Something for the weekend
The opening scene of "Abigail's Party".
Nothing actually "happens" in this short clip (a woman puts on a record, makes a drink, has a fag) but I think I could write a dozen essays about it. If you weren't there at the time the furniture, fashion, and even the music probably seems terribly kitsch but to those of us of a certain age it's like our every memory of the 70s wrapped up in two minutes.
Buy: "Abigail's Party" (DVD)
5 Comments:
"Top-up Tone?"
I love that view off right to the small bricked-in patio with the stacked plastic chairs...
Aaaah, the 70s!
I saw this by accident, but will never forget it (or Demis Roussos, 'that fat Greek caterwauling into the night'). I sometimes watched 'Play For Today' when my parents were out, and this was one of them. I also saw a play called 'Gotcha' about a schoolboy holding the headmaster and two teachers ransom: this got a lot of flak for all the bad language and crudity.
There's a story that the night this was first on (back when there were only 3 channels) ITV were on strike and BBC1 had the news, so the majority of the country sat and watched Abigail's Party and it became a TV event in a way that will just never happen again. It's brilliant, and Leigh is generally brilliant - I've managed to sneak 'Secrets and Lies' into the classroom as a set film for the last couple of years, although 'Life is Sweet' is my favourite.
The way she gets a glass out kills me every time.
Post a Comment
<< Home