An awesome and ridiculous film that leaves you thrilled beyond the point of your natural endurance
2012
Theatre
The show has suddenly become quite wonderful, and the galvanising factor is the terrific stage debut of Melanie C
Blood Brothers
Music
The British pop music industry may be eating itself but if Muse are the pick of what it can offer the world in 2010 then British music is in rude health indeed
Muse
I was smitten by both Gilberts enormous luxuriant moustache and the intelligence and nuance of this highly entertaining play
I totally recommend Babbo to anyone who is looking for really good and traditional Italian food
Always been a fan but never seen them live. I was ecstatic to be part of this epic event. WOW!
London,
Derek Malcolm's rating
Reader rating
Dir: Mike Kaplan.
Cast: Malcolm McDowell
Description: Celebrated actor Malcolm McDowell, who first collaborated with Lindsay Anderson on If..., recalls the great director of This Sporting Life and O Lucky Man! in this theatrical one-man show, which premiered to a sell-out audience at the 2004 Edinburgh Festival, in which he reads excerpts from the writer-director's diaries and letters, interspersing these memories with personal anecdotes, photographs and clips from the films. Memories of Alan Bates, Bette Davis, John Ford, John Gielgud, Lillian Gish, Richard Harris and Laurence Olivier amongst others help to build up a portrait of Anderson on and off the set, filmed simply using static cameras by Mike Kaplan.
Country: US. 2007. 111mins
Anyone who knew Lindsay Anderson will have some stories to tell about this extraordinary British film-maker and most difficult of men who inspired intense loyalty and sometimes repaid it with less than grateful behaviour. Few knew him better than Malcolm McDowell, an actor whom Anderson made a star in If..., and who in 2004 created a oneman stage show in which he detailed his memories of his tetchy but generous mentor.
Mike Kaplan, whose friendship with McDowell began on Stanley Kubrick's Clockwork Orange and who produced The Whales of August, Anderson's last film, records McDowell's show with modest skill and mixes his anecdotes with well-chosen archive footage.
The result is fascinating, revealing McDowell to be a much finer actor than some of his recent films might suggest and Anderson to be not only a great film and theatre director but a character it is impossible, if you knew him, to forget.
The apology implied in the title was to Alan Bates, a nice man and a fine actor whom Anderson had been rude about and was told had been deeply hurt by his curmudgeonly words.
It sums up almost everything about Anderson, and McDowell's retelling of the somewhat grudging letter saying sorry could hardly be better. It evolves into an assessment of himself and the world which is both funny and revealing.
Definitely a film to cherish as an In Memoriam to an exceptional artist and a man who you couldn't help liking even at his most insufferable.
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
Morning:
11°c
