The Committee

Wow! It is doubtful that many people will get a chance to see this wonderful film, which is a shame. Lush, brief, darkly funny and psychedelic, this film ruminates about the existential nature of being, albeit in a meandering late 60's kinda way. Nice to not be led around by the hand, narratively speaking.... Paul Jones (Manfred Mann) is great, and there is an amazing cameo by Arthur Brown (the Crazy World of), and, of course, the soundtrack by The Pink Floyd - I think I may have glimpsed Roger Waters in the party scene, too.

Brief, surreal, enigmatic British film from the late 60's. It opens with a man killing another in a car for seemingly no reason(think Albert Camus existential murder tale "The Stranger"), only to then sew it back on, to find the man is appalled but otherwise fine. The second half of the film involves, people from all over the country being summoned to spend a weekend as part of a "committee", where the man who decapitated his fellow traveler earlier, is also summoned. Everyone wonders, but no one bothers to question the committee, after all it's a free weekend getaway, and they are told they will make very important decisions. Our hero is lead away from the party which features performances by psychedelic wild man Arthur Brown of (The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown, seen on cover here), by an even more enigmatic stranger who proceeds to explain to him, in a 20 minute conversation, the nature of individuality and community, freedom and order, impulse and the nature of the committee. The conversation is really the cornerstone of the film (the screen-writer who became an economist after the lack of success with this film, likens it to The Matrix in reverse, and he's not far off. The conversation scene is also parodied in the climax of Grant Morisson's "Animal Man").

Anyway it's a mysterious film for fans of mysterious, philosophically dense movies(it's hour time line keeps the movie from treading into boredom). The most disappointing aspect of this film is actually the Pink Floyd soundtrack, which is good, but not nearly as good as fans of the original band(Syd Barret days) will imagine it must be. A good movie, all but lost to the common man before the days of Netflix. If you like political, psychological, and philosophically challenging films, and "wierd tales", than this is not to be missed

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.

A British attempt to do mysterious, unexplained and surreal. Whereas a French equivalent, like, say, Last Year In Marienbad, is aristocratic, eerie, dark and allusive, this is a white collar effort, following a strange bureaucratic process, filmed in clear daylight, with dialogue that, though straightforward on the surface, seems to refer to some reality known to the participants but not the viewer. Unusually for such a film, certain events - including the early beheading - are actually given explanations, undercutting the post-modernism with a very unexperimental model of a character acting in character. Paul Jones, lead singer of Manfred Mann and just beginning a parallel acting career, does surprisingly well, though his part (as "central figure") is a mere cipher. There is of course interest with the Pink Floyd soundtrack, though they hardly stretched themselves. Arthur Brown is very good value, with a lively cameo complete with burning headgear (would never get past health and safety nowadays). Very much of its time, but without the courage of its surreal convictions. The ultra-realistic portrayal of the bizarre events can be hypnotic, but ultimately deprives the film of a real artistic punch. Nevertheless at 58 minutes it hardly outstays its welcome.

This British film recently played at the Hollywood Cinematheque. I don't think that it's available on tape, but obviously a print still exists. It was in pretty good shape, too.

It's a great film, combining magical realism and psychological absurdism. It's short == 60 minutes or so. There's a really great party scene with The Crazy World of Arthur Brown that equals or excels any MTV music video that could have ever been made of this unique musician.

The story divides into two parts, the first being an unusual Hitchcockian thriller. The second part involves a team of market researchers who assemble groups of people, or "committees" for a variety of absurd reasons. The central character is present in both parts, tying them together in a weird blend of paranoia and consumerism.

The mod costumes and sets make for a satisfying black and white experience. If it comes to your local film museum, it's worth the trip and the 7-8 bucks admission, especially if there's another good sixties British psychological mind-bending film on the bill.