Permissive Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

Permissive Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 12, 2010

Lindsay Stonteff's "Permissive" (1970) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of the British Film Institute. This disc also contains Stanley Long similarly themed film "Bread" (1971); mute outtakes from it; a short and outrageously funny sex education film directed by Graham Jones and Jon Astley titled "Ave You Got A Male Assistant Please Miss?" (1973); and a restored trailer for "Permissive." The disc also arrives with a 38-page illustrated booklet containing I Q Hunter's essay "Permissive"; Lee Dorian's essay "Underground wonders: the music of Permissive"; "Comus on Permissive"; Vic Pratt's essay "A Counterculture Gimmick Movie: Stanley Long's Bread"; "Sliced Bread: how Bread was cut"; and more. Region-Free.

Relax...and let's have some fun!

Here's a film that is as misleading as it could possibly be. On the surface, it looks like another one of those typical British sexploitation films that were so prominent during the late 60s and 70s. The restored trailer included on this Blu-ray disc, for example, promises us a good time with a couple of groupies and a psychedelic explosion of sound. There are also a few shots from what appears to be a rock club of some sort where young people are having fun. Yet Permissive is hardly as light or sexy as its trailer suggests. On the contrary, it is a cold and cruel film about a culture that has been glamorized by the media beyond all reasonable proportion.

The film opens up with Suzy (Maggie Stride) arriving on the "scene" in London to meet her friend Fiona (Gay Singleton). She is soon introduced to the members of Forever More, an aspiring rock band playing in different clubs around the country. Fiona, who is in love with the band's lead singer, Lee (Allan Gorrie), encourages Suzy to get herself a man, and the young girl immediately befriends Pogo (Robert Daubigny), a quiet character very much into meditation.

Things turn out ugly, however, when Pogo gets hit by a car. Suzy heads back to Fiona and immediately begins fooling around with the band's incredibly annoying manager, Jimi (Gilbert Wynne). He bores her to death and she turns her attention to the band members. Eventually, Suzy manages to steal Lee away from Fiona, who commits suicide in a not so respectable hotel.

I suppose if one looks long and hard enough, one could convince himself that Permissive is an exploitation film that glamorizes sex and rock music. Frankly, I don't know what director Lindsay Shonteff aspired to achieve with it; perhaps he wanted it to be such a film. My opinion, however, is that Permissive is very much a film that quite effectively exposes the ugliness of the whole groupie experience, the "scene" and those who were part of it.

The film is packed with negative energy. Everything that initially looks beautiful eventually turns out ugly and tragic. When Suzy befriends Pogo, we expect to see them falling in love. Instead, he gets killed and soon after that Suzy confesses that she never cared about him.

Practically all of the sex scenes are cold and ugly. A few are so mechanical that they actually look comical. If you look closely at the actors' faces, you would notice that at times they also appear incredibly bored. Again, it makes me wonder if director Shonteff intended everything to look so absurd. What makes things even more suspicious are the sporadic flashbacks that give up the film’s ending; they appear at some truly awkward moments.

Permissive boasts a very strong soundtrack courtesy of two British rock bands I have to admit I am unfamiliar with - Forever More and Comus. Two songs, in particular, impressed me a lot - "Beautiful Afternoon" and "You Too Can Have a Body Like Mine." Alan Gorrie, who plays Fiona’s lover, Lee, was Forever More's real bassist and singer - which makes this entire film that much more fascinating to deconstruct. Director Shonteff and Gorrie collaborated again on The Yes Girls (1971) and The Fast Kill (1972).

Permissive Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Lindsay Shonteff's Permissive arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of the British Film Institute (BFI).

The high-definition transfer is very good. Clarity, contrast levels and fine-object detail are very pleasing. The color-scheme is also impressive - blues, reds, greens, browns and blacks look surprisingly fresh and natural. Despite a few minor fluctuations, I also believe that our screencaptures make it perfectly clear that the film's grain structure is very much intact. Edge-enhancement and macroblocking are not a serious issue of concern. Additionally, when blown through a digital projector, Permissive looks about as stable as a film of its age could. I did notice a few minor flecks popping up here and there, but large cuts, warps, marks, or stains most definitely do not plague the high-definition transfer. Finally, according to the booklet provided with this Blu-ray disc, Permissive was transferred in high-definition from the original 35mm negative, made available by Euro London. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location).

Permissive Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one audio track on this Blu-ray disc: English LPCM 2.0. For the record, BFI have provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature.

I don't have any major reservations with the English LPCM 2.0 track. The dialog is clear and easy to follow. There are some minor dynamic fluctuations with the music of Comus and Forever More - the bass isn't consistently strong - but give the nature of the film and its age, I think that they are perfectly normal. On the other hand, there are no disturbing pops, cracks, or hissings that I detected while viewing the film.

Permissive Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Trailer - a restored trailer for the film. In English, with optional English subtitles. (3 min, 1080p).

Bread (1971) - a rare film by director Stanley Long in which a group of friends decide to stage a music festival. The look and sound of the film are quite similar to that of Permissive. The film also has a good soundtrack, featuring tracks from British rockers Lucy and Crazy Mabel. In English, with optional English subtitles. (69 min, 1080p).

Bread Mute Outtakes - a selection of outtakes from Stanley Long's film. A couple of them are quite hilarious. (17 min, 1080p).

'Ave You Got A Male Assistant Please Miss? (1973) - a short and outrageously funny sex education film directed by Graham Jones and Jon Astley. In English, with optional English subtitles. (5 min, 1080p).

Booklet - a 38-page illustrated booklet containing I Q Hunter's essay "Permissive" (the author is Principal Lecturer in Film Studies and Director of the Centre of Adaptations at Leicester De Montfort University. He has written widely on British cult and exploitation film); Lee Dorian's essay "Underground wonders: the music of Permissive" (the author was singer and lyricist with British death/grindcore rockers Napalm Death before forming doom metal band Cathedral. In 1989 he formed the record label Rise Above Records, which he continues to manage, releasing music by bands such as Electric Wizard, Witchcraft, Astra, Diagonal and Circulus); "Comus on Permissive"; a Lindsay Shonteff biography; Vic Pratt's essay "A Counterculture Gimmick Movie: Stanley Long's Bread" (the author is a curator at the BFI National Archive); "Sliced Bread: how Bread was cut"; a Stanley Long biography; and "Ave You Got a Male Assistant Please Miss?".

Permissive Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Permissive has been described as sexploitation film, but I did not find any of the sex in it arousing. Frankly, and I could very well be wrong, it seems to me that Lindsay Shonteff had something very different in mind, and glorifying sex and rock' n' roll wasn't it. BFI's Blu-ray disc looks and sounds very good. There are also some excellent supplemental materials on it. If you are already familiar with the Flipside, and like the type of films the BFI are channeling through it, I guarantee you would love Permissive. RECOMMENDED.