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White of the Eye

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Back in the days of VHS, the idea of discovering a film was a common one; countless people visited their local video rental store and dipped their toe in the hope of finding a gem. Now, in the age of the internet, there are few ‘out of the blue’ surprises. Information is at the touch of your finger and many films new or old are accompanied by an intimidating level of hype. And it’s for exactly this reason that Arrow’s edition of White of the Eye is such a joy to behold – it is almost as if was plucked out of time.

Before White of the Eye and 1977’s Demon Seed, the Edinburgh born director made his name with the notorious 60s cult classic he co-directed with Nicolas Roeg, in Performance. Sadly Donald Cammell’s career was cut tragically short with his suicide by-product of his 3 completed films in 28 years, 3 lonely films drowned out by an inordinate amount of aborted projects and producers infringing on his vision.

As strong as the material is, Arrow Video’s box art and the scenario make Cammell’s White of the Eye appear to be a slasher of little substance. The synopsis goes something like this: a wealthy and isolated desert community is shocked when a woman is brutally murdered in her own home. Elsewhere in the Arizonan valley, sound expert and hi-fi installer Paul White (David Keith) is targeted as the prime suspect. If it was directed by anybody else, describing Cammell’s film as a simple slasher/murder mystery would be apt. In his hands, though, he turns a relatively black and white tale of death in Arizona into an almost psychedelic tale of black holes, apache legends and sex.

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White of the Eye is a difficult film, with non-chronological narrative being the order of the day. Not only that, the conceptual visuals owe more to the Richard Stanley (Dust Devil & Hardware) ideal of genre than anything straight and narrow. With regular extreme close-ups on eyes, flourishes of colour suggesting that this is a vehicle for art and not visceral thrills. While incredible as a spectacle of ideas, it does often stray into the territory the aforementioned note was all too familiar with – that is to say, this could be viewed as pretentious given the way modern horror has progressed. As a two point comparison, White of the Eye appears belongs to a whole different way of thinking.

The cinematography is central to this, with the staging of the murders owing a lot to the stylish brutality of Giallo. Not only do they have a frighteningly efficiency to them; these scenes are framed with the photographic elegance of a Bava or Argento film. The opening murder is almost balletic, while the latter is extremely detached, making his disturbing methodology all the more twisted. Which is exactly the point, the murderer views his kills as out-of-body experiences with someone else pulling the strings. A common resolution for horror films perhaps, but it’s in Cammell’s ability to get the best out of the actors and his zest for the left field that makes the trite all that more vital. As thrilling and challenging as the film can be, it’d be a mere husk if David Keith and Cathy Moriarty didn’t have such an electric chemistry. Even before that, Keith perfectly embodies the hypocrisies of his character. This is the oddest of oddities a ‘giallo’ or ‘slasher’ with first-rate performances.

White of the Eye was a joy to discover, with difficult modern genre films like Berberian Sound Studio, Kill List and Under the Skin being lauded with critical acclaim, this is the perfect time for Donald Cammell’s masterwork to rise once more. And all this is without going into the final act, which is near-perfect for a film of this kind. Turning the perfectly civil home into a war zone with a little red face paint and ‘hot dogs’, which again may be common but Cammell had the ability to elevate his work in the neatest of ways. The only problem then is an uncharacteristic one for Arrow, the mastering on this edition is poor by their lofty standards. While the film does look sharp there is a massive amount of grain to the image; an unexpected presentational bugbear, perhaps, but doesn’t make the film any less of a glorious surprise.


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SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS:

  • Brand new high definition digital transfer of the film from the original camera negative
  • High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation of the film, available in the UK for the first time
  • Original uncompressed Stereo PCM audio
  • Optional English SDH subtitles on the main feature
  • Audio commentary by Donald Cammell biographer Sam Umland
  • Donald Cammell: The Ultimate Performance – This feature length documentary by Kevin Macdonald and Chris Rodley looks over the life and career of the rebel filmmaker and features interviews with Cammell and his closest friends, family and colleagues including Nicolas Roeg, Mick Jagger, Kenneth Anger, James Fox and many more
  • The Argument – a 1972 short film by Cammell, gorgeously shot by Vilmos Zsigmond in the Utah Desert. Rediscovered and assembled by Cammell’s regular editor Frank Mazzola in 1999, it is viewable with optional commentary by Sam Umland
  • Rare deleted scenes, newly transferred from the original camera negative, with commentary by Sam Umland
  • The flashback scenes as originally shot, prior to the bleach bypass processing that they underwent in the final film
  • Original theatrical trailer
  • Alternate credits sequence
  • Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Nathanael Marsh
  • Collector’s booklet featuring new writing by Brad Stevens and Sam Umland, and a previously unpublished extract from the memoirs of producer Elliott Kastner, illustrated with original archive stills.

Filed under: Arrow Films & Video, Home Releases

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