• 
• The Diary of an Unknown Soldier
• The Forgotten Faces
• Culloden
• The War Game
• Privilege
• The Gladiators (The Peace Game)
• Punishment Park
• Edvard Munch
• The Seventies People
• The Trap (Fällen)
• Evening Land - Aftonlandet
• The Journey - Rësan
• The Freethinker
• La Commune (de Paris, 1871)

 

Privilege

        

Background: In 1996, following the collapse of a film which I hoped to develop with Albert Finney’s production company, on the 1916 Easter uprising in Dublin, I was approached by John Heyman, a British artists’ agent, to make a film based on an original screenplay by Johnny Speight, which dealt with the influence of Steven Shorter, a pop star in the 1960s. American novelist Norman Bognor and I adapted the script, which we retitled ‘Privilege’, to emphasize the significance of Steven Shorter as an allegory for the manner in which national states, working via religion, the mass media, sports, Popular Culture, etc., divert a potential political challenge by young people. In case this theme appears exaggerated, it is important to keep in mind that it was set in the ‘swinging Britain’ of the 1960s, and was prescient of the way that Popular Culture and the media in the US commercialized the anti-war and counter-culture movement in that country as well. ‘Privilege’ also ominously predicted what was to happen in Margaret Thatcher’s Britain of the 1980s - especially during the period of the Falkland Islands War.

Filming: ‘Privilege’ was filmed in Birmingham and London in August and September 1966, with a mixed amateur and professional cast, including pop singer Paul Jones, and model Jean Shrimpton. Cinematographer Peter Suschitzky, sound recordist Ian Bruce, art director Bill Brodie, make-up artist Ann Brodie, costume Vanessa Clarke, and editor John Trumper made up the principal crew. The film used indirect colour lighting, a mobile camera, and - again - interviews to camera. Additional scenes (e.g., in a nightclub, with Steve’s manager Uncle Julie presenting his protégé with a framed portrait of his wife Gladys), and a number of the interviews were inspired by the remarkable Canadian documentary film directed by Wolf Koenig and Roman Kroitor called ‘Lonely Boy’ (1962), about pop-star Paul Anka.

Reaction: ‘Privilege’ was heavily attacked for being “hysterical” when it first appeared in Britain, with particularly unpleasant reviews for the acting of Jean Shrimpton and Paul Jones. The fact that everything which was shown or implied in the film came about in Britain in subsequent years - especially during the nationalistic period of Margaret Thatcher - has done nothing to change the status of ‘Privilege’ as another marginalized film. Although it was attacked at the time for “copying the style of TV”, it is noticeable that many of the elements of this film - use of colour, mobility, structure - have since been absorbed by mainstream feature filmmaking. At least one scene from Privilege appears to have been directly copied and used in Stanley Kubrick’s ‘Clockwork Orange’. The national cinema circuit in the UK, J. Arthur Rank, refused to show the film for something to do with what they deemed its “immoral nature”. Universal Pictures withdrew the film after brief screenings in a few countries, and the film has been rarely shown since - very occasionally on TV. Universal Pictures in Hollywood refuse to let me rent or buy a copy of this film, even on VHS.

First, several newspaper reviews from 1967 (it is interesting to compare the tone of the critics in Britain with those in the USA), followed by some comments from the public today:

The public today:

In 2000, four members of the American public wrote the following on the ‘Imdb’ website...:

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Availability                                            top

 

North America

'Privilege' remains one of the most difficult of my films to acquire. Universal Pictures dropped it soon after it was completed, and the film was never properly released. It premiered in the U.K. in 1967, but the major British distributor J. Arthur Rank refused to take it on 'moral' grounds - for all we know, Universal Pictures may have been subsequently pressured to simply abandon the film. In any case, for nearly 40 years it has rarely been seen on TV or in cinemas, and only occasionally appears at retrospectives of my work. However, in the past ten or so years, it has become recognized for its critical social relevance, and is increasingly in greater demand. I often receive letters from people asking how to acquire the film, and why Universal Pictures does not release it. Potential political agendas aside, there is also the very real problem of Hollywood studios generally shelving their own earlier productions - especially ones which are considered "serious" (and non-commercial).

Despite all of this, several years ago, Universal struck a new 35mm copy of 'Privilege' for a retrospective of my films at the Carpenter Centre at Harvard University. Unfortunately it is an expensive print to rent and ship, and is therefore limited cost-wise. For its licensing and availability please contact:

According to a festival director who recently screened this copy, Universal stipulates that theatres must be able to play it reel-to-reel, because this 35mm copy of 'Privilege' is considered "a rare print" (!), and the reel-to-reel method is safer for old prints. This is fairly common practice with most studios - once they get down to a single remaining print of a title, they require that it be used only on reel-to-reel systems. Since most independent cinemas or arthouses do still have reel-to-reel, it should play almost anywhere - except at modern multiplexes.

Perhaps of further interest is the fact that if Universal has a print of a film, it must be released for screenings on demand (if the required fee can be paid). Evidently this is stipulated by the American Director's Guild.

The life-span of this sole existing 35mm print of 'Privilege' is obviously limited. And it is expensive to rent and ship. We have asked Universal Pictures to allow us to release 'Privilege' on DVD, to make it accessible to the general public. Universal responded with a surprisingly restrictive short-term proposal (a 'Quit-Claim') for DVD release - one which is almost impossible to carry out without considerable economic and legal risk to any new distributor. We are not sure if this dilemma can be resolved.

 

Europe and elsewhere

At the present, there are two options regarding the screening of 'Privilege' in Europe:

1) Rent the 35mm copy from Universal in Hollywood (see above).
2) Rent a surviving 16mm print from the archives of the British Film Institute in London.

For a recent retrospective of my work in Berlin, the BFI rented their copy of 'Privilege' for £400, and Universal granted the licence for slightly under $400.

For information re. rental of the 16mm print please contact:

For the screening licence please contact:

Should Peter Langs be difficult to reach, please contact:

 

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