Sunday Bloody Sunday
by John Schlesinger
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Glenda Jackson, Murray Head, Peggy Ashcroft, Peter Finch, Tony BrittonDirector: John Schlesinger
Brand: TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT
Cinematographer: Billy Williams
Editor: Richard Marden
Producer: Edward Joseph
Producer: Joseph Janni
Writer: David Sherwin
Writer: Penelope Gilliatt
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Letterboxed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.66:1
Running Time: 110 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-09-16
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Movie Reviews of Sunday Bloody Sunday
Movie Review: "It Is So Seventies !"
Summary: 5 Stars
I have loved this film since it was first released in Canada. I saw it at a theatre on Yonge Street in Toronto at a Saturday matinee where the kiss between the two men started a mini-riot sparked by some teen-aged boys in the audience. They were probably expecting a gangster movie !
I have over the years recommended the film, and loaned my VHS and DVD copies to people younger than myself who universally seem to have the same reaction, "It is so Seventies !" Never mind that it is one of the best acted films of its decade, and that it unflinchingly examines complex relationships with an honesty and integrity that would not be equaled for many years. (Possibly until BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN.)
Essentially it is the tale of a complex triangle, one part straight, one part gay, where both relationships are going down the tubes simultaneously. The young man (Murray Head) at the center of both relationships is unaware of, or indifferent to, the hurt that he is causing his two lovers.
The acting of Glenda Jackson and Peter Finch is superb. Jackson is subtle and fascinating throughout, and Finch reaches a heartbreaking integrity in his final little speech spoken directly to the audience. Murray Head is better as the young artist who ignites the passions of the two others than he was generally given credit for. You need to see both his allure and his indifference, and he handles this tricky dichotomy very well.
Although it is very dark in mood much of the time, there are some sparks of humor, some of them provided by Bessie Love as a nosy operator at an answering service shared by the three protagonists. The children that are being babysat by Jackson and Head on the "bloody" weekend alluded to in the title, are a very smart observation of bright over-indulged children of the well educated upper-middle class. Jon Finch puts in a brief and disturbing appearance as a hustler that Finch has known sometime in his past.
I seem to remember reading that the "bar mitzvah" reception scene in the film was the most expensive food scene ever in film up to that time because they had to keep re-shooting it. It too provides some humor when Finch is sat down next to a recently divorced woman by his well intentioned and unaware family.
The gorgeous terzetto from Mozart's opera COSI FAN TUTTE that provides the frequently repeated "theme" for the film is an ideal choice. An operatic scene with a gorgeous melody which is about benevolent farewells
provides a moving sonic envelope for some of the most moving moments.
Is the film 'too seventies !' I think not. That the seventies were a time of overly casual sexual relationships is a media commonplace that doesn't really hold up to close scrutiny. There is nothing casual about the relationships ending in this film. At least two of the protagonists will be affected by their breakups for the rest of their lives.
Summary of Sunday Bloody Sunday
Oscar?(r) winners* Glenda Jackson, Peter Finch and John Schlesinger pool their talents for this 'remarkable, exquisitely photographed [and] almost perfectly directed film (The Hollywood Reporter) about two Londoners coping with the noncommittal affections of the lover they have in common. Alex Greville (Jackson) and Daniel Hirsch (Finch) are deeply in love...with a young artist named Bob (Murray Head). And though Bob professes to love each of them, he moves freely between them,unencumbered by any sense of guilt. Realizing that their situation is a temporary comfort in an uncomfortable world, Alex and Daniel each grapple with their predicaments, she to face her fear of being alone, and he to come to terms with his homosexuality. *Jackson: Actress, A Touch of Class(1973), Women in Love (1970); Finch: Actor, Network (1976); Schlesinger: Director, Midnight Cowboy (1969)Sunday Bloody Sunday is a masterpiece from the days when movies, in general, were much more mature. As written by renowned film critic Penelope Gilliatt and directed by John Schlesinger, this complicated love triangle among three upscale Londoners was a milestone for its time, not simply for its nonchalant treatment of a homosexual relationship, but for illustrating the way sensible adults will negotiate for love, even if it's inconvenient or destined to fail. A doctor in his forties, Daniel (Peter Finch, proving his greatness seven years before Network) loves the much younger artist Bob (Murray Head), who also loves employment counselor Alex (Glenda Jackson at her finest). There's no deception between them--just the troubling dilemma of three lovers with differing degrees of certainty and commitment. Bob's relative blandness is the film's only weakness, but it's tolerable in a drama so deeply understanding of complex human behavior. Deliberately paced but immensely rewarding to the attentive viewer, this was Schlesinger's follow-up to Midnight Cowboy--two great films by a director in his prime. --Jeff Shannon
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