Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush (1967/BFI (British Film Institute) Flipside
Blu-ray w/DVD/Region B Import)
Picture:
B Sound: C+ Extras: B- Film: B- (uncut)/C+ (edited)
PLEASE NOTE: This Blu-ray
is only available in the U.K.
from our friends at BFI and can be ordered from them at the website address link
provided below at the end of the review or at finer retailers. This is a Region B Blu-ray and will only play
on Region B or Region Free Blu-ray players, so make certain yours is before ordering. All the supplements are also in 1080p High
Definition. The DVD is in the PAL
format.
The
original Alfie with Michael Caine
was such a huge hit that many imitators followed, including those trying to
impose new counterculture developments on the same situation. On the strength of his international hit
success What’s New Pussycat? (1965),
Director Clive Donner (who just passed away as we were preparing this review on
9/7/10) was on a roll in getting films made and his answer to Alfie was Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush (1967), about the sexual
adventures and misadventures of Jamie McGregor (Barry Evans) in a very Swinging
Sixties London.
Based on
Hunter Davies novel, Davies actually wrote the screenplay adaptation and the
result is a mixed film that has some good moments, but also has some stretches
of dialogue and situations that do not work as well. However, I had only seen the edited 96
minutes version from the MGM/UA version (United Artists was the original U.S.
distributor) and though this version is only a minute more, is footage that
should have remained. This is a comedy
and drama, doing both well enough, if not all the time.
When the
film does not work, it is a time capsule that is fascinating to watch,
especially if you love London
in that time period. Though the
voice-over narrative becomes too excessive for its own good, we also get Judy
Geeson (Mad About You, Berserk, Star Maidens) and Angela Scoular (On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Casino Royale (1967), The
Avengers) at their sexy, appealing, early peak and great choices for the
film as they are both very talented actresses and had a star quality that the
camera liked. Along with the legendary
Denholm Elliott, Michael Bates (A
Clockwork Orange, Frenzy) Nicky
Henson (Old Dracula, The Losers), Vanessa Howard, Diane Keen
(The Sandbaggers, Return Of The Saint), Erika Raffael (Man Of Violence), Maxine Audley, Christopher
Timothy and Angela Pleasence, they make this film more watchable than it might
have been otherwise. Now, that you can
see it uncut, Here We Go Round The Mulberry
Bush is worth catching up with as a film everyone should see at least once.
The 1080p
1.78 X 1 digital High Definition image looks better than any copy I have seen
of the film before, actually issued in for three-strip, dye-transfer
Technicolor prints in the U.S.. This
transfer can be that colorful and looks good for its age from a low contrast
35mm print. However, there are a few
shots that are softer, more aged or a bit grainy that holds the overall performance
of the playback a little bit, but it has some stunning shots and all in part
thanks to the locations and Director of Photography Alex Thompson in one of his
first-ever works. Having worked behind
the camera years before this, he made a great transition here and moved onto
major films like Excalibur, Roeg’s Eureka,
Cimino’s Year Of The Dragon, Ridley
Scott’s Legend, Branagh’s Hamlet, Alien 3 and Medak’s The
Krays.
The PCM
2.0 48/24 Mono is not bad for its age, including the soundtrack that features
new music by The Spencer Davis Group and Traffic, but what is a shame is that
BFI could not get the stereo soundtrack (MGM/UA had issued it in a very high
quality stereo CD with Rykodisc that is sadly long out of print), so it does
not sound as great as it could, but about as good as an all-mono presentation
of its age can be expected to sound. (The
DVD offers Dolby Digital 2.0 48/16 320 kbps Mono.)
Extras
include a booklet with technical information, stills, poster art, cover of the
tie-in novelization and essays by Steve Chibnall, writer Hunter Davies, Vic
Pratt and Janet Moat. The Blu-ray also
has the shorter, censored, general release version of the film and two short
films in the same mode as the feature: Tim King’s Because That Road Is Trodden (1969, 23 min.) and Gordon Ruttan’s Stevenage
(1971, 21 min.), both in High Definition.
There is also a PAL format DVD version of the film with both cuts of the
film and the DVD adds a 10-minutes-long alternative censored sequence.
You can
order this Blu-ray/DVD release at this link:
http://filmstore.bfi.org.uk/acatalog/info_17403.html
- Nicholas Sheffo
