lost & forgotten & ignored Euro films

[Lee Member Find all posts View Profile Close Lee]

There are a slew of barely feature length British support features from the late 1970's and early 1980's that I'd love to see. I think many are lost to the sands of time sadly. Two I believe that are no longer "lost" will be seeing DVD releases at some point in the future, they are Saxon Logan's SLEEPWALKER (1984) via the BFI and Christian Marnham's THE ORCHARD END MURDER (1980) via Redemption. No official announcements or dates yet. But the rumblings have been solid.

Another British film I'd kill to own a copy of is BLOODSTREAM (1985) by the obscure yet bizarrely ubiquitous director Michael J. Murphy. It was shot during the video nasty era but was never released. It looks astonishing and thoroughly necessary if schlocky low budget gore from yesteryear is your bag. It was due to be released on DVD, but the tiny start-up went bust after their second DVD release.

BLOODSTREAM clip reel (no audio) - prepare yourself if you're not familiar!

[Lee Member Find all posts View Profile Close Lee]

And one more while I think of it.

Someone needs to release a decent DVD of the British regional horror oddity THE EYE OF SATAN (1992). It's a piece of genius.

Trailer:

[Paul L Scholar of Sleaze Find all posts View Profile Close Paul L]

There are a slew of barely feature length British support features from the late 1970's and early 1980's that I'd love to see. I think many are lost to the sands of time sadly. Two I believe that are no longer "lost" will be seeing DVD releases at some point in the future, they are Saxon Logan's SLEEPWALKER (1984) via the BFI and Christian Marnham's THE ORCHARD END MURDER (1980) via Redemption. No official announcements or dates yet. But the rumblings have been solid.

Good news about both of those two, Lee! I had no idea they were schedules for release. I'm particularly looking forward to THE ORCHARD END MURDER now.

[Clive Smith noodle doodle Find all posts View Profile Close Clive Smith]

Me too. I originally saw this when it was paired with DEAD AND BURIED in UK cinemas.

[Lars Jacobsson Member Find all posts View Profile Close Lars Jacobsson]

Sorry for the late reply. Yes, it was indeed the only surviving print of Symptoms. I wish I went to see it :) Someone should put it out on DVD, restored, as a double feature with Scream And Die, also shown at the festival.

Awesome news that a print exists! This would be an ideal BD release for the BFI Flipside series. Larraz' masterpiece!

[Paul L Scholar of Sleaze Find all posts View Profile Close Paul L]

Awesome news that a print exists! This would be an ideal BD release for the BFI Flipside series.

Most definitely!

EDIT. I've shot an email to both the BFI and the festival organisers about this. Hopefully the BFI are already aware, but you never know.

[Lee Member Find all posts View Profile Close Lee]

Good news about both of those two, Lee! I had no idea they were schedules for release. I'm particularly looking forward to THE ORCHARD END MURDER now.

Saxon Logan tweeted the following last July.

"Just heard my first three films Sleepwalker Working Surface and Stepping Out are being prepared for DVD Blu Ray distribution by#bfi BFI"

WORKING SURFACE and STEPPING OUT are award winning short films Logan made for the BBC. So. With his horror film SLEEPWALKER running only 50 minutes, my guess is that these three films will comprise a single DVD/Blu-ray combo pack release. I've read so much about SLEEPWALKER. But have never seen it. The only surviving print turned up a decade ago and has only been screened a few times since. It was screened here in a Bristol actually. But alas I was living in the U.S. at the time.

[Lee Member Find all posts View Profile Close Lee]

For those curious. Below is an insightful and colourful review of SLEEPWALKER I dug up online. I believe this was written in 2001.

"Saxon Logan's extraordinary 49 minute featurette pitches four people into a class war situation with a vicious sting in the tale.

After a not entirely stress-free journey, ("Wake me up when it's over")Richard Paradise (Grace) and wife Angela (David) arrive at the house of Albion, owned by brother and sister act Marianne and Alex Britain. When a violent storm breaches the walls and windows of Albion, Marianne is forced to abandon plans for a quiet candlelit dinner so the quartet head for a local restaurant where Fulton Mckay and Micahel Medwin materialise as all-seeing, all-knowing proprietor and waiter; a Fulci-esque pair of characters who appear to 'come with the place.' It's here the fun really does start as Richard- ("He's in videos") looking for all the world like a deserving victim from Jose Larraz's Vampyres - launches a vicious attack on Alex (the excellent Bill Douglas) and his socialist principles. Be sure this loathsome 'Tory Boy' will set your hackles rising, as his entrepreneurial claptrap embodies the sentiments of Neil Kinnock's brilliant rejection of Conservative values ("The only person is me. The only number is one. The only time is now".) And the ladies? While Angela demonstrates she's at least a few pills short of a full valium bottle, Marianne (Page) simply drinks, while exuding a trouser-rousing air of sex and sensuality that remains right up to a veritable blood-soaked finale.

Boasting a script laced with black as crude humour, Sleepwalker comes over like a head-on collision between Mike Leigh and Dario Argento, with its mise en scene often recalling the late, great Mario Bava. Frequent references to nocturnal, eyes wide shut states of being - comas, sleepwalking, the strange tale of a certain Mr. Valdemar, not to mention Alex's final terrified demand ("Wake up!") - take this film beyond the usual 'stuff of nightmares' fare and suggests that were it not for a calamitous change in British cinema policy, one Frederick Kruger may not have had things entirely his own way.

After 16 years in the wilderness, Sleepwalker has stirred, playing one-off's at selected cinemas countrywide, largely thanks to Darrell Buxton who is collaborating with Saxon Logan with a view to a possible DVD/VHS release. This film certainly deserves to be seen by any self-respecting genre buff, so contact Darrell at his excellent 'Pass The Marmalade' web site. Darrell will be pleased to furnish you with the latest news because, just like Harry, he's here to help.

While it may be taking things a bit too far by comparing Sleepwalker to the work of a certain Mr. Argento (gory murder scenes, a sleeping witch and a girl who emerges from a drug-induced slumber), there is another (possibly unintentional?) Suspiria moment. When this film hits the small screen, hit the pause button when Alex's computer screen displays a passage of text from a script translation. There you'll see a description of a couple arriving at a town called Freiburg."

[Paul L Scholar of Sleaze Find all posts View Profile Close Paul L]

Most definitely!

EDIT. I've shot an email to both the BFI and the festival organisers about this. Hopefully the BFI are already aware, but you never know.

Re: SYMPTOMS. I passed this information on to the BFI and received a response from their senior curator:

Thanks for the information. We've been aware of bootleg copies in circulation, but it's good to realise that a 35mm print still exists. We may contact the Festival to track this print down, but, even if we are successful, it's still a long way to DVD release.

[Paul L Scholar of Sleaze Find all posts View Profile Close Paul L]

I asked Anne Billson, who apparently went to the screening of SYMPTOMS, via Twitter and she replied saying that the screening seemed to be from a bad/worn 35mm print and was under the title THE BLOOD VIRGIN.

[Andrew Monroe Pallid Hands Find all posts View Profile Close Andrew Monroe]

I asked Anne Billson, who apparently went to the screening of SYMPTOMS, via Twitter and she replied saying that the screening seemed to be from a bad/worn 35mm print and was under the title THE BLOOD VIRGIN.

I'm not familiar with that alternate title. While this is still good news, if this is the only extant print, it doesn't sound real promising as far as a dvd is concerned.

[Paul L Scholar of Sleaze Find all posts View Profile Close Paul L]

I was going to add Alastair Reid's THE NIGHT DIGGER to this thread, but I see that within the last couple of years, it's had a release in the US, in Warner's 'Archive Collection'. Has anyone seen this disc and can comment on it?

[Richard--W a straight arrow Find all posts View Profile Close Richard--W]

I wasn't aware that THE NIGHT DIGGER had been released by Warner Archive. I'll add it to my "to-get" list. I vaguely remember a late-night network TV screening a long, long time ago in which the film did not fare well. I've always wanted to see it properly. Thanks for the heads up.

[Paul L Scholar of Sleaze Find all posts View Profile Close Paul L]

I wasn't aware that THE NIGHT DIGGER had been released by Warner Archive. I'll add it to my "to-get" list. I vaguely remember a late-night network TV screening a long, long time ago in which the film did not fare well. I've always wanted to see it properly. Thanks for the heads up.

Yes, it's not a great film, but a pretty good one and till now quite hard to get hold of. I must buy the Warner Archive Collection disc when I get paid, as I'm keen to watch the film again.

It popped into my head the other day, whilst rewatching episodes of WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE LIKELY LADS? (Brigit Forsyth appears in both), and I was pleasantly surprised when I did a little digging on US Amazon to find that Warners had released it. I think that's the only DVD release worldwide.

[Paul L Scholar of Sleaze Find all posts View Profile Close Paul L]

Come to think of it, Alastair Reid's SOMETHING TO HIDE, from the book by Nicholas Monsarrat, is largely 'forgotten' now and, I believe, still MIA on DVD.