Angry, punk-inflected, visually arresting allegory of Britain's decline under Thatcher; director Derek Jarman's vision is singular and haunting, but sometimes surprisingly marred by literalism. This non-narrative film makes excellent use of "found" footage; particularly poignant are
scenes from Jarman's childhood--Super-8 home movies blown up to 35mm and strikingly transformed by soundtrack and optical effects. The narration, read by Nigel Terry, includes excerpts from Allen Ginsberg's epic beat poem
Howl.
Released:
1987
Rated:
NR
Length:
91 mins