I Start Counting Blu-ray
'I Start Counting!' Director: David Greene (1969) BFI Flipside Blu-ray | 2K restoration
Growing up in a new-town tower block at the tail end of the 1960s isn't easy for awkward an adolescent schoolgirl who has a bad case of puppy love for her much older foster brother. And to add to her anguish, might he even be the crazed killer of teenage girls known to prowl the woods nearby?
Eerie, atmospheric and poignant with the peculiar pain of growing up, I Start Counting is a coming-of-age thriller that boasts performances from Jenny Agutter (Walkabout) and Bryan Marshall (The Long Good Friday), a screenplay by Richard Harris (Strongroom), subtle camerawork from Alex Thomson (Excalibur) and an exceptional score by eccentric soundtrack maestro Basil Kirchin (The Abominable Dr. Phibes).
Special features include:
- Audio commentary by film historian Samm Deighan
- Interview with actor Jenny Agutters
- Screenwriter Richard Harris looks back over an eclectic career in television and film, ranging from The Avengers to A Touch of Frost
- Jonny Trunk, founder of cult label Trunk Records, revisits the life and art of ambient music pioneer Basil Kirchin
- Video essay on I Start Counting! by filmmaker Chris O'Neill
- A selection of rare archive films recalling the 'New Town' dream (1942-59, 25 mins)
- Danger on Dartmoor (1980, 57 mins): plucky kids face peril in this full-length Children's Film Foundation bonus feature, written by the author of the novel I Start Counting, Audrey Erskine Lindop
- Don't be Like Brenda (1973, 8 mins): the perennial problem of teenage promiscuity is explored in this cautionary film designed for adolescent viewers
