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The BFI 65th best British film ever made...
Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971)
John Schlesinger's film examines a three way open affair between a bisexual artist, a divorced female professional and an older gay Doctor. I wasn't all that interested in the lives of the first two characters but Peter Finch's quietly understated performance as the Doctor, modestly hiding his sexuality from his family and the people in the London Jewish community. Apparently the portrayal of this character as middle class, emotionally stable, respectable, cultured, financially successful and reasonably contented was quite a milestone for Gay characters in mainstream 1970s cinema. I need to see more Peter Finch films because he is fantastic in everything I've seen so far. The pervasive shots of telephone wiring, assorted communications equipment and answering services artfully illustrate the inter-connected lives of these characters but also their remoteness from each other.
A Bay of Blood (1971)
The influence of Mario Bava's 'A Bay of Blood' on later Horror films like the 'Friday the 13th' series is obvious. The location is very "Camp Crystal Lake" and although there is a Jason-type slasher dispatching horny teenagers, there is more going on in the plot. It's one of those Agatha Christie style implausible setups where everybody in a given locale just happens to be a murderer with a motive. I sort of gave up trying to follow the convoluted reasons why everybody wanted to kill each other. The surprise ironic ending to the killing spree is incredible.
Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971)
John Schlesinger's film examines a three way open affair between a bisexual artist, a divorced female professional and an older gay Doctor. I wasn't all that interested in the lives of the first two characters but Peter Finch's quietly understated performance as the Doctor, modestly hiding his sexuality from his family and the people in the London Jewish community. Apparently the portrayal of this character as middle class, emotionally stable, respectable, cultured, financially successful and reasonably contented was quite a milestone for Gay characters in mainstream 1970s cinema. I need to see more Peter Finch films because he is fantastic in everything I've seen so far. The pervasive shots of telephone wiring, assorted communications equipment and answering services artfully illustrate the inter-connected lives of these characters but also their remoteness from each other.
A Bay of Blood (1971)
The influence of Mario Bava's 'A Bay of Blood' on later Horror films like the 'Friday the 13th' series is obvious. The location is very "Camp Crystal Lake" and although there is a Jason-type slasher dispatching horny teenagers, there is more going on in the plot. It's one of those Agatha Christie style implausible setups where everybody in a given locale just happens to be a murderer with a motive. I sort of gave up trying to follow the convoluted reasons why everybody wanted to kill each other. The surprise ironic ending to the killing spree is incredible.