Follow Me (1972) (UK Import) on DVD

If there’s one thing we love to do at Network it's to take series and films that were roundly ignored (or pilloried) on their original release and make them available to appreciative new viewers – and you'll probably never find a better example of an overlooked gem than Follow Me. Even director Carol Reed's biography makes scant mention of this, his directorial swansong.

Hollywood ingénue Mia Farrow and stalwart character actor Michael Jayston star as a married couple in crisis – suspecting his wife of infidelity, the husband hires a private detective (Topol, then at the height of his Fiddler on the Roof fame) to follow her, only to set into motion an elaborate game of cat and mouse. Adapted from the popular play The Public Eye, by award-winning writer Peter Shaffer, Follow Me showcases its dazzling London locations to memorable effect, set to a haunting score by legendary composer John Barry.

With all these elements in play, Follow Me seemed assured of success, and yet it inexplicably underperformed on release. Disappearing into oblivion, it’s now fondly remembered as a much sought-after film, barely glimpsed on television and virtually unobtainable on home media.

Now, with everyone here at Network falling for its gentle-but-infectious humour, we’re setting the record straight and are proud to reintroduce Follow Me to viewers with this release – presented in its original Panavision widescreen aspect ratio from High Definition materials supplied by Universal. It includes a limited edition booklet by John Barry experts Geoff Leonard & Pete Walker and Professor Laura Mayne and – in a world first – John Barry's original score as an isolated music track. Previously only available commercially as a re-recording – and edited down in the film itself – this will be the first time that Barry's original, full-length cues have been heard anywhere outside Universal's editing room in 1971.

Part whimsical romantic comedy, part dreamy London time capsule, this beguiling film deserves the wider audience that eluded it originally in theatres – it’s long past time for it to finally have its day in the sun.