Indicator May Slate Has Under Appreciated British Gems

This month the weather maybe delaying what we do, Indicator are already looking forward to  Spring time and May especially. The month promises to unearth  a selection of under-appreciated and under-seen British gems from the 1970s. Many independent films that have rarely been seen in any format since their theatrical release!

On 23rd May (24th May in the US and Canada) Indicator will unleash a project that has been a number of years in the making. THE PEMINI ORGANISATION (1972-1974) puts the spotlight on a collection of films that have been extremely hard to find since their original theatrical outings. A vibrant independent company set up by three ambitious friends, Pemini would produce one mid-length film, Hunted, a taut suspense-thriller starring Edward Woodward and June Ritchie, and two feature films: Assassin, a grimly realistic spy film starring Ian Hendry, Edward Judd, Frank Windsor, Ray Brooks and Mike Pratt; and Moments, an enigmatic romantic mystery starring Keith Michell and Angharad Rees. When the company disbanded, the films disappeared into the ether… Until now. Rescued from the archives to be given their first ever home entertainment release, these incredible films will be presented in a deluxe, individually numbered Limited Edition Blu-ray set, accompanied by a wealth of newly produced extras, including feature-length director commentaries, cast and crew interviews, and an 80-page book.

Also on 23rd May, will be Franklin Gollings’ CONNECTING ROOMS (1970) featuring screen legends Bette Davis and Michael Redgrave. Available on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK, and presented from a glorious 4K restoration, this Indicator edition also features a rare recording of Bette Davis in conversation, and two short films by Gollings.

Our second UK-only edition for 23rd May is Peter Yates’ MURPHY’S WAR (1971), making its worldwide Blu-ray premiere. Starring Peter O’Toole, giving one of his most spirited performances, and Philippe Noiret, this WWII adventure combines impressively staged action and good humour, and is accompanied by a wealth of new and archival extras.

THE PEMINI ORGANISATION (1972-1974) THRILLER, DRAMA, ROMANCE

INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION 2 x BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES

-New 2K restorations of Hunted, Assassin, and Moments from the only surviving film elements
Original mono audio
-Audio commentaries on Hunted, Assassin, and Moments with director Peter Crane and film historian Sam Dunn (2022)
-Interview with Peter Crane, director of Hunted, Assassin, and Moments (2022)
-Interview with Michael Sloan, writer of Hunted, Assassin, and Moments (2022)
-Interview with Bruce Atkins, production designer Hunted, Assassin, and Moments (2022)
-Interview with Pemini Organisation co-founder Nigel Hodgson (2022)
Interview with June Ritchie, star of Hunted (2022)
-Interview with Martyn Chillmaid, assistant director of Assassin (2022)
-Interview with Moments actor Valerie Minifie (2022)
-Interview with Moments composer John Cameron (2022)
-Interview with Bill Summers, electrician on Moments (2022)
-‘Moments’ in Cannes (2022): Peter Crane recounts a memorable story from an exhibitor screening
-Film historian Vic Pratt charts the history of the Pemini Organisation (2022)
-Ian Hendry biographer Gabriel Hershman looks at the actor’s role in Assassin (2022)
-Moments: deleted sex scene (1974): sequence removed from release prints at the behest of the distributor
-In Search of Lebanon (1970): student film directed by Peter Crane and Nigel Hodgson exploring present day Lebanon as the living source of the Adonis myth
-Original theatrical trailers
-Image galleries: extensive promotional and publicity materials from the Pemini Organisation’s archives
-New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
-Limited edition exclusive 80-page book featuring extensive extracts from Peter Crane’s ‘Memories of Pemini’, detailing the rise and fall of the Pemini Organisation and the production of their three films, extracts from the films’ -original press materials, archival news articles on Pemini’s activities, new writing on In Search of Lebanon, and full film credits
-World premiere on Blu-ray
-Limited edition of 6,000 copies for the UK and US
All extras subject to change

CONNECTING ROOMS DRAMA

When enigmatic school master James Wallraven (Michael Redgrave, Time Without Pity) rents a small room adjacent to Wanda’s (Bette Davis, The Nanny), an ageing cellist, he soon realises that the privacy he seeks is clearly unattainable. From there begins a parade of revolving doors through which the occupants of this seedy West London boarding house – a sleazy young musician (Alexis Kanner, Goodbye Gemini), a snooping landlady (Kay Walsh, The Rainbow Jacket) – all seemingly stuck in purgatories of their own making, desperately attempt to find their place in a tainted society.

Featuring a pair of screen legends and based on the stage play The Cellist by Marion Hart, Connecting Rooms is presented on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK, and is accompanied by a wealth of archival extras, including a rare recording of Bette Davis in conversation, and two short films by director Franklin Gollings.

INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES

• 4K restoration
• Original mono audio
• The John Player Lecture with Bette Davis (1976): archival interview with the iconic performer, recorded at London’s National Film Theatre
• Spotlight at the Fair (1951): documentary short directed by Franklin Gollings, taking a look at travelling fairs and the amusement park at Blackpool
• The Way to Wimbledon (1952): documentary short directed by Gollings and narrated by John Mills, focusing on the fifty weeks in a year when Wimbledon isn’t hosting the world-famous tennis championships
• Image gallery: promotional and publicity material
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Laura Mayne, an archival production report on the making of the film, an archival interview with director Franklin Gollings, an overview of contemporary critical responses, new writing on the short films, and film credits
• UK premiere on Blu-ray
• Limited edition of 3,000 copies

All extras subject to change

MURPHY’S WAR DRAMA, WAR

Peter O’Toole (The Ruling Class) gives one of his most spirited and memorable performances in Murphy’s War, a blood-and-thunder adventure film directed with grit by Peter Yates (The Friends of Eddie Coyle, The Deep).

O’Toole is the titular Irish merchant seaman, whose ship is attacked by a German U-boat on the Orinoco river in Venezuela during the dying days of World War II. The sole survivor, Murphy is picked up by a French oil engineer (Philippe Noiret, Cinema Paradiso) and taken to a native village hospital where he is treated by the pacifist Quaker Dr Hayden (Siân Phillips, Becket, Dune). During his convalescence, Murphy plots his one man war on the enemy U-boat that callously slaughtered his shipmates…

Filmed on location in infamously uncompromising conditions, Murphy’s War combines impressively staged action with harsh realism and good humour. Presented on Blu-ray for the first time, and accompanied by a wealth of new and archival extras, along with a booklet containing new writing on the film.

INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES

• High Definition remaster
• Original mono audio
• Michael Deeley in Conversation (2008): archival audio interview with the Murphy’s War producer, recorded onstage at BFI Southbank
• Interview with editor and assistant director John Glen (2022)
• Interview with focus puller Robin Vidgeon (2022)
• Video appreciation by academic and film historian Sheldon Hall (2022)
• Behind the Camera: Douglas Slocombe (1999): archival documentary on the great cinematographer, featuring interviews with Richard Attenborough, Alan Parker and Ken Russell
• Super 8 version: original cut-down home-cinema presentation
• Original theatrical trailer
• Image gallery: promotional and publicity material
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Julian Wheeler, an archival interview with Peter O’Toole, a look at the production of the film, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and film credits
• World premiere on Blu-ray
• Limited edition of 3,000 copies

All extras subject to change