MANCUNIAN MAN: THE LEGENDARY LIFE OF CLIFF TWEMLOW
*****
Directed by Jake West.
Documentary, UK, 124 minutes, Certificate 15.
Released in cinemas and Blu-ray by Severin Films
After an emotional world premiere at last years FrightFest, where much of the cast got to see themselves and snippets of unseen work on a massive IMAX screen, Jake West’s hugely enjoyable documentary of Cliff Twemlow, the greatest weightlifter /bouncer/author/songwriter/screenwriter/actor/producer and panther wrangler you never heard of gets to tour UK cinema screens before the release of a comprehensive Blu-ray boxset, giving a larger audience the chance to learn of this legendary underground filmmaker.
Over two hours West provides an exhaustive, but never exhausting, overview of a figure who achieved so much while never gaining the recognition he more than deserved. A minor cult figure of regional filmmaking Twemlow’s status as a local legend in Manchester is quickly forged at a young age through his bodybuilding and junior boxing. Soon after he begins to make an impressive living as a composer and songwriter despite having no musical training of any kind whatsoever. Beginning a cycle of financial boom and bust that repeats throughout his life, Twemlow becomes a legendary bouncer and author, penning Tuxedo Warrior, a biography that is soon snapped up by a low budget outfit for production. Bearing next to no resemblance to its source material, Twemlow is nevertheless seduced by the glitz of filmmaking and embarks on his next career choice, which just so happens to coincide with the birth of VHS.
Thus begins an ambitious career in low budget filmmaking with the gloriously gory GBH, an over the top tale of bouncers and gangsters on the mean streets of Manchester that soon earned a spot on the Video Nasties list. This mix of over the top violence combined with fast and loose storytelling provides the template for Twemlow’s style and also a form of Achille’s Heel when it comes to his business sense. Whether it is a misplaced faith in choosing directors or always opting for the cheaper option no matter what detrimental effect it could have on the production, Twemlow’s naivety at first is a trait that draws much amusement only for it to become more and more heartbreaking as we bear witness to the rest of his career, which intersects with the likes of George Romero, Peter Stringfellow, Wham and the invasion of Grenada, before his tragic death in the early nineties.
West’s meticulous research and inventive direction provides a solid bedrock for the copious amount of interviews with those who knew Twemlow. Despite the sadness that is tinged throughout the film’s second half it still comes across as a joyous celebration of a larger than life figure. Comparisons could be made with Ed Wood in both that writer/director’s ambition and execution and with Tim Burton’s celebratory biopic of said figure. While both very different in terms of physicality and masculinity these were two men with a passion for filmmaking who inspired feelings of intense loyalty in his collaborators who would also go on to become his friends if they were not already before.
After providing the definitive word on the Video Nasties scandal with his duology of documentaries, West proves himself even more as a chronicler of the under-exposed and unknown figures of cult cinema here. As a primer and guide to Twemlow this is indispensable, especially ahead of the release of the forthcoming Blu-ray boxset. West has painted a portrait of an under-appreciated talent while never shying away from Twemlow’s faults as both a filmmaker and a person. The result being an essential record of genre filmmaking that effortlessly engages the heart and leaves the viewer eager to explore the work of an unheralded character in all senses of the word.
Iain MacLeod
