London To Brighton - Lorraine Stanley

Directed by Paul Andrew Williams
UK 2006

Product Description
Kelly, a desperate prostitute, is bullied by her pimp into finding an underage girl for a sadistic mobster. She discovers Joanne, an 11-year-old runaway, who naively complies. But when the pedophile turns violent, Kelly intervenes and everything goes horribly wrong. Directed by Paul Andrew Williams.

***

As the final credits of London to Brighton roll, you can’t help but feel that the world is truly a place without hope. But don’t be put off by the despondent atmosphere or the strong subject matter – this is the British movie of the year.

When dome-headed pimp Derek (Harris) asks prostitute Kelly (Stanley) to locate a child for one of his clients, Susan initially balks at the suggestion. But eventually she caves in, and it doesn’t take her long to locate eleven-year-old runaway Joanne (Groome), a tough-talking kid who Susan accompanies to the house of a wealthy bachelor (Morton). The results of this rendezvous send Susan and Lucy fleeing to Brighton, hotly pursued by Derek and his loyal henchman Chum (Nathan Constance).

Excerpt from Matt McAlister at Future Movies located HERE

Poster

Theatrical Release: August 18th, 2006 - Edinburgh Film Festival

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DVD Review: E1 Entertainment - Region 0 - NTSC

DVD Box Cover		CLICK to order from:
Distribution	E1 Entertainment - Region 0 - NTSC
Runtime	1:25:33
Video	2.35:1 Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 6.69 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate:
Audio	English (Dolby Digital 5.1) , English (Dolby Digital 2.0)
Subtitles	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: E1 Entertainment Aspect Ratio: Original Aspect Ratio 2.35:1 Edition Details: • Audio Commentary with director Paul Andrew Williams • Behind the Scenes (8:43) • Q & A (Curzon Cinema Soho London) - 24:15 • Georgia Groome Audition (3:22) • Deleted Scenes (8:32) • Alternate Ending (1:11) • Outtakes (:58) DVD Release Date: August 10th, 2009 Keep Case Chapters: 10

Comments:

I read somewhere that this was shot in 16mm (possibly Super 16) and blown-up to 35mm for theatrical. Regardless, the image is quite gritty and often exhibits jerky motion from hand-held modulations. Inherent hazy portions exist. Detail is not bad in spots but the dual-layered transfer is interlaced (see last capture) and those who have systems that can identify that may wish to consider the Momentum UK edition HERE (although I have no knowledge of that transfer yet). I don't see excessive manipulation and the image is fairly clean.

Audio gives the option of a 5.1 or 2.0 channel track. There are moments where the audio gets aggressive but the mix is nothing to write home about. It supported the films dialogue, along with optional English subtitles, adequately - although expectantly as scattered as the video at times.

The menu only indicates that director Williams is doing the commentary but he is joined by the director of photography, Christopher Ross, and the actors, Lorraine Stanley Johnny Harris, who played Derek and Kelly. It's a fairly laid back affair with some laughs and a few anecdotal amusements. There are plenty of other short extras including a Behind the Scenes piece, 3-minutes of Georgia Groome's audition and some Deleted Scenes, Alternate Ending and Outtakes, but the most informative tidbit may be the Question and Answer segment with the director, cast and crew at Curzon Cinema, Soho London. It runs 24-minutes in rough video but answers queries like where the inspiration for the film and raising funding etc.

This film has a very rough edge but I think it has merit beyond it's realistic intent. The price seems high considering the interlaced transfer but the UK edition HERE is far more reasonable at less than 1/2 that price. Many will appreciate this film and it, not necessarily the US DVD, is recommended!

Gary W. Tooze

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