Scum

1979, 96 minutes
U.K.

Director: Alan Clarke

Cast: Phil Daniels, John Blundell, Mick Ford, Ray Winstone

ONE WEEK ONLY!
 
NEW RESTORATION! A landmark expose of Britain’s violent reform schools, Alan Clarke’s Scum is a controversial shock to the system. Originally made for TV in 1977, the BBC withheld the program from release, due to its intense depictions of suicide, rape and racism. Refusing to be censored, Clarke reshot the film as a theatrical feature in 1979, making his attack on the borstal system even more scathing, and it is the latter, more vitriolic version that is available from Kino Lorber.
 
Scum tells the story of Carlin (Ray Winstone, The Departed), a new reform school inmate with a reputation as a hard case. The authorities encourage gang leader Pongo (John Blundell) to humble Carlin, but he beats Pongo down and takes over the mantle of Daddy. The guards institute a reign of terror and neglect, with Carlin emerging as an unlikely leader. One of the most important British features of the last 35 years, Scum still packs a wallop.
 
“Even after all these years, Scum still hits hard and deep. It has lost none of its power.” – Philip Thomas, Empire
 
“I thought I’d already found all the masters and I then I saw Alan Clarke.” – Harmony Korine
 
“Fearless, unflinching, and often brutally graphic, Alan Clarke made films that rank among the most original—and controversial—in British cinematic history.” – Harry Sword, Vice
 
“Visually muted and disturbingly quiet, the film has the icy cold aesthetic of a Kubrick picture (think the dream sequences found within a film like A Clockwork Orange) and yet has the lyricism and beauty of a Gus Van Sant film. Filled with breathtaking tracking shots, this film is extremely touch to watch and yet impossible to turn away from.” – CriterionCast

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