Nil By Mouth (2-Blu-ray disc) (Limited Edition)

Product Information

There’s a visceral realism running throughout the film with sharply observed scenes of drug taking, petty crime, alcohol abuse and domestic violence. It’s not an easy watch as characters destroy themselves and the ones they love. But there is great warmth and moments of humour (despite Besson's misgivings) along the way. I wasn’t collecting art or driving a Ferrari’ … Oldman during filming. Photograph: Columbia Tristar/Allstar Gary Oldman, writer, director, producer

Finally, "Sole Credit" by Jason Wood, which explores the phenomenon of the One Film Wonder: director's who make just the one feature. In 2018, at Manchester's HOME, Wood programmed just such a season and some of the wide-ranging titles are listed – not just first and only features, but ones which "managed to craft something arresting, or in some cases spectacular". The booklet continues with Oldman's notes on the deleted scenes, full film credits and notes on and credits for the extras, the notes for Children by Terence Davies and reprinted from a Sight & Sound interview with Jennifer Howarth. summaryI Missed The War (Gary Oldman, 1994): the only surviving footage recorded for an unrealised documentary about his mother’s life and experiences An impressive edition pulling together a wonderful set of features alongside a sharp looking new presentation that captures the film’s gritty look as best as can be expected. Highly recommended.

This was my first time seeing the film and I thought it was incredible. It's hard to believe it only won 2 BAFTAs, until you remember that The Full Monty also came out that year and beat it in many categories. Less clear is how it got zero Oscar nominations, since it released in February 1998 in the USA and so wasn't competing for Oscars with The Full Monty, but then again, Oscars don't often go to films released early in the year and 1998 was the year Shakespeare in Love best Saving Private Ryan for Best Picture, so it was not the the Oscars' finest hour. Considering the usual quality of their booklets, I have no doubt it’s a stellar inclusion, but I will provide an update when I get a copy. Even without the booklet, it’s still an impressive collection of material covering the film and its production, BFI going all out in gathering everyone they can to discuss it. Closing The original isn't here to compare it with, but needless to say this time round they have some critical raves and a 4K restoration to trumpet. On to Disc Two.Nil by Mouth caused a considerable stir on its release. Twenty-five years later, the dust may have settled a little, but it remains a raw, vital film of its time, particularly as Gary Oldham has yet to follow it up. No complaints about an excellent BFI release. Children (1976, 46 mins): written while still a student, Terence Davies' film is the first in his 'Trilogy' series and has an uncompromising honesty that is echoed in Nil by Mouth The Inspirations Behind Nil by Mouth", by Philip Kemp, takes the form of an interview with Oldman, who goes through his various influences. Top of the list given the country he comes from, would be the social realism of British directors like Tony Richardson, Ken Loach, Alan Clarke and Mike Leigh. (In fact, Oldman has worked with the latter two.) Then there was Pier Paolo Pasolini, via his then wife Isabella Rossellini. And John Cassavetes: Oldman and Ron Fortunato watched The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, and Oldman goes into detail about the use of colour in it, especially the ending.

Nil By Mouth" centers on one working class family from South London. There's Raymond (played by Ray Winstone) alongside his wife Val (played by Kathy Burke), their young daughter Michelle (played by Leah Fitzgerald), Val's younger brother Billy (played by Charlie Creed-Miles), their mother Janet (played by Laila Morse), and their grandmother Kath (played by Edna Doré). Raymond is not the best husband or father, frequently going out drinking and smoking with Billy and good friend Mark (played by Jamie Foreman) and not being able to control his anger at home. Billy is not coming into work as regulary as he should, mooching off his grandmother for money which immediately goes to hard drugs. Val is pregnant with her second child, yet her husband is not as attentive as he should be. With the bleakness of the family life, is there any hope for a better future for them? The performances are mesmerising throughout, with Ray Winstone as the volatile and self-pitying Ray, Kathy Burke (who won Best Actress at Cannes) as his longsuffering wife Val and Charlie Creed-Miles as her junkie brother Billy. Shot and scripted in a deceptively casual realist style reminiscent of John Cassavetes, this profoundly personal and humane film eschews sensationalism and sentimentality to illuminate a vicious circle of abuse and criminality. A dark but dazzling masterwork. I invited Eric Clapton to a screening in California with a temporary score and he turned up with Sheryl Crow. I said: “You wouldn’t do the music, would you?” And he said: “It’s right up my strasse.” And that was it. In the main theme, it’s Sheryl Crow playing the accordion. Nil by Mouth premiered at Cannes on 8 May 1997. Oldman and several of the male cast were there, but Kathy Burke wasn't. When word broke that she had won Best Actress, Besson arranged for her to be flown over to Cannes in his private helicopter, as her passport was out of date. Along with a British Independent Film Award for the same role, it remains the only major film award she has ever won. Although released by a major (20th Century Fox) in the UK, Nil by Mouth had a relatively "specialised" release, which meant that many of the people the film was made about and for were unable to see it, in a cinema at least. sound and visionPeople Were Queuing For Any Role (2022, 16 mins): casting director Sue Jones recalls her work on the film Newly recorded for this release, at first this comes over as a Gary Oldman solo commentary, as Urbanski doesn't speak for nearly fifteen minutes. A quarter-century on, they talk about the look of the film and the benefits of shooting in Super 16mm, and members of Oldman's family as they make their appearances. It doesn't overlap too much with both men's separate interviews on this disc. Fearing the Worst: Charlie Creed-Miles on Nil by Mouth(2022, 28 mins): the actor discusses his role as Billy, from his audition to some of the key scenes in the film Written and directed by Gary Oldman (his only directorial film to date) it’s often thought it’s biographical, Gary insists it isn’t. His dad may have had an alcohol problem, but he wasn’t a wife beater. It’s easy to see why an audience would assume it’s autobiographical, filmed and based in South London, with all London born actors, it seems like we spying on the gown up kids of the characters in Up The Junction.