The Raging Moon (1971)
(Long Ago, Tomorrow)
Country: GB
Technical: Technicolor 112m
Director: Bryan Forbes
Cast: Malcolm McDowell, Nanette Newman, Georgia Brown, Bernard Lee, Gerald Sim
Synopsis:
Paralysed after a soccer game, embittered Bruce Pritchard is moved to a home for the disabled, where he chafes against the regime imposed by the church authorities but finds contentment in the company of a young woman struck down by polio.
Review:
An unlikely subject for a commercial film, until one examines the background of Loach films like Family Life and the recent success of Love Story across the pond. The dated attitudes to the wheelchair-bound displayed in the film are fascinating (for example, the novel idea of a disabled person actually taking a job), and the condescension of the carers is laid on a bit thick (surely?). However, this allows McDowell's character to insert himself perfectly into the slipstream of ...If and A Clockwork Orange, indeed it archly tips the performance somewhat at times. Newman is a delight and adds immensely to the touching quality of the tale, though as often Forbes could have done with an extra pair of scissors in the editing room. Still, within years this is the kind of film it would be hard to imagine coming out of the UK film industry, and more is the pity.
(Long Ago, Tomorrow)
Country: GB
Technical: Technicolor 112m
Director: Bryan Forbes
Cast: Malcolm McDowell, Nanette Newman, Georgia Brown, Bernard Lee, Gerald Sim
Synopsis:
Paralysed after a soccer game, embittered Bruce Pritchard is moved to a home for the disabled, where he chafes against the regime imposed by the church authorities but finds contentment in the company of a young woman struck down by polio.
Review:
An unlikely subject for a commercial film, until one examines the background of Loach films like Family Life and the recent success of Love Story across the pond. The dated attitudes to the wheelchair-bound displayed in the film are fascinating (for example, the novel idea of a disabled person actually taking a job), and the condescension of the carers is laid on a bit thick (surely?). However, this allows McDowell's character to insert himself perfectly into the slipstream of ...If and A Clockwork Orange, indeed it archly tips the performance somewhat at times. Newman is a delight and adds immensely to the touching quality of the tale, though as often Forbes could have done with an extra pair of scissors in the editing room. Still, within years this is the kind of film it would be hard to imagine coming out of the UK film industry, and more is the pity.
(Long Ago, Tomorrow)
Country: GB
Technical: Technicolor 112m
Director: Bryan Forbes
Cast: Malcolm McDowell, Nanette Newman, Georgia Brown, Bernard Lee, Gerald Sim
Synopsis:
Paralysed after a soccer game, embittered Bruce Pritchard is moved to a home for the disabled, where he chafes against the regime imposed by the church authorities but finds contentment in the company of a young woman struck down by polio.
Review:
An unlikely subject for a commercial film, until one examines the background of Loach films like Family Life and the recent success of Love Story across the pond. The dated attitudes to the wheelchair-bound displayed in the film are fascinating (for example, the novel idea of a disabled person actually taking a job), and the condescension of the carers is laid on a bit thick (surely?). However, this allows McDowell's character to insert himself perfectly into the slipstream of ...If and A Clockwork Orange, indeed it archly tips the performance somewhat at times. Newman is a delight and adds immensely to the touching quality of the tale, though as often Forbes could have done with an extra pair of scissors in the editing room. Still, within years this is the kind of film it would be hard to imagine coming out of the UK film industry, and more is the pity.