Separation (1967 film)

Separation is a 1968 British experimental drama film written by and starring Jane Arden and directed by Jack Bond. In addition to Jane Arden, the film stars the British actors David de Keyser and Iain Quarrier. The mostly black and white film occasionally cuts to colour sequences.

Plot
The film concerns the inner life of a woman during a period of breakdown - marital and possibly mental. Her past and (possible?) future are revealed through a fragmented but brilliantly achieved and often humorous narrative, in which dreams and desires are as real as Swinging London, the film's setting.

Cast

 * Jane Arden as Jane
 * David de Keyser as Husband/Psychiatrist
 * Ann Lynn as Woman
 * Iain Quarrier as Lover
 * Fay Brooke
 * Terence De Marney as Old man
 * Malou Pantera
 * Ann Norman
 * Joy Bang
 * Kathleen Saintsbury
 * Peter Thomas
 * Neil Holmes
 * Theo Aygar
 * Leslie Linder
 * Tom Corbett
 * Donald Sayer

Filming
The film was shot around London and at Caravel Studios and was completed at Twickenham Film Studios.

Music
The film features on its soundtrack music by Stanley Myers, one song ("Salad Days") by the British rock group Procol Harum and instrumental music by Procol's original Hammond organist Matthew Fisher.

Unavailability
After its release, Separation was thought lost and was barely known for decades until its re-release.

Home media
The film was restored by the British Film Institute for DVD and Blu-ray Disc and re-released in the UK on 13 July 2009. Another edition of the DVD, with a different cover photo and music credits for Procol Harum on the front cover and for Stanley Myers, Procol Harum and Matthew Fisher on the back cover, was released in the US in March, 2010. Separation was released on DVD in the U.S. for the first time on 30 March 2010 by Microcinema.

Critical reception

 * 'Astonishingly distressing and perceptive ... it leaves one looking forward to Mr Bond's next film with genuine excitement' - The Observer
 * 'Stunningly photographed and rather stylishly splintered in time between past and present, between fantasy and reality' - Vincent Canby, The New York Times
 * 'Verdict: Cinema Bonkers' - Daily Mirror
 * 'Shows great strength where British cinema has been weakest' - The Guardian
 * 'There can be no doubt that Jack Bond understands the articulation of film' - Films and Filming