Tweet
BFI Flipside presents Her Private Hell
A film by Norman J Warren
This cautionary tale of an innocent girl abroad caught up in London's sleazy world of modelling was Britain's first narrative sex film. Previously unreleased, it finally comes to DVD and Blu-ray for the first time on 20 February 2012 in a Dual Format Edition on the BFI's celebrated Flipside label. The new, director-approved High Definition transfer is accompanied by a wealth of rare and fascinating extra features and a comprehensive booklet.
Starring the Italian actress Lucia Modugno (Il generale Della Rovere, Danger: Diabolik), and directed by Norman J Warren, Her Private Hell put Britain on the map in the realm of home-grown adult features. The storyline features beautiful but naí¯ve Marisa who arrives from the continent for a job as a fashion model, but soon discovers she's being groomed for a different purpose.
By the late 1960s, British producers had begun to realise the commercial potential of sex and to test the limits of what the censors would permit on screen. Producer Bachoo Sen, a distributor who imported art-house titles to the UK, set up Piccadilly Pictures with cinema-owner Richard Schulman and financed Her Private Hell. It premiered at London's Cameo-Royal cinema on 4 January 1968 and was so popular that it ran for over a year.
The film was the debut feature for young director Norman J Warren (Satan's Slave, Prey and Terror). Looking back at it now, 45 years on, he says: 'Why it got so much publicity and why it was so successful was that the sex situation in this country was so naí¯ve and innocent and you were so restricted.'
Her Private Hell features a screenplay by Glynn Christian, best known as BBC Breakfast Time's resident chef in the 1980s, and a distinctive jazz soundtrack by renowned musician and composer John Scott.
Among the extensive extras are new cast and crew interviews, original screen tests (including one with a young Udo Kier), two early shorts by Norman J Warren and the rarely-seen The Anatomy of a Pin-up (1971), a lively documentary about 'Penthouse Pets' and nude modelling in Britain. All extras are presented in High Definition.
Special features:
-Presented in both High Definition and Standard Definition
-Original Her Private Hell trailer
-Alternative US sequences (1967, 3 mins) uncensored footage
-Screen tests (4 mins, mute): including footage of Udo Kier
-Inside Her Private Hell (2011, 15 mins): cast and crew interviews
-Incident (Norman J Warren, 1959/2007, 13 mins): Warren's enigmatic first film
-Fragment (Norman J Warren, 1966, 11 mins): exquisite short about a woman's unhappiness after a failed love affair
-The Anatomy of a Pin-up (David Cohen, 1971, 31 mins) modish documentary about Britain's nude modelling industry
-Illustrated 34-page booklet with new essays and contributions from Norman J Warren, Josephine Botting, David Cohen, Lynn Barber; original promotional materials and full film credits
Product details:
RRP: £19.99 / cat. no. BFIB1124 / BFI Flipside no. 022 / Cert 15
UK / 1967 / black and white / 81 mins / original aspect ratio 1.33:1 / region 0
Disc 1: BD50 / 1080p / 24fps / PCM mono audio (48k/16-bit)
Disc 2: DVD9 / PAL / Dolby Digital mono audio (320kbps)
About BFI Flipside:
Developed from its popular monthly screening slot at BFI Southbank, the BFI's Flipside series is designed to revisit and reappraise British films that have slipped through the cracks of cinema history - films that were overlooked, marginalised, or undervalued at the original time of release, or which sit outside the established canon of recognised classics.
BFI Flipside titles are all newly mastered to High Definition from original film elements, and are presented with rare and fascinating special features, including previously unavailable short films, documentaries and archival interviews, many of which are preserved in the BFI National Archive. Each title comes in collectable numbered packaging and is accompanied by an extensive illustrated booklet with insightful contributions from special guest writers, often including the filmmakers themselves.
About the BFI:
The BFI is the lead body for film in the UK with the ambition to create a flourishing film environment in which innovation, opportunity and creativity can thrive by:
-Connecting audiences to the widest choice of British and World cinema
-Preserving and restoring the most significant film collection in the world for today and future generations
-Investing in creative, distinctive and entertaining work
-Promoting British film and talent to the world
-Growing the next generation of film makers and audiences
