Pink String And Sealing Wax

The extras on this Studiocanal release are exactly the sort of thing that film fans are looking for, offering both a personal and a professional view of the film. Googie Withers' daughter Joanna McCallum proves to be an excellent companion to her mum's work. Offering anecdotes and observations about both Withers and her dad John McCallum's life and careers. Her chat extends far beyond Pink String & Sealing Wax to consider her mother's working relationship with Hamer and the personality as a whole - she was a woman who "always looked forward".

Senior lecturer in film studies Melanie Williams also proves an excellent guide to the film, setting it within Ealing's output of the period and offering insights into Withers' career. She is an expert in gender in cinema and it shows. The fact that both of these extras are anchored by women is unusual - which is a shame. It would be good to see distributors more generally having faith in female academics and critics to talk about all aspects of films and not just reserved for those with specific 'women's interest'. The extras also include an excellent set of still photographs from the set, one of which shows the heartwarming sight of Hamer showing Jackson how to hug Withers.

If you have an interest in Withers, this film is well worth buying for the additional material alone, and the restored print, with deep blacks and crisp definition - shown alongside the original in an additional extra - looks terrific.