The British Film Institute has detailed its upcoming Dual Format Edition of director Ian Merrick's
The Black Panther (1977), starring Donald Sumpter, Marjorie Yates and Debbie Farrington. The release will be available for purchase online and in shops across the United Kingdom on May 28th.
Special Features:
- Presented in both High Definition and Standard Definition
- Director approved transfer
- Alternative French language soundtrack, with English subtitles
- Recluse (Bob Bentley, 1981, 30 mins): arresting short film based on real events, starring Maurice Denham and edited by David Gladwell (editor of If…. and O Lucky Man!)
- Recluse: recce footage (1978, 10 mins): recently discovered 16mm location scouting footage shot by director Bob Bentley
- Illustrated booklet with newly commissioned essays and contributions from Ian Merrick, Michael Armstrong, Bob Bentley and James Oliver; original promotional artwork and full credits
Told with uncommon accuracy and refraining from any measure of sensationalism, director Ian Merrick and screenwriter Michael Armstrong's fascinating and disturbing film fell foul of a media-driven campaign upon its original cinema release in 1977, which resulted in an effective ban.
Established lead actor Donald Sumpter, who fearlessly played Donald Neilson, was recently seen in
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011). Marjorie Yates who played Neilson's wife is perhaps best-known for her role as Carol Fisher in the Channel 4 TV drama
Shameless. Debbie Farrington (who plays the kidnap victim) went on to appear in a variety of TV dramas.
Caught by chance after a random encounter with the police, Neilson was convicted in 1976. With five life sentences he was destined to spend the rest of his life in prison and died there in December 2011. This Dual Format Edition also includes Bob Bentley's BAFTA Award-winning 1981 short film,
Recluse, which is based on reports of another real life crime, the death by shotgun of three siblings at a remote farm in Dorset. Both Ian Merrick and Michael Armstrong have written new contributions for the comprehensive booklet that accompanies the discs. Director Bob Bentley has also contributed a new essay about the making of
Recluse.