Withnail and I (1987)

Bruce Robinson's eccentric, semi-autobiographical, melancholic comedy classic gets a 4K UHD release from Arrow Films.

Camden Town in the late 1960s. Two unemployed actors - Withnail (Richard E Grant) and Marwood (Paul McGann) share a disgusting flat. Their days revolve around boozing, visits from a drug dealer called Danny (Ralph Brown) and increasing despondency about their lack of job offers.

They decide a holiday is needed and con Withnail's Uncle Monty (Rochard Griffiths) into letting them use his holiday cottage in Penrith. It turns out to be even more horrible than their London flat and pretty soon they realise they've come on holiday 'by mistake'. Only a visit from Uncle Monty could possibly make things worse, so of course that's what happens. 

One of the extras on Arrow's excellent 4K disc is a piece from Peepshow co-creator Sam Bain who sums up well what it is that makes WITHNAIL AND I such an enduring classic. It helps if you see it at the right age of course, but the mixture of eccentric characters and situations, a vast amount of eminently quotable dialogue, and likely the fact the film was based on part of writer-director Bruce Robinson's life of twenty years prior to the film being made (he's McGann's character whereas Withnail was inspired by actor Vivian MacKerrell who died aged 50. Readers of this site will know him for Stephen Weeks' 1974 GHOST STORY) gives the film an integrity and uniqueness that makes it feel almost timeless. It's a little bit like the TV series THE YOUNG ONES for the late 1960s and you can see characters like Danny and Presuming Ed returning in future episodes if this had been commissioned for television. 

As well as the Bain piece Arrow's disc has two commentary tracks, one from Robinson and another from Withnail expert (he wrote the BFI guide) Kevin Jackson. There's a new interview with production designer Michael Pickwoad and an archival interview withe Robinson, as well as four 'Withnail Weekend' documentaries that Channel 4 screened in the late 1990s - The Peculiar Memories of Bruce Robinson (39 minutes), Withnail and Us (25 minutes), I Demand to Have Some Booze (6 Minutes) and Withnail on the Pier (4 minutes). 

Finally, the set comes with a perfect bound book with a bunch of essays on the film from Vic Pratt, Anthony Nield, Martin Jones, Neil Mitchell and Mike Sutton. 

Bruce Robinson's WITHNAIL AND I is out on 4K UHD from Arrow Films on Monday 24th June 2024