Herostratus

Released by: BFI
Released on: August 24, 2009
Director: Don Levy
Cast: Michael Gothard, Gabriella Licudi, Peter Stephens, Antony Paul, Mona Chin, Helen Mirren
Year: 1967
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The Movie:

Australian born but educated at Cambridge University in England where he got his PhD, Don Levy enjoyed some fame for winning the first film scholarship to ever be awarded in England. In the early sixties he made a few oddball experimental short films and from 1962 through 1967 he worked on his first and only feature, Herostratus, a film that won some critical acclaim at the various festivals where it played before vanishing into obscurity. The BFI, as part of their excellent Flipside series, have resurrected the picture, though Levy himself isn't around to enjoy it as he passed away in 1987.

The plot of the film follows a young man named Max (Michael Gothard) who finds an advertising executive named Farson (Peter Stephens) in order to convince him to have his impending suicide broadcast as a sort of protest against where society is going. Max intends to jump off of a skyscraper and he wants everyone to see it. As Max and Farson go about setting this all up, Max falls for a woman named Clio (Gabriella Licudi) and of course, Max then changes his mind about all of this, but by this point it's too late, he's set the train in motion and now he has to ride it out.

This is a film set in the unfortunately all too real society in which its various citizens care only about themselves. The world that surrounds Max has lead to his understandable narcissism and jaded view and his suicide is initially thought of as his way of essentially flipping us all off on the way out. Bits of stock footage and symbolism hint at a time when the world wore a more united front but by the time it all comes around to our protagonist, it's obvious that all of that has changed and not necessarily for the better interests of anyone. This is a subject and point of view that's been exploited plenty of times since and quite often with better and more interesting results than Levy manages to accomplish here, but you've got to give the film credit for getting there before the likes of better known and more popularly embraced filmmakers like Herzog and Kubrick.

It's interesting that Gothard, who hung himself in 1992 after a long battle with depression, plays the suicidal Max. It's also interesting that the film is titled Herostratus, named after the ancient Greek fable in which a man destroys the most beautiful temple in the land in hopes of achieving fame only to wind up executed, his name forbidden to be uttered even after his death. Levy's film is one ripe with symbolism. It's a heavy picture that definitely leaves much of itself open for interpretation despite a fairly basic and linear story. Parts of it haven't aged so well and at this point in history, we can't help but feel that Levy is often preaching to the choir but taken as a whole and absorbed as an experience more so than a traditional narrative piece, Herostratus still has much to offer the inquisitive viewer.

On a visual level, the film shows some interesting editing techniques, switching back and forth between shots of Hitler and shots of Allen Ginsberg. There's slaughterhouse footage in here, juxtaposed against some bits where a stripper sheds her clothes. He uses footage from a Nazi concentration camp and also uses footage of a young and impossibly sexy Helen Mirren showing off her rack, both clips sharing the same intent and that's to make us question society, though obviously these bits have different approaches to get to that destination. This isn't a picture that was made to appease an audience, rather, it feels as if it was made to shock them and make them feel uncomfortable. That, in and of itself, isn't necessarily a bad thing though the picture has a certain staginess to it and some scenes, which feel very improvised, don't quite fit in with a movie that, for the bulk of its lengthy running times, feels so carefully assembled. Levy is, in essence, injecting us with something and hoping for some sort of result, but just what that result is may have died with him, but regardless, the film does evoke a response.

Regardless of its flaws, some of which are obvious and some of which are the more forgivable results of the passing of decades since the pictures inception, Herostratus is interesting stuff. It doesn't always make sense, but maybe it doesn't have to.

Video/Audio/Extras:

The BFI's Blu-ray release presents Herostratus in both 1.78.1 anamorphic widescreen and 1.33.1 fullframe 1080p high definition transfers, both taken from the film's original negative. Levy shot the film fullframe but apparently wanted it seen in widescreen, so it's nice to have both options presented here. Both transfers are excellent. There's a healthy coat of natural looking film grain present throughout but no real print damage (some does pop up in some of the stock footage inserts used in the picture) and the color reproduction is very strong and natural looking, without ever looking artificially pumped up. Likewise, the contrast in the black and white scenes looks dead on, showing a nice range in tone and a healthy grain structure. Skin tones also fare quite well and look nice and detailed and lifelike, not pink or waxy at all thought it does look like a bit of DNR has been applied in some shots, eliminating some fine detail along the way. Shadow detail is also strong, with nice inky black levels staying strong and consistent without smearing the backgrounds or hiding anything from the camera. Close up shots of the actors are very crisp and the transfer features some impressive and strong black levels.

The English language 48 kHz/24 bit PCM 2.0 Mono track, which comes with optional closed captioning in English only, doesn't have a ton of range and shows the limitations of its source but is otherwise fine. There are no problems with major hiss or distortion to complain about (though the extremely attentive may notice some very minor bits of hiss in a couple of spots) nor are there any issues with the levels. The film's soundtrack sounds quite good while the dialogue is always crisp and clear and perfectly balanced.

As is typical with the BFI, there are a lot of good extra features here starting with an interesting Audio Interview with Don Levy from 1973. The only known recording of Levy talking about Herostratus, this thirty-eight minute interview, conducted by Clare Spark, explains how Levy didn't want the film to be approached as a simple narrative picture, but rather, viewing it as an experiment. He talks about his intentions with the film, influences that had an impact on it, and what he hoped would be the effect of the picture.

Up next are a few of Levy's other works, starting with 1960's Ten Thousand Talents, a twenty-four minutes student film, set in Cambridge while he was in attendance there. Featuring the voice of Peter Cook, this black and white picture is kind of a jaded and cockeyed view of student life at the time. The twenty-nine minute Time Is from 1964 is an interesting documentary that deals with how humankind works within the notions and subsequent restraints of time while 1967's Five Films is a nine minute exercise in film editing made up of five parts - Punulse; Malaise; Catharsis; Point of Noon; Black Ice. These are odd and very quick, but worth a watch for anyone interested in Levy's unique technique.

Aside from that, the BFI have also included a nice full color insert booklet containing some essays on the film, some vintage reviews of and quotes related to the picture, a biography for Levy and short pieces on the bonus features that are included in the supplemental section of the disc.

The Final Word:

As dated and out of touch as this film is in certain ways, it's still a fascinating exercise in technique and experimental filmmaking. The structure of the plot and the storyline might not work so well but the odd mix of sounds, images, and symbolism gives the film ample opportunity for dissection. Definitely more for fans of surrealism and arthouse philosophy than your average cult movie buff, this is never the less another impressive package from BFI's Flipside label.