Sudden Fury

Director: Brian Damude
Screenplay: Brian Damude
Minutes: 92
Year: 1975
Score: 5.67
Release: Vinegar Syndrome

Rarely does my opinion of a film flip so quickly after my initial viewing. I take no umbrage in romanticizing no budget films, because they need more word-of-mouth love as their marketing budgets don’t go further than a low print run of posters.

From VinegarSyndrome.com:

Fred and his wife Janet have been experiencing problems in their marriage. But when she refuses to help him fund the building of a rural resort and, subsequently, reveals that she’s had an affair, Fred snaps, staging a car accident on a country road and leaving Janet for dead. What seems like a perfect crime, disguised as an accident, is spoiled by the unexpected arrival of Al, an innocent passer-by who, in his attempt to save Janet, quickly finds himself fingered as the most likely suspect in her murder…

A riveting and criminally under-seen Hitchcockian thriller, prolific NFB short films director Brian Damude’s SUDDEN FURY ranks as one of the finest forgotten films to emerge out of Canada’s mid 70s tax shelter era. Given only a small theatrical release and nearly impossible to view in the ensuing decades, Vinegar Syndrome presents SUDDEN FURY on Blu-ray in a new, director approved 2k restoration made from the original 16mm camera negative.

As I was driving into work the morning after watching this film I realized that Sudden Fury is a thousand times better than how I thought directly after watching the film. What truly impressed me is that this might be one of the leanest pictures I have seen, considering its surroundings. I have seen a fair amount of exploitation films and while they are mostly shot on a shoestring budget there are still a handful of nonsense moments that do nothing for their limited stories. Should you find yourself watching a 1970’s comedy for the first time in a while you will soon learn how many dead moments fill into the cracks in the comedy narratives, not bad, but long.

I can imagine that Sudden Fury would probably clock in at about 115 minutes if it was made using the mold of its time and to get it down to 90 they cleaned every ounce of fat from the muscle. There is room to breath, but even with that it doesn’t leave you much time to check your phone. That isn’t to suggest it is wall to wall action, but its (sorry) Sudden Fury lights a fuse that I couldn’t help but watch sizzle all the way to its charge.

The acting is acceptable, nothing fancy, and the action effects are better than you might expect. But, I as I sat in my car I was unable to shake that the film was so much more than I had given it credit for. Yes they are a few moments where you wonder if this entrepreneur character is actually an engineering genius. Yes, it is the grease paint blood, and yes, it is mustache heavy. But it is also an impressively great lazy Sunday movie that can let you decompress after something heavier. It is depressingly fun and oddly engaging.

I am very impressed by this release. It is my understanding that it was in theaters for about a week and then left for an eternities worth of dust to accumulate until the fine gentlefolk at Vinegar Syndrome dug it up and produce and impressive scan. I have not listened to the commentary yet but am interested in what Brian Damude has to add to the film, but I don’t see that happening anytime soon. I will say that I love a good isolated score but that will likely take even longer before I enjoy it. I would prefer a separate CD to listen to without needed a television. As of this writing they still have about 163 of the limited edition releases available and I definitely think you should add this to your collection.

Special Features:

• Region free Blu-ray/DVD combo
• Newly scanned & restored in 2k from its 16mm original camera negative
• Commentary track with director Brian Damude, moderated by Peter Kuplowsky
• Isolated score by composer Matthew McCauley
• Cast, Crew and Production Stills Gallery
• Original theatrical Trailer
• Teaser trailer
• Reversible cover artwork
• English SDH subtitles

Director: 10 – Cinematography: 6 – Edit: 6 – Parity: 0 – Main performance: 6 – Else performance: 5 – Score: 7 – Sound: 8 – Story: 4 – Script: 3 – Effects: 7 – Design: 5 – Costumes: 3 – Keeps interest: 10 – Lasting: 5