Take It Or Leave It, starring Madness, coming back to cinemas in a new restoration
A world premiere of the restoration including a Q&A with band members will take place at BFI Southbank, before the film returns to cinemas nationwide on 2 October.
Take It Or Leave It, originally released in 1981, is the highly entertaining and brilliantly nostalgic story of how Madness, one of the most successful and enduring British bands of all time, originally got together. Now newly restored in 4K by the BFI, it will be back on the big screen on 2 October 2026, released in cinemas in the UK and Ireland by BFI Distribution, followed by a BFI Blu-ray/DVD (Dual Format Edition) release on 19 October.
A restoration world premiere + Q&A with members of the band will take place in BFI Southbank’s NFT1 on 30 September at 6.30pm. The cinema rerelease will be supported by a brand-new trailer and new quad poster, and the Blu-ray/DVD will contain new extra features including filmed interviews.
Take It Or Leave It was filmed after Madness had enjoyed a bunch of Top 10 singles – the first was One Step Beyond in 1979 – and endeared themselves to the British public with the humour of their iconic music videos. Travelling back in time, this is how a bunch of seven mates living in Camden Town in the late 70s formed the band – the jobs they left behind, the line-up changes, the rows, the laughs, and how their distinctive ska-pop ‘Nutty Sound’ evolved.
The film’s 1981 release came alongside the band’s third album Seven. Along with the classic Madness line-up, Graham McPherson (Suggs), Mark Bedford (Bedders), Lee Thompson (El Thommo), Carl Smyth (Chas Smash), Dan Woodgate (Woody), Chris Foreman (Chrissy Boy) and Mike Barson (Barzo), also appearing and all playing themselves are John Hasler, Andrew Chalk, Ian Tokins, Simon Birdsall, and Clive Langer, who, with his producing partner Alan Winstanley, shaped the defining sound of the band.
Produced and directed by Stiff Records’ supremo Dave Robinson, his first feature film, with no written script and no ‘acting’ the film was completely based on real events with improvised dialogue. The band were all in on the idea of making a film and even contributed to the budget, seeing it as a good investment and a natural step since they had such a huge visual identity. Madness wanted an honest and authentic filmed recreation of their journey to show how ‘ordinary’ people can form a band and make a record.
Most of the film is shot in an original location, including at Camden’s legendary Dublin Castle where the band successfully convince the owners to give them a gig. One venue, the Acklam Hall, had to be recreated since it was no longer available after a fire. Other well-known north London sites seen but sadly no longer there, are Rock On Records and Pathway Studios.
The soundtrack includes a mix of both live and studio recordings and among the Madness hits to be heard are ‘One Step Beyond’, ‘Night Boat to Cairo’, ‘My Girl’, ‘Baggy Trousers’ and ‘Embarrassment’.
Enjoyed but not widely seen in cinemas at the time, the film made its way to DVD but Take It Or Leave It now skanks back to cinemas in a spanking new BFI 4K digital restoration using the only surviving 35mm prints, with the original Dolby stereo audio mix, and has its first ever Blu-ray release. It follows previous BFI music film re-releases of classics Dance Craze (1981) in 2023 and Slade in Flame (1975) in 2025, both of which saw fans flocking back to cinemas and buying in droves to keep and watch at home.
BFI Southbank tickets for the screening + Q&A on 30 September will be on sale here: to BFI Members from Tue 4 August and on general sale from Thurs 6 August.