Privilege (film)
Encyclopedia
Privilege is a British
film directed by Peter Watkins
. It was released in 1967
being produced by John Heyman
. Story: Johnny Speight
. Script: Norman Bogner
. Some of it was filmed on location in Birmingham
, England, partly at Birmingham City F.C.
's St Andrew's stadium and at Birmingham Town Hall
.
leader. The film and story are presented as a quasi-documentary.
/Roman Kroitor
National Film Board of Canada
documentary Lonely Boy
, which in cinema verité
style follows the growing hysteria surrounding then teen idol Paul Anka
, with some scenes (notably that showing Steven Shorter at a table with a venue owner named “Uncle Julie” in both) being almost one-to-one reproductions of the earlier work. Director Watkins had made a study of this film to prepare himself for filming Privilege. A DVD release of Privilege included Lonely Boy as well as an excerpt of an essay on that film as extra features. Additionally, director Watkins believes a scene from Stanley Kubrick
’s A Clockwork Orange
to be taken from Privilege.
recorded one of the film's songs, "Set Me Free" (as "Privilege (Set Me Free)
") on her album Easter. The recording charted on the Top-100 lists in the UK (#72) and Ireland (#13).
in the UK on the BFI
's Flipside
imprint. The disc included two of Peter Watkins
's short films: The Forgotten Faces (1961) and The Diary of an Unknown Soldier (1959), as well as the original Privilege trailer. A Blu-ray Disc
version has also been released after problems due to "an issue with materials" were resolved.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
film directed by Peter Watkins
Peter Watkins
Peter Watkins is an English film and television director. He was born in Norbiton, Surrey, lived in Sweden, Canada and Lithuania for many years, and now lives in France. He is one of the pioneers of docudrama. His movies, pacifist and radical, strongly review the limit of classic documentary and...
. It was released in 1967
1967 in film
The year 1967 in film involved some significant events. It is widely considered as one of the most ground-breaking years in film.-Events:* December 26 - The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour airs on British television....
being produced by John Heyman
John Heyman
John Heyman is a British film and TV producer, who since the mid 1980s has mainly been involved in film financing. Married to his wife Nizza since 1982, this is his second marriage. He has five children, David , Lil , Gabrielle , Dahlia and Daniel...
. Story: Johnny Speight
Johnny Speight
Johnny Speight , was a British television scriptwriter of many classic British sitcoms.He emerged in the mid 1950s. He wrote for the radio comics; Frankie Howerd, Vic Oliver, Arthur Askey, and Cyril Fletcher. For television he wrote for the Arthur Haynes Show, Morecambe & Wise, and Peter Sellers...
. Script: Norman Bogner
Norman Bogner
Norman Bogner is a New York Times Bestselling- author whose range of work has included several novels such as Seventh Avenue, The Deadliest Art, To Die in Provence and The Madonna Complex, as well as stage plays, and movie and television scripts...
. Some of it was filmed on location in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, England, partly at Birmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...
's St Andrew's stadium and at Birmingham Town Hall
Birmingham Town Hall
Birmingham Town Hall is a Grade I listed concert and meeting venue in Victoria Square, Birmingham, England. It was created as a home for the Birmingham Triennial Music Festival established in 1784, the purpose of which was to raise funds for the General Hospital, after St Philip's Church became...
.
Plot summary
The story is set in the then near-future of the 1970s and concerns a disillusioned pop singer, played by Jones, who is manipulated by the church and state which seek to turn him into a messianicMessiah
A messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...
leader. The film and story are presented as a quasi-documentary.
Influences
The film was greatly influenced by the award-winning 1962 Wolf KoenigWolf Koenig
Wolf Koenig is a Canadian film director, producer, animator, cinematographer, and a pioneer in Direct Cinema at the NFB.-Early life:...
/Roman Kroitor
Roman Kroitor
Roman Kroitor is a Canadian filmmaker who is known as an early practitioner of Cinéma vérité, as co-founder of IMAX, and as creator of the Sandde hand-drawn stereoscopic animation system...
National Film Board of Canada
National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada is Canada's twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions...
documentary Lonely Boy
Lonely Boy (film)
Lonely Boy is a 1962 cinema verite documentary about former teen sensation Paul Anka. The film takes its name from Anka's hit song, Lonely Boy, which he performs to screaming fans in the film...
, which in cinema verité
Cinéma vérité
Cinéma vérité is a style of documentary filmmaking, combining naturalistic techniques with stylized cinematic devices of editing and camerawork, staged set-ups, and the use of the camera to provoke subjects. It is also known for taking a provocative stance toward its topics.There are subtle yet...
style follows the growing hysteria surrounding then teen idol Paul Anka
Paul Anka
Paul Albert Anka, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and actor.Anka first became famous as a teen idol in the late 1950s and 1960s with hit songs like "Diana'", "Lonely Boy", and "Put Your Head on My Shoulder"...
, with some scenes (notably that showing Steven Shorter at a table with a venue owner named “Uncle Julie” in both) being almost one-to-one reproductions of the earlier work. Director Watkins had made a study of this film to prepare himself for filming Privilege. A DVD release of Privilege included Lonely Boy as well as an excerpt of an essay on that film as extra features. Additionally, director Watkins believes a scene from Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career...
’s A Clockwork Orange
A Clockwork Orange (film)
A Clockwork Orange is a 1971 film adaptation of Anthony Burgess's 1962 novel of the same name. It was written, directed and produced by Stanley Kubrick...
to be taken from Privilege.
Cast
- Paul JonesPaul Jones (singer)Paul Jones is an English singer, actor, harmonica player, and radio personality and television presenter.-Career:As P. P...
as Steven Shorter - Jean ShrimptonJean ShrimptonJean Rosemary Shrimpton is an English model and actress. She was an icon of Swinging London and is considered to be one of the world's first supermodels....
as Vanessa Ritchie - Mark LondonMark LondonMark London is a soundtrack composer, songwriter and producer. He is particularly notable as the co-writer of the song "To Sir With Love".-History:...
as Alvin Kirsch - William Job as Andrew Butler
- Max BaconMax Bacon (actor)-Filmography:* Kicking the Moon Around * King Arthur Was a Gentleman * Miss London Ltd. * Bees in Paradise * Give Us the Moon * The Gambler and the Lady * Take a Powder...
as Julie Jordan - Jeremy ChildJeremy ChildSir Coles John "Jeremy" Child, 3rd Baronet is an English actor.He was born in Woking, England and educated at Eton College, as well as trained as an actor at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. After appearing in repertory theatre, he was cast in a significant role in the 1967 film Privilege...
as Martin Crossley - James CossinsJames CossinsJames Cossins was an English character actor. Born in Beckenham, Kent, he became widely recognised as the abrupt, bewildered Mr. Walt in the Fawlty Towers episode "The Hotel Inspectors"...
as Professor Tatham - Frederick Danner as Marcus Hooper
- Victor Henry as Freddie K
- Arthur PentelowArthur PentelowArthur Pentelow was an English actor who was best known for playing Henry Wilks in Emmerdale Farm from 1972–91...
as Leo Stanley - Steve Kirby as Squit
- Malcolm Rogers as Reverend Jeremy Tate
- Doreen MantleDoreen MantleDoreen Mantle is a South African-born British actress who is probably best known for her role as Mrs Jean Warboys in One Foot in the Grave ....
as Miss Crawford - Michael Graham as Timothy Arbutt
- Michael BarringtonMichael BarringtonMichael Barrington was a British actor best known for his television work.His most famous role was as the ineffectual Governor Venables in the popular sitcom Porridge alongside Ronnie Barker and Fulton Mackay.He also appeared on the TV programmes Z-Cars, The Avengers, Private Schulz, Adam Adamant...
as The Bishop of Essex
Musical score
In 1978, the Patti Smith GroupPatti Smith
Patricia Lee "Patti" Smith is an American singer-songwriter, poet and visual artist, who became a highly influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album Horses....
recorded one of the film's songs, "Set Me Free" (as "Privilege (Set Me Free)
Privilege (Set Me Free)
"Privilege " is a song written by Mel London and Mike Leander, and released as a second single from Patti Smith Group 1978 album Easter.- Liner notes :The following is quoted from the album:- External links :*...
") on her album Easter. The recording charted on the Top-100 lists in the UK (#72) and Ireland (#13).
Home video release
Privilege was released on DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
in the UK on the BFI
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
's Flipside
BFI Flipside
BFI Flipside is a series of DVD releases from the British Film Institute launched in May 2009. The sleeve notes to the DVD Kim Newman's Guide to the Flipside of British Cinema state that the series is "rescuing weird and wonderful British films from obscurity and presenting them in new high-quality...
imprint. The disc included two of Peter Watkins
Peter Watkins
Peter Watkins is an English film and television director. He was born in Norbiton, Surrey, lived in Sweden, Canada and Lithuania for many years, and now lives in France. He is one of the pioneers of docudrama. His movies, pacifist and radical, strongly review the limit of classic documentary and...
's short films: The Forgotten Faces (1961) and The Diary of an Unknown Soldier (1959), as well as the original Privilege trailer. A Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
version has also been released after problems due to "an issue with materials" were resolved.
External links
- Notes on Privilege from Peter Watkin's website
- Article in Bright Lights Film Journal
- Feature at Britmovie