The Committee (1968)

Thanks for the memories!

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

To grasp where this film is coming from I guess you'd have to read the short story by Max Steuer (originally a dream) on which it is based. It plays as a bargain basement melange of Robbe-Grillet and Kafka, with the attention immediately grabbed by the arresting title sequence juggling mug-shots of the three main protagonists to a sinister blurping accompaniment on the soundtrack; but which is soon allowed to dissipate by what follows. For a film that begins with the central figure decapitating a total stranger on a whim, 'The Committee' is an incongruously well-mannered, very British affair - albeit with hip sixties trimmings in the form of a soundtrack by Pink Floyd and a personal appearance by Arthur Brown.Ian Wilson's cool black & white photography is presumably intended to evoke 'L'Année Dernière à Marienbad', and as in 'Marienbad' there's a lot of talk but very little actually said. The plush backdrop is here provided by the London School of Economics, where Steuer - author of 'The Scientific Study of Society' (2003) has been ensconced in the philosophy department since 1959, and was at the time of the making of 'The Committee' a lecturer in economics and social sciences. The endless gnomic prattle may be a joke at the expense of his colleagues there.

I was totally shocked when walking into Virgin Megastore nonchalantly one day, to discover that this film thought long forgotten, had been actually released. It's something many people no doubt for decades have wished to see. This DVD comes with an excellent interview sequence (as long as the 54 minute film) which does explain things if you get a little bit confused! While admitting, that yes, I knew of this film as a hardcore Pink Floyd fan (whom indeed provide some great musical moments) the film is nonetheless an excellent example of the type of "art" films of the period and is well worth investigating. If your into Kafka, Hesse, The Prisoner, Sixties "pop" Psychology, New-Left Politics, Antonioni (spelt right?), Godard, Bergman etc etc then I do recommend this film. It's perhaps more of a period piece now of course, and the director himself admits flaws, but this is still a thoughtful experience and its sad in a way that it seems so fresh amidst all the more intelligent, commercial films of today. This is especially a point worth noting; when thinking that the film is of its time, and was designed for a receptive, cool, hip audience. Today while claims are made that a film is made commercially but in a more intelligent way for a mass audience it still just seems to say "Well there you go, watch the flashing lights, a few nice things to think about - happy now?" Actually it's interesting that the writer in the interview section cites The Matrix as a comparable example, when discussing the themes of the film.The decapitation scene is quite shocking even by todays standards, especially when the head is sewn back on! Also, while admittedly biased there is an excellent, memorable scene with various individuals walking around an office with a wonderful repetitive piece of music by the Floyd. Certainly not for everyone, but if you're in the know and looking for an experience I would certainly give this film a try. I struggled whether to vote it 7 or 8 out of ten, but then, I'm writing this so it must have made an impression!Enjoy.

I recently found this film on DVD, after many years of being curious to see it. It's not a lost masterpiece. Very low-budget, it's visually flat and plain. Even at just under an hour, it's overlong, and would probably have been more effective cut to half that. With no characterisation or plot development in the conventional sense, the story reaches no real resolution, but just stops. Yet individual scenes stick in the memory and I've found myself watching them again. Musically, the Pink Floyd soundtrack is minor stuff, but unmistakable Saucerful Of Secrets period Floyd, and Arthur Brown's appearance at the party scene is the film's most riveting sight. (For those who remember Joy Division, his stage moves are like a forerunner of Ian Curtis...)

The only thing I know about this film is that is of interest to "die-hard" Pink Floyd fans because they did the soundtrack for it. From what I understand the entire soundtrack is 50 minutes long but Pink Floyd only did about 17 minutes of it. I have never seen this film for sale anywhere,the other films that have a Pink Floyd soundtrack can all be found,they are:A Day In The Life Of San Francisco (1966)More (1969)Zabraskie Point (1970)The Valley (La Vallee) (1972)If anyone has anymore information about this film,please let me know.