Remembrance (Blu-Ray)

BFI Flipside presents… Remembrance, a rarely seen British film that follows a group of young Royal Navy sailors during their last 24 hours ashore before their ship sets sail on a six-month naval exercise.

Set around the pubs and clubs of the then-notorious Union Street in 1980s Plymouth, Colin Gregg’s direction and Hugh Stoddart’s script skilfully cuts between the interweaving stories of several characters as they prepare for the coming months at sea. The ensemble cast includes early performances from the likes of Timothy Spall, John Altman and Gary Oldman (in his big-screen debut).

One of the first films produced by Channel Four, where it was broadcast after a short theatrical run in the summer of 1982, Remembrance’s initial release was given added poignancy and relevance by the outbreak of the Falklands War a few months earlier. Rarely screened since, this new 2024 restoration by the BFI marks the first time this important British film has been available on Blu-ray.

Extras:
– Newly remastered from original camera materials and presented in High Definition
– Gary Oldman on Remembrance (2018, 2 mins): an introduction recorded for a screening on Film 4
– Vivid Memories (2024, 21 mins): newly recorded interview with director and producer Colin Gregg
– Working Away (2024, 21 mins): newly recorded interview with Hugh Stoddart, the screenwriter of Remembrance
– Acting The Part (2024, 13 mins): newly recorded interview with John Altman, one of the young stars of Remembrance
– David Rose in Conversation (2010, 11 mins): extracts from a career interview with the former senior commissioning editor for Channel 4 Television, conducted by Sir Jeremy Isaacs
– Raleigh: The First Few Weeks (1986, 19 mins): following the daily lives of new naval ratings, from their arrival at training establishment HMS Raleigh, beginning the first phase of their training and onwards to the day of their passing out parade
– Royal Navy Amazon (1980, 1 min): this made for TV advert was produced to bolster the recruitment of ordinary naval ratings, because ‘everybody’s somebody in the Royal Navy’
– Galleries – Hugh Stoddart’s original handwritten script and a selection of press cuttings, brochures and other material related to Remembrance are presented in two galleries

**FIRST PRESSING ONLY** Booklet featuring a new essay by screenwriter Hugh Stoddart, new writing on the film by Johnny Mains, an essay by the BFI’s Dr Josephine Botting and full film credits