Whilst watching 'Moonrise Kingdom' I couldn't help but be reminded of another of my favourite films from a long time back.
I am an increasingly sentimental old chump but starting not to care.
This story needs to be told.
Anyone out there recall 'Melody' AKA S.W.A.L.K?
A romantic little English film about two school children who fall in love and try to run off together to get married. Stars Mark 'Oliver' Lester, Tracy Hyde & Jack Wild (RIP)
I won't bore you (too much) with any of my blabber but it has stood the test of time and worth seeking out.
I first saw it on television back in the early 70s. (I think I was down at my aunty Beryl's and watched it on a Sony black and white trinitron). It stayed with me for a long time (misty eyed childhood memories, the lot) and then eventually, with the advent of the interwebz, I managed to identify what it was.
Never released in the UK from what I can gather.
Managed to track a good quality grey/bootleg type DVD from Japan a few years back now. Matthew and I taped a few copies from it. We sent a free VHS copy to another fan from a film forum who nearly had a stroke from gratitude. It's good to help out...I think.
Never quite sure why it resonates so much with the Japanese contingent but I'm glad it does.
It seems to have inspired home grown websites, London film location tours and an actual arranged reunion with Mark and Tracy.
The soundtrack was done by the Bee Gees. Took a while but bagged one; OBI strip and everything. The only Bee Gees record I own and it is so good.
Thanks to Matt who gifted me a great book magazine type thing devoted to the film.
In summary?
A good film.
If you like that sort of thing.
I do.
Interesting...would like to see a clip (or two)
ReplyDeleteI'll bung it round when I am next on my travels in the muesli belt - I think you'll like it.
ReplyDeleteCheers! Looking forward to it.
ReplyDeleteThe book magazine type thing is an original cinema brochure which people bought in the cinema foyer before or after the actual film. Still popular here in Japan, think it has died out somewhat in the UK. I recall owning Superman and Star Wars ones though.
ReplyDeleteThe 1971 film was initially released in the UK under the title S.W.A.L.K., later changed to Melody for wider distribution in the USA, Canada and elsewhere. I think it was also sometimes titled "Love, Melody" in Japan. Reminds me very much of my time at Grammar School in Weymouth, where the beach sequence was filmed - I left school at the time the filming was taking place and I know the location very well. Until recently the DVD was only available as a Japanese import (Nippon Herald Films 2004), but Optimum Releasing Ltd have since produced a Region 2 version for the UK market (2010).
ReplyDeleteIt is (in my humble opinion) one of the best British films ever made and it captures the feel of the time; it was brilliantly cast, brilliantly scripted and acted and brilliantly filmed. I recall the micro-miniskirts and dresses of the very early 1970s, immediately before the "maxi" style took over; I remember the leather smell of school satchels, the polished oak desks, floors and walls and wearing school blazers, caps and regulation short trousers and high socks up to a specific age; I remember being absolutely terrified of certain teachers who wafted along the corridors wearing their black academic robes and mortarboards, always armed with the threat of the cane for any serious wrongdoing. Fear of the teachers and the ultimate deterrent they could call upon equalled emphatic discipline and that discipline resulted in respect, self-discipline and an deeply ingrained sense of right and wrong.
I have studied the Japanese language and some aspects of the culture and I believe Tracy Hyde's hairstyle had a kind of subliminal impact in Japan. The fringe and long hair were nothing unusual, but she also had a medium-length lock of hair in front of each ear which combined with the fringe is a Japanese female style and not commonly seen in the UK - all the girls in my old school photos from the late 60s wear identical centre partings and long, straight hair.
Excellent response - many thanks whoever you are. Fine taste and well written.
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