Today, Unman, Wittering and Zigo. Breaking into the British film industry in the mid-1960’s, Scottish director John Mackenzie first cut his teeth as an assistant director to Ken Loach before getting his chance to work as a full fledged director on TV plays for the BBC. After paying his dues on TV, he made his big screen debut with the drama One Brief Summer (1971); just a year prior to that film’s release, Paramount Pictures hired Mackenzie to helm a big screen adaptation of the Giles Cooper radio play Unman, Wittering and Zigo. Long unavailable on home video, Arrow Video has licensed the movie from Paramount for its long-awaited debut.
The Production: 4/5
John Ebony (David Hemmings) arrives at the Chantrey School for Boys in Cornwall for his first assignment as a schoolmaster, replacing his predecessor Pelham, who died from injuries sustained from a fall off the nearby seaside cliffs. While eager to make a good impression, he instead finds himself butting heads with the unruly students of class Lower 5B – with one student, Zigo, perpetually absent for unknown reasons – who promptly tell Ebony that Pelham was murdered by them. Although Ebony tries to address the concerns with the school’s headmaster (Douglas Wilmer) and a fellow colleague (Tony Haygarth), his fears are dismissed, leaving him and his wife Silvia (Carolyn Seymour) to face the growingly defiant class of boys with the knowledge that they know more about Pelham’s demise and that they are willing to keep that secret at any cost.
Though Lindsay Anderson’s If… (1968) looked at life at English public schools prior to this movie with a satirical edge, Unman, Wittering and Zigo takes a much darker look at that life through the lens of a psychological thriller. Simon Raven’s screenplay – adapted from the radio (and later BBC teleplay) by Giles Cooper – opens up Cooper’s work by marrying the raw edge of If… with a touch of the Gothic flavor brought by the Hammer Horror films of the era to create a sense of foreboding prevalent throughout the proceedings. In his sophomoric directorial effort, John Mackenzie sets the tone early on by putting us in the unseen Pelham’s shoes with a brilliant point of view look at his fatal fall prior to the opening credits; after that, Mackenzie and cinematographer Geoffrey Unsworth take care of the rest in terms of atmosphere. Best of all, Mackenzie gets solid performances from his mixed cast of young actors and seasoned pros to bring Cooper’s work to life. While it flew under the radar of most critics and audiences upon first release, Unman, Wittering and Zigo is still a remarkably well done thriller that serves as a scathing exposé and indictment against the atmosphere in the English public school system – public in the loosest sense of the word in England – where young men can become both refined and brutish from authority figures at the same time.
As Ebony, David Hemmings has one of his best lead performances of his career – he was often in supporting parts – as the new schoolmaster fearing for his life; he was also the film’s executive producer. As the school’s oblivious headmaster, Douglas Wilmer makes a great example of the ineffective and indifferent leadership at the school that allows the boys of Lower 5B to go wild; best known for inhabiting the role of Sherlock Holmes, he would reprise the part in Gene Wilder’s comic take on the legend – The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter Brother (1975) – after this movie. Making her film debut here, Carolyn Seymour is notable as Ebony’s wife Silvia, who soon becomes a target for the unruly class; Anthony Haygarth – also in one of his earliest film roles – is also notable as the school’s art teacher, who’s skeptical of Ebony’s claim about his class, but is still willing to be there for him as a friend and colleague. Rounding out the cast are Hamilton Dyce and Barbara Lott as the Winstanley couple, David Jackson as Clackworth and as the Class of Lower 5B: David Auker (Aggeridge), Tom Morris (Ankerton), Richard Gill (Borby), Michael Kitchen (Bungabine), Nicholas Hoye (Cloistermouth), Tom Owen (Cuthbun), Toby Simpson (Hogg), James Wardroper (Lipstrob), Clive Gray (Muffett), Rodney Paulden (Munn Major), Keith Janess (Orris), Christopher Moran (Root), Michael Cashman (Terhew), Paul Aston (Trimble), Michael Howe (Unman), Colin Barrie (Wittering) and the perpetually absent Zigo (who is even credited in the end credits as such).
Video: 4.5/5
3D Rating: NA
The film is presented in its original 1:85: aspect ratio, taken from a HD transfer created and provided by Paramount Pictures for this release. Film grain, color palette and fine details are all presented faithfully with only minor cases of scratches, tears and dirt present. Although over 50 years have passed since the initial release, Arrow has done a terrific job in bringing the film to home video here with likely the best it will ever look visually.
Audio: 5/5
The film’s original mono soundtrack is presented on a lossless PCM track for this release. Dialogue, sound mix and Michael J. Lewis’ sparse, yet tense film score is presented faithfully with minimal cases of distortion, hissing, crackling and popping present. Overall, this Blu-ray is likely the best the movie will ever sound on home video.
Special Features: 4/5
Commentary by film historians Sean Hogan and Kim Newman –Â Recorded for this release, Hogan and Newman engage in a lively discussion about the film’s origins, production and the legacy of the film today.
An Unruly Education (25:45) –Â Critic, broadcaster and cultural historian Matthew Sweet shares his appreciation of the movie and the work of Giles Cooper in this new featurette.
Unman, Terhew and Lipstrob + Mrs. Ebony (30:13) –Â Cast members Michael Howe, Michael Cashman, James Wardroper and Carolyn Seymour share their memories of working on the film in this new featurette.
Original 1958 recording of the Giles Cooper radio play (1:13:01)
Image Gallery (139 stills)
Theatrical Trailer (2:12)
Double-sided fold out poster featuring newly commissioned artwork and the original poster art
Booklet featuring essays by film historians Kevin Lyons and Oliver Wake
Overall: 4.5/5
Although it largely disappeared from the public following its release, the film version of Unman, Wittering and Zigo is a remarkably underrated little gem of a film from the director better known from giving us The Long Good Friday (1980). Arrow Video should absolutely be commended for bringing this long unavailable movie to Blu-ray at last, with a terrific HD transfer and a decent slate of special features, including the original recording of the radio play. Very highly recommended.
Unman Wittering and Zigo
$19.99
Mychal has been on the Home Theater Forum’s reviewing staff since 2018, with reviews numbering close to 300. During this time, he has also been working as an assistant manager at The Cotton Patch – his family’s fabric and quilting supplies business in Keizer, Oregon. When not working at reviewing movies or working at the family business, he enjoys exploring the Oregon Coast, playing video games and watching baseball in addition to his expansive collection of movies on DVD, Blu-ray and UHD, totalling over 3,000 movies.
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