fiction.wikisort.org - Movie

Comrades is a 1986 British historical drama film directed by Bill Douglas and starring an ensemble cast including Robin Soans, Phil Davis, Keith Allen, Robert Stephens, Vanessa Redgrave and James Fox. Through the pictures of a travelling lanternist, it depicts the story of the Tolpuddle Martyrs, who were arrested and transported to Australia in 1834 for trying to improve their conditions by forming an early form of trade union.[2] It was Bill Douglas's last film.

Comrades
British 2009 DVD cover
Directed by	Bill Douglas
Written by	Bill Douglas
Produced by	Simon Relph
Starring	Keith Allen
Cinematography	Gale Tattersall
Edited by	Mick Audsley
Production companies	Skreba Films FilmFour International
Distributed by	Curzon Film Distributors
Release dates	February 1986 (1986-02) (Premiere) 23 August 1987 (1987-08-23) (UK)
Running time	183 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	£3,010,000[1]

Cast

In credits order:

Production

The film had a very long and troubled production. Although Bill Douglas had the screenplay ready in 1980, it took six years to complete it, due to problems of filming in England and Australia, Douglas's perfectionism, and conflicts with his first producer, Ismail Merchant.[2] Parts of the film were shot in the ghost town of Tyneham in south Dorset which was taken over by the military during WWII for use as a training area and is still part of a large military range.

Release

The film was first shown at the Southampton Film Festival in February 1986.[3] It was also shown at the London Film Festival in 1986, and entered into the 37th Berlin International Film Festival in February 1987.[4] In August 1987 it was released in British cinemas.

After a short run in cinemas, followed by a VHS release in 1989,[5] the film was largely forgotten. However, 20 years later Bill Douglas' small but significant production was reappraised, and in 2009 the British Film Institute released a restored version of Comrades on DVD,[6] followed in early 2012 by a three-disc dual format DVD and Blu-ray box set.[7]

Reception

The film has been described as "a moving, magical poem of human dignity, decency and hope".[8]

References

External links

• Comrades at IMDb
• Comrades at the British Film Institute
• Comrades at the BFI's Screenonline
• Comrades at the British Board of Film Classification
• 400 Blows, 18 October 2005: Simon Relph on Bill Douglas Retrieved 2012-11-07
• 400 Blows, 26 July 2005: Phil Davis on Bill Douglas Retrieved 2012-11-07

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