tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125194422306151768.post4321205697452565425..comments2024-03-16T10:03:59.180-07:00Comments on The Movie Projector: Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971)R. D. Finchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05045080274131718843noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125194422306151768.post-2455484659620427042012-07-23T16:20:14.098-07:002012-07-23T16:20:14.098-07:00Penelope Gilliatt, who wrote the screenplay, also ...Penelope Gilliatt, who wrote the screenplay, also wrote a several thousand word article, in the 19502, when she was in her 20s, in defense of LGBT human beings, arguing for the right to marry, adopt, etc., She was always astonishingly prescient. She was also a master short story writer, a brilliant theatre critic, a book critic, a brilliant novelist, profilist, opera librettist, wrote the narrative for Lindsay Anderson's documentary on the American western, an award-winning equestrian, and a writer on politics and former editor of a political magazine. Pauline Kael, in comparison, seems so limited in her abilities. Can you think of another writer today, who works at such a high level of achievement as Gilliatt across so many different literary and journalistic forms. She was simply an astonishment, despite illness with alcoholism. She was also called by the New York Times, in the 70s, as the most beautiful living writer on earth. What a human being!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125194422306151768.post-38175042262246094022012-04-14T00:36:15.159-07:002012-04-14T00:36:15.159-07:00So glad that I took the time to read your terrific...So glad that I took the time to read your terrific post about this film. I haven't seen it in some time and you're sending me back to dig it up out of my DVD pile. <br /><br />You make all the points that I would want to make myself. Chiefly that the film's even-now compelling triangle is made so not because one side of it is gay, but because the individuals involved are a well-delineated trio of characters. This was my first Peter Finch film as well, and I too think of it as his best work. When i think of this film I can hardly wrap my mind around the fact that the same director gave us that awful Madonna/ Rupert Everett film. <br />I enjoyed reading this. Your writing would inspire a person who'd never heard of the film to go and seek it out.Ken Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125194422306151768.post-5950218828525031232011-07-25T08:28:45.392-07:002011-07-25T08:28:45.392-07:00I enjoyed your great discussion of this film, whic...I enjoyed your great discussion of this film, which I saw as a young man upon its initial release. As you indicate, movies with this subject matter simply did not occur at that time, so the film had a great impact on me.<br /><br />As I recall -- and which you may be aware -- Schlesinger had objected to the initial proposed advertising (posters) for the film, which depicted Glenda Jackson reacting in shock/horror to her realization that Head and Schlesinger were sexually involved. The content was changed at Schlesinger's insistence.<br /><br />I loved the subtle humor -- the scene with Head & Jackson in bed with the children: "Are you kids smoking pot?" and the intellectual/husband referring to Jackson's tardiness: "The late Miss Greville" and his wife: "Papa made a joke!"Pierre de Plumenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125194422306151768.post-82097835629788191042011-07-03T13:17:00.191-07:002011-07-03T13:17:00.191-07:00Sam, thanks for your comment. I remember when Pene...Sam, thanks for your comment. I remember when Penelope Gilliat shared reviewing duties at the "New Yorker" with Pauline Kael, who tended to overshadow her. I read an interview with John Schlesinger describing how this movie came about. Gilliat showed him the first draft and although he thought it needed more work, he was so taken with that last scene that they continued to brainstorm on refining it. Apparently the relationship between Daniel and Bob was based on a relationship he'd had, which is one of the reasons he called the film his "most personal." (He was also Jewish like Daniel.) He called the screenplay "wonderful writing" but added that "the only thing I think is missing from it is enough humor." (Don't think I'd agree with that last part. I don't see this as a humorous movie, and Schlesinger's satirical brand of humor doesn't seem to me in the right tone to sit easily with the rest of the film.) Apparently he didn't get along too well with Gilliat. Here's what he said about her:<br /><br />"We didn't like each other very much--she was an intellectual snob and I resented that. There was a kind of tension between us but I think that, perhaps, out of that tension came a very good film."<br /><br />I hadn't seen the film in a long, long time and revisiting it was a great experience.R. D. Finchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05045080274131718843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125194422306151768.post-29088098023620919482011-07-02T12:13:37.093-07:002011-07-02T12:13:37.093-07:00I know this film quite well, and did manage to see...I know this film quite well, and did manage to see it myself in the theatres back in 1971 as an impressionable teenager. As you rightly note, the Penelope Gilliat (she was a film critic as well, writing for the New Yorker)screenplay won awards and is especially profound, and the performances by the love triangle are extraordinary. Finch is certainly as exceptional here as he was in NETWORK five years later. Your exceptional lead-in tracing the advent of homosexuality in the cinema is dead-on. The silent film MICHAEL by Carl Theodore Dreyer and the later MADCHEN IN UNIFORM by Leontine Sagan are the earliest examples of homoeroticism and gay themes in the cinema, and both were quite powerful. The most acute observation in ythis superb review is the rightful contention that SUNDAY BLOODY SUNDAY is no follow-up to other gay themes films, as it uniquly examines the characters as people in love, akin to the relationships of heterosexuals.Sam Julianonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125194422306151768.post-42700309765766017042011-06-29T22:41:54.765-07:002011-06-29T22:41:54.765-07:00Kendra, I hope you're able to find this one. T...Kendra, I hope you're able to find this one. This was the first movie I ever saw Peter Finch in, and I think it's his best performance, even more so than his more famous one in "Network." I'm sure you're aware of his history with Larry and Viv. I didn't mention that the movie takes place in London, so you might be interested to see what it was like in the early seventies.R. D. Finchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05045080274131718843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125194422306151768.post-19527203858847206132011-06-29T15:42:33.239-07:002011-06-29T15:42:33.239-07:00I'm definitely putting this film on my to-watc...I'm definitely putting this film on my to-watch list. The only other Schlessinger film I'm aware of having seen is Marathon Man (which I love because of Laurence Olivier's performance), and I quite like Peter Finch as an actor. Thanks for the great review!Kendrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00249077643561441898noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125194422306151768.post-44968826702044130382011-06-28T15:13:47.195-07:002011-06-28T15:13:47.195-07:00Becky, I certainly agree about the appeal of movie...Becky, I certainly agree about the appeal of movies that are character studies, although the fact that I've always been interested in literature probably has a lot to do with that preference. Technical prowess may draw me into a film and with exceptional directors last after the film is over, but for me it's usually the emotional engagement with characters and situations that really sticks with me. I'm currently reading the autobiography of Elia Kazan. In it he talks about how it is the job of the director to externalize the inner lives of the characters in a play or movie, and I think there is a lot to be said for that approach to film directing.<br /><br />As for "Of Mice and Men" (also "Midnight Cowboy"), I didn't mean to imply I found a gay subtext in them. Only that the situation did give me pause, especially as neither George nor Ratso show any interest in the opposite sex. Since the exact nature of the relationship between the two men is ambiguous, viewers (or readers) can interpret it however it suits them. Steinbeck could have disposed of any questions by making George unambiguously heterosexual. That he didn't do so, thus leaving the possibility open in the minds of readers, makes me wonder if this was intentional. But, as I said, I don't find anything in either movie that clearly indicates a sexual component to the relationship, only that the absence of anything that definitely rules it out raised the question in my mind.R. D. Finchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05045080274131718843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125194422306151768.post-69507751316862582272011-06-28T11:07:39.794-07:002011-06-28T11:07:39.794-07:00R.D., really good review of a movie that I remembe...R.D., really good review of a movie that I remember was shocking when it was released, but mainly how good it was. It was a story about people, not social politics as its main theme but as a part of life so hard to to deal with in those days. It was a great character study, one of my favorite genres of film. <br /><br />Finch and Jackson are just marvelous, as they always are. It's been such a long time since I've seen it, I would have to re-view it to remember all of the details, and I plan to find it soon. Your comments about how difficult it was for the older directors, who just couldn't be open in their day, made me think of George Cukor, one of the greats, and James Whale, whose story was told so well in "Gods and Monsters." Such a sad thing for them.<br /><br />The only part of your article I found surprising and just don't agree with is the assessment of "Of Mice and Men." I've read the book, seen every movie version, and never saw any indication of homosexual under-or-over tones, nothing to even make me think of it. My personal opinion, of course. I really liked your thoughtful and well-written piece!ClassicBeckyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03591715859057540467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125194422306151768.post-6191147062033905582011-06-28T10:11:49.064-07:002011-06-28T10:11:49.064-07:00Stephanie, thank you for leaving a comment. One of...Stephanie, thank you for leaving a comment. One of the reasons I like this movie so much, and the reason I chose to write on it for the LGBTQ blogathon, is that it shows the gay and bisexual characters not as something alien and exotic but as people who accept their sexuality and aren't all that different from the other characters in the movie. Aside from that, it's also an outstanding film.<br /><br />Garbo, it was a pleasure to contribute to the blogathon. I had difficulty finding something I really wanted to write on. A couple of other possibilities didn't work out, then at the last minute this film occurred to me. I hadn't seen it in years and wanted to know if it would seem as good as I remembered it. I've added a link back to the blogathon at the end of the post. I also put one of the banners that can be clicked for a link in the sidebar. The banners were all great. My favorite was the Dietrich one, but so many people were using it that I decided to go with my next favorite, the Sal Mineo-Alan Ladd banner.<br /><br />John, this is for me Schlesinger's best movie and it seems to have been his personal favorite as well. He seems one of those directors who was reliant on the screenplay to inspire his creativity, and when the writing was as exceptional as here, the results could be thrilling. I don't think his later films approached the quality of this one, although I quite liked "Day of the Locust" despite the strange miscasting of Karen Black.R. D. Finchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05045080274131718843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125194422306151768.post-77619262108375076262011-06-28T02:30:50.253-07:002011-06-28T02:30:50.253-07:00R.D. - I remember when this film was first release...R.D. - I remember when this film was first release and the uproar it caused. The "big scene" of course was the kiss between the two men and as you mention it was considering highly shocking at the time. And here is Schlesinger who just had a critical and financial hit with MIDNIGHT COWBOY now announcing to the world he was gay, a brave act at the time. But you are right, once you strip away all the so called "shock," this is a simple love triangle story. Both Peter Finch and Glenda Jackson are wonderful here. Great pick of a film you really do not hear too much about these days.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125194422306151768.post-49368662214633450352011-06-27T14:20:11.688-07:002011-06-27T14:20:11.688-07:00Excellent review. I haven't seen the film but ...Excellent review. I haven't seen the film but I especially appreciated your analysis of this movie within the context of Schlesinger's career, as well as your appraisal of Schlesinger's context within the history of queer filmmaking. Thank you for this well-researched and insightful contribution to the blogathon.<br /><br />-CarolineAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125194422306151768.post-10002432530035752192011-06-27T14:03:29.218-07:002011-06-27T14:03:29.218-07:00Thanks so much for this engaging synopsis and disc...Thanks so much for this engaging synopsis and discussion. I too was in the audience for the first run of the film, and that kiss was electric, exciting, wonderful. The film showed me spaces and possibilities that were utterly new to me: including the conservative shul and the kitchen where Glenda Jackson unabashedly overeats in her anxiety/distress. The idea that it is possible to want many different sorts of people and many different sorts of things (as well as BE different things at different times) is still an idea that provokes and engages.Stephanie Barbe Hammerhttp://magicallyreal.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.com