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The Scarlet and the Black (1983)
THE AMAZING PRIEST WHO SAVED THOUSANDS FROM THE NAZIS
This classic movie vividly portrays the horrors of the Nazi occupation of many European countries in World War II.
In 'The Scarlet And The Black', the country is Italy and the action takes place during Rome's occupation by the Germans during 1943 - 1944, following Italy's surrender to the Allies.
Rome overflows with escaping Allied POW's after the battles in North Africa and southern Italy - not to mention large numbers of Italian Jews who are now at the mercy of the Nazis. Hitler's infamous SS has all of them within their sights and soon begins rounding them up, together with Italian resistance fighters.
The leader of the SS, Colonel Herbert Kappler, is played by Christopher Plummer who brilliantly portrays Nazi fanaticism at its most terrifying - including its warped racial bigotry and lamentable disregard for human life and dignity.
He meets an opponent from a most unlikely quarter - an Irish Catholic priest, Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty, who is resident in the Vatican and consequently immune from capture by the Germans. Gregory Peck is the Monsignor and his Irish accent, humour and personality are nothing short of perfection.
Monsignor O'Flaherty frustrates Kappler's abhorrent activity at every turn, aided by a brave team of Italian locals. Heinrich Himmler, odious leader of the SS, pays a surprise visit to Italy and admonishes Kappler for his failure to accomplish the arrest and deportation of a bigger complement of political and military prisoners currently in Rome.
As Pope Pius XII, John Geilgud reaches a high spot in his distinguished acting career. The Pope warns O'Flaherty that if he is arrested by Kappler, the church will be unable to protect him, despite the Vatican's neutrality in the war. Undeterred, the Irishman continues to elude Kappler, using a multitude of disguises - including a nun, a coalman and even an SS Officer! Kappler ultimately decides his only solution is to kill O'Flaherty.
'The Scarlet and the Black' presents humanity at its best and appalling worst. The brutality of the SS is dramatically presented when another priest is sadistically tortured and finally shot - by Kappler. It is a permanent reminder of one of the darkest and disturbing periods in world history. Not to be missed.
An American in Paris (1951)
'S WONDERFUL IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT
This beautiful movie is every bit as good as the formidable pool of talent that created it - the song writing genius of George and Ira Gershwin, the legendary dancing of Gene Kelly, Alan J Lerner's inimitable way with words, and the mind blowing power of pianist Oscar Levant.
And that's not all - the film also contains exotic sequences that capture the elegance of the city of light, superb sets, a newly discovered and gorgeous leading lady, and a director with exceptional vision and creative energy, Vincente Minelli.
The title is based on Gershwin's magnificent orchestral tone poem composed on a visit to Paris in 1928. If you love Gershwin's music you will enjoy not only his unforgettable title music, but many other songs by George and his brother which feature throughout the action. They include 'Someone To Watch Over Me','Nice Work If You Can Get it', 'I'll Build A Stairway To Paradise','By Strauss','But Not For Me', 'I've Got A Crush On You', 'Embraceable You' and 'S Wonderful'.
The Gershwins' timeless melodies and Gene Kelly's inspirational dancing more than compensate for a rather hackneyed plot. You can enjoy both at the beginning of the film when he joins his pals dancing to the classic Gershwin standard in waltz time, 'By Strauss'.
The pals include pianist Oscar Levant, a great interpreter of George's music. An exciting section shows Oscar as the piano soloist in a live performance of his friend's legendary 'Concerto in F'. Oscar Levant appears as himself throughout the film, and he proves to be an effective actor as well as a brilliant piano player.
On his own, Gene Kelly delivers a captivating performance of another Gershwin classic 'I Got Rhythm', which takes place outside a typical Paris bistro alongside a delightful assembly of Parisian children.
Gene Kelly plays Jerry Mulligan, an American painter who has settled in Paris at the end of World War II. He has little success until his work is noticed by a wealthy American heiress, Milo Roberts (Nina Foch) - who offers to use her contacts to organise an exhibition of his work.
Much as he admires Milo's beauty and unwavering support, he is more entranced by Lisa Bouvier, played by Leslie Caron in what was her screen debut. He pursues Lisa but she is already committed to another guy - French singer Henri Baurel (Georges Guetary).
Some other dance scenes - including a dreamy night time duet by the River Seine - use another Gershwin evergreen, 'Our Love Is Here To Stay' which is then featured throughout the remainder of the film. Its inclusion adds particular poignancy for lovers of Gershwin, because it was of course the last one he ever wrote.
Leslie Caron complements her dancing duets with Gene Kelly with some spectacular routines of her own. Her role in 'An American In Paris' led to a seven year film contract with MGM.
We are not told if Milo ever organised Jerry's exhibition or if he ever made it as an artist. He meets his rival, Henri, at an art students' ball, which incorporates Gershwin's rousing military masterpiece 'Strike Up The Band'. Who will be the successful suitor?
The movie ends with an 18 minute dance extravaganza which features Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron together with an enormous supporting troop of dancers, all of them backed by Gershwin's original orchestral score for 'An American In Paris'.
The fabulous sets are based on the work of some of the most famous artists who made Paris their home - including Lautrec, Utrillo, Dufy and Renoir. It's like paintings coming to life and very exciting.
'An American In Paris' exudes love, laughter and explosive creativity - the golden age of Hollywood musicals was never more golden than in this elegant production.
Rhapsody in Blue (1945)
A TIMELESS TRIBUTE TO THE MAGIC OF GERSHWIN
'Rhapsody In Blue' was made in 1945, just eight years after George Gershwin's untimely death from a brain tumour at the age of 38. During his tragically short life he gave the world some of its most loved melodies, all of them high in emotional and rhythmic content. But they were only part of his phenomenal creative output. He also wrote solo piano preludes and revolutionary orchestral works . They include the elegant tone poem 'An American In Paris', the 'Concerto In F', the folk opera 'Porgy and Bess' and the enduringly popular 'Rhapsody In Blue' - which gave director Irving Rapper the title for this outstanding picture. And it's just as moving and interesting today as it must have been in 1945.
Robert Alda (Alan's father) plays George Gershwin and Herbert Rudley is his brother Ira - both of them offering an uncanny resemblance to the people concerned. The film gives an accurate account of George's career in music - beginning with his time as a song plugger. He gets a big step up when music publisher Max Dreyfus (Charles Coburn) invites him to join his music publishing business as a songwriter - which leads to the latter offering George's song 'Swanee' to Al Jolson.
'Swanee' becomes a huge success, and more Gershwin songs hit the jackpot after Max introduces the composer to Broadway producer George White (played by himself) in 1920. 'George Whites Scandals' - which ran between 1920 and 1924 - included the Gershwin standards 'Stairway To Paradise' and 'Somebody Loves Me', both of which are featured in elaborate sets in the movie.
But what was arguably Gershwin's biggest break to date comes when bandleader Paul Whiteman asks him to compose a jazz infused orchestral work. Paul Whiteman, who also plays himself, gave the first performance with his band in New York's Aeolian Hall on February 12th 1924 and the movie features the whole of Gershwin's masterpiece.
The concert was a huge success and inaugurated a new era in American musical history - despite the many critics who whined it was not serious music. One of the early scenes in the movie shows Gershwin's teacher - Professor Franck (Albert Bassermann)- suggesting to his pupil that he has the potential to create a new musical voice for America. The 1924 concert proved him correct.
Aside from 'Rhapsody In Blue', the film includes a feast of other classic Gershwin songs - 'The Man I Love', 'Embraceable You', 'I Got Rhythm', Liza, 'Love Walked In', 'Bidin' My Time', 'Lady Be Good','Fascinating Rhythm', 'Summertime' ,'Our Love Is Here To Stay' ,'Nice Work If You Can Get It', 'S Wonderful', 'It Aint Necessarily So', and arguably the most poignant of all, 'Someone To Watch Over Me'.
'Rhapsody In Blue' includes some interesting observations on Gershwin's character, personality and love life. Was his frenetic work ethic a premonition of his early death? Two fictitious girl friends - Julie Adams (Joan Leslie) and Christine Gilbert (Alex Smith) - turn down his proposal of marriage on the grounds that his singular devotion to music will not be conducive to a happy union. In reality, Gershwin's long term lover was another composer, Kay Swift, and she is not mentioned.
So the movie is economical with the truth, and it's apparent again in a scene in which his father helps with the melody of "'S Wonderful". Morris Gershvin ((Morris Carnovsky) actually had a problem with his son's songs, the words as well as the music. A Russian immigrant, his English was not good and he believed 'Fascinating Rhythm' was called 'Fashion On The River'. And there are claims that Al Jolson took a shine to 'Swanee' after hearing Gershwin play it at a party, not from a telephone call from Max Dreyfus!
But regardless of factual details, 'Rhapsody in Blue' is a joyous celebration of Gershwin's life and music. A fine cast is complemented by the memorable characters who take part as themselves. Paul Whiteman is a larger than life bandleader whose flair for publicity includes putting his portrait on to his percussionist's bass drum! Oscar Levant is a feisty and witty charmer, not to mention a brilliant pianist and a great interpreter of both 'Rhapsody In Blue' and the 'Concerto In F'. Al Jolson makes an interesting appearance singing 'Swanee' in black face, and the great jazz pianist Hazel Scott gives electrifying performances of 'The Man I Love' and 'I Got Rhythm' in a Paris night club.
Gershwin's wonderful working relationship with brother Ira comes out strongly over the entire production. Songs from many of their most famous stage musicals - many of which were later made into movies - are included. The formidable list includes 'Lady Be Good', 'Funny Face', 'Strike Up The Band'. 'Oh Kay!', 'Of Thee I Sing', 'Tip Toes', and 'Girl Crazy'. The most famous of all - the folk opera 'Porgy and Bess' concludes the Gershwin story.
Again, it received plenty of bad notices and regrettably Gershwin never lived to see the worldwide appreciation and iconic status it later achieved. In a final scene, Max Dreyfus compliments Gershwin on 'Porgy And Bess', and congratulates him on at last making opera entertaining.
' Rhapsody In Blue is a timeless tribute to a beautiful musical mind. Gershwin continues to touch the hearts of millions - if you love his music you will never get tired of watching this epic movie.
A Night to Remember (1958)
HISTORY'S MOST FAMOUS SHIPWRECK
Of the many movies about the most terrifying maritime disaster of all time, I rate 'A Night To Remember' as easily the best. It was made in black and white in 1958 and stars Kenneth More as Charles Lightoller - Second Officer on the ill fated Titanic. My high ranking of 'A Night To Remember' draws on two key elements - its historical accuracy and its emphasis on the facts. Unlike other much bigger budget movies on Titanic, it concentrates on what happened on the night of April 14th 1912 - when the world's biggest ocean liner struck an iceberg in the Atlantic on its maiden voyage to New York, and sank within four hours.
In addition to 'A Night To Remember' my collection of Titanic movies also includes Titanic (1953), SOS Titanic (1979 ) , Raise The Titanic (1980), and James Cameron's Titanic (1997). All of these productions combine accounts of the ship's sinking with imaginary stories about some of the ship's passengers - all very entertaining, but if you want to clearly understand the factors which combined to cause the Titanic to rapidly descend into the freezing depths of the North Atlantic, look no further than 'A Night To Remember'.
The film is based on the book of the same name by Walter Lord. It is regarded highly by Titanic historians and survivors for its accuracy, despite its modest production values compared with James Cameron's Oscar winning epic in 1997. Although the latter is stunning in its recreation of the boat and the speed in which it sank, the full horror of its demise is felt more acutely in 'A Night To Remember'. The fact that it is in black and white takes you back in time to the year 1912, and stimulates the imagination very vividly - a quality which distinguishes all great movies.
' A Night To Remember' presents a brilliant contrast in the social levels of the passengers and crew. The opulence and luxury which the privileged travellers in first class passengers enjoyed is a far cry from those in third class - many of them poor Irish immigrants seeking a better life in America - and an even further cry from the black gang heaving coal in the ship's stokehold.
The naval officers are portrayed most believably by a very fine cast - aside from Kenneth More as Second Officer Charles Lightoller, Laurence Naismith plays the Titanic's master, Captain Edward J Smith, and Anthony Bushell is the Captain of the 'Carpathia' which rescues the 705 survivors. Michael Goodliffe is superb as the ship's builder, Thomas Andrews, who has the unenviable task of telling Captain Smith it is a mathematical certainty the Titanic is going to sink. With his supposedly unsinkable ship in its death throes, Andrews makes no attempt to save himself and awaits his fate in the first class smoking room. There is another ship closer by than the 'Carpathia', but its crew fail to recognise the Titanic's distress rockets, and the Captain, Stanley Lord (Russell Napier), suggests they may be signalling to another ship.
Although the movie is largely about the boat and the reasons for its untimely end, the nature and emotions of the passengers are also realistically examined -the wealthy few in first class, the happy go lucky Irish migrants in steerage, newlywed couples, happy children, loving parents, kind nannys, calm and helpful stewards. And there is humour, when the ships chief baker (George Rose)) gets legless on a bottle of whiskey and survives the sinking in consequence.
There is the calm acceptance of the danger by some of the first class passengers like Robbie Lucas (John Merivale) and his wife Liz (Honor Blackman), the heroic determination of the American lady Molly Brown (Tucker Maguire) to rescue people from the freezing water into her llifeboat, and the decision by Mrs Isadore Strauss to stay with her husband and not to participate in 'women and children first.'
The boss of the White Star Line, J Bruce Ismay (Frank Lawton) saves his skin by sneaking into a lifeboat at the last moment. Captain Smith remains calm to the end, ultimately reluctantly giving the order to 'abandon ship' before returning to his bridge to face the inevitable.
More heroism is captured in the sequences featuring the ship's band, which continues to play as the ship sinks lower and lower. The band's leader, Wallace Hartley (Charles Belchier), goes calmly through his playlist identifying appropriate songs, including 'Nearer My God To Thee'- believed to be the last song played before the Titanic went under.
The panic at the end is spine chilling, as the passengers still on board cling to the last section of the boat remaining out of the water. Many are third class passengers who, unbelievably, have been prevented from coming on deck while the wealthy are ushered into lifeboats - which are hopelessly inadequate for the 2000 passengers on board.
Charles Lightoller survives the tragedy and proceeds to go through some of the 'if onlys' - if only we had slowed down before entering the ice field, if only we'd spotted the iceberg earlier, if only the California's crew had recognised the peril the liner was in, if only the Carpathian had been nearer.
'A Night To Remember' is as thought provoking as it is historically significant. It is a memorable record of a British social order which ended with the First World War in 1914, destined never to return. It is a classic which thoroughly deserves its pre-eminent status in British movie making.
For the Term of His Natural Life (1983)
AN INNOCENT MAN FACING A LIFE OF HELL
If ever you feel unhappy and discontented with the modern world, watching 'For The Term Of His Natural Life' will put an end to your grumbling and make you grateful you are living in the twenty first century and not the nineteenth. This gripping and disturbing movie begins in the year 1834, when England shipped criminals to penal settlements in Australia. Men, women and children were transported to a British colony on the other side of the world - often to serve life sentences of imprisonment imposed as a result of amazingly petty crimes.
One of these unfortunate wretches is the central character of the film, which was made in Australia in 1983. Rufus Dawes (Colin Friels) is wrongly convicted of stealing a watch and sentenced to transportation to Australia - in the words of the judge 'for the term of your natural life'. Based on the novel by Marcus Clarke, the movie shows not only the severity and inhumanity of the penal code of the day, but also the barbaric nature of the treatment of convicts under the transportation system.
Bad luck continues to stalk Dawes on his voyage to Australia. He is once more wrongly accused - this time of master minding a mutiny by the convicts - which earns him six months solitary confinement upon his arrival at Macquarie Harbour, the site of the toughest convict prison in Tasmania. A punishing regime of hard labour follows, overseen by Captain Vickers (Patrick Macnee), the tough but fair commander of the prison colony.
The same cannot be said of his deputy, Lieutenant Maurice Frere (Rod Mullinar), a sadistic disciplinarian who proceeds to bully, abuse and provoke Dawes. When he finally snaps and attacks his tormentor, more solitary confinement follows - this time on a bleak isolated rock out to sea. Frere's vicious behaviour shows dramatically how power can quickly create a monster. In desperation, Dawes jumps off the rock and manages to swim ashore.
At the same time, the penal settlement is moved west/east from Macquarie Harbour to Port Arthur, and in another convict mutiny at sea, Frere is captured by convicts and abandoned on a beach, together with Major Vickers' wife (Samantha Eggar) and daughter Sylvia (Penelope Stewart).
By chance they come across the fleeing Dawes, who builds a coracle enabling them all to be rescued at sea. Frere promises Dawes a pardon, but subsequently goes back on his word and claims Dawes tried to kill him and the Vickers family - vivid proof of the impossibility of winning when faced with a compulsive liar. Dawes is sent to Port Arthur to continue his sentence, where he is ordered to flog another prisoner and then flogged himself for refusing to finish the requisite lashes .
While working in the prison coal mine, the luckless Dawes is wrongly convicted yet again - this time of murdering a fellow prisoner, for which he is sentenced to death. He is saved by the bravery and humanity of the prison chaplain. The Reverend North - brilliantly played by Anthony Perkins - changes place with Dawes and gives him his clerical attire- enabling him to escape from Port Arthur to temporary freedom on a boat to Sydney . His miraculous escape is one of many unexpected twists in Marcus Clarke's riveting narrative.
The sets for this epic movie are superb - the wilderness of Tasmania, the brutal environment of the prisons, the romance of sea voyages in the years of sail, not to mention the horror of storms at sea. 'For The Term Of His Natural Life' brings hardship, brutality, treachery, repression to stark reality. And most importantly, it shows the resilience of the human spirit in the face of impossible odds. It's not a happy tale, but without doubt you should not miss this exciting movie based on a dark chapter in English history.
Bird (1988)
AN UNFORGETTABLE PORTRAIT OF GENIUS
AN UNFORGETTABLE PORTRAIT OF GENIUS
Charlie Parker was born in 1920 and died at the early age of 34 in 1955. In between those years he revolutionised the art of jazz, inspired whole generations of musicians, and created sounds and melodic invention that were adopted by composers and arrangers for years to come, and which are still widely favoured today. Apart from being the saxophone's greatest virtuoso he was also a composer, often basing his work on his improvisations. A critic once said that 'Charlie composed every time he played'.
You'll hear lots of his well known ones in 'Bird' - Clint Eastwood's powerful and at times disturbing account of Charlie's troubled life and times. Clint is a lifelong jazz fan and 'Bird' is very well researched. Charlie Parker is one of his favourite musicians, alongside Lester Young, Dave Brubeck and Fats Waller.
His wide knowledge of Charlie Parker - whom he heard in the flesh - has ensured that 'Bird' is graced with many of the great man's most enduring and well loved tracks. Lovers of Parker's music will recognise iconic titles like 'Now's The Time', 'Cool Blues', 'Billy's Bounce', and 'Ornithology'.
Charlie Parker is played with consummate sensitivity and emotional power by Forest Whitaker while Diana Venora is Chan, his long suffering but very loyal partner. There are some brilliant scenes of him on the stands of New York jazz clubs in 52nd Street in the 40's ad 50's, when bebop and modern jazz were very much in vogue. As a saxophone player myself I can confirm that somebody had given Forest Whitaker some useful tutelage on the instrument because the positions of his fingering are accurate.
Throughout the movie Charlie's drug and alcohol abuse looms large. His addictions are not helped by the fact that despite his brilliance and that of other great bebop players - like Dizzy Gillespie (Samuel L Wright) and Red Rodney (Michael Zelniker) - either people didn't understand the music or simply didn't like it. Bird and Diz take a group to LA, but the tour is cancelled in the light of diminishing audiences.
His mental health is also not helped by rampant racism There are very moving scenes when he plays in Paris to huge enthusiastic audiences who throw flowers on the stage. Unlike America, he finds himself respected both as a musician and a man.
Many of his fellow musicians have moved to Paris permanently, including soprano saxist Sidney Bechet. However, Charlie elects to return to America and his life spirals rapidly downwards from then on. His health is destroyed through booze and heroin, his daughter dies, and the police confiscate his cabaret card - preventing him from employment in New York.
But there is one bright spot - the popularity of his recordings with strings - which broaden his appeal. 'Bird' includes a scene in a recording studio in which he floats through a haunting rendition of the timeless standard 'Laura'.
His massive jazz talent is also shown towards the end. Only a player of his stature could play an up tempo version of the slow and dreamy Harold Arlen standard 'This Time The Dreams on Me'- and get away with it!
There is a particularly poignant sequence which dramatically conveys Charlie's struggles with his addiction. He is pictured in a studio recording 'Lover Man' - a particular favourite amongst jazz musicians. Desperate to get off drugs, he is using whisky as a substitute, and swigging from a big bottle during the session. He just makes it to the end, before hurling his alto sax through the glass window of the control booth.
His depression and self doubt are both not helped by the onset of rock'n'roll in the 50's. Musicians of his calibre looked on in disbelief as the public went wild about the new raucous and undisciplined musical genre. 'Bird' includes him speaking to one of the new breed of rock musicians, to whom he says he would like to know ' if you guys could play more than one note'.
A large chunk of 'Bird' covers his rapid decline, and it is very sad to watch. I think it goes on too long and I would have preferred to see more music included, Charlie wrote many more perennial jazz standards which could have been included - 'Confirmation', 'Au Privave', 'Anthropology', 'Scrapple from the Apple' and 'The Yardbird Suite' to name a few.
Charlie Parker was one of many black American musicians who have battled drugs. Alcohol and racial persecution over the years - trumpeters Miles Davis and Bix Beiderbecke, pianist Bud Powell, saxist Lester Young, trombonist Dicky Wells, and vocalist Billie Holiday. More recently their number has included Natalie Cole and Whitney Houston.
Clint Eastwood's admirable direction clearly indentifies Charlie's humanity and humour. Towards the end of the movie, a doctor asks him if he drinks at all. His legendary reply is part of the folklore of jazz::
'I occasionally have a sherry before dinner.'
You don't have to be a jazz afficionado to enjoy 'Bird'. It is a very human story about love, passion, racial prejudice and rare talent.
For the jazz fan, it's a priceless treasure.
The Happy Prince (2018)
THE MINDLESS PERSECUTION OF A BRILLIANT MAN
In today's world where people are no longer frightened to reveal their sexual preference and gay marriage is widely accepted, the moral witch hunt that destroyed Oscar Wilde in 1895 is as sad as it is incomprehensible. His suffering and torment has never been more dramatically presented than in Rupert Everett's 'The Happy Prince' - which he directed as well as playing the film's central character.
I feel that his portrayal of Oscar as a kind and sensitive man, a brilliant writer, and a witty dramatist is an accurate one. The movie also shows, with stark realism, the hypocrisy and savagery of the repressed and unbalanced society in which he lived. At the start of the movie, a typical Victorian buffoon sees his wife talking to Oscar in the street soon after he has been released from prison for 'gross indecency'. He admonishes his hapless victim with 'if you talk to my wife again, I'll kill you.'
'The Happy Prince' chronicles Oscar Wilde's depressing life as he tries to salvage his life after serving a two year sentence in Reading Gaol. Before his fall from grace, Oscar was at the pinnacle of success, with classic plays like 'The Importance of Being Earnest' dominating the London stage - and it was in fact playing to rave reviews immediately before his arrest.
Rupert Everett's inspirational direction contrasts scenes of first night triumphs with his unceremonious dunking in a bath of disinfectant as he begins his prison sentence. Another disturbing sequence shows an ugly mob spitting on him as he sits chained to a warder on Clapham Junction station on his way to Reading gaol.
The few former friends who stand by him include Robbie Ross (Edwin Thomas) and Reggie Turner (Colin Firth) - both of whom greet him after he flees in exile to France. He tells them he hopes to reconcile with his wife Constance (Emily Watson), 'if she'll have me', and that he is determined to sever all connections with his former lover, Lord Alfred Douglas (Colin Morgan).
A hauntingly beautiful scene shows Oscar and Robbie Ross walking on a deserted French beach and some stunning views of the Normandy cliffs which Monet captured so effectively.
Oscar's mindless persecution follows him in France. On the beach at Dieppe, he is recognised by a group of boater clad English schoolboys, who laugh, jeer and insult him. He physically attacks them, which puts him on the wrong side of the French police. They are clearly public school inmates,which is ironic because such schools have always been hotbeds of consensual adolescent homosexuality.
His compulsive desire for Lord Alfred (known as 'Bosie') leads to the latter joining him in France and the two subsequently run away to Naples. More stunning cinematography captures the Bay of Naples at sunset.
They part company after Bosie's mother threatens to cut off his allowance if he continues his relationship with Oscar - and after that Oscar's life goes into terminal decline. He is devastated when Constance dies and he is forbidden to resume contact with his two sons. He leads a dissolute existence in the seedier parts of Paris, wallowing in absinthe, picking up rent boys, and living in shabby accommodation.
'The Happy Prince' begins with Oscar reading his fairy story of the same name to his two sons, whom he also adores. It ends with him finishing the tale to two Parisian urchins. The back drop of 'The Happy Prince' I found a bit confusing and you will certainly enjoy this movie more if you know a bit about Wilde's last days. He died in Paris in 1900 at the early age of 46.
It is without doubt a poignant and very memorable story about love, loss and the dark side of fame. It is a penetrating examination of one of the most spectacular downfalls of all time - the music is atmospheric, the sets are spectacular and the cast unforgettable.
At the end of the film, we are told that Oscar Wilde and thousands of other gay men were pardoned in 2017. And yet, in some countries of the world, homosexuality is still a criminal offence - including Qatar, where such legislation created ongoing controversy during its hosting of football's World Cup in 2022.
'The Happy Prince' is as fascinating and compulsive as its intriguing story and colourful characters - classic cinema in every sense.
At Eternity's Gate (2018)
ARGUABLY THE WORLD'S MOST LOVED ARTIST
Why do so many Van Gogh paintings hang on so many walls throughout the world? Aside from prestigious art galleries, you'll find the Dutch master's work in blue chip company boardrooms, stately homes, hospitals, retirement homes, doctors waiting rooms, schools, universities, public buildings, charity shops - and of course in the lounge rooms of countless homes - from million dollar mansions to one bedroom units.
In his native land, Holland, there is a Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, and n the 1980's he even made it big into the pop music hit parade with American singer Don McLean's ballad 'Vincent'.
I believe that Julian Schnabel's classic production 'At Eternity's Gate' offers some very significant explanations for the ongoing popularity of Van Gogh. In a haunting sequence during his incarceration in the Saint Remy Asylum, a fellow inmate asks Vincent what he paints - to which he replies 'Sunlight'.
It is a quality which so much of his work exudes - and which is more than apparent in any collections of his work. 'At Eternity's Gate' shows a lot of such collections, all of them containing some of his most popular works such as 'Starry Night', 'The Night Cafe','Sunflowers' and 'Yellow Cornfield'.
Another reason for Van Gogh's enormous popularity is that he painted ordinary people and objects which millions could relate to. Vincent painted farm girls, fishing boats, a chair, a postman, a pair of boots, peasants eating potatoes, night cafes, labourers, coal miners...the list is endless . 'At Eternity's Gate' shows him at work on many of the ones he painted after moving to Arles, in the south of France.
Van Gogh's paintings are presented alongside beautiful footage of the ruggedly beautiful countryside around Arles in the state of Provence - where Vincent went in search of the sun in 1888. The movie follows his journey from Paris to Arles, which Vincent himself describes. It is followed by some of his artistic philosophies as he begins his prolific output in the sunshine - cornfields, harvests, blossom, cypress trees, orchards, all of them a joyous mix of colour.
His ongoing narrations vividly shows the pressure which painting can entail - his anxiety, his insecurity, his doubts about his skills and creativity, and the abuse, jeers and ridicule he endured from the local people in Arles as well as critics in the art world. He maintained great art was the outcome of working very fast - a technique which his friend Gauguin - who came to live with him in Arles - totally disagreed. Gauguin also criticised Van Gogh's heavy impasto which he claimed made his paintings look like'Sculptures.'
William Dafoe is brilliant in his portrayal of Van Gogh - with whom he also bears a striking physical resemblance - and Oscar Isaac is a convincing Gauguin. One of the most powerful and disturbing scenes is based on his decision to end his relationship with Van Gogh in Arles. Vincent's unhinged bid to kill his friend and subsequently to cut off his own ear inspires another great performance from Dafoe.
On a nicer note, Rupert Friend is wonderful as Vincent's brother Theo, who looks after his dysfunctional brother with consummate love and dedication. An art dealer, he recognises his brother's genius and is devastated when he hears of his death in 1890 at the early age of 37.
'At Eternity's Gate' offers a sensitive and in depth examination of Van Gogh's life and work. Was his brilliance the outcome of his tortured mind and disturbed mental health? We will never know- probably Vincent himself didn't know, and he says as much in one of the last scenes when he is in the care of an art loving general practitioner, Dr Gachet, during his last days.
Absorbing and thought provoking throughout 'At Eternity's Gate is clearly very well researched. The screen play is superb and it's beautifully presented throughout. I have only two reservations: the sub titles are sometimes hard to read and the music soundtrack is rather stiff and lifeless. Bearing in mind it features a man who saw so much beauty in life, I think a lush melodic orchestral background would have been nicer.
Gauguin a Tahiti. Il paradiso perduto (2019)
A GENIUS WHO SHAPED MODERN ART
GAUGUIN IN TAHITI
Paradise Lost
This beautiful and authoritative movie includes not only brilliant insights into Gauguin's character, personal relationships and artistic philosophies, but also extensive footage of his superb paintings and the many colourful locations in which he worked - in France as well as Tahiti and the Marquesas Islands.
'Gauguin In Tahiti' includes a distinguished cast of art historians, all of them offering clearly well researched observations and information about an extraordinary man whose life continues to both fascinate and inspire us.
One of the art historians, Caroline Boyle-Turner, provides an interesting explanation for Gauguin's very special appeal - he went on the sort of escape route which so many of us dream about. He gave up a prosperous career on the Paris Stock Exchange to devote his life to art, ultimately giving up the comfortable trappings of European civilisation and moving to remote areas of the South Seas to paint and, he hoped, to live simply in a tropical paradise. He was a married man and he left behind a wife and five children.
Prior to moving to Tahiti in 1890, Gauguin spent time in the wild and rugged coast of Brittany, and the film has some stunning sequences of this intriguing area of France, which appealed to him because of its isolation and a culture markedly different from the rest of the country. It was here that he painted masterpieces like 'The Yellow Christ'. The footage in Tahiti is equally compelling - beautiful landscapes, brilliantly blue seas, amazingly shaped mountains, glorious beaches and strikingly beautiful vegetation. The rugged landscape and isolated splendour of the Marquesas Islands are also spectacularly captured.
Tahiti was not the unspoiled paradise he expected. As a part of the French colonial empire, it was already affected by European influence and development. But he found a quieter area and began his first flow of exotic paintings, inspired in particular by the gold bodies of the scantily clad native women. He acquired a very young mistress which has brought him severe censure on moral grounds. But as the movie points out, in Tahiti young girls became sexually active at puberty and married young. It was a moral code that was also accepted in France.
Gauguin has also been positioned as a hard and selfish man who abandoned his family for the sake of his art, something which 'Gauguin in Tahiti' also refutes. He loved his wife and family, particularly his daughter Aline and he always hoped they would join him in the tropics one day.
From this film's penetrating analysis, Gauguin comes across as a sensitive but complicated man who loved beauty but also described himself as a 'savage'. His wilder side came to the fore when he returned to France in 1893 and got involved in a fight with sailors, badly injuring his leg which ultimately hastened his early death.
Back in France, he expected his Tahitian paintings to be applauded and to achieve big sales, but it didn't happen. He returned to Tahiti and produced more superb paintings, including what was arguably his greatest ever creation 'Where do we come from, who are we, where are we going?' Many of his other most cherished works are given extensive exposure in this fine production.
There is one question that remains unanswered - did Gauguin find the idyllic life and environment that he was looking for? The movie describes his time in Tahiti as 'Paradise Lost'. But in his writing - many parts of which are quoted - he clearly delighted in the country and the simple lifestyle parts of it still offered. He talks of the stillness of the night, the brilliance of the night sky, the relaxed pace of life, the contentment of the people - and above all, the beauty, dignity and calmness of the women and girls whom he painted with such skill, love and dedication.
Gauguin's health deteriorated rapidly after 1893. He moved on to one of the most isolated communities on earth, the Marquesas Islands, and the movie ends with commentary from two of his descendants who still live there. He died in the Marquesas Islands in1903, at the early age of 55 - just as his work was becoming highly sought after and achieving record prices .
On his grave there is a curious epitaph from a local priest who refers to Gauguin as an 'enemy of God' - such a warped view of a man whose paintings of classic beauty are so prominently displayed in all of the world's greatest art galleries.' Gauguin In Tahiti' is a rewarding and inspirational movie. I recommend it without hesitation - it is an art lover's delight.
Royal Wedding (1951)
THE GOLDEN AGE OF HOLLYWOOD MUSICALS
This feelgood movie is a joyous celebration of the golden age of Hollywood musicals. Starring two of tinsel town's most talented and well known stars, it exudes all the glamour, creative energy and inspiration that gave its era such a very special place in the history of motion pictures.
Tom and Ellen Bowen - played respectively by Fred Astaire and Jane Powell - are a brother-sister dance act who are booked to appear in London at the time of the marriage of Princess Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten.
The dance sequences are superb, beginning with a stunning performance on the ocean liner bringing the act to Britain. Their routine ends up all over the place as the ship enters a severe storm. Jane Powell contributes a joyous vocal to the scene with 'Open Your Eyes'.
Jane and Fred also execute a stunning Latin American sequence set in Haiti with exotic scenery and multi colour costumes, and another intriguing section features Fred - on his own - dancing up the walls and on the ceiling.
The film was made in 1951, and the London scenes include colour footage of the River Thames and the city's gracious skyline before it was eclipsed by ugly skyscrapers.
Tom and Ellen both fall in love with new acquaintances in London. Ellen falls for an English Lord and Tom with a beautiful dancer who he hires for the London show - Anne Ashmond.
Anne is played delightfully by Sarah Churchill, daughter of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. She is probably better known as a famous statesman's daughter than an actress, but her part in 'Royal Wedding' shows just how talented she was.
In her role in another movie, 'Philadelphia Story', critics said she was as good s Katharine Hepburn. It was such a pity she never quite achieved iconic status in the movie industry.
Fred Astaire also turns in a great performance as Tom Bowen, with his acting as well as his legendary dancing.
The music, composed by Burton Lane , is quite superb. Burton Lane is one of the lesser known contributors to the Great American Songbook, but his numbers include some of the best and best known standards of all time. Amongst them are 'Old Devil Moon', 'On A Clear Day', 'How About You' and the poignant classic from 'Royal Wedding, 'Too Late Now' - also beautifully sung by Jane Powell.
Royal Wedding is a movie I cherish and never get tired of watching - and in today's uncertain world it never fails to cheer me up.
Churchill's Secret (2016)
BRILLIANT MOVIE ABOUT CHURCHILL'S TWILIGHT YEARS
When Winston Churchill was voted out of office in the British general election of 1945 his wife Clementine wanted him to retire. Sound advice you would think, after he had led the nation to victory through the five horrific years of World War II. But Winston refused to go, and in 1951 he became Prime Minister again, at the age of 76. 'Churchill's Secret' is set in the year 1953. The Prime Minister is now 78 and his health is failing.
After collapsing at a dinner at 10 Downing Street, his long serving doctor, Charles Moran (Bill Paterson), diagnoses a stroke. His incapacity poses a problem for the government because his heir apparent, Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden (Alex Jennings), is also ill. His cabinet colleagues decide to cover up the PM's health issues until a detailed diagnosis is made.
Clementine insists he is cared for at home, and Fleet Street' s press barons - including Winston's trusted wartime colleague Lord Beaverbrook - are invited there to seek their agreement to keep the PM's illness out of the newspapers.
There is extensive footage of Chartwell, Churchill's country home in the Kentish countryside. It includes beautiful gardens in which he is taken in a wheelchair by his devoted carer, Nurse Appleyard (Romala Garai)), a fictional character but probably true to life bearing in mind the miraculous recovery he ultimately made.
Churchill, played by Michael Gambon, is as feisty as ever and clearly frustrated by the dire effects of his illness. However, his nurse is equally feisty and is in no way fazed by his irritable behaviour. And when Randolph (Matthew Macfadyen), his rude and overbearing son, patronises her with 'You don't know who I am do you?' she replies 'I don't care if you 're the Queen of Sheba you're not seeing my patient at the moment.' At the end of the film, Winston tells her he could never have recovered without her and presents her with a book, with a signed message of thanks.
Like many other leaders in history Churchill doesn't want to lose power. In his case it is particularly motivated by a belief he still has important things to accomplish - notably the attainment of world peace in the light of the development of nuclear weapons. His cabinet colleagues believe he should go, particularly Anthony Eden. In one memorable scene, the old man is seen painting as he informs an exasperated Eden he is staying on. His deputy, R A Butler (Chris Larkin) and long serving PPS Jock Colville (Patrick Kennedy,) also counsel retirement, but Winston is determined to speak at the forthcoming Conservative Party conference.
One by one Churchill's daughters arrive - Sarah (Rachael Stirling), Diana (Tara Fitzgerald) and Mary (Daisy Lewis) - and their conversations reveal their mental health has been substantially strained through living in the shadow of their father's fame and eminence. They fight both amongst themselves and with Randolph. Sarah chides her brother about his failure to win an election, while he positions her as an actress in plays and films that nobody has ever heard of. They all disparage Clementine, beautifully played by Lindsay Duncan. But she takes comfort from Dr Moran's assertion that she is her husband's 'rock'.
Directed by Charles Sturridge, 'Churchill's Secret' is a very well researched movie. Its historical accuracy is complemented by a convincing cast and excellent screenplay by Stewart Harcourt. It contains a lot of aspects of Churchill's life and family that I for one have not been aware until now. One to treasure without doubt.
Darkest Hour (2017)
HISTORICAL MASTERPIECE
Darkest Hour is a movie of great historical significance - it shows how the inspired leadership of one man finally stopped the relentless Nazi invasion of Western Europe in 1940. That man was Winston Churchill and he became Britain's Prime Minister on May 10th. At that time, Germany - under Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler - had successfully invaded and occupied Czechoslovakia, Poland, Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Denmark, and Norway. By the next month France too had fallen and the Germans marched into Paris.
Churchill took over after successive British governments had failed to recognise the evils of Hitler's regime and his demonstrable obsession with imposing his warped ideologies on the rest of the world.
In 'Darkest Hour' British appeasers like Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain (Ronald Pickup) and Foreign Secretary Edward Halifax (Stephen Dillane) recommend making peace with Hitler after the collapse of France. With his fellow dictator, Italian Benito Mussolini, acting as intermediary
'Darkest Hour' includes pictures and movie footage of Hitler's aggressive and threatening speeches, which make it all the more amazing that Chamberlain, Halifax and others ignored his aggressive and untrustworthy behaviour throughout the thirties - and when he was within an ace of making himself the master of Europe, they still naively asserted you could come to terms with him.
Their misguided belief contrasted absolutely with the stark reality of Churchill, Gary Oldman's brilliant portrayal of Churchill includes a powerful scene during which he lambasts Chamberlain and Halifax with the words 'you cannot reason with a tiger when your head is in its mouth.'
'Darkest Hour' is a riveting and well researched picture which follows the dramatic events of the Summer of 1940 very accurately. Churchill's heroic stand against Hitler includes a desperate flight across the English Channel in a failed bid to persuade France to continue the fight - the inspirational rescue of the British army from Dunkirk by an armada of little ships - and his matchless oratory, which ultimately unites the nation against Hitler's Germany.
Nevertheless Chamberlain and Halifax still persist in trying to bring him down and replace him, convinced that a peaceful settlement is still possible. One can sense his tremendous relief in a dramatic scene in which when King George VI (Ben Mendelsohn) gives him his support. The King also stresses the importance of getting the British people behind him in the fight against Hitler's Germany - which Churchill proceeds to handle most effectively with a series of emotive and defiant speeches culminating with his 'finest hour' epic.
The King's support comes just in time, because a desperate Churchill is on the point of agreeing to seek an accommodation with Hitler, with his fellow dictator Benito Mussolini acting as an intermediary.
Churchill's rapport with the people and the commitment they gave him is cleverly presented. In what is clearly a fictitious sequence, he goes on a tube train for the first time, during which his chats with members of the public reveals their ongoing commitment to continuing the fight against Hitler.
Some of the most stirring and emotional scenes take place in the House of Commons. They include Churchill being cheered as he talks of the unthinkable horror of the swastika flying above Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle, and still more cheers following his legendary 'we will fight on the beaches' speech. Through Joe Wright's brilliant direction one can sense the mortal danger the country was in, and the formidable pressures it imposed on Churchill.
The sequences covering Churchill's private life spotlight his love of animals. In one lovely scene at his country home he is shown playing with his cat under the bed. It also confirms his fondness for good food and drink. His gargantuan breakfast in bed includes bacon and eggs, accompanied by a huge whiskey and soda and a very generous serve of white wine.
Churchill's wife Clementine (brought to life most convincingly by Kristin Scott Thomas) shows that he wasn't an easy man to live with, screaming that he was 'insufferable' in one memorable scene. However, she accepts that public service is his life and clearly offers unfailing support - including sprucing him up before he leaves for Buckingham Palace to see the King.
His secretary Elizabeth Layton, played by the delightful Lily James, also has plenty to put up with. When Churchill is photographed giving his customary 'V' for Victory' sign back to front, she politely advises him that in that position it means 'up your bum' - generating loud guffaws of laughter from Winston. 'Darkest Hour' is full of humorous Churchillian anecdotes like this. In a confrontation in the House of Commons he is seen referring to Labour Opposition leader Clement Attlee as 'a sheep in sheep's clothing'.
'Darkest Hour' is a superbly directed movie with fascinating historical content, fine acting from a most able and dedicated cast, an inspirational script, and great cinematography. If it's not in your movie library put it in now - and make sure it.
Never Let Me Go (2010)
A LOVE STORY TO CHERISH
'Never Let Me Go' set in an imaginary world in the last decade of the 20th century - when human cloning had been accepted and transplants had helped major breakthroughs in the treatment of hitherto incurable diseases. Organ donation had helped to improve medical research to the extent that the average human lifespan had been extended to 100 years, cures having been found for notorious fatal illnesses - including lung cancer, breast cancer and motor neuron disease.
Although depressing and disturbing, 'Never Let Me Go' is a also a heart warming and sensitive love story. Three cloned children are being raised in the boarding school, Hailsham, one of many institutions whose purpose is to use human clones to ultimately provide their organs - or 'donations' as they are called - to save the lives of others. Certain death is their future - a grim prospect which Hailsham is at pains to conceal from them. A teacher who tells them the unpleasant truth is sacked.
The three children, Tommy (Andrew Garfield), Ruth (Keira Knightly), and Kathy (Carey Mulligan), leave Hailsham and move on to another home called 'The Cottages'- a further step towards having their organs harvested. It is a journey conducted in isolation that involves no contact with the real world.
In that world they would apparently be treated as sub-human outcasts, which may explain why they accept their fate philosophically. This bland acceptance of an early death has been criticsed as a flaw in the plot, but surely the explanation is that if they would be ostracised and isolated in the 'normal' world, how would they survive?
One can dismiss the whole idea of cloning and 'organ harvesting' as being both inhuman and unlikely. But it could happen - and that sort of possibility always makes a riveting novel.
The film follows the book very closely and is narrated throughout by Kathy, who is love with Tommy and devastated when Tommy and Ruth start a relationship. Ruth has always treated Tommy badly and Kathy surmises that girls are often mean to the men they like. 'Never Let Me Go' is full of challenging assertions like this.
Kathy ends her friendship with Tommy and Ruth to become a carer, while they begin their donations. She later becomes carer to both of them, before they ultimately 'complete', a polite way of saying they die on the operating table. Two of the saddest and most moving scenes in the movie show both Ruth and Tommy in the theatre giving their last donations before 'completing'. It is only at the end of the film that we learn the full story about Hailsham and organ harvesting.
With both of her friends gone, Kathy can only look back. It's another of the story's stark messages - that life is very short and we all 'complete' in the end. Kathy questions if the cloned donor's lives are all that different from the 'normal' people whose lives they have saved? She also suggests that 'maybe some of us don't know what we've lived through and feel we've had enough time.'. Kathy's lonely solace is yet another of the film's sad but beautiful moments - her own donation is only a stone's throw away.
'Never Let Me Go' is a love story of rare poignancy and beauty. It has an aura of mystery throughout, generated in particular by its settings in gentle and misty English countryside and beaches - one of which shows a windswept shore, completely empty apart from one abandoned shipwreck. It's another question mark which gets us puzzling in this compelling movie. The action is beautifully complemented by a classic soundtrack composed by Rachel Portman - I am so glad it was an award winner.
'Never Let Me Go' has to be one of the most brilliant, challenging and unforgettable movies ever. Its content is intriguing, it is dramatically presented, and its human insight are both both sensitive and thought provoking. It merits endless screening.
Lorna Doone (1990)
As Exciting as its Beautiful
This is an enchanting production. Although it omits parts of the book, it faithfully reflects what is essentially a love story - a love story which takes place in the West Country in the 17th century in the time of King James II and the Monmouth Rebellion, which aimed to depose him.
When I read the book, its evocative descriptions of the Exmoor landscape conjured up beautiful images in my mind and prompted me to visit the area. The Exmoor scenery was absolute magic and I was able to enjoy it once again in this 1990 Thames TV adaptation of the book.
And yes, I know the film was actually shot in Scotland, but it could just as easily have been the wild windswept landscape of Exmoor. Producer Alan Horrox explained that 'the novel demands sweeping moorland vistas, plunging waterfalls, and a secret valley, as well as much else besides. When we researched the available locations on Exmoor, we discovered that much of the area has changed profoundly since the 17th century setting of the original novel...I believe it could never successfully evoke the full blooded dramatic sweep of this classic novel.'
The settings for this move capture absolutely the haunting beauty of Exmoor. They embrace the remote and mysterious valley where the Doone clan of brutal outlaws live, all of them exuding 17th century lawlessness. Many other characters also seem to have just walked out of the pages of history - including King James II (Hugh Fraser) and his merciless judge, George Jeffreys .
Clive Owen plays the noble, honest and hard working yeoman, John Ridd, whose father has been murdered by the odious Doone family - Sean Bean is convincing as Carver Doone, its savage and vindictive leader who tries to shoot Lorna -and Miles Anderson is wonderful as Tom Faggus, the bad but generous and loveable highwayman who is in love with John's sister Annie (Jane Gurnett).
Polly Walker delivers an unforgettable performance as the heroine, Lorna Doone - a bewitching beauty and the love of John's life. The distinguished cast also includes Billie Whitelaw, who offers a sensitive portrayal of John's caring and gentle mother Sarah.
The movie is a nice watchable length - 87 minutes - ideal for an inspirational and uplifting screening after dinner. And in case you're wondering, John and Lorna ultimately live happily ever after!
Brassed Off (1996)
British movies don't come better
I doubt if the pain of losing your job has ever been more effectively presented than in this brilliant movie, which is as powerful as it is disturbing. It shows the human toll which inevitably accompanies losing your job. In 'Brassed Off', the livelihood of the mining village of Grimley is entirely dependent on coal - and when Grimley Main Colliery faces closure, the impact on the local community is severe - aside from the economic consequences, the closure of the pit will also mean the end of its beloved brass band.
One scene in the movie I found particularly grim was the management's callous attitude when they bluntly informed a worker that 'coal is history'. Such a comment reminded me of the days in the 70's when I was working as Advertising Manager of British Steel Corporation, and one of the campaigns conducted under my watch was 'Streamlined Steel'.
Its objective was to communicate the rationale behind the BSC's ten year development strategy, an extensive modernisation programme aimed at concentrating steel manufacturing at five giant highly automated plants. Smaller uneconomic works were to be closed and the campaign predicted that by 1983, the Corporation would require 50,000 fewer workers.
Norman Tebbitt, one of Mrs Thatcher's ministers in her Conservative government, suggested that if you were made redundant, the simple solution was 'on your bike' - in other words uproot your family and move to an area which was more prosperous. One of the steelworks which faced closure was Ebbw Vale in South Wales and it made me remember Norman Tebbitt's naive solution - 'on your bike'. So OK, how about moving to London or South East England, there are plenty of steelworks down there aren't there?
There is poignant scene in 'Brassed Off' when Andy (Ewan McGregor) and Jim (Philip Jackson) are searching for jobs at the local labour exchange - a frequently depressing and fruitless pursuit when you are out of work. Another of the miners, Phil (Stephen Tompkinson), ekes out his dole money by offering his services as a clown, Mr Chuckles, at childrens' parties.
Financial stress leads to his wife and kids leaving him and he attempts suicide. His father, the leader of the brass band, Danny Ormondroyd (Pete Postlethwaite), asks him 'what were you thinkin' about, did you lose your marbles?' To which his son replies 'Marbles? 'I've lost me job, lost me house, lost me wife and lost me kids.'
The film show vividly the stress which the miners' wives are under through strikes and the imminent closure of the pit. Phil's wife runs out of money buying groceries but is rescued through the generosity of the shop assistant.
Danny is mortified when he learns the musicians feel the band must split up if the pit closes. But the recruitment of a talented new flugelhorn player, Gloria Mullins (Tara Fitzgerald), puts new life into the band and despite being ostracised because of an unfair accusation that she is siding with management, she pays for it to enter the National Brass Band Championshps in London - which it wins.
Meanwhile, Danny has been hospitalised with black lung, but he rallies to see the band in London, and facing the audience in the Royal Albert Hall, he laments that 'this bloody government has systematically destroyed an entire industry, our industry. And not just our industry - our communities ,our homes, our lives. All in the name of progress. And for a few lousy bob.'
Danny is passionate about his music, but ultimately not nearly as passionate about the fate of his fellow miners in the band - all of them now on the scrap heap.
The music in the film, performed by the Grimethorpe Colliery Band, is superb -notably Rodrigo's Concierto d'Aranjuez (in which Gloria plays solo flugelhorn in the movie),'Danny Boy' and the William Tell Overture.
While it is a sad movie, 'Brassed Off' offers lots of laughs and earthy Yorkshire humour. It also shows that the resilience of the human spirit can overcome life's worst body blows. 'Brassed Off' frequently brings me to tears but I've lost count of the times I've watched it. British movies don't come better.
A sad end for.
Paradise Postponed (1986)
Wonderful story superbly produced, brilliant acting
If you lived through the 60's, John Mortimer's 'Paradise Postponed' will bring back a flood of interesting memories. A lot of the story unfolds during the early 60's, before ever increasing road traffic wiped out the unspoilt English villages - before the advent of drugs and raucous music festivals - before hippies and flower power - before sex scandals - and before mindless violence rocked the nation and changed its stability forever. It was a time when traditional jazz was hugely popular and the top bands made it into the hit parade - notably Acker Bilk with 'Stranger On The Shore ' and Kenny Ball with 'Midnight In Moscow'.
Trad jazz provides a significant backdrop to the TV series of 'Paradise Postponed, particularly as one of the main characters, Fred Simcox, (Paul Shelley), plays drums in a four piece group. The standards which they play from the forties - like 'Slow Boat To China'- reflect the years before the beat Groups put the trad groups and dance bands out of business later on in the 60's .
In between his bursts of New Orleans style drumming Fred is at medical school - his studies further enhanced by his friendship with Dr Salter (Colin Blakely), a delightfully feisty, bibulous and cynical GP who prefers hunting to medicine. Fred's brother, Henry, is a writer enjoying considerable success and in line to make it in Hollywood.
Both men are the sons of the books central character, the Rev Simeon Simcox (Michael Hordern) , a passionate left wing socialist and a formidable campaigner for worthy causes such as peaceful coexistence, disarmament, social justice and political tolerance. His commitment involves actively participating in controversial demonstrations - including the Campaign For Nuclear Disarmament marches in the 1950's and 1960's.
The story abounds with other historical events in the 60's and later decades - including the Profumo scandal, the Vietnam war, Edward Heath's confrontation with the coal miners in the 70's, the rise of Mrs Thatcher, and the Falklands War in the 80's. So 'Paradise Postponed' is a valuable historical record as well as being a riveting story peppered with many amazing characters.
When the movie opens, The Rev Simcox has not long died and the rest of the story revolves around his will, which nominates Leslie Titmuss (DavidThrelfall) as the sole beneficiary - nobody in the family is included. Titmuss is not a very nice man. A devious social climber with political aspirations, he seeks to fast track his ambition by marrying Charlotte (Zoe Wanamker) , daughter of Sir Nicholas Fanner (Richard Vernon), a towering figure in the local Conservative party. Titmuss has already been in the story earlier on, when he is thrown in the river at a Young Conservatives Ball.
His plan backfires when he becomes aware that Charlotte despises his greed for money, his worship of success, his ruthless lust for power, his contempt for his parents, and the way he sneers at his upbringing and background. Charlotte is modest, honest, caring and down to earth. Titmuss becomes an MP and a Cabinet Minister - in his eyes the ultimate achievement. Charlotte is not impressed by either. Predictably, they argue endlessly about the future of the child of the marriage.
Henry Simcox plans to contest the will on the grounds that his father was of unsound mind when he made it. Fred does not believe that to be the case, and begins to investigate his family's past history and its possible connection with the will. Many skeletons are found to be in the cupboard.
Charlotte's marriage to Leslie Titmuss has always been vociferously opposed by her mother, Lady Fanner (Jill Bennett) -another powerful and engaging character. Grace Fanner is a self centred and patronising snob who spends her days tippling champagne and yearning for her younger days, endless playing an old 78 of Cole Porter's 'You're The Top'. She loathes Titmuss.
The movie is beautifully shot in the Thames Valley towns of Marlow and Henley and in the surrounding countryside. One is struck by the lack of traffic and the noticeable absence of parking meters in those far of days in the 60's. The gentle urban landscape is already being defiled by a high rise residential tower. One of the most poignant scenes involves a young couple losing an idyllic cottage they have set their heart on, only to be faced with relocating to featureless accommodation high above the countryside they love.
The reason behind the selection of Leslie Titmuss is finally exposed, amidst many other intriguing and unexpected revelations - including the love life of Rev Simeon Simcox. It reminds us that obsessional and unusual sexual attraction can happen to anyone - including country vicars!
'Paradise Postponed' is a wonderful movie. You can tap into any episode at random and enjoy revisiting the fascinating story again and again. Great value for money!