Based on Herman Melville’s celebrated short story ‘Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street’, Anthony Friedmann’s unduly neglected film relocates the action to 1970s London and stars Oscar-winner Paul Scofield (A Man for All Seasons), John McEnery (Franco Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet), and Thorley Walters (Hammer’s The Phantom of the Opera).
When a young office clerk, Bartleby (McEnery), becomes increasingly defeated by the pressures of modern life, he gradually opts out of all forms of social engagement and his frustrated employer (Scofield) does all he can to stop him from withdrawing entirely into his own world.
Superbly acted and exquisitely photographed, Bartleby is a rare gem of 1970s British cinema. Presented in a brand new restoration from a 4K scan of the original negative, this wry and complex drama makes its worldwide debut on Blu-ray accompanied by a range of new and archival extra features.
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Supplements
- Audio interview with writer-director Anthony Friedmann (2022, 15 mins)
- Bartleby’s London (2022, 4 mins): an exploration of Bartleby’s locations
- Original theatrical trailer
- Image gallery: promotional and publicity material
- Script gallery: complete shooting script
- Beat the Bomber (1975, 16 mins): anti-terrorism documentary short written and directed by Friedmann
- Bartleby (2017, 12 mins): stop-motion animation version of the Melville story, directed by Kristen Kee and Laura Naylor
- Animation timelapse footage from Bartleby (2017, 1 min)
- Trailer for Bartleby (2017)
- Bartleby (2017) image gallery: promotional and publicity material
- Limited edition exclusive 36-page booklet featuring a new essay by Jeff Billington, archival interviews with star Paul Scofield and writer-director Anthony Friedmann, an overview of contemporary critical responses, new writing on Beat the Bomber and Bartleby (2017), and film credits