Shot in 1999, but never released, Milestone Films and Kino Lorber will finally release the new 4K restoration of the long-lost comedy film, The Annihilation of Fish, starring James Earl Jones, Lynn Redgrave, and Margot Kidder.
Adapted from a short story by Anthony C. Winkler, The Annihilation of Fish is directed by Charles Burnett, winner of an Honorary Academy Award for lifetime achievement. It is described as “a tender comedy that gracefully tackles such issues as race, mental illness, and aging with anarchic humor and energy.”
The movie made its world premiere at the 1999 Toronto International Film Festival and was acquired for distribution. But following a single bad review in Variety, the distributor canceled the film’s release. For almost a quarter of a century, the film has been unavailable on all media — it has never been distributed on 35mm, DCP, VHS, DVD, Blu-ray, television, or streaming — anywhere.
The Annihilation of Fish will open in theaters in NYC on Friday, February 14th at BAM Rose Cinemas and in LA on February 20th at the American Cinematheque (Los Feliz 3 Theatre).
In The Annihilation of Fish, Lynn Redgrave plays Poinsettia, a former housewife with an imagined lover in the form of 19th-century composer Giacomo Puccini. She moves into a Los Angeles boarding house with an energetic landlady (Margot Kidder) where she meets a Jamaican widower, Fish (James Earl Jones), who has recently been released from a mental institution despite his continued battles against unseen demons. In the face of personal challenges and differences, the couple grows together and begins to discover new things about themselves and the nuances of love and happiness.
Watch the trailer for The Annihilation of Fish
Restoration Credits:
Restored by UCLA Film & Television Archive and The Film Foundation in collaboration with Milestone Films. Funding provided by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation. Restored from the 35mm original picture negative and 35mm optical track negative. Laboratory services by Roundabout Entertainment, Inc., FotoKem, Audio Mechanics, Simon Daniel Sound. Special thanks to Charles Burnett, John Demps, Dennis Doros, Amy Heller. UCLA Restorationist: Jillian Borders.