Sunset Song

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

The film of Sunset Song is out though I fear I have missed it - but all six episodes of the 1971 adaptation of Lewis Grassic Gibbon's classic story of a farming family and community in the Mearns district of NE Scotland are on YouTube. Only recently posted there so may not last long.

OK - the quality isn't great and there are synching issues with the sound - but once you get over that it is really excellent and worth a watch - as is the book it is very hard and brutal in bits. But you'll hear Doric spoken and that is great - though you mightn't understand some of what they say.

Apparently it was the first ever BBC Scotland colour series - Vivien Heilbron is stunning as Chris Guthrie (and she also does what is apparently the first nudie shown on UK TV!)

Classic TV

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQEYysEz7X0

 

[NWJocko]

Brings back (distant!) memories, we studied this book as part of my English Higher at high school way back when.

 

[sawtooth]

Never heard of it but I like foreign language films with subtitles so will give it a watch. 😗

 

[Doon frae Troon]

A very good film, quite gritty and a tough watch in places.
Like Warhorse without the smalchyness and very much 'of it's time'.
More educational than 'entertainment'.

I keep meaning to read the book

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

The book is great - I too read it for my Higher English and also re-read last year. Gritty, tough and very moving.

The serial sticks very close to the book - with a lot of the screenplay simply lifted from the book - which works well because much of the narrative goes on in the head of the main character Chris Guthrie and a lot is conversation. I think a criticism of the film was the way Ewan changed coming back from the war - but in the book and the serial you can see the harshness in him from the word go and before he signed-up. That''s the difference between a film and a serial - 3hrs max for the film - 6hrs for the serial so a lot more time to show the development of the lead characters