Born Free (1966)

Based on a true story, Born Free, tells the remarkable story of Joy and George Adamson and the lion cub, Elsa, whom they raise. When Elsa becomes too big to keep at the Adamson's home, Joy is determined that she should be released back into the wild.

Elsa and her two sisters are rescued by George Adamson, a game warden, after he was forced to shoot their mother in self defence. He brings the three cubs home to his wife Joy, and they begin to care for them. Eventually two of the cubs are sent to the Rotterdam zoo, but the couple decide to keep their favourite, Elsa. Joy is determined to release Elsa into the wild so she can live a free life. However having been raised by humans, Elsa is unable to hunt for herself, and so the Adamson's set out to train her as best they can. Through a series of trial and error they succeed in helping Elsa learn to hunt.
Her final test is to find a mate, and after leaving her to fend for herself, the Adamson's are delighted when they return to find Elsa with three cubs of her own.

Born Free was based on the hugely successful book of the same name written by the real Joy Adamson. The relationship she had had with Elsa was regarded as a scientific marvel and completely changed the way people viewed lions. All the proceeds Joy made from her books and the film, she put into her conservation trust, named after her beloved Elsa.
In the film Joy and George were played by real life couple, Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers. Determined to make the film as authentic as possible, Virginia and Bill, insisted on working with real lions, whilst the film crew remained safe behind wire cages. This gave the film a greater feel of realism and with it's evocative score by John Barry, it remains a beautiful and moving piece of cinema.

Virginia and Bill were so inspired by their time with the lions that they later formed the Born Free Foundation, dedicated to saving animals and keeping them wild. One of their first missions was to successful rehabilitate the three lions used during the film. Girl, Boy and Ugas were sent to live with George Adamson who then released them back into the wild.

Virginia McKenna, George Adamson, Bill Travers, Joy Adamson

The film continued on with the work started by Joy's book, it showed people a different side to lions, and encouraged people to preserve their lives and their habitats. In telling the story of Elsa the Travers also embarked on a new phase of their careers, and Virginia remains actively involved with animal conservation to this day.

                                                                              4/5

The Ipcress File (1965)

The anti-thesis to James Bond, The Ipcress File, presents a grim, realistic world of double agents with the bleak fantasticalness of Orwell's 1984. It tells the story of Harry Palmer (Michael Caine) an agent working for the Ministry of Defence who helps to uncover a plot involving the brainwashing of British scientists.

The Ipcress File perfectly brings everyday domesticity to the spy thriller and creates a main character that reflects this. Harry Palmer loves cooking, we see him at the supermarket (not a place James Bond would traverse), he enjoys classical music and reading and is from a working class background.
The film brought kitchen sink realism to a genre that was known for its flashy, glamorous and rather unbelievable plot lines. Ipcress is firmly rooted in everyday London, with it's grime and drudgery, this is the other side to the swinging sixties dream. Based on the novel of the same name by Len Deighton the film also owes much to the novels of Graham Greene and George Orwell's dystopian, 1984. The story reflects the Cold War paranoia that was prevalent in Britain at the time, with it's fears of scientific experiments, defection and brain washing.
 However in spite of it's bleak setting Ipcress has it's fair share of humour. Palmer has a laconic attitude and Caine brings his characteristic witticisms to the role. It's also a taut thriller, as who is who, is not fully revealed until the end.
It is a film of secrets and double crossings and so the audience views the characters from the margins. Situations are seen through car windows, telephone boxes, light shades, from behind shoulders-often what we see is partially obscured, as it is for many of the characters. Ironically Palmer has a habit of leaving doors open, something which both his superiors bring him up on, but this could denote his more open, relaxed manner in the face of so many lies.

Sound is incredibly important in the film, and it's not just the brain washing noise of the Ipcress. From the beginning the small everyday sounds are heightened and pre eminent, where in many other films they would be softened. Everything from an alarm clock to a coffee grinder, noise in the street to footsteps. We become aware that this is a film in which every sound has a meaning and sounds can be dangerous. This cacophony of little sounds all lead to the finale of the torture room in which sound is used for a deadly purpose.

4/5

Plein Soleil (1960)

Watching Plein Soleil (Purple Noon) I was struck by how beautiful the cinematography was. It is a perfect mixture of fantastic beauty, and natural realism. The film is concerned with the little details, which is fitting as Tom's life becomes overtaken by these small details. His life is hinged around what will and will not leave a trail. I apologise this is such a picture heavy post, but it is such a visual film. Much like Alain Delon's later film, La Piscine, in Plein Soleil you can feel the summer sun, taste the salt water, and hear the noises of the markets.

Edith Head & Hollywood

I apologise for the absence from this blog, I am hoping to update more regularly this year!
Today I want to talk about the wonderful exhibition being held in Bendigo, Australia, all about Edith Head and her long, successful career as a designer.

The exhibition features hundreds of costumes from films ranging from the 1930s to the 1960s, including, Samson & Delilah, The Ten Commandments, Funny Face, Sunset Boulevard, The Lady Eve and Vertigo. The exhibit provides lots of quotes from Head and the actors and actresses she worked with about her designs, as well as featuring sketches and her Oscar for Roman Holiday. 
It was wonderful to see outfits worn by all three of my favourite actresses, Audrey Hepburn, Natalie Wood and Joanne Woodward, and I've included some pictures below.
Head worked with almost every actress you can think of and always made sure to design costumes that would suit their shapes and make them feel confident. She also studied the film scripts extensively and made sure her costumes suited the character and their actions, she never wanted an outfit to outshine the actress, their work was always centre stage.
Looking at the beautiful costumes it is easy to see why Head had such a long career in the fickle film industry. Her creations are meticulously made and she had a wonderful eye for detail. Not only that but each outfit perfectly suited the film and actress they adorned.

(Suit worn by Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face, 1957)

(Gown worn by Natalie Wood in Inside Daisy Clover, 1965)

(Dress worn by Natalie Wood in The Great Race, 1965. It's a bit hard to see in the photo because of the background, but I've included a picture of the sketch as well)

(Cocktail dress worn by Joanne Woodward in A New Kind of Love, 1963)

(Ensemble worn by Kim Novak in Vertigo, 1958)

(Peacock gown worn by Hedy Lamaar in Samson and Delilah, 1949)

(Dress & coat worn by Shelley Winters in A Place in the Sun, 1951. This one was unusual as they also had the original shoes Winters wore on display. Apparently owing to the nature of the studio system few shoes survived their frequent reuse)

(Costume worn by Yul Brynner in The Buccaneer, 1958)

(All photographs taken by me)