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Released by: Etiquette Pictures
Released on: November 27th, 2015.
Director: Patrick McGoohan
Cast: Richie Havens, Lance LeGault, Season Hubley, Tony Joe White, Susan Tyrrell
Year: 1974
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The Movie:
The only feature film to be directed by Patrick McGoohan (he of The Prisoner and Secret Agent fame), 1974's Catch My Soul is hands down one of the strangest Shakespeare adaptations to ever hit the silver screen, even if it only ever hit that screen ever so briefly before fading into complete obscurity. Until now really just the stuff of legend for fans of McGoohan, the film has now been released on Blu-ray/DVD from Etiquette Pictures and in a restored special edition at that, something that those who had only heard of the film until a few months ago likely thought would never, ever happen.
The film is set in the deserts of New Mexico, and it's here that we meet a travelling preach man named Othello (Richie Havens). He leads a pack of flower children/Jesus freak types and eventually marries on of them, a pretty young woman named Desdemona (Season Hubley), who seems unusually committed to the man. This makes Iago (Lance LeGault) somewhat insane with jealousy and, fueled by anger, he decides to wreck their happy marriage.
How he does this is by setting up a third man, Cassio (Tony Joe White), by placing the handkerchief that Othello gave Desdemona in his room. He then lets it slip to Othello that Desdemona has been seen with Cassio and, of course, Othello assumes she has been unfaithful. Iago is assisted in this scheme by his wife, Emilia (Susan Tyrrell), and before you know it it's time for murder most foul in the grand Shakespearean tradition!
Birthday from the mind of Jack Good, this counterculture take on Shakespeare's Othello blends the classic tragedy into the popular rock opera/musical format popular at the time thanks to the popularity of pictures like Jesus Christ - Superstar and Godspell (it pre-dates Hair and Tommy but would fit in alongside those two films quite nicely as well). It's an interesting idea and most of the time it actually works quite well. Using a lot of actual musicians in the cast gives the near constant musical numbers some much needed, and appreciated, enthusiasm and passion and if that does occasionally come at the cost of their acting ability, it's not such a big deal. The emphasis here is on the audio and the video - the music pulls you in and the visuals keep your eyes glued to the screen. This is, maybe not so surprisingly given that McGoohan directed it, a pretty wild looking and particularly colorful film. It's also heavy on Catholic iconography of a sort (Othello displays a crucifix with a black Jesus nailed to it, rather than a simple cross) and religious symbolism, which, when combined with the plethora of hippie types running about, makes for a movie you can't take your eyes off of.
The principals here, for the most part, do good work. Richie Havens is pretty intense in the lead - his preacher man seems angry, more than he does compassionate, but it ties into some of the racial tensions that would have been plaguing the country in the sixties when the stage version of Catch My Soul was written, so it makes sense. He's got a very cool look in the film and he comes across as pretty tough. This contrasts with Hubley, who is meek by comparison, and whose performance here is a little too doe eyed and innocent to really work as well as it should. She's got the right look, she's pretty and innocent, but at times she definitely seems out of her element. Susan Tyrrell, on the other hand, just goes for it. Her character is a more aggressive woman than Desdemona and Tyrrell is pretty strong here. Tony Joe White is fine as Cassio, his character's drinking problem becoming a catalyst of sorts for the events that transpire in the last half of the movie, while Lance LeGault is as effective as he is diabolical in his scene stealing turn as Iago.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Catch My Soul makes its worldwide home video debut via this release, scanned at 2k from the original 35mm negative and presented framed at 1.78.1 widescreen in AVC encoded 1080p high definition. There are a couple of minor nicks and white specks but by and large this transfer is really clean. Detail can look a bit soft in a couple of shot that appear to have been shot that way but the vast majority of the movie is very crisp and remarkably detailed. Color reproduction is frequently gorgeous, skin tones look great and black levels are nice and deep but not at the expense of shadow detail. There are no instances of noise reduction or edge enhancement here, the whole thing just looks very natural and film like - exactly as it should be.
The English language DTS-HD Mono track on the disc is also very strong. The track is nicely balanced and free of any hiss or distortion. Dialogue is clean and clear and the musical numbers have got the right amount of punch behind them and typically sound great. Optional English subtitles are included.
The biggest and best of the extras on the disc is a twenty-minute long featurette entitled Drink the Wine, Eat the Bread that interviews producer Charles Fries and associate producer Huw Davies about their experiences working on the film. Fries notes how after the success of the Tales From The Crypt feature he worked on he was looking to get onboard with a new feature and how he was drawn to this project while Davies discusses some of the difficulties involved in the production, many of which stem to the film's temperamental director and a cast that tended to indulge and imbibe more than they probably should have. Actor Tony Joe White pops up in a piece called The Deacon Speaks where he does just that for eleven minutes, talking about how he came onboard to work on this project, his thoughts on the film and his interactions with the cast and crew while cinematographer Conrad Hall's daughter, Naia, discusses her father's career for eight minutes sharing some interesting stories about his work on film and television along the way.
Outside of that we get a trailer for the feature, a really well written booklet of liner notes from Patrick McGoohan biographer Tom Mayer that offer a detailed and concise history and evaluation of the film, menus and chapter selection. As this is a combo pack release we also get a DVD included inside the clear plastic keepcase that contains a standard definition version of the movie and the same extras. We also get some nice reversible cover art.
The Final Word:
Catch My Soul is a fascinating film in its own bizarre way, and while it's unlikely to ever overtake blockbuster's like Godspell and Jesus Christ Superstar in the pantheons of Jesus movement musicals, it doesn't deserve to linger in the past. Etiquette Pictures have done right by McGoohan's obscure sole directorial offerings, presenting it in gorgeous shape and with some really strong supplements as well. Anyone with an interest in trippy counter culture musicals or off the wall Shakespeare adaptations should check this one out.
Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
