By Matthew Field
BFI
Flipside was launched in May 2009 with a mission to expose the hidden history of British cinema by releasing
restored prints on DVD and Blu-ray of British
films that have slipped through the cracks of time. Now on its 17th release the
label has released everything from exploitation documentaries about the seedy
sixties (London In The Raw) to
B-movies featuring Oliver Reed (The
Party's Over), Shirley Anne Field (Lunch
Hour), Klaus Kinski (The Pleasure
Girls) and Withnail & I
director Bruce Robinson (Private Road).
If it's weird, British and forgotten, then it's Flipside.
Developed from its popular monthly screening
slot at BFI Southbank, the Flipside titles are newly mastered to High
Definition from original film elements, and are presented with rare and
fascinating special features - including previously unavailable short films,
documentaries and archival interviews, many of which are preserved in the BFI
National Archive. Each title comes in
collectable numbered packaging and is accompanied by an extensive illustrated
booklet with insightful contributions from special guest writers, often
including the filmmakers themselves.
Over the coming months Cinema Retro will be
taking a look at each of these entries - embarking on an alternative journey
into the wonderful world of 60s and 70s British cinema. The latest release is Joanna
– the 1968 feature film debut of pop singer turned fashion photographer -
Michael Sarne.
This modish sixties drama tracks the story of
seventeen-year-old Joanna - a cool, stylish, and determined young woman who is
just beginning a new life as an art student in swinging London. Played with
gusto by Genevieve Waite, Joanna indulges
in the pleasures of casual sexual encounters, colourful daydreams, and an
impromptu trip to Morocco with the wise and debonair Lord Peter Sanderson
(wonderfully played by Donald Sutherland). But when Joanna falls in love with
Gordon, from Sierra Leone, her life begins to get complicated.
Director Michael Sarne is best remembered in
the UK for his No 1 single Come Outside
but history has forgotten his feature film debut which ended up competing for
the Palme d’Or in Cannes. Sarne pitched the film as the female Alfie and secured financing from Fox
after they released his short - a travelogue titled The Road To St Tropez - as a B picture to James Coburn’s spy
thriller In Like Flint. His companion
on the trip was Joanne Roncarelli - a carefree girl from Frome in Somerset,
England. In the accompanying DVD booklet Sarne reveals to Chris Campion how
Roncarelli became his inspiration for Joanna. “[Joanne] had been a waitress in
the Saint-Tropez. She was art student and she’d nick clothes from shops. You
don’t often lie in bed with a girl who will tell you about her affairs in this
completely personal sort of way. I thought it was fascinating because I don’t
usually get that sort of dialogue from girls. This girl had 57 different lovers
she was telling me about in the morning!â€
Sarne had wanted to cast his then girlfriend
Gabriella Licudi in the lead but was vetoed by producer Michael Laughlin. Sarne
subsequently cast the unknown 19 year old South African model Genevieve Waite who
he discovered on a Knightsbridge catwalk. “Genevieve had big, deep circles
under her eyes and obviously couldn’t act. All she had going for her was that
she had a figure like Twiggy.â€
Although the film may look dated today, Sarne
bottled the youthful free-spirit attitude and Carnaby Street style fashion
perfectly. It’s the ultimate swinging London film – it’s colourful and it makes
the city look fantastic. He also interweaves darker shades into the film with
pregnancies, abortions and beatings. Sarne was an avid Fellini fan and aimed to
make Joanna the London Dolce Vita – by creating surreal dream
sequences and bold set pieces to convey a world-within-a-world inhabited by the
characters.
Sarne told Bob Stranley in the Guardian
recently “For all Joanna’s faults, it
does reflect the dizziness and silliness of 60s London. And the happiness –
people really did dress up and show off. Some people like to look back and
think it was all Ken Loach and Mike Leigh, but we had fast cars, Brigitte
Bardot was in town, and we all had affairs in Rome and Paris. It didn’t just
happen to the Beatles.â€
This new BFI release comes with a plethora of
extras. As well as Sarne’s 1966 short which resulted in him making Joanna – The Road To Saint Tropez, the BFI have also included an unusual
short Death Maybe Your Santa Claus –
an experimental examination of an interracial relationship in 1960s London. The
disc also features an on-stage interview with Sarne at the BFI Southbank, and a
downloadable PDF of his novel based on the film.
Joanna
(Flipside 0016) RRP £19.99 Cat no: BFIB1062 / UK, US / 1968 / Cert 18 / colour
/ English language / 113 mins / original aspect ratio 2.35:1 / Region 2 // Disc
1: BD50 / 1080p / 24fps / PCM mono audio (48k/24bit) // Disc 2: DVD9 / PAL /
Dolby Digital mono audio (320 kbps)
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