Restless Natives | |
---|---|
Directed by | Michael Hoffman |
Written by | Ninian Dunnett |
Produced by | Rick Stevenson Andy Paterson Mark Bentley |
Starring | Vincent Friell Joe Mullaney Ned Beatty Bernard Hill |
Cinematography | Oliver Stapleton |
Music by | Big Country |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Thorn EMI Screen Entertainment |
Release date |
|
Running time | 90 minutes |
Country | Scotland |
Language | English |
Budget | £1.2 million [1] [2] |
Box office | £300,000 [1] |
Restless Natives is a 1985 Scottish adventure comedy film, directed by Michael Hoffman.
The story follows the adventures of two Scottish youths from the Wester Hailes district of Edinburgh, played by Vincent Friell and Joe Mullaney, who, in rebellion to their drab lives in urban Scotland in the mid-1980s, become modern highwaymen. Donning masks of a clown and a wolf-man and riding a Suzuki GP 125 motorbike, they waylay and hold up with a toy gun tourist coaches in the Highlands, but in the process becoming a tourist attraction themselves. Having acquired substantial amounts of money, they proceed to become modern-day Rob Roys, doling it out to the poor of their city by scattering it on bike rides through its streets, attracting national media attention and pursuit by the police. [3] [4]
In the end, after escaping the police, they try to hold up another coach, but it is not driven by a woman as it first seems but by a man (Ned Beatty) who has been pursuing them. The police catch up and they are arrested. But a man representing the Secretary of State for Scotland releases them because they have increased Scottish tourism by 15%. He instead organises a fake crash to explain the highwaymen's demise, with their real identities still unknown.
Restless Natives—as suggested by its title—has underlying themes beyond its superficial presentation as a light social comedy film. It was produced at a time of high unemployment in the United Kingdom, with Scotland being particularly affected by post-industrial economic blight, and being governed from London by a Conservative party that the Scottish electorate had rejected in the recent 1983 United Kingdom general election. The main storyline's premise reflected the frustration of mid-1980s Scottish working class youth, using the freedom facilitated by a motorcycle to escape into revitalizing open vistas of the landscape of the Scottish Highlands. The production was a part of a group of small-budget cinematic productions, along with titles such as Gregory's Girl (1981) and Local Hero (1983), that brought stories of contemporary life in Scotland to a global cinema audience. The film acquired cult status, being regarded as a homemade expression of local Scottish cultural pride, becoming a minor media source of insurgent Scottish cultural identity, subliminally juxtaposed to Britishness, and feeding into the developing proto–Scottish Nationalist movement in the arts, with its distinctive soundtrack from the band Big Country, whose music dealt with the same themes. [5]
The soundtrack features music from the band Big Country. This music was not released on an album but was combined into two lengthy tracks, each featuring various pieces of music and clips of actors from the film's audio, which appeared on limited edition formats of two Big Country 12" singles. The soundtrack was released on CD for the first time on the 1998 Big Country collection Restless Natives & Rarities, where it is presented as a single 35-minute track.
The screenplay won a film script writing competition held by Lloyds Bank before it was optioned for production. [5] [6]
The film performed well at the box office in Scotland, but commercially failed in other markets. [1]
Jerrald King Goldsmith was an American composer, with a career in film and television scoring that spanned nearly 50 years and over 200 productions, between 1954 and 2003. He was considered one of film music's most innovative and influential composers. He was nominated for eighteen Academy Awards, six Grammy Awards, five Primetime Emmy Awards, nine Golden Globe Awards, and four British Academy Film Awards.
A highwayman was a robber who stole from travellers. This type of thief usually travelled and robbed by horse as compared to a footpad who travelled and robbed on foot; mounted highwaymen were widely considered to be socially superior to footpads. Such criminals operated until the mid- or late 19th century. Highwaywomen, such as Katherine Ferrers, were said to also exist, often dressing as men, especially in fiction.
Pee-wee's Big Adventure is a 1985 American adventure comedy film directed by Tim Burton in his feature-film directing debut. The film stars Paul Reubens as Pee-wee Herman, along with E.G. Daily, Mark Holton, Diane Salinger and Judd Omen. The screenplay, written by Reubens with Phil Hartman and Michael Varhol, tells the story of Pee-wee's nationwide search for his stolen bicycle and has been compared to the 1948 film Bicycle Thieves.
The Ealing comedies is an informal name for a series of comedy films produced by the London-based Ealing Studios during a ten-year period from 1947 to 1957. Often considered to reflect Britain's post-war spirit, the most celebrated films in the sequence include Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949), Whisky Galore! (1949), The Lavender Hill Mob (1951), The Man in the White Suit (1951) and The Ladykillers (1955). Hue and Cry (1947) is generally considered to be the earliest of the cycle, and Barnacle Bill (1957) the last, although some sources list Davy (1958) as the final Ealing comedy. Many of the Ealing comedies are ranked among the greatest British films, and they also received international acclaim.
The Seer is the third studio album by the Scottish band Big Country, released in 1986. The album featured very traditional Scottish musical settings, reminiscent of the band's debut album The Crossing (1983). Kate Bush worked on the title song in a duet with lead singer and lyricist Stuart Adamson. The album's first single, "Look Away", was an Irish number one, and was also the group's biggest hit single in the UK, reaching number 7.
A highwayman was a criminal who robbed travelers on the road.
What's Up, Tiger Lily? is a 1966 American comedy film directed by Woody Allen in his feature-length directorial debut.
Hans Hugo Harold Faltermeyer is a German musician, composer and record producer.
Ingrid Pitt was a Polish-British actress and writer, best known for her work in British horror cinema of the 1970s.
Desperately Seeking Susan is a 1985 American comedy-drama film directed by Susan Seidelman and starring Rosanna Arquette, Aidan Quinn and Madonna. Set in New York City, the plot involves the interaction between two women – a bored housewife and a bohemian drifter – linked by various messages in the personals section of a newspaper. The film was Madonna's first major screen role and also provided early roles for a number of other well-known performers, such as John Turturro, Giancarlo Esposito, Laurie Metcalf and Steven Wright.
Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein is a 1999 American animated dark comedy horror film produced by Bagdasarian Productions, LLC. and Universal Cartoon Studios and distributed by Universal Studios Home Video. It is directed by Kathi Castillo, written by John Loy and based on characters from Alvin and the Chipmunks and Mary Shelley's 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. This is the first of two Alvin and the Chipmunks direct-to-video films, and the first of three Universal Cartoon Studios productions to be animated overseas by Tama Production in Tokyo, Japan. This is the only animated Alvin and the Chipmunks film where the Chipettes do not appear.
The 39 Steps is a 1959 British thriller film directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Kenneth More and Taina Elg. Produced by Betty Box, it is a remake of the 1935 Alfred Hitchcock film, loosely based on the 1915 novel The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan.
Duncan Duff is a British stage, television and film actor who trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London 1985 - 1987. He is best known for His role in Not Going out as Pete and for A Quiet Passion (2016), Wild Target (2010), Big Kids (2000), and Hamish Macbeth (1997).
Scotland has produced many films, directors and actors.
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure is a 1989 American science fiction comedy film directed by Stephen Herek and written by Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon. The first installment of the Bill & Ted franchise, it stars Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter and George Carlin. It follows Bill (Winter) and Ted (Reeves), who travel through time to assemble historical figures for their high school history presentation.
The Tourist is a 2010 American romantic thriller film co-written and directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck and starring Angelina Jolie, Johnny Depp, Paul Bettany, and Timothy Dalton. It is a remake of the 2005 French film Anthony Zimmer. GK Films financed and produced the film, with Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions releasing it in most countries through Columbia Pictures. The $100 million budget film went on to gross $278.3 million at the worldwide box office.
The Fruit Machine is a 1988 British film thriller starring Tony Forsyth, Emile Charles, Bruce Payne and Robbie Coltrane in the role of "Annabelle." The film, which was directed by BAFTA-winner Philip Saville, is about two gay teen friends who are running from an underworld assassin and the police. It was produced by UK TV company Granada Productions. The film showcases the rising careers of actors Coltrane and Payne, as well as a future Academy Award winner, composer Hans Zimmer, who wrote the soundtrack.
Sir Billi is a 2012 British animated comedy adventure film directed by Sascha Hartmann and written by his wife Tessa Hartmann, based on an original story they developed together. Produced by Billi Productions, the film stars the voices of Sean Connery, Alan Cumming, Patrick Doyle and Kieron Elliott. Set in the Scottish Highlands, the film follows Sir Billi, an elderly veterinarian who, with the help from his friend Gordon the Goat and the townspeople of Catterness, embarks on an adventure to rescue a beaver named Bessie Boo, while also helping her escape from a corrupt police officer. The film is Scotland's first computer-animated feature film. Connery had actually retired in 2006, but eventually joined the film's cast as a favour to the Hartmanns.
The Return of the Living Dead is the original soundtrack from the film of the same name, released in 1985 by Enigma Records. The film itself is a horror comedy film written and directed by Dan O'Bannon about a group of teenage punks dealing with a horde of brain-hungry zombies.
"The Teacher" is a song by Scottish rock band Big Country, which was released in 1986 as the second single from their third studio album The Seer. It was written by Stuart Adamson and produced by Robin Millar. "The Teacher" reached No. 28 in the UK, and No. 14 in Ireland. A music video was filmed to promote the single.