SEVERIN SPOTLIGHTS INFLUENTIAL DIRECTOR PETER MEDAK WITH BLU-RAY RELEASES OF 4 CAREER RARITIES
10+ Hours of Special Features Celebrate Acclaimed Director’s Eclectic Oeuvre
Los Angeles, CA (May 23, 2025) Severin Films champions genre-defying director Peter Medak with the Worldwide Blu-ray Premiere of his bold feature debut NEGATIVES starring Glenda Jackson (with a Bonus Disc of the landmark 1963 comedy/drama SPARROWS CAN’T SING directed by U.K. theater legend Joan Littlewood with Medak as Assistant Director), the Worldwide Blu-ray Premiere of the hilariously dark THE ODD JOB co-written by and starring Monty Python’s Graham Chapman and the North American Blu-ray Premiere of his award-winning documentary THE GHOST OF PETER SELLERS. With 10 combined hours of Special Features, these films showcase the versatility and resilience of the Hungarian/British/American auteur throughout his celebrated six-decade career. Pre-orders for NEGATIVES, THE ODD JOB and THE GHOST OF PETER SELLERS begin May 23rd at SeverinFilms.com.
NEGATIVES & SPARROWS CAN’T SING
“PETER MEDAK’S EXCELLENT FIRST FILM… A beautifully photographed movie that has the careful tempo of a minuet, which counterpoints its desperate eroticism.” Vincent Canby, The New York Times
With his feature film directorial debut, Hungarian-émigré Peter Medak (THE RULING CLASS, ROMEO IS BLEEDING) created a provocative U.K. classic and launched one of the most unique careers in cinema history: When a young couple – Peter McEnery of ENTERTAINING MR. SLOANE and 2x Academy Award® winner Glenda Jackson in her film debut – grows bored with their kinky role-play games, they invite an uninhibited photographer (Academy Award® nominee Diane Cilento of TOM JONES and THE WICKER MAN) to come between them. Maurice Denham (SUNDAY BLOODY SUNDAY) co-stars in the groundbreaking 1968 drama that “leaves nothing to the imagination” (NY Daily News), now scanned in 4K from the original camera negative by The British Film Institute. Also included is a Bonus Disc of the “magnificent” (NY Post) 1963 comedy SPARROWS CAN’T SING starring James Booth (ZULU) and Barbara Windsor (the CARRY ON series) – directed by Joan Littlewood (OH! WHAT A LOVELY WAR) and assistant directed by Medak – scanned in 4K from the original camera negative by StudioCanal.
Disc 1: NEGATIVES Special Features:
- Audio Interview With Director Peter Medak By Film Historian Lee Gambin
- Audio Commentary With Video Watchdog's Tim Lucas
- Role Playing – Interview With Actor Peter McEnery
- Glenda Jackson: Working Class Wonderland – Video Essay By Lee Gambin
- Positives From Negativeland – Peter Medak Presents His Production Albums From NEGATIVES Through A DAY IN THE DEATH OF JOE EGG
- The Doctor Will See You Now – Interview With Dr. Clare Smith, Historic Collection Curator Of The Metropolitan Police Museum, On Dr. Crippen
Feature Specs for NEGATIVES:
- Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
- Audio: English Mono
- Closed Captions: English SDH
- Runtime: 98 mins
- Region: A/B/C
Disc 2: SPARROWS CAN’T SING Special Features:
- Audio Commentary With Filmmaker Daniel Kremer, With Contributions From Assistant Director Peter Medak
- East End Manifesto – Interview With Joan Littlewood Biographer Peter Rankin
- BFI Q&A With Actors Barbara Windsor And Murray Melvin
- Interview With Murray Melvin
- Locations Featurette With Film Historian Richard Dacre
- Trailer
Feature Specs for SPARROWS CAN’T SING:
- Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
- Audio: English Mono
- Closed Captions: English SDH
- Runtime: 93 mins
- Region: A
THE ODD JOB
“A VERY FUNNY ‘70s BRITISH COMEDY, WELL WORTH WATCHING FOR PYTHON FANS.” Comic Book & Movie Reviews
In the 1978 black comedy from director Peter Medak, Graham Chapman – just prior to LIFE OF BRIAN – stars as happily married Arthur Harris, who becomes suicidal when his wife suddenly leaves him. Unable to complete the task himself, he asks a strange handyman (BAFTA Award winner Sir David Jason of Only Fools and Horses, in a role once intended for Keith Moon) to kill him instead. But when Arthur’s wife comes back, he discovers that his homicidal hire has every intention of finishing the job. Diana Quick (Brideshead Revisited), Carolyn Seymour (THE RULING CLASS), Simon Williams (JABBERWOCKY), Bill Paterson (Fleabag) and Richard O’Brien (THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW) co-star in this “crazy comedy” (Travalanche) co-written by Chapman with Bernard McKenna (YELLOWBEARD) and produced by Mark Forstater (MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL), now scanned in 2K from Peter Medak’s personal 35mm print.
THE ODD JOB Special Features:
- Introduction By Director Peter Medak
- Audio Interview With Peter Medak
- The Odd Job Men – Zoom Reunion Between Star Sir David Jason And Peter Medak
- The Unusual Work – Interview With Writer Bernard McKenna
- Producer, An Odd Job – Interview With Co-Producer Mark Forstater
- The Odd Batch – Interview With Actor Richard O'Brien
- The Naughty Neighbor – Interview With Actress Carolyn Seymour
- Most Peculiar Craft – Interview With Actor Simon Williams
Feature Specs for THE ODD JOB:
- Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
- Audio: English Mono
- Closed Captions: English SDH
- Runtime: 88 mins
- Region: A/BC
THE GHOST OF PETER SELLERS
“A CAN’T-MISS DOCUMENTARY… Peter Medak’s harrowing experience is still a useful way to consider both the brilliance of Peter Sellers and the damage he wrought.” The Los Angeles Times
In 1973, Peter Sellers – then at the peak of his box-office power and comedic genius – invited Peter Medak – whose recent smash THE RULING CLASS had been nominated for the Palme d’Or and an Oscar® – to direct a 17th century pirate epic called GHOST IN THE NOONDAY SUN. But with soon-to-be-discovered nightmares that included an unfinished script (re-written by co-star and fellow comedy legend Spike Milligan), rough seas, sinking ships and Sellers’ own wildly erratic behavior, the production became an unprecedented catastrophe. The barely completed film was dumped into a very limited release, and the director’s career and spirit were nearly destroyed by the experience. Over four decades later, Medak revisits this personal and professional fiasco to search for answers – and possibly redemption – in a journey that’s been called “jaw-dropping” (The Hollywood Reporter), “nightmarishly funny” (Rolling Stone) and “one of the great ‘making-of’ documentaries of all-time.” (San Francisco Chronicle)
Special Features for THE GHOST OF PETER SELLERS:
- Audio Interview With Director Peter Medak
- The Ghosts Inside The Scrapbook – Peter Medak Presents His Production Albums From THE RULING CLASS Through ZORRO, THE GAY BLADE
- Love Left The Masquerade: Peter Medak's Cinema Of Pretenders – Video Essay By Filmmaker Daniel Kremer
- Trailer
Feature Specs for THE GHOST OF PETER SELLERS:
- Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
- Audio: English 5.1, English Stereo
- Closed Captions: English SDH
- Runtime: 93 mins
- Region: A/B/C