The BFI's first DVD release of 2012 will be A Bigger Splash (1974), a 'structured reality' film featuring artist David Hockney, out on 30 January in a Dual Format Edition (DVD and Blu-ray discs together).
In the early 1970s, director Jack Hazan (The Clash: Rude Boy) gained intimate access to David Hockney and his circle of friends and lovers. Using a structured reality format rather than pure documentary, he crafted this mesmerising film, groundbreaking in style (way ahead of the current explosion in this format) and daring in nature.
A Bigger Splash was made during a critical time in Hockney’s life. A long-term relationship with fellow painter Peter Schlesinger had recently dissolved and during this acutely emotional period he was under pressure to create new work. Already an internationally successful artist, his famous paintings are magically brought to life through the mood, colours and tones of the film and Hazan and his co-writer and editor David Mingay brilliantly capture the essence of Hockney the artist and a sense of his fashionable milieu.
The film, which includes some explicit nude scenes that shocked at the time, offers a vivid snapshot of the early 70s art scene surrounding Hockney and features appearances by numerous legendary faces; there’s his muse, the iconic fashion and textile designer Celia Birtwell with her husband, fashion designer Ossie Clark; art dealer John Kasmin, curator and art critic Henry Geldzahler and Hockney’s loyal assistant Mo McDermott. A special trailer is at the link above.
