Requiem for a Village Dual Format

'Requiem for a Village' Director: David Gladwell (1975) BFI Flipside Dual Format | Contains both DVD & Blu-ray discs |  Staff Pick 

When an old man sees the dead rise from their graves in a rural English churchyard, the past and present are thrown together and a dialogue between the old and the new, tradition and progress, man and machine, is set in motion. Lyricism, violence and the uncanny collide to produce an extraordinary film of great power and potency.

Perhaps better known for work as the editor of Lindsay Anderson’s If.... and O Lucky Man!, David Gladwell directs this visionary folk offering with an artist’s eye. Exquisite slow-motion, no-holds-barred brutality, and weird alchemy are enriched by the astounding score from acclaimed composer David Fanshawe.

Special features include:
- Four early David Gladwell short films which foreshadow many of the themes and techniques of his remarkable debut: A Summer Discord (1955, 17 mins, silent), Miss Thompson Goes Shopping (1958, 23 mins), The Great Steam Fair (1964, 18 mins), An Untitled Film (Gladwell, 1964, 9 mins)
- Booklet, illustrated with Gladwell's recent paintings, featuring essays by filmmaker Elizabeth Sussex, Rob Young, and William Fowler