Morris: A Life with Bells On

Last updated

Morris: A Life with Bells On
Morris a life with bells on poster.jpg
Original film poster
Directed by Lucy Akhurst
Written by Charles Thomas Oldham
Produced byCharles Thomas Oldham
Lucy Akhurst
StarringCharles Thomas Oldham
Ian Hart
Derek Jacobi
Dominique Pinon
Greg Wise
Naomie Harris
Aidan McArdle
Sophie Thompson
Harriet Walter
CinematographyRoger Chapman
Edited byNick Carew
Music by Richard Lumsden
Release date
  • 27 September 2009 (2009-09-27)
Running time
100 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget£500,000

Morris: A Life with Bells On is a 2009 British independent film, a comic spoof documentary about morris dancing.

Contents

Cast

Development

Morris: A Life with Bells On was written by Charles Thomas Oldham (known as Chaz Oldham), who also co-produced it with his wife, the film's director Lucy Akhurst. The film's production company was Twist Films, set up by Oldham and Akhurst.[ citation needed ]

Oldham spent his later teen years living with a family who were keen morris dancers, and he realised that the English folk dance and its traditions were a rich subject for a film. He went on to qualify as a lawyer but turned to acting and writing. He gradually developed the script of Morris: A Life with Bells On, and drew up a wish-list of actors he would like to have in the film.

Filming

Although a low-budget film – it cost a total of £500,000 [10] to make – Oldham was successful in fulfilling his wish-list and the film features some well-known actors including Derek Jacobi, Ian Hart, Dominique Pinon, Greg Wise, Harriet Walter, Naomie Harris and Sophie Thompson. Oldham plays the lead role and Akhurst also appears in the film. A number of real-life morris sides were used as extras in the filming.

The film was shot in London and parts of south west England in the summer of 2007, [11] one of the wettest on record up to that date. Filming locations were predominantly in the West Country counties of Dorset and Wiltshire, and included Sandbanks beach in Dorset (doubling with the addition of a few palm trees as Los Angeles' Venice Beach), [12] Poole in Dorset [11] and Tisbury in Wiltshire. [13] The Compasses Inn at Lower Chicksgrove in Wiltshire served as the Traveller's Staff pub, and the climax of the film was shot at Wimborne Folk Festival at Wimborne in Dorset.

Release and reception

The film struggled to find a widespread distribution deal, as distributors felt it was too niche in its appeal to be profitable. Oldham and Akhurst organised a tour of village halls throughout the West Country from January to March 2009, [14] in local venues such as village halls. [15] Moviola, a company and registered charity that specialises in such local screenings, showed the film. [16] The film became a word-of-mouth hit through this route, and allowed Oldham and Akhurst to bypass the distributors and go directly to the exhibitors, [17] bolstered by an internet petition. [15] [18]

In May 2009 the film had its international premiere at the 35th Seattle International Film Festival, where it was awarded joint third place in the Golden Space Needle Audience Award for best film. [19] [20]

The film had its British premiere at the Prince Charles Cinema in London on 24 September 2009 [21] and was released in a few cinemas in the Picturehouse chain on 27 September 2009. Although it had a limited release, on its opening day it had a higher take per screen than the studio-backed big budget film The Soloist . [17]

Reviews were generally positive. In an article in The Times , director Ken Russell (another director renowned for filming in the West Country) considered that the film was "a sophisticated faux-naive film that combines the style of the style of Best in Show , The Full Monty , Zoolander and Babe ... Oldham has managed to walk that tightrope between irony and sincerity and come down squarely on the side of heart." [22] Jonathan Brown of The Independent considered that "shot in mockumentary style that evokes The Office and This is Spinal Tap , A Life with Bells On is an affectionate if uncompromisingly comic examination of this most peculiar of English traditions", [10] while Jon Swaine of The Daily Telegraph called it "a cult hit". [15] Giving it two stars out of five, Xan Brooks in The Guardian wrote that "At times its gentle, nuzzling brand of comedy is akin to being gummed by a sheep. And yet Akhurst and Oldham's tale is obviously heartfelt and frequently charming". [23]

Part of the publicity for the film included a spoof audition tape for the lead role by Simon Pegg, and a spoof video diary by American actor Sendhil Ramamurthy from the television series Heroes . [24] The film was released on DVD on 26 July 2010. The soundtrack composed by Richard Lumsden is also available.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Morris (satirist)</span> English comedian

Christopher J. Morris is an English comedian, radio presenter, actor, and filmmaker. Known for his deadpan, dark humour, surrealism, and controversial subject matter, he has been praised by the British Film Institute for his "uncompromising, moralistic drive".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morris dance</span> English performance folk dance

Morris dancing is a form of English folk dance. It is based on rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers in costume, usually wearing bell pads on their shins and/or shoes. A band or single musician, also costumed, will accompany them. Sticks, swords, handkerchiefs, and a variety of other implements may be wielded by the dancers.

<i>Saved by the Bell</i> American television sitcom (1989–1993)

Saved by the Bell is an American television teen sitcom created by Sam Bobrick for NBC. The series premiered, in prime time, on August 20, 1989, a Sunday night. Targeted at kids and teens, Saved by the Bell was broadcast in the United States on Saturday mornings, later as the flagship series in NBC's TNBC lineup. A spin-off of the Disney Channel series Good Morning, Miss Bliss, the show follows a group of high school friends and their principal at the fictional Bayside High School in Los Angeles. Primarily focusing on lighthearted comedic situations, it occasionally touches on serious social issues, such as drug use, driving under the influence, homelessness, remarriage, death, women's rights, and environmental issues. The series starred Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Dustin Diamond, Lark Voorhies, Dennis Haskins, Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, Elizabeth Berkley, and Mario Lopez. The series ran for four seasons, airing its final episode, again in primetime, on May 22, 1993, a Saturday night.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elizabeth Berkley</span> American actress

Elizabeth Berkley is an American actress. She played Jessie Spano in the Saved by the Bell television franchise and Nomi Malone/Polly Ann Costello in the 1995 Paul Verhoeven film Showgirls. She voiced the title role of the anime film Armitage III: Poly-Matrix and had supporting roles in the films The First Wives Club and Roger Dodger. In theater, she received critical acclaim for her performance in Hurlyburly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wessex Regionalists</span> Political party in England

The Wessex Regionalists is a minor English regionalist political party in the United Kingdom. It seeks a degree of legislative and administrative home rule for Wessex, an area in the south and south-west of England loosely based on the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naomie Harris</span> English actress (born 1976)

Naomie Melanie Harris is an English actress. She started her career when she was a child, appearing in the television series Simon and the Witch in 1987. She portrayed Selena in the zombie film 28 Days Later (2002), the witch Tia Dalma in the second and third Pirates of the Caribbean films, Winnie Mandela in Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (2013), and Frances Barrison / Shriek in Sony's Spider-Man Universe film Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021). She portrayed Eve Moneypenny in the James Bond films Skyfall (2012), Spectre (2015), and No Time to Die (2021).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mavis Enderby</span> Hamlet and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England

Mavis Enderby is a hamlet and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It lies in the Lincolnshire Wolds, 4.5 miles (7 km) east from Horncastle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Oldham (poet)</span> English poet and translator (1653–1683)

John Oldham was an English satirical poet and translator. John Dryden, England's first Poet Laureate, was one of his admirers and upon his death wrote an elegy "To the Memory of Mr. Oldham".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tollard Royal</span> Human settlement in England

Tollard Royal is a village and civil parish on Cranborne Chase, Wiltshire, England. The parish is on Wiltshire's southern boundary with Dorset and the village is 6 miles (10 km) southeast of the Dorset town of Shaftesbury, on the B3081 road between Shaftesbury and Sixpenny Handley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hill figure</span> Type of landscape design

A hill figure is a large visual representation created by cutting into a steep hillside and revealing the underlying geology. It is a type of geoglyph usually designed to be seen from afar rather than above. In some cases trenches are dug and rubble made from material brighter than the natural bedrock is placed into them. The new material is often chalk, a soft and white form of limestone, leading to the alternative name of chalk figure for this form of art.

Lucy Akhurst is an English actress, writer and director who has been working mainly in television since the 1990s. She starred alongside Neil Morrissey in The Vanishing Man and then came to prominence in a lead role in 1999's ITV seven-part drama Wonderful You.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tisbury, Wiltshire</span> Human settlement in England

Tisbury is a large village and civil parish approximately 13 miles (21 km) west of Salisbury in the English county of Wiltshire. With a population at the 2011 census of 2,253 it is a centre for communities around the upper River Nadder and Vale of Wardour. The parish includes the hamlets of Upper Chicksgrove and Wardour.

<i>Not the Messiah (Hes a Very Naughty Boy)</i> Oratorio by Eric Idle and John Du Prez

Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy) is a comedic oratorio based on Monty Python's Life of Brian. It was written by former Monty Python cast member Eric Idle and collaborator John Du Prez, and commissioned by the Luminato festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Morris (architect)</span> English architect (1695–1749)

Roger Morris was an English architect whose connection with Colen Campbell brought him to the attention of Henry Herbert, 9th Earl of Pembroke, with whom Morris collaborated on a long series of projects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilts & Dorset</span> Former British bus operator

Wilts & Dorset was a bus and coach operator providing services in East Dorset, South Wiltshire and West Hampshire. It was purchased by Go-Ahead Group in 2003 and was rebranded as Morebus in Dorset and Salisbury Reds in Wiltshire in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lydiard Millicent</span> Human settlement in England

Lydiard Millicent is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, about 3+1⁄2 miles (6 km) west of the centre of Swindon. The parish contains the hamlets of Lydiard Green, Lydiard Plain, Greatfield and Green Hill; in the northeast the parish extends to Common Platt, which is now contiguous with the Peatmoor area of Swindon.

Charles Thomas Oldham, also known by his other professional name Tom Oldham and personally as Chaz Oldham, is a British actor, voiceover artist, screenwriter and film producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wimborne Minster Folk Festival</span>

Wimborne Minster Folk Festival took over from the previously known Wimborne Folk Festival in 2013 when the previous organisers retired in August 2012, after over 30 years organising the festival. The annual festival is still internationally recognised for its traditional English folk music and dance, held in the market town of Wimborne Minster, Dorset, England.

Moviola is a rural cinema service operating in the British West Country counties of Dorset, Devon, Hampshire, Somerset and Wiltshire. It provides a cinema service for rural communities that have no or distant access to cinema theatres, showing a range of films in village halls and other venues. It advertises itself as "The South and West's Rural Multiplex", and with 80 screening venues is one of the largest rural film schemes in Europe. It is a registered charity.

<i>Shor in the City</i> 2010 Indian film directed by Ekta Kapoor and Shobha Kapoor

Shor in the City is a 2011 Indian Hindi-language crime drama film directed by Raj & DK and produced by Ekta Kapoor and Shobha Kapoor starring Tusshar Kapoor, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Preeti Desai, Girija Oak, Radhika Apte, Nikhil Dwivedi, Pitobash Tripathy, Sundeep Kishan and Amit Mistry.

References

  1. ↑ The character's unusual first name, a French surname, is used instead of Derek.
  2. ↑ The character's unusual first name may be a reference to Inspector Morse; the middle name is a play on a placename, Hungerford in Berkshire, combined with fjord.
  3. ↑ The character's name is the full name of the 17th-century French playwright better known as Molière.
  4. ↑ The character's surname is a reference to the Château de Villandry, on the banks of the Loire.
  5. ↑ The character's name is a reference to the south Wiltshire village of Compton Chamberlayne, which is close to several of the filming locations used in the film.
  6. ↑ The character's first name may be another placename reference (see e.g. Preston, Lancashire); as a given name it is probably more common in North America than the UK.
  7. ↑ The character's surname may be another placename reference (see Staveley).
  8. ↑ The character's name is a reference to the Lincolnshire village of Boothby Pagnell.
  9. ↑ The character's first name is also a placename shared by several Wiltshire villages close to Swindon, including Lydiard Tregoze; Sperling is a surname of Jewish origin.
  10. 1 2 Jonathan Brown (21 September 2009). "Hell's bells! The joy of Morris Dancing". The Independent . Retrieved 5 July 2010.
  11. 1 2 Nick Churchill (28 May 2010). "Venice Beach? No, it's Sandbanks". Bournemouth Daily Echo (see the video for information). Retrieved 5 July 2010.
  12. ↑ Andy Davey (30 May 2007). "Location! Location! Location!". Bournemouth Daily Echo . Retrieved 7 July 2010.
  13. ↑ Mike Turner (13 February 2009). "With bells on! Salisbury basketball players' role in Morris dancing movie". Salisbury Journal . Retrieved 5 July 2010.
  14. ↑ Press release available on the Morris: A Life with Bells On website under "Moviola" in the Additional Media section.
  15. 1 2 3 Jon Swaine (5 February 2009). "Morris dancing film becomes cult hit". The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved 5 July 2010.
  16. ↑ "Morris: a Life with Bells on". Moviola. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 5 July 2010.
  17. 1 2 Xan Brooks (1 October 2009). "The DIY films that vanish without trace". The Guardian . Retrieved 5 July 2010.
  18. ↑ Olivia Laing (15 February 2009). "Stick up for morris men". The Observer . Retrieved 5 July 2010.
  19. ↑ "Morris Dancers Invade Seattle". PR Log. 14 May 2009. Retrieved 5 July 2010.
  20. ↑ Gregg Kilday (14 June 2009). "Seattle fest announces winners". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on 18 June 2009. Retrieved 5 July 2010.
  21. ↑ "Morris: A Life With Bells On – UK Film Premiere". Zimbio. Retrieved 5 July 2010.
  22. ↑ Ken Russell (29 August 2009). "Dancers armed with staves are poised to storm the box office". The Times . Retrieved 5 July 2010.
  23. ↑ Xan Brooks (25 September 2009). "Morris: A Life With Bells On". The Guardian . Retrieved 5 July 2010.
  24. ↑ "Rejected by film makers: Simon Pegg and Sendhil Ramamurthy audition tapes discovered!". Unreality Shout. Archived from the original on 17 July 2012. Retrieved 5 July 2010.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.