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Product Description
Steven Shorter, the biggest pop star of his day, is loved by millions, his endorsement influencing the actions of the masses. But, in reality, he is a puppet whose popularity is carefully managed by government-backed handlers keen to keep the country's youth under control. Starring Manfred Mann lead singer Paul Jones and iconic Sixties supermodel Jean Shrimpton, Privilege is remastered in High Definition and made available in the UK for the first time since its original cinema release.
About the Director
Steve Shorter, the biggest pop star of his day, is loved by millions; his approval or endorsement can guide the choices and actions of the masses. But, in reality, he is a puppet whose popularity is carefully managed by government-backed handlers keen to keep the country's youth under control. Only an act of complete rebellion can set him free.
Starring Manfred Mann lead singer Paul Jones as Shorter, and iconic Sixties supermodel Jean Shrimpton as the girl who tries to help him defy the system, Privilege is the third feature from provocative British director Peter Watkins, a filmmaker who's unique vérité-style and oppositional themes have continually met with controversy throughout his career. Remastered in high-definition and made available in the UK for the first time since its original cinema release, Privilege is presented here with two of Watkins' earliest film works.
Extra Features:
- All films remastered to High Definition
- Original Privilege trailer
- The Diary of an Unknown Soldier (Peter Watkins, 1969, 17 mins )
- The Forgotten Faces (Peter Watkins, 1961, 17 mins )
- Extensive illustrated booklet with essays by Peter Watkins, film historian Robert Murphy, and Watkins specialist John Cook.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
33 of 34 people found the following review helpful
By FastFilm
Format:DVD
(Disclaimer- I am an American who saw the film in its initial release.)
The formerly preposterously rare (two extant prints in the universe) 1967 film "Privilege" has just been digitally restored in its original color and will be offered for sale by Amazon et al in a month or so.
This matters for several reasons. Firstly, because the film was as prescient as many consider Nostradamus to have been. Its plot, considered so far-fetched at the time that the film was oft labeled science fiction, centers around an increasingly totalitarian government in a first world country that attempts social engineering at all levels, including utilization of pop culture. It's hit on the formula to control youthful rebellion and dissent in general by investing a young pop idol with state-sponsored power (more in a minute) as centerpiece of national obsession. EVERYONE cares about this particular pop idol and what happens to him every week, since his act has been designed to attract universal sympathy and diffuse caring about one's self and one's own troubles. I'll not reveal how because the strange design of the first tour of his that viewers see is a revelation within itself.
What he says, what products he endorses, and how he steers the populace into state-sponsored trends and philosophies is a fait accompli in the film. The government notes a surplus of apple crops, idol Steven is immediately shown eating lots of apples, as now will the general populace. Got religion? Steven now does, and you will too. It always works. You buy what he wears, what he endorses. But what sort of personality would go along with being such a figurehead? And what sort of actor could even pull this messianic stardom off realistically, since the film is made in documentary style?... Read more ›
The formerly preposterously rare (two extant prints in the universe) 1967 film "Privilege" has just been digitally restored in its original color and will be offered for sale by Amazon et al in a month or so.
This matters for several reasons. Firstly, because the film was as prescient as many consider Nostradamus to have been. Its plot, considered so far-fetched at the time that the film was oft labeled science fiction, centers around an increasingly totalitarian government in a first world country that attempts social engineering at all levels, including utilization of pop culture. It's hit on the formula to control youthful rebellion and dissent in general by investing a young pop idol with state-sponsored power (more in a minute) as centerpiece of national obsession. EVERYONE cares about this particular pop idol and what happens to him every week, since his act has been designed to attract universal sympathy and diffuse caring about one's self and one's own troubles. I'll not reveal how because the strange design of the first tour of his that viewers see is a revelation within itself.
What he says, what products he endorses, and how he steers the populace into state-sponsored trends and philosophies is a fait accompli in the film. The government notes a surplus of apple crops, idol Steven is immediately shown eating lots of apples, as now will the general populace. Got religion? Steven now does, and you will too. It always works. You buy what he wears, what he endorses. But what sort of personality would go along with being such a figurehead? And what sort of actor could even pull this messianic stardom off realistically, since the film is made in documentary style?... Read more ›
15 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Great to see this on DVD, and the film is impressive.
It's a pity the soundtrack is not easily available on CD, the music is great.
Paul Jones was obviously better at singing/songwriting and performing at this stage than he was at acting, and Jean Shrimpton was not really an actor at all, but both are effective in this film. It's very 60's, although set in some future year after the film was made. Its themes have become somewhat prophetic over the years, as we look at society allowing itself to be brainwashed by government, church, advertisers etc, with the culture of celebrity worship being their tool to work with.
It's a pity the soundtrack is not easily available on CD, the music is great.
Paul Jones was obviously better at singing/songwriting and performing at this stage than he was at acting, and Jean Shrimpton was not really an actor at all, but both are effective in this film. It's very 60's, although set in some future year after the film was made. Its themes have become somewhat prophetic over the years, as we look at society allowing itself to be brainwashed by government, church, advertisers etc, with the culture of celebrity worship being their tool to work with.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By S. D. Nunn
Format:DVD
I get fedup of what seems to be the generic criticism - it's dated - that functions almost as a self-generating comment in response to older films. Of course older films will be dated, but this claim often offers little more than a comment upon the technicalities of film-making.
Anyway, with Privilege that claim is redundant. This is a fascinating work up there with 'If...' as a landmark in British cinema.
Obviously highy recommended - but you might want to seek out the earlier DVD release featuring the short film 'Lonely Boy' - a better thematic accompaniment, although Watkin's short films are not without some merit.
Anyway, with Privilege that claim is redundant. This is a fascinating work up there with 'If...' as a landmark in British cinema.
Obviously highy recommended - but you might want to seek out the earlier DVD release featuring the short film 'Lonely Boy' - a better thematic accompaniment, although Watkin's short films are not without some merit.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By David Beal
Format:DVD
This is a ground-breaking film which shows - through the medium of pop music - how a consumerist society manipulates us. It is as relevant now as it was when it first appeared in 1967. The high point of the film is the singing of Jerusalem by the Runner Beans at a neo-fascist style stadium concert filmed in the manner of Leni Riefenstahl's Triumph of the Will.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By Nick Hydra
Format:DVD
I 1st saw this film in about 1985 on Channel 4 very late at night, I only watched it because I had seen a trailer which included the song/ theme tune "Prvilege" which I recognised as the song Patti Smith had covered on 'Easter'. About 10 minutes in I realised that it was brilliant and dived into my pile of vidoes to find a blank one to record it onto.
Eventually I got the ex-rental top loader to record, but by then I'd missed a good 15 mins of the film.
I watched that grainy VHS tape again and again for years. I've been waiting for this to be reissued every since, resorting a couple of years ago to buying a dodgy bootleg of a VHS to digital transfer, which was almost as grainy as my original VHS copy.
Now, at last there's a pristine DVD available, and I jumped at it as soon as I knew it was out.
It took me a while to realise that Peter Watkins was the same man who'd made "The War Game" and "Culloden", and this is made in the same quasi-documentary style.
It's dated a bit - some of the swinging 60's stuff is pretty embarasing, and neither Jones or Shrimpton are what I'd call great actors, but the ideas expressed in the film still hold up now, in fact they may be even more relevant...
The part about the two main parties being so close to each other that they've stopped pretending there's any difference and formed a coalition government is not too far from the truth today for instance, and the Nuremberg style rally is chilling if again a bit dated (although this was made in the time of "The festival of light" and other right wing/ religious groups beginning to raise their heads.... Read more ›
Eventually I got the ex-rental top loader to record, but by then I'd missed a good 15 mins of the film.
I watched that grainy VHS tape again and again for years. I've been waiting for this to be reissued every since, resorting a couple of years ago to buying a dodgy bootleg of a VHS to digital transfer, which was almost as grainy as my original VHS copy.
Now, at last there's a pristine DVD available, and I jumped at it as soon as I knew it was out.
It took me a while to realise that Peter Watkins was the same man who'd made "The War Game" and "Culloden", and this is made in the same quasi-documentary style.
It's dated a bit - some of the swinging 60's stuff is pretty embarasing, and neither Jones or Shrimpton are what I'd call great actors, but the ideas expressed in the film still hold up now, in fact they may be even more relevant...
The part about the two main parties being so close to each other that they've stopped pretending there's any difference and formed a coalition government is not too far from the truth today for instance, and the Nuremberg style rally is chilling if again a bit dated (although this was made in the time of "The festival of light" and other right wing/ religious groups beginning to raise their heads.... Read more ›
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4.7 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
after its time and a bit "so what?"
The film has some interesting ideas about political control through manipulation of culture but to discover it was released as late as 1967 for me renders it somewhat too late. Read more
Published 1 month ago by G. Gavigan
5.0 out of 5 stars
Außergewöhnlicher Musikfilm
Wie nicht anders zu erwarten hat BFI den Film & Ton äußerst gut restauriert. Ansonsten ist der Film nicht jedermanns Sache. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Gegenverkehr
2.0 out of 5 stars
What a disappointment!!!!!
We saw this film in 1967 a one of the few times it was actually shown in the cinema. After waiting a very long time for this to be available in the UK I bought it as a Valentine's... Read more
Published 16 months ago by SueC
5.0 out of 5 stars
...a BFI Privilege (for spanish customers)
Aviso: la colección "Flipside" de BFI es altamente adictiva. Este es el volumen 007 de dicha serie y presenta en una notable restauración a HD la poco conocida pero... Read more
Published 19 months ago by AL Pastor
4.0 out of 5 stars
Priviledge
Delivery was quick and it was good value. We are trying to build up a good library of old film DVD's and its nice to know you can get these as a good price.
Published 20 months ago by Carole
1.0 out of 5 stars
Very Dull
It is a lovely transfer on Blur ray but the film itself is so dull. The "acting" is just awful. It may have been good in its day but I found it overly long and I cringed a lot,... Read more
Published 21 months ago by saharapage
3.0 out of 5 stars
Scattershot Sixties Satire Mainly Dull
While it's by no means a write off, I have to admit I found this Orwellian pop culture satire overlong, badly acted and often ham fisted in its delivery. Read more
Published on 11 May 2011 by Now Zoltan
3.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting and important
Made on the cusp of 'swinging' London/Britain, this rather prescient story of the states use of popular culture as a form of mass control (in this instance, pop music), and the... Read more
Published on 4 May 2011 by TGillespie
2.0 out of 5 stars
a walk down memory lane
Imagine! My professor of English literature telling his students, in those pre-68 days, to go and watch the film Privilege, and he mentions "the dark satanic mills", "the bonds of... Read more
Published on 23 April 2011 by A. Thai
1.0 out of 5 stars
Boring!!!!
Great blu ray but my god what a load of rubbish. Being from the "60s", we made some brilliant classic films but this is not one of them. Read more
Published on 17 April 2011 by Jimbo
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