BREAKING GLASS (1980)
Label: Fun City Editions
Region Code: Region-Free
Duration: 104 Minutes 48 Seconds
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.35:1)
Director: Brian Gibson
Cast: Hazel O'Connor, Phil Daniels, Jon Finch, Jonathan Pryce, Mark Wingett, Peter-Hugo Daly
Post-punk classic Breaking Glass (1980), directed by Brian Gibson (Poltergeist II: The Other Side) is a punk rock rags to riches story, at the center of it is rebellious singer-songwriter Kate Crowley (Hazel O'Connor, Double Exposure), the lead singer of scrappy punk group Breaking Glass. They don't do much gigging and when they do it's usually shitty hole-in-the-wall dive bars, where her anarchic lyrics full of social commentary rubs the skinheads the wrong way. One day while plastering posters on the street she encounters wannabe-manager Danny (Phil Daniels, Quadrophenia), a bit of hustler who sees the promise in her, and self-appoints himself as her manager. First thing he does is fire her shitty back-up band, immediately holding auditions in her apartment, and we get a fun assortment of colorful and talentless weirdoes, including an appearance by Rat Scabies, drummer of goth-punk legend The Damned - who auditions as a guitarist (he's shit 'natch). In the end the band is comprised of Kate on vocals/synth, guitarist Tony (Mark Wingett, TV's Eastenders), bassist Dave (Gary Tibbs, musician/bassist known for playing with Adam Ant as well as The Vibrations), drummer Mick (Peter-Hugo Daly, Oxford Blues), and the partially-deaf junkie Ken (Jonathan Pryce, Brazil) on saxophone. The band struggles to make the scene, but after cutting a quick demo get notice from promoters, which leads to successful tours, and eventually signing with a record label.
Kate's initially quite an idealist and non-conformist, but once she fins herself entrenched in the chew 'em up and spit 'em out music industry her anarchic message is co-opted by big business, she agrees to soften her edge a bit, first changing her lyrics, and then slowly but surely losing her self identity as her star rises, falling under the influence of a big-wig music producer Bob Woods (Jon Finch, The Vampire Lovers), which causes friction with her manager turned lover Danny.
Set during the Winter of Discontent in Britain the film has a down and depressed aesthetic that seeps depression and poverty. It makes for a terrific backdrop for the film, issues with skinheads, the harassment of Kate at early gigs, witnessing a murder at protest-concert that causes a nervous breakdown she never quite recovers from, and some sunning punk rock performances that are electrifying. The music starts off as more abrasive and non-conformist, but it evolves, the film culminating with a sold-out show, pumped full of drugs, performing a Dystopian slice of synth-drenched sci-fi pop number "Eight Day", her and the band dressed-up in proto-Tron reflective outfits - it's quite a number!
This release offers up the Blu-ray debut of the longer UK cut of the film, the U.S. ends on a freeze frame after this concert performance, but the longer UK cut continues on with a much more interesting examination of her mental state, fleeing the concert hall and having a nervous breakdown on the train where she hallucinates being groped lookalike fans and visions of people from her past, including the kid who dies at the concert, before ending up at a sanitarium. It's much darker and down-turned, as where the US cut was sort of ambiguous, I found this ending much more impactful and resonating.
A real highlight of the film are the songs, which were written and performed by star Hazel O'Connor, the tracks were produced by longtime David Bowie collaborator Tony Visconti, and the soundtrack album appears to have done quite well, a couple of the songs scoring on the single chart in the UK. I have the CD soundtrack and its authentically a terrific album, and I say that as someone who heard the music long before I finally saw the film, so I think it stands up quite well on it's own
If you're a fan of punk rock cinema like Ladies and Gentleman... the Fabulous Stains, The Smithereens or even any of the numerous rags to riches (but at what cost!) music bios this should play well for you, particularly if your a fan of post-punk and new wave music of this era. Hazel O'Connor gives an electrifying turn as the punk rocker who struggles to find an audience, and when she does find success finds that her idealistic value crumble under the pressures of a corrupt and callous music industry.
Audio/Video: The longer UK cut of Breaking Glass arrives in Blu-ray from Fun City Editions in 1080p HD framed in 2.35:1 widescreen, sourced from a 4K restoration of archival elements. It looks very filmic with authentic levels of grain, nice texturing throughout, colors pop nicely wen called upon, black levels are solid. Some small remanent of source related damage do remain, but I found them quite minor. Audio comes by way of English DTS-HD MA 2.0 with optional English subtitles. The track is cleaned and free of hiss or distortion, dialogue is well prioritized, coming through clean, the sonics of punk performances in small bars and clubs performances and the new-wavier later performances in larger venues sounds authentic and vibrant.
Onto the extras, we get a new Audio commentary by Marc Edward Heuck, the one-time 'The Movie Geek' on the Comedy Central game show Beat the Geeks, and New Bev projectionist, offers a lively assessment of the post-punk flick, comparing the two cuts, the cast, and the film's legacy.
Then onto the 18-min "A Movie People Will Ralk About" - New video interview with producer Davina Belling, she discusses starting in theater before turning to film, starting out with Clive Parsons as development finance producers before financing their own project with Inserts, wanting to make provocative films, being director driven in their focus, working with up and coming talent, and then into the development of Breaking Glass with director Brian Gibson, which she describes as the New Wave A Star Is Born, going to clubs to capture and authentic new wave vibe, the casting of Hazel O'Connor, Tony Visconti's involvement, the daily shooting process and making days, cinematographer Stephen Goldblatt, actor Jonathan Pryce, shooting scenes with punk extras, it's reception in UK and U.S, screenings resulted in re-edits of the ending,
The 16-min "The Experience is Shartering" - New video essay by Chris O'Neill gets into the tense time in UK during the Winter of Discontent, how that backdrop of disillusionment sets the tone for this cynical take on the record business, shot over 11 weeks during Margaret Thatcher's dire turn as Prime Minister, he also gets into the technical aspects and aesthetic choices, the turn from Hazel O'Connor, that anchors the film.
We also get 12-min of Alternate US Ending + Additional Scenes that we're re-edited for US release for the sake of comparison, plus an extensive 18-min Image gallery.
The single-disc Blu-ray release arrives in a clear keepcase with a Double-sided wrap with legacy artworks, the a-sde wrap is actually my least favorite of the three, I even like the spine better in the reverse side, so I appreciate the options. inside there's a 12-Page Illustrated Booklet with new essay by Margaret Barton-Fumo, available with the first pressing only, the summarizes the film and places in context of this turbulent time in British culture.
Special Features:
- Audio commentary by Marc Edward Heuck
- "A Movie People Will Talk About" - New video interview with producer Davina Belling (18:33)
- "The Experience is Shartering" - New video essay by Chris O'Neill
- Alternate US ending + additional scenes re-edited for US release (12:55)
- Image gallery (18:26)
- Double-sided wrap with legacy artwork
- 12-Page Illustrated Booklet with new essay by Margaret Barton-Fumo (first pressing only)
Screenshots from the Fun City Editions Blu-ray:
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