The Hard Part Begins w/SLIP

50th anniversary special edition!

Veteran country musician Jim King (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kids Donnelly Rhodes) has spent decades honing his craft, but he has yet to find success beyond the small-town touring circuit. With a prominent record label circling his current band, King and Country, Jim may be on the brink of a professional breakthrough, but the rest of his life is in disarray. From a suicidal son (Death Wish IIs David Daniels) and a terminally ill friend (Phobia’s Neil Vipond) to a rocky romance with his bandmate Jenny (Pinocchio’s Birthday Party’s Nancy Belle Fuller), Jims life is hard and its only getting harder.

The feature directorial debut of celebrated Canadian genre filmmaker Paul Lynch (Prom Night), The Hard Part Begins blends the vivid Canadiana of independent classic Goin Down the Road with the unsentimental moral complexity of New Hollywood staples like Five Easy Pieces. Featuring a career-defining performance by Rhodes and a collection of unforgettable original songs, The Hard Part Begins is a lost treasure that’s finally getting the break it deserves.

directed by:Paul Lynch
starring:Donnelly Rhodes, Nancy Belle Fuller, Paul Bradley, Linda Sorensen, Robert Hawkins, Doug McGrath, David Daniels, Leslie Carlson, Neil Vipond
1973 / 87 min / 1.85:1 / EnglishDTS-HD MA 1.0

Additional info:

• Region A Blu-ray
• Newly scanned and restored in 4K from the original 16mm reversal by Canadian International Pictures with sound transferred from the original 16mm magnetic final mix
• Audio commentary featuring director Paul Lynch and former TIFF senior programmer Steve Gravestock
• Audio commentary featuring Paul Corupe of Canuxploitation.com and film historian Jason Pichonsky
• A Filmmaker Begins (2023, 26 min.) New interview with Lynch
• After the Hard Part (2023, 13 min.) Lynch reflects on his body of work
• Evolution of a Cinephile (2023, 9 min.) Lynch discusses his passion for cinema
• An Actor Begins (2023, 22 min.) New interview with actor David Daniels
• The Easy Parts Await (2023, 12 min.) Film historian/filmmaker Daniel Kremer on the early career of Lynch
• Reyes on Rhodes (2023, 12 min.) Film historian/author Amanda Reyes on the career of actor Donnelly Rhodes
• Interview with Donnelly Rhodes (1989, 4 min.)
• New audio interviews with actor/associate producer Hugh Curry (17 min.) and editor William Gray (14 min.)