The forbidden-love story The Debut (1977) was the first full-length feature from pioneering filmmaker Nouchka van Brakel. Following the theme of Stanley Kubrick’s Lolita (1962) and Michael Powell’s Age of Consent (1969) – only this time time told from a female perspective – van Brakel’s The Debut (1977) tells the delicate story off the impossible love between a teenage girl and a middle-aged married man. Based on the controversial novel by Hester Albach, The Debut is a subversive comedy drama and the first commercially successful Dutch theatrical film directed by a woman.
Cult Epics presents Nouchka van Brakel’s The Debut for the first time on DVD and Blu-ray in North America in a new High-definition transfer.
Netherlands / 1977 / Color / Aspect ratio 1.66:1 / 95 Minutes / Dutch language with optional English subtitles / LPCM 2.0 Mono/DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono
Netherlands / 1977 / Color / Aspect ratio 1.66:1 / 95 Minutes / Dutch language with optional English subtitles / LPCM 2.0 Mono/Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
“When I threw in the Debut in my Blu-ray player, I felt like I was watching a film made by a kindred spirit, and there are scenes in my new film Red Rocket that people gonna think that I ripped off from this film.” – Sean Baker, filmmaker
“Cult Epics’ fine new edition not only restores one of the finest debuts of the seventies, but it also harkens back to a time when filmmakers were eager to tackle the controversial subject matter, and audiences weren’t afraid to view them.” – MoonIntheGutter
“Cult Epics’ recent spate of titles from Nouchka van Brakel has opened my eyes to a director I likely would never had heard of otherwise, and that’s always an exciting prospect.” –McBastardsMausoleum
“Cult Epics’ fascinating journey through the world of 1970s Dutch cinema has turned up a few gems and oddities previously overlooked by many English speaking viewers, and that continues with a shift here to Nouchka van Brakel, the country’s first successful female film director.” – MondoDigital
“At long last, a movie that improves upon the book.” – Skoop
“The film owes the presence of MARINA DE GRAAF as Carolien, to the fact that THE DEBUT is well worth watching. A true discovery, that girl. Precisely directed by Nouchka van Brakel into a true creation!” – Elsevier
“The introduction of the characters is so good, the narrative method in film images so adequate, the choice of characteristic human details so striking that the spectator is completely captivated by THE DEBUT.” – Haagse Courant
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