The Young Victoria, The Damned United and The Boat that Rocked

Three "British" movies in succession, whatever next. A costume drama mixing romance and politics, The Young Victoria succeeds in it's limited aspirations to show this short period in the young Queens life. Having already seen the terrific documentary from the gorgeous and brilliant historian Kate Williams in the BBC "Timewatch" series last November called "Young Victoria", there was nothing new to learn. But the film did concentrate on her relationships with those who sought to manipulate her position, including Paul Bettany as Lord Melbourne and Mark Strong as Sir John Conroy (both wonderfully played), and those who tried to support her. Jim Broadbent as King William was more believable than Rupert Friend as Price Albert. But the star was Emily Blunt.

The Damned United was a typical Peter Morgan drama. He turns the controversial book by David Peace into a more affectionate account of Brian Clough's 44 days as manager of Leeds United. Michael Sheen gives a marvellous interpretation of the best manager England never had. And Timothy Spall as his assistant Peter Taylor shows the warmth that was obvious in a friendship that nearly floundered when Clough takes on the Leeds job without him. Many of the reviews of this film (I cannot believe it scores 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, but as Jonathon Ross admitted, he is not a football fan but enjoyed the film immensely) have their own take on what the film means, even one calls it a thriller. From my own perspective, I believe that Clough learnt a huge lesson in the turmoil of his disastrous short tenure in charge of Leeds United. And it was this chastening experience that not only taught him how much he relied on Peter Taylor, but gave him that extra humanity that brought two European Cups to lowly Nottingham Forest.

The film takes place at the beginning of the 1974/1975 season. Don Revie had just left Leeds to become England manager. After Brian Clough was sacked, Jimmy Armfield took over as manager, but the trauma did not prevent the team reaching the final of the European Cup in May 1975. My experiences of that match will follow.

Well, the music was good, but The Boat that Rocked was a bit of a disappointment. It was far too long (over two hours) to support a pretty flimsy story. It was also quite uneven, boring and embarrassing at times, punctuated by some very funny moments. There has to be something more than a collection of eccentric and engaging characters to make a proper movie. Just thank heavens for Kenneth Branagh's performance as the nasty minister out to stop pirate radio, and tracks from The Rolling Stones and The Who. Oh ,and the bit when the boat is in trouble and the DJ says " so we will leave with a long track" and plays "A Whiter Shade of Pale".

Eric S Roberts

When I found a website on Sheffield Local History (http://history.youle.info/), one item was particularly interesting. It was a booklet written by an Eric S Roberts about his experiences in the first World War and published on 23rd May 1918. He was a Lieutenant in the Yorks and Lancaster Regiment. This must be the same Eric S Roberts who appears on the family tree in the 1971 Edition of "Some Memorials of the Family of Roberts" where it shows he was born on 17th May 1893. He was the youngest son of Sir Samuel Roberts 1852-1926.

He also signed a copy (along with all the other members of the Repertory Theatre, Sheffield) of "The Works of William Shakespeare" that was presented to my father after the production of "Sing a Song of Christmas" 1930-1931. He was 13 years old. Fourteen years later, he also was commissioned as a Lieutenant in ..... The Yorks and Lancaster Regiment.

Dad joined Sheffield Rep when he was quite young, as the following photograph demonstrates. Eric S Roberts is possibly the second on the left?

Fulham 2 Man Utd 0

On Saturday, Fulham beat Manchester United at home for the first time since 1964. I just wondered if I might have been there all those years ago. Not only did I go to watch Chelsea, but my friend Ray would often suggest going to other grounds when the blues were away. So I went into the loft and found my box of old programmes. I was amazed how many times I watched Fulham play that season. And yes, I was there to see them beat Man Utd 2-1.



The Fulham team included George Cohen at fullback. He played in the 1966 World Cup winning team. And Johnny Haynes, widely regarded as the best player to play for the club, was coming towards the end of his career.

P.S. I also used to watch Fulham play in 1950's. One of my best friends at school used to go to every home game with his father, and I joined them on a number of occassions. Johnny Haynes was in the early part of his career and Jimmy Hill (the bearded wonder) played up front. I can remember the game when they again beat Manchester United.

Waiting for Godot

It was fortunate that I booked the tickets when I did. The Milton Keynes Theatre sold out in no time for this production. What can I say other than this was one of the most enthralling experiences at the theatre ever. There was something special in the stellar casting of Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart as Estragon and Vladimir. And boy, did they put on a performance. I cannot remember such brilliant acting, or when I laughed so much. Ian McKellen was born to do comedy. His timing and delivery were fabulous, he should do stand up. With Patrick Stewart also on top form, they were a wonderful music hall comedy duo. And sharing the evening with Zoe made it perfect.

I also found the programme for the National Theatre production that opened on 25 November 1987. Unfortunately it was not in the same class. It just shows what happens when two major stars turn a difficult play into what one review called "theatrical magic". It certainly passed the time - "It would have passed in any case, but not so rapidly".

There was one play I recall where Ian McKellen was equally funny. "Black Comedy" was the second of two plays I saw at the Theatre Royal, Brighton in January 1968, and his performance was hilarious. He was 28 at the time (I was 23) and just breaking into the big time. We are both a lot older now, if not wiser.

Below: James Bolam, Liz Frazer and Ian McKellen in the dark in "Black Comedy".

PS. I did find the Programme for "Black Comedy". It was at the Theatre Royal, Brighton for week commencing 5th February 1968. Here it is.

A Large Dose of Spring

We have just had one of the best weeks for March that I can recall. Ever since last Sunday, the temperatures have risen to above 14 degrees every day. There have been long periods of sunshine, great for long walks or beavering away in the garden. With blossom on the trees, the forsythia in flower and the daffodils in full bloom. This is definitely my favourite time of year.

Gran Torino, The Unborn and Watchmen

I'm not sure what all the fuss is about. Gran Torino has taken more at the US box office than Slumdog Millionaire. It was OK, but fairly predictable. As a drama, it was written well enough. I guess I was waiting for the big shoot out, that the plot first promised. But it became clear it was not that kind of movie. Clint Eastwood's character was pretty one dimensional, the surrounding cast were much better.

The Unborn turned out to be a good ghost story, rather than a horror film. Panned by the critics (except Jonathon Ross, on whose recommendation I trusted) it had an interesting plot, reasonably well written, and an exciting conclusion. Odette Yustman (from Cloverfield) did well enough in the main role. I thought it was better than Gran Torino.

Watchmen is a complex and dark movie. It was said to have faithfully followed the popular graphic novel of which I had no knowledge. It was a very long film, but it needed the time to describe the alternative America of 1985. I liked the use of flashbacks to give us the back story of the main characters. But they were all so unpleasant, that sometimes we needed something lighter and more heroic. The special effects worked well and the sets were excellent as was the soundtrack and the choice of songs, Sound of Silence especially. If I have one complaint, it was that they only played the intro to Nena's 55 Luft Ballons. But this was more than made up by the track played over the final credits. Bob Dylan's Desolation Row by My Chemical Romance slammed me back in my seat. The best exit music since Matador by Los Fabulos Cadillacs in Grosse Pointe Blank.

Bob Dylan Covers

Was Bob Dylan the first punk rocker? The brilliant exit music from Watchmen does much to confirm this theory. His Desolation Row is reprised by My Chemical Romance, it could easily have been the Sex Pistols or the Clash at their best. It reminded me that one of my favourite tracks of all time is by Jason and the Scorchers. Their frantic version of Absolutely Sweet Marie is still my favourite Bob Dylan cover. Rage Against The Machine recorded Maggie's Farm and Red Hot Chili Peppers cover Subterranean Lovesick Blues. There must be more.