Review by Gary Tooze

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• The Big Switch (aka Strip Poker) (1968, 75 mins): Pete Walker's pulp thriller which includes a climactic shoot-out in the snow on Brighton's now destroyed West Pier
• Original trailers for Man of Violence and The Big Switch in HD!
• Alternative 'Moon' title-card
• Extensive illustrated booklet featuring newly commissioned contributors from Pete Walker, novelist Cathi Unsworth, producer and critic David McGillivray, and film historian Julian Petley
 

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Description: In a world of gangs and villains, one man - Moon - will stop at nothing to get the girl and take the spoils. Pete Walker's affectionate low-budget homage to the gangster thriller is packed with sights and sounds from a Britain about to swing out of the Sixties and into a somewhat less optimistic decade. It offers not only rare glimpses of a world gone by, but also some unexpected twists on generic convention. The cast includes Hammer girls Luan Peters (Lust for a Vampire, Twins of Evil) and Virginia Wetherell (Doctor Jekyll & Sister Hyde, Demons of the Mind).

Presented here in a stunning new High Definition transfer from the original negative, this release also includes Pete Walker's earlier thriller The Big Switch (aka Strip Poker).

 

 

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The main supplements is another HD-transferred Walker feature entitled The Big Switch (aka Strip Poker) from 1968. It's another pulpy thriller which is advertised as 'including a climactic shoot-out in the snow on Brighton's now destroyed West Pier!' You can watch this via a 'domestic' (1:07:58) version or the nine-minute longer, and slightly raunchier, 'export' version (1:16:42). It might be closer to a Drive-In flic from the early 70's not quite reaching the status of 'Grindhouse'. We also get original trailers for Man of Violence and The Big Switch in HD, plus an alternative 'Moon' title-card. Included is another extensive illustrated booklet (26 pages) featuring newly commissioned contributors from Pete Walker, novelist Cathi Unsworth, producer and critic David McGillivray, and film historian Julian Petley. This is all perfectly in keeping with the kitsch of the Flipside label cinema.

 

BOTTOM LINE:
I don't know if I followed all of Man of Violence with perfect understanding but in that sense it may be more akin to Seijun Suzuki with plenty of its own style - and unapologetic about filling all salient points of the story with cohesion. I believe this was Walker's last effort of this genre before moving onto horror - where he would eventually make more of a name for himself. Luan Peters is hot as a pistol in her bikini and many sexy outfits and some of her scenes give the exploitive quality that many love to leer and snicker at. On Blu-ray this is another amazing package (I promise to never tire of these!) and one I can't see it ever looking or sounding any better. Luckily, I love the cheese and The Big Switch fits the mold even more perfectly in helping define this cinema that is more respectful in nostalgia than it ever was in it's prime. This is VERY cool, but it's appeal may be limited - I'll bet the BFI releases though are certainly establishing its growth.