Victim (BFI Film Classics) - Softcover

John Coldstream

Softcover

ISBN 10: 184457427X ISBN 13: 9781844574278

Publisher: British Film Institute, 2011

Synopsis

Victim (1961) was a landmark in the history both of the cinema and of British society. This modest black-and-white thriller, produced by Michael Relph and directed by Basil Dearden, tackled explicitly the existing law governing homosexual offences, and in doing so eased the path towards partial decriminalisation in 1967. It was also a key moment in the life of its star, Dirk Bogarde, who, despite the risk to his box-office appeal, seized upon the role of a compromised barrister. In doing so, he shed the mantle of matinée idol and soon afterwards embarked on a more fulfilling career in the intellectual cinema. John Coldstream's intimate study of Victim examines in detail the background to the production, focusing especially on the relationship between the film-makers, the screenwriters and the censor, John Trevelyan, whose participation at the script stage was crucial to its development. Half a century after its original release, one looks in vain to find Victim in the spasmodic surveys dedicated to identifying the greatest films of all time. However, as Coldstream argues, its recognition as a classic is more than justified by the vital contribution it made to gay cultural history and by its status as 'a movie that mattered'.

About this title

About the Author

JOHN COLDSTREAM is a writer and the former Literary Editor of The Daily Telegraph. He is the author of Dirk Bogarde: The Authorised Biography (2004) and the editor of Ever, Dirk: The Bogarde Letters (2008). He also collaborated with Dirk Bogarde on a collection of the latter's journalism, For the Time Being (1998).

From the Back Cover

?Victim (1961) was a landmark in the history both of the cinema and of British society. This modest black-and-white thriller, produced by Michael Relph and directed by Basil Dearden, tackled explicitly the existing law governing homosexual offences, and in doing so eased the path towards partial decriminalisation in 1967. It was also a key moment in the life of its star, Dirk Bogarde, who, despite the risk to his box-office appeal, seized upon the role of a compromised barrister. In doing so, he shed the mantle of matinée idol and soon afterwards embarked on a more fulfilling career in the intellectual cinema.

John Coldstream's intimate study of Victim examines in detail the background to the production, focusing especially on the relationship between the film-makers, the screenwriters and the censor, John Trevelyan, whose participation at the script stage was crucial to its development. Half a century after its original release, one looks in vain to find Victim in the spasmodic surveys dedicated to identifying the greatest films of all time. However, as Coldstream argues, its recognition as a classic is more than justified by the vital contribution it made to gay cultural history and by its status as 'a movie that mattered'.

Edition details

• Publisher: British Film Institute
• Publication date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 184457427X
• ISBN 13: 9781844574278
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 120