PRIVILEGE - DVD review

Four years ago, all but impossible to see a Peter Watkins' film unless you happened to catch a rare print at a museum or repertory screening. Forget DVD, many of his films weren't even available on VHS. Oliver Groom and Project X (in cooperation with New Yorker for the USA release) have performed an extraordinary service over the last several years in correcting this outrageous situation. They have now released either as main features or as extras all eight of Watkins' films from 1959-1974 as well as "The Freethinker" (1994). Add in First Run Features release of Watkins' latest (and nearly greatest) film "La Commune" (2000) and suddenly the bulk of Watkins' work is now available to anyone with a Netflix account or the spare change to buy some truly great DVDs.

It's hard for me to believe that just a few years ago I had never seen a Peter Watkins' film. Each new release has been a revelation. I consider Watkins one of the greatest living directors, and I consider the release of his films over the last several years to be the single most important event in the DVD universe over that timeframe.

"Privilege" (1967) is the newest Project X release, and it's an oddity in the Watkins' oeuvre. It's his only studio pic, filmed for Universal during that brief period when "art movies" were considered hot commodities that could reach a mainstream audience, an almost inconceivable thought today. Watkins also usually serves as writer/director but in this case he works from a script by Norman Bogner from a story by John Speight.

Watkins' career has, in large part, involved an ongoing critique of the mass media's role in distorting information and shaping culture. In "Privilege" Watkins depicts a (very) near-future in which the British government works directly with the media to create a pop sensation known as Steven Shorter (Paul Jones, the first singer for Manfred Mann). Steven Shorter is not just a pop singer, he is the pop singer: in the film we see no evidence that anyone else still exists as competition. Steven Shorter has become the singular obsession of an entire nation, which is precisely what the Ministry of Culture has planned. Steven is a powerful tool designed to distract an entire generation of kids from thinking about nasty things like politics or protests, and to focus on gossip and shopping instead.

Steven is a rebel with a bit of a violent streak because his marketers have calculated that this will rope in the kids and make them more receptive when Steven suddenly repents his "youthful indiscretions" and implores everyone to conform. Unfortunately, there's a fly in the ointment in the form of Vanessa Ritchie (super model Jean Shrimpton in her only film role), an artists commissioned to paint a portrait of Steven. She strikes up a halting and occasionally passionate romance with the tragic superstar that eventually prompts him to rebel against his keepers who are then forced to scramble to maintain the status quo.

The most obvious influence on "Privilege" is Leni Riefenstahl's "Triumph of the Will." Watkins uses the aesthetics from Riefenstahl's nauseating yet beautiful propaganda film as the model for the Steven Shorter rallies staged by the British government, even with goose-stepping officers lining up with hands raises stiffly towards the sky. This would be provocative even today, but just twenty years after the end of WW2 it must have been truly offensive to some, and at least in part explains why the film fared so poorly at the box office and was seldom seen again after its initial run except on college campuses.

Watkins films are always politically charged to the point where they walk a fine line between stridency and hyperbole. It's the intensity and sincerity of Watkins' social critique that keeps his films grounded and also gives them a timeless quality even though they have the distinct look of their times: the costumes and sets are quintessentially 60s and presage the gaudy rock operas of the 70s.

As in all of his films, Watkins uses faux-newsreel techniques to allow characters to speak directly to the camera often as if they are being interviewed. The camera functions like a documentary eye as if a crew were following the stars around rather than simply filming staged scenes. However, the pseudo-documentary aesthetic is less prominent here than in any other Watkins' film, and this is the closest he ever came in a feature film to using more mainstream cinema grammar. Everything is relative, of course – this is still distinctly Watkins-esque.

To my tastes, "Privilege" is not quite as successful as Watkins' very best films such as "Edvard Munch" (1974), "Culloden" (1964), "The Freethinker" and "La Commune." Though his critique of media as the opiate of the masses (and, by the way, the Church of England is in on the fix as well) is spot-on and every bit as relevant today as forty years ago, the delivery is occasionally too heavy-handed, particularly in the Nazi-style rally near the end of the film.

However, considering that I think those four "superior" Watkins' films are all masterpieces, placing "Privilege" a notch or two below them is hardly a criticism. Viewed today, the only aspect of "Privilege" that doesn't seem immediately relevant is the government's direct involvement with the media. Today there's no need for the government to expend the effort. Corporate run media outlets latch onto power and capital wherever they can find it and function as eager tools of the power that be without even being asked. It's where the money is.

Video

The film is presented in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio. The Project X films have always been a cut above the usual New Yorker releases, and this one is no exception. It's an interlaced transfer which means there's some combing, but overall the picture quality is sharp and deliciously grainy. This is a pleasure to watch.

Audio

The DVD is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0. Optional English and French subtitles support the English audio.

Extras

The primary extra is the 26-minute documentary "Lonely Boy" (1962), a Canadian produced feature about then red-hot teen sensation Paul Anka. Watkins studied this film in detail when preparing for "Privilege" and appropriates several details almost directly fro the short, particularly the smarmy music executives who control Anka as well as a few lines of dialogue.

The DVD also includes a Trailer and a Still and Poster Gallery.

The 40-page insert booklet includes another of Watkins' now familiar self-interviews, and an excerpt from Joseph Gomez's 1979 book about Watkins.

Film Value

Every Peter Watkins film is a treasure. "Privilege" is somewhat atypical of his work: as his only studio film, it was his biggest budget film which also meant working with his largest crew which is not necessarily an advantage for a director like Watkins. For the same reasons, though, "Privilege" is one of his most accessible films and would make a fine starting point for anyone wishing to introduce themselves to this exceptional and too-long-neglected director.