Anchoress

MichaelB · **Posted:** Thu Apr 23, 2009 4:54 am

Full specs announced:

Quote:

Anchoress
A film by Chris Newby

Festival International du Film Cannes 1993 'Un Certain Regard' Official Selection

Christopher Eccleston, Pete Postlethwaite and Toyah Wilcox star in this sensual tale of religious conflict, in which a young girl's transcendental vision threatens to upset the foundations of her community.

Inspired by records of the real Anchoress of Shere (near Guildford, Surrey), who was voluntarily walled up in a tiny cell adjoining a church, Anchoress vividly evokes life in a remote medieval village and explores the gulf between patriarchal power and female rebellion.

After claiming to be in direct contact with the Virgin Mary, 14-year-old Christine (Natalie Morse) takes the advice of her local priest (Christopher Eccleston) and becomes an anchoress.

Over the protestations of her parents, she devotes her life to prayer, surviving on charitable food donations while dispensing advice to pilgrims. Becoming an anchoress was a form of voluntary martyrdom, the sealing-up ceremony having a deliberately funereal feel, as though the subject had already died – which, in a sense, she had, at least from the outside world’s perspective.

Featuring exquisite cinematography by Michel Baudour, the film has been re-mastered for this release from the original negative under the supervision of its director, Chris Newby (Madagascar Skin).

Special features
• The Old Man of the Sea (1989, 21 mins) - Newby's short film on the ancient relationship between man, nature and the supernatural.
• Flicker (2001, 4 mins) - Newby's study of the Guy Fawkes Night celebrations at Lewes
• Stromboli (1998, 11 mins) - Newby's portrait of the Aeolian island known for its violent volcanic eruptions
• Illustrated booklet

Release date: 22 June 2009
RRP: £19.99 / cat. no. BFIVD788 / cert 12
UK / 1993 / black and white / English / optional hard-of-hearing subtitles /
104 mins + 36 mins extra material / DVD-9 / Ratio 16:9

Sadly, this is a DVD-only release - I was one of the very few people who caught (in my case premiered) the 35mm version back in 1993, and it's got some of the most ravishingly fine-grained black-and-white cinematography of any film made in the last few decades. But it's a niche-market title with a vengeance, so I can understand why a Blu-ray was ruled out of consideration.

This one should be a really fascinating rediscovery (or discovery as far as most people are concerned) - a recognisably British film whose aesthetic sensibility is far closer to someone like Walerian Borowczyk (especially Blanche) than any of Newby's fellow countrymen. Here's my Screenonline piece to give some more background.

Ovader · **Joined:** Wed Nov 03, 2004 1:56 am **Posts:** 265

Agreed on all points Michael! I first read about this film from a 1998 Pacific Cinematheque program and wanted to see it immediately so I bought the Vanguard DVD as a blind buy and was not disappointed.

MichaelB · **Posted:** Wed May 20, 2009 6:38 am

I've just had a sneak preview of the booklet, which contains:

1-3: Essay on Anchoress by me;
4: Director's statement;
5: Writers' statement;
6-7: Historical background to the film;
8-11: Three medieval documents from 1329 and 1332, concerning Christine Carpenter's real-life incarceration;
14-16: Full credits;
19: Short autobiography by Chris Newby;
20-23: Credits and notes on The Old Man and the Sea, Stromboli and Flicker by me;
24: Notes on the transfer.

...plus quite a few stills, in both black and white and colour.

closelyobserved · **Posted:** Tue May 26, 2009 6:42 am

Great to see this emerging in the UK. Saw it many moons ago at the Edinburgh Film Festival. Amazon has this advertised with the Vanguard label does that mean the same elements have been used as the BFI version? Also surprised the extras do not include Newby's Relax which is a BFI board short, which I also saw at the same festival.

MichaelB · **Posted:** Tue May 26, 2009 11:04 am

closelyobserved wrote:

Great to see this emerging in the UK. Saw it many moons ago at the Edinburgh Film Festival. Amazon has this advertised with the Vanguard label does that mean the same elements have been used as the BFI version?

Amazon seems to have got its cover art mixed up - thanks for flagging that up: I've passed it on. (UPDATE: It's been fixed.)

In the meantime, I'm very happy to confirm that this is a brand new anamorphic transfer from original elements under the personal supervision of Chris Newby. The BFI produced the film in the first place, so you can rest assured that it's sourced from the best possible materials. I was sent a timecoded copy for reference when writing the booklet, and it looks breathtaking - as I said above, my only regret is that it isn't a Blu-ray, but I can understand why that was considered a commercial risk too far.

Quote:

Also surprised the extras do not include Newby's Relax which is a BFI board short, which I also saw at the same festival.

I believe there are plans to feature Relax as an extra on a different and more appropriate future release. Despite being a Chris Newby film, it's tonally quite different from Anchoress and the three other shorts, which are dialogue-free non-narrative pieces.

Incidentally, my (Newby-approved) pieces on The Old Man of the Sea, Stromboli and Flicker were published on Screenonline last week.

closelyobserved · **Posted:** Fri May 29, 2009 4:52 am

Thanks for the info. Certainly looks like the BFI edition will wipe the floor with the Vanguard. I knew very little about this director so the Screenonline biog is very welcome.

MichaelB · **Posted:** Fri May 29, 2009 3:40 pm

Despite the rather blatant lack of actual biographical information!

He's an elusive man, Chris Newby, and I think he likes it that way.

And the BFI edition definitely wipes the floor with the Vanguard, which is an ancient barebones release that I don't think is even anamorphically enhanced - which is the minimum you'd want with a film whose overwhelming merits are visual.

MichaelB · **Posted:** Mon Jun 29, 2009 8:51 am

DVD Times.

MichaelB · **Posted:** Sat Jan 30, 2010 6:35 pm

Beaver - with some terrific framegrabs that really highlight Newby's eye at work.

Anchoress

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