One last push for The Duke of Burgundy at @uppcinema tomorrow evening at 18:00. I’ll pop in after to answer questions (don’t make them too difficult) and then Harry Lighton’s stellar Pillion will screen at 21:00. The latter film has vaguely similar subject matter to The Duke of Burgundy, only the characters ride motorbikes instead of bicycles. Here are some Duke frames (of Sidse Babett Knudsen, Fatma Mohamed and Chiara D’Anna) that I found in a folder before we started colour grading with Greg Fisher and these are with some ad hoc filtering. Cinematography by Nic Knowland (apart from a few non-actor shots by Mátyás Erdély and Márk Győri). I asked Nic if he would join me on The Duke of Burgundy and previous film Berberian Sound Studio due to being a big fan of his work with the Brothers Quay, but didn’t know about all the music videos he shot for the likes of John Lennon (Imagine), Ultravox (Vienna) and Duran Duran (Rio) along with segments of Julien Temple’s The Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Swindle, which involved getting spat on a great deal (very glad I missed out on punk). Nic also shot John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s rarely seen Rape, whose Hungarian lead Eva Rhodes (also known as Eva Majlath) suffered a horrific murder in real life. My favourite memory of working with Nic would have to be the Box Hill sequence from Berberian Sound Studio in which it was literally just the two of us at dawn with an Aaton XTR camera, 3 rolls of 16mm film and a tripod. The Bohman Brothers joined us at a later hour for their little cameo in the film and I really should try and work more like this instead of spending a fortune on camera cranes that I only end up banging my head on.
The Duke of Burgundy (2014) at @uppcinema this Saturday evening starting at 18:00 with questions from you and answers from me once the show’s over. Straight after that, you get Pillion at 21:00. In other words, two doms for the price of one … or almost, as I think Pillion counts as a separate admission.
The Duke was the easiest time I ever had making a film and only two years from the forbidding blank first page of a Word document in my Hungarian office to its completion in a London grading suite. Everyone was a dream to work with, my own life was a dream and Europe’s life was also a dream.
We shot the film in the former Communist leader János Kádár’s manor on the outskirts of Budapest mainly because that was the best deal we could get and the original location I wanted near Kecskemét was logistically difficult. Allegedly, Kádár entertained guests from other Warsaw Pact countries in that place, so if you get bored of the film, you can always imagine Ceauşescu in his barbecue shorts, sunbathing on the veranda.
The soundtrack by Faris Badwan and Rachel Zeffira of Cat’s Eyes did wonders for the film and though I played no part in it, I still have fond memories of visiting them in the studio with the soundtrack coming out of huge monitors while the 2014 FIFA World Cup was playing live on an ipad propped up on the mixing desk, though they needn’t have bothered, given how badly England did.
Here’s Kádár’s house (if you think that’s opulent, just wait until you see Viktor Orbán’s place) with Bobby Entwistle (sound), Ildikó Kemény (executive producer) and Andy Starke (producer).
+ Faris Badwan and Rachel Zeffira promoting the film for The Independent newspaper (can’t remember who took the photo)
+ my old office where I wrote the last three features (now I work in the bedroom and I’m definitely not posting a photo of that)
+ me with Fatma Mohamed just before we sent her home (can’t remember who took the photo)
The Love Witch (Anna Biller, 2016) at @uppcinema tomorrow night at 20:30: the first of a series of six films I’ve picked for the cinema to help raise publicity regarding their hopes for Oxford University’s Oriel College to renew a much-needed lease. Director, writer, producer, editor, dressmaker, set designer, Renaissance harp composer and pentagram rug weaver Anna Biller’s outright masterpiece (or more aptly, mistresspiece) is one of the most delirious concoctions out there, as Samantha Robinson’s witch casts a devastating spell on various men. I hadn’t seen the film in years and bought it at Covent Garden’s superlative Fopp last night on my way to hosting those other Morricone licensees Hélène Cattet & Bruno Forzani for their screening of Reflection in a Dead Diamond. They told me and the audience that they’d sometimes cry down the phone to persuade the Morricone licensors to press the licence button and I’m not sure what method Ms. Biller used for his music in The Love Witch, but clearly it worked. Seeing the film again tonight was a great joy and M. David Mullen’s cinematography is gloriously bygone in its overdose of glamour. His interview in the extras is one for the note takers: a hard frontal key light above the eyeline to accentuate the cheekbones and jawline. Apparently, Marlene Dietrich required a particularly high key light for her cheekbones and Greta Garbo required a side key light for hers. Not sure what type of key light is needed for my cheekbones. Also, various other factors such as a slower film speed and make-up contribute to the Biller-scopic look that almost nobody can emulate. But artifice and tearoom harpists aside, there’s an aching heart along with a degree of trauma to The Love Witch that transcends its seemingly retro trimmings, despite being set in 2016. Thankfully, a new Anna Biller film is on its way!
One last reminder: I’ll be hosting Hélène Cattet & Bruno Forzani (not pictured) for their new film Reflection in a Dead Diamond this coming Thursday at the Prince Charles Cinema at 18:00. An amazing film followed by amazing questions from me and even more amazing questions from you in the audience.
Ultimate Picture Palace pick 1 - Pillion: The closest the mainstream will ever get to a Fred Halsted film. I first read about Pillion when it screened at the Cannes International Film Festival in May 2025 (a time of the year seen by most filmmakers as two more weeks of waiting for financiers to read their scripts). Harry Lighton adapts and relocates the book Box Hill by Adam Mars-Jones to Bromley while upholding its dynamics of BDSM, or as the Europeans would more glamorously say; sado-maso. Mr. Lighton shadowed me for a day on my fourth feature In Fabric and he was such a good shadow that I don’t even remember him, much to my embarrassment. But I remember Pillion and he did a smashing job with it, especially with Lesley Sharp as the mum who doesn’t suffer doms gladly. One of those superlative supporting roles that makes you wish for another film with that character - a bit like that other wonderful movie mum Elsa Lanchester in Lassie Come Home. On a more socio-political note, I remember a time when consenting adults were sometimes criminalised for their more heavy-duty displays of affection, and to see the broad love for Pillion shows we’ve thankfully come a long way since the late ‘80s days of Operation Spanner.
Very much hope to write a short blurb about each of my Ultimate Picture Palace picks over the next few days. Still no sign of Oriel College extending the cinema’s lease, but I have faith in things working out. If Oxford University can turn down Peter Mandelson’s bid to become chancellor, it proves they’re capable of doing the right thing. More very soon about the films.
Coming soon: Directors Cuts - @peterstricklands .
A handpicked season curated by one of cinema’s most distinctive voices, diving into the films that inspire and define his work. The programme also features a special screening of The Duke of Burgundy, followed by an exclusive Q&A with Strickland himself.
🎟️ Season link in bio.
Artwork by @jscarratt .
Helen Cattet & Bruno Forzani - Q&A screening of the mind blowing Reflection in a Dead Diamond with @peterstricklands doing the Q’s - Thursday May 7th - @princecharlescinema - last few tickets from - get down there!
An Adam Bohman residency at Café Oto this coming week. Unlikely I can make it along, but that means there’s one extra ticket for you. Many special guests including Toby Jones, Caroline Catz and Claudia Duffy along with regulars, Jonathan Bohman, Richard Thomas, Sophie Sleigh-Johnson and others. More information here:
/events/adam-bohman-three-day-residency/
Thirty years to the day of Bernard Edwards’ passing. Too many great tracks of his to mention, not just by Chic, but by many others. The biggest travesty for me is the way he and Nile Rodgers fell foul of Motown on the Diana album by Diana Ross (which they wrote and produced) during the disco backlash of the early ‘80s. Fearing their work would be discarded, Messrs Edwards and Rodgers tried to get Ms Ross’s boyfriend Gene Simmons on side, given that he was one of the few people in her circle who told them their mixes were great, but a diplomatic boyfriend is no match for a powerhouse record label and the biggest radio station in the States (WBLS) who both clearly thought the music was not Ross enough. New mixes were made without the knowledge of Edwards and Rodgers, but now those disregarded, original versions are freely available.
If I had to pick a lesser known Chic favourite, it would be Happy Man from the C’est Chic album, but I love the tracks everyone else loves. Strange to think that Edwards and Rodgers musically bonded after Rodgers was fired from his stint as a substitute guitarist for Hack Bartholomew’s band that also featured Edwards on bass. The two joined forces and eventually formed Chic. His extremely untimely death from suspected pneumonia the night after a three-hour concert in Japan was especially tragic as it came during a resurgence for Chic. Discovering Edwards’ body the morning after in his hotel room (with Bill Clinton and entourage next door) was a seismic shock for Rodgers and a trigger to clean himself up. On a lighter note, the legendary Le Freak was written in response to Rodgers and Edwards being denied entry to Studio 54 and many decades later, the foul-mouthed doorman who rudely sent them packing tracked Rodgers down on Facebook to apologise. If only I could get that apology from the doorman who wouldn’t let me in to see Nurse with Wound.
