Following on from it’s screening at The London Film Festival on October 13, STUDIOCANAL is proud to announce the release of a newly restored version of the classic British love story, The Raging Moon (1971) on DVD and Blu-Ray. Adapted from Peter Marshall’s 1964 novel by Bryan Forbes (The Stepford Wives, Whistle Down the Wind), the film was considered unusual in its time owing to the sexual nature of the relationship between McDowell and Newman, who play disabled people and was ahead of its time in its attempts to change attitudes to disability.
Bruce (Malcolm McDowell: If, A Clockwork Orange) is a lively young man with an irrepressible sense of fun and a sharp eye for a pretty girl. Returning home slightly the worse for wear after a wedding, Bruce suddenly collapses in the lift of the block of flats in which he lives. When Bruce wakes up in hospital, he finds that he is unable to walk and the doctors cannot diagnose his problem. When his family is unable to house him, Bruce is forced to move to a convalescence home. Here he becomes bitter about his situation and resents the intrusion of the other inmates upon his melancholy state.
After a while Bruce strikes up a friendship with fellow inmate Jill (Nanette Newman: The Stepford Wives, Long ago Tomorrow) and under her influence, he begins to enjoy life again. Falling deeply in love, Bruce and Jill decide to get married against the wishes of the home’s owners. Faced with the prospect of having to move out of the home and seek work, will Bruce and Jill’s love survive?
Sensitively directed by Bryan Forbes, The Raging Moon is a tender love story featuring strong performances from Newman and McDowell.
The week before on November 16th, StudioCanal are also releasing two restored British films with P.O.W. drama The Captive Heart and Carol Reed classic The Fallen Idol.
