Samuel LoveI’ve been covering home entertainment for many years, and have certainly felt that we have been recently living in something of a golden age for it. Boutique labels are flourishing and films of all eras (and of all quality) are getting the best treatment they’ve ever had. But it takes a lot for a release to leave me truly speechless. Bloody Legend: The Complete Cliff Twemlow Collection from Severin Films is one of these releases.
Following 2023’s wonderful documentary Mancunian Man: The Legendary Life of Cliff Twemlow (included within this exhaustive boxset), Severin has pulled out all the stops to offer an incredible tribute to an unsung legend of independent filmmaking. Instead of just cherry-picking Cliff’s ‘best’ films, this boxset includes every film he ever made along with over 13 hours of special features and a CD of Cliff’s music. Cliff’s films are absolute trash, but are made with such love and can-do spirit that it’s difficult not to get swept up in them. Don’t expect any of them to push your home cinema to its limit, though – these are cheap, nasty, shot-on-video efforts that look and sound pretty dire. And yet, again, there is something just so inherently loveable about them that they become oddly compelling. A lesser distributor wouldn’t even think about putting out a release like this – but those wonderful folks at Severin have done an absolutely magnificent job in unearthing, restoring, and gathering this eclectic set of films together for the first time alongside the 2023 documentary.
Much like the raw passion on display in Cliff’s work, there is a real love behind this release that celebrates the underdog and shines a celebratory light on those with a camera and a dream. For any of these films to even be remotely accessible now after so many years is in itself remarkable, let alone together on Blu-ray(!!!) in one collection, backed with so many supplemental features, alternate cuts, and more. A staggering project.
Bloody Legend: The Complete Cliff Twemlow Collection is a strong contender for the best physical media release of 2025 – it’s one that will certainly go down in history (albeit with a niche cult audience). Just incredible work from all involved, and a wonderful display of the importance of film preservation. Now, Cliff Twemlow is truly immortal – just as he always wanted.
The BLOODY LEGEND boxset is only available as a US import, but can be purchased from UK-based online retailer Film Treasures. Mancunian Man and most of Cliff’s films will be available digitally in the UK from 28 July 2025.
Synopsis
Cliff Twemlow was a nightclub bouncer, composer, novelist, actor, filmmaker and unsung ‘80s UK legend. For more than a decade, the unstoppable Manchester native – along with a devoted team of local doormen, martial artists, variety performers, models, girlfriends, gym friends, family members and B-listers – created his own low-budget shot-on-video empire via a bollock-bashing oeuvre of gangster films, horror movies, spy thrillers, sci-fi epics and beyond.
This first-ever Intervision Picture Corp. box set brings together every film by “The Orson Welles of Eccles” – including his infamous Section 3 ‘video nasty’ G.B.H./GRIEVOUS BODILY HARM – sourced from their original tape masters, as well as 2023’s “sweet, moving and very, very funny” (Deadline Hollywood) documentary MANCUNIAN MAN: THE LEGENDARY LIFE OF CLIFF TWEMLOW directed by Jake West, plus unfinished projects, over 13 hours of Special Features, a CD featuring Cliff’s music from DAWN OF THE DEAD and much more.
– For full disc contents, specs and to buy direct visit Severin Films’ website –
Bloody Legend: The Complete Cliff Twemlow Collection is available on Blu-ray from Severin Films on 29 July 2025
