Blake's Junction 7 / 'Ant Muzak' / World of Wrestling [DVD]

This DVD is released to coincide with the 30th anniversary of Blake’s 7 - the BBC cult sci-fi series – and forms a key part of the London Short Film Festival's opening night at the ICA in January 2008.

Special features include: Behind-the-scenes features on all three films; commentary on Blake’s Junction 7 with Paul Darrow and Mark Heap; "The 2 Avons" - exclusive interview with Paul Darrow and Mark Heap; Mackenzie Crook interview; Peter Tuddenham recording session; trailer; unused footage; commentary on World of Wrestling with filmmakers Ben Gregor and Tim Plester.

Imagine a twilight world in which the colourful icons from the 1980s might find themselves marooned in modern-day suburbia at 2am in the morning. Imagine New Romantic popstars Adam and The Ants browsing the aisles of a 24-hour supermarket (’Ant Muzak’). Envisage sci-fi freedom-fighters heroes stopping off at a motorway service-station (Blake’s Junction 7). Then picture old-school wrestlers Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks bumping into each other on the night-bus home (World of Wrestling)…

About the films:

’Ant Muzak’
2002, 10 min, colour, Super 16mm; written by Tim Plester; directed by Ben Gregor; cast includes: Nick Moran, Mackenzie Crook, Steve Oram, Tim Plester, Tom Meeten, Gary Tibbs and Mark Heap (voice).

Nick Moran (Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels) and Mackenzie Crook (The Office) star in this documentary-style comedy about New Romantic punks Adam and The Ants making an eventful late-night trip to their local 24-hour supermarket. Cruising the aisles like some kind of bizarre family-unit, the flamboyantly dressed band-members are thrown into crisis when one of their two drummers suddenly goes missing. It’s a charmingly off-kilter tale of tinned vegetables, consumer culture and the fickle nature of fame, shot over a single weekend on borrowed Super 16mm equipment, and also featuring a tantalising cameo appearance from former Adam and The Ants bass-player, Gary Tibbs. Even cult Eighties popstars need to shop…

"Demented fun that truly stands and delivers."—Hot Dog Magazine
"A gem. Unmissable."-- Zoo Magazine
"Piss funny. I was on the floor."—Adam Ant

Blake’s Junction 7
2004, 15 min, colour, 35mm; written by Tim Plester; directed by Ben Gregor; cast: Mark Heap, Martin Freeman, Raquel Cassidy, Susan Earl, Peter Tuddenham (voice), Mackenzie Crook and Johhny Vegas.

Imagine the kind of twilight world in which the characters from a bygone British-made space-opera, might find themselves making a much-needed pit stop at a Motorway Service Station at 2:45am on a non-descript Tuesday morning... Blake’s Junction 7 is a totally unofficial but affectionate 15-minute comedy inspired by the BBC's cult classic sci-fi series Blake’s 7. A sequel-of-sorts to Ben Gregor and Tim Plester’s first short film, ’Ant Muzak’

"Bizarre"-- Heat
"Surreal"-- Daily Mirror
"Sly. Smart. Outrageous. A short break well worth stopping off for."-- The Guardian

World of Wrestling
2007, 12 min., colour, Super 16mm; written by Tim Plester; directed by Ben Gregor; cast: Mackenzie Crook, Kris Marshall, Jonathan Ryland, Wtewart Wright, Patrick Baladi, Justin Edwards, Kevin Eldon and Miranda Hart. The third and final part of Tim Plester and Ben Gregor’s critically-acclaimed loose trilogy of short comedy films.

While most of us sleep, the heroes and villains from the Golden Age of British wrestling must grapple against the odds to make it home safely from a night out on the tiles. Set predominantly onboard an iconic red double-decker bus, this is a journey into a colourfully skewed world of oversized men, ill-fitting leotards, Boston-Crabs, Half-Nelsons and the unforgiving whims of the British public transport system.

"Hilarious, surreal genius."-- Fighting Spirit Magazine