UK “suedehead” subculture film ‘Bronco Bullfrog’ gets new 2K restoration, in theaters this spring

British director Barney Platt-Mills' 1970 film Bronco Bullfrog is a protopunk cult classic that's set in the mod-related "Suedehead" subculture. (If you've ever wondered about Morrissey's debut solo single, this may offer a little context.) Unavailable anywhere for years, it's just gotten a new 2K restoration and will be showing in U.S. theaters this spring. Here's the synopsis:

Seventeen year old Del, with no money and nowhere to go, breaks into train cars with his cool, fresh out of borstal (reform school) pal Bronco Bullfrog. But one day he meets the lovely Irene, and despite an earful from his dad (and her mum), the two young lovers run away together… but to where?

Shot in London’s East End in 1969, cast with Doc Marten-wearing “suedehead” locals, and set to a dynamic soundtrack by early 70s art rock band Audience, Bronco Bullfrog has been compared to the work of Mike Leigh and Ken Loach, but with a punk rock spirit. After a minuscule American release following its Edinburgh and Cannes premieres, this “lost gem” (Dave Calhoun, Time Out) returns over 50 years later as a cult landmark of two teens in love

You can watch the trailer below.

The newly restored print of Bronco Bullfrog will premiere at NYC's Film Forum on March 25, and then screen at The Austin Film Society on April 6, Seattle's Beacon Cinema on April 15, and Portland, OR's The Hollywood Theatre on April 18.

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