1986 film by Bill Douglas
Comrades is a 1986 British historical drama film directed by Bill Douglas and starring an ensemble cast including Robin Soans, Phil Davis, Keith Allen, Robert Stephens, Vanessa Redgrave and James Fox. Through the pictures of a travelling lanternist, it depicts the story of the Tolpuddle Martyrs, who were arrested and transported to Australia in 1834 for trying to improve their conditions by forming an early form of trade union.[2] It was Bill Douglas's last film.
Production
The film had a very long and troubled production. Although Bill Douglas had the screenplay ready in 1980, it took six years to complete it, due to problems of filming in England and Australia, Douglas's perfectionism, and conflicts with his first producer, Ismail Merchant.[2] Parts of the film were shot in the ghost town of Tyneham in south Dorset which was taken over by the military during WWII for use as a training area and is still part of a large military range.
Release
The film was first shown at the Southampton Film Festival in February 1986.[3] It was also shown at the London Film Festival in 1986, and entered into the 37th Berlin International Film Festival in February 1987.[4] In August 1987 it was released in British cinemas.
After a short run in cinemas, followed by a VHS release in 1989,[5] the film was largely forgotten. However, 20 years later Bill Douglas's small but significant production was reappraised, and in 2009 the British Film Institute released a restored version of Comrades on DVD,[6] followed in early 2012 by a three-disc dual format DVD and Blu-ray box set.[7]
Reception
The film has been described as "a moving, magical poem of human dignity, decency and hope".[8] Sheila Rowbotham praised the film as a "poetic and painterly work which was also a vigorous challenge to Thatcherism" and complimented Gale Tattersall's cinematography, while also identifying various flaws deriving "from the grandeur of Douglas's cinematic ambition".[9]
