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Three previously unavailable 1970s features out on BFI Flipside Dual Format Editions on 17 January 2011

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

On 17 January the critically acclaimed BFI Flipside label presents another selection of rare and little-seen features from the hidden history of British cinema – all newly mastered from film materials preserved by the BFI National Archive.

Made available in the BFI’s trademark Dual Format Editions (which include DVD and Blu- ray in the same box, for the same price as a DVD) are Barney Platts-Mills’ follow-up to Bronco Bullfrog, Private Road (1971), starring Bruce Robinson and Susan Penhaligon, and a double bill of mind-blowing films from Joseph Despins and William Dumaresq, Duffer (1971) and The Moon Over the Alley (1975).

Private Road

Barney Platts-Mills’ stylish and compelling follow-up to Bronco Bullfrog (released by BFI Flipside in September) relocates the youthful struggle for social and personal freedom to 1970s Boho London, suburban Surrey and rural Scotland.

When Peter, a handsome author pausing from finishing his first novel (and played by Bruce Robinson who would go on to write and direct Withnail & I) shacks up with sugar-sweet receptionist Ann (Susan Penhaligon), sex, drugs, and some rigorous rural living ensue, to the dismay of Ann’s well-to-do parents. Soon, however, they are forced to choose between domestic conformity and individual fulfilment.

Special features

* Two never-before-released extras, sourced from the BFI National Archive: St Christopher (1967, 48 mins): Barney Platts-Mills’ affecting observational documentary about the education of mentally handicapped youngsters The Last Chapter (David Tringham, 1974, 29 mins): dark tale in which a successful middle-aged writer (Denholm Elliot) is unbalanced by an assured young fan (Private Road’s Susan Penhaligon)
* Presented in both High Definition and Standard Definition
* Illustrated booklet with newly commissioned essays and reviews

The RRP for BFI Dual Format Edition titles is £19.99.

The next Flipside releases, in April 2011, will be Lunch Hour (1961) by James Hill and Joanna (1968) by Mike Sarne.

Technical details

Private Road (Flipside 014) Cat no: BFIB1065 / UK / 1971 / Cert 15 / colour / English language (optional hard-of-hearing subtitles) / 89 mins / Original aspect ratio 1.85:1
Disc 1: BD50 / 1080p / 24fps / PCM mono audio (48k/24-bit) Region 0
Disc 2: DVD9 / PAL / PCM mono audio (48k/16-bit) (Extras Dolby Digital 320kbps) / Region 0

“To me, the point about Private Road is that Bruce [Robinson] used it to test out Withnail,” reckons Platts-Mills. “He was already talking about Withnail way back then. Bruce did his performance in my film and then went on to do the same kind of thing in his own film. I think that’s truer than [the idea that] he copied my film.”

Barney Platts-Mills’ 1971 tale of young love in the early seventies, “Private Road,” gets the meticulous BFI restoration and a luminous high definition transfer this time out -- and the results are like looking through a polished window that’s become a portal back into early-1970s London.

ellipsis7 wrote:5 minutes plus clip...