Negatives (1968)

 

The BFI are releasing director Peter Medak’s fascinating first feature film, which also marked an early feature appearance by Glenda Jackson, on Blu-ray in the UK.

Theo (Peter McEnery) runs an antique shop in the absence of his father (Maurice Denham) who is ill in hospital. Theo and his partner Vivien (Jackson) indulge in somewhat peculiar sexual role-play that, while they have all the items in the shop at their disposal, seems to recurringly centre around infamous murderer Dr Crippen and his lover.

Into this mix comes photographer Reingard (Diane Cilento) who observes them for a while from afar before renting an upstairs room at their house. She begins to have an effect on Theo, transforming him into the equally notorious ‘Red’ Baron Von Richtoven. When Theo spots an ancient biplane about to be destroyed at a local wrecking yard he brings it home and it signals a major change for all involved.

A study of a young man’s descent into a catatonic fantasy world is certainly one way you can read NEGATIVES, a film that belongs to the ‘Eccentric British Goings On Behind Closed Doors’ genre which could also the sheer exuberant lunacy of MUMSY, NANNY, SONNY AND GIRLY (1969) and even SIR HENRY AT RAWLINSON END (1980). The characters scream at each other sufficiently that John Waters is most likely a fan and it’s very much one of those films where you can’t quite see where it’s going until you get there.

The BFI’s Blu-ray has a commentary track by Tim Lucas which is up to his usual excellent standard. A third audio track boasts audio interviews with director Medak conducted by the late Lee Gambin and David Gregory and which impressively almost takes up the entirety of the running time, lasting just shy of 90 minutes. Other extras include a McEnery interview (11 minutes), as well as interviews with Medak (16 minutes) and editor Barrie Vince (31 minutes). You also get Dr Clare Smith talking about the actual Crippen case for 24 minutes which provides some fascinating extra context. Finally, the set comes with a booklet with a lengthy analytical essay by Josephine Botting about the film and a piece on the director by William Fowler.

Peter Medak’s NEGATIVES is out on Blu-ray from the BFI on Monday 16th March 2026