THE PROFESSIONALS various directors/Network Blu-Ray it’s interesting how history can judge popular crime thriller shows from the past. Some (such as Patrick McGoohan’s The Prisoner) rapidly acquire cult status and never lose it; others have to fall out of favour before they are rediscovered — sometimes for the wrong reasons (e.g. ‘camp’ status – as with The Professionals). But for whatever reasons, this spruced up new Blu-ray set of the fondly remembered thriller series gives viewers the chance to get beyond some of the derision the show originally accrued (mostly for Martin Shaw’s now-quaint footballer’s bubble perm, flat performances and almost ludicrously hard-boiled dialogue and action). But a lot of talented people were involved with the show, and it certainly moves like an express train – anchored by Gordon Jackson’s no-nonsense ‘M’ figure. The digital restoration has the show looking better than it ever did in its original transmissions. It may be a guilty pleasure, but it’s a fun one.
RESPECTABLE – THE MARY MILLINGTON STORY, Simon Sheridan, director/Simply Media How times have changed. In the 1970s, filmgoers of both sexes were invited to watch the naked female body on film and TV with very little guilt, but now such displays have become politically incorrect, while the well-toned male torso has replaced the nubile female body as an acceptable object of lust. That change of attitude is pointed out by this intriguing issue. In the 1970s one woman broke all the rules and became the biggest box office star of the decade (despite being, as she herself said, flat–chested — which she wasn’t quite), before arriving (to the quiet satisfaction of tongue-clucking moralists) at a sticky end. She seduced Britain with a meteoric rise to the top filled with controversy and scandal; her name was Mary Millington. Now in a new feature documentary Respectable – The Mary Millington Story, narrated in blue-collar argot by actor and director Dexter Fletcher and written and directed by Simon Sheridan, the truth behind Britain’s only genuine sex superstar is detailed by those who knew her best. Mary Millington was a pretty English girl-next-door who became the most famous pin-up of the decade and had a racy reputation that could shift a million newspapers and ensure a movie’s cinematic success, including the maladroit hit 1970s sex comedy Come Play with Me, which went on to become the longest-running British movie of all-time despite its deeply threadbare quality. Her fame fuelled a lavish lifestyle and lead to an affair with a serving Prime Minister. Her sexuality was accessible, and her personality addictive, but Mary’s sexual bravado hid a darker side. Persecuted by the authorities, Mary was tortured by self-doubt and she died at her own hand at the height of her fame in August 1979. She was just 33. Shot on location in London, and at the legendary Pinewood Studios, this documentary reveals the truth behind a real British icon by those who were closest to her including former boyfriend, publisher David Sullivan actor Dudley Sutton (neither shown to flattering advantage here) and former model/actress Linzi Drew. Respectable – The Mary Millington Story is a tale stranger than any fiction – of lost innocence, sex, fame, fortune and, ultimately, tragedy.
THE ZERO BOYS, Nico Mastorakis , director/Arrow DVD/Blu-Ray Nico Mastorakis’s The Zero Boys may be something of a dog’s dinner with its wildly eclectic mix of elements and jarring changes of tone, but admirers of the outré will find plenty to divert them here. From the man behind such eclectic offerings as the controversial Island of Death and the crass Oliver Reed thriller Hired to Kill, this genre-bending ’80s classic features gruesome sequences that anticipate the torture porn horrors of Hostel and Saw. This director approved edition come packed with bonus content including newly recorded interviews and with cast and filmmakers, alongside a commentary with star Kelli Maroney and the directors own inimitable take on the interview format, in which he interviews himself. For a group of young friends, a weekend of survival games in the wilderness turns into a genuine battle of life and death when one of their number turns up dead. Finding themselves hunted by a bloodthirsty band of maniacs intent on slaughtering them one-by-one, the self-styled “Zero Boys” must now play their war games for real. The film features an early score from Hans Zimmer (Batman V. Superman, The Dark Knight Trilogy), and The Zero Boys is lively enough.
I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND Robert Zemeckis, director/Fabulous Films Now that Roberts Zemeckis has acquired such a solid reputation as a director, it is perhaps time to look at this early work, which boasts a certain ramshackle charm that is hard to resist “These youngsters are suffering from a highly contagious disease called Beatlemania.” Symptoms include…screaming, over reacting, over acting, hysteria, hyperventilation, fainting fits and loss of bladder control. It’s like a pack of mental cats marking their territory… but to a soundtrack featuring 17 classic Beatles hits, this amiable coming-of-age comedy from 1978 is the directorial debut of Robert Zemeckis and the first film that Steven Spielberg executive produced. Spielberg had to promise studio executives that if first time director Zemeckis was seen to be doing a poor job, he would step in and direct the film himself. As well as being directed by Robert Zemeckis, the film was co-written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale (also producer). They went on to co-write Back to the Future and its two sequels. Despite positive previews the film was not a financial success and was considered a flop, unable to recoup its rather modest $2.8 million budget, but has acquired an enthusiastic following.
FOLLOW THE MONEY Various directors, Arrow Blu-Ray . While it may not exert the same tensile steel grip of such recent offerings as Trapped (or, for that matter, older entries in the Scandicrime genre such as The Bridge), Follow the Money has acquired a strong following, not least for its readiness to take on issues not generally found within the genre. Certainly the reliable cast of actors manages to invest the characters (some of whom, for plot reasons, remain rather too enigmatic) with a kinetic life. In recent months, the Arrow label Nordic Noir & Beyond has continued to grow from strength to strength as market leaders in releasing European TV shows to a wider audience. Following The Bridge III, River and most recently Trapped, their dominance in the Euro-crime sector continues to help finesse their reputation as a key distributor of International TV series within the UK. The latest jewel in their crown? The DVD & BLU-RAY release of the complete first season of this Danish financial crime thriller. The series has aired on BBC Four and comes from DR, the same production company which brought us Borgen, The Killing and The Legacy. The show presents a murky picture of one of Denmark’s leading energy companies, ‘Energreen’, and the endless layers of fraud and corruption which point towards insider trading and the death of an industrial employee. The corporate crime thriller stars the charismatic Nikolaj Lie Kaas as Energreen’s ruthless CEO, who has previously played Mathias Borch in The Killing, along with household names in Danish drama such as Thomas Bo Larsen as the series’ police detective, and up-and-coming talent including Natalie Madueño and Esben Smed Jensen. Production values and cinematography are top-drawer.
BRIEF NOTICES Screenbound continues to unearth some neglected titles from the past, putting admirers of such fare in their debt. Recently this includes the solidly made Rock Hudson drama A GATHERING OF EAGLES, which features (along with the reliable Hudson) the underrated British/South African actress Mary Peach. Perhaps its strongest element today is the powerful score by the great Jerry Goldsmith. Also from Screenbound, A WOMAN’S VENGEANCE has Charles Boyer and Jessica Tandy in a piece notable for Cedric Hardwicke’s scene-stealing hypnotist and an early score by Miklos Rozsa. Eureka has reissued on Blu-Ray the Luchino Visconti classic ROCCO AND HIS BROTHERS; any recommendation is unnecessary. Dazzler Media has made available a very handsome Blu-ray set of another Nordic Noir drama OCCUPIED (from an idea by the king of Scandinavian crime Jo Nesbo). Film scores seem to be a motif of this particular column, so let’s note Malcolm Arnold’s striking score for the David Lean classic THE SOUND BARRIER (Studios Canal) which is particularly impressive in this Blu-ray incarnation. And CSI SEASON 15 (Entertainment One) brings the long-running police procedural to a satisfying conclusion.