Following next week’s release of Akenfield will be another film about the countryside; Andrew Grieve’s On the Black Hill (1988). Bob Peck and Gemma Jones star in this adaptation of the celebrated novel by Bruce Chatwin, released on Blu-ray for the first time on in August in a Dual Format Edition as part of the BFI’s Britain on Film: Rural Life project.

Chronicling the travails of the Jones family – Amos (Bob Peck – Jurassic Park), Mary (Gemma Jones – Bridget Jones’s Diary), and their three children – the heart of the story is the intense relationship between their sons, identical twins Benjamin and Lewis (played by real-life brothers Mike and Robert Gwilym). Sharing a unique bond, the brothers journey through eight decades of life, death and hardship together, all the while tied to the land on which they were raised.

The epic sweep of the film takes in two world wars, exploring themes of nationalism, class, community, faith and pacifism. Though unrelenting in its portrayal of the raw experiences of rural life, On the Black Hill celebrates the people of the Black Mountains and its landscape, made transcendent by the magnificent cinematography of Thaddeus O’Sullivan.

On the Black Hill will be released on UK dual format (Blu-ray and DVD) on 22nd August 2016 by the BFI at the RRP of £19.99.

Special features:

• Newly remastered and presented in both High Definition and Standard Definition

• An Introduction by Andrew Grieve (2016, 20 mins): newly-filmed interview with the director

• Special Collections Gallery: a selection of stills and promotional media

• Shadow on the Mountains (Arthur Elton, 1931, 20 mins)

• O’er Hill and Dale (Basil Wright, 1932, 16 mins)

• Complete screenplay and original press book (Downloadable PDFs – DVD only)

• Illustrated booklet with writing by Andrew Grieve, Brian Hoyle, Kevin Jackson, Jonathan Chatwin, Philip Kemp and Kathleen Luckey, and full film credits