370 Cliff in Color! The Technicolor Musicals of Cliff Richard 1961-1964

[MichaelB]

THE YOUNG ONES (Sidney J Furie, 1961, 108 mins)
SUMMER HOLIDAY (Peter Yates, 1963, 108 mins)
WONDERFUL LIFE (Sidney J Furie, 1964, 113 mins)

Release date: 27 January 2026
Limited Edition Blu-ray (US premieres)

Pre-order via the links posted here

Cliff in Color!: The Technicolor Musicals of Cliff Richard brings together three hit-packed Technicolor musicals starring British rock ’n’ roll sensation Cliff Richard, accompanied by the Shadows, and some of British cinema’s best-loved stars, including Robert Morley, Carole Gray, Una Stubbs, Susan Hampshire, Melvyn Hayes, and Richard O’Sullivan.

In 1961’s The Young Ones (originally released in the US as Wonderful to Be Young), Cliff leads a talent show in order to save his youth club from a ruthless property developer. 1963’s Summer Holiday sees Cliff and his chums borrow a double-decker bus for a cross-European road trip. And 1964’s Wonderful Life (titled Swingers’ Paradise stateside) has a shipwrecked Cliff and the Shadows stumble onto a film set.

Featuring the directing talents of Sidney J Furie (The Ipcress File) and Peter Yates (Murphy’s War), this box set also includes the Shadows’ 1964 short film Rhythm ’n’ Greens.

INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION 3 x BLU-RAY BOXSET SPECIAL FEATURES

• 4K restorations of The Young Ones and Summer Holiday
• High Definition remaster of Wonderful Life
• Original mono audio
• Audio commentary on The Young Ones with director Sidney J Furie, filmmaker Paul Lynch and journalist Waylon Wahl (2002)
• Audio commentary on Summer Holiday with director Peter Yates and journalist Jonathan Sothcott (2002)
• Audio commentary on Wonderful Life with director Sidney J Furie, filmmaker Paul Lynch and journalist Waylon Wahl (2002)
• The Years Have Flown (2026): cinematographer Robin Vidgeon talks about his work on The Young Ones
• Cat in the Canaries (2026): Vidgeon recalls the production of Wonderful Life
• A British Phenomenon (2026): composer and author Neil Brand examines Cliff Richard and the Shadows’ rise to fame in the burgeoning era leading to the Swinging Sixties, and how they compare to other artists of that time
• Local and Global Heresies (2026): visual essay by filmmaker and film historian Daniel Kremer examining the career and directing style of Sidney J Furie
• Interview with Bob Stanley (2019): the musician and author focuses on Richard’s performance in Summer Holiday, and the making of the film
• Rhythm ’n’ Greens (1964): comedic short film retracing the history of Britain, starring the Shadows
• On the Set of ‘The Young Ones’ (1961): silent behind-the-scenes footage of the film’s production
• Cliff Drives London Bus! (1962): British Pathé newsreel showing Richard learning to drive the bus featured in Summer Holiday
• First Night to Remember (1963): newsreel footage of Summer Holiday’s West End opening night in London
• Cliff Meets New Lady (1963): Richard and Wonderful Life’s leading lady, Susan Hampshire, meet in front of the British press
• Wonderful First Night (1964): footage of Wonderful Life’s opening night at the Empire, Leicester Square, London
• Summer Holiday Super 8 version (1963): cut-down home cinema presentation of the film
• We’ve Got a Show (1961): Super 8 presentation of The Young Ones’ musical number
• Nothing’s Impossible (1963): Super 8 presentation of Summer Holiday’s musical number
• Cliff Sings ‘Summer Holiday’ (1963): Super 8 presentation of one of Richard’s most popular songs
• Original theatrical trailers
• Image galleries: promotional and publicity materials, and The Young Ones pressbook
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Limited edition exclusive 100-page book with a new essay by Steve O’Brien, archival news articles on Cliff Richard and his first tours of the US, archival production reports on The Young Ones and Wonderful Life, extracts from the Summer Holiday pressbook showing how the film was promoted, and full film credits
• US premiere on Blu-ray
• Limited edition set of 4,000 units for the US
• All features subject to change

#PUSLE370B
REGION A
UPC: 843501041895

[domino harvey]

Interesting set. Never heard of these but a very brave release for the US considering Richard is not a household name here, to put it mildly. Anyone seen these?

Also at first glance I thought that was Oliver Reed cutting a rug on the cover. You can imagine my immense disappointment upon learning my mistake

[reaky]

I laughed to see that this is not going to be available in the UK. I’m sure it’s a question of rights issues, but Cliff’s reputation here is such that I imagine it would make the Mae West set look like a hot ticket by comparison.

[Zot!]

Interesting set. Never heard of these but a very brave release for the US considering Richard is not a household name here, to put it mildly. Anyone seen these?

Somebody actually released this box set on DVD in the US (anchor bay?) and I bought it at the time, being the rare American Shadows fan. The Shadows being Cliff's backing band, who also had some high profile instrumental hits of their own. As such it was disappointing, as the band had very little screen time. Cliff is an electric presence and a legitimate British approximation of something akin to Ricky Nelson. The films themselves are pretty much what you would expect from the UK version of the Elvis film formula. Forgettable, cheery camp, but immediately made irrelevant by the likes of Hard Day's Night. The Young Ones also begot the British Sitcom of the same name.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wk5pO06BdSk

[Paul Moran]

I laughed to see that this is not going to be available in the UK. I’m sure it’s a question of rights issues, but Cliff’s reputation here is such that I imagine it would make the Mae West set look like a hot ticket by comparison.

I think you are correct about rights issues blocking a UK release. Likely the UK rights are owned by Studio Canal. I have the Studio Canal 2019 Blu-ray release of Summer Holiday, plus the much older Optimum Releasing - later acquired by Studio Canal - Cliff Richard Sing-A-Long Collection DVD set, which contains all 3 films. I won't be importing the USA set.

[swo17]

I like Summer Holiday more than any Elvis movie

[JSC]

Rik's favorite!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_5k0ZK4I7g

[MichaelB]

I like Summer Holiday more than any Elvis movie

At the risk of losing whatever vestige of credibility I still possess, at least amongst my compatriots, I have to say it's been huge fun working on these.

[Zot!]

I like Summer Holiday more than any Elvis movie

At the risk of losing whatever vestige of credibility I still possess, at least amongst my compatriots, I have to say it's been huge fun working on these.

Thank you for your service! No doubt, and honestly why not this bit of fun instead of the umpteenth grindhouse or horror barrel scrapings.

[colinr0380]

And of course The Young Ones teamed up with Cliff for a 1980s remake of Living Doll for Comic Relief (still the best charity tie-in single)

[hearthesilence]

Just to give an idea of Cliff Richard's popularity in the UK in cold, hard numbers.

At the risk of losing whatever vestige of credibility I still possess, at least amongst my compatriots, I have to say it's been huge fun working on these.

Besides the films, were you a fan of his records?

[MichaelB]

God, no! What do you take me for?

[colinr0380]

I was into the early 1980s "Wired For Sound" period Cliff the most (his Boogie Nights era), since that's the album my parents played on long car journeys! And of course the start of his big post 1960s resurgence was with the 1988 Christmas song Mistletoe and Wine, which was the beginning of the 'Christian Cliff' period (and I seem to remember some wag around the time that it was inescapable making it sound incredibly filthy with the judicious use of well chosen censorship bleeps!)

The moral of the story is similar to Slade: make a hit Christmas song and you'll get guaranteed revenue every year forever more!

[kubelkind]

"Christian Cliff" commenced a lot earlier than 1988, unfortunately... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5TJQcy2c14
I'd still stand by 1959's "Dynamite" as one of the top drawer Brit rock 'n' roll records, and surprisingly rude for Cliff, as it concerns his stick of dynamite being ready to explode or something like that. And, yes, these films are indeed kinda fun, any British person of appropriate age will have seen them at least in part on TV at some point in their lives. I heard that their proximity to the Bollywood style, together with Richard's birth in colonial-era "British India" (ahem) won him a considerable following in India too.

[jlnight]

#Christmas time, mistletoe and wine, children singing Christian rhyme... she is a devil woman with evil on her mind, she is a devil woman, she's gonna getcha from behind... Carrie doesn't live here any more, Carrie used to live on the second floor... it's so funny, how we don't talk anymore, and I ain't losing sleep, and I ain't counting sheep (sheep)... got myself a crying, talking, sleeping, walking, living doll... we're all going on a summer holiday... and we may not be the young ones any more...#

Love him or loathe him, that sample medley shows you couldn't get a Cliff tune out of your head. Add to this his impromptu appearances during a Wimbledon downpour and during Cilla's funeral, and it cements Cliff's legendary status. (And he forced BBC News into a humiliating backtrack).

Doesn't the plot of Summer Holiday involve Cliff being attracted to a young girl while she is disguised as a young chap?

[MichaelB]

(And he forced BBC News into a humiliating backtrack)

Quite rightly - that was one of the lowest points in the BBC's entire history. What on earth were they thinking?

South Yorkshire Police didn't come out of it brilliantly either, and Cliff Richard duly sued them both, and won handsomely - here's the full judgement.

[Lowry_Sam]

Devil Woman was one of the first 7" singles I ever bought as a kid, however I never purchased another Cliff Richard record again. From memory We Don't Talk Any More was the only other song from him that became a hit in the US and I don't remember any interest in his back catalog as a result of these 2 hits. I imagine they're hoping that Cliff Richard fans in the UK have region-free players.

I still have yet to watch my copy of Expresso Bongo, which I assume has its rights tied up for too long to include it in a box, which is just as well as I don't think I'd spring for a box just to get it.

[colinr0380]

Incidentally Summer Holiday is showing on BBC2 this coming Saturday!

[MichaelB]

I still have yet to watch my copy of Expresso Bongo, which I assume has its rights tied up for too long to include it in a box, which is just as well as I don't think I'd spring for a box just to get it.

Including it wasn't an option anyway, but it arguably wouldn't have been a particularly good fit - it's tonally quite different, and the film's main star is Laurence Harvey, not Cliff Richard. And it's in black and white.

[hearthesilence]

I can't say I listen to his records either (I was never moved to become more familiar with his work), but I do have one single in my library: "Whenever God Shines His Light," which is actually a duet with Van Morrison on Avalon Sunset, one of Morrison's better albums from a very uneven decade. (Sadly the following decades have been worse. The less said about his recent nuttery, the better.) Richard still sounds anodyne but played against Van Morrison's deep gruff vocals, it somehow balances out.

[GaryC]

Devil Woman was one of the first 7" singles I ever bought as a kid,

That's quite bluesy for a Cliff single of the 1970s, and to think he almost didn't record it because he didn't think it accorded with his Christian beliefs.

Note to the musicians out there: it's played in Drop-D tuning.

[Swift]

My mam was a bit of a fan of his when I was growing up, although I do remember having a fondness for Mistletoe and Wine (think we even learned it at school that year) and Summer Holiday (which I can vaguely remember singing on cub scout bus trips). Caught bits of that film over the years but never watched it in full, and I don't think I was aware until now that he made more than that.

[thirtyframesasecond]

Fortunately for Britain, the Beatles made Cliff's "rock 'n' roll" redundant, but fair play to him he had hits over several decades and his annual calendar still sells well to ladies of a certain age, I gather!

[MichaelB]

Final specs:



...and per disc:

The Young Ones:




Summer Holiday:




Wonderful Life:

[MichaelB]

Mondo Digital.