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S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

(aka "Gypsy Girl" or "Bats with Baby Faces")

 

Directed by John Mills
UK 1966

 

Hayley Mills gives a captivating performance as a girl traumatised by the death of a friend in this poignant, romantic drama – directed by her father, John Mills, from a script by her mother, Mary Hayley Bell. Co-starring Ian McShane as a free-spirited gypsy alongside Laurence Naismith, Annette Crosbie and Geoffrey Bayldon, and featuring a haunting score from Oscar-winning composer Malcolm Arnold, Sky West and Crooked is featured here as a brand-new High Definition remaster from original film elements in its original theatrical aspect ratio.

Emotionally damaged by a childhood trauma of which she has no memory but for which she is blamed by the local community, Brydie White finds companionship among a group of younger children whose activities cause consternation in the West Country village in which they live.

***

A young, lonely, emotionally challenged teenage girl finds solace in burying dead animals after the sudden traumatic death of a childhood friend 10 years earlier.

Posters

Theatrical Release: January 1966

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Review: Network - Region 'B' - Blu-ray

Box Cover

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Distribution Network - Region 'B' - Blu-ray
Runtime 1:42:32.125         
Video

1.66:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 32,730,676,612 bytes

Feature: 21,528,797,184 bytes

Video Bitrate: 24.96 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Bitrate Blu-ray:

Audio

LPCM Audio English 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit

Subtitles English, None
Features Release Information:
Studio:
Network

 

1.66:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 32,730,676,612 bytes

Feature: 21,528,797,184 bytes

Video Bitrate: 24.96 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Edition Details:

• Brand-new interviews with actors Irene Bradshaw, Stephen Salt and Lola Payne, 1st assistant director David Tringham and 2nd assistant director Hugh Harlow (50:07)
• Theatrical trailer (3:06)
• US titles (0:44)
• Image gallery (5:08)
• Limited edition booklet written by Neil Sinyard


Blu-ray
Release Date: September 12th, 2022
Transparent (slim) Blu-ray
Case

Chapters 12

 

 

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Network Blu-ray (August 2022): Network have transferred John Mills' Sky West and Crooked to Blu-ray. It is cited as being a "brand-new High Definition remaster from original film elements". The 1.66:1 1080P image has a minor gloss and is not especially tight with a shade of, consistent, softness. Colors look true and it was reasonably pleasing on my system appearing bright with frequent depth exported. Hopefully the screen captures below can give you an idea. I enjoyed the video portion of my viewing. 

NOTE: We have added 28 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Network use a linear PCM dual-mono track (16-bit) in the original English language. Sky West and Crooked has one notable aggressive moment early in the film and the rest of passively authentic - flat and with strong accents. The score is by Malcolm Arnold (The Night My Number Came Up, The Captain's Paradise, The Holly and the Ivy, Tunes of Glory, No Highway in the Sky. The Bridge On the River Kwai, Island in the Sun, Stolen Face, Hobson's Choice) and supports a convincing and placid portrayal of village life. Network offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'B'-locked Blu-ray.

The Network Blu-ray offers 50-minutes worth of a featurette, Takes With Baby Faces, that include interviews with actors Irene Bradshaw, Stephen Salt and Lola Payne, 1st assistant director David Tringham and 2nd assistant director Hugh Harlow sharing experiences and recollection on working on Sky West and Crooked. Network include the US title sequence (Gypsy Girl), a theatrical trailer and an image gallery plus the package offers a limited edition booklet written by Neil Sinyard.

John Mills' Sky West and Crooked is the actor's only directorial effort. It really was a family project with the screenplay penned by Mills' wife Mary Hayley Bell, starring daughter Hayley and even the family dog, a spaniel, named Hamlet. 'Sky West and Crooked' is a West Country term for someone who is "mentally unsound". It's about children and a focus on understanding death. It has a romantic edge with Hayley falling for a handsome gypsy (Ian McShane). Sky West and Crooked has some beautiful countryside shot on location in and around the village of Little Badminton in South Gloucestershire, although the film production did erect a tower for the church. Kudos as well to the cinematography of Arthur Ibbetson (The Chalk Garden, Die! Die! My Darling!, The Railway Children.) The alternate title Bats With Baby Faces was based on a line from a T.S. Eliot poem. I was very glad I saw this - although I found it quite dark at times. The acting is superb. The Network Blu-ray provides a pleasing 1080P presentation, uncompressed audio and an extensive supplements filled with interviews of 5 of the participants plus a liner notes booklet. Recommend to fans of John and Hayley Mills and 60's British cinema. 

Gary Tooze

 


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Distribution Network - Region 'B' - Blu-ray


 


 

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