Though released nearly four decades ago, the impact of British director Alan Clarke’s stripped-down, visually matter-of-fact-yet-enrapturing “prison” drama Scum can still be felt in ripples throughout modern cinema, from the dirt-caked musings of the excellent Starred Up, to the philosophical discussion posed between a beaten Bobby Sands and stubborn priest in Steve McQueen’s Hunger. Shrouded in controversy upon its release, Scum has sat for years under the sort of “banned film” title that lends to a certain morbid fascination, which itself overlooks potential (or inherent) cinematic value. But Scum lives up to its title to this day, its manic energy balanced with an assured and naked openness that creates a searing level of realism and, as such, savagery.
Scum is set in a juvenile-offender institution that is more akin to youthful hell than a chance at redemption for its sordid inmates, who struggle, fall, and brawl in the...
Scum is set in a juvenile-offender institution that is more akin to youthful hell than a chance at redemption for its sordid inmates, who struggle, fall, and brawl in the...
- 6/14/2017
- by Mike Mazzanti
- The Film Stage
From fizzy drink sizes to video nasties to employment law, we look at the films that had an impact on legislation as well as culture...
Some films appear in the cinema, entertain their audience, make their money, and then dutifully shuffle off into the mists of history, only to be wheeled out now and again on TV. But occasionally, one comes along that has a lasting impact, and every so often, a movie has at least some influence on an eventual change in the law.
Here, we're going to look at a few examples of that, as we examine a selection of films that have had an impact more lasting than how much they made at the box office...
Scum
Originally conceived as a BBC Play For Today, Alan Clarke's Scum was pulled by the corporation from its broadcast schedules. Undeterred, Clarke and writer Roy Minton reworked it as a film,...
Some films appear in the cinema, entertain their audience, make their money, and then dutifully shuffle off into the mists of history, only to be wheeled out now and again on TV. But occasionally, one comes along that has a lasting impact, and every so often, a movie has at least some influence on an eventual change in the law.
Here, we're going to look at a few examples of that, as we examine a selection of films that have had an impact more lasting than how much they made at the box office...
Scum
Originally conceived as a BBC Play For Today, Alan Clarke's Scum was pulled by the corporation from its broadcast schedules. Undeterred, Clarke and writer Roy Minton reworked it as a film,...
- 8/28/2014
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
Richard Norton-Taylor and Simon Hattenstone write: Barry Jackson's best-known role may have been the pathologist George Bullard in Midsomer Murders, but his favourite was the title role of Horace, the hero with learning difficulties of a BBC Play for Today (1972) and a series for ITV (1982), written for him by Roy Minton.
He was quietly determined and ludicrously brave. One night when he was making the film The Bofors Gun (1968) he was out with its fiery star Nicol Williamson – not a man to mess with. Williamson challenged him to a game of darts with a difference: while one placed his hand on the dart board, the other would throw round it. Barry went first, and duly threw round Williamson. Then Williamson went and threw the dart straight through Barry's hand. Barry smiled and didn't utter a world. You didn't dare show weakness in front of Nicol, he later told us.
He was quietly determined and ludicrously brave. One night when he was making the film The Bofors Gun (1968) he was out with its fiery star Nicol Williamson – not a man to mess with. Williamson challenged him to a game of darts with a difference: while one placed his hand on the dart board, the other would throw round it. Barry went first, and duly threw round Williamson. Then Williamson went and threw the dart straight through Barry's hand. Barry smiled and didn't utter a world. You didn't dare show weakness in front of Nicol, he later told us.
- 12/10/2013
- by Richard Norton-Taylor, Simon Hattenstone
- The Guardian - Film News
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