Kent Mackenzie’s The Exiles on DVD from BFI 2/15/10
The Exiles
A film by Kent Mackenzie
2-disc set
The Exiles chronicles one night in the lives of a group of young American Indians living in the Bunker Hill district of Los Angeles. Deeply affecting and utterly convincing, this remarkable film is finally made available on DVD in the UK for the first time and is packed with special features.
Based entirely on interviews with the participants and their friends, the film follows this group of exiles – transplants from Southwest reservations – as they flirt, drink, party, fight, and dance. With its vivid, high-contrast black and white photography and soundtrack by The Revels, Kent Mackenzie’s gritty, no-frills depiction of this marginalised Los Angeles community draws comparisons to John Cassavetes, Charles Burnett and Vittorio De Seta.
Special features
•Four shorts directed by Kent Mackenzie: Bunker Hill 1956 (1956), A Skill for Molina (1964), The Story of a Rodeo Cowboy (1962) and Ivan and His Father (1970)
•Los Angeles Plays Itself (2003): extracts from Thom Anderson’s film
•Last Days of Angels Flight (1969): a short film by Robert Kirste
•Bunker Hill: A Tale of Urban Removal (2009): a short film by Greg Kimble
•White Fawn’s Devotion (1910): a short film by James Youngdeer, thought to be the first directed by an American Indian
•2008 theatrical trailer
•Feature commentary by Sherman Alexie and Sean Axmaker, plus audio interviews with Charles Burnett and a panel discussion with the cast and crew
•Downloadable PDF files (DVD-ROM) of Kent Mackenzie’s scripts, Master’s thesis, press kits and much more
Release date: 15 February 2010
RRP: £19.99 / cat. no. BFIVD853 / cert 12
USA / 1961 / black and white / English, optional feature subtitles for the hard-of-hearing / 70 mins + 111 mins extra material / DVD-9 and DVD-5/ 1.33:1 /
Feature audio: PCM dual mono (48k/16bit)
