Dance Craze (DVD + Blu-ray)

Product Information

Director Joe Massot, an American living in the UK, had part-directed a Led Zeppelin concert film and had worked with George Harrison, but it was his son’s passion for the 2-Tone bands that led him to film the series of concerts.

Drench yourself in the high-energy, sweatbox world of British 2 Tone in the late-1970s and early 1980s with this legendary concert film.The DANCE CRAZE film, shot throughout 1980 and released in cinemas in 1981, brilliantly captures the cultural phenomenon that was the 2Tone movement and represents an important social document of the times. Directed by Joe Massot ( The Song Remains the Same) and filmed by Bafta award-winning cinematographer Joe Dunton, it showcases the very best of the British Ska phenomenon, with exclusive live performances from The Specials, Madness, The Selecter, The Beat, Bad Manners and The Bodysnatchers. As per the booklet, the BFI's release has been "scanned and remastered at 4K resolution using the only surviving 70mm print, held in the personal collection of Joe Dunton". Available on Blu-ray and DVD for the first time ever, the film is presented in a new 4K restoration (from original film materials) and features brand new sound mixes by Chrysalis Records.

Shot in 1980 by Joe Massot, who directed the psychedelic and absurdist Wonderwall in 1968, Dance Craze is a concert footage film rather than a documentary although, around the halfway mark, it’s broken up with some old Pathé news reports on dance crazes such as the Locomotion and the Madison, and a man from Harrogate attempting a world record for playing the piano longer than anybody before had managed (a marathon endeavour aided by ‘eggs, glucose, tea and brandy’ together with a hundred cigarettes a day. Don’t try this at home, folks). The movie doesn’t get many screenings, and it hasn’t had a release on either DVD or Blu-ray. Until now. The BFI has produced a dual-format edition that works as both a DVD and Blu-ray. Yes, the BFI, no less. Which seems like quite an honour. It didn’t seem quite so high-brow when I was watching this on a Saturday afternoon at Bolton Odeon all those years ago. It was utter carnage for the entire screening.

Highlights include The Specials’ Concrete Jungle, a slice of terrace chant ska with social realist lyrics about streets that are no longer safe and only walking at night where there’s lots of lights.

It was shot in Super 35, one of the first films to use that process, if not the very first. As per the booklet, the BFI's release has been "scanned and remastered at 4K resolution using the only surviving 70mm print, held in the personal collection of Joe Dunton". Dance Craze Update** Due to big demand, we've increased the initial run of this release to 7,000 units. This will all come with a booklet and slipcase and it seriously isn't going to last very long. Later pressings will include a booklet but only the first run will have a slipcase. But seeing the potential for the whole 2 Tone movement rather than just the one band, he decided to cover the whole scene. So live footage was shot in 1980 featuring Madness, The Specials, The Selecter, The Bodysnatchers, the Beat and Bad Manners.Newly remastered in 4K from original film materials, DANCE CRAZE is presented here by the BFI and Chrysalis Records on Blu-ray and DVD (Dual Format Edition) for the first time, more than 40 years on from its theatrical release. ABOUT USLouder Than War is a music, culture and media publication headed by The Membranes & Goldblade frontman John Robb. Online since 2010 it is one of the fastest-growing and most respected music-related publications on the net. The movie was directed by Joe Massot, who is perhaps best known these days for the 1960s cult classic Wonderwall ( available as a cheapie on Blu-ray if you haven’t got it). He also directed the Led Zeppelin concert film The Song Remains The Same a few years earlier, and following that, he planned to do a concert movie featuring Madness. The layers of archival treats on this DVD/Blu-ray release include a BBC Arenathat sent NME "cub reporter" Adrian Thrills to the chaotic offices of the record label in Coventry, where Jerry Dammers, the founder of The Specials, and the rest of the band were in fine form. Shot on Super 35 with Steadycam allowing total mobility, it enables us to experience the concerts from the stage. We are up there with the performers rather than watching them from the perspective of static cameras safely anchored in the stalls.

DANCE CRAZE premieres at the Glasgow Film Festival on Thursday 9 March and will be screened at BFI IMAX, the biggest screen in Britain – 65 foot high with a 12-channel sound system – on Wednesday 22 March. The already sold out BFI IMAX screening will be introduced by members of the bands featured. 30 x Picturehouse cinemas are holding a special one-off screening on 23 March.Because 2 Tone was massive. For a short period of time at the turn of the 1980s, it seemed like the biggest thing on the planet. Or at least, on the schoolyard. While the gigs might have been lively, for many kids, they weren’t exactly on the doorstep, and Dance Craze was the ideal substitute. The disc will feature outtakes, a booklet featuring new writing on the film, plus other extras to be confirmed. The material has been newly restored by the BFI from original film materials. The release will feature a brand new Dolby Atmos sound mix supervised by Jerry Dammers and Dermot James (Chrysalis Records).