Who is Cliff Twemlow? I'm not really expecting you to know the answer to that question; I myself didn't know who Cliff Twemlow was until the release of the documentary film Mancunian Man, but having learned more about him through that documentary and the other films currently on offer from Severin Films I can't help but feel he's a man that people should be aware of. Perhaps the most shocking part of learning about Twemlow is finding out how prolific the man was, something explored in the documentary Mancunian Man, which is definitely the best place to start with this substantial collection. Due to the collection not having a physical release here in the UK, I have only had access to some of the films in the set, and so unfortunately, cannot comment on all of them, or their special features.
Mancunian Man tells the life story of Twemlow, beginning with his humble background as a working class child in Manchester, growing up in a city where men were taught to be tough and that violence was a part of life. This was something that had an effect on Twemlow, driving him towards bodybuilding and boxing, and eventually working as a bouncer in the city's night clubs. However, it seems that Cliff retained something of a gentle, caring heart, and despite his physical prowess was a much liked member of his local community. Writing about his life as a bouncer, Twemlow released the book Tuxedo Warrior, which was optioned as a film.
Despite the book being about his time as a bouncer in Manchester, the film that was produced shifted the setting to Africa, and focused on diamond smuggling. It was a huge departure from the source material, but Twemlow was offered a small role in the film and the opportunity to travel to Africa to see the film being made. Thus began a new obsession in Twemlow's life, movie making. Inspired by his time on the Tuxedo Warrior movie Twemlow tried to have another of his books made into a film, an animal themed horror story called The Pike, which was close to being produced with big names attached, but fell through when investors became nervous about the quality of the huge animatronic fish created for the production.
With the desire to make movies, but no way to get a bigger budget production made, Twemlow took a chance when VHS camcorders hit the market and VHS sales were sweeping Britain. Together with some friends, Twemlow created the film G.B.H. Grievous Bodily Harm, which told the story of a bouncer in Manchester who's dragged into a world of crime and murder. Filmed across the city, often without permission, and released quickly and cheaply, the movie ended up being a huge success, in part for being on the Video Nasty list, and Twemlow's career as a director began.
Over the next decade Twemlow would produce several more films, often with Twemlow in the role of writer, director, composer, and actor. With a staple group of actors, some of whom began their careers under Twemlow, Cliff Twemlow had a tumultuous career, with most of his films being made at a loss, not being released, or falling apart mid production. Despite this, the passion to make movies never left him, and you can see that in his work collected here. This new collection not only offers an amazing insight into a man whose life feels too fantastical to be truly real, but brings many of his films to audiences for the first time.
The Mancunian Man documentary is perhaps the most fascinating part of this collection, and in some ways learning about Twemlow and his life were more entertaining than the films he made. Learning how these films came to be is often interesting than the films, as Twemlow's scripts tend to have meandering, sometimes confusing plots, but hearing the actors in the movies talk about how they got to be present for the US invasion of Grenada whilst making one of the films and just incorporated it into the movie, or how Twemlow had a supernatural hitman driving a bright orange rental van because the company let him keep it for a year if he put it in the film make for more entertaining stories.
After watching Mancunian Man it's best to make your way through the other films in order as you do get to see an evolution of Twemlow's style, and a general upward swing in quality amongst all those involved. There are some actors in his first film who are literally just people he knew who he gives a few lines to that are pretty shakily delivered, but these same actors manage to do decently a few films later, having honed their craft by working with Cliff for so long.
G.B.H. Grievous Bodily Harm is a cheap movie. It's made with a very basic camera, filmed by people who don't really know what they're doing, just trying their best; and this does show through in much of the movie. The acting is pretty wooden at times, or very arch at others, with the actors trying their best but doing nothing new or interesting. Whilst there are some confusing choices in the script, scenes that probably shouldn't have been included, the basic story structure isn't terrible, and it's clear that Twemlow has been inspired by other crime stories, as well as the world he's seen from his time as a bouncer. Whilst the film isn't going to become anyone's favourite thing by a long margin, as a historic piece it does make for some entertaining viewing, seeing how a group of fairly ordinary people decided one day to make a film, and how despite the flaws and the obvious seams, created something that, thanks largely in part to the Video Nasties scare, ended up becoming a piece of British film history.
After the relative low budget and guerrilla style filmmaking of G.B.H. Grievous Bodily Harm it's surprising to see something a big leap in Twemlow's next two films, Target Eve Island, and The Ibiza Connection. Both filmed on location outside of the UK, and made with much higher quality equipment, these two films still have the feel of a low budget movie, but they at least don't come across as something made on a home camcorder down the local park. Target Eve Island is Twemlow's attempt at a spy movie, one that thanks to reshoots, scenes where Russian agents forgot their accents, script re-writes, and additional scenes being made years later, never quite makes complete sense. The basic story is decent enough, but it's definitely a film that begins to fall apart when you stop to think about it. The film is made more entertaining after watching the documentary thanks to the background influencing the production (being there during a military operation), and this really does feel like the point where Twemlow's films become a little more watchable.
One of the films that I found most surprising was The Hitman, sometimes called the delightfully more ridiculous The Assassinator, a film that felt like quite a step up compared to the earlier ones. Yes, there were some moments in the story that felt a little bit silly, such as the lead character assassinating a man with a very convoluted device that still needed him to be there are use instead of setting up and leaving, or some bad dubbing that sounded so off at times, but the story is pretty solid, and the acting from the lead is perhaps the best in all of his Twemlow appearances. Whilst the story is very similar to something like Commando, there are still some delightful twists in the narrative that I think shows Twemlow putting more thought into the scripting process; and a final scene that leaves the film with a 'what the fuck?!' moment.
Firestar: First Contact takes Cliff Twemlow to space, and feels a little like the real world equivalent of when a long running franchise decides to make a space sequel. With the most expense on a Twemlow film being travelling to the Carribbean (something the documentary makes out as being a disaster), it's a little shocking to see so much money spent on sets, models, and alien costumes, for a science fiction movie. Twemlow has tended to keep his films fairly grounded, with even those with fantastical ideas being kept in relatively recognisable settings, so seeing his attempt at something more akin to Alien is a genuine delight, even if the film itself isn't the greatest.
There are a few extra films included in the collection that aren't really Twemlow projects, though they do involve him. There's the hour long Fitness Over 40, an exercise self help video for those over 40 looking to keep fit. Twemlow is not the focus of this film at all, and is just one of several people who are used to demonstrate various exercises, weightlifting, and workouts that viewers can emulate. It's not a particularly interesting or engaging piece, other than to see it in the context of where Twemlow was in his life and career at that point, and perhaps as an insight into early 90's keep fit videos. Similarly, there's The Art of Nude Massage, another home video release, this time designed to show people how to engage in some basic sensual massage techniques. Twemlow appears in the first segment as one of the two people taking part in the massage, and consists mainly of him laying on a bed whilst a naked woman rubs his back. Like the other film, it's an interesting look at instructional videos at the time, and it does feature Twemlow, but it's not really anything that involves him a great deal.
Whilst I only had access to digital screeners for some of the films, the physical release does come with some extra features, such as promo reels, deleted scenes, gag reels, and some behind the scenes pieces that add some extra insight into the movies. For those who are interested in the physical version, the blu-ray set is region free, and so imported versions of the set will work on UK devices. For those that are unable to access the physical edition, however, the digital versions of Twemlow's work will be available in the UK.
Is the set worth it? I can't say. I found the documentary hugely interesting, and watching the movies after having that context made them feel like interesting, niche parts of British film history that were sometimes entertaining, but other times a little boring. The quality on each film varies, and whilst I wouldn't rate any of them particularly high, they proved to be entertaining ways to pass the time even at their worst. I'm glad I took the time to learn about Cliff Twemlow, to watch some of his work, and I'd definitely be interested in seeing the ones that I wasn't sent preview copies of.
For those with an interest in film history, with a love of low budget movies, or even those who know about Twemlow thanks to having seen one of his films when it was first released into corner shop VHS rentals, read one of his novels, or simply heard the legend, this set makes for a fantastic way to discover a man whose life should probably end up as a movie.
Bloody Legend: The Complete Cliff Twemlow Collection is available on Blu-ray in the US, and select films from the collection on Amazon Prime UK from 28th July.
