Monday, February 16, 2009
Comrades - Bill Douglas showing on TV.
Comrades the lost legendary final movie from director Bill Douglas (My Childhood, My Ain Folk, My Way Home). Is due to be shown on FILM 4 in the UK on Wednesday 19th Feb 2009 starting at 23.00. Comrades is a cinematic account of the Tolpuddle Martyrs, a group of Dorset labourers who in the early 19th century took a collective stand against the unfair treatment meated out by their land owner. The land owner and the judiciary sought to crush any dissent amongst the peasant classes and the labourers were transported to Australia for their 'crimes'.
The film had a terrific cast that includes James Fox, Michael Horden, Freddie Jones, Robert Stephens, Immelda Staunton, Keith Allen and Philip Davis, and was finally finished in 1987 (after endless production problems), and nearly 10 years after Bill Douglas had completed his life trilogy (My Ain Folk etc).
Comrades received a limited cinematic release (no doubt in part due to its unfashionable theme and its 3 hr plus running time), and subsequently received only a couple of plays on television on Channel 4 (who co-funded the project) . It also received a very low key and brief VHS issue, but it has been long out of print and impossible to find.
In the wake of Bill Douglas' death the BFI released the Trilogy on DVD, here is hoping that the premiere of Comrades on FILM4 is the first step to seeing this lost classic released on DVD very soon.
Labels: Bill Douglas, Comrades, Tolpuddle Martyrs
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