Search - The Committee on DVD

Content Advisory: Violence, Not For Children, Scary Moments Movie Release: 1968 DVD Release: 09/13/2005 Format: DVD SwapaDVD Credits: 2 Number of Discs: 2 Studio: Eclectic DVD Dist. Members Wishing: 5 Genres: Drama, Avant-garde / Experimental

This short experimental feature follows a young man (Paul Jones, vocalist for the band Manfred Mann) who is picked up by a successful but self-satisfied businessman (Tom Kempinski) while hitchhiking. Bored and exasperated with the businessman's prattle, the young man succumbs to temptation while the mogul checks the engine of his Mercedes Benz, bringing the car's hood crashing down on the man's head. Feeling remorse later on, he sews the businessman's head back onto his body, with the victim seeming no worse for wear. Years later, the young man is working with an architectural firm when he's called upon to join a committee led by a powerful government official (Robert Lloyd). It soon becomes obvious that along with his other duties, the man is asked to account for his actions, which could easily have led to another man's death. The Committee was shot on location at the London School of Economics, and features a musical score by Pink Floyd, which was composed and recorded shortly after Syd Barrett left the group. Influential theatrical rock combo The Crazy World of Arthur Brown also performs in the film. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Paul Jones - Central Figure
Tom Kempinski - Victim
Robert Lloyd - Committee Director
Jimmy Gardner - Boss
Arthur Brown - Performer

This rarely screened experimental film, of interest to fans of British rock for an early score by Pink Floyd, a live performance by The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, and a starring role for Manfred Mann vocalist Paul Jones, has been released on DVD in a simple but well-executed edition. The Committee has been transferred to disc in the full-frame aspect ratio of 1.33:1; the print shows a few rough patches, but for the most part looks quite good, and the digital transfer makes the most of the movie's handsome high-contrast photography. The audio has been mastered in Dolby Digital Stereo from the original single-channel mix, and the sound is good if not exceptional; the dialogue is in English, with no subtitles or multiple language options included. As a bonus, the disc includes lengthy interviews with producer and screenwriter Max Steuer and director Peter Sykes, who discuss the film's political and philosophical subtext for nearly as long as the feature itself runs. The only other bonus in this release is a newly recorded audio CD featuring Paul Jones performing a song called "The Committee," which was inspired by the movie but is not directly related to it, while the accompanying group, the Homemade Orchestra, performs two jazz fusion numbers. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide