Black Joy
- 1977 film
Ben - an innocent immigrant from a remote village in Guyana - arrives in Brixton and falls prey to an assortment of street-wise characters. Stars Norman Beaton, Trevor Thomas, Dawn Hope, Floella Benjamin, Oscar James and more.
Black Joy
Based on Jamal Ali's acclaimed stage play Dark Days and Light Nights, Black Joy tells the story of a naive Guyanese immigrant who learns the hard way about life on the streets of Brixton.
Presenting vivid characters, terrific action and a superb soundtrack of soul, funk, dub and reggae, Anthony Simmons's gritty film is an honest and insightful comic drama, exposing the lives of unemployed black Britons and immigrants in a ghettoised London.
Starring Norman Beaton (Desmond's), Trevor Thomas (Inseminoid), Floella Benjamin (Play School) and a young Oscar James (EastEnders), Black Joy comes to Blu-ray for the very first time.
This world premiere Blu-ray release is a brand new high definition remaster, newly re-graded and approved by cinematographer Phil Méheux.
First released: Monday 24th June 2019
Extra features
- The BEHP Interview with Anthony Simmons (1997): An archival audio recording, made as part of the British Entertainment History Project, featuring the prolific director in conversation with filmmaker Rodney Giesler
- Interview with actor Trevor Thomas (2019)
- Interview with actor Floella Benjamin (2019)
- Interview with actor Oscar James (2019)
- Interview with playwright and screenwriter Jamal Ali (2019)
- Interview with producer Martin Campbell (2019)
- Interview with cinematographer Phil Méheux (2019)
- Featurette exploring the film's London locations (2019)
- Bow Bells (1954): Anthony Simmons's nostalgic short film about London's East End
- Original theatrical trailer
- Image gallery: on-set and promotional photography
- Limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Josie Dolan, recollections by director Anthony Simmons and star Norman Beaton, Michael Brooke on Bow Bells, an overview of contemporary critical responses, archival articles, and film credits
- Distributor: Powerhouse Films
- Region: B
- Discs: 1
- Minutes: 97
- Subtitles: English
- Catalogue: PHILTD146
Search for this product on eBay
BCG may earn commission on sales generated through the links above.
Not in the UK?
Fear not! Many items can still be ordered. Amazon in the UK delivers to many international territories, whilst their Australia, USA and Canada stores also supply many equivalent or imported items.
If you are in the North America, look out for US/Canadian flag icons on popular product listings for direct links.
If you order from a UK store, please note that the UK is in Region 2 and B, respectively, for DVDs and Blu-rays - check your player's compatibility, or look for multi-region products if you are located in another region.
If you are in Australia or New Zealand (DVD Region 4), note that almost all DVDs distributed in the UK by the BBC and 2entertain are encoded for both Region 2 and Region 4. The UK and Australasia are in the same Blu-ray region (B).