Young Soul Rebels

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antnield
Joined: Tue Jun 28, 2005 1:59 pm
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Young Soul Rebels

#1 Post by antnield » Thu Aug 27, 2009 10:59 am

Image

October 19th release date.

Promises to be a brand new restoration, thus likely to be a vast improvement on the old ILC full-screen release we had in the UK.

Can't see any news on extras yet, though the BFI's previous two Julien releases (Derek and Looking for Langston) benefitted greatly from his input. Any chance of his 'Diary of a Young Soul Rebel' (which the BFI published around the time of the original cinema release) appearing in PDF form? - surely its too long to be re-published in booklet form.

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MichaelB
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Re: Young Soul Rebels

#2 Post by MichaelB » Thu Aug 27, 2009 11:05 am

antnield wrote:Promises to be a brand new restoration, thus likely to be a vast improvement on the old ILC full-screen release we had in the UK.
Since the BFI made the film in the first place, and therefore should have direct access to the original materials, I imagine you can probably take that as read!

I don't know the ins and outs of this particular release, though - but I imagine the official press release will be along before too long, and I'll post it the second it hits my inbox.

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Wu.Qinghua
Joined: Sat Aug 15, 2009 4:31 pm

Re: Young Soul Rebels

#3 Post by Wu.Qinghua » Thu Aug 27, 2009 3:00 pm

Wow ... Great news again ...
:shock:

The old dvd is wack and lacked hoh subtitles, so i had some problems following the dialogues although I read the script and was used to listen to Jamaican English.
I have some doubts about the accuracy of Isaac Julien's thesis that in the late seventies and early eighties disco was much more important and subversive than the tougher, male-dominated and more oppositional/political subcultures punk and reggae, as - in his opinion - not the punky reggae rebels and the rock against racism-campaigners, but the ordinary disco/soul kids managed to bridge national, racial and gender divides. But it's great that there's some hope now to see this really important film finally released in a proper way.

It would be great if the producers would add some extras contextualizing the movie, like an interview with Julien or Julien's take on the homophobia in the Jamaican reggae scene in the early nineties ("The Darker Side of Black") or, which I would even prefer, one of his older films ("Who killed Colin Roach", "Territories", "Passion of Rememberance") on a second disc. And yes, we want the "Diary" in pdf form on it, too.

By the way, we are still waiting for someone to release some films made by the Black Audio Film Collective (Handsworth Songs and so on) on DVD, aren't we? That's a pity, isn't it?

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Dr Amicus
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Re: Young Soul Rebels

#4 Post by Dr Amicus » Fri Aug 28, 2009 4:37 am

Great news - I kept meaning to ask about the whereabouts of this and the likelihood of a release, so this beat me to it.

Any news if this is Blu as well or only DVD? I know an HD copy has been on Sky Arts.

As for the film itself, it's a really interesting film which I think never got its due - IIRC it got some really shockingly poor reviews on release, several one stars. The early hype was that this was going to be the next break through British film, it was going to cross over from art houses to the mainstream and be THE great black British film - which, to be frank, it wasn't. But it certainly wasn't a one-star film, and I'm really looking forward to seeing it again.

By the way, when I first saw it I went with my gay housemate who was hoping for some serious sex scenes. The only problem was he only finds white men attractive... I was told off for not telling him more about the film (which, admittedly, he did quite like)!

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MichaelB
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Re: Young Soul Rebels

#5 Post by MichaelB » Tue Oct 06, 2009 5:43 am

Full specs announced:
Young Soul Rebels
A film by Isaac Julien
Starring Valentine Nonyela, Mo Sesay and Sophie Okonedo

Following the release of his acclaimed Looking for Langston and the award-winning Derek on DVD – and as part of October's Black History Month celebrations – BFI DVD releases the first feature by the Turner Prize-nominated artist and filmmaker Isaac Julien.

In the long hot summer of 1977, London prepared for the Silver Jubilee celebrations to the sounds of the burgeoning punk, soul and funk scenes.

Soul boys Chris (Valentine Nonyela) and Caz (Mo Sesay), a pair of pirate radio DJs, broadcast their show from a friend’s garage, tussling with the local skinheads, and clubbing with Chris’s sassy music-industry girlfriend Tracy (Sophie Okonedo).

But social and sexual tensions in the community reach boiling point following the murder of a local black gay man.

With its soulful soundtrack – Funkadelic, X-Ray Spex, Parliament, Sylvester and more – and enthusiastic young cast, this Cannes Critics’ Week prize-winner is an engaging and sensitive drama.

Special features:
• Original trailer
• Illustrated colour booklet with newly commissioned preface by Isaac Julien, essay by author and historian Stephen Bourne, and extract from Diary of a Young Soul Rebel (BFI, 1991)

Release date: 26 October 2009
RRP: £19.99 / cat. no. BFIVD866 / cert 18
UK, France, Germany / 1991 / colour / English, optional subtitles for the hearing-impaired / 105 mins / DVD-9 / ratio 1.77:1 (anamorphic 16x9)

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MichaelB
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Re: Young Soul Rebels

#6 Post by MichaelB » Fri Oct 16, 2009 6:02 am

I now have a final production version, so I thought I'd confirm that the booklet is 28 pages.

Here's a full breakdown:

1-3: 'Young Soul Rebels' - new essay by Stephen Bourne
5-6: 'Preface: Time to rearrange' - Isaac Julien looking back
8-16: 'Introduction to Young Soul Rebels' - selected extracts from 'Diary of a Young Soul Rebel', published in 1991, revised by Julien for this release.
19: Cast and credits
20-21: Biography of Julien by B. Ruby Rich
24: Technical notes on the transfer (sourced from the original 35mm interpositive)
25: Acknowledgements

...plus lots of colour stills.

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GaryC
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Re: Young Soul Rebels

#7 Post by GaryC » Mon Oct 19, 2009 1:55 pm

Review copy received. For the record, this is Region 0 and not Region 2. (The simultaneously-released Shirin and Playing Away are both R2, by the way.)

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MichaelB
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Re: Young Soul Rebels

#8 Post by MichaelB » Mon Oct 19, 2009 3:14 pm

Playing Away and Shirin were licenced from elsewhere, but the BFI owns Young Soul Rebels outright - not least on account of having made it in the first place. So there wouldn't have been any compulsion to region-code.

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Wu.Qinghua
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Re: Young Soul Rebels

#9 Post by Wu.Qinghua » Tue Oct 27, 2009 8:00 pm

First review is up on the internet:
http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/DVDRevie ... rebels.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
...which does have contextualising extras, albeit in printed form. But, as both MoC and the BFI have been amply demonstrating, booklets can be just as valuable as on-disc materials, and sometimes more so.
Well, I surely agree. As most interviews (especially with actors etc.) aren't that interesting (in my eyes), I usually prefer more or less extensive booklets. But let's put it this way: I wasn't impressed by the booklets which were part of "Burning an Illusion", "Pressure" and "Sweet Sweetback" (though I liked Eshun's very short essay). I considered these to be basic in some way. Nevertheless, these packages where really great not only because of the films itself, but because of the added shorts. Another thing was "Looking for Langston": In this case, the booklet itself was great.

Well now, I have not seen this booklet yet. And, by the way, I have read Stephen Bourne's "Black in the British Frame" and I have also seen Bourne's (et. al.) marvelous video essay on "Sanders on the River". But I can't help feeling a bit disappointed by the extras as the film itself is, as Dr. Amicus already wrote, on the one hand rather flawed, but on the other hand extremly important and enjoyable/amazing provided that you know what it is all about (history, R'n'R & antiracist politics, cultural studies and subcultural research and so on - edit: gender politics too, of course) . And I really doubt that this can be discussed adequatly on 20+x pages. Reading Gary's review, I feel affirmed.

Important release, nevertheless.
Last edited by Wu.Qinghua on Tue Oct 27, 2009 10:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.

bamwc2
Joined: Mon Jun 02, 2008 11:54 am

Re: Young Soul Rebels

#10 Post by bamwc2 » Tue Oct 27, 2009 9:18 pm

Wu.Qinghua wrote:First review is up on the internet:
http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/DVDRevie ... rebels.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
...which does have contextualising extras, albeit in printed form. But, as both MoC and the BFI have been amply demonstrating, booklets can be just as valuable as on-disc materials, and sometimes more so.
Well, I surely agree. As most interviews (especially with actors etc.) aren't that interesting (in my eyes), I usually prefer more or less extensive booklets. But let's put it this way: I wasn't impressed by the booklets which were part of "Burning an Illusion", "Pressure" and "Sweet Sweetback" (though I liked Eshun's very short essay). I considered these to be basic in some way. Nevertheless, these packages where really great not only because of the films itself, but because of the added shorts. Another thing was "Looking for Langston": In this case, the booklet itself was great.

Well now, I have not seen this booklet yet. And, by the way, I have read Stephen Bourne's "Black in the British Frame" and I have also seen Bourne's (et. al.) marvelous video essay on "Sanders on the River". But I can't help feeling a bit disappointed by the extras as the film itself is, as Dr. Amicus already wrote, on the one hand rather flawed, but on the other hand extremly important and enjoyable/amazing provided that you know what it is all about (history, R'n'R & antiracist politics, cultural studies and subcultural research and so on) . And I really doubt that this can be discussed adequatly on 20+x pages. Reading Gary's review, I feel affirmed.

Important release, nevertheless.

I'm confused. Where was that quote pulled from? I wrote the Beaver review, so if you have any specific questions about the film, disc, or booklet, then I'd be happy to answer.

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Wu.Qinghua
Joined: Sat Aug 15, 2009 4:31 pm

Re: Young Soul Rebels

#11 Post by Wu.Qinghua » Tue Oct 27, 2009 10:11 pm

Oh, I am sorry ... I pulled that quote over from the "Playing Away" thread ... There was a short debate about Ové, Julien and the value of extras and I wanted to add some words to it ...

And I am also sorry for mixing up the reviewer of the disc ... I thought Gary had written it but he actually didn't do it ... My apologies, bamwc2

bamwc2
Joined: Mon Jun 02, 2008 11:54 am

Re: Young Soul Rebels

#12 Post by bamwc2 » Tue Oct 27, 2009 11:07 pm

Wu.Qinghua wrote:Oh, I am sorry ... I pulled that quote over from the "Playing Away" thread ... There was a short debate about Ové, Julien and the value of extras and I wanted to add some words to it ...

And I am also sorry for mixing up the reviewer of the disc ... I thought Gary had written it but he actually didn't do it ... My apologies, bamwc2

Ah, thanks for clearing that up. The sentence seemed far more eloquent than anything that I've written since my son came down with colic and I started barely scrapping by on sleep. Don't worry about the credit, that's no big deal. Oh, and if you're interested, my review of the Ové is finished and should be posted in the next few days or so.

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MichaelB
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Re: Young Soul Rebels

#13 Post by MichaelB » Thu May 04, 2023 10:18 am

To update this thread nearly 14 years on, the BFI has just announced that:
A landmark for Black – and Queer – British film, Isaac Julien’s iconic, beautifully crafted 1991 period piece YOUNG SOUL REBELS has been newly remastered by the BFI. Its release comes during the director’s major exhibition at Tate Britain.
...and it's out on 7 August 2023.

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AidanKing
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Re: Young Soul Rebels

#14 Post by AidanKing » Sun May 14, 2023 8:50 am

I remember it previously being discussed that the BFI no longer has the rights to 'Derek' or else it would have been included in one of the Jarman sets, but I imagine that it no longer has the rights to 'Looking for Langston' as well, unless the materials aren't suitable for an upgrade.

The current Isaac Julien exhibition at Tate Britain, 'What Freedom Is To Me' is supposed to be well worth a visit if you are in or travelling to London between now and 20 August.

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