A red, white and blue line of classic Minis outside the Soho Hotel,
London, March 25, 2009 said one thing: The Self-Preservation Society had
returned! It took forty years to get their skates back on but this reunion was a
promise of more treats in store for fans of the classic comedy crime caper,
The Italian Job. Paramount Pictures presented a pristine digital print of the original
1969 film as a precurser to the launch of the ruby anniversary
edition DVD coming June this year.
The screening for press and the
retail trade was a landmark event: for the first time in four decades, producer
Michael Deeley, screenwriter Troy Kennedy Martin and veteran French driving
stunt co-ordinator Remy Julienne were back together. The team had also
contributed to the new special features on the DVD, a taster of which was
previewed before the film. The exciting trailer whetted the gathered appetites
of fans of the ultimate Mini adventure by showing glimpses of none other
than the original Charlie Croker himself, Sir Michael Caine, legendary composer
Quincy Jones and maverick Paramount executive, Robert Evans. Tara and Shane
Collinson, the sons of the film's late director, Peter Collinson and David
Salamone, who played Dominic, one of the chinless wonder Mini drivers rounded
out the gathering. Also in attendance was the director-writer of the DVD special
features, Matthew Field, who produced the new documentaries with The Picture Production Company. Field, a regular contributor to Cinema Retro, is author of B T Batsford's best-selling The
Making Of The Italian Job and the recent Faber & Faber book, Deer
Hunters, Blade Runners and Blowing The Bloody Doors Off, Michael Deeley's
autobiography.
As Soho Hotel's Crimson Room whirred
to the sound of Remy Julienne re-creating his famous car stunts on an Italian
Job Scalextrix kit (!), attendees were reminded by Paramount Home Entertainment
UK Marketing Director, Richard Clarkson that the DVD package, one of the most
complete ever produced, will be available on Blu Ray and standard format in the
UK from June 15, 2009. (Text and Photos by Ajay Chowdhury, editor
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang magazine, www.007.info)
