Privilege (DVD)

Connect to Facebook/Twitter, recommend via email and much more.

---

Watkins films are always politically charged to the point where they walk a fine line between stridency and hyperbole. It´s the intensity and sincerity of Watkins´ social critique that keeps his films grounded and also gives them a timeless quality even though they have the distinct look of their times: the costumes and sets are quintessentially 60s and presage the gaudy rock operas of the 70s.

As in all of his films, Watkins uses faux-newsreel techniques to allow characters to speak directly to the camera often as if they are being interviewed. The camera functions like a documentary eye as if a crew were following the stars around rather than simply filming staged scenes. However, the pseudo-documentary aesthetic is less prominent here than in any other Watkins´ film, and this is the closest he ever came in a feature film to using more mainstream cinema grammar. Everything is relative, of course – this is still distinctly Watkins-esque.

To my tastes, "Privilege" is not quite as successful as Watkins´ very best films such as "Edvard Munch" (1974), "Culloden" (1964), "The Freethinker" and "La Commune." Though his critique of media as the opiate of the masses (and, by the way, the Church of England is in on the fix as well) is spot-on and every bit as relevant today as forty years ago, the delivery is occasionally too heavy-handed, particularly in the Nazi-style rally near the end of the film.

However, considering that I think those four "superior" Watkins´ films are all masterpieces, placing "Privilege" a notch or two below them is hardly a criticism. Viewed today, the only aspect of "Privilege" that doesn´t seem immediately relevant is the government´s direct involvement with the media. Today there´s no need for the government to expend the effort. Corporate run media outlets latch onto power and capital wherever they can find it and function as eager tools of the power that be without even being asked. It´s where the money is.

Video

The film is presented in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio. The Project X films have always been a cut above the usual New Yorker releases, and this one is no exception. It´s an interlaced transfer which means there´s some combing, but overall the picture quality is sharp and deliciously grainy. This is a pleasure to watch.

Audio

The DVD is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0. Optional English and French subtitles support the English audio.

Extras

The primary extra is the 26-minute documentary "Lonely Boy" (1962), a Canadian produced feature about then red-hot teen sensation Paul Anka. Watkins studied this film in detail when preparing for "Privilege" and appropriates several details almost directly fro the short, particularly the smarmy music executives who control Anka as well as a few lines of dialogue.

The DVD also includes a Trailer and a Still and Poster Gallery.

The 40-page insert booklet includes another of Watkins´ now familiar self-interviews, and an excerpt from Joseph Gomez´s 1979 book about Watkins.

Film Value

Every Peter Watkins film is a treasure. "Privilege" is somewhat atypical of his work: as his only studio film, it was his biggest budget film which also meant working with his largest crew which is not necessarily an advantage for a director like Watkins. For the same reasons, though, "Privilege" is one of his most accessible films and would make a fine starting point for anyone wishing to introduce themselves to this exceptional and too-long-neglected director.