5 June 2019

Review: Black Joy

Blu-ray: Black Joy (1977)

$\"\"$ Directed by Anthony Summers and released in \’flares-tastic\’ 1977, Black Joy is based on Jamal Ali’s acclaimed stage play \’Dark Days and Light Nights\’ and tells the story of Ben (Trevor Thomas), a naïve Guyanese immigrant who learns the hard way about life on the streets of Brixton.

As soon as Ben sets foot in the UK, he gets tangled up in one disaster after another. The cause of all Ben\’s problems is Dave King (Norman Beaton), a windrush/Caribbean streetwise con-artist, and also annoying beyond words.

Ben arrives in London looking for a non-existent relative and soon becomes embroiled with the locals. A ten-year-old boy, Devon (Paul Medford of Eastenders fame), spots him and robs him of his wallet. He then meets Dave King, the lover of Devon\’s mother Miriam (Floella Benjamin – YES, THAT Floella Benjamin!), who is pregnant by the wastrel King.

It’s a somewhat Picaresque tale, using language that those people would and possibly still do use. I didn’t understand a lot of what they were saying! (even subtitles didn’t help).

Bates gives a great performance as a really horrible, self obsessed, lazy, criminal King, and Floella is a shock as Miriam…no mentions of which window to look through or where’s Hamble. She also gives a belting performance as a hard working woman in love with a waste of space.

But the film really does belong to Trevor Thomas as Ben. Innocent and guileless, it\’s only at the end of the film that he finally wises up to King and finds some happiness.

Quite an odd little film, but well worth a watch for the time in which its set and made. To see all the old 70\’s shops and cars and fashions was a hoot.

As usual, a fantastic array of extras from Indicator, who I think now exceed Arrow in their content.

Black Joy is released on 24th June 2019.

INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES:

High Definition remaster, newly re-graded and approved by cinematographer Phil Méheux
Original mono audio
The BEHP Interview with Anthony Simmons (1997, 99 mins): an archival audio recording, made as part of the British Entertainment History Project, featuring the prolific director in conversation with filmmaker Rodney Giesler
Good Stuff (2019, 10 mins): actor Trevor Thomas fondly recalls his first major film role
A People Story (2019, 17 mins): actor Floella Benjamin discusses one of her rare big-screen performances
Blazing the Trail (2019, 8 mins): Oscar James relates his experiences as a black actor in the seventies
Dark Days and Light Nights (2019, 36 mins): writer Jamal Ali explains the origins of his stage play and adapting it for the big screen
Guerrilla Operations (2019, 9 mins): Martin Campbell on making low-budget cinema as a young producer
Slices of Life (2019, 14 mins): director of photography Phil Méheux analyses his documentary approach to filming Black Joy
Benjamin’s Brixton (2019, 3 mins): an exploration of Black Joy’s London locations
Bow Bells (1954, 15 mins): Anthony Simmons’ nostalgic short film about London’s East End
Original theatrical trailer
Image gallery: promotional and publicity material
New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
Limited edition exclusive 36-page booklet with a new essay by Josephine Dolan, Anthony Simmons and Norman Beaton on Black Joy, an overview of critical responses, Michael Brooke on Bow Bells, and film credits
World premiere on Blu-ray
Limited Edition of 3,000 copies

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Review by Tina from a disc kindly supplied by Powerhouse Films.