The Committee

Plot synopsis:
The movie follows a man (Paul Jones) who is unnamed. The movie starts out with the central character in a car with a man (Tom Kempinski) who just picked him up. The victim talks to him, but he's uninterested. The victim decides to pull over because he doesn't like the sound of the engine. While he's looking under the bonnet of the car the central character slams the bonnet down on his head several times, decapitating him in the process. The central character eventually sews the head back on, and the victim wakes up. The central character tells him he doesn't want to drive anymore that day and to leave without him.
A few years later the central character is called on to be part of a committee, groups that supposedly keep the system running but really don't do much of anything. He feels paranoid that the committee was called on account of him, and runs into the victim while there, who doesn't seem to remember him.
The central character talks about this with a man listed as 'The committee director' (Robert Langdon Lloyd) in the credits. This conversation lasts for the duration of the movie, and features most of the music Pink Floyd wrote for the film.

Tags: allegory, cult, murder

Review:
Market research run amok...a real head trip.
This British film recently played at the Hollywood Cinematheque.
I don't think that it's available on tape, but obviously a print still exists.
It was in pretty good shape, too.It's a great film, combining magical realism and psychological absurdism.
It's short == 60 minutes or so.
There's a really great party scene with The Crazy World of Arthur Brown that equals or excels any MTV music video that could have ever been made of this unique musician.The story divides into two parts, the first being an unusual Hitchcockian thriller.
The second part involves a team of market researchers who assemble groups of people, or "committees" for a variety of absurd reasons.
The central character is present in both parts, tying them together in a weird blend of paranoia and consumerism.The mod costumes and sets make for a satisfying black and white experience.
If it comes to your local film museum, it's worth the trip and the 7-8 bucks admission, especially if there's another good sixties British psychological mind-bending film on the bill..
A Walk To Remember.
Brief, surreal, enigmatic British film from the late 60's.
It opens with a man killing another in a car for seemingly no reason(think Albert Camus existential murder tale "The Stranger"), only to then sew it back on, to find the man is appalled but otherwise fine.
The second half of the film involves, people from all over the country being summoned to spend a weekend as part of a "committee", where the man who decapitated his fellow traveler earlier, is also summoned.
Everyone wonders, but no one bothers to question the committee, after all it's a free weekend getaway, and they are told they will make very important decisions.
Our hero is lead away from the party which features performances by psychedelic wild man Arthur Brown of (The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown, seen on cover here), by an even more enigmatic stranger who proceeds to explain to him, in a 20 minute conversation, the nature of individuality and community, freedom and order, impulse and the nature of the committee.
The conversation is really the cornerstone of the film (the screen-writer who became an economist after the lack of success with this film, likens it to The Matrix in reverse, and he's not far off.
The conversation scene is also parodied in the climax of Grant Morisson's "Animal Man").Anyway it's a mysterious film for fans of mysterious, philosophically dense movies(it's hour time line keeps the movie from treading into boredom).
The most disappointing aspect of this film is actually the Pink Floyd soundtrack, which is good, but not nearly as good as fans of the original band(Syd Barret days) will imagine it must be.
A good movie, all but lost to the common man before the days of Netflix.
If you like political, psychological, and philosophically challenging films, and "wierd tales", than this is not to be missed.
this poor man's A HARD DAYS NIGHT has its moments.
**warning: spoilers contained herein *** THE COMMITTEE has many fine moments from its cool opening title sequence, Pink Floyd score, to its philosophical ending.
It all starts with a hitchhiker, played by Paul Jones, cutting off his driver's head and sewing it back on.
He does this for a lark.
Initially there are no consequences for this act, as the driver drives on as if nothing unusual has happened.
However, a committee is soon formed to decide what the punishment for Jones should be.
Jones is sent on holiday from work to attend the committee.
No one in Jones' circle seems to know why they are sent there, until Jones starts putting two and two together.
He then becomes somewhat paranoid that the committee is out to get him.
Great story, silly as it is.
Monty Python could have had a field day with a premise such as this.
This could have also been suspenseful, but it's not.
It's all told in a very laid back manner with typically dry British humor.
There is much witty dialog sprinkled throughout the film.
The best moment of all has to be the performance by The Crazy World of Arthur Brown.
A.B. was the Marilyn Manson of his day.
So, if you are in the right frame of mind, are a Pink Floyd or Paul Jones fan, or just dig 60's nostalgia, THE COMMITTEE is well worth seeing..
If your a fan of sixties "abstract" films then check this out!.
I was totally shocked when walking into Virgin Megastore nonchalantly one day, to discover that this film thought long forgotten, had been actually released.
It's something many people no doubt for decades have wished to see.
This DVD comes with an excellent interview sequence (as long as the 54 minute film) which does explain things if you get a little bit confused!
While admitting, that yes, I knew of this film as a hardcore Pink Floyd fan (whom indeed provide some great musical moments) the film is nonetheless an excellent example of the type of "art" films of the period and is well worth investigating.
If your into Kafka, Hesse, The Prisoner, Sixties "pop" Psychology, New-Left Politics, Antonioni (spelt right?), Godard, Bergman etc etc then I do recommend this film.
It's perhaps more of a period piece now of course, and the director himself admits flaws, but this is still a thoughtful experience and its sad in a way that it seems so fresh amidst all the more intelligent, commercial films of today.
This is especially a point worth noting; when thinking that the film is of its time, and was designed for a receptive, cool, hip audience.
Today while claims are made that a film is made commercially but in a more intelligent way for a mass audience it still just seems to say "Well there you go, watch the flashing lights, a few nice things to think about - happy now?" Actually it's interesting that the writer in the interview section cites The Matrix as a comparable example, when discussing the themes of the film.The decapitation scene is quite shocking even by todays standards, especially when the head is sewn back on!
Also, while admittedly biased there is an excellent, memorable scene with various individuals walking around an office with a wonderful repetitive piece of music by the Floyd.
Certainly not for everyone, but if you're in the know and looking for an experience I would certainly give this film a try.
I struggled whether to vote it 7 or 8 out of ten, but then, I'm writing this so it must have made an impression!Enjoy..
Beautifully filmed, darkly funny psychedelic romp.....
Wow!
It is doubtful that many people will get a chance to see this wonderful film, which is a shame.
Lush, brief, darkly funny and psychedelic, this film ruminates about the existential nature of being, albeit in a meandering late 60's kinda way.
Nice to not be led around by the hand, narratively speaking....
Paul Jones (Manfred Mann) is great, and there is an amazing cameo by Arthur Brown (the Crazy World of), and, of course, the soundtrack by The Pink Floyd - I think I may have glimpsed Roger Waters in the party scene, too..
Creative genius.
The Committee captures the essence of artistic film school movie making.
While strange, sometimes confusing, and certainly disturbing, it is nonetheless a brilliant film and one that certainly deserves to be seen more than it is.It appears from time to time at British film retreats and small art movie houses, but is not available on video as it has never been officially released.
It is, nevertheless, somewhat of a "white whale" to fans of Pink Floyd (who contributed much original, unreleased material to the soundtrack).
There are apparently bootlegs of it floating around, although in miniscule numbers.
None have been seen in public.If you ever have the chance to see this, and are a fan of art school films, then The Committee is for you!It should be noted that Pink Floyd also contributed to the soundtrack for "Tonight Lets All Make Love In London", a Peter Whitehead film.
(In addition to those mentioned by Phantom Moonhead)..
Sixties curiosity, worth seeing.
I recently found this film on DVD, after many years of being curious to see it.
It's not a lost masterpiece.
Very low-budget, it's visually flat and plain.
Even at just under an hour, it's overlong, and would probably have been more effective cut to half that.
With no characterisation or plot development in the conventional sense, the story reaches no real resolution, but just stops.
Yet individual scenes stick in the memory and I've found myself watching them again.
Musically, the Pink Floyd soundtrack is minor stuff, but unmistakable Saucerful Of Secrets period Floyd, and Arthur Brown's appearance at the party scene is the film's most riveting sight.
(For those who remember Joy Division, his stage moves are like a forerunner of Ian Curtis...).
Surprisingly good if unmotivated.
A British attempt to do mysterious, unexplained and surreal.
Whereas a French equivalent, like, say, Last Year In Marienbad, is aristocratic, eerie, dark and allusive, this is a white collar effort, following a strange bureaucratic process, filmed in clear daylight, with dialogue that, though straightforward on the surface, seems to refer to some reality known to the participants but not the viewer.
Unusually for such a film, certain events - including the early beheading - are actually given explanations, undercutting the post-modernism with a very unexperimental model of a character acting in character.
Paul Jones, lead singer of Manfred Mann and just beginning a parallel acting career, does surprisingly well, though his part (as "central figure") is a mere cipher.
There is of course interest with the Pink Floyd soundtrack, though they hardly stretched themselves.
Arthur Brown is very good value, with a lively cameo complete with burning headgear (would never get past health and safety nowadays).
Very much of its time, but without the courage of its surreal convictions.
The ultra-realistic portrayal of the bizarre events can be hypnotic, but ultimately deprives the film of a real artistic punch.
Nevertheless at 58 minutes it hardly outstays its welcome..
"Do You Play Bridge?".
To grasp where this film is coming from I guess you'd have to read the short story by Max Steuer (originally a dream) on which it is based.
It plays as a bargain basement melange of Robbe-Grillet and Kafka, with the attention immediately grabbed by the arresting title sequence juggling mug-shots of the three main protagonists to a sinister blurping accompaniment on the soundtrack; but which is soon allowed to dissipate by what follows.
For a film that begins with the central figure decapitating a total stranger on a whim, 'The Committee' is an incongruously well-mannered, very British affair - albeit with hip sixties trimmings in the form of a soundtrack by Pink Floyd and a personal appearance by Arthur Brown.Ian Wilson's cool black & white photography is presumably intended to evoke 'L'Année Dernière à Marienbad', and as in 'Marienbad' there's a lot of talk but very little actually said.
The plush backdrop is here provided by the London School of Economics, where Steuer - author of 'The Scientific Study of Society' (2003) has been ensconced in the philosophy department since 1959, and was at the time of the making of 'The Committee' a lecturer in economics and social sciences.
The endless gnomic prattle may be a joke at the expense of his colleagues there..
Seems This Film Might Not Exist Anymore.
The only thing I know about this film is that is of interest to "die-hard" Pink Floyd fans because they did the soundtrack for it.
From what I understand the entire soundtrack is 50 minutes long but Pink Floyd only did about 17 minutes of it.
I have never seen this film for sale anywhere,the other films that have a Pink Floyd soundtrack can all be found,they are:A Day In The Life Of San Francisco (1966)More (1969)Zabraskie Point (1970)The Valley (La Vallee) (1972)If anyone has anymore information about this film,please let me know..
Watchable, even for a non Floyd fan..
Though this one may never fully see the dark of a cinema, I managed to see a copy; and have heard it was shown in a Rock and Roll Film Festival a few years ago on the west coast.**SPOILER** B&W Story takes place in a modish alternate sixties, and involves an aloof and quietly cocky young draftsman/architect (nod to the abdabs?) who inexplicably murders a driver (who while annoying was not deserving) who picks him up while hitch-hiking.
Shortly afterwards he is invited to a meeting in the country with other young English men and women.
The committee is to meet at some grand country estate and supposedly not uncommon in this world (like a think tank/spa) but he begins to feel that the committee exists to examine him and his deeds.
There is some good existentialist and almost classical student mentor discourses between a slightly older mod!
moderator and protagonist.Also some party scenes with drinking, mini-skirts, a performance by Arthur Brown with his band and fire breathing.
And of course...A couple of minutes of great little Pink Floyd instrumental fills, which are available on bootlegs for the resourceful to find.Keep looking!