Anti-Clock
A 1979 British experimental film exploring identity and time.
Anti-Clock (also titled *Anti-clock: a Time Stop in the Life of Joseph Sapha*) is a 1979 British experimental psychological science-fiction drama. Jane Arden directed and wrote the film, while Jack Bond produced it. The lead role is played by Arden’s son, Sebastian Saville. Shot on both film and video, the movie uses colour footage alongside black-and-white sequences. Its story follows Joseph Sapha as he moves through his past to confront a mirror version of himself, blending early video techniques with sharp colour imagery to build a dense, dreamlike exploration of identity and social pressure.
The cast includes Suzan Cameron, Tom Gerrard, Liz Saville, and several parapsychologists played by Madame Luisa Aranowicz, Marguerita Gagarin, Yoshiro Matsuya, and Katherine Newell. Others in the film are Tai chi master Gia-Fu Feng, Alpha therapist Don Wilde, plus Brian Jones, Jasper Gough, Robert Armstrong, Joe Chappell, Molly Tweedlie, Derek Osborne, Tony C.T. Tang, Chan Fai, William K. Lam, Pat Bond, Kenneth Pearson, and Louise Temple (uncredited).
Production assistance came from Don Boyd. Filming took place in London and Norfolk, England, as listed in the credits. Arden sings the songs “Sleepwalking” and “Figures in White,” for which she also wrote the lyrics.
The film opened the 1979 London Film Festival but never secured British distribution; its only other public UK screening was at the National Film Theatre in 1983, as a tribute to Arden following her suicide in late 1982. After her death, Bond removed the film from circulation. In the United States, however, it had a modest theatrical release and received considerable critical praise.
*Variety* criticised the film, calling it a technical mess that misapplies physics theories to human behaviour, while *Sight and Sound*’s Claire Monk noted its historical value as an early, conceptually inventive video movie. Anthony Nield of *The Quietus* compared its tone to early David Cronenberg and J.G. Ballard, describing it as bleak and clinical.
The British Film Institute restored *Anti-Clock* for DVD and Blu-ray, releasing it on 13 July 2009.
Quick Facts
- Director
- Jane Arden / Jack Bond
- Producer
- Jack Bond
- Writer
- Jane Arden
- Starring
- Sebastian Saville
- Music
- Mihai Dragutescu
- Cinematography
- Jane Arden / Jack Bond / Mike Biddle / Rupert Parker / Gordon McKerrow / Dominic Holiday
- Studio
- Kendon Films / Jack Bond Films / Boyd/Co
- Released
- 1979 · 11
- Runtime
- 96 minutes
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Language
- English
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The film stars Sebastian Saville, Arden's son, as Joseph Sapha. It was shot on location in London and Norfolk, England, using both film and video in colour with black and white sequences. Arden sings the songs 'Sleepwalking' and 'Figures in White', for which she also wrote the lyrics. Don Boyd helped make the film.
Reader's Guide
Anti-Clock opened the 1979 London Film Festival but was never picked up for British distribution; its only other public British screening was at the National Film Theatre in 1983 as a tribute to Jane Arden, who committed suicide at the end of the previous year. The film remained unseen since then, though it had a modest theatrical release in the US, where it received considerable critical acclaim. After Arden's suicide in 1982, Bond withdrew the film from circulation. The film was restored by the British Film Institute for DVD and Blu-ray and released on 13 July 2009. Critical reception was mixed: Variety criticized its application of physics theories to human behavior, while Sight and Sound's Claire Monk praised it as a conceptually ingenious experiment in making a 'video movie' at a time when the technology was new and cumbersome. The Quietus's Anthony Nield noted its resemblance to early Cronenberg and JG Ballard.
Creative Vision and Production
Anti-Clock is a 1979 British experimental psychological science-fiction drama that pushes the boundaries of what a narrative film can be. Directed by Jane Arden and Jack Bond, with Arden handling the screenplay and Bond overseeing production, the work weaves together pioneering video techniques with pin-sharp colour cinematography and interspersed black-and-white sequences. The result is a densely layered, dream-like narrative that follows Joseph Sapha into the shadows of his past, where he must confront a mirror image of himself and grapple with questions of personal identity and social conformity. Arden's own son, Sebastian Saville, takes on the dual role of Professor J.D. Zanov and Joseph Sapha. Principal photography took place on location across London and Norfolk, England, with Don Boyd lending his assistance to the production. Arden also contributed the film's musical score, composing the lyrics and performing two original songs, "Sleepwalking" and "Figures in White," adding a personal vocal dimension to the experimental soundscape.
An Ensemble of the Unconventional
The cast of Anti-Clock reads like a who's-who of the unconventional. Beyond Sebastian Saville's central performance, the film brings together Suzan Cameron as Alanda Clark, Tom Gerrard as The Dealer, and Liz Saville in the role of Sapha's sister. A particularly striking cluster of characters includes four parapsychologists—Madame Luisa Aranowicz, Marguerita Gagarin, Yoshiro Matsuya, and Katherine Newell—alongside a Tai chi master portrayed by Gia-Fu Feng and an Alpha therapist played by Don Wilde. Perhaps the most remarkable name on the billing is that of physicist Richard Feynman, who appears as The Physicist. The ensemble is further rounded out by a long tail of supporting performers, including Brian Jones, Jasper Gough, Robert Armstrong, Joe Chappell, Molly Tweedlie, Derek Osborne, Tony C.T. Tang, Chan Fai, William K. Lam, Pat Bond, Kenneth Pearson, and an uncredited Louise Temple, giving the film a richly textured human landscape.
A Film That Could Not Find Its Audience
Anti-Clock premiered as the opening film of the 1979 London Film Festival, a significant platform for a work of such experimental ambition. Despite that high-profile debut, the film was never secured for British theatrical distribution, leaving it largely locked away from the wider public. Its only other screening on British soil came in 1983 at the National Film Theatre, organized as a tribute to Jane Arden, who had taken her own life at the close of 1982. In the aftermath of her death, Jack Bond pulled the film from circulation entirely, and it vanished from public view for years. Across the Atlantic, however, the picture managed a modest theatrical release in the United States, where it gathered considerable critical praise. The film's fraught distribution history—born from a bold artistic vision yet repeatedly denied a broad audience, compounded by the devastating personal loss of its director—makes it one of the most elusive works of late-1970s British cinema.
Critical Divisions and a Long-Overdue Restoration
Critical responses to Anti-Clock have been sharply divided across decades. Variety dismissed the film as a "technical shambles," arguing that the filmmakers took the subatomic physics of Heisenberg and Einstein and applied them to human behaviour in a "fatuous" manner, and found the resulting anti-sexism and anti-materialism rhetoric strained. Claire Monk in Sight and Sound offered a more measured appreciation, crediting the film with a place in moving-image history as a conceptually ingenious experiment in crafting a "video movie" at a time when the technology was genuinely new and cumbersome. For The Quietus, Anthony Nield saw echoes of early David Cronenberg—particularly the black-and-white miniatures in Stereo and Crimes of the Future—and of J.G. Ballard, describing the tone as bleak, clinical, and simultaneously of its time and out of time. The British Film Institute eventually undertook a restoration of the film for DVD and Blu-ray, releasing it on 13 July 2009 and finally returning the work to public view after more than two decades of absence.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who directed and wrote Anti-Clock?
Jane Arden both directed and penned the screenplay for the 1979 film, with Jack Bond serving as producer. The two worked together as the creative team behind the project.
Who plays Joseph Sapha in Anti-Clock?
Sebastian Saville, Jane Arden's own son, takes on the lead role of Joseph Sapha. The supporting cast includes Suzan Cameron and Tom Gerrard.
What is the plot of Anti-Clock?
The story follows Joseph Sapha as he moves through his own past in order to confront a mirror-image version of himself. Rather than a conventional sci-fi plot, it functions as a dense, dreamlike meditation on identity and the weight of social expectation.
What makes Anti-Clock's visual style distinctive?
The film was shot using both traditional film stock and early video technology, intercutting vivid colour sequences with stark black-and-white passages. This hybrid approach gives the movie a layered, experimental texture that sets it apart from mainstream British sci-fi of the late 1970s.
Is Anti-Clock available on home video?
Yes — the British Film Institute restored the film and issued it on both DVD and Blu-ray in 2009, making it accessible to modern audiences.
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