Everything about SPRING NIGHT SUMMER NIGHT is remarkable. From the making of the movie to its unlikely odyssey through the grindhouse circuit and final rediscovery and restoration to what the filmmakers intended. It all began in 1967 with the completion of a personal project for director J. L. (Joseph) Anderson. Anderson, an instructor of film studies at Ohio University had already made 3 short films informally known as the "Bluegrass Trilogy" because of their soundtracks, in the early 1960s. Those films, FOOTBALL AS IT IS PLAYED TODAY (1961), HOW SWIVED (1962), and CHEERS (1963), are all included as part of this Flicker Alley Blu-Ray/DVD combo release.
Anderson then wanted to make a feature length movie based on the principles of Italian neo-realism cinema substituting small town Americans for post-WW II Italians. The people would be the citizens of Shawnee, Ohio (renamed Canaan for the film), a once thriving mining town that had fallen on hard times following the closing of the mines. The focus would be on one fictional Appalachian family with their dashed hopes that had either seen better days or held out the prospect of a life that was going nowhere.
The focus is on two half-siblings, Jessie and Carl, who have a one night tryst that results in Jessie becoming pregnant and Carl running away before coming back to face up to his responsibilities. As it turns out, things are not what they seem and the pair leave together with the hope of a brighter future. However the real stars of SPRING NIGHT SUMMER NIGHT are not the young people nor their parents (played by professional actors) but the local townsfolk and the surrounding locations that were used in the movie.
Shot over a period of 2 years, SPRING NIGHT SUMMER NIGHT was entered into a couple of arthouse festivals as a work of independent cinema. Sadly it was not well received in Europe and then was bumped at the last minute from the 6th New York Film Festival which would have given it credible exposure. In a desperate attempt to recover costs and pay his non-professional crew, Anderson sold the movie to exploitation king Joseph Brenner who re-edited the film, added a couple of X rated sex scenes, then released it to drive-ins as MISS JESSICA IS PREGNANT. After the initial run, it disappeared until 2008 when it was discovered in a basement at the University of Iowa.
The restoration of the original footage was a labor of love that took 7 years. Fortunately director Anderson was still alive and got to see the restoration in 2015. In an interview at that time, he talked about the making of the movie and its convoluted history. That interview along with several other bonus features are included in this Blu-Ray/DVD release. They include short films on the restoration, scenes and outtakes from the original movie and MISS JESSICA IS PREGNANT, as well as the aforementioned "Bluegrass Trilogy". The movie and all the other materials look great and have clean, crisp sound. All in all this is a fascinating look at an important and almost forgotten look at American independent cinema from the 1960s. Once again Flicker Alley has come through by providing film students and lovers of cinema with a remarkable release...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.
