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7.2.08 - 8.23.08
THE NEXT WAVE: BRITISH FILMS OF THE 1970S AND '80S Dynamic, innovative, and often extremely personal, the films that emerged from Britain in the 1970s and '80s reflected the changing face of a nation during a pivotal period in its history. Though largely under the shadow of the earlier "British New Wave" period of the 1950s and 60s, which featured working-class anti-heroes (usually in the form of "Angry Young Men" railing against British society), this second wave of films deserves another look, as they brought to the fore the defining events and issues of their time--Thatcherism, war, political strife, immigration, racism, queer visibility and the burgeoning punk and New Wave music scene.
Special thanks to: Andrew Youdell, Fleur Buckley--British Film Institute; Mark Johnson--Harvard Film Archive. Saturday July 26 2008, 7:30PM ( Online Ticket Sales Ended )
Restored print from the British Film Institute!
DISTANT VOICES, STILL LIVES
(1988) Directed by Terence Davies  Shot years apart as separate films, Davies' bifurcated, semi-autobiographical tale follows a working class Liverpool family struggling beneath the shadow of a violent patriarch (Postlethwaite). The characters express their feelings on death, marriage and postwar optimism largely through song, ranging from 1950s pop hits to church hymns to pub sing-a-longs. In Distant Voices, daughter Eileen's (Walsh) wedding triggers conflicting memories of her late father. She remembers the gentle churchgoer, while her brother (Williams) and sister (Ashbourne) can think only of the domineering drunk who beat their mother (Dowie). The second half, Still Lives, finds Eileen struggling in her unhappy marriage, longing for escape and grasping it only for the duration of a tune. Sunday July 27 2008, 7:00PM* ( Online Ticket Sales Ended )
THE TERENCE DAVIES TRILOGY 1976-1984
(1984) Directed by Terence Davies  Director Davies confronts his childhood demons in the guise of Liverpudlian Robert Tucker (O'Sullivan, Brambell and others), a man torn between his homosexuality and Catholic faith. In the first segment, Children, Robert comes of age in Britain's bleak, industrial north, escaping the bullies at school only by returning to the ones at home. The second, Madonna and Child, finds Robert a middle-aged office worker futilely seeking solace from his sexual urges in the arms of the Church. The finale, Death and Transfiguration, opens with Robert on his deathbed, his inability to express his true feelings to the world now made complete by a stroke. * Please note the early start time. Tuesday July 29 2008, 7:30PM ( Online Ticket Sales Ended )
KES
(1970) Directed by Kenneth Loach  Abused or ignored at home and in school, "hopeless case" Billy Casper (Bradley) seems destined to follow his older brother (Fletcher) to the bottom of a Yorkshire coal mine. When he captures a young kestrel, however, Billy becomes determined to train the bird and escape his bleak surroundings. Director Loach's first feature, shot entirely on location for only £157,000, was a hit upon release in the UK and launched careers for many of its non-professional cast. Former wrestler-turned-actor Brian Glover, who plays the film's memorably sadistic P.E. instructor, once taught at the same school depicted in the film. The British Film Institute recently named Kes one of the ten greatest British movies of all time. Based on a novel by Barry Hines. Producer: Tony Garnett. Screenwriter: Kenneth Loach, Tony Garnett. Cinematographer: Chris Menges. Editor: Roy Watts. Cast: David Bradley, Lynne Perrie, Freddie Fletcher. 35mm, 109 min. PRESSURE
(1975) Directed by Horace Ové  British-born Tony (Norville) confounds his Trinidadian immigrant family by eating bacon and listening to white pop music. After graduating with excellent grades, he learns that he's too black to land a high-paying professional job and too educated for blue-collar work. Then a beautiful radical (Sheila Scott-Wilkinson) and the framing of his brother (James) by the police push Tony from disillusionment and helplessness toward direct political action. Partly adapted from Selvon's novel and partly improvised, director Ove' summoned his firsthand experiences in the British black power movement to recreate London's racial powder keg. Scenes of police brutality and racist church sermons were shot with many of the "extras" unaware that the participants were actors! Wednesday July 30 2008, 7:30PM ( Online Ticket Sales Ended )
RADIO ON
(1979) Directed by Christopher Petit  Next Wave cinema collides head-on with New Wave tunes in this grim, black and white road movie. London DJ Robert (Beames) sets out for Bristol to investigate his brother's suicide, but the tortured souls he meets along the way ensure that his journey will not follow a straight line. Director Petit made the leap from Time Out critic to auteur with this film, in which the music of David Bowie, Kraftwerk and Devo propel the narrative forward as much as Robert's existential encounters and Schäfer's lingering shots of decaying, late '70s English landscapes. Radio On also features a memorable appearance by Sting, fresh off his Quadrophenia debut. THE DRAUGHTSMAN'S CONTRACT
(1982) Directed by Peter Greenaway  Greenaway's sumptuous, cerebral and sexually-charged first feature recounts the artful and amorous adventures of a 17th-century draughtsman who is commissioned to capture 12 drawings of a nobleman's sprawling English estate. His fee includes one sexual favor provided by the lady of the house for each drawing rendered--drawings which may provide clues to a murder committed on the grounds. Wednesday August 6 2008, 7:30PM ( Online Ticket Sales Ended )
HIGH HOPES
(1988) Directed by Mike Leigh and Jon Gregory  Applauded both for his realism and biting caricatures, director Mike Leigh satirically weaves together characters from conflicting social classes during the Thatcher era. In High Hopes Leigh focuses on a working class Socialist couple Shirley and Cyril, (marvelously played by Ruth Sheen and Philip Davis) who struggle with their upwardly mobile in-laws, Cyril's aging and increasingly needy mother, and their obnoxious right wing neighbors. Film supplied courtesy of Southern Star International Limited. MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDRETTE
(1985) Directed by Stephen Frears  When Omar, a young British Pakistani, is entrusted with the task of running of his Uncle Nasser's laundrette, he seeks assistance from Johnny (Daniel Day-Lewis), an ex-National Front hoodlum. Soon the unlikely pair manages to turn the run-down laundrette into a sparkling, sudsy success and find romance with each other along the way. Filled with many memorable characters, this breakthrough success is a thoroughly entertaining portrait of South London in the mid-eighties. Features preceded by
THE LONDON STORY
(1987) Directed by Sally Potter Potter's humorous spy spoof revolves around a trio of eccentric characters and their quest to uncover government secrets. Screenwriter: Sally Potter. 35mm, 15 min. Sunday August 10 2008, 7:00PM* ( Online Ticket Sales Ended )
THE BILL DOUGLAS TRILOGY The Archive is pleased to present the late Scottish director, Bill Douglas' semi-autobiographical trilogy, a haunting and beautifully shot portrait of a boy's troubled upbringing in Scotland. Inspired by Soviet and silent cinema, Douglas' rarely screened trilogy is one of the masterworks of British cinema. MY CHILDHOOD
(1972) Directed by Bill Douglas  Stark, black and white cinematography evokes a poor Scottish mining town literally and figuratively stripped of color in this first installment of writer-director Douglas' autobiographical trilogy. Jamie (Archibald), Douglas' alterego, lives with his maternal grandmother (Smith) in a working-class neighborhood scarred by the Depression and WWII. Searching to fill the emotional void left by two parents he never knew, Jamie finds an unexpected father-figure in a German POW (Karl Fieseler) who speaks little English. With minimal dialogue and no score, My Childhood harkens back to the cinematic language of the silent era, and delivers emotional punches through intimate storytelling that hits harder than bombast ever could. MY AIN FOLK
(1973) Directed by Bill Douglas  The midpoint of the trilogy, My Ain Folk returns to Douglas' hometown of Newcraighall, where Jamie is sent to live with his harsh paternal grandmother. The film opens with an unexpected Technicolor clip from Lassie Comes Home, making Jamie's black and white reality seem all the more bleak and oppressive. Producer: Nick Nascht. Cinematographer: Gale Tattersall. 35mm, 55 min. MY WAY HOME
(1978) Directed by Bill Douglas  Completed five years after My Ain Folk, Archibald returns to reprise the role of Jamie, now an adult, as the burdens of work and war strip him of his childhood. When the British Army drafts Jamie and stations him in Egypt, an unexpected friendship with an erudite Englishman (Joseph Blatchley) leads to new opportunities and the possibility of a brighter future. * Please note the early start time. |