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Jarman Volume Two 1987-1994 6-disc Blu-ray box set in February
17 January 2019

19 February 2019 will mark 25 years since Derek Jarman’s untimely death at just 52, but the legacy of this iconoclastic filmmaker lives on. The BFI’s second Limited Edition Blu-ray collection, a lavishly packaged 6-disc box set, brings together Jarman’s last six features, made in the prolonged burst of creativity and political activism that followed his HIV diagnosis in 1987.

All the films are presented in High Definition for the first time in the UK and range from the audacious anger of The Last of England (1987) to the astonishing experimentation of Blue (1993).

Also included is Jarman’s posthumously-released elegy to Super 8, Glitterbug (1994), along with an incredible 66 special features – both new and archival, plus trailers, image galleries of rare stills and promotional materials and a 100-page perfect bound book of essays, film credits and more.

Derek Jarman’s multi-faceted work is inspirational in its fearlessness, yet remains touchingly personal. The dynamism of these features evokes comparison with the bold romanticism of directors like Ken Russell (an early champion) and Michael Powell, as well as artists Paul Nash and John Piper. Jarman Volume Two 1987-1994 is a celebration of one of the world’s most unique filmmakers. The films included are:

  • The Last of England (1987) with Tilda Swinton
  • War Requiem (1989) with Nathaniel Parker, Tilda Swinton, Laurence Olivier
  • The Garden (1990) with Tilda Swinton
  • Edward II (1991) with Steven Waddington, Andrew Tierman, Tilda Swinton
  • Wittgenstein (1993) with Karl Johnson, Michael Gough, Tilda Swinton
  • Blue (1993): contributing musicians include Simon Fisher Turner, Coil, Scanner and Brian Eno
  • Glitterbug (1994) with Adam Ant, Andrew Logan, Toyah Willcox, Marianne Faithfull, William S Burroughs, Genesis P-Orridge and Tilda Swinton

The special features include ten newly recorded interviews with a variety of Jarman’s collaborators, eight archival interviews, two audio commentaries and six image galleries.  Composer Simon Fisher Turner, who worked on four of the features in this set, has contributed several extras, including providing the music and narration for a new video essay, Cut/Action (8 mins), which showcases a selection of Jarmanalia from his personal archive and Life with Derek (44 mins), a collage of audio clips recorded during his adventures with Derek Jarman and friends.

Newly interviewed exclusively for this box set are some of the people who worked on the films; producer James Mackay, producer and filmmaker Don Boyd, composer and musician Simon Fisher Turner, production designer Christopher Hobbs and artist filmmakerJohn Scarlett-Davis, costume designer Sandy Powell, actor/collaborator Lee Drysdale, director John Maybury, editor/producer/director David Lewis, and collaborator Richard Heslop.

Jarman Volume Two 1987-1994

Jarman Volume Two will be released as a 6-disc Limited Edition Blu-ray box set by the BFI on 25 February 2019 at the RRP of £69.99.

Special features (are you ready for this?):

  • Dead Cat (1989, 20 mins): Derek Jarman and his friend and collaborator Genesis P-Orridge both feature in this startling surrealist film in which a young man is terrorised and humiliated, later engaging in a mechanised, industrial sexual encounter
  • Isle of Sheppey (1984, 7 mins): edited highlights from a VHS video shot on a location-hunting expedition, cameraman Derek Jarman chats to writer and cultural historian Jon Savage
  • Depuis le jour: excerpt from Aria (1987, 5 mins): Derek Jarman’s sequence from the anthology film Aria
  • Depuis le jour audio commentary by producer Don Boyd
  • Remembering Derek Jarman (2014, 13 mins)
  • James Mackay Remembers The Last of England (2019, 14 mins)
  • Don Boyd Remembers The Last of England and Aria (2019, 16 mins)
  • Homemade Stuff and Wild Ideas: Simon Fisher Turner on Derek Jarman (2019, 16 mins): the musician and composer looks back on his long and unconventional involvement with Derek Jarman’s art
  • Another Derek: Jarman’s Life Away From the Limelight (2019, 5 mins): interview with artist filmmaker John Scarlett-Davis
  • An Odd Morality (2019, 4 mins): interview with Lee Drysdale
  • Another World for Ourselves (2019, 9 mins): director John Maybury remembers meeting Jarman
  • David Lewis Remembers Dead Cat (2019, 15 mins)
  • Audio commentary on The Last of England with James Mackay, Christopher Hughes, Christopher Hobbs and Simon Fisher Turner
  • Books By My Bedside: Derek Jarman (1989, 25 mins)
  • Derek Jarman in Conversation with Simon Field (1989, 32 mins)
  • Requiem for Jarman (2008, 37 mins): recollections on the making of War Requiem
  • Don Boyd Remembers War Requiem (2019, 38 mins)
  • John Maybury Remembers War Requiem (2019, 8 mins)
  • The Nature of Super 8 (2019, 8 mins)
  • Caravaggio Was Accidental (2019, 10 mins): Simon Fisher Turner remembers his first feature soundtrack for Derek Jarman
  • Before the Last (2019, 15 mins): James Mackay recalls working with Derek Jarman on The Angelic Conversation and Imagining October
  • Derek Jarman Presents (2019, 27 mins): John Maybury remembers the Super 8 filmmaking scene
  • Audio commentary on War Requiem with Don Boyd
  • Derek’s Shoot in Dungeness (1990, 6 mins): rare behind-the-scenes Super 8 footage shot on location at the time of The Garden
  • The Wanderer (1991, 30 mins): experimental film by David Lewis based on the Anglo-Saxon poem of the same name
  • Kiss 25 Goodbye (1991, 7 mins): documents, in bold experimental fashion, the 1991 OutRage! ‘kiss-in’ protest at Bow Street police station
  • Clause and Effect (1988, 19 mins): showing the gay community uniting against homophobic forces and the government around the issue of Clause 28
  • Orange Juice (1984, 41 mins): Derek Jarman’s location shoot for the promo for ‘What Presence?!’ by post-punk band Orange Juice who were fronted by Edwyn Collins
  • Shooting the Hunter (2015, 5 mins)
  • James Mackay Remembers The Garden (2019, 15 mins)
  • Anything Can Happen (2019, 11 mins): Richard Heslop on working with Derek Jarman
  • David Lewis Remembers The Garden (2019, 15 mins)
  • The Other Great Masterpiece (2019, 6 mins): John Maybury considers Jarman’s enthusiasm for gardening
  • Life with Derek: Simon Fisher Turner’s Recordings (2018, 44 mins): The composer’s collage of audio clips recorded during his adventures with Derek Jarman and friends
  • Derek’s Edward (2009, 24 mins): the making of Edward II
  • Ostia (1987, 27 mins): Jarman embodies Pier Paolo Pasolini in this ambitious student film imagining the last hours of the Italian director’s life
  • Ostia audio commentary
  • The Clearing (1993, 7 mins): short film by Alex Bistikas starring Derek Jarman and Keith Collins
  • The Extended Derek Jarman Interview (1991, 70 mins): Colin McCabe discuses films and filmmaking with Derek Jarman
  • Cut/Action (2019, 8 mins): Simon Fisher Turner provides the music and narration for this video essay
  • David Lewis Remembers Edward II (2019, 4 mins)
  • The Same Spirit (2019, 6 mins): Don Boyd remembers Jarman’s later years
  • Truly Beautiful (2019, 19 mins): interview with award-winning costumer designer Sandy Powell
  • Derek Jarman in Conversation with Colin McCabe (1991, 97 mins, audio only)
  • Karl Johnson on Wittgenstein (2007, 9 mins)
  • Tilda Swinton on Wittgenstein and Derek Jarman (2007, 10 mins)
  • Tariq Ali on Producing Wittgenstein (2007, 9 mins)
  • Wittgenstein: Behind the Scenes (1993, 22 mins)
  • Wittgenstein: An Introduction (2007, 4 mins)
  • Face to Face: Derek Jarman (1993, 41 mins): Derek Jarman interviewed by Jeremy Isaacs
  • Producer Tariq Ali on Wittgenstein (2014, 7 mins)
  • Jarmanalia with Simon Fisher Turner (2019, 17 mins)
  • Films Made By A Painter (2019, 5 mins): James Mackay reflects on Jarman’s distinctive style as a filmmaker
  • 21st Century Nuns (1994, 10 mins)
  • Delphinium: A Childhood Portrait of Derek Jarman (2009, 13 mins)
  • James Mackay Remembers Blue (2019, 15 mins)
  • Simon Fisher Turner Remembers Blue (2019, 8 mins)
  • David Lewis Remembers Blue (2019, 13 mins)
  • Hard to Imagine (2019, 8 mins): John Maybury recalls Jarman’s journey towards Blue
  • After the Garden (2019, 10 mins): Richard Heslop remembers Jarman’s later days
  • Total Magic (2019, 6 mins): production designer Christopher Hobbs looks back upon Jarman’s fascination with occult imagery
  • After Neutron (2019, 8 mins): interview with Lee Drysdale
  • The Best Mentor (2019, 9 mins): John Scarlett-Davis recalls Jarman’s latter days and reflects upon his artistic legacy
  • Glitterbug and Beyond (2019, 7 mins): James Mackay remembers the production of Glitterbug
  • David Lewis Remembers Glitterbug (2019, 7 mins)
  • Bliss (1991, 40 mins, audio): the London debut of the incredible avant-garde live show that helped raise funds to produce Blue, featuring Derek Jarman and Tilda Swinton
  • Trailers
  • An assortment of image galleries including rare stills and promotional materials from all of the included feature films
  • 100-page perfect bound book of essays, full credits and more

Wow.