The Committee (Scored by Pink Floyd) By Robin Steeley
This film has been unavailable since the 1960’s until its recent Basho Records release and it has a popular history especially among Pink Floyd fans for its soundtrack that was recorded by the band one morning in the studio. The Film is 55 minutes long and done in Black and White. The DVD has an interview by Oscar winning director Jon Blair with Max Steuer (writer and producer) and Peter Sykes (Director). There is also included a CD with three tracks by the Homemade Orchestra, a classical/jazz fusion group performing the song ‘The Committee’ arranged by Tim Whitehead as well as two other Homemade tracks.
The fact that the musical score is written and performed by Pink Floyd is enough to make this movie successful, regardless of its merit, but lets not stop short at the music. For the time in which it was created, the film is extremely well preserved and the production and audio quite decent. The movie itself tends towards the bizarre with interesting direction. The plot itself can be at times confusing and twisted, which might have been the directors intention.
The Committee stars Paul Jones of Manfred Mann fame and it is a documentary of Britain in the 1960’s, a controversial subject at its best. The story is about a murder, but the real subject is the controversy between the bureaucracy and individual freedom. The story unfolds in a haphazard way that will still manage to captivate you to the very end.
This is worthy for any independent film buff, and any fan of Pink Floyd that would like to hear some lost tracks.
