The Alan Clarke Collection

BLUE UNDERGROUND

ALAN CLARKE ISN'T widely known in the States, primarily because most of his films were made for the BBC. But in the 70s and 80s he was hailed in England for directing gritty, socially conscious portraits of less genteel members of British society, like football hooligans and skinheads.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this five-disc set, but Clarke was a real whack on the back of the skull.

I wasn't the only one who was shocked to learn that these films were made for the BBC-the BBC was, too. They banned Scum in 1977 for its unrelenting portrayal of the violence inflicted upon kids within the youth detention system. The BBC's refusal to air the film led Clarke to remake it as a theatrical release two years later. And though both deal with the same issue in much the same way, they're different enough to justify including both versions here.

While Scum is certainly a respectable film, the other three included here are astonishing.

Made in Britain, starring Tim Roth in his first screen role, covers a few days in the life of an incorrigible 16-year-old skinhead. After tossing a brick through a shop window, he's sent to a halfway house to be evaluated by social workers. While there, he continues to steal cars, mouth off and start fights. And in the end (unlike namby-pamby offerings like American History X) there's nothing even close to "redemption." Roth gives an absolutely electrifying performance as a rage-filled youth who has no future, knows it, and doesn't give a damn.

Gary Oldman is equally good in The Firm, playing a middle-aged real estate salesman who's also a football hooligan. It's a brilliant snapshot of the private lives of the people we normally see in news footage tearing up soccer stadiums and beating each other with pipes.

(Interestingly, Clarke never shows any soccer being played. Even when Oldman and his mates take a trip to see a big match, they never look at the field.)

In a way, it's reminiscent of A Clockwork Orange, but with older thugs who hold respectable jobs.

Elephant, which Clarke made shortly before his death, is perhaps his most brutal and experimental film. With little dialogue and no solid plot, Clarke's take on the Irish Question simply involves a series of savage murders near the border between Northern and Southern Ireland. There's no explanation, no explicit political content; just bloody, nasty killings. (It was clearly the inspiration for Gus van Sant's 2003 film.)

The five films are on four discs, and each comes with its own extras-commentaries, interviews, poster galleries. A fifth disc contains a feature-length documentary about Clarke's life and career.

(One warning: the regional accents can get pretty thick, and you'll want to brush up on your British slang beforehand.)

JIM KNIPFEL