The Committee

Peter Sykes's mysterious 1968 head film The Committee might be better known for its rock associations than its philosophical overtones, but now you can wrap your mind's eye around both aspects, as this rare work has finally been properly released. The bizarre story thematically concerns a theory counterculture psychiatrist R.D. Laing who maintained that schizophrenia was the only logical response to an insane world. Like many films of its ilk, The Committee starts off incredibly strong but soon gets bogged down by its own humourless pseudo-intellectual weight. Luckily, it's only 55 minutes long, and the mostly unreleased improvisational score by Pink Floyd (the sessions that yielded "Careful with that Axe, Eugene") and rare performance footage of Arthur Brown, as well as the lead role by Paul Jones (anyone remember Manfred Mann?) will hold psych-rock fans' interests.