The Ghost Of Peter Sellers — The Ghost Of Peter Sellers( Blu Ray)

The Ghost Of Peter Sellers is a late 2010s documentary charting the deeply problematic and ultimately disastrous making of Ghost In The Midday Sun- a  17th-century set pirate comedy.  The early 70s film brought together two of the UK’s great comic talents, Peter Sellers & Spike Milligan, with the then up-and-coming director Peter Medak. The doc is helmed by Medak himself, and is a rather bittersweet look at working with an unpredictable comic genius, making for a very insightful, well-realised, and at times quite moving film. Here from the fine folks at Severin, as part of their recent series of reissues of Mr Medak's filmography, is a Blu-ray release of the film, taking in a few extras.

The Ghost Of Peter Sellers is from the year 2018. It moves between the streets of London and to shores of Cyprus. It was the thirteenth feature film from Medak. His features include erotic psychological drama Negatives (1968), black comedy come farce The Odd Job (1978), haunted house chiller The Changeling (1980), and swashbuckling parody Zorro: The Gay Blade (1981).

In 1973, Peter Sellers – then at the peak of his box-office power and comedic genius – invited Peter Medak – whose recent smash The Ruling Class had been nominated for the Palme d’Or and an Oscar, to make Ghost In The Midday Sun, a film scripted by Spike Milligan, and starring Sellers

The one-hour and thirty-three-minute documentary opens in a decidedly positive and dreamy manner- as Medak remembers back to 1973, and his first day on the set of Ghost In The Midday Sun, where he jumped off the ship used for the film into the blue waters of the Mediterranean.

 As things unfold, we go back to the beginning/ start of the project-  finding out how Sellers propositioned Medak on the streets of London, how the funding was fairly easily sourced due to those involved, and the script was written by Milligan. But fairly soon things started to go a skew- as it becomes clear Sellers hasn’t read the script, as they are getting ready to film.

Medak heads back to Cyprus, revisiting the shooting location, and this is where things go from bad to worse for the production of Ghost In The Midday Sun. The boat they brought/ done up for the film sinks just off the coast, after being repaired, they are hit by stormy weather, and Sellers' unpredictable behaviour, like faking a heart attack to get off the production.

The film is built around interviews with Medak, the likes of both Mr Sellers and Mr Milligan’s assistants, the film's financier, one or two of the actors, and others related to the production/ knew the director. There are clips from Ghost In The Midday Sun,  news reports from the 70’s/ interviews. The flow of the documentary is done very effectively, with documents/ photos/ papers from the film really brought to life.

The Ghost Of Peter Sellers truly is a fascinating look at what should have been a dream project- edged with frustration,  what could have been, and sadness/ loss.

The region-free Blu-ray takes in a few extras. Audio interview with director Peter Medak(17.27) where the director chats with Severin’s David Gregory- this plays over the film. The Ghosts Inside The Scrapbook (20.26) the director looks at the production albums from The Ruling Class to Zorro, The Gay Blade. Love Left The Masquerade: Peter Medak's Cinema Of Pretenders(13.58).

If you have an interest in either difficult film productions, Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan, or just well/made, engaging documentaries, then The Ghost Of Peter Sellers is most certainly worth a look.