Good Friday), this film adaptation of Giles Cooper’s classic play is presented on home video for the first time ever. Unman, Wittering and Zigo presents a scathing exposé of the kind of environment from which brutish empires are born.

Product Features

• High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation
• Original lossless English mono audio
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
• Brand new audio commentary by Sean Hogan and Kim Newman
• Brand new appreciation by critic, broadcaster and cultural historian Matthew Sweet
• Unman, Terhew, Lipstrob and Mrs Ebony, featurette with cast members Michael Howe, Michael Cashman, James Wardroper and Carolyn Seymour looking back at the production
• The original 1958 recording of Giles Cooper’s radio play
• Original trailer
• Image gallery
• Double sided fold-out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Eric Adrian Lee
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Eric Adrian Lee
• Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Kevin Lyons and Oliver Wake

M Sanderson
Joined: Sat Oct 22, 2016 3:43 am

Re: Unman, Wittering and Zigo

#2 Post by M Sanderson » Fri May 26, 2023 11:07 am

Can't wait. Excited for this one.

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Mr Sausage
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 9:02 pm
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Re: Unman, Wittering and Zigo

#3 Post by Mr Sausage » Fri May 26, 2023 12:23 pm

How does this compare to If… and Young Törless, which also address the origins of empire and totalitarianism in boarding school microcosms.

beamish14
Joined: Fri May 18, 2018 3:07 pm

Re: Unman, Wittering and Zigo

#4 Post by beamish14 » Fri May 26, 2023 1:14 pm

Mr Sausage wrote:
Fri May 26, 2023 12:23 pm
How does this compare to If… and Young Törless, which also address the origins of empire and totalitarianism in boarding school microcosms.
I don’t remember it being nearly as impressive as those two. A strong, effective atmosphere of dread and a very good performance from Hemmings, but it lacks their depth

Happy to try it again, though. I thought it DID have a VHS release, which is how I would have seen it

charal
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Re: Unman, Wittering and Zigo

#5 Post by charal » Sat May 27, 2023 12:22 am

Keep an eye open for a very young Michael Kitchen with a thick head of curly hair.

alacal2
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Re: Unman, Wittering and Zigo

#6 Post by alacal2 » Sat May 27, 2023 3:03 am

Can anyone tell me why this is only being released in the Us and not UK?

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MichaelB
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Re: Unman, Wittering and Zigo

#7 Post by MichaelB » Sat May 27, 2023 3:24 am

Presumably the same rights complications that have kept it off the UK home video market since it was invented in the first place.

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GaryC
Joined: Fri Mar 28, 2008 3:56 pm
Location: Aldershot, Hampshire, UK

Re: Unman, Wittering and Zigo

#8 Post by GaryC » Sat May 27, 2023 3:45 am

Interesting that they're including the original 1958 radio play but not the TV play version from 1965, which survives. Both would be licensed from the BBC, so maybe that would have been an expense too far? Does BBC radio cost less than BBC TV to license?

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rapta
Joined: Sun Jun 29, 2014 5:04 pm
Location: Hants, UK

Re: Unman, Wittering and Zigo

#9 Post by rapta » Sat May 27, 2023 2:02 pm

alacal2 wrote:
Sat May 27, 2023 3:03 am
Can anyone tell me why this is only being released in the Us and not UK?
I asked Indicator a year or two ago why they have trouble licensing Paramount titles and they said "no idea, they must not want [our] money" or something to that effect. I suspect all UK boutiques have the same issue with them, even Eureka who were licensing from them for years (before most other UK labels) have found it hard to get the go-ahead on anything lately. I suspect these labels all roll the dice through the usual middlemen (Park Circus and Hollywood Classics) and see what comes out the other side, hence why we've had a scant few titles here and there from Eureka, BFI, Indicator and 88 Films in the past couple of years but not the substantial catalogue-mining we're see from overseas labels like Criterion, Kino Lorber, Imprint and now Arrow Video USA too.

Makes no sense to me...these aren't exactly financially lucrative titles for Paramount's fledgling streaming platform, so why not offer them to these Blu-ray labels? It would only help promote the studio back catalogue to unsuspecting film fans across the UK (and anyone else in Region B), and make them a bit of cash on the side. Then again they're not the only company making bizarre decisions with regards to UK home video (Warner Bros, Disney, Criterion, Curzon).

M Sanderson
Joined: Sat Oct 22, 2016 3:43 am

Re: Unman, Wittering and Zigo

#10 Post by M Sanderson » Mon May 29, 2023 9:48 am

I'm happy to import it. Kind of makes it seem even more rare and important, that we can only get this British film from Arrow USA.

I think some were hoping that Mackenzie's disturbing public information films (Apaches, maddeningly only included in the Long Good Friday/Mona Lisa set, and not with Long Good Friday standalone release or SteelBooks; and Say no to Strangers) would be included.

Were Apaches and Say no to Strangers released on Blu ray anywhere else?

Any info on the remaster or restoration being used for the feature itself?

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MichaelB
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Re: Unman, Wittering and Zigo

#11 Post by MichaelB » Mon May 29, 2023 9:56 am

Apaches is included here.

M Sanderson
Joined: Sat Oct 22, 2016 3:43 am

Re: Unman, Wittering and Zigo

#12 Post by M Sanderson » Mon May 29, 2023 10:25 am

MichaelB wrote:
Mon May 29, 2023 9:56 am
Apaches is included here.
Super!

Many thanks, Michael.

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