- Joined
- Feb 8, 1999
- Messages
- 18,397
- Real Name
- Robert Harris
The Boy Friend fits reasonably neatly within the Ken Russell pantheon.
His earlier works, produced for UK television in the mid to late 1960s, are among my favorites.
Programs such as Song of Summer, Isadora Duncan and Dante's Inferno lead to a series of theatrical productions that bear his imprimateur.
Sometimes sensuous, sometimes loud and brassy, but virtually always works that give the audience something unexpected.
The Boy Friend (1971) fits interestingly into his early works, following Billion Dollar Brain (1967), a decidedly un-Russellish production, and then three that established what our expectations might be of him for years to come -- Women in Love (1969), The Music Lovers (1970), and The Devils, which set off so many alarms that it still isn't available for re-examination.
The Boy Friend is a beautifully produced film, showcasing Twiggy in the role of wannabe star Polly Browne, and with extraordinarily colorful and in your face cinematography by David Watkin.
The overall look, resolution and color of the film, has been one of its downfalls on home video, but Warner Archive has gone back to original elements, and what we receive looks far better than what I recall back on a theater screen in 1971.
It's a backstage musical, based upon Sandy Wilson's play of the same name, that opened on the West End in 1953, before coming to Broadway in 1954, with a very young actress named Julie Andrews in the role of Polly. The original show was made more complex for the film, and unfortunately didn't make it with it with audiences as the studio had made cuts totaling almost half an hour. What was seen was not the film that Mr. Russell had made.
Enter Michael Schlesinger, then running the studio's classics division, who released the un-cut version in 1987. As an HTF regular, possibly he'll log on and give us more information.
My suggestion is to just purchase and enjoy. No assembly required.
As an aside, much of the cast are Russell company players, including Christopher Gable, Max Adrian, Murray Melvin, Georgina Hale, Sally Bryant, Vladek Sheybal (who you'll also recognize from From Russia with Love, among others.
Tommy Tune makes an incredible impact as Tommy, the 8 foot 10 inch dancer extraordinaire.
You'll also recognize Bryan Pringle, from Lawrence of Arabia.
Yet another perfect release courtesy of The Warner Archive.
From the "you can't make this stuff up category," according to wiki,
"The principal role of Polly Browne was to have been played by Diana Maddox, who fell sick on the afternoon of the final dress rehearsal. Anne Rogers (at that point playing a minor role) volunteered to take over, having learnt the role on her own. The show opened the following evening and made an overnight star of Rogers."
Life imitating art, imitating life... or something close to that.
Image - 5
Audio - 5
4k Up-rez - 5
Pass / Fail - Pass
Highly Recommended
RAH
His earlier works, produced for UK television in the mid to late 1960s, are among my favorites.
Programs such as Song of Summer, Isadora Duncan and Dante's Inferno lead to a series of theatrical productions that bear his imprimateur.
Sometimes sensuous, sometimes loud and brassy, but virtually always works that give the audience something unexpected.
The Boy Friend (1971) fits interestingly into his early works, following Billion Dollar Brain (1967), a decidedly un-Russellish production, and then three that established what our expectations might be of him for years to come -- Women in Love (1969), The Music Lovers (1970), and The Devils, which set off so many alarms that it still isn't available for re-examination.
The Boy Friend is a beautifully produced film, showcasing Twiggy in the role of wannabe star Polly Browne, and with extraordinarily colorful and in your face cinematography by David Watkin.
The overall look, resolution and color of the film, has been one of its downfalls on home video, but Warner Archive has gone back to original elements, and what we receive looks far better than what I recall back on a theater screen in 1971.
It's a backstage musical, based upon Sandy Wilson's play of the same name, that opened on the West End in 1953, before coming to Broadway in 1954, with a very young actress named Julie Andrews in the role of Polly. The original show was made more complex for the film, and unfortunately didn't make it with it with audiences as the studio had made cuts totaling almost half an hour. What was seen was not the film that Mr. Russell had made.
Enter Michael Schlesinger, then running the studio's classics division, who released the un-cut version in 1987. As an HTF regular, possibly he'll log on and give us more information.
My suggestion is to just purchase and enjoy. No assembly required.
As an aside, much of the cast are Russell company players, including Christopher Gable, Max Adrian, Murray Melvin, Georgina Hale, Sally Bryant, Vladek Sheybal (who you'll also recognize from From Russia with Love, among others.
Tommy Tune makes an incredible impact as Tommy, the 8 foot 10 inch dancer extraordinaire.
You'll also recognize Bryan Pringle, from Lawrence of Arabia.
Yet another perfect release courtesy of The Warner Archive.
From the "you can't make this stuff up category," according to wiki,
"The principal role of Polly Browne was to have been played by Diana Maddox, who fell sick on the afternoon of the final dress rehearsal. Anne Rogers (at that point playing a minor role) volunteered to take over, having learnt the role on her own. The show opened the following evening and made an overnight star of Rogers."
Life imitating art, imitating life... or something close to that.
Image - 5
Audio - 5
4k Up-rez - 5
Pass / Fail - Pass
Highly Recommended
RAH
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And really, you can't talk about this film without a huge shout out to Tony Walton for his glorious sets. 
