Peter Watkins

[JohannGE]

After a search of this forum I am surprised not to find mention of Peter Watkins. Probably best known for The War Game in the UK I am sure many other of his films would be of interest to many here.

http://www.mnsi.net/~pwatkins/

Surely one of the most original of all film makers. His films are rarely shown publicly due to resistance from governments, film distributors and dumbed down mainstream audiences but can be found from the usual sources.

Most of his films are historic documentary renactments. He often uses amateur actors and by doing so manages to convey a sense of reality and genuine humanity often beyond the artifice of the proffesionals. For La Commune (de Paris,1871) for example, he deliberatly hires conservatives to act in roles opposed to the Commune.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWnePW0UWLw

Selected filmography

Culloden (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culloden_(film)) (1964)
The War Game (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_War_Game) (1965)
Privilege (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privilege_(film)) (1967)
The Gladiators (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gladiators_(film)) (The Peace Game) (1969)
Punishment Park (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punishment_Park) (1970)
Edvard Munch (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edvard_Munch_(film)) (1973)
The Seventies People (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=70%27ernes_folk_(film)&action=edit&redlink=1) (1975)
Fällan (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=F%C3%A4llan&action=edit&redlink=1) (The Trap) (1975)
Aftenlandet (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aftenlandet&action=edit&redlink=1) (Evening Land) (1977)
Resan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resan) (The Journey) (1987)
The Freethinker (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Freethinker_(film)&action=edit&redlink=1) (1994) (Titled Fritänkaren in Swedish)
La Commune (Paris, 1871) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Commune_(Paris,_1871)) (2000)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Watkins

[Pogue]

He sounds interesting, thanks.

[x359594]

He sounds interesting...

He's more than interesting fellow worker. Watkins is one of the most creative filmmakers on the left. La Commune (Paris, 1871) is not to be missed (I know, it's long, but worth evry minute.)

[JohannGE]

Links to free downloads of COMMUNE de Paris1871 & The Universal Clock:-


Watch or download COMMUNE de Paris1871 - PeterWATKINS (1999):-

http://www.archive.org/details/COMMUNE_Paris1871_PeterWATKINS

The Paris Commune of 1871 - a brief historical background

MARCH 1871: Adolphe Thiers, chief executive of the provisional national government, is alarmed by the revolutionary activities of the Paris National Guard, an armed militia of some 260 battalions organized by the previous government to help defend Paris against the Prussians in the last days of the disastrous Franco-Prussian War. The social situation in Paris is appalling, with massive unemployment and people still suffering the after-effects of the Prussian siege of Paris. Increasing socialism and militancy have been accompanied by the formation of many ‘red clubs’, which were supported by many of the National Guard battalions, especially those recruited from the working class arrondissements (districts) in the capital.
On March 18, Thiers makes a foolhardy (some say deliberately provocative) attempt to seize the cannon of the National Guard, and is foiled by the women of Montmartre. The women appeal to the government soldiers, many of whom refuse to fire on the people of Paris and reverse their muskets in a gesture of solidarity. Within a few hours Paris is in a state of insurrection, and the Mairies (town halls) of most arrondisements within the capital are in the hands of the rebellious National Guard. During these feverish hours, an angry mob has seized two government Generals, one of whom was involved in trying to capture the cannon, briefly held them prisoner, then summarily executed them against the wall of a garden in Montmartre. The firing squad included members of the National Guard as well as disgruntled government troops.
Thiers and his government hurriedly decamp to Versailles to join the National Assembly (with a majority of Monarchists from the recent elections). Henceforth the government forces are known as the ‘Versaillais’, and the National Guard and the Communards in general as the ‘Fédérés’ (in line with their vision of a loose-knit federation of Communes throughout France). A Central Committee of the National Guard occupies the abandoned Hôtel de Ville (the principal town hall governing Paris) and announces preparations for new municipal elections. On March 26, the left-wing gain enough votes to establish a socialist-oriented ‘Commune’ - which will last until May 28. On March 28, the Commune installs itself at the Hôtel de Ville, and for the next two months does its best to run the administration of Paris and to implement a programme of social reform, while fending off a growing siege from the Versaillais, who advance closer and closer in a singularly brutal war fought on the western edges of the capital.
The Communards try to introduce a series of radical social measures, e.g., to separate the Church from the State and establish a lay education system, give pensions to unmarried women, abolish night-work for bakers, introduce professional education for women, etc. But the lack of time and sheer disproportion in numbers (by May Thiers has rebuilt a standing army of 300,000) forces the issue, and the Versaillais army enters Paris on May 21 through an unguarded gate in the outer walls. Thus begins la semaine sanglante - ‘the bloody week’. In an orgy of reprisals, the French army, under the direction of its most senior generals, kills between 20-30,000 men, women and children in a series of bloody struggles for barricades right across Paris, before finally eliminating the last blocks of Communard resistance in the working class 11th, 19th and 20th districts.

http://www.mnsi.net/~pwatkins/commune.htm

http://www.rebond.org/photos/commandez.jpg


The Universal Clock: The Resistance of Peter Watkins (2001)
by Geoff Bowie

National Film Board of Canada
Documentary
Runtime: 1:16:27

3 parts, watch or download:-

http://www.archive.org/details/The_Universal_Clock_Resistance_of_Peter_Watkins_1

http://www.archive.org/details/TheUniversalClock-TheResistanceOfPeterWatkinsPart2

http://www.archive.org/details/TheUniversalClock-TheResistanceOfPeterWatkinsPart3

"The Universal Clock" is a documentary which accompanies the boxed dvd set of Peter Watkins' "La Commune (Paris, 1871)." The author of The Universal Clock (UC) takes us through both the production process of La Commune and the commercial barriers to having Watkins' recreation of the Paris Commune shown after it was created. The Universal Clock refers to the standardization of video content on the 47 minute model (with commercial and public service announcements taking up the balance of the time.) Watkins calls this the 'monoform' and is shown describing his concept of the monoform. In documenting the process of making "La Commune" UC has interviews with members of the cast who were non-professionals participating in this group project. These Parisians and immigrants talk about how being a part of the performance changed the way they view themselves and the media around them.

Peter Watkins' official site: http://www.mnsi.net/~pwatkins/
Rebond pour La Commune - An Association for the promotion and distribution of "La Commune (Paris 1871)": http://www.rebond.org/achete.htm
Icarus Films: http://icarusfilms.com/new2002/uni.html
About "La Commune": http://icarusfilms.com/new2002/la.html
Images & stills: ONF - NFB: http://www3.onf.ca/collection/films/fiche/medias.php?id=50446

This movie is part of the collection: Open Source Movies (http://www.archive.org/details/opensource_movies)