The Invisible Films Club 2010 Spring/Summer: History Repeating - Peter Watkins` Films

15. January, 2010, 00:00–00:00
When
15. January, 2010
Not visitable by annual pass

The War Game

Black and white documentary movie. Language: English, English subs. 49 min. 1965. UK

Written, directed, and produced by Peter Watkins for the BBC's The Wednesday Play strand, its depiction of the impact of Soviet nuclear attack on Britain caused dismay within the BBC and in government. It was scheduled for transmission on 6 August 1966 (the anniversary of the Hiroshima attack) but was not transmitted until 1985, the corporation publicly stating that the effect of the film has been judged by the BBC to be too horrifying for the medium of broadcasting. It was widely viewed before its BBC debut on video and in art-house cinemas, often using prints provided by Watkins, and the film won the Academy Award for Documentary Feature in 1966.

Culloden

Black and white documentary movie. Language: English, English subs. 72 min. 1964. UK

Culloden is a docudrama written and directed by Peter Watkins for BBC TV and originally broadcast on December 15, 1964. It portrays the 1746 Battle of Culloden that resulted in British Armys destruction of the Jacobite uprising and, in the words of the narrator, "tore apart forever the clan system of the Scottish Highlands". Described in its opening credits as "an account of one of the most mishandled and brutal battles ever fought in Britain", Culloden was hailed as a breakthrough for its cinematography as well as its use of non-professional actors and its presentation of an historical event in the style of modern TV war reporting. The film was based on John Prebbles study of the battle.

(source: wikipedia.org)