Pet Shop Boys Star In IT COULDN’T HAPPEN HERE Directed By Jack Bond Available On Standard Edition Release From July 20

Standard edition Blu-ray/DVD to be released on 20 July 2020 after Limited Edition sells out. Also now available on BFI Player.

Unavailable worldwide for 30 years, Pet Shop Boys’ 1988 feature film It Couldn’t Happen Here made its overdue debut on Blu-ray and DVD on 15 June 2020, newly remastered by the BFI in High Definition at 4K resolution. The Limited Edition Dual Format Edition sold out at most retailers within two days, so a standard edition Blu-ray/DVD will be released on 20 July 2020. The standard discs will contain identical extras, although the packaging will not contain the book.

Packed full of iconic tracks, It Couldn’t Happen Here is a singularly strange, striking and sensational pop movie par excellence. Jack Bond (The Blueblack Hussar) originally set out to make an extended pop video based on Pet Shop Boys’ 1987 album Actually. What he ended up with was a flamboyantly full-scale feature film that finds Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe embarking on an outstanding musical odyssey from coast to capital, encountering the eccentric likes of screen legends Joss Ackland, Gareth Hunt and Barbara Windsor along the way. Perfect pop surrealism meets road movie to the sound of hits from the duo’s fantastic first two studio albums, including all-time classics ‘West End girls’, ‘It’s a sin’ and ‘Always on my mind’.

The film is also now available to watch online on BFI Player (Subscription service).

Special features:

• Presented in High Definition and Standard Definition
• Comprehensive feature commentary by writer and director Jack Bond, art director James Dillon and lighting cameraman Simon Archer (2020)
• West End Boy: Jack Bond (2020, 27 mins): the director discusses his eclectic career as a filmmaker and his enterprising approach to the making of It Couldn’t Happen Here
• It Can Happen Here: Arlene Phillips (2020, 26 mins): the renowned choreographer reflects upon a life in dance – and the trials and tribulations of working on It Couldn’t Happen Here
• Always on My Mind (1987, 5 mins): the full-length promotional video for Pet Shop Boys’ acclaimed ‘Christmas Number One’ hit, featuring Joss Ackland
• Actually: an unfilmed early version of the script for the film, included here in its entirety for the first time anywhere
• As it Happened: image galleries, including the complete final version of the script, the director’s shot lists, Pet Shop Boys reference lyric sheets and promotional materials for It Couldn’t Happen Here
• Original theatrical trailer (digitally reconstructed for this release)

Product details

RRP: £19.99 / Cat. no. BFIB1404 / Cert 15

UK / 1988 / colour / 86 mins / English language, with optional hard-of-hearing subtitles / original aspect ratio 1.85:1 / BD50: 1080p, 24fps, 2.0 PCM stereo audio (48kHz/24-bit) / DVD9: PAL, 25fps, Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo audio (320kbps)

BFI DVD/Blu-ray releases can be ordered from home entertainment online retailers or from the BFI Shop (online only).

It Couldn't Happen Here Film Page

IT COULDN'T HAPPEN HERE IS AVAILABLE ON DVD AND BLU-RAY ON JULY 20

About the BFI

The BFI is the UK’s lead organisation for film, television and the moving image. It is a cultural charity that:

• Curates and presents the greatest international public programme of World Cinema for audiences; in cinemas, at festivals and online
• Cares for the BFI National Archive – the most significant film and television archive in the world
• Actively seeks out and supports the next generation of filmmakers
• Works with Government and industry to make the UK the most creatively exciting and prosperous place to make film internationally

Founded in 1933, the BFI is a registered charity governed by Royal Charter. The BFI Board of Governors is chaired by Josh Berger CBE.