Elephant is strictly antientertainment in its approach and the formulaic nature of the killing scenes, although being quite repetitive, is great for creating. Jul 19, 20 the british television director alan clarke is primarily associated with the visceral social realism of such works as his banned borstal play, scum, and his study of football hooliganism, the firm. Elephant by alan clarke a movie to download, on vod and legal streaming lacinetek. Stephen gilbert, alan clarke obituary, guardian, 26 july 1990, p. Elephant is without question alan clarke s bleakest film. Comparison between elephant alan clarke, 1989 and elephant gus van sant, 2003. I dont think it would be too far to say that alan clarke s elephant falls somewhere close to the other end of the spectrum. With tim roth, terry richards, bill stewart, eric richard. Rent the firm elephant 2004 on dvd and bluray dvd netflix. You can also follow the album of the day a classic album presented in its entirety. Alan clarke although best remembered for three controversial and groundbreaking dramas made in britain, the firm and the notorious scum the breadth of clarkes radical, politically incisive and innovative work deserves fuller recognition. Liverpool native alan clarke got his start in the film business in canada, where he studied acting and directing. In the firm, gary oldman stars as the leader of a gang of football hooligans. Gary walker bill hamilton michael foyle danny small robert j.
Tim roth, terry richards, bill stewart, eric richard, geoffrey hutchings. Elephant, which was broadcast only once, on the bbc, was among the most alarming and experimental works shown on british television and the apotheosis of the career of its director, alan clarke. Alan clarke at the bbc 19691989 is available on bfi bluray and dvd now. Essentially a compilation of eighteen murders on the streets of belfast, without explanatory narrative or characterisation and shot in a cold, dispassionate documentary style, the film succinctly captures the horror of sectarian killing. Rent the firm elephant 2004 starring gary oldman and lesley manville on dvd and bluray. Alan clarke at the bbc 196989a homevideo collection of the 23 standalone clarke films still extant, plus the seven survivors of the ten 196768 dramas he made for the independent rediffusions halfhour story seriesis likely to prove the british film event of 2016. Alan clarke and producer danny boyle trainspotting, 28 days later explore the political violence of northern ireland via the stark.
Nov 12, 2010 alan clarkes tv drama elephant didnt fuck about. Two cinema shorts explore noted british television and film producer alan clarke s equally pioneering efforts as a director. Elephant by alan clarke partie 1 video dailymotion. It remains intensely ambiguous, featuring no music or commentary and very little dialogue. Disruption 19781989 6dvd box set alan clarke at the bbc, volume 2. Northern ireland, elephant presents a succession of onetake scenes in which. At just 40 minutes, elephant is the shortest film in the collection but still boasts an excellent extra in the shape of a commentary track by producer danny boyle and critic mark kermode. David hare recalls clarke making an analogy between 1930s and 40s hollywood and the bbc as a place in which a director could do a lot of different work kelly, alan clarke, p. Manchester university press, 2005, which was reissued in paperback in 2011. The british television director alan clarke is primarily associated with the visceral social realism of such works as his banned borstal play, scum, and his study of football hooliganism, the firm. Join facebook to connect with alan clarke and others you may know.
A depiction of a series of violent killings in northern ireland with no clue as to exactly who is responsible. Alan clarke, director of scum and the firm, is a director of men. For those who dont know it, alan clarke s 39minutelong film is nothing more than a series of scenes depicting one or more men quietly and efficiently gunning down some other man, either in the victims own home, or in a public restroom, or in the street, etc. No survey of the unregulated border between television and film is complete without a discussion of alan clarke, a true original among british tv directorsand probably of elephant, the roughly 40minute, minimalist artpieceslashexperimentalthriller that he directed for bbc northern ireland in 1988, two years before his death from lung cancer. Alan clarke at the bbc 19691989, a restoration of his bbc oeuvre out on 6 june, is years overdue.
With gary walker, bill hamilton, michael foyle, danny small. The killings are left unexplained and are seemingly motiveless, providing a. Alan clarks life in quotes alan clark will be rembered for his wit and indiscret remarks tory politician alan clark will be remembered more for his frank and entertaining diaries and his outspoken remarks than for his time as a minister. Clarke inspired a generation of actors, writers and directors, including paul greengrass, stephen frears, tim roth, ray winstone, gary. As part of blue undergrounds alan clarke collection, elephant shares disk space with clarkes final work, the firm, which is the only film in the set not to have much in the way of extras. The alan clarke collection scum made in britain the firm elephant. Critical appreciation of his work remains muted, considering him unjustly to be an ultrarealist, lacking in art and artifice. Although im not one to say this seeing as ive only seen one other clarke film, the firm, which i thought was better than elephant. Out of his own light part 12 documentary distributor.
In the film that the village voice hails as alan clarkes masterpiece and would become the direct inspiration for gus van sants awardwinning movie of the. Trevor is a 16 year old, sometimesviolent skinhead with no regard for authority, and would rather spend his time stealing cars than sitting in the detention centre to which he is sent. Download alan clarke ebook epub pdf fb2 video dailymotion. Explore books by alan clarke with our selection at. And clarkes infamous 1989 short film about killing, elephant, became a touchstone for modern cineprovocateurs. The other elephant and the art of contextfree tv violence. The british television director alan clarke is primarily associated with the visceral social realism of such works as his banned borstal play scum, and his study of football hooliganism, the firm.
He concocts a plan to unite rival teams or firms but his efforts result in violence. And hostile, if you turn up with long hair and say you want to. This book uncovers the full range of his work from the mythic fantasy of penda. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Harold allan clarke born 5 april 1942, salford, lancashire, england is an english pop rock singer, who was one of the founding members and the original lead singer of the hollies. Alan clarke and producer danny boyle trainspotting, 28 days later explore the political violence of northern ireland via the stark and brutal depiction of eighteen separatist murders. Elephant is without question alan clarkes bleakest film. Ten years after the death of the socalled samuel pepys of the 20th century out comes the official biography. Alan clarkes bleak film depicts a succession of eighteen violent murders around belfast.
And yet, it was one of the most powerful and disturbing films made by the bbc during the 1980s and there has been nothing like it since. Also included is a 1989 alan clarke interview 10 mins. Two films reflecting on the 1980s in northern ireland. Jun 08, 2016 explore alan clarke s innovative use of steadicam with this exclusive video essay. He worked mostly in television, but he made a couple of feature films that got attention for their portrayal of the gritty and occasionally violent life. It was a shame that the paperback was just a straight reprint because most of it was written in the restrictive logistical circumstances of my ph.
The british television director alan clarke is associated primarily with the visceral social realism of his banned borstal play scum and his football hooligan study the firm, but this book uncovers the poetic and wideranging career beneath his violent stereotype, for instance the mythic fantasy pendas fen and the radical terrorist short elephant. Upgrade to a letterboxd pro account to add your favorite services to this listincluding any service and country pair listed on justwatchand to enable oneclick filtering by all your favorites powered by justwatch. Bbc2 25011989 40mins the title for clarkes drama was inspired by a quote from writer bernard maclaverty, claiming that the troubles were as easy to ignore as an elephant in your livingroom for those living in northern ireland but perhaps suggesting that after a time, everyone has learned to live with it. Alan clarke is a member of vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them. Elephant 1988 is the most extreme example, a 16mm colour film of eighteen killings in northern ireland. The film is set in northern ireland during the troubles and its title comes from bernard maclavertys description of the conflict as the elephant in our living room a reference to the collective denial of the underlying social problems of northern ireland.
Alan clarke represented the best of uk tv drama, a sublimation of dennis potter, ken loach and mike leigh. Explore alan clarkes innovative use of steadicam with this exclusive video essay. The film is set in northern ireland during the troubles and its title comes from bernard maclavertys description of the conflict as the elephant in our living room a reference to the collective denial of the underlying social problems of northern ireland produced by bbc northern ireland, it first. His own man, made by film four to accompany a season of his films screened in 2000, and is comprised of short interviews with writer and broadcaster howard schumann, clarke s daughter molly, the firm star gary oldman and writerdirector. Elephant is a 1989 british short film directed by alan clarke and produced by danny boyle. This was the guy who kicked against the pricks and pushed the envelope, the rebel. Aug 10, 2017 elephant, which was broadcast only once, on the bbc, was among the most alarming and experimental works shown on british television and the apotheosis of the career of its director, alan clarke. This article builds upon one subsection of chapter 3 of dave rolinson, alan clarke manchester. Upon returning to england he got a job at itv, then moved over to the bbc in 1969. His social worker, harry parker, tries to do his best, but trevor is only interested when theres something. Bibliography kelly, richard ed, alan clarke london.
After clarkes death, she wrote a suite of pieces in his memory, entitled a man called alan. Allan clarke biography, albums, streaming links allmusic. A case for british television films, in paul newland editor. And hostile, if you turn up with long hair and say you want to exercise your legal right to attend a court martial. This book uncovers the full range of his work from the mythic fantasy of pendas fen, to the radical short film on terrorism, elephant. Thirtynine minutes of screen time, three lines of dialogue, eighteen killings.
Alan clarke a documentary featuring rare behindthescenes footage and interviews with friends and colleagues of clarke, including tim roth, danny boyle, stephen frears high fidelity, the grifters, ray winstone and phil daniels. The inyourface films of alan clarke the new york times. Musician annie locke was a close friend of clarke for many years, and they worked together on the lovegirl and the innocent. Watch elephant add to watchlist in the film that the village voice hails as clarkes masterpiece and would become the direct inspiration for gus van sants awardwinning movie of the same name, clarke and producer danny boyle trainspotting, 28 days later explore the political violence of northern ireland via the stark and brutal depiction. Van sant borrowed the title from a film by alan clarke he admires very much, dating from 1989, about the violence in northern ireland, with which he also. Gary oldman elephant alan clarke interview youtube. A second extra, memories of elephant is actually five minutes of extracts from the documentary alan clarke. Contemporary television is insipid and bland in comparison to these brilliant works. Elephant is often regarded as alan clarkes masterpiece. This second collection contains the road, which is not his best known piece but which in my humble opinion is the pinnacle of televisual art.
1391 573 394 985 548 875 525 623 1136 81 391 548 363 536 1190 817 1452 208 1468 1076 1612 260 573 1466 1518 1262 1541 1368 842 1012 1019 957 1366 674 976 931 1320 1114 1203 192 791 1425