Ascendancy (film)

Last updated

Ascendancy
Ascendancy (film).jpg
Theatrical poster
Directed by Edward Bennett
Written byEdward Bennett
Nigel Gearing
Produced by Penny Clark
Starring Julie Covington
Ian Charleson
Cinematography Clive Tickner
Edited byCharles Rees
George Akers
Music by Ronnie Leahy
Distributed byProduction company:
British Film Institute
Release date
  • 28 April 1983 (1983-04-28)(UK)
Running time
92 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget£250,000 [1] or £183,000 [2]

Ascendancy is a 1983 British drama film directed by Edward Bennett and starring Julie Covington and Ian Charleson. [3] It tells the story of a woman who is a member of the British landowning 'Ascendancy' in Ireland during World War I. Gradually, she learns about the Irish independence movement, and becomes involved with it. [4]

Contents

Cast

Awards

The film was entered into the 33rd Berlin International Film Festival where it won the Golden Bear. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan Bates</span> English actor (1934-2003)

Sir Alan Arthur Bates was an English actor who came to prominence in the 1960s, when he appeared in films ranging from the popular children's story Whistle Down the Wind to the "kitchen sink" drama A Kind of Loving.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julie Christie</span> British actress (born 1940)

Julie Frances Christie is a British actress. An icon of the Swinging Sixties, Christie is the recipient of numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. She has appeared in six films ranked in the British Film Institute's BFI Top 100 British films of the 20th century, and in 1997, she received the BAFTA Fellowship for lifetime achievement.

The following is an overview of events in 1983 in film, including the highest-grossing films, award ceremonies and festivals, a list of films released and notable deaths.

Julie Covington is an English singer and actress, best known for recording the original version of "Don't Cry for Me Argentina", which she sang on the 1976 concept album Evita.

Sir Richard Charles Hastings Eyre is an English film, theatre, television and opera director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ian Charleson</span> Scottish actor

Ian Charleson was a Scottish stage and film actor. He is best known internationally for his starring role as Olympic athlete and missionary Eric Liddell in the Oscar-winning 1981 film Chariots of Fire. He is also well known for his portrayal of Rev. Charlie Andrews in the 1982 Oscar-winning film Gandhi.

<i>An Englishman Abroad</i> 1983 television film directed by John Schlesinger

An Englishman Abroad is a 1983 BBC television drama film based on the true story of a chance meeting of actress Coral Browne with Guy Burgess, a member of the Cambridge spy ring who spied for the Soviet Union while an officer at MI6. The production was written by Alan Bennett and directed by John Schlesinger. Browne stars as herself.

David Leland is an English film director, screenwriter and actor who came to international fame with his directorial debut Wish You Were Here in 1987.

<i>Reilly, Ace of Spies</i> 1983 British TV drama series

Reilly, Ace of Spies is a 1983 British television programme dramatizing the life of Sidney Reilly, a Russian-born adventurer who became one of the greatest spies ever to work for the United Kingdom and the British Empire. Among his exploits, in the early 20th century, were the infiltration of the German General Staff in 1917 and a near-overthrow of the Bolsheviks in 1918. His reputation with women was as legendary as his genius for espionage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colin Blakely</span> British actor

Colin George Blakely was a Northern Irish actor. He had roles in the films A Man for All Seasons (1966), The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970), Murder on the Orient Express (1974), and Equus (1977).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Rintoul</span> Scottish actor

David Rintoul is a Scottish stage and television actor. Rintoul was born in Aberdeen, Scotland. He studied at the University of Edinburgh, and won a scholarship to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.

<i>Troubles</i> (novel) 1970 novel by J. G. Farrell

Troubles is a 1970 novel by J. G. Farrell. The plot concerns the dilapidation of a once-grand Irish hotel, in the midst of the political upheaval during the Irish War of Independence (1919–1921). It is the first instalment in Farrell's acclaimed "Empire Trilogy", preceding The Siege of Krishnapur and The Singapore Grip. Although there are similar themes within the three novels, they do not form a sequence of storytelling.

David Green is a British film director, television producer and media executive.

Jack Laskey is an English actor best known for his theatre work and his role as DS Jakes in the ITV drama series Endeavour. He is the third son of Michael Laskey, a poet. Laskey trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sean Mathias</span> British actor

Sean Gerard Mathias is a Welsh actor, director, and writer. He is known for directing the film Bent and for directing highly acclaimed theatre productions in London, New York City, Cape Town, Los Angeles and Sydney.

Edward Bennett is a British film and TV director. He was educated at Eton College. His most notable film is Ascendancy (1982), for which he won the Golden Bear at the 33rd Berlin International Film Festival. The following year he was a member of the jury at the 34th Berlin International Film Festival.

Deadly Advice is a 1994 British comedy drama film directed by Mandie Fletcher and starring Jane Horrocks, Brenda Fricker and Edward Woodward.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">33rd Berlin International Film Festival</span> Film festival

The 33rd annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 18 February to 1 March 1983. The festival opened with the out of competition film, Tootsie by Sydney Pollack.

<i>Codename: Kyril</i> 1988 UK Cold War espionage TV drama

Codename: Kyril is a 4-part British miniseries, first broadcast in 1988 over two consecutive nights. It is a Cold War espionage drama, starring Ian Charleson, Edward Woodward, Denholm Elliott, Joss Ackland, and Richard E. Grant. The spy thriller was directed by Ian Sharp, and the screenplay was written by John Hopkins, from a 1981 novel by John Trenhaile. The fairly complex plot concerns a known Russian spy ("Kyril") sent to the UK under falsely reported pretenses in order to hopefully indirectly spark an unknown mole in the KGB to reveal himself; the endeavor eventually has repercussions which none of the initial players could have predicted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ellie Bamber</span> English actress (born 1997)

Eleanor Elizabeth Bamber is an English actress. She won third prize at the Ian Charleson Awards for her 2017 performance in The Lady from the Sea at the Donmar Warehouse. On television, she is known for her roles in the BBC series Les Misérables (2018), The Trial of Christine Keeler (2019–2020), and The Serpent (2021), and the Disney+ series Willow (2022).

References

  1. BRITISH PRODUCTION 1981 Moses, Antoinette. Sight and Sound; London Vol. 51, Iss. 4, (Fall 1982): 258.
  2. "Back to the Future: The Fall and Rise of the British Film Industry in the 1980s - An Information Briefing" (PDF). British Film Institute. 2005. p. 19.
  3. "Ascendancy (1983)". BFI. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019.
  4. "Ascendancy (1982) - Edward Bennett | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie" via www.allmovie.com.
  5. "Berlinale: 1983 Prize Winners". berlinale.de. Retrieved 14 November 2010.