{"id":11272,"date":"2015-04-23T14:10:55","date_gmt":"2015-04-23T18:10:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=11272"},"modified":"2015-04-23T14:10:55","modified_gmt":"2015-04-23T18:10:55","slug":"br-to-sir-with-love-1967","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=11272","title":{"rendered":"BR: To Sir, with Love (1967)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

\"ToSirWithLove_BR\"<\/a>Film<\/strong>: Excellent<\/p>\n

Transfer<\/strong>: \u00a0Excellent<\/p>\n

Extras<\/strong>:\u00a0Excellent<\/p>\n

Label:\u00a0<\/strong>Twilight Time<\/p>\n

Region:<\/strong>\u00a0All<\/p>\n

Released:<\/strong>\u00a0 February 10, 2015<\/p>\n

Genre:<\/strong>\u00a0 Drama<\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/strong>\u00a0A Guyanese teacher hoping to land an engineering job takes on a temporary teaching post and discovers his true calling in an inner-city high school filled with challenging kids.<\/p>\n

Special Features:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Audio Commentary #1: actress Judy Geeson, film historian Julie Kirgo, and producer Nick Redman \/ Audio Commentary #2: edited interview extracts from 2011 with \u201cTo Sir, with Love\u201d author E.R. Braithwate and author \/ teacher Salome Thomas Ei \/ Isolated Mono Music Track \/ 5 Interview Featurettes from 2011: \u201cE.R. Braithwate: In His Own Words\u201d (23:45) + \u201cLulu and the B-Side\u201d (5:04) + \u201cMiniskirts, Blue Jeans and Pop Music\u201d (15:20) + \u201cTo Sidney with Love from Marty Baum\u201d (5\u201d43) + \u201cPrincipal Ei: He Chose to Stay\u201d (11:00) \/ Theatrical Trailer \/ 8-page colour booklet with liner notes by film historian Julie Kirgo \/ Limited to 3000 copies \/ Available exclusively from Screen Archives Entertainment.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n

Review:<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 1967, Sidney Poitier appeared in three films of equal importance to his career, and roles which addressed issues of racial inequality in very different stories & expressions of outrage: Guess Who\u2019s Coming to Dinner<\/strong> made inter-racial marriage a topic for comedy and sober discussion for the white suburban set; In the Heat of the Night<\/a> <\/strong>relied on the mutual disgust between white and black characters to build the film\u2019s drama, and establish trust among characters who loathed each other from their first vicious encounters. The film also featured a no-more-bullshit stance from an emancipated black man, culminating with a marvelous slap to the cheek to a colonial pompous ass.<\/p>\n

To Sir, with Love<\/strong> actually underplayed the issue of racism, opting to focus on how self & mutual respect can temper youthful rage in preparation for prickly adulthood, and aide in navigating through a world where one must often hold one\u2019s tongue and avoid applying a clenched fist in order to gain a foothold in society.<\/p>\n

In the second of two commentary tracks that accompany Twilight Time\u2019s excellent (and massively loaded) Blu-ray edition of Love<\/strong>, author E.R. Braithwate recalls being contacted by James Clavell for the rights to transform his autobiographical story into a film starring Sydney Poitier.<\/p>\n

Clavell, better-known for his epic novel Shogun<\/strong> than his film work, would ultimately write, produce, and direct a film no studio had much interest in handling (in one of the featurettes, Marty Baum, Poitier\u2019s agent, describes how Columbia was ready to bail on the film due a budgetary overrun of $150,000, a paltry sum for the studio that released the box office hit Lawrence of Arabia<\/strong>), and the studio was ultimately shocked not only by the film\u2019s international success, but the popularity of its theme song which turned Lulu into a star.<\/p>\n

The reason for the film\u2019s continuing popularity is tied to it being so caringly made, and while it is easy to peg Love<\/strong> as a work of its era – the music, the clothes, the colours, use of music montages \u2013 it\u2019s nevertheless an affecting film that also codified specific tropes for the ever-popular benevolent teacher genre.<\/p>\n

Poitier plays Mark Thackeray, a Guyanese engineer struggling to get \u201ca real job\u201d \u2013 a term still used today as a euphemism for well-paid drudgery \u2013 and takes a teaching gig to make ends meet. (There is a certain naivete to his methods, circa 1967, where Thackeray does eventually land a job offer purely from his efforts through the post, and author Braithwate acknowledges the event as penned by Clavell was pure balderdash.)<\/p>\n

Thackeray eventually becomes \u201cSir\u201d to his kids when a eureka moment makes him realize that addressing his rebellious students using formal Mr. and Miss nomenclature will instill a seed of mutual respect between himself and the boys & girls. Moreover, by tossing out the standard curriculum and opting for spontaneous life discussions, Thackeray\u2019s able to take subjects of immediate interest or curiosity and spin them into historical, practical, and artistic discussions. A field trip to the local museum is the chief bonding event between teacher + students, but it doesn\u2019t make everyone luvvy \u2013 the lone holdouts remain grumpy backbenchers until they have their own moments with Thackeray, such as a protracted boxing match.<\/p>\n

Thackeray\u2019s challenge \u2013 teaching the cr\u00e8me de la cr\u00e8me of undisciplined brats \u2013 is amplified by the school superintendent\u2019s policy of never berating, swearing, abusing any of the kids, partly because it would endanger the school\u2019s own existence, and break the super\u2019s own philosophy in which\u00a0 threats or abuse have no place in a modern classroom.<\/p>\n

Love<\/strong>\u2019s clich\u00e9s stand out only because they\u2019ve been adopted by many other works and generic variations \u2013 the museum visit alone was riffed in music and editorial finesse by John Hughes in his own generational classic Ferris Bueller\u2019s Day Off<\/strong> (1986), where the kids take ownership of their own behaviour without the aide of adults \u2013 and the rebels are quite tame when contrasted to more contemporary inner-city dramas, but Love <\/strong>is so well written, perfectly cast, beautifully directed and paced.<\/p>\n

Even the finale is perfectly synced to the film\u2019s wrap-up: the big graduation dance, a farewell gift that chokes up the kids\u2019 former adversary and unwanted disciplinarian, and Thackeray taking a letter offering a guaranteed job and tearing it in half because he knows his future must include building the self-confidence and respect within kids for a tough life in a class-ridden Britain \u2013 something Braithwate and Salome Thomas Ei describe as \u2018the right moral decision.\u2019<\/p>\n

Ron Grainer\u2019s fairly understated score doesn\u2019t recycle the theme song to the point of loathing; the variations are slim and sparse, making the song\u2019s four appearance all the more powerful: the beautiful Main Titles sequence; the wonderful museum montage with clever lap dissolves; the offering of the gift; and the letter-tearing finale, where the song\u2019s intro drumbeat is guaranteed to make audiences applaud.<\/p>\n

The power of that one shot can\u2019t be dismissed as facile: most contemporary approaches tend to fall into the \u201cYay!\u201d moment where a victory is accompanied by loud cheers from an adoring crowd and loud music, but Clavell\u2019s approach is simple and intimate; life decisions are more believable and powerful when they\u2019re not swayed by a mass gathering and a hit song. A key reason Clavell\u2019s finale works is because the song isn\u2019t tracked through Thackeray\u2019s deep-thinking scene.<\/p>\n

Part of the film\u2019s charm includes the cast who excel in small and modest roles, including several veteran British character actors (Patricia Routledge), and stunning Suzy Kendall as Thackeray\u2019s likely love interest. Known more for sexy roles in Italian gialli like Bird with the Crystal Plumage<\/strong> (1970) and Torso<\/strong> (1973), Kendall plays fellow teacher Gillian Blanchard as stylishly prim, with big glasses that both deglamorize the former model\u2019s striking eyes and ever-perfect hair.<\/p>\n

The \u2018kids\u2019 were played by a mix of young adults and twentysomethings, including then newcomer Judy Geeson, theme song crooner \/ singer Lulu as a savvy classmate, relative filmic newcomer Christian Roberts as the last anti-\u201cSir\u201d holdout, and Michael Des Barres in a tiny role.<\/p>\n

Geeson was brought in by TT moderator Nick Redman for the disc\u2019s first commentary track, and alongside film historian Julie Kirgo, the trio cover all aspects of the film\u2019s making, its style, cast, and importance to several of its cast members.<\/p>\n

The second track alternates Criterion-style between comments by author Braithwate and American educator Salome Thomas Ei, with the former contrasting his biographical reality with the film, and the latter relating his own efforts to instill discipline and self-respect in students from his own trials in the U.S. school system. The track\u2019s heavily focused on the minutia of each teacher\u2019s methodologies, and provide a sharp contrast to the more genial primary commentary that\u2019s obviously more star-centric.<\/p>\n

In addition to the secondary commentary track, there\u2019s a series of 2011 interview featurettes which seem to have been sourced from a planned but aborted Blu-ray 2012 45th anniversary edition by Sony. (TT was able to similarly source unused extras from aborted Blu-ray editions of Sony\u2019s Oliver!<\/a> <\/strong>and Lost Horizon<\/a><\/strong>.)<\/p>\n

Both Ei and Braithwate interviews offer additional material not distilled and edited into the disc\u2019s second commentary track. Both discuss their profession, but Braithwate provides lengthy biographical material and dissects the truth and fanciful invention within the film, including his real relationship with a colleague that due to the times, was never meant to be.<\/p>\n

Lulu appears in the music-related featurette (\u201cLulu and the B-Side\u201d) and the style featurette (\u201cMiniskirts, Blue Jeans and Pop Music\u201d) with Des Barres, and both elaborate on their first major film gigs and why Love<\/strong> remains such an important part of their lives.<\/p>\n

TT\u2019s disc features a crisp HD transfer with clean mono sound, and Paul Beeson\u2019s cinematography is really lovely, evoking a bit of documentary from the location scenes with some slick studio lighting for the interior sets. Beeson\u2019s C.V. includes a long term with Disney (shooting the famous Dr. Syn<\/strong> series) plus several cult films \u2013 Die, Monster Die!<\/strong> (1965), The Lost Continent<\/strong> (1968), Hammer\u2019s hypnotically awful Moon Zero Two<\/a><\/strong> (1969), and the Luigi Cozzi\u2019s ridiculous Starcrash<\/strong> (1978).<\/p>\n

Little of Ron Grainer\u2019s music exists in commercial form, so it\u2019s a treat to have the score and songs isolated in mono on the disc.<\/p>\n

James Clavell\u2019s subsequent directorial efforts were less commercial \u2013 The Sweet and the Bitter<\/strong> (1967), Where\u2019s Jack?<\/strong> (1968) \u2013 and he wrapped up his film work with the overlong and dour The Last Valley<\/strong> (1970), a nihilistic drama that co-starred Christian Roberts, whose own career never propelled him to starring roles in spite of appearing in the cult thriller Twisted Nerve<\/strong> (1968), the deliciously sleazy The Adventurers <\/strong>(1970), and a handful of TV series in the 1970s.<\/p>\n

Geeson co-starred in Hammerhead<\/strong> (1968), Goodbye Gemini <\/strong>(1970), the underrated crime thriller 10 Rillington Place<\/a> <\/strong>(1971), Doomwatch<\/strong> (1972), Fear in the Night<\/a> <\/strong>(1972), and Brannigan<\/a><\/strong> (1975), before moving to TV in series like Poldark<\/strong> (1975-1977) and Breakaway<\/strong> (1980).<\/p>\n

Poitier did reprise the role of Mark Thackeray in To Sir, With Love II<\/strong> in a 1996 TV movie (Geeson and Lulu had reportedly small cameos), and was directed by Peter Bogdanovich, who\u2019d previously directed his own high school drama (of sorts), Mask<\/strong> (1985).<\/p>\n

Twilight Time\u2019s other benevolent teacher entry is Conrack<\/a><\/strong> (1974), an adaptation of Pat Conroy\u2019s autobiographical novel which shares very similar humanist themes as Braithwate\u2019s influential book.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a9 2015 Mark R. Hasan<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

External References:<\/strong>
\nEditor’s Blog<\/a> — IMDB \u00a0<\/a>— \u00a0Soundtrack Album<\/a> —\u00a0Composer Filmography<\/a>
\n\u00a0<\/span>
\nVendor Search Links:<\/strong>
\nAmazon.ca<\/a>\"\" \"\" —\u00a0<\/span> Amazon.com<\/a>\"\" \"\" —\u00a0<\/span> Amazon.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In 1967, Sidney Poitier appeared in three films of equal importance to his career, and roles which addressed issues of racial inequality in very different stories & expressions of outrage: Guess Who\u2019s Coming to Dinner, In the Heat of the Night, and To Sir, with Love…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[18],"tags":[3618,3619,3006,3620,2372,655,3617],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8nuyW-2VO","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11272"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11272"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11272\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11275,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11272\/revisions\/11275"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11272"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11272"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}